Nuntius - Wirral Grammar School for Boys€¦ · Side Story’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ and most recently ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Geoff is an energetic, enthusiastic and above

NuntiusW I R R A L G R A M M A R S C H O O LA F o u n d a t i o n B u s i n e s s & E n t e r p r i s e S c h o o l f o r B o y s

J U L Y 2 0 0 8C r o s s L a n e , B e b i n g t o n , W i r r a l , C H 6 3 3 A Q | Te l : 0 1 5 1 6 4 4 0 9 0 8

New School Building OpensOur new teaching block is complete. From the second half of thesummer term lessons began in the new teaching areas created forBiology, ICT and Business Studies. Mathematics, Music, Languagesand English will be moving into their new teaching rooms prior toSeptember. All classrooms and corridors are carpeted and equippedwith new furniture.Prior to Whit half term, School Council memberswere able to have a look around the new buildingbefore the official hand-over. The newaccommodation has been fully equipped with highspecification ICT equipment. All classrooms havecomputer network access and multi-mediaprojection is being installed in every classroom.Plasma screens are being installed on eachcorridor and new multi-media displays will be afeature within the entrance atrium.

The new Music area includes two main teaching rooms equipped with musictechnology resources. Individual practice rooms will provide for the needs of peripateticteaching. There are three new biology labs and a spectacular exterior study balcony onthe first floor. The new ICT suite includes fifty computers in a room that can be dividedfor flexible use. A feature of the new building is the scope for community adulteducation in the evenings and the new building has a community reception andconference room.

The whole of the Mathematics Department is to be housed in the new building witheight specialist teaching rooms. There are additional rooms for English and Languagesand these connect with other classrooms in the main building.

The new toilets are of a business conference centre standard and far removed from thetypical toilet facilities found in most schools.

Refurbishment underwayThe focus is now on refurbishing those areas ofthe main building that have been vacated andthis work is currently underway and due forcompletion in August. A new Learning ResourceCentre is being created that will combine bothtraditional library and new ICT resources.

Over the summer external works will include theextension and re-surfacing of the playground andthe creation of contrasting spaces for ball play and quiet recreational pursuits.

The DianaAward –National Recognition forPeer Support Group

On Wednesday14 May aspecial AwardCeremony tookplace to presentThe Diana Award to five members of theWirral Grammar School Peer SupportGroup for their services to the schoolcommunity.

The Award winners were: Richard Crompton, GarethFisher, Adam Heayns, Michael Jones and ZacharyStreet. We were very pleased to welcome our guestpresenter, James Buckley, a ten year old who hasproduced his own peer support series to schoolscalled “Look out for loneliness”. James appeared ontelevision last November on “Children in Need”when he presented his service on a special episodeof Dragons’ Den. James spoke at the ceremony andcongratulated all of the boys on their achievement.Each of the boys’ mum and dads were present towatch their sons receive their awards and theschool’s Chair of Governors, Mr Brian Edmondson,also attended.

The Wirral Grammar School Peer Support Group isa dedicated group of students who have identified arange of measures to help to protect lower schoolboys from incidents of bullying.

TV “Dragon”, James Caan, who invested in JamesBuckley’s idea, added words of congratulations tothe award winners.

“Standing up to your peer group against bullying isnever easy and it takes someone with drive andcommitment to succeed. I live by my motto: ‘observethe masses and do the opposite’ and whilst this hasworked for me, I am delighted to see that Richard,Adam, Michael, Zachery and Gareth are using it intheir endeavour to put a stop to bullying.”

w w w . w i r r a l g r a m m a r b o y s . c o m

Open Evenings 2008Parents of boys who will be in Year 6 at their primary schools in September areinvited to attend one of our Open Evenings on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18September 2008. These start at 7.00 pm with two talks taking place during theevening by Mr David Hazeldine, Headteacher.

The whole school will be open for parents to see the work of all Departments andfor boys to take part in, and observe a range of lesson activities.

Practice 11+ test papers will be on sale and parents and boys will be able to talkto current pupils about life at Wirral Grammar School.

Charity Update - Summer 2008As the summer term is drawing to aclose, I would like to take thisopportunity to congratulate all myfellow students, the staff and mostimportantly all the supportive parentsfor their magnificent fundraising efforts.At the time of writing, we have raised astaggering £6,501.29 for St. John’s Hospice – alocal charity providing specialist palliative care andsupport for patients with severe and progressivedisease.

Since the last Nuntius Charity Update, the school calendar has been full of charityfundraisers! Most noticeably, on Monday 12th May, St. John’s Hospice visitedthe school to raffle-off a brand new Vauxhall Corsa, complete with ten drivinglessons! This proved extremely popular (especially amongst certain members ofstaff!) and raised over £100. In a similar FUNdraising spirit, congratulations toDave Tasak (U61), who correctly guessed that there were 486 mini-eggs in the‘Easter Extravaganza’ and equal congratulations to Mr C Cooper for completingthe 73-mile “Maggie’s Bike and Hike”. Sponsorship money is still being collectedin for this – if you are yet to hand in your money, please contact Mr. CooperASAP.

Well done to the Peer Support Group as well for organising two very successfulcharity quizzes, which raised nearly £200. Year 7 and 8 students took part inthe quizzes at the end of last term, being tested on sport, music, film, TV andgeneral knowledge. In addition to having fun and learning more about the PSG,they raised a fantastic amount for charity. Congratulations also go to the twowinning teams: ‘Suicidal Sheep’ and ‘Team Brainiac’!

As fundraising for St. John’s Hospice draws to a close, on behalf of all my fellowstudents, I would like to thank Robert Woodward for all of his support andcommitment to student-led charity events over the past year in his role as charitycoordinator - £6,501.29 and counting…!

Richard Crompton - Head Boy & Charity Coordinator – 2008 / 2009


WelcomeDear all

The 2007/2008 academic year has beencharacterised by numerous events andachievements.

Our year started with outstanding examinationresults which represented a further improvement onthe record levels of attainment the previous year.We look forward to news of further achievementsuccess this summer with the publication of GCSEand A Level results.

Those who are avid readers of Nuntius will befamiliar with the wide range of activities and eventsthat have been a feature of this academic year.Success at Wirral Grammar School takes manyforms and it is a fair summary to state that pupilshave both worked hard and played hard.

Residential visits have been a prominent feature ofthe Summer Term with an outdoor pursuits course onAnglesey for Year 9, a Year 7 trip to Normandy, aHistory visit to Russia, a Lower Sixth visit toCambridge and at the very end of the term, acricket tour to the Caribbean.

The acquisition of our new teaching accommodationhas been welcome news this term and as you willread in this issue of Nuntius, our refurbishmentprogramme is now well under way.

At the end of the term we say our farewells to MrStuart Clarke who is relocating to a school inLancashire, Mr Stuart Kenyon who has take a postat the Grange School in Northwich and Miss JuliaKelly who has secured a post as Advanced SkillsTeacher in English at Neston High School. Inaddition, we are saying farewell to Mr Shabil Syed,Miss Nicola Diss and Mr Grant McClean who havesupported the school in a temporary capacity overthe course of this year.

We wish all of them every success and happinessfor the future.

Our new academic year commences on Wednesday3 September for pupils and we look ahead toanother year of achievements.

Finally, I wish everyone an enjoyable and relaxingsummer period.

Yours sincerely

David HazeldineHeadteacher

J U L Y 2 0 0 8W I R R A L G R A M M A R S C H O O LA F o u n d a t i o n B u s i n e s s & E n t e r p r i s e S c h o o l f o r B o y s

Geoff Hinde to be awarded MBEThe Queens Birthday Honours List 2008 has recently beenpublished, paying tribute to outstanding achievement andservice across the entire community. Many of thosehonoured, including our very own Mr Geoff Hinde (Headof Law), have for many years been undertaking extra-curricular activities alongside their professional duties and Geoff’s dedication toEducation and Performing Arts here in Merseyside has now been formallyrecognised.

Geoff has played a leading role in organising school drama productions for over30 years beginning with ‘Burps’ in 1977 and going on to include ‘Othello’, ‘WestSide Story’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ and most recently ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.

