M House Fanfare Mag 2007 - welcomewebsites.co.uk · Fanfare 2006 - 2007 • Mount House School This morning the Esme Fairbairn foundation published authoritative ... DANCE, Edward

FanfareMount House School 2006/2007

Cover picture: Charles MacEacharn proudly displays his catch (Photo by Geoff Whaley)

Mount House School, Tavistock 2006/2007

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View fromThis year we have been submerged by the rising waters of theclimate change debate. All of the main political parties seem to bejostling for position to persuade us that it is they who really take thisissue seriously (and always have). There has been the contrary viewtoo: that there is something of a media circus in all this, questioningthe veracity of the science behind the doomsday scenario. All of uswill have our own position on this and I suspect this may besignificantly different from one family member to another. Many ofour children shame us into action with regard to recycling andenergy saving. The cry: ‘You’re killing the polar bears’ is regularlyheard around my household, neatly braiding together a practical,moral and emotional rope of objection to my turning up the radioor burning the cardboard.

It is not just in this area where it is hard to find absolutes, but thereare some values which are unimpeachably worth promoting to our children:

• looking after things• understanding and caring about the consequences of our

actions on others• a sense of responsibility over and an appreciation of

our environment

These are very basic themes and if education is to have real socialbenefit they should be taken more seriously than they currently are.That they are not is more to do with the fact that these learningoutcomes are harder to achieve in schools where everything isdone against the clock, and certainly harder to measure than theattainment targets in the core subjects of the National Curriculum.In these, boxes may be ticked and results proudly held up as proofof improved performance.

the Study

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This morning the Esme Fairbairn foundation published authoritativeand dismal research highlighting an empty, bleak childhood for the vastmajority of UK primary school pupils. Contributing factors are givenas: the educational establishment’s obsession with testing and theconsequently narrow and uninspiring curriculum, but also children’slack of community, their inability to communicate and a media-ledobsession with celebrity and immediate consumption. One mightdescribe a lack of connection with any sense of the fundamentalstructures of an orderly and caring society. Even the ‘effective delivery’of the National Curriculum is pretty thin soup to serve up by anyschool claiming to be nourishing children.

As an independent school we are in the privileged position of beingable to set our own agenda a little more and so to keep core valuesright at the heart of our purpose. We must be obsessed not by ourstatistics, but by the extent to which we can fill these years of youthwith security, hope, excitement and ordered freedom.

Jim Massey

Governing Body and staffGOVERNING BODYD.S.B. James, BA (Chairman)Mrs S.E. CorytonT.D. CunninghamI.R. Davenport BADr. J.Evans, MA, FRCS(Ed)Plast., FRCSR.C. Franklin, FCAM.R. Johnson, BEdA.H. Monro, MAG.S. Sayers, BScMrs V.Tuck, BA, MA, MIL

ACADEMIC STAFFJ.R.O. Massey, B.Sc. HeadmasterJ. Symons, B.Ed. Deputy Headmaster & Head of HistoryM.J. Bassett, B.Ed. Senior Master, Director of Studies,Head of Mathematics, SENCOJ.H. Banyard, BA, PGCE. French & Head of Religious StudiesMiss C. Brereton, BA. Junior SubjectsDr E. Chakrabarti, Ph.D. Lab TechnicianMrs S. Butcher, BA, PGCE. LatinMiss E. Covey, BA, PGCE. EnglishA. David-Ward, BA, PG Dip, PGCE. Head of PE & Gen. SubjectsDr A. Eagleton, B.Sc.Science, Ph.D. Head of ScienceMiss C. Grubb, BA, PGCE. Junior SubjectsJ. Hammond, B.Ed. Head of English & Latin, Girls' HousemasterMrs S. Hammond, B.Ed. Junior SubjectsA.R. Lamb, B.Ed. Head of GeographyH. Myott, BA, PGCE. Director of Communications, Boys' HousemasterMrs S. Phillips, BA, PGCE. Head of ArtP. Stephens, B.Ed. General SubjectsMiss S. Symons, BA. Junior SubjectsN.Waitz, B.Sc, PGCE. Junior SubjectsH.J.C.Walkington, BA, U.Ga. Head of FrenchMrs G.Waters, LRAM Grad Dip.Mus. PGCE. Director of MusicG.Whaley, Cert.Ed, Dip.Ed. Head of Design & Technology

Mrs J. Hallinan, MA. Head of Pre-prepMiss M. Pole, B.Ed. Pre-prep Year 2, Deputy Head of Pre-prepMiss J.A. Edmonds, NVQ3. ReceptionMrs N.A.M. Gabb, Cert.Ed. Pre-prep Year 1Mrs D.B. Hone, NNEB. NurseryMiss R. Iles. NurseryMrs A.Y. MacDougall, NNEB. NurseryMrs A. Malcolm, LLB, PGCE. ReceptionMrs E.A. Morgan, NVQ3. Pre-prep Year 1Mrs K Myott. Classroom Assistant Year 2Miss R Myott. After School Club

Tom HealAlexander HudsonRachael KimberEleanor Malcolm

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ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFN. Jory, ACIB GradICSA. BursarMrs. C. Cheshire. Assistant BursarMrs L.P. Cowie. Assistant SecretaryMrs. A. Granger. Clothing ShopMrs. J. Massey, MA(Cantab.), MI Struct E, MICE. Clothing ShopMrs P.S.Tear. Secretary

CATERING, GROUNDS, HOUSEKEEPING ANDMAINTENANCE STAFFL. Mitchell. CatererMiss G.P.Thomas, Miss H.M. Palmer,W. Palmer, O. Reid

E.G.Willcock. Head GroundsmanD.J. Hammond, S. Howe, B.Willcocks

Mrs. S.M Maclaren, RGN, RM. Head MatronMiss S.A Witherall. Senior Assistant MatronMiss K Butler. Assistant MatronMiss S Williams. Assistant Matron

Mrs. S.R. Da Rocha. HousekeeperMrs. M. Hall. Assistant HousekeeperMrs. J.A. Carter, Mrs. S.C. Crowell, Mrs. E. Davies, Mrs. D.M. Dingle,Mrs L. Greenwood, Mrs S. Hall, Mrs. G.M. Hancock, D. Harrison,Miss S. Hickman, Miss V. Hill, Mrs.V.D. Howe, Mrs A. Ishmail, M. Jeffrey,Mrs R. Myott, Mrs D. Nolan, Mrs. L. Phillip, Mrs. A.J. Sanderson,Mrs. A.Tully, Mrs. E.J.White

J. Brimacombe, Head of MaintenanceJ. Blowey, E.G. Mason

VISITING STAFFC.G. Bacon. PercussionMiss R. Ballantyne, BA. FluteMrs C.M. Burnham, LTCL, B Mus. PGCE. PianoDr J.A. Evans, MRCP, MRCGPMr Finch. OboeD. Grove, Fly fishingP. Jones. BrassMrs K.E. Keith-Hill, Cert.Ed. WoodwindR. King. GuitarJ. Lewington, LTCL. SingingMrs O. Loewendahl, BA, PGCE. 'CelloMiss H. Parke, BA, LGSM. Flute, RecorderP.G. Sherlock,TennisMrs C.Thom, M Mus., B Mus., FTCL, LTCL, LRAM. Classical GuitarMrs C.Thompson, LTCL, A Mus. LCM. PianoMiss Z.M.Williams. PianoMrs M.Willmott, BA, PGCE. Violin

Mrs S.V.Walsh, M.Ed, BA, Cert.Ed. Learning SupportG. Bush, Cert.Ed. Learning Support

P.R. Bond, B.Sc (Hons), PGCE. Squash


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C.B.L. Brown Academic & ICT all rounder Kelly T.E. Dickinson Academic Blundell’sC. FitzGerald Academic exhibition & top all-rounder DownsideB.C.Goldstone Academic & sport all rounder Kelly L.B. Hartley All rounder & sport BryanstonH.V.E.MacEacharn Academic Cheltenham Ladies’ College H.E. Morris Academic Blundell’s M.L. Pearn Barrow all-rounder King’s College Taunton C.J. Pickard Academic & sport Taunton SchoolT.S. Pope Sport SherborneG.H.M Prysor-Jones Choral DownsideK.E. Robbins Sport Blundell’sD.L. Scaglioni Sport SherborneF. Semken Academic Badminton L.K. Sharp Academic King’s College Taunton H.M. Southcott All rounder: Art & music KellyW.M.S. Steed Sport Kelly

In addition, S.R.G. Essex has won an Art scholarship to Truro High School which she will take up when she is thirteen and D.G.B Goldstone won

the top all-rounder scholarship for 11-plus entry into Kelly College.

Honours Board

PrefectsHead Boy Tim PopeHead Girl Hattie MacEacharn

School Prefects Edward AlmondChristian BrownGeorgia CarrickJoe DaltonThea DickinsonEmmie de FalbeCharlotte FitzGeraldBarnabie GoldstoneLowella HartleyHarry HealMary Lennox-BoydHannah MorrisJack NorrisSofia OxenhamJames ParsonsMichelle PearnCharlotte Pickard

Guy Prysor-JonesHannah RedmanKate RobbinsDominic ScaglioniFreya SemkenLucy SharpHolly SouthcottJoe Williams

1st XV Rugby Captain Tim Pope1st VII Girls' Hockey Captain Charlotte Pickard1st XI Boys' Hockey Captain Christian Brown1st VII Netball Captain Charlotte FitzGeraldSevens Captain Tim Pope1st XI Cricket Captain Dominic ScaglioniRounders Captain Lowella HartleyBoys' Athletics Captain William SteedGirls' Athletics Captain Kate Robbins

Head Choristers Christian BrownHannah Redman

Set Leaders & Prefects

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Seventeen 6th Formers won scholarships to join the schools of theirchoice. This level of success puts Mount House in the very top bracketof prep schools nationally. Details of the successes are listed under theHonours Board.

Scholarshipsuccesses

NAME FORMACKFORD, Edward 4ALALMOND, Edward 6JSANDERSON, Jamie 2CBBALL, Gavin 2SHBARLOW, Edward 2SHBARLOW, Henry 4ALBARRASFORD, Conor 3NWBARRASFORD, Karis 1SSBARTLEET, Edwin 1SSBATE, Olga 1CGBEACON, Charles 1CGBENNETT, Cassian 3JBBENNETT, Nicholas 4PSBERTIE, Julian 5JHBIRKIN, Benjamin 4ALBISHOP, Lloyd 3NWBROWN, Christian 6HWBROWN,Theodore 3NWBUTCHER, Louisa 4PSCARRICK, Georgia 6JSCARRICK, Marina 3NWCAVE, Harriet 4ALCAVE, Frederick 4HMCHESHIRE, Lucy 2CBCHOROSZEWSKA,Tean 1CGCHOROSZEWSKI, Michal 4ALCHOROSZEWSKI, Sam 3JBCLARK, Hector 1SSCLARKE, Benjamin 3NWCLAYTON, Augusta 1CGCOOMBS, Andrew 3NWCOUSENS, Michael 5JHCOX, Isabel 1SSCROFTON, Angus 1SSD'ENTRECASTEAUX, Benjamin 3NWDALTON, Joe 6LCDANCE, Edward 5JHDAVIES, Rhys 5ADWDE FALBE,William 4PSDE FALBE, Emmeline 6HWDEEBLE-STONE, Jacca 5JHDICKINSON, Flora 5JHDICKINSON,Thea 6HWDOLLARD, Dominic 4ALDONNE, Alice 3JBDONNE, Hannah 5JHDOWIE,Thomas 6LCESSEX, Sophie 4PSFARR, Charles 1CGFARR, James 3NWFARRINGTON, Jamie 3JBFERGUSON, Alexander 3JBFERGUSON, Louis 6JSFERGUSON, Patrick 6JSFITZGERALD, Charlotte 6HWFITZGERALD,William 2CBFORREST, Jennifer 1CGFUJITA,Yume 5ADWFULFORD, Edmund 4ALFULFORD, Humphrey 6LCGALSWORTHY, Imogen 4ALGALSWORTHY, William 5JHGEORGE, Abigail 3JBGILLARD, Guy 2SHGOLDSTONE, Barnabie 6HWGOLDSTONE, Daniel 4PSHADOW,Wilf 1SSHARDING, Benjamin 3NWHARRISON, Guy 3NWHARRISON, Peter 5ADWHARTLEY, Poppy 4HMHARTLEY, Lowella 6HWHAYNES-PARRY, Caitlin 2CBHAYWARD, Anthony 2SHHAYWARD, Eleanor 4HMHAYWARD, Max 1CGHEAL, Harry 6JSHOOLASH, Ben 2CBHUGHES, Henry 4ALHUGHES-CHAMBERLAIN, Meg 3JBHUNTINGTON, Julian 3NW

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JACKMAN,Thomas 3JBJAYARAJAH, Freddie 5JHJAYARAJAH, Bertram 2SHJERVOISE, Cecily 3JBJERVOISE, Elizabeth 5ADWJORY, Nicholas 3NWKENT, Elsa 1CGKENT, Laurie 2SHKIDNER, Eloise 4PSLAMBETH, Billy 2CBLAWSON, Ralph 4HMLEE,Taylor 2SHLEIGH, India 5JHLENNOX-BOYD, Mary 6LCLENNOX-BOYD, Henry 2SHLEWIS, India 3NWLEWIS, Madeleine 1SSLOPES, Henry 3JBLOPES, Ralph 1CGLOPES, Sascha 4HMLUNDY, George 4PSLYON-SMITH,Tommy 5JHMACEACHARN, Harriet 6HWMACEACHARN, Charles 2SHMACEACHARN,William 4PSMAJORIN, Alexander 4PSMALCOLM, Giles 2SHMALCOLM, Phoebe 4PSMANN, Edward 5ADWMANN, James 5ADWMASSEY, Jonathan 3JBMASSEY, Lucy 1SSMATTHEWS, Ruairidh 4PSMAY SOMERVILLE, Elizabeth 1SSMCCORMICK, Lucy 1CGMCGONIGLE, Olivia 4HMMCKELVEY, Henry 5ADWMCNAIR SCOTT, Alexander 1CGMEASELLE, Luke 2CBMILLAR, Rory 1CGMORRIS, Frederick 4HMMORRIS, Georgina 1SSMORRIS, Hannah 6HWMULES, Henry 2CBMUSTARD, Oscar 3JBNEWMAN,Georgina 4HMNEWMAN, Henry 3NWNORRIS, Isabel 4PSNORRIS, Jack 6HWNORRIS, Oscar 1SSOXENHAM, Izella 2SHOXENHAM, Sofia 6LCPARSONS, James 6LCPARSONS, Jonathon 5ADWPAULL, Emma 4HMPAULL,William 2CBPEARN, Michelle 6LCPERRING, James 3JBPICKARD, Charlotte 6HWPOPE,Timothy 6JSPRYSOR-JONES, Edward 3NWPRYSOR-JONES, Guy 6JSRATHBORNE, Jack 6HWREDFARN, Jamie 4PSREDMAN, Emily 5JHREDMAN, Hannah 6LCREDMAN, Lucy 3NWRENWICK, Jamie 3NWRIDGERS, Henry 1CGROBBINS, Kate 6JSROBBINS, Gemma 3JBRYDER-GREEN, Meaghan 2CBSALE, Eliza 3JBSALE, Oliver 4PSSCAGLIONI, Dominic 6HWSCAGLIONI, Nicolas 4PSSEARIGHT, Tristan 5ADWSECOMBE, Matthew 3JBSECOMBE, Charles 1SSSEMKEN, Freya 6HWSHACKLE, Edward 5ADWSHARP, Henry 4HM

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LAMB, Alice NurseryLOPES, Olivia ReceptionLOVE, Charlotte NurseryLOVEYS JERVOISE, Ralph Year 1MANTON, Emma Year 2MANTON, Rebecca Year 1MEASELLE, Rory Year 1NOORDEWIER,William NurseryNOORDEWIER, Charlie Year 1PEETERS, Beatriz NurseryPHILLIPS, Jessye ReceptionRAMNARACE, Joshua Year 1RYDER-GREEN, Oliver Year 2SARKAR, Francesca NurserySARKAR, Lauren NurserySMITH, Charlotte NurserySMYLY, Jamie NurserySMYLY, Jack Year 1SNOW, Isabella NurserySTONE, Betty ReceptionSTONE, Hebe NurseryTEAGUE, Toby Year 1UNSWORTH-WHITE, Samantha Year 2VILLAQUIRAN, Matthew Year 1VILLAQUIRAN, Christopher Year 2VON WENTZEL, Christoph Year 2WILDMAN, Charlie ReceptionWILSON, Florence NurseryWILTSHIRE, Alexandra NurseryWILTSHIRE, Ben Year 2WRIGHT, Annaliese Nursery

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NAME FORMChristmas Term 2006BARLOW, Edward 2SHBARRASFORD, Conor 3NWBARTLEET, Edwin 1SSCARRICK, Marina 3NWCLARK, Hector 1SSCLAYTON, Augusta 1CGCLAYTON, Luther ReceptionCOLERIDGE, Marcus NurseryCOX, Isabel 1SSCROFTON, Angus 1SSDAVID-WARD, Jacob Year 2DAVID-WARD, Phoebe ReceptionDAVIES, Rhys 5ADWDE FALBE, Gus 4PSFARR, Charles 1CGFARR, Henry ReceptionFARR, James 3NWFORGAN, May NurseryHADOW, Wilf 1SS

HARRISON, Guy 3NWHAWKINS, Oliver NurseryHAYNES-PARRY, Caitlin 2CBHAYWARD, Eleanor 4HMHEAL, Amelia NurseryHUGHES-CHAMBERLAIN, Meg 3JBJACOBS, Martha Year 1KENT, Elsa 1CGKENT, Laurie 2SHKIDNER, Eloise 4PSLAMBETH, Billy 2CBLOVE, Charlotte NurseryMACEACHARN, Charles 2SHMANN, Edward 5ADWMANN, James 5ADWMAY SOMERVILLE, Elizabeth 1SSMCCORMICK, Lucy 1CGMCNAIR SCOTT, Alexander 1CGMILLAR, Rory 1CGMULES, Henry 2CBNEWMAN, Henry 3NW

Salvete

NAME FORMBARKER, Charles Year 1BARRASFORD, Riley Year 1BARRASFORD,Talia Year 2BATE,Celia ReceptionBAYLIS, Loelia ReceptionBAYS, Harry ReceptionBAYS, Oliver Year 1BELLAMY, Jack ReceptionBIRD, Siobhan Year 1BROWN, Piers Year 2BURY, Alexander Year 1CHESHIRE, Benedict Year 2CLAYTON, Luther ReceptionCOLERIDGE, Marcus NurseryCOX, Agatha NurseryD'ENTRECASTEAUX, Alexander Year 2DANVERS, Maisie NurseryDANVERS, Susie Year 1DAVID-WARD, Jacob Year 2DAVID-WARD, Phoebe ReceptionDONNE, Sophia Year 2DU'GAY, Joseph NurseryFARR, Henry ReceptionFORGAN, May NurseryGRIER-REES, Alfred Year 1HAWKINS, Oliver NurseryHEAL, Amelia Kate NurseryHUNTINGTON, Jessica Year 2JACOBS, Martha Year 1LAI, Jessica Nursery

School List 2006/2007...continuedSHARP, Lucy 6HWSHIRLEY, Brett 3JBSMYTHE, Dylan 3JBSOUTHCOTT, Holly 6JSSTEED, Jeremy 2CBSTEED, William 6JSSUTCLIFFE-MAYNARD, Georgina 5ADWSYLVESTER, Nicholas 4ALSYLVESTER, Thomas 5ADWTAYLOR, Max 4HMTELFER-SMOLLETT, Lucy 4PSTOYNTON, Fern 5JHUNSWORTH-WHITE,Tabitha 2SHWELLS, Henry 4HMWELLS,William 5JHWILLETT, Ryan 3NW

WILLIAMS, Joseph 6JSWILLIAMS, Jack 6LCWILLIAMS, Merlin 6LCWILLIAMSON-CARY, Thomas 2CBWILSON, Beatrice 1SSWILTSHIRE, Charlotte 2SHWIXON, Holly 3JBWOODHEAD, Harrington 4HMWOODHEAD, Elliot 5JHWOOLCOCK, Alexander 4HMWOOLCOCK, Alice 1CGWOOLCOCK, Eleanor 1SSWORTHING, Scott 4ALYEOWARD, Rosie 5JHZAJICEK, Florence 5JHZERVUDACHI, Alexander 5JH


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NAME DESTINATIONChristmas Term 2006WILLIAMS, Merlin St Michael’sWORTHING, Scott St NeotsLENNOX-BOYD, Henry EdingtonSummer Term 2007ACKFORD, Edward Blundell's PrepALMOND, Edward BryanstonBENNETT, Cassian Tavistock Community Primary SchoolBENNETT, Nicholas Tavistock CollegeBURY, Alexander Kelly College Prep BISHOP, Lloyd Kelly College PrepBROWN, Christian Kelly CollegeBROWN,Theodore Kelly College PrepBROWN, Piers Kelly College PrepCARRICK, Georgia Sherborne for GirlsDALTON, Joe King's College TauntonDE FALBE, Emmeline Blundell'sDICKINSON,Thea Blundell'sDOWIE,Thomas SherborneFERGUSON, Louis SherborneFERGUSON, Patrick SherborneFITZGERALD, Charlotte DownsideFULFORD, Humphrey SherborneGOLDSTONE, Barnabie Kelly CollegeGOLDSTONE, Daniel Kelly CollegeHARTLEY, Lowella Bryanston

HEAL, Harry King's College TauntonLAI, Jessica St. Andrew's Buckland MonachorumLENNOX-BOYD, Mary WestonbirtMACEACHARN, Harriet Cheltenham Ladies’ CollegeMORRIS, Hannah Blundell'sNORRIS, Jack SherborneOXENHAM, Sofia Sherborne for GirlsPARSONS, James King's College TauntonPEARN, Michelle King's College TauntonPICKARD, Charlotte TauntonPOPE,Timothy SherbornePRYSOR-JONES, Edward DownsidePRYSOR-JONES, Guy DownsideRATHBORNE, Jack StrathallanREDMAN, Hannah Sherborne for GirlsROBBINS, Kate Blundell'sSCAGLIONI, Dominic SherborneSECOMBE, Matthew TruroSECOMBE, Charles TruroSEMKEN, Freya BadmintonSHARP, Lucy K King's College TauntonSOUTHCOTT, Holly Kelly CollegeSTEED,William Kelly CollegeWILLIAMS, Joseph R King's College TauntonWILLIAMS, Jack King's College Taunton

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Record Entry -Salvete! Recordnumber of new pupils.62 children joined Mount House in September 2006.The number was more than in any previous term,with 46 new pupils in the Prep School and a further 16 in the Pre-prep Department. Most of the children live inDevon and Cornwall, and several are from families whorecently relocated to the South West from other parts ofthe country.

PAULL, Emma 4HMPAULL,William 2CBPEETERS, Beatriz NurseryRIDGERS, Henry 1CGSARKAR, Lauren NurserySHACKLE, Edward 5ADWSMITH, Charlotte NurserySMYLY, Jamie NurserySTONE, Hebe NurseryWILTSHIRE, Alexandra NurseryEaster Term 2007BALL, Gavin 2SHBARRASFORD, Karis 1SSBARRASFORD, Riley Year 1BARRASFORD,Talia Year 2

COX, Agatha NurseryDONNE, Hannah 5JHLAMB, Alice NurseryLEWIS, India 3NWLEWIS, Madeleine 1SSRATHBORNE, Jack 6HWSARKAR, Francesca NurseryVON WENTZEL, Christoph Year 2Summer Term 2007HAYWARD, Anthony 2SHHAYWARD, Max 1CGHOOLASH, Ben 2CBMANTON, Emma Year 2MANTON, Rebecca Year 1

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The UK Junior Maths ChallengeThe Challenge, which is run jointly by Leeds University and the Mathematical Trust, encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought andfluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve non-standard problems. This was the 19th year of the Challenge with over 250,000 entriesbeing received from over 3,750 schools. Here at Mount House, 50 pupils entered the competition and it was pleasing to see 16 of them gainan award. Awards are only given to the highest scoring 40% of candidates (top 6%= Gold, 13% Silver, 21% Bronze). The overall tally for us was9 Bronze, 6 Silver and 1 Gold. The top scorer from Mount House was Jack Norris.

BRONZE AWARD SILVER AWARD GOLD AWARDHannah Redman Charlotte FitzGerald Jack NorrisJoe Dalton Georgia CarrickTim Pope Patrick FergusonJack Williams Hattie MacEacharnFreya Semken Jacca Deeble-StoneAlex Zervudachi William WellsEliza JervoiseHannah Donne

MJB

George Coombs Maths ChallengeThe senior forms competed in this annual mathematical competition. There were sixty questions testing knowledge and, more importantly, theability to apply that knowledge to unfamiliar questions.

The Set results: Hawks 54.3%Otters 54.8%Kangs 63.5%Owls 64% (Winners)

The best form: 3rd 4PS (55%) 2nd 5JH (70%) 1st 6HW (71%)

The top five individuals: Hattie MacEacharn 85%Jack Norris 88%Freddie Jayarajah 88%Alex Zervudachi 91%Jacca Deeble-Stone 92%

MJB

Visiting preachersVisiting preachers:

11th November: Vice Admiral Sir Toby Frere KCB

26th November: Mr M Reader,

Headmaster of Wellington School

21st January: Mrs M Henderson,

Headmistress of Westonbirt School

20th May: The Reverend Michael Brierley,

Vicar of Tavistock

10th June: Ms SJ Thomas,

Head of Bryanston School


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PrizesCHRISTMAS TERM 2006RUGBY WINNER 1st XV Tackling Trophy Tristan Searight1st XV Endeavour Trophy Harry Heal1st XV Most Improved player Tommy Lyon-SmithBest 1st XV Forward Elliot WoodheadBest 1st XV Three-Quarter Michael Cousens1st XV Captain's Cup Louis Ferguson1st XV Captain's Prize Tim PopeColts Outstanding Player Oliver SaleColts Tackling Trophy Fred Cave

Place Kicking Competition Tim Pope

Senior House Rugby Cup Owls (Tim Pope)Senior Wooden Spoon Kangs (Humphrey Fulford)Colts House Rugby Cup N/AU9/8 House Rugby Cup Kangs (Charles MacEacharn)

GIRLS' HOCKEY WINNER Most Improved player Lucy SharpEndeavour Cup Thea DickinsonCaptain's Cup Charlotte PickardTop Goalscorer's Prize Ella HartleyOutstanding Player Charlotte FizGerald

House Hockey Otters (Charlotte FitzGerald)

BEST DECORATED DORMITORYGirls MacArthur & Edwards (tie)Boys N/ATOP DORMITORYGirls JamesBoys Hawke

Set Duty Cup Owls (Tim Pope)

PLUSES AND MINUSESTop Individual Edward Ackford

(60 pluses)Top House* Hawks 1105

Kangs 1054Owls 926Otters 885

* current scoresHouse Cup is now to be awarded only at the end of the Summer Term and will include all pluses given out for every house activity; this term, this includes shoe cleaning,set duty, Junior and Senior House Rugby.

EASTER TERM PRIZES 2007PRIZE CUP

SPOKEN ENGLISHJunior Prose N/A Book Token Venetia Maitland CupSenior Prose Flora Zajicek Owls Book Token Benjie Dudgeon CupJunior Poetry Charles Secombe Otters Book Token Stowe CupIntermediate Poetry Oscar Mustard Hawks Book Token Rotary CupSenior Poetry Georgina

Sutcliffe-Maynard Hawks Book Token Rory Benham Cup

CROSS COUNTRYJunior Girls1st Tabitha Unsworth-White Gold medal2nd Elsa Kent Silver medal3rd Charlotte Wiltshire Bronze medal

Junior Boys1st Guy Gillard Gold medal2nd Giles Malcolm Silver medal3rd Edward Barlow Bronze medal

Intermediate Girls1st Harriet Cave Gold medal2nd Izzy Norris Silver medal3rd Cecily Jervoise Bronze medal

Intermediate Boys1st George Lundy Gold medal2nd Ralph Lawson Silver medal3rd Jamie Farrington Bronze medal

Senior Girls1st Hannah Redman Hawks Gold medal Angela Bradford Cup2nd Rosie Yeoward Silver medal3rd Ella Hartley Bronze medal

Senior Boys1st Elliot Woodhead Otters Gold medal Jeremy Hill Shield2nd Christian Brown Silver medal3rd Joe Dalton Bronze medal

Overall Set Winners Owls McCormick Cup

Other Set sportSet Netball Hawks Bermuda CupSet Sevens N/A Hugh St. Aubyn CupSet Football Kangs CupSet Hockey (B) Hawks MacKenzie Cup

OTHER PRIZESBest Hockey player (B) William Steed Owls Smyth Cup

Best Hockey Defender (B) Freddie Jayarajah Kangs Alex Hay Cup

Actor of the Year Edward Almond Owls Cashell Cup

Cameo Performance Dominic Scaglioni Owls

Netball Captain Charlotte FitzGerald Otters Charlotte Cowie Cup

Best Kept Dormitory (G) Darling Kangs Easter Eggs

Best Kept Dormitory (B) Hawke Owls Easter Eggs Dormitory Cup

Set Duty Cup Otters Rory Cumming Cup

SUMMER TERM 2007

FORM PRIZESTOP OF THE FORM FORM TUTOR’S PRIZE

1SS Angus Crofton Georgina Morris1CG Rory Millar Olga Bate2CB Jeremy Steed Meaghan Ryder-Green2SH Charlie MacEacharn Tabitha Unsworth-White3NW India Lewis Henry Newman3JB Dylan Smythe James Perring4PS Lucy Telfer-Smollett Izzy Norris4HM Eleanor Hayward Georgina Newman4AL Edward Ackford Harriet Cave5ADW Elizabeth Jervoise Tom Sylvester5JH Emily Redman Rosie Yeoward6LC Hannah Redman Mary Lennox-Boyd6JS Edward Almond Holly Southcott6HW Lucy Sharp Charlotte FitzGerald

SUBJECT PRIZESSenior School Middle School Junior School(6th and 5th Forms) (4th and 3rd Forms) (2nd and 1st Forms)

English Hannah Morris Louisa Butcher Luke MeaselleMathematics Jack Norris Gus de Falbe Gavin BallScience Lucy Sharp Alex Majorin Jeremy SteedScience Prize James Thomas Award Emmie de Falbe n/a n/aFrench Thea Dickinson Lucy Telfer-Smollett Luke MeaselleLatin Lucy Sharp Emma Paull n/aHistory Jack Norris Lucy Telfer-Smollett Guy GillardGeography Charlotte Pickard Gus de Falbe Lucy CheshireRE Lucy Sharp Lucy Telfer-Smollett Giles MalcolmIT Christian Brown Gus de Falbe Taylor LeeDT Rhys Davies Ruairidh Matthews Jeremy Steed

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SUMMER TERM 2007 CONTINUED...

MUSICServices to Music: Rachael Kimber Cup Flora ZajicekEffort in Music:William Luke Cup Freya SemkenBest New Chorister Eleanor HaywardChorister of the Year:The Lawson Cup Tim Pope

ARTPottery / Sculpture Charlotte PickardDrawing Hattie MacEacharnImaginative Composition Julian HuntingtonBest Marine Painting: Myles Varcoe Cup 1996 James PerringLeaver Holly SouthcottWilloughby Cup for Most Improved Artist Henry HughesJunior Artist of the Year (Cup & Card) Edward BarlowMiddle Artist of the Year (Cup & Card) Lucy RedmanArtist of the Year Trophy (Cup & Card) Emmie de Falbe

CRICKETUNDER 9 HOUSE CUP (Laurence Jarrett-Kerr 1995) Billy LambethCOLTS ALL-ROUNDER (Williams Cup 1992) Ollie SaleJUNIOR HOUSE CRICKET (J. Banyard Cup 1995) OWLSSENIOR HOUSE CRICKET (Healey Cup 1958) OWLSSINGLE WICKET COMP (Perry Cup 1974) n/a6-a SIDE COMP (Mackenzie Cup 1991) n/aSERVICES TO GIRLS’ CRICKET Barnie Goldstone1st XI FIELDING (Davis Cup 1927) Rhys Davies1st XI BOWLING (Toase Cup 1962) Julian Bertie1st XI BATTING (George Sharp Cup 1978) Dominic Scaglioni

OTHER CUPS AND TROPHIESArchery Kettle Trophy Tabitha Unsworth-WhiteJunior Golf Inman Cup 1990 n/aGirls’ Golf n/aSenior Golf Grierson Cup 1960 Edward Almond

Junior Tennis Stramdell & Asher Trophy Jeremy Steed

Intermediate Tennis Bayliss Shield Oliver SaleSenior Tennis Dawson Cup Tim PopeJunior Fly Fishing May Somerville

Trophy n/aSenior Fly Fishing Lombard Hunt

Cup 1973 Joe WilliamsSet Rounders HawksServices to Rounders Freya SemkenSportswoman Morwennaof the Year Armstrong Cup Ella Hartley Sportsman of the Year Andrew Leather

Cup 1973 Michael Cousens Dormitory Cup Boys Jellicoe

Girls DarlingHouse Duty Cup KangsMiddle School ChristopherEffort Prize Anderson Cup Ben BirkinOutstanding Effort Kirby-Harris Cup Guy Prysor-JonesCommon Entrance Crosthwaite

Cup 1986 Hannah RedmanAchievement Tavistock Rotary

Club 1980 Hattie MacEacharnEndeavour Stannus Cup 1982 Kate RobbinsAll-Rounder James Petrie Dragon Michelle PearnLeadership Justin Gibbs

Shield 1990 Charlotte FitzGeraldOutstanding Example James Cup 2004 Charlotte PickardHeadmaster’s Prize Mary Lennox-Boyd

Prizes continued


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THE SPOKEN ENGLISH COMPETITION EASTER TERM 2007

'A celebration of prose and poetry' - Adjudicated by Miss Jane QuanDirector of Drama at Bryanston School

FINALISTS1st & 2nd FORMS POETRYCharles Secombe Abdul the Bulbul Emir by An Unknown AuthorElsa Kent The Engineer by A.A.MilneJeremy Steed Jabberwocky by Lewis CarrollWilliam FitzGerald The Beast from the Deep Abyss by Paul CooksonIzella Oxenham My Birthday by Arcadia FlynnLaurie Kent The Spot on my Bum by Gez WalshJamie Anderson I Saw my Shadow by James Logan

3rd & 4th FORMS POETRYIzzy Norris The Sound Collector by Roger McGoughMatthew Secombe Naming of Parts by Henry ReedOscar Mustard All Things Dull & Ugly by Eric IdleTheo Brown Abbey Tomb by Patricia BeerLucy Telfer-Smollett Colonel Fazackerley by C. CausleyEmma Paull Jim by Hilaire BellocEllie Hayward Disobedience by A.A.Milne

5th & 6th FORMS POETRYGeorgina Suttcliffe-Maynard Jabberwocky by Lewis CarrollHannah Donne Kids by Spike MilliganFlora Dickinson Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah Freya Semken Dark as a Midnight Dream by Freya Semken

5th & 6th FORMS PROSESofia Oxenham Hitler's Canary by Sandi ToksvigMichelle Pearn Midget by Tim BowlerTristan Searight Battle of Britain by Chris PriestlyFlora Zajicek Sculptor's Daughter by Tove Jansson

WINNERS:1st & 2nd Form poetry Charles Secombe3rd & 4th Form poetry Oscar Mustard5th & 6th Form poetry Georgina Sutcliffe-Maynard5th & 6th Form prose Flora Zajicek

Another truly entertaining evening which was brilliantly adjudicated byMiss Jane Quan whose thoughtful comments on each of the 22 finalistswere insightful and individual. As is customary the 1st and 2nd formpoetry category got proceedings off to an exciting start with some verypolished performances.Charles Secombe's rendition of 'Abdul the BulbulEmir,' was a well controlled piece, given with both a confident stance andvoice. Elsa Kent's delivery of the tricky poem, 'The Engineer,' held a lovelywistful quality and she coped well with some awkward punctuation.Jeremy Steed's 'Jabberwocky' had a solid rhythmic feel which added to itsslightly sinister undertone.William FitzGerald's short piece entitled: 'TheBeast from the Deep Abyss,' was performed quite powerfully and heseemed to particularly relish the Beast's hunger for teachers! Miss IzellaOxenham then took to the stage and as usual delivered her poem, 'MyBirthday' with poise and flair, really showing her understanding of thepoem and savouring the punch line at the end. 'The Spot on my Bum,'read in a rather cheeky manner by Laurie Kent caused much amusementand Jamie Anderson's 'I saw my Shadow,' said with some thoughtfulgestures, rounded off this excellent group. The winning honours wereawarded to Charles Secombe in this category.