Geoff is an energetic, enthusiastic and above all committed individual who leavesa lasting impression on all who have the good fortune to meet him, particularlythose that played a crucial part in the MBE nomination process. His work in thefield of Performing Arts has extended well beyond any normal call of duty and thismuch-deserved achievement stands out as an example to others.

N u n t i u s

The Forensics BusinessOn Tuesday 10th June, Year 9 was given theprivilege of entering the world of forensicscience and learning some of the skills thatreal life scientists use to solve murders. Theday was split into two parts, with pupilsbeing able to get hands-on with some crimesolving and attempting to find the murdererof a life-like case, using Chemistry and asmart mind!

The second half allowed us to meet a realforensic scientist, Steve Baker. He talked tous about the real atmosphere of the job,making clear the differences between thefacts and the fiction, exaggerated by showssuch as CSI and Bones. He also showedus images of him working in Bosnia after themassacres in 1995.

Overall, the day was an interesting andextremely interactive experience, botheducational and entertaining. And most importantly, we know now that forensicscience isn't what it appears to be on the TV shows.Nathan Just 9B

All pupils worked well and completed the tasks set. There were many examples ofskilled practical work and it was particularly pleasing to see many good examples ofteamwork – in the true spirit of enterprise. The event would not have been possiblewithout money from the Business and Enterprise fund.

The following boys received prizes:

Winners Winners Good try Good tryMorning Nick Harvey 9B Mark Ashton 9B Adam Davies 9W Andrew Burgess9B

Nathan Just 9B Aarondeep Bhullar 9W Ray Anderson 9D Jamie Lee 9DTom Capon 9D James Gardener 9D Daryl Flynn 9B Daniel Oakes 9WMichael Stewart 9D Seam Lymn 9B Sam O’Connell 9D Andrew Sephton

9B

Afternoon Kieran Cook 9L Chris Burrows 9H Jordan Fletcher 9H Jamie Davies 9HNick Iatridis-Jones 9H Chris McParlan 9H Sebastian Masento 9L Michael Spink 9HJames Lewis 9W Gary Edwards 9W Andrew Ellis 9W Jadeja Sagar 9LDaniel Salisbury 9L David Field 9L Peter Pegasiou

9WDr Bromley


Cambridge ResidentialThis term saw a group of potential Oxbridge candidates travellingto Cambridge for a two day residential. Fourteen students went onthe trip, held to give pupils a taster of life at Cambridge University.The group stayed in student accommodation at Selwyn College, abeautiful 17th century building with excellent food. However, thestudents also had the opportunity to explore many other colleges aswell as the city itself. In addition many subject departments wereopen, allowing students to get a good insight into the learningenvironment at the university. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed byall, and hopefully many will have been motivated and inspired bythis short but sweet visit to such an amazing place.

Thanks must go to Mr Askew and Dr Randell for organising thisexcursion!

Max Gopfert L62

The New Biology LaboratoriesAt last we are in! We have dusted off all theancient stuff from old rooms and given it a newlease of life in the superb modern facilities – no,we do not mean Dr Cooper.

You may have been lucky enough to have been taught in themand seen the potential of the new building and how it takesthe school into the next era. You are lucky to be part of thisand I am sure you will agree that they are significantly betterthan the old rooms.

As we settle in we arethinking of how wecan use the ‘BiologyStudy Terrace’. This isthe area overlookingthe new quad and wewant your ideas abouthow we can use iteffectively. I am afraidthat our idea of patiofurniture and gas-fired barbeque wasrejected. So now itis your turn!

Can you think of animaginative use ofthis space? It hasto be related tobiology andscience and youcan include the greenhouse in your design. We have somethoughts but this, like the rest of the building, is going to beused by you, the students. Put your suggestions onto a pieceof paper or, if you are feeling more adventurous, use ICT toplan your ideas. We will use the best to make the most ofthis space.

Hand your entries to your Biology teacher or MrWhite in the Biology staff room. Deadline:Monday 8th September 2008

What can you do with this space? Enter the competition tosee your ideas come to life.

Mark Ashton (9B) demonstrates hisskills in the new Biology lab



Psychology Stimuli2007/08The ever varied subject matter within the Psychology A level hasopened up many enjoyable opportunities throughout the year. Duringthe autumn term the Upper Sixth visited Chester Zoo to discover howthe study of social hierarchies in chimps and orang utans can helpus open up some of the mysteries of human social behaviour andrelationship bonds. The Lower Sixth spent a day in school watchinga brain dissection performed by a visiting brain surgeon who alsoshared stories of frontal lobotomies, schizophrenic behaviour andstories of the man who mistook his wife’s head for a hat! There wasalso a visit to Liverpool University to hear a lecture by David Canterabout criminal profiling and eight weeks of satellite link-ups to apsychology professor for learning support for the Upper Sixth.Students have also carried out numerous psychologicalstudies on unsuspecting friends and family and are nowlearning about child development, how to improve theirmemory and how to breaksocial norms. Please come andvisit us if you’d like to find outmore….we’re in GSR - soon tobe ‘Psy’!

Miss J Heymans (Head of Psychology)

A-Level 'FramingSuccess' ExhibitionAn exhibition of completed final art piecesfrom the A-level art students took place inschool over 15th and 16th of June. The pupilsthemselves were responsible for the duration ofthe exhibition , with the art teaching staff onhand to act as 'assistant-to-the-artist', mountingand fixing work in position - an interesting rolereversal for staff!

Daytime viewing was possible for pupilsand staff, but the private view which tookplace in the evening of Monday 15thwas attended by parents and otherinvited guests. The exhibition was a great success,receiving praise from the OCRExamination Moderator and all thosewho attended. Pupils in the Upper Sixthfelt it was a fitting conclusion to all theirindividual hard work and creativeendeavour. It is hoped that the event willgrow into a joint A-level and GCSEexhibition next year with the possibility ofincorporating other curriculum areas suchas Music and Design Technology. Welldone everyone!Mrs K Johnson

Creative writing dayWhen asked to go on a course on Saturday manypeople laughed and claimed it was too much likeschool, but when we went on the creative writingcourse on Saturday 7th June it was well worth gettingout of bed before midday.

We met Mrs Campbell at Rock Ferry High school at 9:25pm.She came and gave us badges, indicating which 5 out of 10authors we would talk to, and in what order.

Whilst all of the activities were good, my favourite was Jim Frail’s.He was a good public speaker and he taught us how toovercome writer’s block. He began by telling us to write down 4words in a square:

X X X X XX XX XX XX XX X

X X X X X

He then instructed us to stare from word to word and decidewhich one we came to the most. He then told us to stare at thatword and write down the first 10 words we thought of and finallyto write a paragraph with those 10 words, using as many or asfew as we liked.

The day ended with an unexpected book signing. The authorswere happy to sign any books we brought them, but we had noidea beforehand! There was a book sale, but as none of usknew about it, we were unable to buy anything. Fortunately helpwas at hand; Mrs Campbell bought a book for each of us, butI’m waiting till I go on holiday to read it!

Luke Cartwright 9H

Have you got thetime? We have!I am pleased to report thatanother four intrepid year 8chemists were persuaded torepresent the school at thisyear’s Salters’ competition. They had a hard act to follow as wewon last year! Two top sleuths have reported back:

“On Tuesday 13th May four students went to John Moores University in Liverpoolto participate in the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry. The day started off with abriefing, followed by the first task ofsolving the crime of the theft of a silversalt plate. For this we conductedexperiments that enabled us to find theculprit. These experiments involved saltidentification using chemical tests andBunsen burners. Unfortunately we didn’tmake it into the top three.”Connor Sailes 8L

“Later on in the afternoon the time test began. It was a challenge to control achemical reaction so that it started after 30 seconds. We managed to delay thisreaction for 29 seconds! When the results were read out, our time was onlybettered by a score of exactly 30 seconds – so we received second prize.”Callum Bennett 8L

Not bad at all – two prizes in two years. I would dearly love to enter a team whocould win the forensics challenge. So, no pressure Year 7 but can you rise to theoccasion next year?

Congratulations to Callum Bennett, James Highton, Sam Mooney and Connor Sailesof 8L. Thanks for all your hard work.