The 3rd and 4th Form poetry was started by Izzy Norris and 'The SoundCollector’. She delivered this wonderfully onomatopoeic piece beautifullyand with lovely control. Matthew Secombe chose a really interestingpiece, 'The Naming of Parts' and showed his usual assured ability whenperforming, captivating the audience with his delivery of 2 contrastingparts of the poem.Oscar Mustard, the eventual winner in this section, hadtremendous fun in performing his poem, 'All Things Dull and Ugly.' Hiscomical tone and obvious personal enjoyment of the poem was clear toall.Theo then recited the haunting poem, 'Abbey Tomb,' which capturedthe feeling of a voice coming back from the grave and had a powerful,mournful quality. Lucy's poem, 'Colonel Fazackerley,' was spoken with

lovely facial expressions and Emma's 'Jim' was an entertaining piece, inwhich she showed particular emphasis on the bloodthirsty details. EllieHayward drew the audience into her poem, 'Disobedience' with herwide eyes coupled with some thoughtful timing and variety of dynamicsand expression.

Despite two fantastic performances from Flora Dickinson, with herReggae-style take on 'Talking Turkeys' (complete with Rastafariandreadlocks!) and Hannah Donne's bossy little poem 'Kids', the 5th and6th Form poetry was won by Georgina Sutcliffe-Maynard. From themoment she walked on stage the audience were grabbed by thisoutstanding performance of 'Jabberwocky.' Her use of strong characterchanges and accents was captivating and let the audience feel they werein safe hands as she delivered this poem.

And so to the conclusion of the evening and the 5th and 6th Form Prosecategory. Sofia's reading of 'Hitler's Canary' was superb and she showedconfidence and enjoyment throughout her piece in true Oxenham style.Michelle and Tristan both gave sound performances and were able to letthe audience really understand their pieces, not an easy thing to do withsuch short extracts. However, the winner of this final section was FloraZajicek and her piece, 'The Sculptor's Daughter', which she read withintense expression and showed clearly the variety of different momentsfrom her text.A beautiful and atmospheric piece and a deserved winner.I would like to thank the members of the English Department whohelped produce such a fantastic evening and also Jane Quan for herthoughts and observations throughout the evening and the manner inwhich she related to all the finalists.

Jon Hammond

The Spoken English Competition 2007

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Oracle Lecture series:

The Oracle lecture series continued this year, once againdemystifying and exploring science, technology and the naturalworld. The season started in September with Peter Malcolm'sbrilliant history of encryption, from the famous Enigma machine ofthe Second World War through to its current most commonpractical use - for internet protection. Bringing a real Enigmamachine with him, Peter gave a clear and concise explanation ofhow the Germans revolutionised encryption during the SecondWorld War, and how Bletchley Park (the forerunner to GCHQ)developed new code-breaking strategies under the guidance ofthe brilliant Alan Turing. Later in the term Rob Morris gave a talkentitled “Life and Limb Salvage: the other side of Plastic Surgery”.

One of the top plastic surgeons in the country, Rob gave us the flipsideof the public perception of a plastic surgeon's work. His most valuableand important work lies in the reconstruction of people's limbs andbodies, often after horrific accidents. This was a lecture that requiredconsiderable preparation and judgement, in order to give an accurateportrayal of his work without traumatising the audience with over graphicslides of his patients. Rob devised a brilliant “Look away now” slide to givethe audience the chance to avert if there was a particularly gruesome orgory picture coming. In this way, he was able to present a fascinating andinformative lecture on the work of his team, and revealed that he was firstinspired to become a plastic surgeon when at prep school himself.

During the Easter Term, Ian Kilpatrick, who started teaching at MountHouse in the 1960s, and who has returned to assist the staff and childrenin many guises ever since, gave us a fascinating video insight into life atMount House in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Distilling a rounded picture of schoollife from Tony Wortham's films from that time, he gave us theopportunity to see first-hand the levelling of Herongate pitch, theconversion of the stable block into classrooms (including unforgettablefootage of children sitting astride the ridge tiles, hurling slates to theground during the demolition phase!) along with school outings to thebeach accompanied by Winston, Tony's faithful dog. Such a valuablearchive gives us a unique window on the past, and it was both fascinatingand instructive to see how the school has changed and yet how at thesame time in many ways it has stayed the same. Later in the term,Mark and Vicky Deeble-Stone returned to give us another wonderful African lecture. It recounted the annual cycle of a river deep in the

African hinterland, tracing the seasonal activity of the wildlife thatdepended on it. It included a piece of footage that has since becomeparticularly famous, that of an unwary wildebeest drinking in theshallows only to be grabbed by the neck by a crocodile and dragged toa bloody death in the river. The hours of painstaking preparation andfilming that went into the production of such a hauntingly beautiful filmcan only be imagined.

At the beginning of the Summer Term, Pen Hadow recounted hisexperiences on his record-breaking solo trek unaided to the North Pole.His bravery and apparent insouciance in the face of extreme personaldanger belied the years of preparation that had gone into his trek. Hehad failed on a previous attempt, but had not given up, determined thatone day he would succeed. He even fought off an over-inquisitive polarbear by banging it on the head with the first thing that came to hand …a frying pan! Speaking to a packed Wortham Hall, he held the audienceenthralled by his story, and it was clear - indeed it was clear from all thelectures this year - that those privileged to hear his words left enthused,excited and inspired. On behalf of the school, I am enormously gratefulto all the speakers who gave so generously of their time.

Hugh Walkington

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The fourth form was very lucky to have been invited by Mr. and Mrs.Dollard to their annual Sculpture exhibition at Delamore House in Cornwood.

We were also extremely fortunate with the weather as it turned out tobe a beautiful day despite the continual downpours of the previous days.

We set out at 10.00 am prepared with alternative itineraries, one forwet weather conditions and one for dry. We were however able tostick to our dry weather plan and stay in the Delamore gardens all day.

Our visit passed far too quickly as there was so much to see and do.Wespent the morning taking in all the wonderful artwork and categorisingstyles and techniques. There was an incredible variety of sculptures,which ranged from purely abstract organic forms to naturalistic mixedmedia figurative studies.We had lunch by the lake on picnic rugs lent tous by the Dollards and then spent the afternoon doing what we allwanted most which was to make our own art. There were threeactivities: charcoal and chalk drawings of some of our favouritesculptures, pen drawings of the figurative pieces and cardboard sculpturemaking, based on some of the abstract forms.There were exciting resultsparticularly the mobile sculptures, which looked perfectly at homehanging from the trees in such a wonderful garden.

A day to remember with a great deal gained. Many thanks to so manypeople who helped make this a special day, particularly Mr. Bassett, Mr.Myott, Mr. Stephens, and Miss Covey, not to forget our very motivatedfourth form who were a credit to Mount House.

Mrs. Phillips

Fourth Form Art trip to Delamore HouseMonday 14th May

La Journée à la française:

“Why does it always rain on French Day?!?”This always seems to bemy catchphrase in July. We have had a French Day for eight yearsnow, and I think only three of them have been sunny and dry, despitetaking place in early July. Whatever the weather, which wasdepressingly typical of a rain-sodden summer term, we still managedto get out and have a lot of fun. The day started with a Frenchassembly, featuring some of the wonderful Mots d’heures GoussesRames [Mother Goose rhymes!]. Once the children started to cottonon, even “Lille beau pipe, ocelot serre Chypre, en douzaine eau verretuf indemne” started to become recognisable as “Little Bo Peep haslost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them”! In theafternoon, the children were delighted to find a bouncy castle

installed on the athletics track, and Jeux sans Frontières ensued.Bouncy netball on the bouncy castle, swimming relays in the pool andEiffel Tower relays on the track involved all members of the schoolwith the Kangs just squeaking home to win the Oxenham Trophy forthe very first time. In the evening, Chloe Grubb & Sarah Symons tookon the Café Maison au Mont at the front door, selling pains auchocolat and jus d’orange and raising money for the Barcelona tourat the same time. As ever, my thanks go to my long-sufferingcolleagues for their support and understanding at a busy time of theschool term.

Hugh Walkington


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ALFORD, JAMESWorking as a negotiator with the Falcon estate agency

BABBINGTON, JAMESReturned from a six month tour in Basra, Iraq, to spend most of his money onmotorbikes. He was extremely busy as engineers were few and far between and hisdiving qualifications saw him working underwater in the harbour at Qum Qasr.

BABBINGTON,TOMWorked in Afghanistan on a UNDP project with his father for four months in 2006,arriving in Kandahar at the same time as two suicide bombings and a high profileassassination occurred.

DAWSON,WILLIAMSpending his gap year in South Africa and returning to England in September 2007to go to Leeds University.

LITCHFIELD, EMMAAfter securing A grade A Levels in English, French and Geography, Emma is taking upa place at Durham University in 2007 to read English Literature.

OLIVER,TOM (2006)Happily settled at Eton and doing well in most subjects – especially history - and toptry scorer for the U14 D/E XV.

SHARP,THOMAS (2006)Seems to have settled well at KCT, where he has even managed to score a try inthe U14s!

TOYNTON, JULIAWorked for Geoffrey Allen at the Roman Ridge School in Ghana, before returningto England to pass her driving test and then heading off to New Zealand for the restof the year. Starts at Cambridge in September 2007, reading Engineering.

WILLIAMS, GEORGESpent a good deal of the 2006 winter in sunnier climes watching England lose the Ashes.

WILLIAMS, STEPHEN Working as a commercial surveyor for Savill’s in the Oxford area and getting marriedin Singapore in 2007.

WILLIAMS,THOMAS (1998)Working in Bristol, where he is an underwriter with Cornhill Insurance.

DAWSON, EDPlaying flanker for a very good KCT 1st XV,Taunton RFC and also attracting attentionfrom Bath. Ed played in the King’s College,Taunton side that won the Festival sectionof the National Schools Sevens at Rosslyn Park in 2007.

GENT, EDTeaching music at QEH, Bristol where he is also coaching rugby. Was spotted at National Schools Sevens with his U13 team playing in the Junior section of the tournament.

KIMBER, RACHAELAfter a year as a wonderful gap student at Mount House, Rachael is moving on toUCL to read Classical History.

MALCOLM, ELEANORAnother gap student who had an outstanding time at Mount House in 2006/7,before travelling in the Far East. Ellie is planning to become a teacher after universityin Bristol.

GENT, SIMONTeaching DT at Colfe’s School and, like his brother, coaching rugby. Was also seenwith a good Colfe’s VII at Rosslyn Park.

Former Pupil News

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Nature Trail - Whitchurch PrimaryAlongside our science curriculum, the pupils have been working todevelop a nature trail during Shackleton time. Past and present MountHouse pupils have maintained this trail by rejuvenating a pond, working toremove invasive rhododendron/knotweed species, and building an organicvegetable garden with a wildlife pond behind the science laboratories. Iwas delighted to be able to offer a local key stage 1 class a nature activityafternoon.The Bursar and I collected the 32 reception-aged pupils fromWhitchurch Primary in the early afternoon. I guided the pupils around aprescribed yet wild trail with varied activities along the way.The focus ofthe trail was for the pupils to engage with the environment around them.The activities were varied to appeal to all and stimulate various senses, aswell as engage their imagination and creativity. Some focused on teamwork and trust, with all activities operating on a challenge-by-choice basis.The first activity and a highlight of the trip was a Scavenger Hunt aroundthe lake which brought home very quickly just how dependent pupils ofthis age are on us to not only find the items but simply stay upright anddry. The mini-beast sampling proved a hit as the children collected allmanner of invertebrates including a rare and impressive Rhino Beetle.Insect homes, with beds of moss and roofs of fern, were made for all theinvertebrates that we found and tested for comfort and shelter by littlefingers. We then wound our way back via the humps and hollows ofRowden woods as a human snake and went over, under, around or

through various obstacles. Some of the tired children still had enoughenergy to mount escape bids for the camps before all finally being bundledonto the minibuses and securely fastened for the return journey. Manythanks to Mrs. McNab, for providing not only the class but also so manyparents to watch-over, guide and occasionally catch the lively youngsters.

Nick Waitz

VIDEO CLUB 2006-2007

The great contribution of many of the 2007 leavers to the club must benoted first of all.They really deserved the special film tribute they receivedafter the Leavers’ Supper in July for their enormous commitment andconsiderable expertise shown since September 2003, when they begantheir long, happy and successful association with the club they made theirown for so long.Thank you so much for your involvement!

However, the club has other keen members who have been waiting tostep into the limelight and Flora Dickinson, Hannah Donne, India Leighand Rosie Yeoward did just that with an extremely impressive versionof ‘Girlfriend’, an excellent track by Avril Lavigne, during the summerterm; even sunshine appeared on one of the three days of filming!Other line-ups have also experimented with the format and the Club’sinfluence on younger pupils remains strong, not least because of thoseleavers mentioned earlier!

Jonathan Banyard

Katie Secombe, an accomplished and well-know actress, singer anddancer, was playing the part of jailer Mama Morton in the showChicago at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth and took a morning awayfrom the theatre to teach the very successful and popular MountHouse Saturday Morning Drama Club at the invitation of her sister-in-law, Caroline Secombe. After the morning session, the childrenwent down to Plymouth for the matinée performance of Chicago.The children were thrilled to be invited backstage after the show.

Katie Secombevisits drama club

Six Mount House pupils took up the offer of a day’s climbing at Sheeps Torduring an exeat weekend. The day started with warm-up activities and rockskills. Bouldering was the best way toachieve both, and all were equallydelighted and challenged by a few shortproblems.The early routes really tested,but once a feel for the rock had beenachieved and the grim determination toget to the top had set in, the boys’climbing went from strength to strength.I was immensely pleased to see them all make it to the top and all tacklea daunting abseil with courage and a grin.As the day progressed the cragbecame crowded and we decided to head off an hour early to use theclimbing tree back at school. After their time on rock the belaying skillsand ability to use the rope were much improved. The trust they alldeveloped in the gear and one another also made this a very worthwhileouting. Many thanks to Tony Finnis for his time and professionalism.

Nick Waitz

Climbing


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Following the extraordinary success achieved by the scholarship formthis year, the class once again had the opportunity to visit London andthe Houses of Parliament. As with previous years, we were blessedwith glorious weather.The group travelled up to London on Mondayafternoon to be met and entertained by Syd & Jane Hill of ElstreeSchool, who generously hosted a barbecue at their home togetherwith the Elstree scholarship class.

The following morning we were up bright and early in order to be atthe Sovereign’s Entrance to the Palace of Westminster on the dot of9.30.There we met our guide, kindly arranged by Geoffrey Cox MP onour behalf.The guide was no stranger to Tavistock, coming from BucklandMonachorum himself! He gave a witty and interesting description of thehistory and workings of the two chambers as the group walked firstthrough the Lords before passing through the “aye” lobby into theCommons. We saw the bronze of Margaret Thatcher, which had onlybeen unveiled in the Commons Lobby a week or two earlier.

After coming out of the Palace, we walked up Whitehall, catching a peepof the Foreign Office, Downing Street, and Horse Guards Parade before arriving at Trafalgar Square.We walked on to Admiralty Arch in order to

be able to look up the Mall to Buckingham Palace before retracing oursteps to Westminster Bridge and a spot of lunch. Suitably refreshed, wetook our annual “flight” aboard the London Eye. As with last year, wewere lucky enough to get a pod to ourselves, and took it in turns to tryand spot as many famous landmarks as possible before indulging in aspot of tacky souvenir shopping and making our way back to Paddington.I am very grateful to Dr. Eagleton for her help with this trip.

Hugh Walkington

6HW’s visit to Parliament

The Grandparents' Tea PartyMore that 130 grandparents from West Devon and further afieldincluding Wales and the Home Counties attended the bi-annualGrandparents' Tea Party at Mount House on the 1st June.The grandparents were escorted by their respective grandchildrento the hall where they had tea on tables laid out with flowerarrangements, and chocolates for each guest with the complimentsof the school. The tea included scones with cream and jam, home-made cakes and sandwiches; all served by the pupils in the diningand reception halls.

During the tea the guests enjoyed musical entertainment from thepupils, including Yume Fujita playing the piano and Eleanor Haywardgiving a grand solo singing performance of the famous 'Goat Herd'song from the Sound of Music.

After the tea, the grandparents were escorted by their grandchildrenon a tour of the school facilities and classrooms, including the recentlyrefurbished science and art blocks. After the tour, the grandparentsenjoyed a glass of Pimm's before their departure.

This year’s Shackleton activities have been as varied and exciting as ever. Each term had its own highlights. During the warm early daysof the Christmas term, the most was made of the stream and salmonleaps with a team Gorge walk. This showed how adventure is alwayscloser than you think and how, with a good team, you can achieve farmore than you realise. Camp Craft, with Geoff Whaley, gave pupils skillsin fire making, shelter, water collecting and highlighted the luxury inwhich we live our everyday lives. Jonathan Banyard has been sharinghis extensive knowledge and passion for food. Beginning with ThaiGreen Curry and progressing through to Thai Salad and Sticky Mango Rice, pupils have tasted, discussed and then combined aromaticherbs and spices to create meals which really awaken the senses.

Surprisingly for the cold, dark days of the Easter term, canoeing was a realhighlight.All of the senior Shackleton groups were able to learn new skills,play games and occasionally capsize on the lake, thanks to the DartmoorOutdoor Company.They provided all of the equipment and enthusiasmfor the pupils to have some truly rewarding experiences.Whilst all the funwas being had on the lake the other group engaged in conservation workto remove invasive scrub species from behind the Colts’ Pavilion, withmany lumberjack jokes and songs. Progress has been excellent and in thefuture pupils will replant with native species, including Hazel and Birch.Thefourth form also had some first-aid training covering emergencyresponse, ABCDE and bandaging with Lizzy Covey and Neil Jory.Orienteering, with Catherine Brereton and Chloe Grubb, was given anew twist as trails were laid with sawdust; the early darkness made thewoodland sections very atmospheric. The fourth formers were especiallyprivileged this year as Major Matthews not only generously gave of hisfree time but also provided hung pheasant for a camp feast. Pupils cameaway with full bellies and an awareness of how important it is to leavenatural places as they were found. Of all the activities it is this which I hearmost fondly rememberedwhen camping is mentioned.

Summer Term sees the lakeand grounds come into theirown with kayaking, climbing,raft-building, ecology andbushcraft. Kayaking and raftbuilding took place alongsideone another for the first time.Once afloat the kayakerssplashed the rafters with gusto and vice-versa.This once led to enterprisingrafters jumping overboard to capsize the kayaks. Balancing skills werequickly developed as the kayaks were then paddled home upside down.Making the most of the stunning early summer weather, meadow studywas a relaxing way to discover native wild flowers and the incrediblevariation of insect life that they encourage.The team challenge this termwas Gutter-ball run by Hugh Walkington and Lizzy Covey.The intention is

to run a ball from A to B within a specified time down a construction of bamboo and guttering. Once they have achievedthis the challenge comes into its own, as the two teams mustcooperate to have each ball complete their different runs within 2seconds of one another: a very valuable example of two separateteams and ideas needing to work to compromise and achieve acommon aim. Lizzy Covey was again busy, ensuring that the TreeClimb has continued to be a challenging and supported activity.Pupils have commented on how her positive attitude made thatone tricky move possible and how aiming to beat the clock whenclimbing the rope ladder saw many varied techniques develop.Anincreasing confidence up high has been a great reflection of thetrust that has developed as a result of competent belaying.The final

activity of the term makes full use of the fantastic Tavy.A brief introductionto the hazards of such a rapidly changing river leads on to a team rivercrossing with deep water, rapids and stunning scenery.To finish there is asection to practise defensive swimming through and be rescued witha throw-line.

Junior Shackleton groups have also been varied and many enthusiasticpupils have made the most of the clubs they chose:

• Art and Craft supported the play with props and then moved on tomake colourful lidded bowls – Lizzy Covey

• Nature Diaries Club made full use of the grounds and many pupils showed excellent environmental awareness and consideration – Chloe Grubb

• Scavenger Hunt gives pupils a different perspective on the school each week with historical facts and tactile natural objects to find andcollect as a team – Sarah Symons

• Conservation for the juniors proved challenging but exciting and some future lumberjacks are definitely in the making here.Their tenacity with a saw felled many a stubborn laurel – Catherine Brereton

• IT has been used to manipulate computer graphics in many weirdand wonderful ways – Hugh Myott

• Gardening Club have supported the scrub clearing, whilst at thesame time ensuring the organic science garden is well stocked withvegetables for the coming terms – Jenny Bennett

• Cooking without heat have made healthy food tasty with smoothiesand fruit salads to suit all palates – Susan Hammond

• Kite design and history has been investigated and own versionsmade and flown – Rachael Kimber

Many thanks to all the staff who have given of their time and effort thisyear and to the pupils: without your enthusiasm and eagerness to giveyour best in everything, the activities would not be worth the paperthey are risk-assessed on.

Nick Waitz

The Shackleton Award

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Ever since moving to Cornwall, thelong summer holidays have beenfull of sailing the Carrick Roads orkayaking and canoeing the coast toexplore new coves. To revel andindependently engage with days likethis is what I feel the Shackletonactivities train towards. To that endwe ran a variety of courses thissummer designed to instil new skillsthrough challenge and promote apositive attitude through trust. Both

kayaking and climbing courses took place and made the most of some ofthe best local venues, many of which are renowned nationally.

Much of the climbing took place at the Dewerstone, an impressive andscenic series of granite buttresses swathed in myth and legend. Theclimbing here is second to none with good holds and interestingroutes. The early climbs proved to be a breeze for the tough MountHouse groups and we were quickly on to a couple of testing severegrade routes. These took more concentration and determination butthe rewards on reaching the top were clear, as faces turned from grimdetermination to smiles of accomplishment. One climb featured anoptional overhang which was ‘bagged’ by the Woodhead brothers,each wanting to match the other. Leigh Tor, in the east of the Moor,proved a drier venue for later courses. The climbing here compareswell and there is lots of scope to increase difficulty by missing the oddhold here or there. A couple of the days began with bouldering atCombestone Tor, where short, positive routes with interesting holdsmade for an excellent morning’s activity.Wilf Hadow showed a groupsome of his favourite routes and all were well able to surmount a slab-problem no handed. It was a day for memories, with the knowledge ofmats and trust in keen spotters allowing a clear mind, some testingproblems were completed. One of the days began with some drizzlebut promised to dry out so we began at a new and creative climbingwall in Milton Abbott.There is a free standing boulder and numeroustop rope routes which kept everybody busy until lunch. Many thanksto Simon Young for expert belaying tuition and advice on technique.Most days finished with a refreshing paddle in a clear Dartmoor streamwith ‘most’ feeling refreshed enough with just their feet in the water!

Kayaking at first feels like no other activity.The apparently wilful pivotingof the boat and involuntary rocking motions are soon overcome as a

game is played or a quiet corner explored; the mind is focused whilstthe body relaxes. British Canoe Union 1* courses are two-day eventswith day one making full use of the lake and then pool.The intentionof the first day is to develop straight-line paddling and controlledturning.A variety of games led to these being learnt in order to get theball to score or evade/capture other kayaks. The pool is

invaluable to build confidence, as many novice kayakers cannot pushthemselves for fear of capsize. It is this that a fun pool session alleviates;with many capsize drills including a stay in your kayak challenge which(thankfully) proves to be impossible, new skills can now be learnt witha clearer outlook. Day 2 took us to the fantastic Roadford reservoir. Areal sense of freedom and feeling of exploration take hold and manyof these days see the reservoir almost circumnavigated. Needless tosay by the end of the day forward-paddling was a competent skill andsome very tired paddlers were loading the trailer with happymemories.The BCU 2* progresses the skills and lasts three days.Thesecond and third days take place on the Tamar between Cotehele andGunnislake. It was a real pleasure to see such progress from 1* days inmany of the children. The sense of confidence was excellent withpurposeful capsizes leading to team rescues, boats being paddledupside down and two instructors wondering for how long they wouldstill have a job! Day 3 saw a long difficult paddle against the wind andcurrent take much less time than anticipated. After a sunny lunch, therewards for our morning’s effort were reaped, a gentle current bearingus all the way back allowing the new and tricky support strokes to bepractised and some 3* skills to be introduced. My thanks go to theother instructors for their competence, support and clarity ofexplanation: Laura Russo – kayaking and climbing,Tony Finnis – kayakingand David Sherratt – climbing. Many thanks also to the parents forentrusting us with your children and to all who took part, for makingthe efforts of preparation fade away with your enthusiasm, enjoymentand determination.

Nick Waitz

Summer Climbing and Kayaking

Twenty-four hours after the end of the Easter Term, we woke up fiveweary Mount House children in the early hours of the morning totravel to Bristol Airport, where they met up with the rest of ourbleary-eyed party. After a hassle-free journey, we arrived at ourhotel in Valloire in time for lunch. When we had previously visitedat Christmas, there had been very little snow, but a picturesquewhite scene greeted us on the first evening, much to theexcitement of the whole group. Among the parents, staff andchildren, skiing ability varied from complete beginners toexperienced piste-bashers and we managed to organise everyoneinto appropriate ski classes, so that they all got the most from theexceptional conditions. One of the highlights was a ski safari, when

we took the children off for the day, stopping for a picnic bya flowing river and play area. We all had to cross the riverby stepping stones to get to the picnic tables - not easy inski boots, so one or two got a bit wet in the process!

The evenings were equally entertaining - bowling, quiz night and bum boarding were great fun, but having a go at ice- skating on very tired ski legs was a challenge for all. Alexander d'Entrecasteaux showed everyone that

determination brings the best results! Most of the parents onthe trip should be careful before they give up their jobs for acareer in singing as their fancy dress costumes were definitelymuch better quality than the Karaoke on the final evening!!There were stunning costumes on and off the slopes - Piratesof the Caribbean and of course, Harry Woodhead's gorgeousred hairy hat, to name a few!

It was amazing to see how much progress the children - andadults - made with their skiing in such a short time. MrRenwick and Jamie were so keen after their first attempt, theyhad already signed up for the next trip before the plane hadtouched the runway in Bristol! We were lucky to have suchsplendid snow conditions and sun-filled days and the hotel,although basic, was very well run and catered for our needs.

Hugh and Kate Myott

Ski Trip 2007 to Valloire, France

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Four sixth formers – Thea Dickinson, Charlotte Pickard, Lucy Sharp andChristian Brown – represented the School in the Salters’ Festival ofChemistry held at Plymouth University’s Centre for Chemical Sciences.

The Salters’ Festivals of Chemistry, an initiative of the Salters’ Institute,aim to help promote the appreciation of chemistry and related sciencesamong the young. They take the form of one-day events held atuniversities across the country in conjunction with the Royal Society ofChemists. The Plymouth festival was one of 55 taking place betweenMarch and June this year.

The Mount House team carried out two investigations during the day using a variety of analytical techniques. They were judged not onlyon their results but also on the way they approached the tasks,their knowledge of safety and good laboratory practice and their understanding of the principles involved. The judges were veryimpressed by the standard of the precision evident in the work of thefour young scientists and awarded them second prize in the UniversityChallenge. An excellent day for the team!

Salters’ Festival of Chemistry


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The 2006 sponsored walk began before the day itself with a talk fromDavid Dodds to the children about the great work of TavistockMuscular Dystrophy group. David explained that muscular dystrophycauses the degeneration of muscles, which often leaves children andyoung people in wheelchairs. He showed slides of the group’s annualholiday which is the only chance many of the sufferers have to get away.The highlight of his talk was a giant football that can be used by peoplein wheelchairs!

The sponsored walk took place on a glorious day in September (muchto the disappointment of the Dartmoor Rescue Group who wantedsome fog and excitement!) and the route went from school, up on toDartmoor and then up to five Tors, including Cox Tor and Roos Tor.The 200 walkers were pupils (many under 10), ex-pupils, parents,grandparents, families and staff. Hot dogs, drinks and biscuits werebrought up from school to keep the walkers going and we then returnedto school for a hearty lunch!

The walk was hard work! It was nearly 10 miles long and involved a totalclimb of over 1000 feet.We raised £2444.31 for the Tavistock MuscularDystrophy Group and £200 for the Dartmoor Rescue Group.

Congratulation to all walkers – a fantastic achievement – and thank youvery much to all staff and parents who acted as walking group leaders,marshals and support staff.

Jo Massey

MOUNT HOUSE ‘FIVE TORS’ SPONSORED WALK 10TH SEPTEMBER 2006in aid of Tavistock Muscular Dystrophy group

Members of Tavistock Muscular Dystrophy Group are pictured receiving a chequefor £2,444 from some of Mount House School pupils who took part in a ten-milesponsored walk in September 2006.

Life skillsPupils from the 4th Form took part in the WestDevon Junior Life Skills 2006 at Okehampton ArmyTraining Camp. The event which was organised byWest Devon Borough Council was designed to helpyoungsters to recognise danger and deal withemergencies. Pupils faced a number of simulatedscenarios under the supervision of trainedinstructors from the Devon and Cornwall Police,Devon County Council road safety team, DevonYouth Association, Devon Fire and Rescue Service,school nurses, the Royal National Lifeboat Institutionand West Devon's environmental health andrecycling departments.


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Thursday Dance Club held in the Wortham Hall during lunch time is anenergetic hour of music, interpretation and dance.The group has grownduring the last year and now has 30 girls meeting whenever they can toget involved with our yearly production of Just Dance

Last year’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” was a huge success with the girlsinterpreting the music in their own style and putting on a brilliantperformance complete with costumes creating a form of expression.

The second piece of “Strictly Come Pirates” had a very Come Dancingfeel to it and some lovely costumes. A lot of humour and fun goes intothe choreography creating amusing pieces.

The performance of “The Lion King” has some imaginative moves andstylish clothes putting together the ideas of a visual form ofcommunication instead of speech.

In the coming year the chosen pieces will be from the musical “Chicago”.Tango and Salsa dances are the great favourites, and in many places theywill be quite stunning.

The annual Firework Display and Bonfire at the schoolattracted over 400 children and parents on a brightclear evening. The school grounds form a naturalamphitheatre, ideal for the safe viewing of theprofessional display.

After the fireworks had finished, the bonfire was lit,in the Mount House tradition, by the two youngestchildren in the School, Augusta Clayton and Olga Bate.

Soup and hot sausages were available for all, and the saleof mulled wine to the visiting parents raised over £100 forTavistock Muscular Dystrophy.

Dance Club with Addy Chichester

Fireworks at Mount House

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Improvements to the School’s facilities have continued over the pastyear in accordance with a wide ranging site development plan.

The aims of the plan are to secure the School’s status among the verytop echelon of British boarding prep schools by improving theeducational and boarding facilities. More specifically we have been aimingfor brightness in the classrooms and a greater sense of homeliness in theboarding areas.

Since 2003 improvements have included:• Creation of the library and outside decked area;• Introduction of boarding house parents to the Main House;• Conversion of part of the stable block into the Art School;• Conversion and extension of the old Art School into 2

science laboratories;• Installation of a school wide IT network;• Creation of junior reading room;

Building on Success

• Changing and upgrading the School’s catering provision;• Relocation of the School shop;• Redecoration and re-equipping all of the Prep School classrooms;• Redesigning and refurbishing the boys’ bathrooms.

The latest improvements have continued the themes of improving theSchool’s teaching and boarding facilities. These initiatives have been verywell received by Mount House pupils, parents and staff. The specificprojects completed over the current year have been:

Classrooms:• Installing a children’s kitchen in Pre-prep;• Adapting the Nursery and Reception classrooms and the Pre-prep

Hall to house a Foundation Unit;• Redecoration of four remaining classrooms;• Installation of 3 more interactive whiteboards in classrooms.

Boarding:• Decoration and furnishing of Grenville, Hawke, Rodney, Blake, Drake,

Nelson and Raleigh dormitories;• Decoration of Hawkins and Jellicoe dormitories;• Creation of boarders’ common room in Benbow;• Decoration and carpeting of the upstairs landing and corridors;• Purchase and refurbishment of Herongate to provide 3-bedroomed

staff accommodation plus two single bedroomed studio flats;• Refurbishment of Rookery Cottage to provide 3-bedroomed

staff accommodation.

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Although as a school the majority of people made a super effort withthis competition, special mention must go to Harriet Cave, PoppyHartley and Izella Oxenham for their excellent personal achievementsthis year.

The overall winners were as follows:

In Bronze Position: Holly Southcott, Flora Dickinson, Hannah Donne,Rosie Yeoward & Will Wells with 95

In Silver Position: Hannah Redman, Ollie Sale & Matthew Secombewith 96

In Gold Position:Thea Dickinson & Emmie de Falbe with 97

The Payne Cook Spelling Competition 2007The top marks from each form were as follows:

1SS: Charles Secombe with 78 1CG: Ralph Lopes with 942SH: Anthony Hayward with 92 2CB: Luke Measelle with 943NW: Guy Harrison with 903JB: Matthew Secombe with 964HM: Ellie Hayward with 934PS: Ollie Sale with 964AL: Imogen Galsworthy with 855JH: Flora Dickinson, Hannah Donne,

Rosie Yeoward & Will Wells with 955ADW: Rhys Davies & Peter Harrison with 926LC: Hannah Redman with 966JS: Holly Southcott with 956HW: Thea Dickinson & Emmie de Falbe with 97

Jon Hammond

*1 new 26 centre 51 disciple 76 apostle

*2 our 27 written 52 fault *77 prophet

*3 buy 28 guard 53 contour 78 Pharisee

4 fire 29 safety 54 attach 79 parable

*5 dear 30 Britain 55 surgeon 80 Canaan

6 three *31 father 56 intelligent 81 Israel

7 John 32 Christmas 57 spectacles 82 hypothesis

8 match 33 bridge 58 knowledge 83 testament

9 think 34 address 59 percentage 84 disappeared

10 again 35 college 60 temperature 85 ordnance

11 better 36 coffee 61 Somerset 86 withdrawal

*12 please 37 mountain 62 argument 87 thermometer

13 dinner 38 enormous 63 Brittany 88 carbohydrate

14 thumb 39 strength 64 ambulance 89 chlorophyll

15 swept 40 passenger 65 pollution 90 environment

*16 threw 41 hoping 66 dinghy 91 interesting

*17 wrote 42 potatoes 67 advertisement 92 military

18 picture 43 answer 68 erosion 93 photosynthesis

19 because 44 bicycle 69 believe 94 independent

20 holiday 45 soldier 70 Sherborne 95 controversial

21 subtract 46 height 71 European 96 commentary

22 thought 47 sentence 72 Christianity 97 persuasion

23 February 48 judge 73 definitely 98 confectionery

24 Saturday 49 totally 74 poison 99 archaeologist

25 Wednesday 50 exciting 75 Australia 100 chrysanthemum

n.b. words marked with an asterisk * are homophones and were explained to avoid confusion with: knew, hour, by/bye, deer, pleas,through, rote, farther, profit.

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Boarders’Weekend Activities

Caving

Driving across the Moor, the minibus was full of anticipation at theprospect of caving. This really began to dawn as a reality when thegear was laid out: helmets with powerful torches and anextraordinarily muddy overall. The Caving Instructors led the groupsextremely well and all had a great time slipping, sliding and squeezingtheir way through the underworld. Of particular note, near thedeepest point of the cave, was The Sump; the only way through wascomplete submersion in the cold brown water – a true test.Whilst allthis was happening well under the moor, the parallel group climbed inbright sunshine at Leigh Tor. The easy grade climbing could and wasmade much more difficult by missing out holds or tackling anoverhang direct. Everyone had a very memorable day and the eveningshowers saw amazing quantities of mud wash from pupils andteachers alike.The day’s endurance prize went to Miss Kimber for hertwo trips into the cave.