Dr Bromley

N u n t i u s


Primary Science ClubAt the beginning of the year it was unknown if theclub would be a success. The idea was to broadenthe horizons of year 5 pupils from a variety of localprimary schools, and also give them an insight intosecondary science.

The weekly lessons have involved many different activities,from building spaghetti towers to making model lungs andeven constructing a model working lighthouse! The childrenimproved their ICT skills by producing a poster about a planet and are now all competent to usemicroscopes – although I’m not sure that viewinghead lice was popular with the girls!

As helpers, we have thoroughly enjoyed assistingthe children whilst they take part in the activities.Looking back, we know it has been a success asthe children have enjoyed every part of it. Theschool staff have spent lots of time and effortorganising the activities and thanks go to MissClements and Miss Woods for their planning andpreparation. Dr. Cooper, Dr. Clay and Miss Platt have assisted each week and thanks also go to Mr. Bousted for liaising with the various schools involved.

We are already looking forward to next year!!

The helpers: Nathan Denton (L63), Gareth Nye (L61), Josh Hebden (L65) and Matthew Siddorn (8D)

Wirral SchoolsFilm FestivalCineclub has been running for 5years now and has produced a widerange of films in its time. This year’sproduction is “A Story Etched inBlood and Ink”, a thriller with filmnoir overtones that has been writtenand directed by Tom Kelsey of 11L,with a soundtrack that wascomposed and performed by PhilArathoon of 11H.

An intriguing story with a twist at the end, ithas a lot of allusions that draw on Tom’swide knowledge of cinema. It stars anumber of sixth formers, all of whom deliververy credible performances. Specialmention must be made of Ashleigh Owen,a Cineclub stalwart, who has been actingand participating in the club since it began.His acting skills and good humour havemeant it has been a pleasure having him inthe club for all this time.

Our film has recently been shown in theWirral Schools Film Festival atWeatherhead Media College, the guest ofhonour for which was the film producerDavid (now Lord) Puttnam. We have hadfilms exhibited in this festival every yearsince it began and it provides a goodvenue for our filmmakers to see their effortsgiven public exposure and recognition.

I would like to congratulate and thank thefollowing boys for their hard work inproducing our current film:

Production TeamTom Kelsey 11LRyan Howard 11HLewis Theobald 11HPhilip Arathoon 11HRichard Crompton L62Sean Goodchild 9B

ActorsAshleigh Owen U68Ali Foroozani L62Matthew Sweeney L67John Ledger L67Tim Bagnall L67Matthew Goodwin U67

Finally, I would also like to thank outgoinghead boy Robert Woodward for hisinvolvement in Cineclub. Though pressureof commitments meant he could not reallyget involved in this year’s production, Roberthas been heavily involved with the clubsince it began and has put a lot of workinto it. His ideas and editing skills will besorely missed in the future!

Mr A Davies

UK JUNIOR MATHS CHALLENGE 2008 - 1st MAY 2008Fifty students in years 7 and 8 took part in the nationwide competition, which encourages youngaspiring mathematicians to challenge themselves beyond the normal routine work done in class. It isrefreshing to see the boys getting the chance to extend their thinking to solving problems of a morecomplex nature, as this can only improve the levels of attainment among our most able and talentedboys. The competition was held in school as usual and the results were really promising. The nationalaverage mark of 41.7 was exceeded by all but 5 of our students and all candidates with high scoresshould congratulate themselves on a significant achievement.

Results for Wirral Grammar School for Boys

Certificates awarded: Best in school Jack Portbury (score 95)Best in Year 7 Andrew Ellison (score 87)Gold 16 (scores above 70)Silver 14 (scores above 55)Bronze 10 (scores above 44)

The boys awarded Gold certificates were: Year 7 Andrew Ellison Year 8 Jack Portbury Callum Bennett

George Anderson James Highton Mark GinnellyVarenya Mehta James Graham Luke Goldsmith

Gareth Horton Matthew DobsonJack Fisher James WhitehouseBen Sanders Tommy Ridges

There were no JMO (Junior Mathematical Olympiad ) qualifiers.

Well done to all who entered and for those who want to sample the problems served up to theseintrepid mathematicians, try these 2 examples;

1. Which of these calculations produces a multiple of 5?

a) 1 x 2 + 3 + 4 b) 1 + 2 x 3 + 4 c) 1 x 2 + 3 x 4

d) 1 + 2 x 3 x 4 e) 1 x 2 x 3 x 4

2. An active sphagnum bog deposits a depth of about 1 metre of peat per 1000 years. Roughlyhow many millimetres is that per day?

a) 0.0003 b) 0.003 c) 0.03 d) 0.3 e) 3

J U L Y 2 0 0 8


W I R R A L G R A M M A R S C H O O LA F o u n d a t i o n B u s i n e s s & E n t e r p r i s e S c h o o l f o r B o y s

StarchaserProjectSteve Bennett is manager of StarchaserIndustries, the UK’s commercial spaceprogramme. He is also the Physics withSpace Technology lecturer at SalfordUniversity. I help out with some otherpeople on my course with volunteerprojects that Starchaser run. At the momentwe are refurbishing a mock-up of a capsulecalled Thunderbird in the University’s SpaceTech Lab. At Starchaser’s UK Headquarterswe are currently assembling the new 27metre high rocket Thunderstar for itsunveiling outside Salford University on 1st July.

By Chris McPeake (Wirral Grammar School 2000-2007)For more information go to www.starchaser.co.uk Refurbishing Thunderbird at University Space Tech LabAssembling new Thunderbird rocket at Starchaser

Head Boy and Deputy Head BoyAppointmentsFollowing the process of staff and student nominationsand candidate interviews, the following students whoare currently in Year 12 have been appointed asfollows:

Richard Crompton: Head BoyMax Gopfert: Deputy Head BoyMichael Ashton: Deputy Head Boy

In addition, four new “Senior Prefect” positions havebeen created and each of the following students will beleading a team of seven or eight Sixth Form Prefects.They will also be assuming a role as Student HouseCaptains:

Tim Bagnall: Senior Prefect (Hodgson)Matthew Smith: Senior Prefect (Lever)Kenny Wiles: Senior Prefect (Barber)John Ledger: Senior Prefect (Dodds)

COLLEGE WEEK 2008This is an important week for students in Year 12 as it prepares them for theuniversity application process that gets underway immediately in September.

The programme included talks by Julian Skyrme (Director of UndergraduateAdmissions at Manchester University), Fred Binley from Lancaster Universityas well as a presentation by Imperial College, London. Eight departmentsfrom Liverpool University also gave subject specific presentations.

Practical advice was provided by David Winstanley of Liverpool Universityon “Finance, Tuition Fees and Student Loans” and former student, MarkWood, talked to students about the experience of a Year in Industry.Students took part in day visits to Liverpool University and Leeds Universityduring the week.

Another new feature this year was the attendance of Wirral GrammarSchool for Girls at many of the sessions.

Wirral Civic Award SchemeThe Wirral Civic Award Scheme is open to all young people, thoughthe majority taking part are aged 8 to 12 years. The scheme can beadapted for older children if required.There are five levels in the scheme:Preliminary, Arrow, Birket, Clatter andDibbin. For each level there are fiveareas that participants have to completebefore they can receive an award. Theyare: Good Citizenship, Self Reliance,Physical Achievement, Service to Othersand Wise use of Leisure. When a levelof the scheme has been completed, theparticipant is invited to an awardceremony to receive a badge andcertificate, which is presented to them bythe Mayor of Wirral.

From my own personal experience, I cansay that taking part in the scheme can be

enjoyable and rewarding. I have enjoyedparticipating in the Civic Award Schemeand I am pleased and proud to haveachieved all five levels. I am sureeveryone who has received an award, atany level, is also proud of theirachievements and participation in thescheme.

More details about the Wirral CivicAward Scheme can be found atwww.wirral.gov.uk

Kieron Ivers – 7L

Geography Fieldwork Visit:

Stockley Farm, Arley

On Monday 14th April, accompanied by theirForm Tutors and Geography teachers, all Year 7pupils took part in a Geography fieldwork visit toStockley Farm, Arley, near Northwich in Cheshire.The farm is privately owned and forms part of theArley Hall estate. It is a modern, working dairyfarm that gained ‘organic status’ in 2001. Duringthe visit boys were able to see every aspect of thefarm operations, including animal rearing, milkingand aspects of farm business management. Theopportunities for ‘hands on’ animal feedingprovided added interest and amusement. As partof their Year 7 Geography course, pupils studyexamples of primary, secondary and tertiarysector employment and the visit to Stockleyprovided examples of both primary and tertiaryactivity. Alongside the main business of farmingand milk production, pupils were able to find outhow the farm has diversified in recent years andhas become a popular tourist attraction in theregion.

Mr D Hazeldine

N u n t i u s

Parents’ Association NewsWith the academic year drawingto a close, the PA can look backon a bumper crop of eventswhich have resulted in £14,000being raised for the school so far.As a result, in September, boyswill once again reap the benefits,when the school takes delivery ofa new PA funded Minibus.

The recent Pampered Chef evening proved tobe a recipe for success, with 50 participantstreated to demonstrations and delicious samplesof paella and stuffed croissants, washed downwith wine and soft drinks. Also on the menuwere a culinary quiz and the opportunity topurchase specialist kitchen equipment, which alladded up to a very enjoyable evening and atasty profit of around £370.

While you are enjoying your garden over thesummer months, give a moments’ thought tohow much brighter it would look in thespringtime if you planted out some more bulbs.Order forms for the annual bulb sale will begoing out in early September and with allprofits going towards providing additionalequipment for the boys, it is the ideal way tospruce up your garden and support the school.

The AGM will take place on Wednesday 10September at 7.00 pm. All parents are invitedand if you have never been to an AGM before,whatever year your son is in, you are verywelcome and we would be pleased to see youthere. If you would like to get involved or justwant to find out what is going on in school,come along and join us. For those needing alittle added incentive, there will be wine,cheese and the opportunity to get to knoweveryone after the meeting.

Thank you to everyone for their support thisyear; boys, teaching and support staff,committee members, helpers and all parentswho have supported our fundraising efforts.


Music DepartmentNewsWednesday 14 May saw another outstanding collection of soloperformances in the summer Chamber Concert. All 36 boys performedadmirably and were well received by an appreciative audience. Aparticular mention should go to James Everington 7D, who performed hisown composition on the piano and to Andrew Rich 10L, who alsoperformed his own composition, ‘Run to the City’, a rock band piececommemorating Liverpool 08 Capital of Culture. The next chamberconcert will be in October – get practising if you want to be involved!

Continuing the Department's visits to primary schools during the summerterm, Wednesday 25 June saw the Junior Brass group, Treble Choir,Woodwind Group, String Group and Clarinet Quartet perform at fivedifferent primary schools all in the same day. Over 60 boys in total wereinvolved and all the concerts were well received. When asked which wasthe best performance, Kieran France, 8L, replied “Well Lane Primarybecause they gave us the most biscuits”. 36 schools have now receivedperformances in the last eight years and this is fast becoming one of theDepartment's most important annual events.

All of these groups and more performed to the usual high standard at theSummer Concert on Thursday 17 July, including a first performance of thenewly-formed rock band, who are the following members of Year 9: PeterPegasiou, Jamie Charlseworth, David Field, Sean Goodchild, Ben Caveen

and Jamie McMorran. The Music Society Dinner proved to be its normalgastronomic success on Friday 11 July. Many thanks to Emily Howard, alocal professional composer and young musician for a most informativespeech, along with the other members of the forum reporting on theirensembles.

A number of boys took music examinations this term, but with the resultsnot yet with us, congratulations will have to wait for Autumn's Nuntius.However, the results from both February’s Associated Board exams, aswell as various guitar and keyboard exams, did not make the Springedition of Nuntius. Congratulations therefore to the long list of successfulcandidates below:

Name Form Instrument Grade ResultLuke Ridges 7D Trombone 4 PassJamie Shorrock 7W Jazz Saxophone 1 MeritOliver Strange 8B Guitar 1 PassBen Sanders 8B Keyboard 2 DistinctionNathan Rimmer 8D Keyboard 1 MeritJack Fisher 8D Guitar 2 MeritThomas Deakin 8H Keyboard 1 DistinctionPhilip Wade 8H Keyboard 1 PassGeorge Wilkinson 8H Guitar 1 DistinctionMatthew Dobson 8W Guitar 2 PassTommy Ridges 8W Jazz Saxophone 2 PassBradley Taylor 8W Guitar 2 PassAndrew Burgess 9B Keyboard 1 PassJonathan Barnett 9B Guitar 2 PassMark Ashton 9B Trumpet 6 MeritKieran Mckenzie 9D Trombone 2 PassAlex Whittaker 9D Bass Guitar 5 PassJonathan Cooke 9L Keyboard 1 MeritThomas Davis 9L Keyboard 1 MeritDavid Field 9L Bass Guitar 3 MeritCalum Redhead 9L Bass Guitar 5 PassWilliam Ekuban 9W Keyboard 1 DistinctionAndrew McEwan 9W Piano 1 MeritWilliam Ekuban 9W Violin 2 PassWilliam Fenna 9W Jazz Saxophone 3 DistinctionPeter Pegasiou 9W Guitar 5 MeritRyan Irwin 10D Guitar 4 MeritJames Owens 10D Theory 5 PassRyan Boocock 10H Clarinet 4 DistinctionKeith Hill 10L Clarinet 4 PassAdam Shorrock 10L Clarinet 5 DistinctionAdam Shorrock 10L Theory 5 PassMatthew Lochhead 10W Jazz Saxophone 4 DistinctionBen Sharrock 10W Theory 5 MeritTom Salisbury 11B Jazz Saxophone 3 DistinctionDavid Bayley 11B Guitar 5 MeritThomas Outram 11B Violin 5 PassJames Powell 11B French Horn 5 MeritThomas Outram 11B Piano 6 MeritGareth Hughes 11L Theory 5 PassCraig Bayne 11W Guitar 5 MeritThomas Keningley 11W Violin 5 MeritHaodong Zhang L6 Piano 2 DistinctionAlireza Foroozani L6 Bass Guitar 3 PassColin Salters L6 Theory 5 PassMatthew Mellor L6 Theory 6 PassKenny Wiles L6 Piano 6 MeritKenny Wiles L6 Guitar 6 DistinctionMatthew Smith L6 Guitar 5 PassGareth Madeley U6 Theory 5 MeritDaniel Marks U6 Theory 5 MeritDaniel Marks U6 Bass Guitar 6 DistinctionCallum McMorran U6 Theory 6 PassMichael Carr U6 Violin 8 MeritThomas Jones U6 Violin 8 Merit

As the long summer months get under way with a vengeance, remember that seven weeks withoutlessons does not mean seven weeks without practice!Mr P Thomas



Moscow ReportWirral Grammar School boys and staff recently visited Moscowas part of a fact finding History trip on May 22nd. This was afive day visit to the Russian capital, a day after the Championsleague final! 40 Boys from Years 8 to 10 made up the touringparty, along with four members of staff. The boys that wentwere John Kemp, Keiran France (both Y8), Luke Atherton, TomByrne, Jonathan Barnett, Sean Lymn, Tom Lymn, AndrewBurgess, Nick Harvey, Nathan Just, Michael Threlfall, ShannonHall, Kieran McKenzie, Darren McKevitt, Chris Partington,Jordan Fletcher, Gareth Mattey, Christian Watts, WillBroughton, Kieran cook, David Field, Lisle De landes, AlexKeen, Sebastian Masento, callum Redhead, Aaron Smith,Matthew Brennan, Daniel Light,Gregory Harrison (all year 9),Jan Greenshaw, David Lawrie, Tom Smith, Jack Yarker, AndrewKendrick, Abinhay Rao, James Owens, Tom Ramsay, Will Vick, Ben Sharrock and SebastienShingler (all Year 10).

We arrived at Domodedovo airport and then checked in at the Ismailovo Vega hotel in Moscow,built for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. The Hotel was clean and friendly, and the foodwas in abundance.

Friday saw the group take in some of the sights of Moscow. We saw the Luzhniki stadium whereposters and flags of the Champions league finalists were still very much in evidence. I had visitedMoscow way back in 1983, and the place has changed considerably. Gone are the drabbuildings and grayish surroundings, and in their place are the capitalist trappings of Modern Russia.What must Lenin be thinking??! Indeed we visited the first Soviet leader resting in his Mausoleum inRed Square. His body has been embalmed since the 1920s, and it was a strange sight indeed!