Becky Falls

Mount House Boarders learn Coastal Conservation

After a scenic frosty drive across the moor, we began a walk throughsome of the best scenery that the moor has to offer. After passingover Hound Tor we came to the ruins of an impressive mediaevalvillage.The path from here led down to a boulder-strewn river thattook us on to Becky Falls. A fallen tree proved an exciting bridgefrom which to view both sides of the falls. On our way out of thevalley we fortuitously met the Kidners, who invited us in for verywelcome and generous refreshment. We continued on our waystepping more lightly than before with the added promise of a BBQspurring us on.The Hughes’ were most hospitable and laid on a greatlunch with many more home-made sausages than even our ravenouswalkers could manage. A tour of their farm was an eye opener witha barn full of pigs and piglets, donkeys, chickens and a huge boarnamed ‘Vesuvius’.A stunning sunset and moon-filled sky accompaniedour games of Frisbee and 40-40, brilliantly rounding off a veryoutdoorsy day.

Twenty boarders from Mount House School spent a day at “LivingCoasts”,Torquay’s Coastal Zoo.The children learned about the manydifferent birds and mammals that live on the world’s coastlines,including what they look and sound like, what they eat, and the

conservation issues affecting the species. They also toured the zoo,and were particularly taken with the puffins and the antics of theAfrican penguins.

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National Marine AquariumAfter breakfast letters were written, then climbing wall, IT, and sportshall were all on offer until lunch.The atrocious weather cancelled theplanned walk to The Dewerstone and River Plym. A trip to theNational Marine Aquarium proved to be a much drier alternative. Ourtiming was perfect, as we arrived just as the fish in the giant Atlantictank were being fed.An enormous, pushy and very hungry conger eelproved a highlight as did the sharks who at times came incrediblyclose. The science exhibit had submersible vehicles which certainlucky members of the audience got to race. The dexterous way inwhich they could move was impressive and showed how there canbe many solutions to a single problem.The coral seas tank concludedour visit with a turtle and some vibrantly coloured fish sedatelycruising around the rocks. Many thanks to Miss Brereton,Miss Williams and Mr. Symons.

Boarders’Weekend Activities...continued

Boarders see the Eden project

The boarders saw an impressive display of low flying by birds of prey,when David Buncle from Westcountry Falconry brought several ofthem to the school for a demonstration.

David Buncle who, with his wife Michelle, runs Westcountry Falconryat Peter Tavy, put some of the larger birds – his collection includes EagleOwls, Kestrels, and Falcons – through their paces with a spectacularflying display. The children themselves had the chance to handle theHarris Hawks and experience the thrill of having a fully trained hawklanding on their gloved hands.

Low Flying Falcons

Boarders spent a day learning how to survive in the wild when ChrisSalisbury and his assistant from Wildwise at Dartington came to theschool to give them a few lessons in bushcraft.

There was a great sense of anticipation among the thirty boarders, asmany had seen Chris Salisbury on the Ray Mears Bushcraft Survivalseries on television.

After the introductions and a briefing, the children led the way to thewoodland area at Rowden, on the banks of the River Tavy, where thechildren were given a lesson on the safe use of matches, and how tolight one in windy conditions.

Then they broke out into teams and were tasked with building a fireand lighting it using only one match. This proved too difficult foreverybody, including the Headmaster, until the experts showed themhow it should be done.

After lunch they selected a suitable site for a shelter – out of the wind,with access to water and, critically, concealment from younger brothers.

The final activity was to build the shelter, which brought out someinteresting designs, and some animated debate on their respectivemerits.They went back up to the School for supper contented, muddyand smelling of bonfires.

BushCraft on the banks of the Tavy

In early January, 47 pupils headed for the Eden Project in St Austell.The first part of the visit took in the biomes, which were set up in adisused china clay pit to reproduce exotic environments and the florathat grow in them.The first was the Humid Tropics Biome where thechildren trekked through the steamy rainforest, and this was followedby the Warm Temperate Biome - full of plants native to theMediterranean, South Africa and California.

After a picnic lunch, when the children learned some valuable lessonson recycling, it was time for fun and relaxation, with a skating session onthe temporary ice-rink that is set up every winter in one of the domes.

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Thirty-two pupils from the 5th & 6th forms, the second largest partyever, accompanied by Jonathan Banyard, Sarah Symons, Jon & SuseHammond and myself set out for Normandy at Easter. Once again, wewere to be blessed with fantastic weather, enjoying the best of an Aprilthat turned out to be a false dawn to a disappointing summer.

The group was split into three groups according to age and linguisticability and spent the first day either preparing for the various organisedvisits so as to be able to cope with unfamiliar language, or mountain bikingin the glorious countryside that lies around the Baie du Mont St. Michel.

The following morning the entire party were up at the crack of dawn– it was the Paris marathon yet again! Starting half way up the ChampsÉlysées, we walked up to the Arc de Triomphe marvelling as ever atthe suicidally single-minded determination of Parisian drivers. Followingthe regulation group photo, we walked on to the Palais de Chaillot,built in the interwar years as an exhibition hall, but also the bestvantage point from which to see the Tour Eiffel on the other side ofthe river.A cruise on the Seine followed, taking us under the Pont Neufand past Notre Dame, the Conciergerie and the Louvre. In a changeto the normal programme we had lunch in the undergroundrestaurant complex under the famous pyramid at the Louvre, givingthe children an opportunity to try out their French on Parisian waiters– a significant challenge at the best of times!

The entire party visited le marché. I am always proud of Mount Houseand particularly its pupils, but there was an instance on this occasionwhich made me particularly so. A stallholder selling vegetables had anunfortunate accident where one of the legs of his stall collapsed, sending

dozens of potatoes and other vegetables flying in all directions.Who wasquickest to react? Mount House, of course.The five or six pupils whowere in that part of the market immediately set to retrieving theproduce and returning it to the grateful stallholder, to the applause ofother shoppers and choruses of “Bravo!” and “Merci, les Anglais!”We canachieve the highest results academically and have countless unbeatenseasons, but if our pupils can show such initiative and selfless concern forothers wherever and whoever they are, then we are certainly doingsomething right. It was a very special moment.As usual, the groups weregiven some euros and instructed to buy the ingredients for their lunches,something they achieved with enthusiasm and panache.

There was a new activity this year – the enigmatically namedAccrobranches. I was deliberately vague about this when quizzed by thechildren, as I didn’t want any of them to be too concerned beforehand.It fell to the scholarship group to be the first to try their hand.

The expressions on their faces were priceless when they arrived inthe forest to find that they would be following a high wire coursesometimes as high as twenty metres off the ground. I was veryimpressed with the safety procedures of the organisers of thisactivity – they supervised everyone very closely and trainedeveryone thoroughly in the safety procedures before allowing themonto the course, taking children down if they did not scrupulouslyobserve the rules.Your correspondent, perhaps unwisely in view ofa suspect Achilles tendon and a dodgy back, even managed towobble his way around the basic route, but Mr. Hammond quiterightly deserves congratulation for managing to complete thehardest route, even skateboarding along a stretch some twenty orthirty metres off the ground. I know it sounds mad, but it was greatfun as some great coverage on Mr Banyard’s video shows!

On the final day, the party travelled round the bay to the Mont StMichel, completing a treasure hunt around the world famous landmarkbefore indulging in some overpriced tacky souvenir-shopping [it’stough, but it seems someone has to do it!].We picnicked on the beachat Cherrueix before once again climbing into the chars à voile andsand yachting for all we were worth up and down the beach.The windwas not as strong as in previous years, but even so some impressivespeeds were achieved. Mr Banyard and I were able to meet up againwith the English teacher at a local collège with whom we haveestablished a pen-pal scheme for children in the 6th form. She lives inCherrueix, and approached us couple of years ago to establish thescheme because she thought our children were so friendly and well-behaved. What better advertisement can there be for a trip that willcelebrate its tenth anniversary in April 2008? My thanks as ever go tomy colleagues for their hard work in support of all the activities. Here’sto next year!

Hugh Walkington

French Experience

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Junior Play – 'The Good Time Boys'

The most important factor in determining the success of anyschool production is the choice of play.The Good Time Boyswas an inspired choice, providing entertainment, education andopportunity to shine within a flexible script. Set in easternAfrica, it taught both cast and audience a simple lesson aboutthe inherent rewards of teamwork, responsibility andgenerosity without ever becoming too “preachy” or politicallycorrect. As Amini and Ajidi struggled to learn how to repaytheir debt, the audience was left to reflect on how we too could domore both to understand better and support others.

The play opened with the first of many bravura cameos by AlexFerguson as the formidable Mamma Nomvula. Hilariously upholding theprep school drag tradition, Alex conveyed a mother’s frustration withher wayward sons with just the right degree of knowing humour. Aminiand Ajidi, played respectively by Dylan Smythe and Jamie Farrington, arebrought before the Elders, played by Cecily Jervoise, Giles Malcolm, NickJory and Charlotte Wiltshire. This was an excellently played scene –immediately presenting the core of the story - that the boys preferredto hunt, sing, dance, race, lie in the shade or watch girls … in fact anythingother than the jobs that they should have been doing. Amini and Ajidieffectively are the “glue” holding the play together, appearing in virtuallyevery scene of the play, and both Dylan and Jamie are to becongratulated for the maturity of their performances.

As the boys set out on their quest, we see that Ajidi is quite happy tomanipulate Amini, getting him to do the work as they find a spot to sowtheir rice seed. Unfortunately for them, two geese, Tsekwe and MrsTsekwe spot an easy meal. Matthew Secombe, as the goose-peckedhusband extracted full comic value from his role. Izella Oxenham as MrsTsekwe was a perfect comic foil, and together they presented ahumorous picture of wedded bliss. Finding that they now owe a debt tothe boys for eating their seed, they in turn offer ten healthy goslings andthe resulting eggs as repayment for their debt, wasting no time in layingtheir eggs in the branches of the Kapok Tree. Kapok Tree [in a fabulouscostume designed by the ever-brilliant Tracey Smythe] was played by AliceDonne. She very successfully conveyed the vanity of her character,refusing to accept the warnings that her branches were not safe. Hersinging of “Everyone is Welcome”, inviting one and all to sit in herbranches was confident and beautifully in tune – a fine achievement forone so young. Disaster strikes in the shape of a thunder storm and thebranch holding the nest breaks, smashing the Tsekwes’ eggs.As Kapok Treeis now responsible for the debt, she offers the cotton that will be formedonce her flowers have bloomed.All seems well … until Bushcat & Lemur,played by Holly Wixon and Eliza Sale in two more eye-catching costumes,warn that Njobvu the iguana will be tempted by the flowers.

Njobvu, played by Oscar Mustard, arrives at the tree and is immediatelytempted by the flowers, eating all of them before the Tsekwes can stophim. Dressed in another magnificent costume designed and made byEleanor Malcolm,Oscar brought a wonderful air of world-weariness to therole, and his projection was excellent throughout. Having nothing else tooffer in repayment of his debt, Njobvu offers his tail. Enter the Ants! Ledby Abigail George and Jonnie Massey, and rejoicing in names such asReluct-ant and [my personal favourite] Flamboy-ant, they decide to lunchon the bridge over the river. Unfortunately the bridge they are eating is

the same one as Njobvu is crossing, and in a beautifully staged scene,Njobvu falls into the “water” reappearingfrom time to time as he swims to the bank,but losing his tail in the process. Whipper-Snapper, the youngest ant played by TheoBrown, realises that the debt has effectivelypassed to the ants and comes up with thebrilliant suggestion that they can carrymushroom spores to the village in repayment.

As Amini and Ajidi return to the village, itappears at first to Mamma Nomvula and theElders that they have returned empty-handed.However they explain about the mushroomsand acknowledge that they have learned agreat deal about trust and respect for others,and that kindness and generosity breedkindness and generosity. Sure enough, heavy

rainfall follows and causes the mushrooms to sprout, ensuring that thevillage will never go hungry again.

This was a hugely entertaining production, with humour, variety,spectacle and a thoroughly worthwhile message. Much credit is due toTracey Smythe and her team of costume-makers, Lizzie Covey for herexcellent backdrop and Soraya Phillips for her African masks. However,the greatest praise should be reserved for the producers, SuseHammond and Sarah Symons. For many this will have been their firstappearance on stage. For others, it will have been a magical opportunityto experience again at first hand the adrenaline rush of liveperformance. Suse and Sarah deserve the highest praise for producinga play that was slick in terms of production values, educational andthoroughly entertaining. Future senior plays can only benefit from thehigh standards achieved by all involved.

Hugh Walkington

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‘We’re men in tights, tight tights!’ The inconceivable image of seeing boththe captain and the scrum half of the 1st XV Rugby team prancing merrilyaround on stage in skin tight fluorescent green tights was a sight thatcould only mean one thing. Hugh Walkington’s love and infectious flair forall things theatrical had yet again permeated through to even the mostrugged and macho of our senior boys, confirming what an inspirationaland gifted teacher he is. To direct a full length play is a mammothundertaking in itself, but to have written the play as well shows how luckyMount House is to have such a unique talent. From the moment the‘Pearl and Dean’ cinema theme music embraced the audience it was clearthat this Walkington world premiere was going to be something special.

And so to Sherwood Village where the villagers are downcast andsuffering from the heavy tax demands imposed by the evil Sheriff ofNottingham. A strong, feisty performance from Ella Hartley as Mrs.Miller outraged at the imprisonment of her husband Windy Miller andcomic snippets from Tommy Cooper (Alex Zervudachi) and thesweeter than sweet Karen Carpenter (Izzy Norris) gently introducedthe audience to the play. Joe Dalton’s impressively fierce entry as SirGuy of Gisborne, surrounded by his motley guards, was the start of asolid performance from him throughout the night.

The tuneful delights of Alan A’Dale (Jules Bertie) greeted the ears ofthe audience next and oh my, what a voice the boy has – somethingresembling a live cat being violently disembowelled would be a fittingcomparison. Despite his aural abuse of the audience, the obvious joyJules showed in his role was a joy to watch. Freddie Jayarajah, as thedespondent Will Scarlet and Ruairidh Matthews as the ever exuberantMuch moved the plot along for us to discover the ineptitude of ourgreen tighted hero Robin and the desire for a change of leadership.

Usually stunningly glamorous and chic, à la ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, BarnieGoldstone as the rather rotund and balding Friar Tuck was terrific,delivering her lines with confidence and just the right amount of paceand the limp she had developed from a Hockey session earlier in theday added a certain Je ne sais quoi to her performance! Harry Heal, asthe optically challenged, venison loving Uncle Little John was a masterstroke and added plenty of humorous moments to this scene.The audience was then treated to their first viewing of the rather campand domestically obsessed hero, Robin Hood, played admirably by Tim

Pope, who sensing there is an issue with his leadership, believes that thehiring of a domestic help would resolve their immediate problem.Namely that they are useless outlaws! Tim gave a solid performancethroughout the production and was perfectly cast for this important role.

For me however, the stand out performance of the evening was fromEd Almond who portrayed the fierce and sinister character of theSheriff of Nottingham with poise and composure, perfecting the use ofthe rolling eyes to convey his disdain of pretty much everyone else. Hisability to control his escalating frustration with his incompetent subjectswas fantastic and his voice control when delivering his numerous rants,most notable of which was his soliloquy including this somewhatdaunting line:“Great isn’t it? You do realise that a prudent fiscal policy ofhigh taxation, allied to a rigorous wage and price policy is designed toachieve the twin goals of low inflation and sustainable economicgrowth,” was particularly impressive. His infatuation and bumbledattempts to woo the beauty Maid Marian (Sofia Oxenham) was veryentertaining, frequently offending her with his inappropriate responses,particularly towards small page boys.

Sofia Oxenham has proved herself to be an outstanding talent on thestage throughout her time at Mount House and this play was to be noexception. Her singing was phenomenal and she carried off the role asthe belle of the play superbly, using her feminine charm to manipulatethe Sheriff. Her comic timing and hilarious over exaggeration of thispurposefully stereotyped character, most obviously in her pouty, leggyswooning poses was terrific!

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The play continues with the Sheriff – first name Trevor - ‘promising’ torelease Windy Miller if Marian will agree to have dinner with him as aprelude to tricking her into marriage. Some classic comic confusions withthe Abbot, an anxious Prior armed with a piercing girly scream and twovery amusing Cameo performances from Dominic Scaglioni, with asuperb accent, as Prince John and Humphrey Fulford as the lovable,unshaven rogue of a chef kept the story line ticking over brilliantly. Oneof the many highlights of the play for me was the introduction of thepantomime deer, which was used as a ‘cunning subterfuge’ – which wasanything but - for our heroes to gain access to the heavily guarded castle!A classic piece of comedy laden with slapstick antics and cheeky one-liners in true Walkington fashion! And so to the finale of the show andthe wedding scene, the diversion caused by the Merry Damsels and thesecret weapon of Alan A’ Dale’s voice wiping out pretty much the wholecast and most of the audience with his dulcet tones! The arrival ofRichard the Lionheart (Patrick Ferguson) right at the very end of theplay,‘stealing the show with his 10 lines!’ was a nice concluding touch andone which Patrick evidently relished!

The appeal of Sherwood was rooted in its compelling and genuinelyhumorous script and also the strength of the acting both from the maincharacters but also those in supporting roles such as the MerryDamsels, the would–be housekeepers with their catch phrase: “ah, yes,sort of,” and especially to Charlotte FitzGerald who was fantastic asMaid Marian’s nurse expertly taking on the ‘Matron’ role – a possibleprofession for the future perhaps!

With stunning costumes created by Helen Dickinson, Debbie Morris,Tracey Smythe and Lizzy Covey and a well-designed set by Lizzy Covey& Soraya Phillips, this was indeed a production to savour. HughWalkington should feel justifiably proud of this superb accomplishmentagain raising the profile of drama at Mount House.

Jon Hammond

CAST (in order of appearance):Windy Miller (a villager) - Edward ShackleCooper (a villager) - Christian BrownCarpenter (a villager) - Jacca Deeble-StoneCobbler (a villager) - Peter HarrisonHead Man (a villager) - Jack GalsworthyMrs. Miller (a villager) - Ella HartleyTommy (son of a villager) - Alexander ZervudachiMrs. Cooper (a villager) - India LeighKaren (daughter of a villager) - Izzy Norris

Head Wife (a villager) - Charlotte PickardSir Guy of Gisborne (a sidekick) - Joe DaltonClod (a soldier) - Mikey CousensCrumb (a soldier) - Jack WilliamsThug (a soldier) - Edward DanceGoon (a soldier) - Elliot WoodheadSpittle (a soldier) - Tristan SearightDrool (a soldier) - Louis FergusonWill Scarlett (a “Merrie Man”) - Freddie JayarajahAlan A’Dale (a “Merrie Man”) - Julian BertieMuch (a “Merrie Man”) - Ruairidh MatthewsFriar Tuck (a “Merrie Man”) - Barnabie GoldstoneLittle John (a “Merrie Man”) - Harry HealRobin Hood (an unsuccessful outlaw) - Tim PopeSheriff of Nottingham (a megalomaniac) - Edward AlmondLady Gisborne (Sir Guy’s wife) - Hattie MacEacharnPrince John (a plant-loving prince) - Dominic ScaglioniPage (Page to the Sheriff) - Lucy SharpMaid Marian (a champion of the poor) - Sofia OxenhamNurse (Marian’s faithful servant) - Charlotte FitzgeraldBig Jane (a “Damsel”) - Kate RobbinsGill (a “Damsel”) - Georgina Sutcliffe-MaynardEleanor (a “Damsel”) - Georgia CarrickBarbara (a “Damsel”) - Thea DickinsonMaureen (a “Damsel”) - Flora ZajicekAbbot (a greedy cleric) - Emmie de FalbePrior (a priestly sidekick) - Guy Prysor-JonesBrother Cadfael (a monk) - Flora DickinsonBrother Grimm (a monk) - Lucy Telfer-SmollettCook (Cook to the Sheriff) - Humphrey FulfordMolly Coddle (a would-be housekeeper) - Michelle PearnDolly Doddle (a would-be housekeeper) - Hannah RedmanPolly Doodle (a would-be housekeeper) - Hannah MorrisAn unexpected arrival - Patrick Ferguson

VILLAGERS:Louisa Butcher, Harriet Cave, Sophie Essex, Edmund Fulford, ImogenGalsworthy, Poppy Hartley, Eleanor Hayward, Eloise Kidner, SaschaLopes, George Lundy, Tommy Lyon-Smith, William MacEacharn,Phoebe Malcolm, Edward Mann, Olivia McGonigle, Freddie Morris,Georgina Newman, Emily Redman, Oliver Sale, Holly Southcott, NickSylvester,William Wells, Harry Woodhead & Rosie Yeoward

Stage Manager Freya SemkenStage Crew Tom Dowie,

Mary Lennox-Boyd,Jamie Parsons,Will Steed & Joe Williams

Lighting Jack NorrisFollow spot Jack RathborneSound f/x Tom SylvesterPrompter Fern ToyntonProgramme cover Edward DanceWardrobe Lizzy CoveyCostumes Helen Dickinson,

Debbie Morris & Tracey Smythe

Set design Lizzy Covey & Soraya Phillips

Prop manufacture Eleanor Malcolm & John Blowey

Dialogue coaches Rachael KimberPiano Hugh WalkingtonProduced & written by Hugh Walkington

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The Pre-Prep was such an exciting and buzzy place to be last year.During the course of the year we welcomed twelve new children to theNursery, four to the Reception Class, three to Year One and four to YearTwo. We also saw Rachael Iles become a full time member of staff in theFoundation Unit as a trainee Nursery Nurse and Kate Myott join Year 2as their part-time Classroom Assistant and as it turned out their Frenchteacher and Pre-Prep Librarian as well! Ruth Myott replaced Kate as ourAfter School Club leader which continues to be extremely popular.

During the summer holidays the Maintenance staff transformed our Hallby installing a window, new wet flooring and a purpose built child-sized

kitchen. Miss Pole was especiallydelighted as it meant no morevacuuming up the spilt flour andsugar after her Cookery Club!We are now regularly treated tothe most delicious smells waftingdown the corridor courtesy of allthe four classes. Miss Pole’sCookery Club again provedextremely popular and she wasoften found up to her elbows insome delicious recipe or other on

a Friday evening. We are grateful to Ashley Ryder-Green who regularlyassisted at the club. Caroline Secombe once again ran the Dance Club,but sadly for the last time as the family decided to relocate to Truro.However we were able to witness the children’s efforts at a delightfulperformance at the end of the Summer term. It was wonderful towitness their confidence and obvious enjoyment as they danced and leaptaround the Wortham Hall. The Julie Edmonds’ Art Club again provedvery popular and the children produced some fascinating pieces of work.The papier maché penguin door stops were particularly memorable.Donna Hone assisted by Rachael Iles managed the aspiring footballersamongst the Year 1 and Year 2 children. The climax of the season wasdefinitely the surprise visit to Plymouth Argyle where they were given atraining session and a tour around the ground.

To brighten the dark January mornings we were treated to a visit byPeter Wengraf and his fascinating collection of African Tribal Sculpture.The first part of the visit was an illustrated talk during which the childrenwere given a brief history of Africa and the ancient civilisations, kingdomsand tribes that populate this vast continent. The second part of the visit

involved practical drawing of some of the artefacts. All the children werecaptivated by Peter and especially enjoyed trying on the masks andtouching and drawing the artefacts. It was a great opportunity for thechildren to learn more about other cultures.

Performances this year included our Harvest Festival where each classpresented a short item about the Harvest and all the children sang songsand hymns.The Nursery and Reception children’s rendition of “Big RedCombine Harvester” proving to be one of the more unforgettable items.Our Christmas production was “Too Busy for Christmas” which involvedevery child from the youngest to the oldest – the Year One and Twochildren taking the spoken parts. Piers Brown played the role of the busyinnkeeper and really deserves a special mention for the number of lines he had to learn - really quite remarkable for one not quite seven years old. Our Pre-Prep choir again performed magnificently at theSaltash Festival coming second only to the Mount House Choir. Severalchildren from the Reception to Year 2 entered the solo classes whereonce again the standard of singing was exceptionally high. At Easter wedecided to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation and“Make Music with Marvin”. This involved the children making their ownmusical instruments which they used to accompany a variety of songs.Year Two produced some splendid instruments including a double bass,a guitar and a water xylophone which they used to accompany the wellknown song “I am a Music Man”. The Summer Term culminated with aperformance of “A Happy Ending” by the Year One and Two childrenand “Monkey Puzzle” by the Foundation Unit.The children’s rendition of“The Animal Fair” proved a fitting climax to another very successful year.

We are justly proud of our achievements in the Pre-Prep. Our childrenare happy, confident and eager to learn – often the mud on their kneesthe grass in their hair, the treasured piece of writing, that special piece ofartwork that has found its way into their box at the end of the day istestament enough! Mount House Pre-Prep has a wonderful atmospherethat one can only begin to capture on film or in print. If you have notseen us in action then please do come along, we are always eager toshow off our work and share some of the fun!

Julia Hallinan


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Edmonds’ and Florence Wilson’s birthday. The staff had a surprisewaiting for them both; contrived with the help of Mrs Hone, a birthdaycake appeared. We all celebrated with a glass of orange juice! Our mainouting was to Pennywell Farm, to look at the food chain before itappeared on the shelves. We tried to look so forgiving when somebeautiful Roe deer nuzzled their way up to the fences wanting to be fed.Joseph Du’Gay and Alexandra Wiltshire stood at the bars of the gateallowing these gentle animals to take the food from their hands. Wethen had an impromptu visit to the home of Isabella Snow, where wecame very close to their breed of ‘Red Devons.’ A few of the cows hadrecently given birth. Our conscience was well and truly pricked, whenwe learnt that the steaks that end up on our table were lovingly named‘Horseradish’ I, II, III, etc. from birth. The term ended with a concertcalled ‘Make music with Marvin’ in aid of the Meningitis Trust.The Nursery made their instruments and sang ‘Marvin had a little Lamb’.

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The long summer holidays seem far behind us, when thePre-prep opens the doors on September 7th for the start ofthe Christmas term. We say ‘hello’ to lots of new children,families and a new member of staff, Rachael Iles, as theyembark on this exciting experience. Some find school alittle daunting and cannot understand why they have tocome every day. Others want to stay until dusk and parentshave to take them kicking and screaming through theplayground gate not wanting to go home. It does not takelong before all are settled into a happy routine and schoollife begins with our theme of Fairytales. We seem to be topheavy with girls in the Nursery this year, so the very fewboys are overwhelmed by the light-footed princesses whoglide around them in their dresses of pinks and reds withlayers of petticoats. Charlotte Smith and May Forgan stepinto character showing an air of royalty putting many oftheir would-be suitors in their place. The termly trip wasto Powderham Castle near Exeter ; Millie Heal was soexcited that she was certain that she would see SleepingBeauty. She was most dejected when the large four posterbed lay empty, however we did manage to convince herthat the Prince had woken Sleeping Beauty and they hadgone on holiday. The boys were able to play in the fort asgallant knights, in the grounds of the castle; WilliamNoordewier was in his element, climbing to the top of theramparts. All that was missing was his trusty steed but he had to makedo with a wandering cockerel that had escaped from the hen house.

We were grateful for the help of Mr Mannes on this trip, and hope thatBeate and sisters are enjoying life down under.

The Christmas term ended with the production of ‘Too busy forChristmas’. The Nursery children took their place on the stage aswoolly sheep and the Year One Shepherds had their hands full tryingto keep the flock under control. Lauren Sarkar took the lead andguided her fleecy friends in a circle dance.

The New Year 2007 breezes in and the children return to school,happy and refreshed after their Christmas holidays. Food is on theagenda for the start of term, which is the last thing on the mind of allthe teachers as different diets are discussed in the staff room aftermuch feasting during the festive season. We start our topic off with atrip to Waitrose where the children look at a selection of produce and discuss where it has come from. Hebe Stone and Maisie Danvers’eyes light up when we venture down the confectionery aisle. They aremesmerised by so many chocolate eggs out on display. Easter inJanuary does take some getting used to, especially when selectionboxes are still on the shelf. What help is that to the chocoholicsamongst us? This day was made even more special as it fell on Miss

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We were very lucky at the start of the summer term to be blessed withsome lovely sunny days following the glorious Easter holidays. It meantthat doors and windows were flung open as we let the gardens of MountHouse come in along with its mini-kingdom. This term’s topic on insectsand animals is always a firm favourite with us all. The children embracethe opportunity to handle the unsuspecting creatures, as we study theirhomes and lifestyles. The first trip outside the classroom was to EndsleighGarden Centre where Justin, our guide, gave us a tour around the centre.Then he showed all the children how to plant a petunia, giving tips onhow to look after it. Marcus Coleridge had the green-fingered touch ofAlan Titchmarsh as he placed his plant very carefully into his pot. MrsPeeters kindly invited all the children for lunch and a cold drink which wasgratefully received after a morning gardening. With half-term almost

upon us Mrs Hone invited her midwife into the school so the childrencould hear the heart beat of her baby with the ultra-sound. All thechildren were intrigued by this, especially Alice Lamb, and it createdmuch discussion within the classroom. We then said a sad goodbye toMrs Hone for a short while, so she could have some well-earned restbefore the birth of her baby. The trip to the Miniature Pony Centre wasa big success and we were lucky enough to have a dry day at this timein the term. We would like to thank Mrs Wiltshire for her invaluable helpon this day. Jamie Smyly thought the fishing for pond life fascinatingalthough he did not seem to catch too much except weed and the oddwater beetle. Unfortunately a black rain cloud stayed with us for themajority of the second half of term and, sadly, our swimming gala andbeach trip were both cancelled. The end of year concert was a hugesuccess as the Nursery performed a dance with their usual appeal! I wasvery grateful to Agatha Cox and Florence Wilson who took the lead forall the little caterpillars to follow. Francesca Sarkar can be seen on theback of the Christmas diary 07 dressed beautifully as one of thecaterpillars. We luckily had a handkerchief of blue sky for the Sports Dayon the last day of term which Annaliese Wright had been so lookingforward to. I do not think I would have lived it down if this little personcould not have had her chance to compete with her fellow classmates.Sadly we have to say goodbye to Jessica Lai who moved to a new school this September. We wish her well for the future ahead. We aredelighted to hear of the birth of Mrs Hone’s daughter Ava Grace duringthe summer holidays. Mother and baby are doing well. This leaves meto say as quoted from a well known Chinese proverb “The seedlings oftoday are the flowers of tomorrow”. Good luck class 2006/2007.

Andra MacDougall

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Reception has had an exciting and productive year, starting in theAutumn term with our theme of ‘Fairytales and Stories’, where wefocused on creative language and literature and the children retold andillustrated their favourite fairytales and made big books on thecomputer to share with the rest of the Pre-Prep and parents.They were all justly proud of their efforts, with some splendiddrawings from Betty and Phoebe, and it was wonderful to see thelanguage development as confidence in their own abilities rose.

They also produced an excellent production of ’Our Daily Bread’ for the harvest festival.It followed the production of this everydaystaple from the farmer to the consumer. All thechildren took part with Luther, Henry and Jessyejoining in with particular relish, and ended withthe presentation of the harvest loaf that thechildren had made and kindly cooked in thePrep School’s large oven!

The Spring term saw our focus move to ‘Food’.This meant a lot more recipes, taste and textureinvestigations and several themed visits. Creber’s encouraged thechildren to taste different cheeses and to look at the huge variety offoodstuffs on offer from all over the world.

Waitrose showed us lots of different fruits and vegetables, and Celia,Loelia, Olivia and Harry loved the staff café upstairs and all the class wenthome with a healthy ‘goody bag’. We all loved our visit to the Edenproject, and particularly the new education centre.We were actually ableto see cacao pods on the trees, oranges, bananas, rice and exotic fruitsgrowing in their natural environment. Joseph and Jack loved trying tohide under the huge jungle foliage.

In the Summer term we studied Minibeasts and animals, a hugelypopular choice. We were delighted to watch the development of alarge number of caterpillars that Mrs Malcolm had found in her field, asthey consumed a vast amount of nettles, then built their cocoons andfinally hatched out in a great crowd of Painted Ladies on one sunnymorning. Maisie and Jessica made some very careful observationaldrawings of the great event. Miss Edmonds, Heather and Mrs Baysworked with the class to produce a fabulous batik minibeast hangingthat now has pride of place outside Mrs Hallinan’s office.

Mr and Mrs Wildman kindly invited us out to their house, and Steveenthralled us all with his skills as a vet, examining horses and sheepincluding the portable ultrasound, and after a substantial Mount House

packed lunch, supplemented by a piece of Charlie’s birthday cake,we wenton a long walk and bug hunt finding lots of creatures to identify.

Despite the weather turning wet we had a really interesting morning withJennie Hale and her yurt set up on the Rowden field.We took it in turns

to go out on a bug hunt and came back toobserve, identify and draw what we found.

All the class had their favourite animalspicked out on our trip to Paignton Zoo,Alice and Lauren decided they liked themonkeys with the pink bottoms!

We finished the year with a brilliant sportsday with all the children’s enthusiasticparticipation, matched only by theenthusiasm of the parents to join theBBQ and Pimm’s queues when theevents had finished.

With all the children confident, and ready to move on to the greaterchallenges of Year 1, we wish them all the best as they move further upthe school.

Alison Malcolm

Reception

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Year 1

The Autumn Term arrived with a bang as the class was top heavy withboys and the noise level reflected this fact! We began this term with atrip to Restormel Castle as part of our work on myths and legends. Wealso wanted to look at different types of castles, such as a motte andbailey type. We were extremely lucky with the weather and all thechildren were able to imagine what life would have been like in thesesurroundings although it has to be said that they had a distinctly idealisedview and could only think of the positives such as fighting battles andnone of the hardships! The term generally flew past and it didn’t seemlong before rehearsals for the Christmas play were in full flow! A culmination of a term’s work, the excitement of Christmas parties andour play meant that everyone was certainly in need of a good holiday!

Our theme for the Easter term was food and we managed a visit to anorganic farm and a look around Waitrose where we were looked afterextremely well. We were also visited by Jules of Going Potty who didsome fantastic clay dragons with us. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed doingthis activity and the finished dragons were superb! We finished the termwith our usual egg rolling, Easter bunny and (most importantly!) Easteregg hunt.

After a wonderful Easter break which gave us some glorious weatherwe were all expecting uninterrupted sunshine throughout the summerterm. Unhappily this was not to be and our swimming sessions werenoticeably curtailed.We did, however, have some excellent class outings.Our first was to our farm in Lewdown where we were blessed withstunning weather. We met up with Pauline Chespy, who, many peoplewill remember, brought her class from St Petroc’s.We all brought picnicsand barbecued sausages and then explored the woods and river.We finished by making rafts and having a raft race. It was a great dayout and everyone enjoyed meeting and playing with other children.

Another exciting time was had when Jenny Hale came to show us heryurt and explore the insects and minibeasts in our own localenvironment. Everyone loved looking at all kinds of bugs and althoughit was distinctly wet the general consensus was that it was a success.

Our beach trip was also blighted by the weather although we didmanage a good walk along Bude beach and had a reasonably detailed

look at all the rock pools. We finally decamped to the Play Zone forlunch, which was voted a resounding success.

Finally our term came to an end with our sports day which thechildren enjoyed especially as the weather was kind to us and a greatbarbecue was the final icing on the cake!

Nicky Gabb

Piece by Toby Teague,Year OneOnce there were some children named Toby Oliver Becky MarthaSusie Alex Ralph and Siobhan.They liked to hunt griffins. It was almosttheir job. One day they went to the playground then we saw it. Thegriffin! We were worried lt might kill someone so the two bravestRalph and Toby went up to it then the others came we got our racketsand stabd it in the throat but then we relist it was a good griffin so wedid all we could in the end it was allrite and when it was tame enoughit was the schools pet.