We visited the Kremlin and it is quite a surprising place. It has many historic buildings and it wasnot just the centre of today’s Russia’s government. There were museums and a remarkable RussianOrthodox Church. Christ the Saviour’s church is a wonderful building, completely rebuilt byPresident Yeltsin after Stalin ordered its destruction.

The boys were impressed with a visit to the famous GUM store, which today is like a hugeBirkenhead Pyramids structure, only better! The amount of European goods on show really surprisedus.

We also visited the Moscow- Volga canal, and a fascinating trip around the picturesque MoscowUnderground Metro, built on Stalin’s orders.

The last day was completed by a cruise on the River Moskva, where we saw a lot more sights ofthis big city. I am sure that the boys were historically and culturally enriched by their visit.

The boys visited the nearby hotel to do some bowling, and we went shopping on a seeminglynumber of occasions where the biggest sell was of course those Russian fur hats! Even Mr Tawsbought one! Our guide Sergei was friendly and informative, and he could not have helped us muchmore than he did. Russia is certainly on the change, and I bet in another five years, the place willbe unrecognizable even compared to today.

All those I spoke to spoke of their enjoyment of a trip that was long in the planning. The boys werea credit to themselves, the school and their parents. I would like to thank them for the commitmentthey showed to this trip, and I also want to thank Messrs Taws, Shaw and Kenyon for their supportand help in supervising the trip.

Plans are already under way for next year’s History trip to Munich and Nuremberg, and I willupdate you in the next edition about what is going on there!

Report by Mr McKibbin

Dead Poets SocietyThe Dead Poets have met several times thisyear to talk books, eat free schoolsandwiches and enjoy some goodconversation. Titles up for discussionincluded ‘1984’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ and‘Brave New World’. Pupils in Year Ninewho are interested in joining please seeMs Campbell by the end of term when shewill explain the details of the initiationceremony……… Mrs K Campbell

Snowdon Climb:Summer 2008A visit toSnowdonhas beenarranged forthe finalweek of theSummerTerm.Studentstaking part arethose who have made a significant contribution instudent leadership roles over the course of theyear. They include the Head Boy / Deputy HeadBoy team, members of the Peer Support Groupand both the School Council and Sixth FormCouncil. The intention is to provide these studentswith an extra-curricular reward in the form of achallenge with team building opportunities. A fullreport of the climb will feature in next term’s issueof Nuntius.

SAM Learning ReportAt the start of the academic year, SelfAssessment “on-line” learning was madeavailable to all pupils to support them withrevision both inside and outside school. Thisnew resource has proved to be very popularwith pupils.

Over 95% of pupils in Year 9, 10 and 11have used “SAM” Learning to support themwith revision and this represents nearly 5,000hours of use.

During the course of the next academic year,on-line learning opportunities will be furtherextended as pupils are able to make use of aschool “Virtual Learning Environment”.

N u n t i u s

DIANA AWARDIn May, the PSG Representatives for Year 7, MichaelJones, Zac Street, Gareth Fisher, Adam Heayns andRichard Crompton received the Princess Diana Award for Anti-Bullying. They are the first students on the Wirral to gain thisprestigious accolade, and it was a just reward for their hard work incombating bullying as part of the PSG. Well done!

COASTAL WALKLater that month, 5 of us (myself, Gareth Fisher, Michael Jones,Gareth Nye and Richard Crompton) and Mrs Walker took part in theWirral Coastal Walk on behalf of the school charity, St John’sHospice. After a 15 mile trek around the whole peninsula, we werevery tired, but it was definitely worth it, as we raised over £300altogether.

YEAR EIGHT CHARITY QUIZOn Monday 14th April, the PSG organised a quiz for the Year 8s toraise even more money for St John’s, as well as to introduce andbuild on skills such as team building and friendship groups in thisyear group. It was hosted by Mr O’Gorman and Miss Razbully, andthe competition was fierce. We all had a lot of fun, and the winningteam was from 8D: Team Brainiac (Nathan Rimmer, Jack Griffith,Matthew Siddorn, James Whitehouse, Ahmed Ahmed and LukeWilding-Steele) who each received a £5 HMV voucher for theirefforts. The event raised a grand total of around £100 for thehospice.

CONTACT DETAILSThe PSG are not just here to fight bullying, but also to help you withany other problems you’ve got. There are many ways you cancontact the Peer Support Group, such as…- Talking to your PSG Rep- Sending them an email- Visiting our Myspace: www.myspace.com/wgsantibullying- And a text service will soon be up and running as well

Don’t worry! Anything you say will be confidential: no-one else willget to know about your problem.

RECRUITMENTThe PSG is looking for new members! If you are in Year 11 andwould like to be a part of what we do, application packs will beavailable from the 23rd June from the Learning Mentor’s Office. Theclosing date for applicants will be the 27th June, and if you’rethinking of joining, good luck!

Look out for more PSG-run events around theschool


Short Story CompetitionThe long awaited results of the competition have finally beenannounced! Haodong Zhang [L64] and Ms Campbell have agreedon a list of winners albeit with much wailing and gnashing of teeth-the standards were so high! £30 book tokens go to Jack Fletcher,7W with ‘Screams in the Night’, Daniel Siddorn 8L for ‘Red’ andTom Kelsey 11L for ‘The Halfmass experiment’. £15 tokens to:Oliver Manning-Spencer 7L, Matt Siddorn 8D and Ben Sharrock10W. Runners up, who receive a £5 book token, include ‘KieranMckenzie 9D, Matt Keith 10L, Ryan Boocock 10H, Neil Oldham10L and Haodong Zhang himself!Mrs K Campbell

SIXTH FORM INDUCTION WEEK 2008Our current Year 11 students returned to school following thecompletion of their GCSE examinations to take part in ourInduction Programme. During the week students were involved ina range of subject-based activities to prepare them for their newcourses. Problem-solving and Team-building sessions also formedpart of the programme. Approaches to A Level study and anintroduction to the university application procedure were includedas support activities. Students who are planning to join the SixthForm from other schools also attended.

On Wednesday June 4th seventeen plucky female staffran, jogged, walked or sauntered around the perimeter ofChester Zoo in this, our third ‘Race for Life’. There weremany performances worthy of note, but the fastestmember of staff was Miss ‘Speedy’ Diss. Over sixhundred pounds were raised for research into breastcancer. Until next year!

Mrs K Campbell

Race for Life

PSG UPDATEBy Nathan Evans L63

It’s been a busy term for the PeerSupport Group, and these are justsome of the things we’ve been up to…


Work RelatedLearningBETWEEN 16th-20th June all our Year 10 boysspent the week in a realistic working environment aspart of their work related learning entitlement. Mostof the boys had managed to secure their ownplacements locally, and a handful had organisedplaces at businesses in London, Manchester, Staffordand Windsor.

Throughout the week the students were visited byschool staff who discussed their progress and eachnew ‘employee’ had to complete a work experiencediary recording evidence of the week’s activities.

I was lucky enough to visit Liverpool city centreplacement providers and here is a snapshot of whatsome of the boys I visited were doing.


Year 7 Enterprise Activity - The ‘£1 Challenge’ENTERPRISE was alive and well in the ‘£1 pound challenge’ undertaken by all of year 7recently. The rules were simple. Each pupil was given £1 and challenged to raise as muchmoney with it as possible. The pupils could work alone or form a consortium within their tutorgroup; if all members of the group joined then they would have £30 of working capital tostart their venture.

As you might imagine the boys proved to be very resourceful and enterprisingand competition among the tutor groups was fierce.

Pictured are the winning consortium from 7W; the budding entrepreneurs areBen Cooke, Chris Chapman and Daniel Mortimer. Indeed, if you want helporganising a raffle or baking and selling gingerbread men. Then these studentswill have the answer.

Overall, the tutor group that raised the most money as a whole were also 7W.Total money raised for St. John’s Hospice was an in excess of £500. Welldone to all those who took part.

Mr P Harrison

Michael Hinchcliffe (10L)Placement: 2020 LiverpoolPosition: Design Trainee Task(s): Given an unlimited budget and asked to design his dream homeusing the company’s state of the art software and computer graphics Outcome: Michael had designed a home with a basketball court as acentrepiece and had decided to choose Dubai as its location!

Thomas Jarman (10B)Placement: Merseyside PolicePosition: Forensic Imaging Unit Assistant Task(s): Tom spent 2 days working with CSI officers in Birkenhead visitingscenes of crime and dusting for fingerprints etc. He also spent a shift in amobile CCTV unit, helped to prepare photographic evidence for court andvisited a centre to talk to other police officers about the work of the forensicteam.

Jack Walker (10L)Placement: National Museums LiverpoolPosition: Work Experience Placement Trainee Task(s): Jack spent the week working in a variety of departments. Heassisted with curatorial duties, helped with administration tasks, carried outsome research and assisted with general gallery services tasks. Theexperience proved invaluable as Jack is now determined to pursue a careerin palaeontology.

IT is this type of experience that enables the students to make informeddecisions about their future education and career paths and our thanks go toall the placement providers for their contribution to our work related learningprogramme.

Tony Boustead, Community Learning Manager

Tom Dennis (10L)Placement: The RoyalLiverpool & BroadgreenUniversity Hospitals (Dental)Position: Work Experience Placement Trainee Task(s): Like Jack, Tom was on a placementthat suited his career aspirations. He spent timeworking with patient files, helped to manufacturedental prosthetics, observed lectures featuringdental students from the University and looked athow the equipment is maintained and sterilised.His employer said: ‘Tom has been brilliant and Iwish he could be with us for another week’.

N u n t i u s


7H have been learning Italian this week.

EURO 2008 FORTNIGHTThis summer’s Euro 2008 project from years 7-9 has been a great success,with pupils and students alike finding out about countries and languages theyhad previously never come across.

This varied from 7H learning about William Tell in Mrs Jones’ history lesson(Switzerland) to 8B learning about belly dancing in Mrs Chalmer’s music lessonand 7B (The Netherlands) learning about Van Gogh in art.

Thank you to all the staff and pupils who got involved in making this week asuccess.

Pupils will be putting together all this information for their own projects abouttheir assigned country in their French and Spanish lessons.

At the time of Nuntius going to press the pupils had not started theirprojects on the country – names will be published in the next issue.

J HUGHES MFL

On 11th July 2008 Jean Blanchard Azip (pictured left) will beperforming in the school.

Jean is a refugee artist based in Manchester.He moved to the UK as a lone childseeking asylum after losing his familyduring the war in his native Congo.

Since his arrival in the UK 10 years ago, Jean has rebuilt his life, re-educated himself and is now asuccessful artist. Helping others overcome difficulties and problems in their lives is Jean's passion aswell as engaging in community arts, sharing his life story and experiences, artistic abilities and skillsduring workshops with the community. This, says Jean, is a way of giving back to the community inreturn for their giving him a chance to rebuild his life.

Jean will tell his story and experiences to the participants and based on this, the participants then choose to write songs, poems or candraw images reflecting all the emotions in Jean's story. They will also partake in African drumming and a refugee and asylum awarenessworkshop.

In the morning one of our link primary schools, Brackenwood, will be partaking in the various workshops and in the afternoon our yeareights will be soaking up the sounds and sights of Africa.Reviews of the event in the next issue of Nuntius!

J HUGHES - MFL

9BD1’s DVD for PrimaryBelow 9BD1 with their DVD on in the background

This month Mr Hughes’ French set 9BD1, completed aDVD for primary school children across the Wirral.

The DVD is to be used as a resource for year 6 teachersto assist the transition from primary school to secondaryschool. It included the students performing a tour aroundthe school in French in line with the countdown to whenlanguage learning will be compulsory in primary schoolsin 2010.

Wirral Local Educationwere very impressedwith the standard of theDVD and all the effortthat 9BD1 had put in.

FÉLICITATIONS 9BD1!

Access to Opportunities & Services within our Community

AS you may recall, all boys in Years 7-11 and their parents have recently been consulted with a view to helping us to developextended services and activities, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of our students, their families and the wider

community. These services are being developed in partnership with 13 local schools and will include: Childcare; AdultEducation; Parenting Support Programmes; Community –Based Health & Social Care Services; Multi-

Agency Behaviour Support Teams and a variety of After-School Activities for young people.

Community Development



Working together with the support of the parents and the wider community our extended schools expect to develop significant,consistent and sustainable benefits. Better use will be made of our school’s facilities by opening up sports, arts and ICT facilitiesto the community. Adult Learning opportunities and parenting support programmes will encourage greater parental involvementin children’s learning and school-based health & social care services will help to reduce health inequality and provide additionalhelp to parents. Finally by developing extended services the school will provide a place where our children can develop widerinterests and new skills alongside study support and enrichment activities as well as a ‘safe place to be’.

Tony Boustead (Community Learning Manager)

Extended Schools

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Quality Childcare 8am-6pm:

The Bebington & ClatterbridgeCluster is aiming to offer high quality‘wraparound’ childcare providedeither at school or through other localproviders. The aim is to worktowards 8am-6pm childcare all yearround.

Swift & Easy Referral to a Wide Range ofSpecialist Support

This may include services such as speech therapy,family support, behaviour support and (for youngpeople) sexual health services. Some of these serviceswill be delivered on school sites.

Wider Community Access to ICT, Sports andArt Facilities including Adult Learning:

The recent questionnaire suggested that there is a demandfor activities and services that match the needs of ourcommunity as well as the needs of our parents. The clusterwill endeavour to ensure that all children and their parentshave access to a minimum of services and activities andwe will actively seek parental feedback from the widercommunity to review and improve these services.

A Varied Menu of Activities:

The partnership of schools is alsolooking to offer homework clubs andstudy support, sport, music tuition,dance & drama, art & crafts, specialinterest clubs, language tuition and,of course, business & enterpriseactivities to build on our currentprovision. Additional activities havebeen suggested as a result of therecent survey.

Parenting Support:

The cluster is looking to offerinformation sessions for parents atkey transition points. This will includeparenting programmes run with thesupport of other children’s servicesand family learning sessions to allowchildren to learn with their parents.

N u n t i u s

WGS Orienteeringrelays reportAfter being unsuccessful in retaining the trophyfor a 13th year and with no individual success, itwas down to the relays for Wirral to gainanything from a year of hard work (I’m not tryingto dramatise this but this was the situation wewere left with)

So, on Saturday17th may, eightpupils from theschool headed toArrowe Park to racein the school relays.Chris Kayley, RyanMackenzie and JoshCartwright werecompeting in theopen (a relay for anyage pupils with threelong courses). PeterClegg, Adam Shorrock and Michael Kayley (a Year 6student from Poulton Lancelyn Primary School whostepped in for Isaac Barnes who was ill) ran in the Y9-11 race and Adam Hitchcock, Chris Chapman andDanny Mortimer ran in the Y7-8 race.

At 10.30 am sharp the whistle went for the start ofthe open race in which Josh Cartwright ran the firstleg. After 20 nervous minutes the leaders appearedfrom the bushes heading towards the spectator control(a point on the course about three quarters of the wayround which could be seen from the start) and Joshwas in amongst the leaders. He came back in 4thplace, 30 seconds down on the leader and taggedRyan Mckenzie for the 2nd leg. Ryan kept up withthe leading pack on the way round and came backin 3rd place, three minutes behind the leader. Hethen tagged Chris Kayley to try and hunt down theleaders. After a few more nervous moments, Chriswas the first to appear out of the bushes heading tothe spectator control with the others not in sight. Hethen crossed line a clear four and a half minutesahead of second to claim top spot for WirralGrammar.

In the year 9 -11 race, Michael ran first for theschool, followed by Peter then Adam Shorrock. Theteam did well and finished in 5th place. In the year7-8 race, Adam Hitchcock ran first, followed by ChrisChapman then Danny Mortimer. They all did verysimilar times in the highest participating race of theday and they finished in 9th place.

After all the excitement of the races everyone indulgedthemselves on the cake stall which was run by theNorth West squad, raising funds for their Norwaytour.