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Year 2

A new year begins with both teacher and pupil wondering what lies infront of them. Will it be fun? Will it be hard work? Will it be chaos?Actually that is more of my own personal nightmare! However, as alwaysthe worries are unfounded and both teacher and class embark upon anew adventure with many unknown twists and turns ahead. Our first tripincluded a trek across Dartmoor.The children, slightly unaccustomed tocarrying their own supplies, felt the one mile walk could easily becompared to Scott’s’ trip to the Antarctic! We survived the hike and finallyreached our camp but still had to work as a team to erect the tents andthis would be no mean feat. After several heated discussions and manyattempts in a typically wild Dartmoor wind we finally overcame theadverse conditions and rested inside our makeshift dwelling. We werejoined by Dartmoor Rescue and also a Dartmoor National Park Guidewho scared us all witless with tales of The Hairy Hand Bridge,Vixen Torand mischievous Dartmoor Pixies. We also found out how to keepourselves safe on the moor and how people are rescued if they have anaccident or have lost their way in the mist (as Miss Pole once did).We setout to explore the tors around us to find any hidden letterboxes. It soonbecame obvious that we would make great additions to any forensicteam as we investigated every nook and cranny and discovered fourletterboxes.We were no amateurs! Adverse weather or not, we enjoyedthe day and felt Indiana Jones could learn a thing or two from us!

Following our adventures we felt something a little more relaxing wasdue.We were very lucky to have Sean Flynn to teach the children TaiChi.This encourages the children to increase their concentration, theircoordination, their individuality and their creativity in a holistic way.Thechildren thoroughly enjoyed these sessions and some amazing workwas produced.

Kate Myott, our classroom assistant, was very keen to lead a dramasession based on the book ‘Nobody Rides the Unicorn’. It allowed allof the children to take part even if it was only in a small way. Miss Poleand Mrs Gabb were also included but suddenly the realisation hit all inthe room that sadly neither Miss Pole nor Mrs Gabb would be visitingHollywood for quite some time!!

Year 2 became well known for their creative potential. This was welland truly put to the test by two challenges. 1- Create an orchestrafrom every day items and 2- Re-tell the nursery rhyme Incy WinceySpider using wind-up mechanisms. The former allowed us to stretch

our imaginations, rainmakers, guitars, tambourines,xylophones and double bass were all made anddecorated in a carnival style and played with thesame enthusiasm. The wind-up mechanismsproved to be more than just a little problematic.DIY SOS could certainly learn a thing or two fromour designs. Many sweating brows were mopped;disputes were heard reverberating around theroom and the UN were close to being called in onseveral occasions. Following many peace talks,agreements were reached and the task wassuccessfully completed. In fact the products wereof such a high quality that every child in the classwas rewarded by Mr Massey himself.

Now that Year 2 had conquered all missionspresented to them, I had to think of a newchallenge. There was only one thing for it – wildanimals and survival in the wild.Therefore, a trip to

Paignton Zoo was arranged. We encountered many dangerous animalsand lived on the edge for much of the trip but then we found the babyhippo and all hearts melted.Ahhh…. Although a visit to the giraffe housesaddened us and we said a little prayer for the baby giraffe which had diedthere.The monkey mountain cheered our spirits as new born babies werespotted suckling from their mummies. Once again Ahhh….We discoveredmany facts about endangered animals and this inspired the children to findout more and the work continued throughout the term.

We were then very lucky to have Julia Norris in the classroom todiscuss photography. We viewed many amazing images and talkedabout use of light, positioning and background.The children then set uptheir own picture using view-finders, and following Julia’s advice somewonderful portraits of cuddlies in the most imaginative positions wereproduced.The children were then put in charge of taking portraits ofeach other, trying to make the best of their model, whether that belighting, positioning or angle of shot.There is definitely talent within thisgroup and I hope they will remember me when they become famous,and much lighting will be used on my portrait.

As the end of the year approached, the summer term play and sportsday presented the last challenges which of course all of Year 2conquered with verve as always!

Michelle Pole


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“Favourite things”

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After the success of Singular Sensations last year, it was with a feelingof real anticipation that the audience settled into their chairs in theWortham Hall, awaiting the latest show from Caroline Secombe’sSaturday morning Drama Club. The first number, in title and style,epitomised the character of the show. “Smile” brought a smile toeveryone’s face, both from the quality of the singing and theexcellently co-ordinated choreography. A clever choreography trickrevealed a smile on the back of each performer’s costume – it wasmatched by the smiles on their faces. Meaghan Ryder-Green gave amoving and mature performance of the “Dreams of Anne Frank”, apoignant excerpt from the girl’s wartime diaries. This was anexcellent performance as she confidently handled both lines andprops with a real sense of understanding. Last year, the childrenastounded the audience with their performance of an excerpt from“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This year, Caroline bravely tackled“Romeo and Juliet”. The performances of Giles Malcolm and IzellaOxenham were simply exceptional in the title roles. Giles wasmesmeric in his faultless interpretation of Romeo – surely a talent forthe future.The mood was cleverly switched from tragedy to farce asBertie Jayarajah and Ralph Lopes entertained us with “The Octopus”.Another comic masterpiece from the pen of Caroline’s husbandAndy, it took full advantage of Bertie’s timing and tumbling skills.Georgina Morris and the girls then gave us their version of “MyFavourite Things”. Demonstrating a beautiful singing voice along withall the poise to be expected from one of Caroline’s performers,Georgina gave an assured and musical performance. Not to beoutdone by her husband, Caroline herself scripted “The NewTeacher” for Charles Secombe.Again, this was a marvellously assuredperformance of a witty script, as Charles’s comic timing and deliverywere first-rate.

Luke Measelle opened the second half with “No news is good news”,again scripted by Andy Secombe. The newscaster’s nightmare wasbrought vividly to life as successive V/T disasters left our hapless herostruggling to think of anything in a desperate attempt to fill live timeon air. As a complete contrast, Oscar Norris, aided by Henry Mules,Giles, Bertie and Charles performed a magnificent dance routine toaccompany a musical extract from “West Side Story”. Oscar’s

concentration was total, and he conveyed a genuine sense of menaceas he circled and defeated his opponents.This was a performance ofgreat maturity and fearless self-confidence. “Waiting for Godot” is ascript that has often baffled audiences, and sometimes even actors,but Luke and Giles conveyed the humour that lurks beneath thesurface of Samuel Beckett’s script in the short extract that theyperformed. In a clever piece of programming, this was followed by“Daisy pulls it off ”, performed by Lucy Massey, aided by TeanChoroszewska and Georgina. This was a performance of winsomecharm, full of wide-eyed innocence as well as excellent clarity andprojection. Andrew Lloyd-Webber has succeeded in ensuring thatthe whole country has been gripped by “Joseph” fever, and who is tosay that if the TV competition had been held in ten years’ time thatHenry would not have been a major contender? He sang withconfidence and clarity, well supported by the other boys. Incidentally,this was an item which was nearly stolen by a costume – themagnificent dreamcoat made by Tracey Smythe! Next it was LaurieKent’s turn to shine, aided by Ralph and Georgina in “The ProudfootProcedure”.This was a stand-out performance that had the audiencecrying with laughter. Laurie’s brilliant facial expressions allied to whatseemed to be a natural flair for physical humour took a great scriptand concept and turned it into a performance that will live in thememory. It only remained for the entire cast to cap anotherextraordinary show with a rousing finale of “Smile” – and wecertainly did.

The whole show was accompanied with professional polish by Gilland Rachel Waters and Colin Bacon. Tracey Smythe and CatherineBrereton designed the set and produced the costumes. RachaelKimber was an ever-present help to Caroline and stage-managed theproduction. However, the plaudits for another stunning successbelong with Caroline herself.Yet again, she has coached and cajoledperformances of extraordinary maturity and quality out of veryyoung performers – they are so lucky to have had the chance towork with such a dedicated professional. It is with a real sense of lossthat the school must say farewell to her, Andy and the boys as theyhave done so much for drama at Mount House over the last fewyears. We would like to wish them all the very best of luck andhappiness in their new life in Truro.

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The Chapel Choir has had another busy and rewarding year, leading theschool’s worship in assembly, school services, the service of Remembrance,the Carol Service and the End of Year Service.The Head Choristers thisyear were Christian Brown and Hannah Redman and I would like to thankboth of them for their leadership and example throughout a busy year.

Our anthems during the Christmas term were “For the beauty of theearth” by John Rutter, “Sing of the Lord’s Glory”, “Let us now praisefamous men” by Ralph Vaughan-Williams and the Sanctus from FaurésRequiem [the last two being sung at the school Remembrance service].Christian and Hannah gave an assured performance in the first verse of“Once in Royal David’s City” and the choir anthems featured “A flowerin winter” by Alan Simmons, “Adam lay y-bounden” by Peter Warlock,“Midwinter” by Bob Chilcott, a spirited version of “The holly & the ivy” byJohn Gardner,“Christmas Lullaby” by John Rutter and an unaccompaniedversion of “Silent Night”. I am very grateful to Gill Waters for playing theLast Post and Reveille at the Remembrance Service, and also for addingtrumpet descants to the congregational carols at the Carol Service.

The choir attended the “Education Sunday” service in the parish churchat the beginning of the Easter Term. This is an opportunity to bringtogether the choirs of all the local schools, and Mount House roundedoff a most enjoyable evening by leading the singing of “Sing of the Lord’sGlory”. For the second school service of term, we adopted our “MountHouse Evensong” format, and the Choir performed Stanford’sMagnificat & Nunc Dimittis in Bb.This is a demanding piece for any prepschool choir, and the choir gave a very commendable performance.

The Summer Term’s Sunday anthems were “Lord I want to be aChristian” by John Barnard and the challenging “Libera Me” from Fauré’sRequiem.At the end of the Grandparents’ tea party afternoon, possibly aunique event in the history of the choir took place. Susan Sale joined ourrehearsal, singing alongside her son Dick and her grandson Oliver.At theschool summer concert, we had the opportunity to show that we do sing secular music as well, performing “Cantilena” from Karl Jenkins’“Adiemus”.This music is probably better known as the music for the C &G TV commercial! This was followed by “You’ll never walk alone” from“Carousel”.The End of Year service included “Eternal God”by John Rutter,“Jesu, joy of man’s desiring” by J.S. Bach and the “Irish Blessing”. My thanksare due as ever to all the adults who willingly give up their time to singthe lower parts and to Jonathan Banyard for his indefatigable assistanceas accompanist. We are always happy to welcome new recruits to theadult ranks of the choir – it honestly isn’t as scary as you might think!

Hugh Walkington

MusicChapel Choir 2007


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Christmas TermI returned to Mount House with renewed enthusiasm and a sense ofexcitement and anticipation of what might develop in the Musicdepartment during the next academic year.We had more string players -a violinist, viola player and ‘cellist - coming to join us at Mount House (andanother violinist was to join us in January).The string section of theOrchestra was about to come into its own, and there would be enoughmusicians of a high enough standard to form a Senior Musicians’ Ensemble.

Pupils prepared for an informal concert, Christmas Concert, CarolService, Associated Board Music Examinations, and the Saltash MusicFestival (to take place early on in the Easter Term).The Pre-Prep alsogot down to some serious singing for their Harvest Celebration andChristmas production.

With the standard of musicians rising it was decided to showcase ourtop performers in a Senior Musicians’ Concert, and to take this to anout-of-school venue.

The concert was held at St Andrew’s Parish Church,Whitchurch, on the24th November.There were some superb performances and it provedto be a very memorable evening, not just for the performances……wewill all remember the evening of inclement weather too…….it musthave been the wettest day of the school year and we came out of thechurch to find much flooding and routes home impassable!

The Christmas Concert in the Wortham Hall involved over 100 pupilsparticipating in percussion, brass, flute, string and swing ensembles aswell as in the Concert Choir, Chapel Choir and Orchestra.

MOUNT HOUSECHRISTMAS CONCERT5TH DECEMBER 2006ORCHESTRA HALLELUJAH CHORUS& AUDIENCE ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY

BRASS ENSEMBLE FOLK TUNEO COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

STRING ENSEMBLE ROUND DANCEAU CLAIRE DE LUNEJ’AI DU BON VIOLON

SWING BAND STAND BY MEHAVE YOURSELF A MERRY XMAS

CONCERT CHOIR WHILE BETHLEHEM SLEEPSYOU CAN’T DODGE THE CENSUS


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HARP (Georgina) CHACONNE& VIOLIN(Flora) SILENT NIGHT

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

SENIOR ENSEMBLE I FEEL PRETTYCORO

CONCERT CHOIR BECAUSE OF HIM

MOUNT HOUSE SINGERS AWAY IN A MANGER

ORCHESTRA THE SNOWMAN

(reprise) HALLELUJAH CHORUS

In what has become an annual event, some musicians went to entertain theresidents of Crelake House with items from the Christmas Concert andalso enjoy some pre-Christmas treats.

Easter Term

After a successful visit to the Saltash Music Festival last year with pupilswinning twenty six classes and Alice Toynton winning a special award as amusician showing promise for the future, we returned to try and better ourtrophy haul! Seriously though, this is not the main motive. Festivals givepupils invaluable performing experience, a chance to listen to others anddiscuss the merits of the various performances (even if we don’t alwaysagree on the winning performance!) as well as the children gaining advicefrom and the accolade of the adjudicator.

During the Festival around one hundred and twenty pupils from MountHouse took part.This included solo performances in the piano, voice, string,woodwind, brass and percussion classes as well as participation by the choir,Orchestra, brass ensemble, percussion ensemble and senior ensemble.

There was much excitement each day of the festival as the children returnedto school with their certificates and trophies, and in the event we did win moreclasses than in the previous year…….. a grand total of 46 trophies were won!

Enjoyed just as much as the thrill of winning of trophies, was the opportunityfor pupils, teachers and parents to socialise over lunch at the Ploughboy Innin Saltash and order whatever they wanted between the morning andafternoon sessions of the Festival (courtesy of Mrs Lennox-Boyd).

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Boys’ solo 10 years & under Matthew SecombeBoys’ solo 12 years & under Guy Prysor-JonesBoys’ solo 6 years & under Jacob David-WardBrass Recital 12 years & under Ruairidh MatthewsBrass Solo 11 years & under Ruairidh Matthews‘Cello Solo 11 years & under Meg Hughes-ChamberlainString Recital 12 years & under Meg Hughes-Chamberlain‘Cello Solo 13 years & under Hannah MorrisChoirs (Primary age) Mount House Concert ChoirChildren’s Choir Mount House Concert ChoirClarinet Solo Grade 2/3 Alex MajorinClarinet Solo Grade 4/5 Guy Prysor-JonesFlute Solo 9 years & under Lucy RedmanFlute Solo Grade1 Izzy NorrisGirls’ Solo 6 years & under Samantha Unsworth -WhiteGirls’ Solo 8 years & under Georgina MorrisHarp Solo 13 years & under Georgina Sutcliffe-MaynardInstrumental Ensemble 13 years & under Senior EnsembleJunior Folk Song 10 years & under Eleanor HaywardJunior Vocal Recital 14 years & under Eleanor HaywardOrgan Recital 12 years & under Yume FujitaPiano Recital 12 years & under Yume FujitaPercussion 11 years & under Fern ToyntonPercussion 13 years & under Yume FujitaPercussion Group 13 years & under Mount House EnsemblePiano Duet Grade 1 Olivia McGonigle/Emma PaullPiano Trio Grade 1 Freya Semken, Hannah Morris,

Thea Dickinson Saxophone Solo Grade 1 Flora DickinsonSchool Instrumental Ensemble 11 years & under Mount House BrassSchool Orchestra Mount House Orchestra

Song from a Show Eleanor Hayward10 years & under Matthew Secombe (joint 1st)

Viola Solo 11 years & under Emma PaullViola Solo 13 years & under Emma PaullViola Solo 15 years & under Emma PaullViolin Solo Grade 4/5 Flora ZajicekVocal Solo 10 years & under Eleanor HaywardVocal Solo 10 years & under own choice Eleanor Hayward

Mount House pupils were invited to take part in the Gala Concert,which coincided with our half-term, but we were still able to raiseenough musicians for the Orchestra to play and solos to be performedby Yume (Organ), Flora (Violin), Eleanor(Voice), Matthew(Voice) infront of an audience of some 250, including the Mayor and otherdignitaries from Caradon District Council.

A presentation of Special awards was made at this event and MountHouse picked up several of those:Flora Zajicek Highest mark in the String classes

Overall festival top mark

Yume Fujita Award for the pianist showing most promise for the future

Matthew Secombe Highest mark in the boys’ solo classesEleanor Hayward Highest mark in the girls’ solo classesMatthew and Eleanor Overall highest mark for vocal classesMount House Orchestra Overall highest mark Orchestral/

Ensemble trophyEleanor Hayward Special award demonstrating a love

of music

Mount House Concert Choir Overall highest mark for choirs’ trophy

Alongside all the Festival preparations the same pupils and morebesides were rehearsing pieces to perform in the annual SchoolInstrumental Music Competition.

A Monday night just before half-term saw a variety of piano, string,percussion, woodwind and brass performances in front of parents andthe adjudication panel in the Music Room. Thirty-one of theseperformances made it through to the Final a few days later, held in theWortham Hall and adjudicated by the Deputy Director of Music fromKing’s Bruton.

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PianistsWilliam MacEacharn Form 3Emily Redman Form 5Jamie Farrington Form 3Holly Southcott Form 6Eleanor Hayward Form 4Yume Fujita Form 5

Up to Grade 1Mary Lennox-Boyd Form 6Eliza Sale Form 3Flora Dickinson Form 5Angus Crofton Form 1Taylor Lee Form 2Madeleine Lewis Form 1

WindFreya Semken Form 6Dominic Scaglioni Form 6Alex Majorin Form 4Harriet MacEacharn Form 6Guy Prysor-Jones Form 6

StringsAlexander Zervudachi Form 5Meg Hughes-Chamberlain Form 3India Lewis Form 3Georgina Sutcliffe-Maynard Form 5Eleanor Hayward Form 4Flora Zajicek Form 5

BrassOliver Sale Form 4Bertie Jayarajah Form 2Kate Robbins Form 6Ruairidh Matthews Form 4

PercussionFern Toynton Form 5Jacca Deeble-Stone Form 5Jack Norris Form 6Yume Fujita Form 5

AwardsMichael Bawtree Trophy PianoPeter Evelyn Trophy BrassJonathan James Trophy StringsThe Beard Trophy WoodwindThe Jenks Trophy PercussionAngus McBride Trophy Best Junior MusicianWoodcock Trophy Best Senior MusicianThe Pippa Sainsbury Trophy Best Novice MusicianChannel Four Trophy Winning Set

Well done to all those who performed at any stage of this competition.Thank you to our adjudicator for listening to the performances.

The winners of the various sections this year were: Eleanor Hayward(piano), Ruairidh Matthews (brass), Alex Zervudachi (strings), FreyaSemken (wind),Yume Fujita (percussion), Eliza Sale (up to Grade One).The overall winning Senior performance was given by Yume Fujita andthe Junior performance by Eleanor Hayward.

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Summer TermIn what has become an annual event in the calendar, MountHouse had once again been invited to perform at the“Tavistock Sings” Festival on May 3rd, so no sooner were weback from our Easter Holiday than we were trying to fit insome extra rehearsals to ensure that the work done before the holiday in preparation for this event had not been forgotten!

The Concert Choir were complimented by many people notconnected with Mount House and certainly were a credit tothe school.

On top of this there was much excitement in the air arounda certain television programme on a Saturday night,namely……JOSEPH. Knowing that we had a really goodConcert Choir, it was decided that we should enter for thecompetition, which if we won, would lead to a performancein the West End! However, the first problem encounteredwas how to reduce fifty plus, enthusiastic singers from Forms One to Four,to twenty! So….we all learnt the set piece and sang it for “Tavistock Sings”and the end of the Summer Term’s Concert, and some were selected aftermuch discussion about the fairest way to do so, to make a short video clipto be displayed on the Web-site for voting.Well…most of us know whathappened next…the Joseph web-site couldn’t cope with it, many childrenthroughout the land were disappointed and it ended up as rather a non-event! Positively though, so far as we were concerned at Mount House, itseemed to give our young singers the urge to seek even more perfectionin their singing and spur us on to even more complicated parts singing.

The “Tors are alive with the sound of singing,” was a caption thought out for our entry to that competition, and it was certainly true that MountHouse was singing on the edge of Dartmoor.

Just as we were about to break for the May half-term, we had manyexcellent solo performances in the Inter-House Singing Competition,adjudicated by Mr C Albrey Director of Music, King’s Taunton. Each“House” also learns a song to perform – choreographed by the Houseleaders, and this year the songs were selected from the Lion King.

SINGING COMPETITIONWORTHAM HALLADJUDICATOR: MR.C. ALBREY, DIRECTOR OF MUSIC, KING’S COLLEGE TAUNTON.

JUNIOR BOYCharles Secombe Where is Love?Jamie Farrington Close Every Door to MeTheo Brown The Bedstead Men Max Hayward Me Ol’ Bamboo Giles Malcolm JosephAnthony Hayward Little Liza JaneMatthew Secombe Chim Chiminee

SENIOR BOYGuy Prysor-Jones The SwallowJack Williams Consider YourselfRuairidh Matthews The Lord is my Shepherd

JUNIOR GIRLTabitha Unsworth-White A RovingAbigail George Bibbidi BobbidiMadeleine Lewis Raggle Taggle GypsiesKaris Barrasford Anna MarieGeorgina Morris Walking in the AirIzella Oxenham Part of your World

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Love HimIzzy Norris SelectedEleanor Hayward Lonely Goatherd

POP SONG accompanied by Mr. KingEmily RedmanJoe DaltonHolly WixonTim PopeEmmie de Falbe

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KANGS Can You Feel the Love TonightOWLS Be Prepared/Hakuna MatataHAWKS The Circle of LifeOTTERS I Just Can’t Wait to be King

The winning “Set” performance was given byOwls with Izella Oxenham winning the JuniorGirl category, Matthew Secombe the Junior Boy category, EleanorHayward the Senior Girl category, Ruairidh Matthews the Senior Boycategory and Emmie de Falbe giving the winning performance in the PopSong category.

Our Senior ensemble provided a certain ambience for the New Parents’evening, by performing on the veranda outside the Headmaster’s study

and also for the Grandparents’ Tea Party, where many felt as though itwas as good as being in the Bath Pump room!

The Summer Term concluded with Associated Board Music Exams andthree concerts in three days. Firstly the Prep School Summer Concertthen the Pre-Prep concert and finally the Leavers’ Concert.The ChapelChoir also led the End of Term Service in the Parish Church.

The Summer Concert provided a platform for performance for theOrchestra, Chapel Choir, Concert Choir, Guitar, Flute, Brass and StringEnsembles, Swing band and Rock Band. Highlights for me personally werethe Classical Guitar ensemble and the Concert Choir’s rendition of theRhythm of Life.

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For some the pupils, music making continues into thesummer holidays, and Alex Zervudachi attended theSuzuki string course held at Bryanston. Emma Paull,India Lewis and Eleanor Hayward were due to attendthe IAPS Orchestral course to be held at CheltenhamLadies‘ College. Unfortunately our British climatechanged all that and the course had to be cancelleddue to the severe floods in the area and lack of awater supply!

There is always something going on in the MusicDepartment at Mount House and we provide a rangeof opportunities for children with all abilities. We lookforward to a similarly busy 2007/08 year!

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PREP TEST (ONLY A PASS OR FAIL, NO MARK AWARDED)

OSCAR MUSTARD PIANO

ALICE DONNE PIANO

MICHAL CHOROSZEWSKI PIANO

HENRY MULES PIANO

JESSICA HUNTINGTON PIANO

EDWARD PRYSOR-JONES PIANO

CHARLOTTE FITZGERALD PIANO

PHOEBE MALCOLM PIANO

ROSIE YEOWARD PIANO

BRETT SHIRLEY PIANO

KATRIN MANNES PIANO

GUY HARRISON PIANO

MADELEINE LEWIS PIANO

MARK CATEGORIES: PASS, MERIT, DISTINCTION.

GRADE 1

PHOEBE MALCOLM CELLO MERIT

ISABEL NORRIS FLUTE MERIT

OLIVER SALE TROMBONE MERIT

ANTHONY HAYWARD PIANO MERIT

FLORA DICKINSON SAXOPHONE DIST

KARIS BARRASFORD VOICE MERIT

CHARLOTTE PICKARD PIANO DIST

THEO BROWN BARITONE PASS

LUCY CHESHIRE CLARINET PASS

EMMIE DE FALBE CELLO MERIT

ALEX FERGUSON SAXOPHONE PASS

IMOGEN GALSWORTHY VOICE PASS

JULIAN HUNTINGTON PIANO PASS

CECILY JERVOISE PIANO PASS.

ELIZABETH JERVOISE VOICE PASS

ELOISE KIDNER PIANO MERIT

ANTHONY HAYWARD VOICE DIST

HENRY LOPES FRENCH HORN PASS

GEORGINA MORRIS VOICE PASS

GEORGINA NEWMAN FLUTE PASS

EMMA PAULL PIANO MERIT

ANTHONY HAYWARD GUITAR MERIT

GRADE 2

KATRIN MANNES PIANO PASS

NICOLAS SCAGLIONI FLUTE PASS.

EMMA PAULL VOICE PASS

LOUISA BUTCHER FLUTE MERIT

JAMIE FARRINGTON TRUMPET MERIT

MEG HUGHES-CHAMBERLAIN VOICE MERIT

FREDDIE JAYARAJAH VOICE PASS

TABITHA UNSWORTH-WHITE VOICE PASS

ASSOCIATED BOARD EXAMINATION RESULTSSept 2006 / July 2007

OLIVER SALE TROMBONE MERIT

MICHELLE PEARN VIOLIN PASS

HANNAH MORRIS CELLO MERIT

IZELLA OXENHAM VOICE PASS

GEORGE LUNDY PIANO PASS

POPPY HARTLEY VOICE PASS

GUY GILLARD TENOR HORN PASS

JAMIE FARRINGTON PIANO DIST

THEA DICKINSON PIANO PASS

JACK GALSWORTHY SAXOPHONE PASS

GUS DE FALBE PIANO PASS

HANNAH MORRIS PIANO MERIT

GRADE 3

WILLIAM MACEACHARN PIANO PASS

FREYA SEMKEN FLUTE MERIT

HARRIET MACEACHARN BASSOON DIST

EMMA PAULL VOICE MERIT

BERTIE JAYARAJAH TRUMPET MERIT

GEMMA ROBBINS FLUTE MERIT

GRADE 4

ELLA HARTLEY VOICE PASS

FERN TOYNTON VOICE MERIT

GUY PRYSOR-JONES VOICE MERIT

GUY PRYSOR-JONES CLARINET MERIT

HOLLY SOUTHCOTT CLARINET PASS

HANNAH REDMAN SAXOPHONE PASS

EMMA PAULL VOICE MERIT

ISABEL NORRIS VOICE MERIT

RUAIRIDH MATTHEWS TRUMPET MERIT

CHRISTIAN BROWN VOICE MERIT

FLORA ZAJICEK VIOLIN MERIT

INDIA LEWIS VIOLIN PASS

GRADE 5

KATRIN MANNES FLUTE MERIT

BARNIE GOLDSTONE VOICE PASS

RUAIRIDH MATTHEWS VOICE PASS

EMMIE DE FALBE VOICE DIST

GUY PRYSOR-JONES VOICE MERIT

FLORA ZAJICEK MUSIC THEORY MERIT

ALEXANDER ZERVUDACHI VIOLIN MERIT

EMMA PAULL VIOLA PASS


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Lion HaikuSneaky, slim, silentFerocious, hiding smoothly,Living in a Cave

Giles Malcolm (2SH)

Octopus HaikuSucks up all its preyVery wavy tentaclesLots and lots of dots

Taylor Lee (2SH)

Snake HaikuSilent and deadlyWith poison in your teeth andEvil in your eyes

Laurie Kent (2SH)

Tiger HaikuWhat a shocking coatEyes glistening in the sunshineSlinking in the grass

Charlie MacEacharn (2SH)

Extracts from ‘Rain on the Riverbank’ adaptedtales by the second form based on KennethGrahame’s ‘Wind in the Willows’

Once upon a time on a hot summer’s day there was a beautiful river.The watershone gold when the sun glittered down upon the surface of the water.The bankswere soft green areas that young animals liked to play along while flowers showedoff to one another as they swayed in the wind.

The fish played amongst each other joyfully as their scales shimmered in thesunlight.The sky was clear blue and so beautiful to gaze at while sunbathing onthe banks of the river. But that is not the whole story.

Once there was a mole who was a kind, happy chap. He always looked on thebright side of everything and did his best in every way. One day Mole was walkingalong the river bank, looking around him at all the animals and flowers, when hecame to a pontoon that had a small, smart wooden sail boat tied to the end.Theboat looked quite new, it was painted red with a blue bottom and its name‘Wallower’ was painted neatly on the side.The sails looked dazzling white in thesunshine and there was a large number four at the top.

Tabitha Unsworth-White (2SH)

The kind hearted Water Rat was dozily sitting on a deck chair. Mole was paddlingin the shallows while Otter was diving and dipping in the warm, summer’s water.Mole paused his paddling and looked at the reflection of the sun in the ripplingwaves and listened to the humming of the birds.All was a shape and shimmer oflaughter and happiness. Suddenly a piercing noise came from around the bed inthe river.Then it was on them.A motorboat came whizzing around the corner attop speed. Ratty jumped out of his chair, Mole darted inside and Otter swamfrantically to shore.When Ratty was sure the motorboat was gone, he went tofind Mole who was trembling in a corner.

Charlotte Wiltshire (2SH)

Mole and Ratty were horribly frightened.The scratching noise was coming frombehind a bush. It was getting louder and louder. Suddenly a big, wild dog pouncedout of the bush.

‘Run!’ shouted Ratty.The dog chased them round and round all of Rivendale.Theyeventually reached Ratty’s house and bolted the door shut behind them.‘Phew!’ exclaimed Mole.The dog meanwhile was bouncing up and down, barkingand clawing at the door.

‘Let’s make a cup of tea and forget about all our troubles’ said Ratty.They floppeddown and discussed the dramatic day they had had. It was getting late and Molehad to go home but the dog was still growling outside the door.‘How ever will I get home?’ asked Mole.

Guy Gillard (2SH)


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Laurie Kent interviews Jamie Strike, scorpionexpert at Newquay Zoo as part of his SecondForm Geography Rainforest Animal projecton Emperor Scorpions.

Laurie: How long can an Emperor scorpion get?

Jamie:They are not the longest but they are the largest scorpion in the world.They do get to about 15 cm.

Laurie: How old can they live to?

Jamie:They can live to about 10 or 12 years. In the wild, they probably wouldn’tlive quite that long.They are quite slow growers.

Laurie:What is their normal weight?

Jamie: I’m not actually sure – I’ve never weighed one, but I should think about80-100 grams, something like that.

Laurie: I know the answer already! The heaviest one weighed 60 grams!

Jamie:Thanks, I’ll remember that.

Laurie: How can you calm a scorpion down?

Jamie: I have never been in a situation where I have had to calm one down, butprobably keep them in a dark, damp place, they’d be nice and calm there.

Laurie: How can you make a scorpion angry?

Jamie: I think by poking it with a pencil – something like that would make it veryangry! They would raise their pincers up and then they’d sting as a last resort.They usually like to get themselves out of any sticky situations and would crawlback beneath their rock to get away from any predators.

Laurie:What level in the rainforest can they get up to?

Jamie: Usually they are found on the rainforest floor. Emperor Scorpions arefound in West Africa.They like it damp and warm and moist down on the forestfloor.They don’t really climb very much at all I don’t think.

Laurie: Can the Emperor Scorpion swim?

Jamie: No they can’t swim – I doubt it!

Laurie:What is their favourite food?

Jamie: Black crickets, brown crickets, but they will take things like locusts andlarger things like mice.They will also eat mealworms.

Laurie:Why do you think people always think Emperor Scorpionsare very poisonous?

Jamie: Probably because they are big and black and don’t look very nice.But they are not very poisonous.The rule of thumb is that if a scorpion has bigpincers they tend not to have strong venom but if they have small pincers, theytend to be the venomous ones. I should imagine the sting from an EmperorScorpion is not particularly bad – a bit like a bee sting.

Laurie: What purpose do the Emperor Scorpions play in theecology of the rainforest?

Jamie:They are probably an important ecological link because they eat a lot ofinsects – the invertebrates.They are part of the food chain as well, they are eatenby birds. So I imagine that they are very important. I wouldn’t be surprised if theyare eaten by such things as pigs as well, down on the forest floor.

A Summer’s DayAs I strolled down the path I heard the mumble of gravel roll under my feet. Ilooked up to see a butterfly flutter past me, freely flying across the azure sky. I thenthought how lovely it would be to fly freely through the sky and have nothing toworry about.

I carried on strolling down the path, but an overwhelming scent of the flowersstanding tall, row upon row proceeding all the way down the path, caught me.Theirfabulous colours were blooming out. I then leant down to smell their beautiful scent.It smelt exquisite, like a freshly made perfume, better than any found in a shop.

I then stood up and wandered further along the path. I tripped, yet I caught myselfon a trunk of a magnificent oak. I felt the texture of the tree; the bark was roughand lumpy. I looked up to see the soft green leaves blow gently in the silent breeze.

I wandered further down the gravel path, yet I soon came to a small glassy poolwhere I lay until the twittering birds and bright sun brought me to sleep under theindigo sky.

Izzy Norris (4PS)

The Big Willow TreeThe great old willow tree waved across the water.The smaller branches glowed above the murkiness.The small groping fish flashed and turned, flying from the pikeAs his stomach churned,Nearby a Kingfisher nestedWaiting for her chicks to hatch.

The moon shot up like a sparking match,Now all there was to see was a Smiley hedge-hog rustling through the leaves.The river now calmedFrom the horrors of the day

Now to a barn where an owl hootedFor at its mercy was a petrified vole.

The sun now with a golden blaze,Where the first to awaken was an Old willow tree,Who sat on his own,Silently.

Ed Mann (5ADW)

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Talking CloudsI felt the silky texture of the fresh grass under me, as I moved gracefully downStone Alley’s uneasy hill. It sunk down to the wood that lay silent and still underthe azure sky, splattered with radiant clouds.To me, it looked like whipped creamhaving been spilt on a brand new table cloth.

I peered gingerly through the branches that stuck out at different angles all overthe place. There was no disturbance I could see or hear, so I pulled back thebranches that made a simple thing into a very strenuous task; they were like catshaving just been woken up.

Standing there in a sunlit dream, the trees stood proud with their brightly colouredleaves fighting to get to the sunlight and the clouds; oh, the clouds! How theydazzle, dance and glide with such grace upon the blue surface.

I sat down on a flat rock, reached into my inside pocket of my jacket and pulled outmy leather-bound diary. I began to write; to write about the wood and the clouds.

Georgina Sutcliffe-Maynard (5ADW)

The True Meaning of ChristmasThe sky’s cold breath clings to the land, vanquishing the fields and the hills’ triumph.But it is winter’s turn to show its true beauty.

The children below me are jubilant and full of glee.They are together and are sohappy at each other’s company, friendship, care and love.

I turn around to look at the seasonal room filled with family spirit.The tree that fillsthe once bare corner is aglow with glittering lights.

I walk towards the tree and touch the ornaments hanging motionless. I handle asoldier. He is so still and the expression on his face is blank and unsure. I let go ofhim and he bobs up and down, as if he is dancing the Nutcracker.

I look out of the window to the forest below, not much of a forest now but acluster of skeletal branches merging together; but beautiful.

The true meaning of Christmas is being right here, with friends and family.

Hannah Redman (6LC)

Timed, Creative WritingThe mysterious stranger led me up the slope, perspiration breaking out on hisforehead. I did not mind him, or that I could not see his face clearly.

The long climb up the rainforest hill was strenuous and unforgiving.As the final fewsteps became further away, the boy heaved me up onto the ledge of the top ofthe valley’s highest mountain.

The view robbed my breath and stole my thoughts.The strange landscape oozedlife and inspiration, although everything remained deadly quiet, except the boy’ssteady breathing.

I gazed over and up to the North.The sea glinted so far away, like a blinking jewel.The river that streamed west snaked down the lonely valley, turning then to the sea.

I looked at the odd boy and he smiled a smile possessed with warmth andhappiness.The thunderclouds unexpectedly bellowed a harsh tone and rolled in.My stranger vanished, like a frightened mouse, and I was left wondering where myworried boy had gone but, as if I was paralysed, I sat transfixed at the awesomestorm blundering in.

Hannah Redman (6LC)

The Garden - Descriptive WritingAs I walk through the garden, the tough, bristle grass brushes through my baretoes.The sun beats down, creating expanses of light.The leaves are so smooth andfurry as I feel them with my fingers. As I pass by the bush, I see it is like a largeprickly ball.

As well as other incredible creations there is a perfectly shaped flower which, tothe touch, is soft and silky.The log pile built to store logs provides a home for manyof nature’s beings.

Finally, the bark on the beautiful rouged gum tree looks like split skin, but it showsa gorgeous array of colours.

Harry McKelvey (5ADW)

Love Thy NeighbourMy trainers squeaked as I walked along to Tescos. I thought to myself, will I buymaltesers, rolos or minstrels, or all of them? Shall I get hot-wheels or hot-wheelsspecial? Shall I get a pencil or a pen?

I walked past the bakery and got a waft of chocolate and bread floating past. I sawa car try to steal a space from another, but all that happened was it got a parkingfine from a Policeman. I laughed. As I watched, I walked past Tescos, which wasfunny because I usually pop in to see how they were doing, and to see if they’vegot anything cheap to buy.

I checked my pockets to see if my money was still there.

I didn’t like it when I walked past the auction because all the children liked andknew me but I didn’t and I had to pretend to like and know them.

While there, I saw a person that looked exactly like my neighbour at home.Was he?

He crossed the road as if death was in every step.

He slowly made his way to the middle and Zooom! A yellow Volvo whizzed roundthe corner. Crash! Snap! There was blood on the street, lots of it all gushing out ofone man.

I watched in horror as six, eight, ten, twenty people walked past all laughing and sayingthings like,“Urgh! Look at him, he’s had an accident! Te he!” without any hesitation.

I sprinted to the nearest telephone and dialled 999. I got the ambulance.

I could hear the siren wailing. I rushed back to the body; this was the first time Ihad seen a grown man cry. I gently picked him up and placed him in the ambulance.After that, a member of the crew said,“Well done lad, you may have saved his life.”

Jonnie Massey (3JB)

May 2007As the gloomy night drew nearand as the untrue sunset faded,the tattoo of a slight moon appeared.And as the silhouette of a burnt-out canoe tradedshadows with a tree of oak,and as the rain drifted downto form a soft cloak of dewto leave the ground velvet-soaked,and as the night came to an end,all that was left was sunlightand a thin screen of smoke.

James Mann (5ADW)

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The Journey of BeautyI’m striding out of my front door on to the clamminess of the street. As I’mwandering, a couple of small stuffy paces, I’m seeing with my peripheral vision aman chucking a whisky bottle on to the moist ground that’s shattered intodiminutive pieces. I’m drifting down the small, claustrophobic alleyways with atramp look-a-like hot on my heels.

A couple more minutes passing and I’m walking faster and faster to depart his gaze.He is jogging now so I’m running down the streets and I’m scared out of my wits.The guy behind me is advancing but I have no time to react. He’s reaching out,touching me on my back. Now he’s trying to pull my wallet out of my back pocketof my jeans.Without knowing what I’m doing my leg has lashed out and the manis holding his crutch lying on the floor.

I’m stepping onto the train now, the steam like a gale out of an engine.The enginesplutters and we are jolted forward.The musky smell of tobacco hangs in the airbut then next to me out the window, not one, not two, but three otters span pastwith their brown coats gleaming in the sun.A flock of geese fly past over the yellowfields, then a rabbit, then some ducks, then pigs, then sheep… and then nothing.Abang, then black, black.

In ten seconds, a blazing sun ray bursts into the train and then we are there,Eggesford Station, straight from London. I am here, home.

I walk home and I can now relax; able to forget about the man that tried to stealmy wallet and able to sleep. Sleep.

Ruairidh Matthews (5JH)

The SeaThe sea lady starts to climb from the depths,Voracious for complete destruction,The sea darkens and becomes savage.She throws a hand at the cliffs,Many rocks fall down into the tempestuous waters,But she is ravenous for obliteration.She captures a small fishing boat in her hands,Toys with it,Then tears it into shreds.She rises from the sea,Her mouth turns into a pernicious smile,She throws herself at the bay.Hurling rocks and fishing boats,Leaving the bay destroyed.She descends into the sea,Mocking the land for its meek response,The sea lady’s cantankerous demeanour begins to ebbFor she knows that she has won this battle against land.

As the sun rises in the east,The sea lady lies dormant,Under the lapis lazuli blanket of the sea.The seascape is picturesque and immaculate,A lone fisherman rocks in a boat on the lulling waves,Admiring the blissful day.The grass on the cliff head,Sways and whistles in the gentle sea breeze,A cluster of lethargic gulls perch on the remains of the fishing boat.Beneath the glistening waves,Fish glide through coral reefs.The sweet sound of tranquillity,Echoes through the silent caves of the bay.No-one could imagine the events of the night,But the sea lady is out in the sea,Starting her climb from the deep.

Flora Dickinson (5JH)

The SeaThe sovereign of the ocean, malicious, pernicious, livid.Is ravenous for revenge against the defenceless land.A helpless child snatched by his army of waves screams,But his terrified voice cannot be heardAs the waves crash onto the barren sand.His volatile army of waves, bloodthirsty and scurrilousDevour him, monotonously attacking anythingthat gets in his way.The cliffs are ripped apart, torn to shreds.Jubilant with his work, he plunges back into the murky water.The sea, now awash with faded sunlight,So serene and exquisite, lies glistening in the morning sun,As if the tempestuous night was just a gruesome dream.The gentle breeze blows the long, drowsy grass into a trance.Overweight seagulls, lethargic and capricious cackle at passing people.A fishing boat bobs up and down on the somnolent water.The raging army now subdued - sleeps in the bottomless depthsOf the lapis lazuli ocean.It is hard to believe that this was once a menacing battle scene,But the war is not over, for he is waiting far awayIn this blanket of docile beauty.

India Leigh (5JH)

The SeaThe battle of a ravenous, frenzied, beast obliterating the battered cliffs.The sea’s spray eroding like acid into weather bitten rocks.A tempestuous territorial revenge, the waves curdling with the debris and sand.Like the recoil of a spring the destructive waves lurch back then pounce firmlyupon the shore with a seething anger.The King of the sea hurls his strength at the rocks disturbing debris and maliciouslytaunting fishing boats.His escalating fury undulating as he haphazardly tosses a lump of wood at the cliffeffortlessly.

As the day starts to dawn the tempestuous sea,Subdues, calms - the beams of sunlight fill the bay,Enticing it, seducing it, into a trance as the glorious lapis lazuli waves slowly wash in,Tenderly licking the sand encrusted pebbles.The garrulous gulls mend their weather worn nests As seals play jocosely far below in the kingdom of swaying locks of kelp.The serene picturesque bay lathered in tranquillity absorbs the silent peacebetween the ocean and the land.The King of the sea lies dormant at the bottom of his serene kingdom.The battered fishing boats lie splayed limply like drift wood, along the golden sand,Absorbing the heat as if they were sunbathing carefree in this secret cove.

Jacca Deeble-Stone (5JH)

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The Five Senses SummerAs I stroll relaxingly down the lush green hill towards the field, I hear the musicaltwittering of many content birds. The soft grass tickles my bare feet. The slightlyoverwhelming smell of freshly cut grass hangs in the air so you can almost taste it.

I walk over to one of the perfectly sculptured trees that are scattered around. I liedown in the shadow of the blossoming tree that is swaying gently in the lightbreeze. As I lie, bathed in warm, radiant rays from the sun, dead or dying clumpsof daffodils lie around me, forgotten, as new and fresh daisies take their place.

The soft, delicate petals stroke my cheeks. I stand up and brush my hand againstthe different textures on the bark of the nearest tree.

I can hear the soft hum of a lawnmower in the distance. I can also hear the cowsmooing gently in a repetitive fashion.They graze happily while the sun aims warmstreams of hot air at their bodies, just like the boiling air hammering on my back.

WinterThe soft white marshmallow-looking blanket of snow smothers the ground.Theevergreen trees stand strong against the wilting deciduous trees with emptybranches.The soft, unique snowflakes fall silently onto me.The flakes are incrediblydetailed, with each line and cross shaped spectacularly.

The paper-white snow, vivid green trees and sparkling blue sky look radianttogether.The scenery is so beautiful I feel as if I’m in a classic picture on the frontof a postcard.

I can’t smell anything because every breath of fresh air freezes the insides of mynose.The crisp air bites my ears and fingers, turning them cherry red.

As I walk, the rhythmic crunching sound of my feet dipping into the bright whitesnow relaxes me.

I sit down heavily onto the snow and plunge my hands into the freezing blanket ofsoft ice.The handprints I make are mine, and they are original.

Louisa Butcher (4PS)

Sun RengaTyrant of the world.Torch that guides the earth each day.Unique, exquisite.Moods change at its every whim.Controller of the seasons.Indestructible.Mother of nature and life.Earth’s eternal light.

Flora Dickinson (5JH)

Pigs Can FlyThe two boys set off down the river hoping they would make it.The supplies were packed.They were ready but was the river ready for them?

The canoe twisted and turned as it blasted its way through the rapids.The canoe flipped, the boys fell out.They were now in the hands of the river.

The last words they heard before they set off were;“You could never do it!It’s like saying pigs can fly!”The boys got rid of the thoughts in their heads and tried to focus.

They grabbed the boat by its edge, and pushed with all their strength.The boat flipped over, they were safe, but the worst was yet to come.

They came to calm water they were ok; but calm water is a bad sign on a white water river as it leads to a waterfall.The boys didn’t think, they did not care, as it was the first calmfor three hours but still they did not think.

The boat was pulled over, hidden by the spray, the tip of the canoecut through the water, splitting the spray in half.The two boys emerged, they saw their destination, they had made it down and proved the man wrong.They leapt out at once and kisseddry land and this is why the man remembers,Billy and Sam.

Alexander Majorin (4PS)

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A Loose ThoughtThe streets were dark, cold and quiet. No soul wandered the roads as I amlonely and inconspicuous against the heartless night. I look up to the sky andwonder why the woman of the night sky must be so harsh to me tonight, forshe is not wearing her diamonds and her black gown does not glimmer witha thousand precious stones, watching me in their sweet silence, as I dwelldown here below, the paving stones as my bed, the dust and plastic, that aregently taunted down the streets by the elements, my only comforts. My nightlights are the street lamps, tarnished with rust and neglect, the orangey blur ofa hallucination. My story books sprayed garishly over the walls behind, a blendof symbols and defiances.The cemetery of my insect friends, outstretched onthe pavement below, remind me of my isolation.

I gaze longingly at the people in the houses towering above me surroundedby their plush carpets, soft beds and the security of constant warmth andlight.They peer out of their windows, seeing me, but seeing right through me,belittling me as they turn away and draw the curtains. Rejected, alone,despised for what I must appear like.

I fill my meaningless days, watching people, observing others’ happiness in anattempt to stave off the void within my soul. I seek refuge in the dark,uninhabited alleyways, regarding passers-by elusively as they hurry to theirnext engagement, consumed with themselves, adorned in wondrousgarments.Weighted down by purchases I could only ever yearn for, wrappedaway in bags, swinging at knee height, making statements of their social classand high-powered careers. I gaze at them, study them, with not a penny tohold in the palm of my filthy, gnarled hand. It seems that I am too different tothem, to be meekly wandering the same streets as them.They do notacknowledge me in my wretchedness, their eyes are full of disgust – they arerepulsed to share the same pavement as me. But some, their gaze shootsright through me – as if I am not there. I do not know which gaze is worse.As I lie alone, shivering in the harsh empty nights, when the woman abovechooses to feel doleful and melancholic, I pray that these people will one daybreak free from their blinkered lives and will spare a loose thought for me –have sympathy for the little girl who has nothing to call her own and no oneto call her family. For the only woman in my life is that of the night sky andthe only toys I have are the wasted items from another child, rejected anddisregarded now as useless.

I know sure enough that I shall forever be shunned by the rest of society, justas surely as I know that the lady of the night wears her many diamonds.Thequestion now is; will she decide to display them tonight or wear a black veilmasking the one brief moment which rekindles my hope in the beauty of life– a loose thought perhaps.

Hannah Morris (6HW)

A Short Story Written in the Style ofEdgarAllan PoeI know that I should not drink, gamble or smoke, but all three are unbelievablyaddictive. I often challenge people to a game of cards when I am in the localpub. I commonly lose, and get exceptionally drunk afterwards. I know that isnot the most rational thing to do, however it is the only way that I abscond toa utopia that is entirely my own; the only way I can break away from my lifeand forget every single gambling debt that I owe. It feels wonderful.As I subtly mull this over in my head, I become suddenly aware of the oddsensation of being watched. It starts with a prickle at the back of your neck,and gradually spreads, seeping all over your body until your teeth are on edgeand your insides writhe unpleasantly. It is a grotesque feeling which I, personally,despise. It makes my blood run cold and positively chills me to the bone.

I whip around; nothing. I stare into the dark foliage on either side of thegloomy path. Nothing. I advance slightly and peer menacingly round thecorner. Nothing. I study the tree canopy. Nothing.

Terror seizes my already violently beating heart with its grasp, making meshiver uncontrollably. It might be my drunkenness; however, I still have aghastly suspicion that I am being watched.

I quicken my pace, staring relentlessly at my feet, I concentrate on them; one,two, one, two, one, two.Without knowing what I am doing I begin to run, Irun wildly, blindly. Out of the shrubbery on either side of the repulsive path,jump two figures, clad in black. One grabs me and hits me over the headbefore I can even shout for help. I am falling into a murky void, tumbling, intoand un-illuminated chasm.

I awaken to an excruciating headache; I cannot see a thing. I reach for mylamp, but my hand grabs nothing.Then I recall the previous night. Myrecollections frighten me, so I attempt to drive them out of my throbbinghead. As my eyes begin to adjust, I realise that I am not alone in this dark,dingy, derelict room.There is a hideous, heinous man watching me. As herealises that I am awake, he flashes me a repulsive grin, showing many vilegold teeth. At once, I recognise him as the man I owed most of my debts to.He obviously knew that I recalled him, because he grinned again causinghorror to seep through my veins.

Lucy Telfer-Smollett (4PS)

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Midnight DreamingI lie awake in my safe, commodious room,Outside the window there’s a different world.There’s an ebony, satin sheet, held up by pillars of gold,Encrusted with pearls and diamonds.But these pillars are hidden by the landscape’s beauty,That stretches out, further than the eye can see.

The iridescent sovereign of the night,Is a perfect circle, and shines in fullest pride.Scattered copiously around the sphere that dangles from the darkness,Are winking and glimmering, silver eyes, which look down on the world.A few dart across the sky and shatter into nothing.

This is the time of night where everything that humans don’t know about,come aliveDevious, shy creatures, big or small,Come out, from their hiding places.A gelid wind blows softly,Waking the trees, so they breathe and groan.

The sea rolls onto the beach as strong as ever,Lulling people into a deeper sleep with its enchanting sound.Silhouettes of owls and bats fly past the full moon,Stalking their prey.The ground stirs with movement, until morn,Where the eerie atmosphere fades,And the birds sing once again.

Emily Redman (5JH)

MidnightI am awakened by the iridescent moonlight,That has flooded through my window,Like a gleaming waterfall.I gaze around at the glimmering city of light,That has collapsed on top of me.Beaming sheets of light,Showering down on me.

A shallow breeze clasps meAnd entwines me up into true wonder,As it picks me up and out of the snoring household.

Stars soar around me as I climb higher.I can feel myself soar above sheets of glistening stars.I am overwhelmed by a mysterious force,Which has gripped me tenaciously and will not let go.

Waves of valour float past me,Granting light to all of those who pass them,As they carry on with their arduous journey, to the majestic pool.

Suddenly I can feel myself gently descend,Back to the sullen Earth,Where the old, twisted shadows,Which are guarding their realm of darkness.Then back to my bedroom,Where I am being soothed to sleep again,By the whistling wind.

William Wells (5JH)

NightNight is very dark,Night is very quiet and beautiful.Many small stars are in night.But sometimes, night is angry.When he is angry, he’s really scary.Shouting and crying.His voice is loud.I ask him, “Why are you crying?”But he’s still crying and angry.Really, really loudly.He punches the trees and breaks themBut in the morning, he’s smiling.

Yume Fujita (5ADW)

Screaming - A story told in the style ofEdgar Allen PoeThe screaming wouldn’t stop. An old woman’s voice leading the band insidehis head. He wanted to die, he wanted to crawl inside himself and screamand scream until the voices drowned. But he knew that his friends and familywould be upset. He was a mass-murderer but he still had friends and family.He had killed at least seven or eight people.Their voices still rang in his madand tortured mind. No one actually knew he was a murderer although one ofhis friends was suspicious. He lay there twisting and turning in his bed. Heknew he would prefer to die than lie in this modern version of hell.

There was a shop nearby that sold all sorts of weapons. He kept thinkingwhat might happen if he committed suicide. It would end the screaming.His head ached with screaming, screaming and more screaming. It was thebeginning of a tortured death. He even began screaming himself with theagony of it all. He was on the fringe of society; he wanted to escape his body,to escape his mind.

He sighed. He was stuck in no-man’s land. He just wanted to be free. Hewanted to tell his Mother and Father, like a child.Then he burst into anotherfit of screaming; he knew it would never be the same.

William MacEacharn (4PS)

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Underneath the MistletoeThe sky darkened. A small, white and pure snow-flake fell onto my nose; itsfriends followed it daintily at first until they thundered down and formed awhite blanket beneath my feet.The air smelt of snow and I could feel thefrantic atmosphere surround me.

Snow was my only friend in this bare field. I quickened my pace admiring thebeauty of the land we live in.

I ran, until I entered the village green; the excitement was excruciating.Children laughed as they made snow-men.The snow danced around themand occasionally fell onto their hats and gloves.

Mothers fussed around their children, worrying about them catching a cold.Everyone helped each other build snow balls; the true meaning of Christmas,love and friendship. Babies sat in their prams, smiling gleefully. Mothers andFathers were anxious about buying last minute Christmas presents; ChristmasEve was in the air.

I ran into the forest and felt the raw air hit my face.The snow hung onto thetrees and glistened in the specks of sunlight which came though the clouds atodd moments. Suddenly, it started to become dark.The frigid air and the sense of dark forced me inside the house. I creptupstairs and hopped into bed.When the clock struck midnight, I walkeddownstairs; I am sure I saw the silhouette of two people, sharing a kiss, underthe mistletoe.

Sofia Oxenham (6LC)

Petit Bateau - Autobiographical writingThe smell of the French patisserie; the clear turquoise seas; the rosy, crumblycliffs around the bay. All these things remind me of our annual trip to theSouth of France but the best thing of all is our small, scruffily painted fishingboat, “Le Petit Bateau”.

Every day this summer we went out on the boat. One day was the mostperfect of all. Dad swam out to get Petit Bateau and brought her into thepontoon where we were all waiting with our picnic things.We jumped on tothe boat slowly as it lurched from side to side, then we chugged off into thedistance with the gulls screaming as they caught the silvery fish swimmingbelow. At times, Le Petit Bateau struggled to cope with the enormous wakesleft by the gleaming ‘gin palaces’ that sped past us. At last, we arrived at whatDad likes to call our special place. On this day, Dad let me throw the anchorto secure the boat, which was always an honour.

We settled down for our usual routine. First, we dived into the sea and Mumgave us marks out of ten. I dived in and went deeper and deeper. As I wentdeeper, the sea became darker and scarier. I came back up to the surface,Mum grinned and shouted, “9.1 Fia!” (My best score ever!)

After a glorious picnic, I lay in the sun happy and relaxed with all my worriesfalling away from me and plopping like pebbles into the sea.

Finally, Dad switched on the engine and began to turn the boat towardshome. Izella and I snuggled under a damp towel, and as the sun slowly driftedbehind the mountains, I felt my eyes close.

Sofia Oxenham (6LC)

Hidden Death“Hey Jonny, do you see this? ‘Man killed in Reptile Street, killed by some sortof snake. Detective needed!’ Let’s go!” Detective Conners read aloud fromthe newspaper in his London humid office to Jonny, his dark-haired, serious-faced assistant.

“Anything to get out of here, let’s go and find the killer!” Jonny said eagerly.Ten hours later, at midnight in Reptile Street, the statue of the Aztec Snake-God Asmodeus slithered off his plinth and sniffed the air for a victim. His jet-black marble body made no sound as he glided over the wet cobble-stonedstreets of London.The moonlight reflected off the deep-set, dark-greenemeralds that were his eyes as he looked around for the rat he had smelt aminute or two ago.

The rat’s high-pitched squeak broke the silent night air for a second, then thesilence was restored.“I swear on Muvver’s grave I saw a huge black snake wiv’ bright green eyes thatlit up in the moonlight last night!” the landlady at The Devil’s Cauldron stated.“Thank you for your time, Mary.” Detective Conners said, obviously finishedwith the conversation.“Do you know anything about the snake or the murder?” Jonny asked Tod, afriend of his.“I saw the ‘uge beast, it came from by that statue in Reptile Street,” he replied.Jonny walked over to Conners and pulled him outside.“I haven’t seen weather like this since 1829,” Conners commented as theystepped out into the downpour.

Jonny and Conners collected all the information they could.They sat aboutlooking in books for huge black snakes with green eyes. “This is the best yet,”said Jonny pointing at a picture of a Black Viper.“Yeah, but it lives in North Africa though. How would it get over here?”Conners asked pointedly.“The circus!” exclaimed Jonny.“You go and find Gibbons, he’s into that sort of business,” Conners ordered.

Jonny was jogging down Reptile Street to The Devil’s Cauldron when heheard a splash behind him. He turned around and saw a huge black shapelooming up behind him. “What the… Ahhh!” He screamed as Asmodeuslunged with lighting speed at his face.He was dead before he hit the ground.

Conners was following Jonny’s muddy footsteps when he saw, under astreetlamp, Asmodeus feeding on the last few chunks of Jonny’s carcass. Herubbed his eyes then opened them again, and the body and the snake weregone! “Phew!” Conners said wiping the sweat off his forehead.Hisssss!“Huh?” Conners grunted as he turned around. Snap! His eyes closed and hekeeled over.Dead.

Asmodeus terrified the people of London for a further eight years killingseventy-eight men and women before exploding in a furnace at a steelfactory in 1842.Be very, very careful of statues.

Alex Ferguson (3JB)

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Autobiographical WritingFrom Calais to Venice in a BentleyTouring is a funny thing, isn’t it?My tour started in Calais.This true story started by us rushing through Reims,stopping at Strasbourg, growling in Genova and visiting Venice.When we werein the Channel Tunnel we set the Sat Nav (satellite navigation) to Houbourg-whir (Strasbourg), France. As we entered Calais we took a wrong turn, theSat Nav sprung to life and began to speak.“Turn left,” – but if we had, we would have driven into buildings!We managed to get out of the mess, so we headed for Reims. Along theroad, every few minutes we had to stop to pay money. My Mum had to get outevery five minutes.We finally got to Strasbourg and the hotel called “The Ibis.”We were having dinner when I asked if I could get a book from my room. Iwalked into the bar in the lobby and there was a boy sitting on a stool,probably about eight years old. I thought I’d have a conversation with him.“Are you English?” I asked.“Francais!” he replied.“What?!” I asked again.“Mois, Francais!” he replied again, looking worried. But then he reached intomy pocket, having spotted a packet of crisps!“Merci!” he said.“But, but! Those aren’t for you!” I had lost my French crisps! I could hardlybelieve it!

The next morning, we set off for Genova.We came to this long line of cars; aborder! It took ages to cross.When we finally did pass through the border, wearrived in Switzerland.There were some beautiful mountains in Switzerland;we actually saw more mountains than people! We saw a famous mountain;the Mattahorn. As we stormed through Switzerland, we reached Italy. Ourhotel in Geneva was called “The Portofino Kulm.” It sounded simple, but thefull address looked really complicated.

The worst drive ever had begun. First we went into a small town calledCamogli, in a huge car.We were heading the right way when I (yes, me!)made a mistake on the map! We turned into a little street and drove up andup and up. Suddenly, we came to a small roundabout which we managed togo around the wrong way; we blocked two Italians by mistake.Then we droveup an even smaller road.We stopped and blocked four cars! We were notproving very popular when a woman kindly led us to our hotel; a fun ride!

Our next hotel was near Venice, well, it wasn’t a hotel; it was more like ahouse. It was called “The Viclas Rizzi Acbera.”When we arrived, we weregreeted by lovely growling Rottweilers! And to our surprise the Butler let us in.The woman who owned the house was very nice, but she neverseemed to stop talking! I was surprised the dogs hadn’t eaten her!

At night we realized we were trapped.There were bars on all the windowsand doors, and outside were snarling Rottweilers! We left early the nextmorning to escape the motor-mouth and the intrusive Butler!

Venice was lovely; St Marc’s square was beautiful (and busy!) and our ride ona gondola was purely peaceful.On our way back to England we did a huge drive, very like Le Mans.We evenwent through Germany! When we got back we had a great few days withAlexander, my big brother.We went letterboxing and found ten in one day! Itwas a great holiday but we did learn a very important lesson: Never take abig car to Italy!

Oscar Mustard (3JB)

The Bliss of SolitudeThose abominable words that are attached to me are torture,I can’t repel it,It’s like I’m in the middle of a war zone,Each hurl of a plate tears my confidence away,Like wallpaper being torn down,Why must they incessantly hurl belligerent comments at each other?My anger is locked in a chest,The key obliterated into thin air,This anger has welled up inside me and is now like a volcano ready to erupt.

Oh to escape to my own private utopia,Where those irascible comments seep out of me,The blissful noise of the coconuts tapping together,The lush golden sand glides between my toes like a fish through the coral,Where euphoria flows through my elated body,The gentle lapping of the waves upon the beach are enticing me to sleep,Whilst the swaying of the palm trees seduce me into a serene trance,At last the turmoil that once consumed me Has dissipated – alone and free

Mikey Cousens (5JH)

‘My senses overwhelm me’As you walk into the garden, a blast of cool breeze blows swiftly past you andas the dusky pink, opaque smoke clears, a wonderful rainbow of brightcolours hits your face. Joy then flows freely through your body and you findyourself strolling through the paradise, breathing in the sweet incense ofexpensive perfume.

The hedgerow bares a pattern that inspires whoever may set their eyes uponthe masterpiece. All the gracious garden gnomes in a flowerbed greet all ofthe enchanted awestruck people that may pass them. In the middle of thiswindy shaped perfectly grown maze, sits a peaceful tree which is surroundedby small, majestic rhododendrons in succulent soil. Luscious grass surrounds itdisplaying a welcoming shade of rainforest green. All of the incredible birds flygracefully from tree to tree and the long, lush grass sways in time to the cool,relaxing breeze.

A beautiful expanse of velvet lying behind the topiary, has a wonderfulsapphire river meandering marvellously through it like a single sweep of ablue tit’s wing, finally ending up in a crystal clear pond with some water-liliesshining in the spring sun. Smooth pebbles elegantly sit at the bottom of thepond with golden gold-fish darting past the lilies, weaving through the small fountain.

What is this? This is purity.

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Descriptive writing 'My senses overwhelm me'I stepped into a sweet smelling garden.The roses drew me over to them.Therewas an old swing under a huge flowing elegant tree.The swing stood poor andhelpless like a slave. Everything else in the garden looked sophisticated. Thetulips boasted and looked like a gleaming fire. A majestic, sweet smelling applestood proud. My hand touched a shiny, soft, opaque apple.The sunlight caughtthe apple and it beamed like a star. In the magnificent sweet smelling apple tree,small birds were singing. A slight wind caught me and set the chicks chirping. Akite fluttered in the wind, trees and leaves rustled, rummaged and ran about ontheir knees.The bark on the end of my fingers felt like the texture of bricks athome. I went cautiously to the middle of the garden to feel the soft roses.Theyfelt like a feather.The pungent smell of the flowers drew my nostrils open. Mysenses overwhelmed me.

Meaghan Ryder-Green (2CB)

Descriptive writing 'My senses overwhelm me'As I opened the creaking door, the brilliant scent of garden perfume flew to mynostrils. As I walked along a path, the towering, dazzling yew trees caught myeye.The sun was like a torch shining down on me.All the rows of flowers werearranged neatly, twisting and spiralling through the garden.The rhododendronbushes smelt like sweet lavender.The great Oak tree leered at me.The gardenresounded like an orchestra pit. My senses overwhelmed me.

Thomas Williamson-Cary (2CB)

How the Snake Became So LongLong, long ago there was a snake. One day he went for a walk with his friendsthe tiger and the bear. The snake suddenly fell down a hole and got stuck. Histail was poking out so the tiger and the bear pulled and pulled, trying to get himout but the bear's hands just slipped off. He gripped him harder and tried again.The snake stayed in the hole. The snake stretched longer and longer. Eventuallythe snake shot out. The bear and the tiger were amazed at the snake's newform. And to this day the snake is long.

Charles Secombe

How the Snake Lost his LegsLong, long ago there lived a snake. He lived in the forest, alone, with no friends.All his neighbours were much bigger than him. They teased him so he tried toclimb trees to get out of their way, but his silly, clumsy feet got in the way.

One day his neighbours were being so mean that he decided to run away, far,far away so he could find better friends. He packed his suitcase and walked andwalked. After three days his feet started to wear away. One more day passedand by the night he had no feet left at all.

He arrived at a new forest. He found a crowd of animals. They made friendsvery quickly and the snake found he could climb trees without his silly feet. Andto this day the snake crawls on his tummy and is very happy without his feet.

Wilf Hadow

Myths How the tortoise got a cracked shell Years ago, when the world was new, there was a whole group of animals. Oneday they all gathered around the water hole. They were deciding how theywanted to move. So first the Lion who was their King said '' I could run''.

''So could I'' the leopard quickly replied.

Next the monkey said ''I could swing'' and the Crow suggested that he could fly.

Now everyone had a way to move, well almost everyone.Tortoise who had aflat shell decided he wanted to fly. So he asked crow for some help. Crowagreed to help Tortoise to fly and they went to the top of a high hill.They thenwaited for a gust of wind, tortoise flew for a second and then he began to falldown to the ground. His shell cracked into one hundred pieces, crow helpedhim fix it but it was so lumpy that to this day tortoise has a cracked shell.

Madeleine Lewis

Myths The Cheetah rabbit and the hippo Long ago on an Island all of the animals were gathered around the water hole.They gathered around there because the cheetah and the hippo kept boastinghow strong they were.The rabbit had a plan. It was a tug of war.The next daythe rabbit went round with a rope to Hippo and asked for a tug of war.

The hippo said yes and the rabbit bounced around to the cheetah's house andasked for a tug of war.

The cheetah said yes.

The rabbit bounced to the top of the hill and said ready steady go! Both pulled andthe rabbit pulled out some scissors snipped the rope: Both animals tumbled back.

The cheetah fell in some mud the mud stained and the hippo fell in the water.And from this day on the cheetah has spots and a hippo stays in water.

Angus Crofton


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1st XV Rugby 2006It was early September and 30 degrees centigrade in Bristol as a newrugby season kicked off with the Clifton Prep Schools Rugby Festival.Inexperienced teams always suffer at these early tournaments and ourfate was no different to other schools in a similar position.Well beaten byan impressive Millfield unit in the opening game, the team recovered wellto draw with Clifton Rugby Club U13s and beat Pinewood in the finalgame of the afternoon.With half the party under twelve this was the startof a long learning curve.

On a fine afternoon, despite weather forecasts predicting heavy rain, amuch-improved performance by the Mount House pack was the basis fora well -deserved win over local rivals, Kelly College.

Huge improvements in rucking and scrummaging gave the home side'stalented young backs enough possession to create a huge territorialadvantage throughout the first half. Good defence by the visitors kepttheir line intact until Harry Heal pierced the first line to offload to fly half,Tim Pope, who scored under the posts. Two minutes later a sustainedperiod of play stretched the Kelly defence to breaking point again and thistime debut winger, Dominic Scaglioni crossed in the corner.Tim Pope'sconversion made the half time score 12-0.

Kelly adopted a more direct, forward orientated approach in the secondhalf and only solid tackling in the back row centre kept the scoreunchanged. Mount House came close to extending the lead on a numberof occasions, several chances falling to winger Alex Zervudachi, who wasbundled into either touch or corner flag on no less than three occasions.It was left to scrum half Harry Heal, who was outstanding throughout, toscore a third try for the home team with a lovely blind side break.

Kelly deservedly scored soon after (17-5), but Tim Pope's mature andcalming influence at fly half saw that the game was quietly put to rest,leaving the home team to enjoy victory in its first match of the season.This was followed by a bruising encounter with Wellington School whorightly played to their strengths, namely a powerful, strong running backrow.The XV can take much credit for their willingness to engage physically

with their opponents: all players tackled well, but too many first up tackleswere too high, missed and scores conceded. Half time: 0-26

The second half saw a much better performance. A good scrummagingperformance and sound kicking options by the half-backs brought thehome side a territorial advantage that resulted in two tries.Mikey Cousenswent over in the corner after a superbly timed pass by William Steed andHarry Heal surged over from 2m taking much of the Wellington pack withhim.Wellington scored a try late in the half to seal a deserved win.Nothing at half time in the match against Sandroyd suggested the collapsethat saw the Mount House XV ship 40 points in a long, long second half.The number of young players in the side may have been a reason asenergy levels dropped, but poor tackling against big, powerful runners wasprobably a more telling factor. Only the half backs Harry Heal and TimPope could take any real pride in their performances.

While it appeared that sides from out of the county would poseproblems for the XV, in Devon the team looked relatively comfortable.Despite fielding a good number of 2nd XV players, Mount House 1st XVretained their 100% win record against St Peter’s, Lympstone. Playingtowards the Tavy in the first half the pack produced a rather moreconvincing performance than in past matches. In particular it was good,at last, to see forwards thinking about body position and binding in therucks; scrum and line-out functioned well with William Steed outstandingin the latter.

Territorial pressure brought about the first try when Harry Heal’sbreak from a tap penalty was followed up by hooker, Elliot Woodhead,who dived over in the corner. A second try followed soon afterwardswhen elusive winger, Alex Zervudachi, danced over in the oppositecorner, squeezing through a gap that only he had spotted. Tim Popeadded a big conversion. St. Peter’s, inspired by good performances bytheir locks and left wing, came back strongly in the second half and onlyill-discipline at the break down prevented them from mounting aperiod of sustained pressure. Gradually the home side weathered thestorm and an opportunistic break out down the blind side saw MikeyCousens kick on and gather to go over in the corner. A torrential five-minute downpour dampened the spirits of both players andspectators and the final whistle came as a relief for almost everyone.

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through a gap in the St. Michael’s defence to score the decisive try (histhird consecutive match on the score sheet). Tim Pope added a longrange conversion with another excellent strike.

St. Michael’s threw caution to the wind late in the game and scored aconsolation try in the dying minutes, but Mount House’s young teamgrew up a little that day and fully deserved their win.

The Downs School from Bristol always provide the toughest ofopposition and despite the final score, this was a competitive match forlong periods and, during the opening ten minutes of the second half,Mount House looked capable of producing a shock result. In the first halfthe Downs scored three tries to lead 15-0 at the break. Individualmistakes - mostly missed tackles - gifting the home side easy scores.Mount House played against the slope and a fierce wind in the secondhalf, but amazingly played much better rugby.The rucking was cleaner andmore effective and the backs ran with greater purpose. It was no surprisethat after five minutes of pressure near the Downs line, Michael Cousenswent over after some slick handling in the three-quarters.The middle ofthe half was close fought, but in the last quarter the Downs came backto score three more tries and run out comfortable victors.

The return match against Kelly College was the best match of the term.Parents, players and staff from both sides all enjoyed a wonderful match.Despite losing by the narrowest of margins, this was a performance ofguts, determination and no little skill. Kelly sped to a two try lead after onlyeight minutes, their quick powerful centre scoring twice - despite trainingsessions on Monday and Tuesday specifically targeting this area.

After this initial setback the XV got back into the game thanks to anoutstanding display of rucking - for which all fifteen players can take credit- and some intelligent decision making among the backs.

In the second half Kelly resorted to a forward based game while MountHouse abandoned any form of attack other than passing and running.Wave after wave of attack was launched and first Michael Cousens andthen Tristan Searight crossed to bring the scores to 10-12 with just under 10 minutes left. Several times the Kelly line was broken only for theircentre to track down the escapee and save the day. In the end time ranout and Kelly held on to win by two points.