Next year we will be looking to expand the team.So, if you are interested, come to the meeting inSeptember. No experience is required and abilitydoes not matter. All I ask is that you try it.

Chris Kayley

BASKETBALL SUCCESSThis year our Basketball teams achieved unprecedentedsuccess in winning three of the five Wirral Schools’Basketball Festivals.

The U16s defeated a strong Woodchurch High School team in the final. After a tightopening period we ran out comfortable 47 – 23 winners with outstanding performancesfrom England International. Sam Craige, Dave Colman and Sam Bailey.

The U13s beat St Anselms 27 – 19 in an exciting final in which we played some excellentbasketball. It was a superb team performance but Captain Adam Lewin and Brad Taylorwere pick of the bunch.

Not to be outdone, the U12s completed the Basketball season with a superb 54 – 13 finalvictory against Woodchurch High School. Again it was a great team performance but JackNewton and Kieran McGinley were outstanding.

This is the first time we have achieved three Wirral Schools’ Basketball Festival titles in thesame season. Congratulations to all the players for their outstanding efforts!

Mr P Crowley, Head of PE

England Basketball Under 16’sI have been selected for the England Under 16’s boys team. This training squad started offwith 22 boys and with new boys coming in all of the time, but it has now been reduceddown to 16 boys who make up the England team. We have England training camps atthe end of nearly every month all over the country.

The team is training towards the European Championships that take place in August 2008in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where England will be playing against Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus,Romania and Switzerland. The team for the European Championships will be cut down to12 boys and I hope to eventually get into this team of 12.

At Christmas, I competed in a tournament that was held in Barking Abbey Academy inLondon. I really enjoyed the experience of playing a proper tournament with an Englandsquad. Although we didn’t do very well in the tournament, I learnt a lot from it as I’m suremost of the squad did.

We have also been to a tournament in Mallorca over Easter where we came 3rd. Thiswas a very good result as some of the top teams in Spain were competing in it.I got the honour of being the captain in this tournament, which I thought was agreat opportunity to show some leadership skills within the team as in the future Iwould hopefully like to be captain of the team of 12 that goes to Bosnia.

Sam Craige


PRIMARY ENTERPRISEFOR the second year running WGSB invited 120pupils from 4 local primary schools to take part in aseries of enterprising activities focusing on Maths,Business and ICT. Boys and girls from BrackenwoodJunior School, Higher Bebington Junior School,Stanton Road Primary School and Poulton LancelynPrimary School spent morning sessions ‘making kites’and ‘building bridges’. The kite activity, led by MrGriffiths and Mrs Brinkman, helped the pupils tounderstand the many different mathematical properties that a kite has. The bridge building,led by Mr Harrison and Ms Kennah, allowed those taking part to realise the importance ofenterprising skills such as Team Building, Communication, Innovation, Problem Solving andFinancial Planning.

Whilst the pupils were taking part in these activities, accompanying teaching and supportstaff from each school took part in a professional development activity with Mr O’Gormanand Dr Warren, ICT teachers here at the school. In the afternoon the pupils took part in anICT class which enabled them to create postcards using digital images of the activities theyhad taken part in throughout the morning sessions. They were then able to take home theirkites and bridges, but more importantly new skills and a greater understanding of Business &Enterprise, Maths and ICT. Our thanks go to staff from WGSB and our partner schools whowere also assisted by Sixth form students throughout the day.



Wirral Cricket Club reportMany boys, past and present, play at WirralCricket Club, the Club for old boys, open to allages from all schools and backgrounds. Wirralrun three senior teams on a Saturday, and a Midweek team, captained by old boy Nick Jones.The Junior teams run from Under 9s to Under 15s,and the Under 13s run two teams. They reachedthe Cheshire Cup quarter final, only to lose toCheadle. They are Captained by David Lewis ofYear 8.

Off the field, Wirral CC is very proud toannounce that it achieved Focus Club status fromthe ECB. This is a very significant achievement forthe Club, following on from its attainment of Clubmark status. To look up what this means, why notgo to the club webstite on: www.wirral.play-cricket.com, where further information can befound.

Report by Mr McKibbinSecretary Wirral Cricket Club

YEAR 8 School and House cricket Season 2008

The Year 8 cricket team had played seven games up until Tuesday24th June. They had won 4 and lost 3. The teams they lost to weregood teams, but Wirral can be sure that they tried in all matches.Those that played in all the games were:

Alex Harris (Captain), Chris Crowley David Lewis Daniel Adkins Adam Lewi,n WillCallanan, Khalid Wahbi Mark Griffithsw, Jodan Cossins, Alex Griffiths, Mark Ginnelly,Jordan Rimmer, Kieran Morris, Ed Kinsella and Daniel Phillips

RESULTS

Wirral v Manchester GS result, Wirral lost by 119 runsManchester 163 for 6, (Alex Griffiths 3 for 24)Wirral 44 all out (Adam Lewin 13)

Wirral v Birkenhead School, result, Wirral lost by 20 runsBirkenhead 110 for 5 Wirral 90 for 6 (Chris Crowley 25)

Wirral v Hartford HS result, Wirral won by 54 runsWirral 119 for 5 (Crowley 36 not out, Daniel Adkins 19, Will Callanan 17 not out)Hartford 65 for 9 (David Lewis 3 for 8, Wahbi 3 for 10, Alex Harris 2 for 10)

Wirral v St Edwards College result Wirral won by 65 runsWirral 99 for 3 (David Lewis 39 not out, Adam Lewin 19)St Edwards 38 all out (Wahbi 2 for 0)

Wirral v St Ambrose College result Wirral won by 108 runsWirral 142 for 3 (Crowley 38, Lewis 40, Adkins 28 not out)St Ambrose 34 all out (Wahbi 5 for 9, Alex Harris 3 for 10, Alex Griffiths 2 for 4)

Wirral v Lymm HS result Wirral won by 28 runsWirral 121 for 8 (David Lewis 50, Adam Lewis 24 not out)Lymm 93 all out (Ed Kinsella 3 for 11, including a hatrick, Alex Harris 2 for 9)

Wirral v Stockport GS result, Wirral lost by 6 wicketsWirral 77 for 9 (Crowley 23)Stockport 78 for 4

In House cricket, the result of the competition would go down to the final gamebetween Barber and Lever, played after the deadline for this report to be handed it!

Barber beat Dodds by 35 runsBarber 79 for 8 (Khalid Wahbi 39 retired, Matthew McNelly 3-6)Dodds 44 all out (Kieran Morris 3-14)

Lever beat Hodgson by 108 runsLever 145 (Mark Griffiths 50)Hodgson 37 for 9 (Michael Concannon 3 for 9, Brad Taylor 3 for 1)

Barber beat Hodgson by 107 runsBarber 163 for 2 (Wahbi 50 retired, Alex Harris 31, Ben Parsons 31 not out, AdamLewin 26)Hodgson 56 for 9 (Dave Lewis 14, Adam Lewin 2 for 1)

Dodds beat Lever (with an incredible diving catch from Ed Kinsella off the last ball!!) byone run!Dodds 110 for 9 (Mark Ginelly 45, Kinsella 28, James Graham 24 not out, MikeConcannon 4 for 14)Lever 109 for 3 (Chris Crowley 34, Mark Griffiths 37)

My thanks to Mr Holder for his help this term and I wish all boys involved a great andenjoyable future in the game of cricket and hope that they realise their full potential inwhatever skill aspect of the game they try to show on the field.

Report by Mr McKibbin

Golf Tour to Lincolnshireand Staffordshire 2008Wirral Grammar School golf club departed ontheir third annual golf tour to Lincolnshire, havingpreviously toured Dumfries and Cardiff. Thecommon denominator again was a forecast ofwind, rain, hail and high scores. Wall to wallrain from Bebington to Grantham didn’t lookhopeful but the clouds parted and Grantham’smicro climate did us proud. Only several heavyhail storms prevented a good afternoon’s golf.

The party retired to the comforts of the DeVereHotel at Belton Woods where we enjoyedwonderful accommodation, good food and anight of watching the Masters Golf.

Saturday saw the tour party play 36 holes on theBelton Woods courses with a number of the tourparty producing some excellent scores.