The final match of the term encapsulated the whole season.This was a menagainst boys mismatch, with Taunton Prep School fielding a pack of giganticproportions that dominated the line out and ran powerfully wheneverloose ball came their way. Only in the scrums and rucks did Mount Housecompete and here it was good technique rather than power.

0-27 down at half time, Mount House did score a well-worked try in theopening moments of the second half through wing Alex Zervudachi, butthis was a singular highlight.Taunton scored two tries in the second halfto end the game easy winners.

The results this season were disappointing and this team is the first intwenty years to lose more matches than it won. However, the majorfactors that contributed to this record were all beyond the control ofthe players. Fewer boys than normal in the sixth form meant that aheavy burden fell on the shoulders of a talented group of fifth years.While they showed excellent skills, they could not cope with thephysical challenge in a year when opposing teams, especially theforwards, seemed bigger and more powerful than ever. A good big ‘unwill always beat a good little ‘un! That said, with 11 of this team backnext year the future looks very bright indeed. Fingers crossed that‘normal service’ will resume in 2007.

Against King’s Hall, Taunton, Mount House put on their bestperformance of the term to date and were competitive in everyaspect of the game.The forwards looked to have made great stridesover the past two weeks and rucking and mauling were goodthroughout. Scrums were solid and debutant hooker Tommy Lyon-Smith capped a fine debut with one against the head late in the secondhalf. The three quarters showed good handling and passing skills, butlacked a little penetration. Mount House enjoyed a considerableterritorial advantage throughout the game, but missed tackles gaveaway two tries in the first half leading to a 0-12 deficit at half time.Theloss of Tim Pope through injury early in the second half did not helpthough replacement Tristan Searight showed much composure andskill on the ball. A well worked try by Harry Heal and Mikey Cousens’conversion brought the XV back into the game, but poor tackles againlet King’s Hall stretch their lead with a try under the posts.A fourth tryin the dying moments gave the home side a bigger winning marginthan perhaps they deserved.

Blundell’s brought yet another huge pack to Tavistock Overawed andunder pressure, the home side found themselves quickly 0-12 downand it took some time and some outstanding tackles by scrum halfHarry Heal to make the team realise that their opponents wereactually human. Better defence and a solid forward effort broughtabout a period of equality before a further try for the visitors left thehalf time score 0-19. A sharp exchange of views at half time saw arather more impressive start to the second half than to the first.Withineight minutes, the home side had reduced the arrears to 12-19. Bothtries were outstanding individual efforts: Mikey Cousens danced hisway to the line showing off his side stepping skills, while Rhys Daviesused a hand-off and pace to power over.

Having got themselves right back into the game (as at King’s Hall lastweek) a turnover from the kick-off saw Blundell’s back onto the offensiveand the score line soon 12-26.A late try ensured that Blundell’s left withan impressive win.

Sherborne was a game that Mount House should have won. Whilethere was much on view that was praiseworthy, the bottom line isthat the 1st XV threw away a game that they should have won.Despite the closeness of the score at half time (8-5) the team hadplayed with good sense, sound tactics and had mastered the threatposed by the opposition’s large No 8.The second half started brightly,but a missed touch kick saw the team pinned in its own 22 for aprolonged period. The effort required to keep the line intact duringthis period drained the forwards in particular of any reserves ofenergy they might have had, and the No. 8, previously well marshalled, barrelled over from short distances to record a hat trickof tries in the last five minutes of the game.

Taking a lesson out of the All Blacks game plan, training post-Sherbornewas all about doing the simple things well.As a result the 1st XV put in astrong performance against sound, well coached opposition from St.Michael’s,Tawstock, controlling the game for long periods and dominatingterritory. The line out and scrum functioned well and the backsthreatened whenever they had the ball.That said St. Michael’s defendedwith a good deal of courage and skill and the half time score was 0-0.At Sherborne the XV had lost its way badly in the second half, but thiswas not the case today.Again, the team gained a territorial advantage andthis time points followed. Tim Pope’s huge penalty opened the scoringand then the same player pounced on a loose ball in the St. Michael’s 22and dribbled it over the line to score.Tim also added the conversion.Witha reasonable lead, the players began to relax and play some excitingrunning rugby. Good interplay between the back row, in which LouisFerguson was outstanding, and the three-quarters saw Rhys Davies burst


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2nd XV Rugby 2006

Mount House began the season with a tough match at home to a strongWellington side.The truth is that Mount House was camped in its ownhalf for almost the whole game and, in a way, the result was a real triumphfor Mount House, despite the 25-0 scoreline, because of the fighting spiritthe team demonstrated.

Mount House was also in defence a lot of the time in the next fixture, athome to Blundell’s, although this turned out to be an even closer game.It was a superb defensive display and, as against Wellington, the teamstayed determined in the face of tremendous pressure in a 5-0 reverse.

A reward for much hard work took place four days later with a deservedwin at St. Peter’s, Lympstone, the first time that the team was playing aschool on an equal footing.Tries from Jack Galsworthy,William Wells andPeter Harrison gave the team a well-earned and much needed 15-0 victory.

King’s Hall,Taunton was the venue for anotherclose game on a balmy autumn afternoon inSomerset. Despite having quite a bit ofpossession, Mount House could not get thepoints as King’s gained a 15-0 win.

Mount House should perhaps have won thenext game, away at Sherborne. We had thelion’s share of territory and possession butwere prevented from scoring by some verygood defence. Paddy Ferguson had yetanother excellent game and both Jonty andJamie Parsons shone in the pack. Sadly thethrees could not make the inroads that wouldhave resulted in a deserved win. Sherbornescored with almost their only trip inside our22-metre line!

Mount House did score in the next match, atTaunton School, with an early try from PaddyFerguson from a penalty move, but, sadly, acouple of missed tackles resulted in trieswhich cost us another match.

The final game of the season was a very exciting 0-0 draw at Kelly. MountHouse edged things in the first half and pleasing runs from Jack Norris,Tom Dowie and Jonty Parsons almost brought tries. Kelly came back intoit in the second half and Mount House defended brilliantly in a five-minutespell, which somehow prevented Kelly from crossing the line. For manyboys it was to be the last game for Mount House and there was an extragear in a lot of players, which helped the draw to materialise.

Played 7,Won 1, Drawn 1, Lost 5. For 20,Against 60

Jonathan Banyard

1st XV Rugby 2006 continued

Playing recordResults

Kelly College U13 H W 22 5Taunton Prep School H D 7 7Kelly College U13 H W 17 5Wellington School U13 H L 10 31Sandroyd H L 0 52St. Peter's, Lympstone H W 17 0King's Hall,Taunton A L 7 24Blundell's H L 12 31Sherborne Prep School A L 8 22St. Michael's,Tawstock H W 17 7The Downs,Wraxall A L 5 30Kelly College U13 A L 10 12Taunton Prep School A L 5 39

Tries : Cousens M. 5, Davies R. 3, Heal, H. 3, Pope T. 2,Zervudachi A. 2, Searight T. 1,Woodhead, E. 1

Cons : Pope T. 5, Cousens M. 1Pens : Pope T. 2

The following played for the 2006 1st XV: Jayarajah F., Searight T.,Scaglioni D., Davies R., Cousens M., Zervudachi A., Pope T. (capt), Heal H.,Mann J., Lyon-Smith T., Mann E., Steed W.,Williams J., Bertie J.,WoodheadE., Ferguson L..Also played : Ferguson P.,Dalton J., Parsons Jon.,GalsworthyJ., Dowie T.

Full Colours were awarded to: Pope T., Heal H.

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Rugby Sevens 1st VII

The 1st VII were set limited goals for the first tournament of the year atSherborne - firstly to show that they had understood some of the basic,but key skills of Sevens and to avoid last place in their group! It took sometime for the VII to get going, but a big win over Clayesmore enabled themto achieve the second of those targets and set them off on a quest towin the Plate. In the Plate, the VII lifted their game again and a 19-0 winover Wells Cathedral saw them in the Final where they defeatedHazlegrove 19-5, thereby overturning a 12-21 defeat against the sameschool in the group games.

The quality and size of the schools invited to the Bryanston Sevens meantthat this would always be a demanding tournament.Three injuries early inthe day did not help matters and the surviving seven boys tired as theyplayed their way through five difficult group matches.Their performancewas honourable and they never gave up, but the opposition was either bigor talented and often both! A single win was scant reward for a lot ofeffort, but some big defeats suggested difficult times ahead once theSevens season proper starts.

The Mount House Sevens Tournament was held in January and heavyconditions did little to help the team.Though they played some delightfulrugby and scored some excellent tries, they still found the physical play ofsome sides difficult to overcome.That said two good victories and a drawwere recorded against the Devon sides present and the only defeat cameat the hands of S.Anselm’s, visitors from the Peak District.The boys fromS.Anselm’s stayed at the school over two days and were delightful guests.As eventual winners of the tournament they are of course required toreturn in 2008 to defend their trophy.

The Blundell’s Sevens was played in perfect Spring weather. Despite theheavy semi-final defeat at the hands of a strong and powerful King's HallVII, this was a step up in performance.The Mann brothers added powerto the scrum and bulked out the middle of the pitch while the running ofTim Pope, Michael Cousens and Rhys Davies was at times first class.Three wins in the first three games meant that the side qualified for thesemi finals before the last group match, but this was nevertheless a fiercely competitive match that St. Peter's deserved to win.

The second half of the Easter Termwas hectic with four tournaments –all involving a good deal of travel –in a period of two weeks. The first of these was the Port Regis Sevensin Shaftesbury. Matches followed a familiar pattern, some goodeffective work and some good tries,but poor concentration and missedtackles costing the team dearly.Unfortunately, this theme ranthrough The Downs Sevens andinto The National Schools Sevens.In the latter tournament, the sidewas unlucky enough to be drawnwith St. Olave’s,York who gave theteam a brutal lesson in finishing ontheir way to winning the PrepSchools title.

The National Schools tournamentwas, as ever, a great finish to therugby year. The boys were able towatch former Mount House pupil,Ed Dawson, winning the Public

Schools title with King’s College,Taunton and watch a Sherborne VII withtwo ex pupils,Alex Bunnell and Nick Batchelor. It was an equal pleasureto encounter two former pupils coaching sides in the juniors’ section ofthe competition, Ed Gent with QEH, Bristol, and brother Simon Gentwith Colfe’s.

This was a tough year for an inexperienced and young VII, the ten-mansquad often comprising seven 5th Years. They showed great spiritthroughout what at times was a long season and will benefit from thelessons learnt.They will have great strike power next year,Rhys Davies with18 tries is already among the school’s best ever try scorers and MichaelCousens has already shown himself capable of running the show from flyhalf. Improved defence, both individual tackling and organisation,will be thekey to a successful season in 2007/8.

John Symons

Results

Sherborne SevensGroup : Gryphon School L 0 - 26

Hazlegrove L 12 - 21 T: Davies, Pope. C: PopeClayesmore W 26 - 0 T: Heal 2, Pope, Cousens.

C: Pope 3Sandroyd L 0 - 21

Plate SF : Wells Cathedral W 17 - 0 T:Davies 2, Ferguson L.C:Pope

Plate F : Hazlegrove W 19 - 5 T: Davies 2, Pope. C: Pope 2

Bryanston SevensGroup : Norman Court L 10 - 28 T: Heal, Davies

Dragon L 0 - 31 Dumpton L 7 - 22 T: Cousens C: PopeKing's,Winchester W 17 - 5 T: Davies 3, C: PopeDaneshill L 0 - 47


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Semi Final King’s Hall,Taunton L 0 - 33

Port Regis SevensGroup : Sandroyd L 0 - 31

Millfield Prep L 5 - 19 T : HealWarminster School L 12 - 21 T: Cousens, Heal C : Cousens

Plate QFClifton L 7 - 21 T: Bertie C : Cousens

The Downs Wraxall SevensGroup : Daneshill L 0 - 26

Caldicott L 0 - 36 Pinewood D 5 - 5 T: Cousens,

Plate QFPlymouth College W 19 - 7 T: Cousens 2, Heal

C : Cousens

Plate SFMillfield Prep L 7 - 12 T : Cousens C : Cousens

National Schools SevensGroup : Rokeby L 12 - 21 T : Davies, Heal C : Cousens

St. Olave’s,York L 0 - 54 Lambrook L 15 - 21 T : Davies 2, Cousens

Mount House SevensGroup : St. John’s, Sidmouth W 22 - 7 T : Davies 2, Pope, Cousens

C : Pope St. Michael’s,Tawstock W 15 - 7 T : Heal, Cousens, PopeS.Anselm’s, Bakewell L 0 - 7St. Peter’s,Lympstone D 7 - 7 T : Davies C : Pope

Tries : Davies 18, Cousens 13, Heal 9, Pope 7, Bertie 1, Ferguson 1.

Cons : Pope 16, Cousens 5

Team : Pope T., Cousens M., Ferguson L., Bertie J., Woodhead E.,Davies R., Heal H., Zervudachi A., Jayarajah F., Steed W., Rathborne J.,Mann E., Mann J.

Blundell’s SevensGroup : St. Michael’s,

Tawstock W 12 - 7 T: Davies, Pope C: PopeBlundell’s U12 W 26 - 5 T: Davies 2, Cousens 2 C:

Pope 3 Hazlegrove W 15 - 14 T: Davies, Cousens, HealSt. Peter’s,Lympstone L 7 - 12 T: Pope C: Pope


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The visit by St.Michael’s,Tawstock saw us produce our best rugby to date.From the first whistle we attacked the St.Michael’s line and scored twoquick tries by Sharp and Goldstone. Strong running and excellent passingled to a further try before the half-time break from Goldstone, allconverted by Ollie Sale. Four more tries from Sale,Ackford,Goldstone andWoodhead all converted by the dependable Sale gave us a comprehensive49- 0 win. The pleasing aspect of the team’s performance was ourwillingness to run with the ball and the quality of the passing and handling.

The journey to The Downs,Wraxall brought us down to earth sharply aswe were beaten 45-0 by the best opposition we faced all season.Theirpace and aggressive ball winning caused us problems - we tackled bravelybut were comprehensively beaten by a very good team.

On a foul afternoon in late November we entertained Truro Prep.The wetand windy conditions made passing and handling difficult and the sideswere evenly matched.A 7-7 draw was a fair result on the balance of play,Ollie Sale scoring our only try and converting it himself.

Stover provided less stern resistance and we were able to cross their linefor ten tries. though only three were converted. As we introduced anumber of replacements Stover were able to reply with two tries of their own.

Kelly Prep were able to keep the score to 14- 0 at half time as GeorgeLundy crossed for two tries. Poor handling and a lack of clean possessionwere the main problems.A better second half saw us score five more triesthrough Ollie Sale (2), Scott Worthing, Danny Goldstone and Ed Ackford.

Our final match saw us travel to Taunton Prep without Ollie Sale whowas injured. This was to be our most exciting match of the season.Fred Cave scored his first try replying to an earlier Taunton score.Weturned around at half time 14-5 down but a try by Danny Goldstoneconverted by George Lundy gave us some hope. Deep in injury timeour best handling move of the game saw Scott Worthing dive toscore in the corner and give us a dramatic 19-14 win which on thebalance of the game we just about deserved.This was a result forgedout of determination and showed how much many of the team had improved.

The season began in unspectacular fashion with a comprehensive defeatto St.Peter’s, Lympstone 34- 7. They were much more determined intheir rucking and we were unable to win much loose ball.They ran moreaggressively in attack forcing us to make a lot of tackles and eventuallythis led to them crossing for six tries with only one in reply scored byHarry Sharp.

The return of Ollie Sale from illness saw us play with much greaterdetermination and cohesion for the match with Plymouth CollegePrep. We rucked particularly well in the first half and won a majorityof the possession - only a lack of precision in our passing prevented usscoring a try. Plymouth were able to score once before half time.A tryby Harry Sharp soon after the break set up a tense finale. Plymouthwent ahead with just two minutes to go but we still had time for onelast attack. Unfortunately Ollie Sale slipped with the line seemingly athis mercy. This was a 12-7 loss but was a vast improvement on theprevious week and gave us cause for optimism for the remainder ofthe season.

Some lamentable tackling in the first-half against King’s Hall was the maindifference between the two sides as we lost 28-0. A much improvedperformance in the second half saw us cross the line three times but wewere unable to ground the ball.

A devastating first half performance against Exeter Cathedral saw us scoresix tries, with some excellent running and passing.We became too greedyin the second period and Exeter’s tackling improved considerably and onlytwo further tries were scored for a final score of 54-0.This gave the sidea much needed confidence boost. Try scorers were Cave, Sale 2,Woodhead, Ackford, Lundy, Bennett and Smythe with seven conversionsfrom Sale.

After half-term we made the long trip to Sherborne Prep. Once again westarted well converting pressure into four first-half tries, scored byGoldstone, Sale, Ackford and Sharp to one scored by Sherborne. Thesecond half saw us add three further touchdowns by Sale, Sharp andBennett.All seven tries were converted by Sale.The pleasing aspect of thegame was our much improved three-quarter play, running with pace andbeing more inclined to pass.

Colts A Rugby


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Rugby...continuedColts A Results and Scorers 2006v St. Peter’s (H) Lost 7 - 34 Try - Sharp

Con - Lundyv Plymouth College (H) Lost 7 - 12 Try - Sharp

Junior School Con - Salev King’s Hall (H) Lost 0 - 28v Exeter Cathedral (H) Won 54 - 0

Tries - Cave, Sale (2), Smythe,Woodhead,Ackford, Lundy, Bennett,Cons - Sale (7)

v Sherborne Prep (A) Won 49 - 10Tries - Goldstone (2), Sale (2),Ackford,Sharp, Bennett, Cons - Sale (7)

v St. Michael’s (H) Won 49 - 0 Tries - Sharp,Goldstone (3), Sale,Ackford,WoodheadCons - Sale (7)

v The Downs (A) Lost 0 - 45 v Truro Prep (H) Drew 7 - 7 Try - Sale

Con - Salev Stover Prep (H) Won 56 - 10

Tries - Sale (3), Lundy, Bennett,Woodhead,Worthing (2),Ackford (2)Cons - Sale (3)

v Kelly Prep (H) Won 49 - 5 Tries - Lundy (2), Sale (2),Goldstone,Worthing,Ackford, Cons - Sale (7)

v Taunton Prep (A) Won 19 - 14 Tries - Cave, Goldstone,Worthing, Cons - Lundy (2)

Won 6 Lost 4 Drew 1 Points For 297 Points Against 165

These players represented the Colts this season : Oliver Sale (Captain),Harry Woodhead, Nicholas Bennett, Scott Worthing, George Lundy,Edward Ackford, Harry Sharp, Freddie Morris, Fred Cave, Jamie Redfarn,Alexander Majorin, Dylan Smythe, Gus de Falbe, Edmund Fulford,Ralph Lawson, Danny Goldstone.

Tries PointsSale 11 55Goldstone 7 35Sharp 4 20Ackford 6 30Lundy 4 20Cave 2 10Worthing 4 20Woodhead 3 15Smythe 1 5Bennett 3 15

Conversions : Sale 33 Points : Sale - 121

Lundy 3 Lundy - 26


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Colts B Rugby A fantastic and well-deserved unbeaten season for the boys, which is areflection on the determination and effort displayed by each member ofthe team.

Our first match was a close-fought contest against St Peter’s anddespite some strong breaks from our backs we were unable tocapitalise effectively upon these and a slightly disappointing 7-7 drawwas the final result.

After some hard training sessions, our next match was against PlymouthCollege. This was an excellent, solid performance from the team and amuch improved effort from the previous match. Henry Newman andConor Barrasford showed a good turn of pace and the ability to breakthrough tackles and Dylan Smythe emerged as a very useful forward,always first to the break-down and ready to make the important tackles.

King’s Hall proved a very challenging test to which the boys rose admirablyand contested fiercely but the score remained 0-0 up until the dying stagesof the match.However,with 2 minutes remaining and after some sustainedpressure in the King’s Hall’s 22, Ed Fulford managed to make a dartingbreak across their line to see us home as winners by 5-0. A reallyentertaining and gutsy performance!

Truro Prep again was a tight match which called upon the boys to giveof their utmost in some atrocious weather conditions. Despite someunderstandable handling errors, when the team managed to pass theball down the line effectively they looked impressive and scored twicein the corner. This, coupled with some hard tackling, prevented the

opposition from making any sustained attacks into our half. The finalscore 10-5 was a good result.

Finally to the last match of the season against Kelly College.The skill levelof the boys had progressed dramatically since the start of the season andthis match truly displayed this. Efficient rucking and the ability to pass theball wide quickly down the back line soon exposed the cracks in theKelly defence and the team scored a number of outstanding tries whileat the same time our solid tackling prevented Kelly from crossing our tryline.This was a fitting conclusion to a hugely enjoyable season where theteam trained long and hard and managed to build upon theirperformances in each match they played, and looked to correct areas ofweakness. I would like to thank Edmund Fulford for his captaincy thisseason. He has led from the front and has been positive and encouragingthroughout. A great unbeaten season boys – well done!

Played 5:Won 4, Drawn 1

Results St Peter’s Lympstone (A): D 7-7Plymouth College Junior School (A):W 33-5King’s Hall (H):W 5-0Truro Prep (H):W 10-5Kelly College (H):W 59-0

The following boys represented the Colts B team: E. Fulford(capt), H. Barlow, M. Choroszewski, A. Coombs, G. de Falbe, D. Smythe,N. Scaglioni, N. Bennett, H. Newman, R. Matthews, A. Woolcock,C. Barrasford, H.Wells, H. Hughes

Jon Hammond


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St Peter’s TournamentKing’s Hall 0-30 LostSt Peter’s 0-30 LostStover 0-15 LostPlymouth College 0-25 Lost

Despite some gallant defending the team struggled against some muchstronger opposition and unfortunately too many missed tackles led tosome easy tries for the opposition.

Mount House TournamentStover 20-10 WinBlundell’s 0-40 LostKelly College 15-20 LostSt Peter’s 0-15 Lost

While results at the St. Peter’s Tournament were a little disappointing,muchbetter were the results at the Mount House Tournament. Here the teamplayed well to qualify for the semi-finals where they went out to theeventual winners: Blundell’s (who shared the trophy with St. Peter’s).

Stover Tournament Trinity 35-5 WinWellington 0-35 Lost

St Michael’s 0-0 DrawStover 5-25 Lost

Overall this was one of the best outings the U9s enjoyed this term andthe team played well as a unit – beginning to link more effectively andsupport each other after the breaks were made. Billy Lambeth and GilesMalcolm played especially well.

St Michael’s TournamentStover 30-10 LostSt Michaels 0-5 LostSt Peter’s 0-10 Lost

The team played well throughout the day and showed some real grit anddetermination.William Paull and Jeremy Steed both had solid matches andcompeted well against their opposite numbers.


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Under 8s Rugby

The boys had a positive season at this level competing effectively in theTAG competitions and learning the rudiments of the game. Initiallythere was a lot to learn as many of the pupils were new to the game,and as a result a lot of hard work was required on the training pitchduring the early part of the season.

After half term the boys were ready for their first contest which involvedparticipation in the St Michael’s Tawstock tournament. The boys beganslowly, as both sides took time to get used to playing in a match situation.Having settled down, they started to apply some of the skills that they hadbeen practising on the training field and in the second half, they got on topof a weak Stover side and Rory Millar and Ralph Lopes scored excellenttries. In the second game,Kelly Prep put our organisational skills to the test.Mount House gave the ball away too readily and lacked the defensiveformations to prevent a well-organised Kelly punishing them with five tries.In the third match against St Michael’s the boys began to show the skillsthat they had been showing on the training pitch. The ball was carried wellby Ralph Lopes,Alex McNair-Scott,Angus Crofton and Oscar Norris,whoscored an excellent solo try, and Mount House won by one score to nil.Two wins and a loss was a good start to their campaign.

Next it was our home tournament,where we made a confident start in thefirst game and dominated possession. With some positive running andeffective passing we ran in six tries against Stover.Oscar Norris led from thefront and scored four. In the second game Mount House took time to getgoing and gave away too much ball and this resulted in them being two triesdown at half time. Despite a positive second half they were unable to closethe gap and lost by three tries to one.The third match saw a more spiritedperformance from the team, though poor tagging at times let them down in

critical situations.Tries from Oscar Norris, Ralph Lopes,Angus Crofton and Hector Clarke were enough to keep us one score ahead at the end. Acameo performance from Charlie Farr from the bench was the highlight of this encounter. The final match was a repeat of two weeks previously whenthe boys had lost 5 tries to nil against Kelly in the St Michael’s tournament.When they went ahead 2 tries to 1 in the first half, spirits were defiantly up.Unfortunately in the face of some strong Kelly running and some indecisivedefending we were unable to maintain this lead eventually losing 15-30.

To complete the season the team played a one-off match against Kelly andin fine conditions this proved the highlight of the season and a fantasticadvert for TAG Rugby. The match was played in three ten-minute thirds,and it got off to an explosive start with Mount House leading the scoring.The team worked hard in both attack and defence and it was clear thatthey had learnt from the experiences of the earlier tournaments and this was reflected in the running on and off the ball which was mostencouraging. In particular it was exciting to see the team using both paceand directional changes to beat their opponents.

Kelly started to open up a lead in the final third but the team stuck to theirtask and defended with real commitment. Eventually they were beaten bya better team on the day.

Special mentions go to Ralph Lopes,Angus Crofton,Oscar Norris and manof the match Wilf Hadow.

All-in-all a successful season in which the boys have made excellentprogress, and this offers exciting prospects for next year

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Through the whole term, the size of the Somerset schools' playerscaused problems for Mount House 1st XV. Now it was the turn of thewhole of Devon to suffer! This year’s Somerset XV was huge and itrequired a good deal of courage and determination to emerge fromthe match with only a 10-37 defeat.

Mount House had six players involved:Tim Pope (fly half), Harry Heal(scrum half), Michael Cousens (centre), Rhys Davies (wing), James

Mann (prop) and Elliot Wooodhead (hooker). All six lookedcomfortable at this slightly raised level and were praised for theexcellent skills they displayed. Michael Cousens enjoyed a particularlygood afternoon scoring all of Devon's points with two excellent tries,one an interception, the other a mazy run through almost the entireSomerset pack.

Rugby...continued

Somerset Prep Schools XV 37 Devon Prep Schools XV 10

This competition always provokes the strongest of emotions and the2006 version was no exception.

In the first semi-final, a very strong Owls team battled through 14-0against a determined and solid Hawks side, well marshalled by HarryHeal. Congratulations were due to both sides as both played goodSevens rugby. By contrast, in the other semi-final, a powerful andaggressive Otters side bullied their way past a Kangs side that lackedorganisation and which went down 0-26.

The wooden spoon match produced the expected close battle. Onlyin the dying moments did Harry Heal's try secure Hawks a 5-0 win and

determine that the Kangs' yellow ribbons bedecked the wooden spoonfor 2006.

The final should have been an interesting contrast between the passingand running skills of the Owls and the raw power of the Kangs. Sadly,the Kangs lost their way after going behind just before half-time, and theOwls were able to run away to an easy 24-0 win.

John Symons

Senior House Rugby

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Another dominating performance from the tennis team saw them win 7out of the 8 matches. Again Ella Hartley and Tim Pope showed theirexperience and understanding of each other's play and Poppy Hartleyand Ollie Sale combined well with both power and technique. Each pairwon both of their matchescomfortably.Then to the singleswhere Ella at last met her matchagainst a talented boy andalthough she held her ownadmirably was beaten more bypower than anything else. Theother 3 singles matches wereevenly contested affairs but afterthe usual grit and determinationwhich characterises this teamTim, Ollie and Poppy managed towin their matches.Very well doneto the team both with theirplaying ability and also their behaviour when dealing with members of theopposition who at times were quite abrasive.

This has been an excellent season for the team and keeps theirunbeaten record going now for 2 years. We will greatly miss Tim andElla next year. They have both contributed hugely to this team andTennis in general at Mount House.

Jon Hammond

Tennis 1st IV v StMichael's Tawstock

Mount House took part in this well-run, popular event in theglorious setting of Milton Abbey in Dorset for the thir teenthconsecutive year. Mount House came sixth out of seven schoolswith Ed Almond the pick of our golfers. I would like to congratulateEd, the current school champion, on all he has done for MountHouse golf over the years and I would also thank his parents for somuch help and support with the transport and the encouragementthey have given to the school golfers.

Squad: Ed.Almond, Will.Steed, Jack Williams

Jonathan Banyard

Milton Abbey Golf Tournament 2006

Despite some rather unpleasant weather conditions, a dominatingperformance by the team saw us win all 8 of the matches played.Tim Popeand Ella Hartley played some outstanding tennis to win both their doublesand singles matches comfortably. Ella particularly deserves mention for herpowerful stroke play - outhitting the boy number one player from St Peter'swith ease.Poppy Hartley and Ollie Sale also combined well and proved toostrong for their opposite numbers, both showing that they have a lot ofpotential, playing boys 2 years above themselves. Poppy played anddefeated an U13 boy who was almost twice her size (St Peter's LockForward!) and managed to remain calm and cheerful throughout, evenwhen some of his thundering serves were too hard to handle! Overall avery impressive effort from the whole team and a great start to the season.

Tennis 1st IV v StPeter's Lympstone

The School’s star skier Ella Hartley returned from the British Schoolgirls’Skiing races in France with three trophies and three gold medals, havingwon both the slalom races in her category, and the combined award.

The slalom title was decided over two races, each consisting of two runs,and all four were over different courses. In the first race, Ella won the firstrun by a massive 7 seconds, and although she was beaten in the secondrun, her aggregate time for the two was comfortably good enough to giveher the victory. Buoyed by this success she went on to win both runs inthe second race and take her second gold, and with it the trophy foroverall slalom winner in the British-based Non-Registered Child category.

In last year’s races, Ella was the sole representative from Mount House, butthis year she was accompanied by two other Mount House girls, IndiaLeigh and Rosie Yeoward, though India was unfortunate enough to sustaina knee ligament injury in the first run and was not able to take any furtherpart in the races.

Ella’s hopes of taking the Giant Slalom as well as the Slalom title weredashed when the Giant Slalom was cancelled because there was insufficientsnow on the race piste to plant the course marking poles.

Sarah Robinson from the Ladies Ski Club, who was Chief of Race for theBritish School Girls’ Races, said: “For such a young girl, Ella did incrediblywell. She is a terrific little skier, winning all her categories, and went homewith a handful of cups and medals. It is a pity that we couldn’t hold theGiant Slalom, as that is Ella’s strongest event.”

Parents Robert and Jane Hartley, who travelled with the girls to Flaine inthe French Alps for the races, were thrilled to see Ella do so well again.Jane Hartley said:“All of the girls were great.They really did Mount Houseproud, and put everything they had into the races.”

Ella Hartley takes Gold in National Ski Races


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Colts A

Before the Easter Term started, I would have predicted a mixed seasonfor the young team,with only three survivors from 2006, and so it proved!

The season started brightly with an excellent 2-0 victory at Stover, whoare taking their soccer very seriously these days.The boys settled quicklyinto the match and Danny Goldstone marshalled the defence really well,meaning a quiet afternoon for ’keeper Ralph Lawson. Ollie Sale andGeorge Lundy continued their impressive understanding from the 2006season. Mount House took the lead just before half time when a longshot from Freddie Cave fell kindly for Tom Jackman to tap in from closerange. Ollie was very sporting as he squared the ball for Tom to scorehis second goal midway through the second half as he had alreadybeaten the keeper and could have scored himself. George had earlierprovided the excellent through ball, which resulted in the goal.

FootballThe match at St. Peter’s, Lympstone was quite frustrating in that a 4-1defeat could have been closer. However, St. Peter’s were the stronger

team, having already put 8 goals past Stover, anddeserved to win. Mount House went ahead with awell-placed shot from George, following a goodcross from Max Taylor.The team kept trying hard butSt. Peter’s gradually got on top and controlled thesecond half.

The game against Treliske, a 3-1 defeat, was evenmore frustrating in that Ollie Sale had to go offinjured, just after giving us a 1-0 lead with anexcellent shot. Sam Chorozewski made anencouraging debut in goal, due to Ralph beinginjured, and James Perring, also available in 2008 withSam, slotted into defence very well indeed. Theircoach said he would have been happy with a draw,especially before the injury to Ollie!

The final game of the season was against PlymouthCollege.This was a very exciting match, which bothteams had chances galore to win. 0-0 sounds ratherdull but this match was anything but boring. Mount

House was on top in the early part of the game and Plymouth startedto come at Mount House as the game wore on and Danny and Edmundwere particularly busy in defence.

All in all, a pleasing, promising season.

Played 4,Won 1, Drawn 1, Lost 2. Goals For 4, Goals Against 7.

The Squad: Ralph Lawson, Sam Chorozewski, Edmund Fulford,Danny Goldstone, Dylan Smythe, James Perring, Ollie Sale (Capt),George Lundy, Tom Jackman, Freddie Cave, Max Taylor, ConorBarrasford.

Jonathan Banyard

Colts B FootballStover (Away) Lost 2-0The first match of the season proved to be a fiercely contested affairagainst a well-matched team.Teddy Prysor-Jones and Henry Lopes wereboth unfortunate not to score in this match as they had a few chances,but some solid defending from the Stover goalkeeper prevented us fromgetting on the score sheet. Sam Choroszewski had a very good game ingoal and prevented the Stover forwards scoring several more goals.

St Peter’s Lympstone (Away) 4-3 WinOur goals were scored by Teddy Prysor-Jones (2), Oscar Mustard andHarry Sharp with one each.This was a very entertaining match with bothteams making the most of their opportunities in attack and scoring withsome sweetly struck shots, especially Teddy Prysor-Jones. Henry Wellsmade his debut for the team and had a solid match. A very goodperformance from all.

Plymouth College (Home) 1-1 DrawA very close game in which some good football was played.Excellent defending by Alex Majorin and Harry Woodhead in goalprevented this well-drilled Plymouth College side from scoring moregoals. Michal managed to score a well struck goal to ensure we cameaway with a draw.

Treliske (Away) 0-4 LostThe last match of the season was a difficult away fixture at Treliske, whoproved to be too strong for us. Despite defending well for long periods,we were unable to contain their very strong centre-forward who scoredall four of their goals.Tom Jackman had a very good game and narrowlymissed out on scoring with his shot just clearing the cross bar. Overallanother very solid performance from this team who have trained andplayed hard throughout the season.

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The Colts C season began with a match on the edge of theRiver Exe against St. Peter’s, Lympstone. Carefully preparedtactics and a 4-4-2 formation disappeared with the first blastof the referee’s whistle and eleven boys strived to get on thescore sheet. Two early goals from Nick Jory and JamieRenwick settled the nerves and despite a missed penalty thehalf time lead was comfortable.The second half followed asimilar pattern and two more goals – a second for Nick Joryand one by Jamie Farrington - followed to produce a fine 4-0 victory.

Truro Prep School play their football in teams of seven soa different formation was needed for this fixture. Snow wasforecast, but a bright, mild afternoon saw a competitivematch that was decided only in the last two minutes.Though Truro had enjoyed the bulk of possession theycould not turn it into goals and Mount House looked as ifthey would escape with a draw. However, a Truro goal inthe penultimate minute – in the net via both uprights –saw a frantic attempt by the visitors to equalise, only for asecond goal to settle matters beyond doubt in the dyingmoments of an enjoyable encounter.

Football...continued

Colts C

Under 9 Football

The Under 9 football teams had a mixed term. The year groupcontained some decent footballers with plenty of individual skill.Whatthey lacked was the ability to perform together as a team. Victorieswould have been possible in tight matches if a pass had been made to

create a score rather than a solo effort at goal.The boys did however make good progress overthe term and became much better team playersby the end of March.

For the first fixture Mount House hosted an Under9 Tournament. The boys struggled against somevery well organised teams. A cracking final sawKelly Prep the final victors. Strong performancesfrom Billy Lambeth, William Paul and GilesMalcolm in goal showed early promise. For the Bteam Oscar Norris and Angus Crofton showedplenty of determination.

Other games were as follows: -

Truro Prep: lost 2-5 having led at half time.Mount House allowed Truro back into thematch conceding two soft goals by failing toclear the ball from the penalty box.