On Sunday we departed from Grantham andtravelled to Whitchurch to play our final 18 holesof golf with a number of boys in contention for theoverall winner of the tour. This was awarded onthe basis of accumulated stapleford points over72 holes of golf. The winner this year mostdeservedly for being the most consistent performerover four rounds was Michael Hinchliffe.Congratulations to him on some excellent golf.

Thanks to Mr Metcalf for his support and companyon the trip and the Wirral Golf Club is continuingto investigate new venues, possibly even abroadwhere it will at least be warm rain! I will keepyou posted.

Play well.

Mr G J Money

N u n t i u s


Cricket - Year 10The start of the 2008 cricket season has seen the energetic Year 10 squadstart with a real purpose and enthusiasm for improving and playing Cricket.The team had come off the back of a poor season and there are lots ofboys in the squad who are preparing to go on the summer school crickettour to Barbados and St Lucia. As a team the boys all know that we havestrong players and many match winners with either the bat or the ball. Butthe most important ingredient is their ability to field and work well togetherwith a bowler. Whether it be the on the pitch banter or encouragement, theboys have enjoyed themselves win or lose.

We started with a friendly game against St Anselms in awful conditions athome. In a delayed start and a shortened game of 16 overs we reduced StAnselms to 82 – 3, with excellent bowling from all of the bowlers. In replyit was the Beahon (37no) and Duffy (32no) show!! The boys ensured thatwe got the runs with an over to spare.

In the Cup competition this season we played Christleton and were wellbeaten due to a poor batting performance. It was a spirited effort but wewere well beaten by a strong side. This dented our aspirations but we hadan excellent win against Bluecoat when we won by 6 wickets, with JanGreenshaw getting 4 wickets and Ronan Duffy scoring 29 not out.

In the home game against Denstone College we put up a very goodperformance with Max Power the pick of the bowlers with 5 wickets!Chasing 119 we struggled and only Ronan Duffy put up any resistancescoring 29. The following day we has some revenge, battering St EdwardsCollege, bowling them out for 48 and George Turner knocked off the runsas we won by 7 wickets.

It has been good working and developing the talented cricketers that thereare in year 10. I hope that the boys can continue this form through the summer and do well for their clubs and for the school on tour in Barbados and St Lucia.

Mr A Metcalf

Under 14 CricketThe Year 9 cricket squad has made a good start to the season thisyear, with impressive performances right through the squad, witheach and every member of the teams contributing. I have beenparticularly impressed with the team’s willingness to learn and to tryto develop as players. With this approach they will grow intotalented cricketers.

Congratulations to Peter Pegasiou who has been selected as captain.

Excellent performances from Sam Bowman, Michael Muise, and MichaelStewart have ensured that the team has performed well.

With the school term coming quickly to an end, the Under 14 side still have3 fixtures left. I hope the boys can take what they have learnt so far thisseason into these games. I have really enjoyed working with this side. Withtheir mature and focused approach it has made it a very successful season.

Well done everyone!!!!

Mr S Clarke, Master i/c Cricket

U12 Cricket Captains Matthew Stewart / Andrew Heath

Due to an exceptionally wet April there was very littleU12 cricket until the beginning of May. The first gameof the season was away to Merchant Taylor’s School.Merchants batted first, scoring 105 – 5 off 20 overs.The boys fielded well but some of the bowling was alittle inaccurate. In reply, Wirral batted soundly withgood performances from Andy Heath and Kieron Ivers.In the end, Wirral finished 7 runs short with 5 wicketsdown. Overall, a good start.

The team then travelled to Denstone College inStaffordshire who proved to be a very strong team. Theteam bowled and fielded far better on this occasion,restricting Denstone to 140 for 7. Unfortunately on thisoccasion the batting failed to gel, with Wirral beingbowled out for 87.

The team made it to the early rounds of the CheshireCup to face Bridgewater in the quarter-final, a verystrong team from Warrington with a number of countyrepresentatives. This proved to be the best bowlingperformance of the season, restricting Bridgewater to114 – 5. Wirral had a great start with two excellentperformances from Jack Dixon, 48, and Andy Heath,38, putting Wirral in a position where they should havewon the game. However, some late wickets, excellentfielding and exceptional Captaincy by the oppositionsaw Wirral fall short by 9 runs (disappointing!)

There are still games to come in the remaining fewweeks. Let’s hope the weather picks up and we have asuccessful end to the season. Well done to all thoseboys who have played A and B team cricket this season.They should be congratulated on their efforts so far.

Mr G J Money, U12 Cricket

Cricket Tour to Barbadosand St LuciaIn July, fourteen U16 and U15 cricketers and two staff depart for Barbados and St Lucia on a 15 day, six match tour of the West Indies.

The playing itinerary will be tough with matchesvirtually every other day against strong localopposition but hopefully there will be time to take in the scenery and the wonderful beaches of these beautiful Caribbean Islands.

See the Autumn edition of Nuntius for a full tourreport!

Mr P Crowley, Head of PE


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100 CLUB WINNERSApril May June

£100 Sue Price W Cunningham David Woods£50 Gillian Dutton M Rawsthorn Hazel Marchbank£25 BR Hales P Wilkinson AW James

Admissions Enquiries: Enquiries relating to admissionsshould be directed to Mrs Debbie Roberts in school on

0151 644 0908 or by visiting the school website:www.wirralgrammarboys.com/admission

www.wirralgrammarboys.com• news • achievements • events • admissions


7th Annual PrimarySchools’ Tag RugbyCompetitionThe incessant wet weather in Spring meant we had topostpone this event until May when we were rewardedwith a beautiful sunny day and perfect playingconditions. 24 local Primary Schools took part in therearranged competition, less than had originallyentered but nevertheless an impressive turn out!

The semi finals were tightly fought affairs with PoultonLancelyn – A, narrowly defeating Higher Bebington –A, 5 – 4 and St Peter and St Pauls – Wallasey,beating St Winefrides, by the same margin!

The final was even more hotly contested, with PoultonLancelyn and St Peter and St Pauls level at the finalwhistle! A golden try in the first period of extra timesaw St Peter and St Pauls as the sudden death winners!It was a superb final and a credit to the excellent tagrugby played by both teams.

The result meant that we have had seven differentwinners throughout the seven years that the tournamenthas been staged.

Many thanks to the sixth formers who refereed thegames so efficiently, the staff for preparing their teamsso well and most of all to the boys and girls who tookpart in the competition and entertained us all afternoon.

Mr P CrowleyHead of PE

ANNUAL RUGBY CLUB DINNERIn May nearly 200 boys, parents and staff attended the 41st Annual SchoolRugby Dinner in the School Hall. The Guest Speaker this year was GraemeMarrs MBE, ex President of Cheshire RFU and a stalwart in local andnational schoolboy rugby for many years.

Team Captains gave their annual reports which were very well deliveredand individual trophies were presented as below:

INDIVIDUAL TROPHY WINNERS

G Noonan Novices Cup Tom Parry

E Langton Junior Bantams Trophy Max Hunt/Simon Flavell

E G Hodgkinson Bantams Cup Alfie Heywood

The Colts Cup Jack Yarker

Wirral RUFC Under 16 Cup David Taylor

2nd XV Players of the Year Liam McHugh

West Trophy Matthew Brown

J P Howarth 1st XV Cup Benjamin Marsh

Thompson Cup Jack Dyas

Kent Trophy Matthew Mullen

Wirral Club ReportWirral Rugby Football Club and Wirral Cricket Club formally merged as oneclub in October 2007. This means that the Club can move forward todevelop its facilities and playing potential in the coming months and years.Much work goes on behind the scenes that makes the Club tick. The Rugbysection runs four senior teams, and many junior teams, from Under 8supwards. The Season starts again in September, and why not visit thewebsite on www.wirralrugbyclub.com for further details? The Junior Coltsteam was particularly successful this season, and it is coached by former oldboy, Steve Laddle, with many boys from this school in the squad. The Under16s team won the Cheshire Cup, and other junior teams did well throughoutthe season.

Report by Mr McKibbinSecretary Wirral Club

Documents

Nuntius - Wirral Grammar School for Boys€¦ · Side Story’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ and most recently ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Geoff is an energetic, enthusiastic and above