Plymouth College: lost 2-3, this was a betterperformance but Mount House players held onto the ball too much and were robbed ofpossession too often

The season showed signs of real progress, but “team” is the key wordto remember for next season.

ARL


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The boys were next up and we fielded a strong but undecided A andB squad. After the first round the teams were in good positions andlooking comfortable in 3rd and 4th spots.With plenty of vocal supportfrom the travelling parents and still-running girls, the second runnersimproved our positions to 2nd and 3rd.A determined third leg had thetwo teams neck and neck for 1st and 2nd places! This was brilliant andvery good to watch. However, the final round again saw the pursuingschools unleash their faster runners and our two under 9 lads ran aswell and as determinedly as possible - and they did not let us orthemselves down.The final result was the A squad second and the Bsquad 7th. A superb result to end the day’s racing.

During the presentation it transpired that Christian Brown hadrecorded the 3rd fastest time of the day, and that Elliot Woodhead andGeorge Lundy had run equal second fastest time of the day!

“A” squad: Christian Brown, Elliot Woodhead, Oliver Sale and Jamie Farrington.“B” squad:Tim Pope, Harry McKelvey, George Lundy and Ben Harding.

Cross CountryCross Country 2007: St Michael’s RelayThe usual format of one runner from the four age groups (u9, u10, u11& u12) posed the usual debate, who to send off first? Do you send offthe runners in time order, age order or do you try and play clever?Whichever I choose the boys and girls always run to the best of their ability.

First off was the girls’ race.We entered an A and a B squad. Both teamsran intelligently and helped each other round the demanding course.The boys equally helped by cheering the girls round at everyopportunity, such is the feeling of support towards each other.

After the first leg of the relay we were lying in 5th and 7th places. Anexcellent second lap saw the teams move up to 3rd and 5th spots. Astrong third leg had the teams side by side in 2nd and 3rd places. By theend of the final lap the A squad finished 4th and the B squad 7th. Goingback to my early comments about the set up of a team I feel the leadingschools kept their big guns back for the latter half of the race. Still bothteams had very creditable placings from a race which had 27 teams init! Well done girls!“A” squad: Hannah Redman, Rosie Yeoward, Harriet Cave and Cecily Jervoise.“B” squad: Ella Hartley, Hannah Donne, Phoebe Malcolm and Eliza Sale.

leading from gun to tape. He was ably backed up with excellent teamrunning from Jamie Farrington 7th, Ben Harding 11th and Henry Lopes 20th.

The U13 boys put in a sterling performance with an excellent battlebetween Joe Dalton and Christian Brown, finishing 5th and 6threspectively, backed up by Alex Zervudachi in 16th and Harry McKelvey 24th.

The U13 girls found thecourse very difficult butstill managed a goodteam effort, with HannahRedman finishing 10th,Rosie Yeoward 14th,Michelle Pearn 16th andHannah Donne 24th.

An encouraging debutat this event wasunderlined at the end ofthe presentation awards when the final overall scoresrevealed Mount House as the winners of the Schools Cup.

This was an unusual course which was mainly flat and obscured fromview.The conditions were near perfect after a series of heavy blusteryshowers that morning. The competition was run separately by agegroups, and boys and girls also separately.

After walking the course, we were ready with the first race - under 9girls. Luckily there were hares to follow round the course for all theraces so no one could get lost. The U9 girls were running forexperience as well as the competition.All four girls ran well, finishing inthe top half of the race. All came back smiling and full of excitement!The runners were Lucy Massey, Tabitha Unsworth–White, CaitlinHaynes-Parry and Tean Choroszewska.

The U9 boys’ team was also an experiment and a valuable experiencefor them. Strong runs from Jeremy Steed and Giles Malcolm, backedup by Edward Barlow and Guy Gillard saw the team finish a creditable5th overall.

The U11 girls on paper were a very strong squad. Phoebe Malcolmstormed off at the start and maintained her position most of the wayround, ably backed by Cecily Jervoise and Harriet Cave.The latter twofinished a great 4th and 5th respectively. Sadly for Phoebe she hadbreathing difficulties in the last 100m of the race and fell back. A goodrun from Marina Carrick, making her debut, meant that she scoredgood points as well.

The U11 boys were a strong year, and despite losing two of their toprunners to injury and other school sports commitments, we still fieldeda very strong team. George Lundy put in a faultless display of running,

Stover Cross Country


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Cross Country...continued

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2007 Set cross country resultsINDIVIDUAL RESULTS TOP 3Boys U9 Girls U9G. Gillard 5m49 T. Unsworth-White 6m35 G.Malcolm 5m57 E. Kent 6m53E. Barlow 6m00 C.Wiltshire 7m00

JUNIOR RACE RESULTBoys U11 Girls U11G. Lundy 8m26 H. Cave 9m07R. Lawson 8m32 I. Norris 9m31J. Farrington 8m45 C. Jervoise 9m32

Boys U13 Girls U13E.Woodhead 10m45 H. Redman 12m47C. Brown 10m54 R.Yeoward 12m57J. Dalton 11m22 E. Hartley 13m09

JUNIOR SET PLACESOtters 34pts, Hawks 22.7pts, Kangs 22.3, Owls 19.9ptsInter set placesOtters 41.6pts, Owls 36.6pts, Hawks 35.6pts, Kangs 30ptsAfter two rounds it now stands at Otters 37.8pts, Hawks 29.1pts, Owls 28.2pts, Kangs 26.6ptsSenior set placesKangs 33.3pts, Otters 31.2pts, Hawks29.2pts, Owls22.4pts


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OVERALL RESULT OF SET CUP 20074th Otters averaging 35.6pts. 3rd Hawks averaging 29.2pts2nd Kangs averaging 28.9pts , winners Owls averaging 26.3pts.

Noteworthy performances:Alex Ferguson for encouraging Theo Brownto not give in, Nick Sylvester for doing likewise to Louise Butcher, andHumphrey Fulford for a true effort.

Everybody competed and ran their race, thank you for such atremendous effort.

GW

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Hockey

First XI Girls’ HockeyA thirteen strong squad travelled to Ivybridge for the first round of theU14 Devon Cup. The game was a great experience as it was playedunder floodlights, on a full-sized astro. The girls took some time to settlebut individual skills were good and it wasn’t too long before a fine breakand early shot by Michelle Pearn allowed Lucy Sharp (at back post) to‘tickle’ the ball across the line for our first goal. Fern Toynton slotted inthe second goal and at half time we were 2-0 up. At half time the playerswere asked to concentrate on their positional play and to make more useof space. They responded positively and as a result they dominated thesecond half. Ella Hartley added the third goal with a thunderous shot andMichelle Pearn finished the game off with her well-deserved goal. Thematch ended 4-0 to Mount House.

In the second round we travelled to Torquay Girls’ Grammar School.We drew 0-0 against T.G.G., beat Ivybridge 2-0 (goals from Lucy Sharp)and beat South Devon College 1-0 (goal from Ella Hartley).

We were then through to the finals, which were held at Exeter University.Five teams, each representing their area, battled it out on the University’sflood-lit, water-based astro pitch. Despite some excellent saves fromgoalkeeper Charlotte Pickard, the girls lost their first game against a strongside from Colyton Grammar School 2-0. The second game, however, sawthem in fine form, beating Holsworthy College 1-0. Barnie Goldstone hitsome powerful through balls for our mid-field and forwards to use andeventually this led to the goal being scored by Lucy Sharp.The third matchproved to be very tough. 0-0 at half time, the girls not only kept eventualwinners of the competition, Blundell’s, at bay, but also threatened theirgoal on many occasions. In the second half, the sheer physical strengthand experience of the opposition eventually wore the Mount House girlsdown and Blundell’s went on to win 2-0. The Blundell’s girl of the matchproved to be ex Mount House pupil, Alice Dawson! Torquay Girls’Grammar School were the final opponents of the day and this was amost thrilling game to watch. It was an end to end game with both sideseven, but some excellent play at midfield by Charlotte FitzGerald and EllaHartley allowed Mount House to slot in the winning goal through winger,Michelle Pearn.

Mount House finished third in the competition, a very creditableperformance considering they were under 13s playing in a countyU14 competition.

Our last match of the season was against Kelly College.We were easilythe dominant team in the first half and despite not playing to the best oftheir ability, the girls managed to link short phases of play together -causing much angst in the Kelly defence. However, the team’s normalexpansive game was very much restricted – sadly by our players failing tokeep their shape across the pitch. This was though, a very pleasing resultwinning 3-0. Scorers: Lucy Sharp (2 goals) and Michelle Pearn.

Squad: Charlotte Pickard, Freya Semken, Barnie Goldstone,Kate Robbins, India Leigh, Charlotte FitzGerald, Thea Dickinson,Michelle Pearn, Fern Toynton, Ella Hartley, Lucy Sharp, Hannah Redman and Hannah Morris.

Statistics for 1st VII & 1st XIGoals for: 46 Goals against: 21v Blundell’s lost 5-4 v Plymouth lost 3-2v Ivybridge u14 won 4-0 v Holsworthy u14 won 1-0 v Torquay GGS u14 won 1-0 v Colyton GS u14 lost 2-0 v Blundell’s u14 lost 2-0 v Stover won 7-0 v Truro won 6-0v Kelly won 3-0

Goal ScorersElla Hartley 14Michelle Pearn 13Lucy Sharp 13Fern Toynton 4Charlotte FitzGerald 1India Leigh 1

MJB

2nd VII Girls’ HockeyThe first match of the season was against St Peter’s ‘A’ with the MountHouse girls playing with great credit. This was an exciting game in whichmany of the girls were making their first match appearance of the term.In all, twelve girls played at some point during the game and specialmention should go to Emily Redman, India Leigh and Fern Toynton.There were stalwart performances also from Kate Robbins, HannahRedman and Hannah Morris. The match was lost 1-0.

The second game was against Truro School. Our goalkeeper, RosieYeoward, did not touch the ball and even sweeper Kate Robbins had aquiet afternoon! India Leigh, Flora Dickinson and Freya Semken werevery effective all round the pitch, with Freya selflessly playing countlessthrough balls for our attack to run on to. Last minute call up, MaryLennox-Boyd played well on the wing, proving that she can be quite aforce to be reckoned with. Hannah Redman wheedled her waythrough Truro’s defence to slot home no less than three goals, whilstIndia Leigh scored two and Flora Zajicek one. This proved to be a fine6 – 0 win.

MJB & CG

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U11 A The U11 squad demonstrated a vast improvement of skill andconfidence in their hockey as the season went on.They had big shoesto fill, as the previous U11 squad left the age group as Devonchampions, yet the girls did not let this phase them.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the season was the game againstPlymouth College Prep where the team played with tenacity andfluidity.This was a much longer game than usual and the team did wellto keep the pitch covered as they held possession for the majority ofthe game. Special mention goes to Imogen Galsworthy who workedhard as usual, fighting hard to intercept and secure the ball on manyoccasions. Top goal scorers of the season and of this match werePoppy Hartley and Ellie Hayward (a bittersweet one – Ellie had justrecently come from Plymouth College so was playing against her oldclassmates). Katrin ‘the wall’ Mannes again saved several shots on goalwhich ensured Mount House’s fantastic result of MHS 2 PCP 0.

Izzy Norris played each game with gusto and determination, using herpint-sized ‘nippiness’ to gather the ball quickly and drive up on the

wing or in the centre as her flexibility on field allowed her to play at either position.

Katrin Mannes and Louisa Butcher – the squad’s goalkeepers and theirdefence team really were the stars of the season however. Our backs played with insight and Harriet Cave deserves mention for herconstant ‘hassling’ of the opposing forwards.

Next season the potential goal scorers need to work hard in trainingin the ‘D’ as superb stick skills and tactics in getting the ball up the fieldwere too often let down by an inability to ‘finish off ’ with an assertiveslap at goal or push from the post past the keeper.

The girls worked hard during each training session, not only duringallotted games times, but come the Easter term which is technically our‘off season’ the girls gave up many a lunch break to train in preparationfor the Devon tournament where they finished second in possibly themost competitive pool. An enjoyable and highly entertaining seasonfrom a group of enthusiastic young sportswomen.


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Girls’ Hockey

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Hockey...continued

U11B squad: Louisa Butcher,Alice Donne, Eliza Sale, HollyWixon, Lucy Redman, Olivia McGonigle, Emma Paull,Georgina Newman, Gemma Robbins, Cecily Jervoise

The U11 B girls’ hockey season got underway at St Peter’s Lympstone.For some of our girls this was the first hockey match they had playedin and they took to the pitch in great spirits. It was clear however thatSt Peter’s were a very able side and they dominated throughout thefirst half, leaving us 2-0 down.

Having a few moments to evaluate and refocus at half time meant thatour girls were able to go back out on the pitch in the second half andfocus on a strong defensive game. Sophie Essex and Lucy Redmanfought hard to keep St Peter’s out of the D and when the oppositiondid take shots on goal Louisa Butcher made some confident saves.Oli McGonigle put her all into the game, making positive breaks up thefield and was supported well by Alice Donne.

The girls played away at King’s Hall Taunton in their second game ofthe season. This was a far better game for our girls than their first,which was evident from their formations on the pitch. However King’sHall were a sharp side and scored two goals against us in the first half.Our girls did play strongly in defence though and managed breaks onseveral occasions, which resulted in a confident goal by Alice Donne.

However we failed to gain possession after half time and lost the ballto the opposition who raised the final score to 3-1.The girls took from

U11B

this game, the need to focus on communication in their attack to takeadvantage of the long balls swept out from defence.They also neededto raise their game to a more aggressive ‘goal hungry’ one.

Having worked tirelessly on shots on goal for a few weeks since theprevious match, the girls opened their final match against Kelly with aconfident attack, which resulted in a quick goal from Emma Paull.Confidence was gained from this and the girls mainly stayed in attackfor the whole of the first half with Lucy Redman sending effectivesweeps out of defence when need be.

The second half followed a similar pattern, of Mount Housedominating play, with accurate passing between Oli McGonigle, AliceDonne and Eliza Sale. Two more goals were scored by Sophie Essexand Holly Wixon, securing the game 3-0.

This was the first match in which the team worked properly as a team,dribbling confidently and passing the ball accurately between each otherup the pitch before taking determined shots on goal. Special mentionmust go to Sophie Essex who led the girls and the game with hermature dribbling and stick work, pushing up the field past any oppositionthat stood in her way. All of the girls deserve congratulations on theirexcellent effort and have been able to see the results of their hardtraining throughout the term.

CB


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The annual trek to Queen’s, Taunton forthe 4pm start saw the team arrive ratherweary. However, they started brightlyand in the first minute of the game HarryHeal was illegally bundled off the ball bythe goalkeeper resulting in a penalty.William Steed casually stepped up andslotted the ball into the bottom corner.This set the tone for the rest of thegame. Mount House used the full size ofthe pitch to great effect, opening up theQueen’s defence. Before half-timeWilliam Steed scored two more goals tomake the score 3 goals to nil.With lightrapidly fading Mount House continuedto dominate the game with outstandingmovement off the ball and great inter-passing. A goal apiece for LouisFerguson and William Steed made thefinal score 5 goals to nil.

The Devon Mini Hockey Tournamentwas held on the wettest, windiest day ofthe year. In atrocious conditions, theboys played with great heart and withno little skill. We had a very good start,beating the "Lipson Lions" 2 - 0 withgoals from Will Steed and AlexZervudachi. The next game, againstSouth Dartmoor College saw MountHouse take an early lead from a Will

Steed goal but the opposition fought back to draw 1-1.West Bucklandproved to be too strong and beat us 2-0, although we did contain themmore than any other team in our group. Goalkeeper James Mannpulled off numerous good saves and Freddie Jayarajah was veryeffective, if often overwhelmed as sweeper. Being second in our groupwe played the winner of another in the quarterfinals and Ashford weresimply too strong for us to contain. They had a star player bigger thanthe majority of the adult spectators and, not surprisingly, we lost 5-0.Home to dry clothes and warmth!

The last game of the season was against Kelly. We played on theirlarge pitch and often found it difficult to use the space constructively.During the first half we were the dominant team and mid-field playwas largely dictated by William Steed, Julian Bertie and ChristianBrown. In the second half a reorganized Kelly made the game morecompetitive and there were many moves going from end to end.We managed to win the game 2-1, with goals from Will Steed andJack Rathborne but mention must be made of Freddie Jayarajah whowas outstanding at the back and of James Mann who, once again,proved his considerable worth as goalkeeper. Three partnerships alsodeserve to go into print, Harry Heal and Elliot Woodhead, JulianBertie and Alex Zervudachi, and Will Steed and Jack Rathborne. Thethree pairs worked very well together and linked well to turn defenceinto counter attack.

The top goal scorer and player of the season was William Steed.

MB & ADW

Played: 5 Lost: 2 Won: 3 Goals for: 14 against: 15

The first match of the season, against a strong side from King’s Tauntonwas a baptism of fire, but despite going down 8-1 a lot of potential wasevident. James Mann as goalkeeper showed a lot of skill and certainlygained experience!

The second game, against Exeter Cathedral, saw the team secure theirfirst win of the season in outstanding style.The boys got off to a quickstart, scoring in the first five minutes of the game. However, ExeterCathedral came back very strongly and scored three goals in successionand went into half-time with a 3 - 1 lead. William Steed led the fight backfrom midfield, instigating many of the Mount House attacks in the secondhalf. Goals from Harry Heal and Jack Rathborne (3) secured MountHouse a 4 - 3 win. An outstanding performance in defence came fromFreddie Jayarajah and both James Mann and Edward Dance (who sharedthe goalkeeping role) contributed to this pleasing performance.

St. Peter's provided very tough opposition and we quickly came underpressure.The visiting team linked up extremely well and got in behindour uncertain defence scoring two early goals. However, we hit backon the counter-attack with Jack Rathborne scoring. St. Peter'smanaged to score just before half-time to make it 3 - 1. In the secondhalf our midfield was strengthened with Christian Brown moving intoa more central position. The momentum now moved with MountHouse and Harry Heal finished off a well-worked attack. However, thematch finished 3 - 2 to St. Peter's.

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2nd XIFirst match was against a strong side from King’s Halland the boys lost 3-0.

The second game was against a keen St. Peter's teamand the boys played some outstanding hockey. MountHouse kept their shape beautifully and passedaccurately.Wave after wave of attacks resulted in threefirst half goals for Edward Almond, Dominic Scaglioniand Tristan Searight. However, the team had to soak upsome pressure in the second half. William Wells andPatrick Ferguson managed to snuff out most of the St.Peter's attack, but the match finished as a welldeserved 3 - 2 victory for Mount House. Men-of-the-match were Alexander Zervudachi for his beautifulstick-work and work-rate and Dominic Scaglioni forhis control in midfield, particularly in the first-half.

The last match against Kelly was played at home. Thiswas an exciting game. After conceding two earlygoals we were constantly battling to get even. Although we had the‘lion’s share’ of the ball and dominated for large periods of time, wejust could not get the ball in the goal. Jack Galsworthy was stalwart in defence, stopping numerous Kelly incursions. Dominic Scaglionislotted the ball home from the top of the ‘D’ to cut Kelly’s lead to 2-

1. Despite the last 10 minutes being played almost entirely in the Kellycircle we just couldn’t score and this incredibly exciting game finished2-1 to Kelly.

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Colts Hockey 2007

The Colts A VII had a positive season and show tremendouspotential for next year’s top senior teams.The most encouragingtrait of each member of this team was their huge amount ofenthusiasm and desire to train during their own lunch breaks ontop of their scheduled training sessions.

Our first match, after only one session together, was against King’sHall, a very strong and talented Hockey school. The boys werealso faced with the added challenge of adapting their game toplaying indoor hockey, where the technique of using the side andback walls could be used to significant advantage.Despite this, the three Colts Hockey teams put on an admirableperformance and although the Colts A and C teams both lost,the Colts B team managed a gritty victory over more skilledopposition. Ed Fulford scored the winning goal with a dramaticdive at a well struck cross, deflecting it beautifully into the cornerof the goal!

The Colts A were again in action at the Sherborne Hockey Tournament.This was an excellent learning experience for the boys and although theyfailed to win any of their four pool matches, they drew two, and lost twoonly by a one goal margin. Harry Sharp and Ollie Sale really showed theirpotential during this tournament, combining well together up front andboth demonstrating the ability to strike the ball firmly and with accuracy.

Our next fixture was a home event against Exeter Cathedral School for boththe Colts A and B teams.The Colts A team put on a superb performanceand showed dominance throughout this match. Passing and spatial-awareness were excellent and our short corners were executed efficientlythanks to Danny Goldstone’s accurate injection, which resulted in one ofHarry Sharp’s two goals. Ralph Lawson showed some solid defence andgreater competence when sweeping the ball out. A well deserved 3-0victory was the final result. The Colts B team also put on a pleasing

performance and managed a 1-0 victory through awell struck shot from Ruairidh Matthews after someprolonged attacks in the opposition’s ‘D.’

The final outing for the Colts A team was theDevon Mini Hockey Tournament where, despitesome truly atrocious playing conditions, the boysput on their best performance of the season.Our first match was against Exeter Juniors whichwe lost narrowly by 0-1. However the boys werenot downhearted and rallied themselves from thisdisappointing defeat to win their next matchagainst Eggbuckland 1-0 and then managed a 2-1win against Exeter School. This meant that wequalified from the pool stage as joint best runnersup for the cup competition and had to play a nail-biting deciding match against Isca School toproceed into the semi-finals of the cup.The boysproduced an absolutely first class performance inthis match and scored the winning goal in an extratime epic. And so on to the semi-finals where wewere drawn against Ashmoor School, who had

won the cup for the last 2 years running.

Although tired and absolutely soaked through the boys were buoyed bytheir performance thus far and raised the level of their game for thiscrucial match, holding the opposition to 0-0 at the end of time and alsoextra time. This then led to a penalty flick contest in which our boysperformed admirably. Special mention must go here to George Lundy(goal-keeper) whose quick reflexes had us tied neck and neck withAshmoor – one goal a piece. So finally it was down to the harsh realityof sudden death penalty flicks which despite going on for four attemptseach, resulted in Ashmoor sneaking a goal and thus the match.

This was a truly outstanding performance throughout the day and theboys should feel massively proud of their efforts – a superb way to endan excellent and enjoyable season.

Jon Hammond

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Cricket1st XI Cricket 2007

The unusually warm and dry weather in April meant that we began theSummer Term playing cricket on firm wickets and quick outfields whichwas definitely good news for the batsmen.Within three days of the startof term we were in action against Exeter Cathedral School. Put into batthe openers Mikey Cousens (73) and Tim Pope (32) started circumspectlyagainst some good bowling but then pushed the scoring rate along, puttingon 97 for the first wicket. Captain Dominic Scaglioni (27) and Rhys Davies(26) enabled us to declare on a useful 162 for 4.The Exeter openers alsobegan well putting on 51 before wickets started to fall at regular intervals.Will Steed with 4 for 11 and Freddie Jayarajah 3 for 7 were the principalwicket takers. Exeter Cathedral eventually finished on 91 for 9 when timewas called, earning themselves a creditable draw.

Three days later we entertained Blundell’s on a warm Saturdayafternoon. Dominic Scaglioni invited Blundell’s to bat and at 51 for 2 weneeded wickets; the captain obliged taking 4 for 25 backed up by FreddieJayarajah 2 for 19.The visitors were finally all out for 94. Our top orderall reached double figures but none of them passed 20 and at 72 for 7a victory seemed unlikely. Jack Rathborne, an unknown quantity then,played some unorthodox shots in a fine 21 before he was bowled withthe scores level. In the last over Louis Ferguson scrambled a single to giveus a narrow two wicket win.

As we started May the weather turned for the worse.We were forcedto play Hele School from Plympton in the Devon U.13 Cup in constantdrizzle, in a match reduced to 15 overs a side. Batting first we scored auseful 103 for 5 thanks to some lusty hitting from Will Steed (41) andRhys Davies (27). Hele were never able to match the run rate butpossessed some competent batsmen; they finally finished on 49 for 9,TimPope with 3 for 3 and Louis Ferguson 3 for 1 the main wicket takers.

The weather caused the matches with St. Michael’s and Plymouth Collegeto be cancelled.We then crossed the road to Kelly College for the nextround of the Devon Cup.Rhys Davies (56) and Dom Scaglioni (62) put ona superb unbroken partnership of 142 for the first wicket in just 20 overs.

This was a superb piece of batting made allthe more impressive as they only hit eightboundaries.Kelly started well with 44 for thefirst wicket but were always behind the rate.Julian Bertie entered the attack and took 5for 10 with his steady medium pace. Kellyfinished on 89 for 9, 54 runs short.

St. Peter’s, Lympstone were likely to give usa sterner test but the batsmen were againin good form. Tim Pope (44) played hisbest innings of the season and DominicScaglioni (69) carried on his rich vein ofform. Mikey Cousens (36) acceleratedthe scoring in the final few overs to giveus a dominant total of 183 for 3 declared.The St. Peter’s reply centred around a fine52 from their captain.The spin bowling ofCousens (4 for 31) and Scaglioni (2 for40) proved the decisive factor, thoughthe final wicket only fell with less than fiveminutes to go.This had been another fineall round performance not least in thefield as sharp catches were held and tworun-outs affected.

A Cup Quarter-Final away to Blundell’s proved an easier hurdle thanexpected.The bowling from Jack Rathborne (3 for 26), Ollie Sale (3 for6) and Dom Scaglioni (3 for 8) backed up by excellent fielding andcatching saw the hosts dismissed for just 68.The target was passed in the9th over for the loss of Scaglioni for 24. Rhys Davies (36 not out), whohad earlier taken 3 catches and a stumping, was named man of the matchby the Blundell’s coach.

Scheduled matches with King’s Hall and Exeter School fell foul of theweather so the visit of Kelly College was our last regular fixture. In verydamp conditions we played a 20-over-a-side match. Batting first Popeand Davies (41) got us off to a good start. Scaglioni (29) and Cousens(28n.o.) then pushed the run rate beyond six an over as we closed ourinnings on 135 for 4. The Kelly opener played well for his 42 beforerunning himself out, but he was the only one to offer any real resistanceas they ran out of overs to finish on 64 for 7.

The Devon Cup semi-finals and final should have brought the season toan exciting climax but the appalling weather continued to blight us andthey were twice postponed.The Leavers v Fathers match also fell foul ofthe excessive amount of rain that fell in the last few weeks of term.

The 1st XI finished the season unbeaten having played seven matches,won six and drawn one. As their record suggests this was a very goodMount House team, the batting was very strong losing few wickets andscoring plenty of runs whether in a time game or limited overs. DominicScaglioni averaging 55.25 pipped Rhys Davies to the batting cup.The seambowling was steady, but the two spinners Cousens and Scaglioni werealways a threat and they were backed up by some excellent fielding,particularly wicketkeeper Davies and Will Steed.The bowling cup went toJulian Bertie and the fielding cup to Rhys Davies. Captain DominicScaglioni represented Devon U.13s while Mikey Cousens, Rhys Daviesand Freddie Jayarajah represented Devon U.12s.With seven of the squadreturning next year there is plenty to look forward to as the 1st XIrepresent Devon in the Bunbury Cup.

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In such a difficult season our many thanks go to the Matrons for tryingto sort out kit; Pat, Les, Sally and Maureen in the catering department fornot only excellent teas but their patience as decisions were oftendelayed until the last possible moment and groundsman Darren fortrying to prepare wickets in often soggy conditions.

Those who represented the 1st XI: Dominic Scaglioni, WillSteed, Jack Rathborne, Louis Ferguson, Tim Pope, MikeyCousens, Freddie Jayarajah, Rhys Davies, Julian Bertie,William Wells,Harry Heal, Jack Galsworthy,Edward Almond,Tom Dowie, Ollie Sale.

Record : Played 7 Won 6 Drawn 1 Lost 0

v Exeter Cathedral Drawn M.H. 162 for 4 dec Cousens 73 Pope 32

Scaglioni 27 Davies 26Exeter Cathedral 91 for 9 Steed 4 for 11

Jayarajah 3 for 7

v Blundell’s Won by 2 wickets Blundell’s 94 all out Scaglioni 4 for 25

Jayarajah 2 for 19M.H. 95 for 8 Rathborne 21 Davies 18

v Hele School Won by 53 runs M.H. 103 for 5 Steed 41 Davies 27Hele 50 for 9 Pope 3 for 2 Ferguson 3 for 1

v Kelly U.13s Won by 54 runs M.H. 142 for 0 Scaglioni 62 n.o. Davies 56 n.o.

Kelly 89 for 9 Bertie 5 for 10Rathborne 2 for 17

v St. Peter’s Won by 66 runs M.H. 183 for 3 Pope 44 Scaglioni 69n.o.

Cousens 36St.Peter’s 117 all out Cousens 4 for 31

Scaglioni 2 for 40

v Blundell’s Won by 9 wickets Blundell’s 68 all out Sale 3 for 6 Scaglioni 3 for 8

Rathborne 3 for 26M.H. 70 for 1 Davies 36n.o. Scaglioni 24

v Kelly U.13s Won by 72 runs M.H. 135 for 4 Davies 41 Scaglioni 29

Cousens 28 n.o. Kelly 64 for 7Rathborne 2 for 11Bertie 1 for 3, Wells 1 for 8

Cricket...continued

2nd XI CricketThe 2nd XI season was badly affected by the terribleweather that marked the summer term of 2007.Only four matches were possible and the team,a mixture of U12s and U13s, performed with varyingdegrees of success.

The opening match of the season resulted in a decisive50 run defeat. Blundell’s U12s put the Mount Housebowling to the sword and their total of 144-8 provedto be well beyond the 2nd XI’s capability. OnlyChristian Brown (25) and James Mann (17) achievedscores in double figures as the run chase fell well short.

St. Peter's, Lympstone proved to be more comfortableopposition. Put in to bat, Mount House registered ahealthy total of 152-7 at tea. Jack Galsworthy's 22rescued the side from a poor start, but it was the 84run partnership between Elliot Woodhead (59no)and Tristan Searight (31) that was the backbone of the innings - a marvellous effort this in very hot conditions.

After tea the visitors reached 30-4 before collapsing to 34 all out. Finecatching helped reward accurate bowling and Jack Galsworthy (3-0),Elliot Woodhead (3-5) and William Wells (2-8) wrapped up a 118 runvictory in under 40 minutes.

The match against Kelly College U12 was a disappointment. Sloppyfielding gave Kelly the chance to score 114 from their 20 overs. TheMount House reply was steady, but so was the loss of wickets and,despite some hard hitting by James Mann, the Kelly total remained afew runs beyond the grasp of the Mount House batsmen.

In the final match of the season, a team comprising players notrequired for the Summer Concert, traveled to Exeter for an eveningmatch against Exeter School’s U12s. Oddly, Michael Cousens’ musicalskills were not needed back in Tavistock. Instead, coming in to bat withthe score at 6-3 after two overs, he launched a blistering attack on theExeter bowling. His undefeated 86, aided by James Mann (24no), tookthe total to 143-6 off of 20 overs. Exeter lost early wickets and werenever up with the clock and fell short by 35 runs.

John Symons

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3rd XI cricket - 2007

Statistically speaking, this was an unbeaten season for the 3rd XI, but intruth, with two matches cancelled, the only undisputed winner of theterm was the incessant rain. However, with few seasoned veteransreturning from previous teams, the performance of the team in the twomatches that were successfully completed was very praiseworthy.

Our first match was against Blundell’s Under 12 B team.We batted first,recovering from a disastrous start to amass a total of 121 all out. PaddyFerguson’s “never-say-die” attitude was instrumental in swinging the matchin our favour, but it was Joe Williams, opening his shoulders and crackingthree 6s and six 4s in his personal score of 47 who laid the foundations

Dominic Scaglioni scored an undefeated centuryfor West Devon U13 in the match against SouthDevon at Newton Abbot Cricket Club.

Batting at number three he reached his 100 off163 balls. West Devon went on to win the matchby 63 runs. On the strength of this and otherperformances, Dominic was selected to play forDevon U13s.

Dominic hits his century

for victory. After tea, Joe and Jack Williams made immediate inroads, Jackfinishing with figures of 3 for 6. Blundell’s were eventually all out for 44.

Our second match was a new fixture against St.Peter’s 3rd team.This was a pairs match, with eachside fielding ten players.We won the toss and put ouropponents in to bat. St. Peter’s struggled to deal withaccurate bowling, only scoring 13 runs off the batand conceding 10 wickets in their allotted 20 overs,meaning that they finished with 196, 4 less than theyhad started with. In reply, we batted positively andeffectively. Joe Williams was again the mostaggressive batsman, but was actually outscored byhis partner Tom Sylvester. Alex Zervudachi enjoyedhimself, scoring 32, including one 6 and six 4s.Starting from a total of 200, we finished on 345,having only lost three wickets.

Jack Norris captained the side for both matcheswith calm and unobtrusive efficiency. Jack Williamswas the pick of the bowlers, ably supported byPaddy Ferguson. Humphrey Fulford kept wicketextremely efficiently and proved to be a doggedbatsman, capable of defending when necessary.Well done to all the players.

Record:v. Blundell’s U-12 “B” WONMH 121 all out, Blundell’s 44 all outv. St. Peter’s 3rd X WONSt. Peter’s 196, MHS 345

The following played:Norris (capt.), Deeble-Stone, Ferguson P., Fulford H., Harrison P., McKelvey,Prysor-Jones G., Shackle, Sylvester T.,Williams Ja.,Williams Jo., Zervudachi

Hugh Walkington

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Four of the regular team of 2006 returned to do battle in a veryenjoyable, successful season. The team more than lived up to theexpectations that were placed upon it and, despite some miserableweather in the second half of term, some memorable cricket was played.

The season began in the usual fashion with a game against ExeterCathedral School, which resulted in a very comfortable win. Ollie Saleclaimed a promising half-century and the Exeter players could find noanswer to a fine, enthusiastic display from Mount House.

Kelly College was the next school to visit and a similar result followed.Adamp wicket meant runs were hard to come by and 17 wickets fell fora total of 90 runs, 79 of which were scored by Mount House! HenryWells, Fred Cave, Edmund Fulford and Ollie Sale all provided valuableruns as Kelly could muster just 11 in reply. Nic Scaglioni and Ollie Salewere the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 3 and 4 for 1 respectively!

A trip to Truro followed and Mount House claimed another win, although itwas much closer at times than the 44 run margin might suggest! MountHouse struggled to 90 for 8 declared at tea, with only Henry, Fred andEdmund in control at the wicket.With Treliske at 23 for 3, the match was inthe balance, but one of the best spells of bowling I have seen in any Coltsmatch, from Ollie,dramatically turned the game our way.He took five wickets,all bowled, in 17 balls as Truro finished on 46 all out. A tremendous divingcatch from George Lundy will also live on in my memory of that day.

Yet another ‘classic’ tussle took place at St Peter’s, Lympstone, the resultbeing in doubt right up to the last few balls of the match! Mount Housebatted first and, overall, it was a disappointing display as only 82 runs werescored, despite noble contributions from Ollie, Danny and Nic.

However, St Peter’s also struggled with the bat, and at 65 for 7 it wasanyone’s game! Lympstone just squeezed in with 7 balls remaining, thefirst defeat for Colts A in exactly two years in a school match!

The team returned to winning ways against Plymouth College on adamp June afternoon, weather which was becoming more and morecommon, and annoying from a cricketing perspective! Our visitors

batted first and looked to be heading for a goodscore at 31 for 2. However, a very accurate spellof bowling from Henry Wells, helped Plymouth tostruggle to 59 all out. At 20 for 4 in reply, MountHouse was in considerable trouble, but a patientsupporting role from Ralph Lawson enabled OllieSale (40 not out) to hit three sixes and threefours including 19 from one over, as the matchwas again turned our way!

Our visit to Stover was a ‘20/20’ match and itprovided our biggest win of the season.Two ofour less recognised bowlers, Henry Barlow andwicket-keeper-turned-bowler Edmund Fulfordstarred as Stover were all out for 34 in 16overs. Henry took 3 for 4 and Edmund 2 for 8.Ollie looked very comfortable as our newkeeper, helping to inspire an excellent fieldingdisplay from Mount House.

Danny and Nic opened in reply and Danny was in sensational form, hitting23 from the first eight balls that he faced! The innings of Mount Houselasted just 19 balls, leading to the second fastest victory I can rememberat Colts level!

Just as Exeter Cathedral starts the term’s matches, Exeter Prep finishesthem! Another 20/20 format was agreed, due to the wet conditions,and our visitors struggled to score freely in the early part of theirinnings, due to tight bowling from Mount House and a slow, wetoutfield. 87 was the eventual target set, but sadly it was always going tobe too large for a tired looking Mount House team to match, especiallyas Danny and Ollie both got out as they were starting to cut loose. Soa 49 run defeat provided rather an anti-climactic end to an otherwiseexcellent season.

My thanks, as ever, for the great parental support throughout the term.

Played 7,Won 5, Drawn 0, Lost 2

The Squad: Ollie Sale, Fred Cave, Edmund Fulford, Ralph Lawson,Danny Goldstone, Nic Scaglioni ( Captain), Henry Wells, Henry Barlow,Alex Woolcock, Harry Sharp, George Lundy, Harrington Woodhead.

Jonathan Banyard

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Although we had to endure terrible weather conditions during thesummer term of 2007 the Colts ‘B’ XI match programme wassurprisingly unaffected by the weather.

The first match of the season was against our old adversaries across theroad, Kelly College, on Homelands in greasy conditions. Playing a 20over pairs format, the Colts B XI won the toss and elected to bat firstand made the difficult batting conditions seem relatively easy. Losingonly 4 wickets, Mount House accumulated a total of 305 runs.All of theMount House players looked comfortable with the bat, but HenryLopes, Dylan Smythe,Tom Jackman and Jamie Redfarn were particularlyoutstanding.The home team also demonstrated their great strength indepth with their bowling by taking 11 wickets, every bowler bowlinggood line and length and giving nothing away cheaply. The team’sconcentration and commitment in the field was typified by JonathanMassey’s tremendous run out mid-way through the game. Wicket-keeper Tom Jackman also exhibited real talent behind the stumps. KellyCollege went on to accumulate 212 runs in response to Mount House’stotal of 305, resulting in a 93 run victory to Mount House.

The following week the Colts B XI visited St. Peter’s, Lympstone.Withgreat conviction Mount House set about taking early wickets andwithin 3 overs Max Taylor had dismissed the opening pair for only 17runs.The match looked very promising for Mount House at this stage.However, after the fourth wicket fell to a magnificent slip catch fromHarry Woodhead, St. Peter’s middle order batsmen ‘dug in’, picking upthe run rate even though the Mount House bowling remained straight.The undulating outfield made fielding difficult and caused severalmisfields. Although on the whole the fielding remained very strong, St.Peter’s finally went on to make a total of 85 runs. An attainable targetfor our strong batting line-up.

However, Mount House never fully recovered from the disastrous start,the first 5 batsmen scoring only 1 run between them. Ben Harding andHenry Hughes did however, shore up the middle order, giving theMount House side some hope. After their dismissals, both HarryWoodhead and Max Taylor also offered some resistance to a strong St.Peter’s pace attack. Alas, Mount House were dismissed for 66.

This was the first experience of timed cricket for the Colts ‘B’ team,and they gained a great deal from this match - a game they certainlyhad the ability to win.The top order batsmen needed to spend moretime at the crease getting used to the pitch and playing themselves inbefore attempting ‘big’ shots.

Following our disappointing defeat against St. Peter’s, Lympstone, theColts B XI bounced back with an assured performance against TruroPreparatory School winning this game by 62 runs. The most pleasingaspect of this fine performance was their positive and assured batting.In total Mount House accumulated twelve 4s and two 6s towards theiroutstanding total of 104 runs in 20 overs. Competition for places inboth the Colts ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams was beginning to hot up, which forcedplayers to step up their level of performance, and this they certainlydid. Fine wins against Plymouth College Preparatory School by 25 runsand Stover College by 10 wickets followed.

In the final match of the season Mount House faced a very strong ExeterPreparatory School. Winning the toss Mount House sensibly chose tobat. Henry Lopes and Jamie Redfarn put on an encouraging 28 runpartnership before the first wicket fell. Nick Bennett came in for a quickfire total of 10 runs before Harry Woodhead seized the moment underdifficult batting conditions scoring an unbeaten 36. Sensible, maturebatting enabled Mount House to post a score of 103 runs.

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Cricket...continuedMount House’s plan of taking the pace off the deliveries and accuratebowling certainly paid dividends. Early wickets and bringing in the fieldersput added pressure on the opposition. Opening bowlers Max Taylorand Nick Bennett kept the Exeter run rate down, while Henry Lopesand Jamie Redfarn hammered into the opposition’s batting line-up.After15 of the allotted 20 overs Mount House had taken all the Exeter JuniorSchool wickets for 71 runs, winning the match by an impressive 32 runs.

It was particularly pleasing to see the Colts ‘B’ team gaining so muchconfidence as the season progressed and adapting quickly to newsituations that they were faced with. While some players can lookforward to securing their places in the Colts ‘A’ team next season,others can look forward to gaining further experience at the seniorend of the school where the cricket is tremendously competitive.

Well done to Jamie Redfarn for ably leading the team to a verysuccessful season and the rest of the squad for their enthusiasm,dedication and commitment to the team.

I am also very grateful for the support and encouragement that theparents offered the team throughout the summer term.

Mount House XI 305Kelly College XI 212Won by 93 runs

St. Peter’s, Lympstone 85 all outMount House 66 all outLost by 19 runs

Due to the appalling weather this term sadly theColts ‘C’ only managed to play one of their fixtureswhich was against St Peter’s, Lympstone which theynarrowly lost by 15 runs.

Having won the toss we decided to put St Peter’s into bat and they managed to score a solid 301 by theend of their innings. The pick of the bowlers wereJamie Renwick taking 4 wickets, James Perring taking 2impressive caught and bowled efforts, and HenryNewman, after a very expensive first over managedto sort out his line and took 2 wickets in his final over.Teddy Prysor-Jones was also dynamic in the field,fearlessly throwing himself around to save runs andtaking a tricky catch.

During our innings we managed a very solid 286runs and could have won this very close and excitingmatch if we hadn’t panicked at key stages and forcedsome unnecessary run-outs. Andrew Coombs with25 runs and Dom Dollard with 17 runs led the waywith the bat. Overall, a very pleasing team effortwhich they should be proud of.

Jon Hammond

Mount House Colts ‘B’ XI 104 for 8Truro Prep. XI Colts ‘B’ 42 all outWon by 62 runs

Mount House Colts ‘B’ XI 114 for 5Plymouth Coll. Prep. XI Colts ‘B’ 89 all outWon by 25 runs

Stover Prep. 40 for 7Mount House 42 for 0Won by 10 wickets

Mount House 103 for 5Exeter Jnr. 71 all outWon by 32 runs

Played 6,Won 5, Lost 1

The Squad: Henry Lopes, Jamie Redfarn, Harrington Woodhead,Nicholas Bennett, Dylan Smythe, Henry Hughes, Max Taylor, Ben Harding,Gus De Falbe, Jonathan Massey, Tom Jackman, Henry Barlow, AlexWoolcock, Freddie Morris.

Ashley David-Ward

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U12 Cricket

Devon Cup Mount House U12s cruised through the 1st Round of the Devon Cupwith a nine wicket win over Kelly College. Kelly managed to score only 34runs in their innings thanks to fine bowling by William Wells (4-9),Ollie Sale(3-2) and Michael Cousens (2-2).This easy target was achieved with fewworries, in seven overs, sound knocks by Julian Bertie (11no) and MichaelCousens (18no) taking Mount House to 35 for the loss of only one wicket.

In the second round Mount House found themselves facingmore local rivals in the form of Tavistock College.Tavistockbatted first and managed to score only 18, of which only 6singles came from the bat. Sale (3-4), Freddie Jayrarajah (3-5) and Bertie (2-6) were the chief wicket takers. Giving thelower order a chance to bat proved a diplomatic success,but was a disappointment from a coach's point of view.Too many shots across the line resulted in a situationwhereby five batsmen lost their wickets before theTavistock total was passed.

Mount House travelled to Blundell's in Tiverton for thequarter finals. Blundell’s proved to be the most difficultopponents the U12s were to face. Batting first, theiropeners put on 85 before being parted and eventually setthe visitors a total of 119 to chase. Despite losing RhysDavies early on, Michael Cousens (53no) and FreddieJayarajah (53no) ripped into the Blundell’s bowling andthe target was passed with three overs to spare.

Plymouth College in the semi-final went the way ofprevious opponents.This match was played, as was mostcricket in June, on a wet, soggy pitch that requiredcopious amounts of sawdust. Bowling was never easy,but Plymouth lost wickets at regular intervals andachieved only 56 before being dismissed. Bertie (19no),Davies (13) and Cousens (19no) saw the side home; athird nine wicket win in four matches.

The final was hosted by Westward Ho! Cricket club ona rare dry and windy day, late in June and the U12s puton yet another fine display. The bowlers, aided by fine,alert fielding, strangled the Exeter Cathedral batsmenwho eventually crawled to 51-8 off of their allotted 25overs. It never looked enough and so it proved asMichael Cousens (22no) and Rhys Davies (12) poweredthe side to victory by nine wickets (what else?) in only7 overs.

The U12s dominated this competition with all but oneof their wins requiring no more than three batsmen totake guard. With the exception of Blundell’s, thebatsmen chased small totals thanks to the miserlyreturns of the bowlers. Julian Bertie, Michael Cousensand Freddie Jayarajah scored 199 runs between themin nine innings without any of the three losing theirwicket! The six frontline bowlers all took wickets andfour of them returned economy rates of well under 3runs an over. Oliver Sale topped the wicket haul with10 wickets while conceding an average of only 1.1 runsper over throughout the competition.

This group of boys has enjoyed tremendous successon the cricket field right from their time as U9s. There are some verytalented batsmen and bowlers in the side and they field with a passion.Above all they generate a remarkable team spirit, which will stand them ingood stead when a serious challenge eventually materialises. At themoment, they can just enjoy being champions of Devon.

JS

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This season’s matches were played with a mixture of hard ball and soft ball.This made preparation for games a little more difficult but the boys wereas keen as ever. Most of the fixtures were pairs matches which gaveeverybody a chance to bat and bowl. This type of cricket can breedcomplacency as when out you only concede five runs rather than a walkback to the pavilion. Often silly runs resulted from poor communicationbetween player and run outs were common.Not the end of the world butit did influence the run rate and the final result in most cases.

Billy Lambeth and Jeremy Steed led the way, proving themselves to be solid all-rounders. They were well supported by Luke Measelle and Guy Gillard who made good progress over the term. CharlesMacEacharn proved useful as wicket keeper and bowled a good linewhen given the opportunity.

Results v Truro Prep Lost by 5 wicketsv Kelly Prep Lost by 59 runsB Team Lost by 22 runsUnder 8 Won by 20 runsv Plymouth College Lost by 32 runsB team Lost by 12 runs

Results would suggest plenty of room for improvement, but it is not allabout results. Every boy in Form 1 and 2 had a chance to play in aschool fixture representing their school.Win or lose, the boys still hada tremendous enthusiasm for the next match.

ARL

U9 Cricket Report

RESULT: Boys won by 11 runs

With half the senior boys involved in the Senior Set match final, aninvitational XI was drawn up to play the Girls’ XI. The Girls won thetoss and put the Boys in to bat. Over their 15 overs, the Boys amasseda creditable total of 71 for 5, Jacca Deeble-Stone and Patrick Fergusonscoring 13 and 14 respectively. The bowling [in difficult dampconditions with a slippery ball] was accurate and pacy with Ella Hartleythe pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3 for 8 off 3 overs.Barnie Goldstone was unlucky not to take any wickets, and all thebatsmen treated her bowling with the greatest respect! The fieldingwas very secure, with two good catches taken by Hannah Donne andCharlotte FitzGerald.

Ella and Barnie marched out to bat with a purposeful air, and afterscoring 14 runs off the first over, things looked a little bleak for theboys. However, Captain Ferguson took a smart catch to dismiss Barnie

in the second over, and a mini-collapse followed. Fern Toynton wasextremely unlucky to be caught by Jacca in the gully when he had tocatch the ball to avoid personal injury! The remaining batsmen allshowed promise and good technique, but lacked the physical power toconvert shots into boundaries. After 15 overs, the girls finished on 60for 7, 11 runs short of their target.

Champagne moments:• Hannah Donne clipping a ball for 4 through fine leg.• The chivalry and good manners shown by the Boys towards the Girlsand the excellent spirit shown by all participants. This was a greatadvertisement for both boys’ and girls’ cricket at Mount House. Welldone everyone.

Hugh Walkington

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It was always going to be an almost impossible task to get anywherenear the same level of success of last year’s all-conquering squad, but Iwas proud of the way the team battled in this year’s competition.

Mount House started out on June 9th with a comfortable victory athome to Kelly Prep. Kelly was asked to bat and scored 246 with the lossof 1 wicket, bowled by Ralph Lawson. Some excellent, aggressivebatting, especially from Ollie Sale, Harry Sharp and Alex Woolcock, withjust one run-out meant that 291 was the final total for Mount House.

The win meant that Mount House qualified for the Devon final. Thewinning team from Stover, Bramdean, Exeter Prep or ourselves wouldthen qualify for the West of England final. To cut a long story short,atrocious weather on June 21st meant that the games were playedindoors at the University of Exeter’s Sports Hall.

Exeter Prep was the deserving winner on the day, winning all three oftheir matches. Exeter Prep beat us by 28 runs, and the school wouldeventually end up as runners-up for the National award and so it wascertainly no disgrace for Mount House to lose to a very fine side.Mount House finished second overall and 3 wickets in 4 balls in thelast over of the Stover match from Edmund Fulford, which turned thegame our way by just two runs, will live for a very long time in thememory of all who were there! I will also remember ducking anddiving – almost literally, Harry!- to escape being hit by sixes from OllieSale, Harry Sharp and Danny Goldstone!

The squad consisted of the same players who played in Colts A withHenry Barlow acting as our mascot. There was a great team spiritthroughout the day.

Jonathan Banyard

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they struggled to keep down extras, and took two for two in her firstover by finding her line, length and inevitably middle stump. Whilstbowling remained expensive two further wickets were secured by theend of the innings.The girls then paired up and went in to bat but in afar more conservative manner than is required in this version of thegame. As time wore on and the girls struggled to score off the bat astheir were no boundaries so literally every run had to be run hard, thegirls became anxious to score which resulted in some careless runningand slapdash shots. After our second fielding innings and a marvellousside-on, run-out blasted in by captain Barnie Goldstone the girls wereunder pressure and did well to claw their way to just 10 runs away fromvictory with three overs to spare. Unfortunately the desire to find themeat of the bat tempted the eye off the ball and we lost four vitalwickets which put the score line to bed effectively.

The opposition’s umpire was kind enough to mention the moretechnical ability of the Mount House team (it is worth mentioning herethat many St Peter’s bowlers did so under arm) and had this been a 20-over hard ball match the result would have been quite altered.However Fern Toynton deserves mention for top scoring on 12without losing her wicket and Ella Hartley finished with bowling figuresof 3 – 3 off two overs.Well done girls, you really are a superb team withmuch potential in the traditional game – keep up your hard work in thefuture seasons. I hope to see you leavers keeping up the sport as youreally have such a solid understanding of the game and with all yourhard work in the nets during your lunchtime and free time sessions thefuture of English women’s cricket looks very bright indeed.

Girls Cricket XI at St Peter’s Lympstone

Result: Mount House 257St Peter’s Lympstone 276

A baptism of fire for this historical match.As the first ever Mount Housegirls’ cricket team took to the pitch they had to quickly learn the art of‘kwick cricket’. They won the toss and opted to bowl first having toassess the shortened wicket with a smaller, softer, lighter ball than usual,and adaptations needed to be made quickly. Ella Hartley stepped up inthe bowling stakes, after our openers were shocked into submission as


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13 athletes travelled up to Birmingham to compete at the NationalAthletics Stadium.

This was a young side looking to gain experience and hopefully toimprove on their own personal best performances.

First to perform was Kate Robbins in the shot put and she notonly improved her best ever distance to 9m94cms, it was alsoenough for her to win the National title and gold medal.A greatcaptain’s performance to start the day.

On the track George Lundy continued his improving standardand ran the 1500m 12 secs quicker in a new best time of 5m19,finishing 7th overall.

The Hurdles were very difficult in wet and blustery conditions.However Charlotte Pickard put in a sterling performancemanaging to clear all the hurdles in a respectable time.

Imogen Galsworthy had a busy back to back 100m & 200magain bettering her previous best times, despite the quick turnover of events.

A long day finished off with the senior girls 4 x 100m RelayThe girls ran an excellent heat, narrowly missing qualification by0.1 sec., the bonus being that they did set a new school recordof 58.4 secs, so well done Charlotte FitzGerald, CharlottePickard, Ella Hartley and Lucy Sharp.

A truly memorable moment came from Kate Robbins - not inthe shot but the 300m. Standing in what can only be described

as a rain storm of biblical proportions where the track had an inch ofrain in 2 mins, she ran a personal best time of 50.4 with an injured calf.A truly great performance to cap a great day.

Many thanks to Mrs Hammond for her assistance and the athletes whoperformed well.

Kelly Trophy meetingThis is always a very keenly contested day, especially with the chance ofqualifying for the National championships at Birmingham.The conditionswere perfect and there was the usual quota of predicted results alongwith some outstanding performances.

Medal placings:

Girls open events:Lucy Sharp silver 200m and gold in 4x100 RelayCharlotte Pickard double gold in Hurdles and RelayCharlotte FitzGerald silver High Jump and gold Relay.Kate Robbins double gold in Shot and 300m , silver in Discus and ameeting record in the Shot.Barnie Goldstone bronze JavelinHannah Redman bronze 1500mRosie Yeoward silver 800mElla Hartley double gold Triple Jump and Relay (new meeting record inTriple Jump)

GirlsU12Izzie Norris bronze 1500mImogen Galsworthy double silver in 100m and 200mLouisa Butcher silver ShotPhoebe Malcolm bronze Javelin

Boys open eventsTim Pope gold Hurdles and bronze High JumpJoe Williams bronze ShotChristian Brown silver 1500mWilliam Stead gold DiscusElliot Woodhead bronze 800m

Boys U12Ralph Lawson silver High Jump and bronze 800mGeorge Lundy gold 1500mJamie Redfarn gold Discus and silver ShotOllie Sale gold Hurdles and silver 200m

An excellent day’s athletics with 13 qualifiers for the nationals as well asthe Girls winning the Open trophy.

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West Devon andPlymouth AthleticsChampionshipsYears 8 & 9This was an interesting competition as well as a bit of a baptism of fire.All Mount House pupils were from year 8 and found themselvescompeting against pupils a year older than themselves.

However, it was a great opportunity for Mount House to competeagainst local area state schools, as well as use the facilities at Brickfieldsin Plymouth.

Top performance came again in the pouring rain from Kate Robbins whodidn’t perform at her best but still secured second spot in the Shot, andautomatic qualification in the county championships later on.

William Steed narrowly missed out on qualifying but threw very wellwith the heavier discus. Joe Williams manfully stepped forward andcompeted in the Hammer event, where he threw a respectable 24 metres.

Best track performance came from Hannah Redman who sprinted wellenough to make it to the final, in between which she also ran a very hard

fought 1500m race. Needless to say her efforts in the 1500m cost herdearly in the 100m sprint final.

A very rewarding day in poor weather conditions saw the pupils gainvaluable experience competing on a 400m track against new opposition.My thanks go to Mr A. David-Ward and Carry Lawson for their time andsupport during the day’s events.

Devon Schools Championshipsat Exeter ArenaFollowing on from her success at Plymouth, Kate Robbins had a couple ofweeks to perfect her technique ready for her competition. Kate was thefirst Mount House pupil ever to compete in this competition, so nopressure then! Using a 3.25kg shot which was much heavier than hernormal 2.75kg shot, Kate set about the older opposition in a determinedfashion. In fact she won the event by almost a metre, creating a personalbest of 10m08 as well as a new Mount House record. Her win qualifiedKate for the South West Schools Championships at Yeovil on the followingSaturday, which was also the day before the Kelly trophy meeting.

Yeovil proved to be one match too far and Kate found it difficult toconcentrate on the day’s competition with Kelly on her mind.An averageperformance saw Kate make the top ten where she competed againstan ex training partner in the shape of May Liddell-Grainger. All veryvaluable experience for next year, when Kate competes in the same agegroup… Bring it on!

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Although the netball season for Mount House usually occupies thespring term we had an early fixture in November when Miss Roothbrought 10 girls from Winchester House for a friendly game. This was agreat opportunity for the Mount House 6th Form to show how far theirspirit and determination could carry them against a team which hadbeen playing together for three months and had been undefeated in allmatches. Although the game was lost by 30 – 17, it was a tremendouseffort by everyone particularly Charlotte FitzGerald who played for thewhole hour as the rest of the girls were substituted around her.

On the first Saturday of the spring term the fixture against King’s Hallloomed! Their sides have in past years proved to be very tall andexceptionally talented and so we approached the game with sometrepidation. However, the girls had learnt so much from the pre-seasonmatch and played with great style and panache. The ‘A’ team won 10 –5 and as one father put it,“so that is how netball should be played!” The‘B’s also won by a score of 9 – 7 with some excellent shooting byHannah Redman and Sofia Oxenham, and tireless work in defence byEmmie de Falbe.

Against Stover a few mistakes crept into the game and so although wehad most of the possession it was a very tight match with Mount Housejust squeezing home by 14 – 13. Charlotte FitzGerald was the star ofthe day!

Both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams travelled to Blundell’s at the end of January.The ‘A’ team had some excellent passages of play but mistakes in thecircle with the shooters not defending space adequately meant that wecould not keep up with the Blundell’s score. A loss of 3 – 5 wasdisappointing but kind comments from the opposition coach aboutCharlotte’s play were most welcome. The ‘B’s started their game withaccurate passing and they displayed excellent spatial awareness.However, Blundell’s soon raised their game and began to dominate.

A hailstorm half way through the game led toproblems with ball handling and the girls were veryglad of a hot meal to warm them up after thematch! The final result was a loss by 6 – 13.

The Bryanston Tournament was, as always, veryenjoyable with the doughnuts still one of thehighlights! Out of the five teams in our group, fourwere very closely matched and so only goaldifference determined which final competitionMount House reached. They played their bestnetball against Amesbury in the semi-final of theVase competition with the shooters communicatingwell and the defenders being particularly sure oftheir positioning. Accuracy and reliability from thecentre court players helped towards the success ofthe day although everyone had tired by the timethe final was played and we suffered a narrow lossagainst St Michael’s,Tawstock.

For the first time Mount House entered teamsinto the IAPS Regional Finals which are held atPort Regis in Dorset. The day proved to beexhausting but a wonderful experience foreveryone - all the girls, both coaches and MrSymons who drove the minibus and gavefantastic support to all! The team reached the

play-offs and lost narrowly to Millfield and so were only one gameaway from National Finals. A fantastic performance with a special mention going to Freya Semken who played brilliantly at Wing Defence.

One night’s rest and the girls were off to Truro! This was an outstandingmatch and definitely the best performance of the season played in frontof the Headmaster! A mature, accurate game in which not a single passwas wasted. The experience at Port Regis had clearly given the girls ahuge confidence boost which enabled them to dominate the court withset plays going exactly to plan. The final score was a win by 14 – 5.Charlotte Pickard was the player of the day this time!

The last matches of the season were against Kelly College with bothteams in action. The ‘A’ team fought a close battle with both sets ofdefences making every shooting opportunity difficult. However, theMount House centre court players used the space better than theiropponents and moved the ball quicker into the circle. This was anexcellent win by 9 – 3 to finish the season, with an outstandingcontribution coming from debutante Mary Lennox-Boyd. The ‘B’ teamcompletely overwhelmed the Kelly team winning 31 – 3. Michelle Pearnand Freya Semken dominated the play to such an extent that we couldnot find any combination of positions which gave the opposition anychance. The highlight of the day was the goal scored by HattieMacEacharn – a real champagne moment!

All-in-all a wonderful season which hopefully the girls enjoyed as muchas Miss Brereton and Dr Eagleton. The spirit and fun were fabulous,thank you so much!

Squad: Charlotte FitzGerald, Ella Hartley, Charlotte Pickard, Lucy Sharp,Thea Dickinson, Barnie Goldstone, Kate Robbins, Michelle Pearn, FreyaSemken, Mary Lennox-Boyd, Emmie de Falbe, Hannah Morris, HannahRedman, Hattie MacEacharn, Sofia Oxenham, Georgia Carrick.

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Under 12 NetballAn encouraging season of netball was played by the U12s. Set plays,centre passes and accuracy were worked on throughout the season andput into good effect in the majority of the games played. Emily Redman,Fern Toynton and India Leigh notably added great structure to each gamein the centre third. The girls faced larger competition in most of theirgames which debilitated them when it came to scoring goals.The highlight of the season was the IAPS Port Regis tournament wherethe girls solidly displayed the progressive skills learnt over the season,regardless of the fact that the opposition was significantly bigger andstronger. Our girls were technically the best they had been all term, risingto the strong opposition.This is a side that remained focused throughoutthe term but will need to work on shooting over the course of the year.

Team: Emily Redman, Rosie Yeoward, India Leigh, Hannah Donne, FloraZajicek, Flora Dickinson, Yume Fujita, Elizabeth Jervoise, GeorginaSutcliffe-Maynard, Fern Toynton.

CB

Bryanston and Port Regis tournaments proved tough but educationaland gave the girls a glimpse of what they will need to aspire to in futureseasons to be competitive.

The Under 11B team were unbeaten and praise should go toGeorgina Newman for huge improvements in her defensive play andto Sascha Lopes for dogged determination as shooter.

The Under 10s had a season of mixed success but remainedenthusiastic throughout. All the girls worked hard to improve thepace of their centre court play and Alice Donne, Cecily Jervoise, LucyRedman and Holly Wixon should be congratulated for this.

Under 11 Netball

Training sessions with this enthusiastic group of girls revolved arounddeveloping a more sophisticated style of play now that theirfundamental skills have been ascertained. The girls worked on set playto move the ball quickly and efficiently up the line, through centrecourt to the shooters, who worked tirelessly to improve accuracy.We were very impressed with how this was then implemented inmatch situations.

Highlights of the season for the A team included a brilliant 9-5 winagainst King’s Hall, after only one training session which showed thepotential of this sporting squad, with Imogen Galsworthy and LouisaButcher capitalising on every opportunity presented to them.Issy Norris showed excellent captaincy skills during a hard fought drawagainst Stover and congratulations must go to Poppy Hartley forfocused and assertive game play on the wing.


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The girls vastly improved during the season and realised the importanceof working as a team. Their enthusiasm could not be faulted and,although this could occasionally get in the way of rememberingtechnicalities of the game, it was heartwarming to see them enjoy thesport to such an extent.

Having opportunities to try every position on the court provedbeneficial and it soon became clear whether the girls were morecomfortable playing as shooters or in defensive positions.

The girls had many chances to play in match situations, although theirlack of stature proved somewhat of a handicap for some of the girls. Thetwo captains, Tabitha Unsworth-White and Lucy Cheshire rallied theirtroops magnificently and whether they won or lost their matches thegirls always had smiles on their faces.

Well done girls!

AE, SS, LC and CG

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RoundersU13 and U12 Rounders

Every so often, a coach is lucky enough to comeacross a group of girls who are so serious about theirsport, so keen to improve on each performance andso reflective on every match that training becomes ajoyous task in which time flies by. I have been luckyenough to come across several such groups in myrelatively short time at Mount House but it has to besaid, none more so than this squad.

While the make up of the U13 and U12 could nothave been more different (I was spoiled for choicewhen selecting an U13 team but every available girlin the 5th form had no choice but to step up to theU12 plate – so to speak), the whole of game onewere diligent and accomplished rounders players.

The game against Exeter Cathedral School was a very good start tothe season for the U13s.The team batted with directional hitting andassertive running round the posts managing to keep all but threebatters in for the whole innings. In the field the girls proved to be justas dominant with good communication, backing up and tactical gameplay to cut down on scoring opportunities. In both the fielding inningsfour ‘wickets’ were taken at first post and three were caught behindwhich demonstrates the solid fielding partnership between EllaHartley and Charlotte Fitzgerald. Our deep fielders performedbrilliantly as well: both Fern Toynton and Barnie Goldstone took tricky,high catches fearlessly and confidently before using their great arm toget the ball onto fourth.The result was MH 24 ECS 17.

The make up and tactics of the game have changed substantially overrecent years so players and coach were allowed to witness thestrategies undertaken by teams on our match circuit and adapt suitably.No team was more formidable than Taunton Prep, who we came upagainst in our first match of the JET tournament league. Taunton’sunusual fielding placement meant that hitting out was nigh-onimpossible so the girls had to sneak the half rounders where they

could (Charlotte FitzGerald and Freya Semken being the only two tospot a gap enabling them to sprint for the whole rounder) but their

defence was unfortunately as impenetrable as their attack.

The U13 squad quickly picked themselves up however andtook all they learned from this game to Plymouth Collegewhere the home team managed 17, a most respectableopening total. However the Mount House squad went intotheir batting innings with maturity and assertion in shots,quickly caught the Plymouth total and carried on so that thePlymouth team were almost looking to the heavens andpraying for rain.After declaring on 29.5, Mount House wastedno time in shutting down attempts at running by Plymouth intheir second innings (Charlotte Pickard risking several fingersin some staunch ‘point blank’ catches from her position in thebowling box) and kept them down to 2.5 before gettingthem all out before their 15 minute time limit was up. Havingbeaten Plymouth in one innings the team was asked to batagain anyway and did so with renewed energy and gusto –Barnie Goldstone found gaps and weaknesses all over thefield and managed to score off almost every ball bowled toher. Final score MH 40.5 PC 19.5.

Happily, coming off the back of a narrow loss to St. Peter’s, the Under12 team also enjoyed a win against Plymouth College by 39 to 24. Parents and opposition staff commented on the fluid nature ofthe girls’ post work and tactics which suggests the girls had beenlistening hard in training sessions and really understood the subtletiesof this sport. Emily Redman captained the side brilliantly and top-scored with 9.5, followed by Flora Zajicek who fielded well, as well asscoring 7 rounders. Phoebe Malcolm made her debut a year young forthis age group, was asked to play backstop, not a familiar position forher but she learned the skills required quickly and scored 6 rounders.

There are not many places one would want to be more than on aMount House rounders pitch at the height of summer with such amature, sporting group of girls.

SH


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U11 Rounders squad: Phoebe Malcolm, Poppy Hartley,Imogen Galsworthy, Harriet Cave, Holly Wixon, Izzy Norris,Sascha Lopes, Louisa Butcher, Ellie Hayward, Sophie Essex,Eloise Kidner, Georgina Newman, Lucy Telfer-Smollett, AliceDonne, Cecily Jervoise, Lucy Redman

A mixed but progressive season was had by the U11 rounderssquad.The A team started the season against Exeter Cathedralon the first Wednesday of term, where they showed signs ofpotential, however being out of practice, failed to come out ontop.The following games against Truro and Kelly were a steeplearning curve, as the girls realised that they needed to startplaying tactically, reaching second post to gain half rounders ifthey were not hitting as well as they could.

The highlight of the season oddly followed a month of rain with only afew practices managed, when the A team took to the field at St Peter'sLympstone in a focused, mature manner displaying quick hands,accurate throws and fantastic catches by Poppy Hartley, Harriet Caveand Olivia McGonigle. This noticeably restricted St Peters' chances offull rounders off their big hits, however they were tactical with theirscoring and managed plenty of half rounders. Our girls batted withenormous power and fantastic placing, forcing St Peter's to run aroundfor the ball in the hay barns and amongst the cars! Unfortunately theclock set us back 2.5 rounders. All was not lost however as the B teamdisplayed an outstanding performance. Mount House were put into batfirst, playing 'all out' rather than limited balls. This suited the MountHouse girls who scored slowly but without getting out, so the scoregradually built up.

Georgina Newman, Lucy Redman, Lucy Telfer-Smollett and Emma Paullplayed brilliantly in taking the score to a huge total of 28 rounders. StPeter’s fielded well in places but struggled to get our girls out whenbatting, leaving the score at 28-12.5 with a whole innings to spare!

Even though the season was not a fully victorious one, the squadprogressed hugely and showed great potential for next season. PhoebeMalcolm deserves special mention for captaining excellently both onand off the field. She led by example with fantastic batting and fieldingin all games and also looked after the opposition well before and aftergames at home. A most impressive athlete.

CB

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The Under 9 rounders teams worked hard over the term; they puta huge amount of effort and enthusiasm into practice sessions andapproached matches with a fantastic positive attitude. The fact thatmany of them had never played rounders before did not put themoff and they spent time learning and understanding the rules andtactics involved in the game.

Throughout the term the girls worked towards achieving theirNational Rounders Association Awards for their ability to performa variety of skills in the sport. They all completed various tasksinvolving bowling, batting, catching, throwing and fielding whichwere then scored. Congratulations to Meaghan Ryder-Green,Tabitha Unsworth-White and Augusta Clayton who achievedSilver awards and Caitlin Haynes-Parry, Charlotte Wiltshire, IzellaOxenham, Lucy Cheshire, Taylor Lee, Alice Woolcock, EleanorWoolcock, Elsa Kent, Jennifer Forrest, Lucy Massey and TeanChorosweska all of whom gained their Bronze awards.

Unfortunately the inclement weather over the course of the termmeant that the Under 9 A team played only two matches and theUnder 9 B team just one.

The Under 9 A team made their debut playing away against Truroprep with gusto. They were maturely captained by Tabitha UnsworthWhite and all the 2nd form girls made excellent role models for thelarge number of 1st form girls who had made it into the team. TabithaUnsworth-White, Elsa Kent and Meaghan Ryder-Green made anexcellent trio as bowler, backstop and second post. They continued towork tirelessly throughout the term on speed and accuracy when

fielding in order to limit the number of half rounders scored by theother team reaching second post. The match was narrowly lost, but itwas an afternoon enjoyed by all.

All the girls in the 1st and 2nd forms were given the opportunity toplay in matches at the end of term with a home A and B fixture againstStover. The girls were polite and considerate hosts, both on and offthe pitch; next year they need to work on tenacity when playing asthey lacked the hunger of Stover who fought to gain whole and halfrounders whenever possible. Both matches were lost to Stover, butthe girls should be congratulated for their fantastic effort over theterm and for representing the school so well.

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The intrepid group of loyal cricketers emerged for the 27th year ofWanderers history on Saturday 14th July, 2007. Amazingly, play waspossible, despite one of the biggest storms I can remember occurringthe day before.The groudsman, Darren, thought I was slightly mad toeven ask for a wicket to be marked out, when water polo seemed tobe more likely as a sensible activity for the following day!

A change to the usual format meant that three six-a-side mini matchestook place on The Oval between Banyard’s and Elworthy’s teams. Inorder to avoid the report rivalling a Wisden publication, let me justnote that, by hook or by crook, Elworthy’s team won the first gameand the second game ended up as a tie, meaning a sudden deathmatch to decide the overall winners of the Ken Cload Trophy!

Elworthy’s team batted first and Elworthy, Toynton, Churcher andCashell all weighed in with big scores, setting Banyard’s team 108 towin from 12 overs! Chris Redman batted beautifully, as he had done inthe two previous games, and despite a gallant 36 not out, ended up onthe losing team, by 28 runs.

Sally Da Rocha was there as always to provide the tea and drinks.Thank you, Sally! During the tea interval, we remembered thepassing of Jon Jackson, whose life had been cut short by cancer afew days earlier. He had played in the very first Wanderers matchback in the early 1970s and was a regular face for many years inWanderers teams.

The evening entertainment was yet again provided in The Peter TavyInn, where a very good time was had by all! The resurgent MountHouse Association should mean a bright future for the Wanderers inyears to come.

Jonathan Banyard

Old Boys’ Association

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Mount House School wishes to thank Beth Hartley Photos for providing many of the images in this publication.

Documents

M House Fanfare Mag 2007 - welcomewebsites.co.uk · Fanfare 2006 - 2007 • Mount House School This morning the Esme Fairbairn foundation published authoritative ... DANCE, Edward