So much to celebrate - Bishop Thomas Grant School

Volume 7 Issue 1 December 2009
ISSN 1742-2740
News Magazine of Bishop Thomas Grant School
So much to celebrate
Mr Parchot writes:
On Friday 2 October 2009 a special
Mass was held to celebrate the Fiftieth
Anniversary of Bishop Thomas Grant
School. The event was attended by
members of the Governing Body
including the Chair of Governors Kathy
Robinson, and the homily was delivered
by The Right Reverend Bishop Lynch ss.cc.
Reminiscing
Continued on page 2
This was indeed a very special occasion
and entailed immense organisation on
the part of the committee formed for the
Fiftieth Anniversary.
students, teachers, administration staff,
caterers, cleaners and premises staff
could all join together in worship at this
auspicious event.
I am sure that prior to the Mass all
members of this committee were praying
for clement weather conditions as this
Mass was planned to be outdoors in
order that the entire school community -
Their prayers were answered! The sun
threw its beams of warm light across
the assembled throng and the sea
of uniformed students in green was
parted by the Bishop and his celebrants,
Selling
Singing
Scrutinising
Continued from the front page
resplendent in scarlet cloth embroidered
with gold.
As they processed towards the altar the
cross carried high gleamed in the glorious
afternoon sun. This visual spectacle was
enormously enhanced by the angelic
voices of the school choir, which alone
broke the golden silence of a beautiful and
memorable autumn afternoon.
Our new school flag, created by our own
Art Department, Bishop Thomas Grant
School Coat of Arms emblazoned against a
white background, had every reason to fly
proud and high:
“Instaurare Omnia in Christo” – United
together in Christ
Following the Mass the Chair of Governors
presented a long awaited award to Ms
Murray and Mr O’Brien, both of whom
have served Bishop Thomas Grant School
for thirty years. The tumultuous applause
from the congregation showed how much
they are loved and appreciated.
So much to celebrate, so much achieved
over the fifty year-old journey of our
school. Generations have come and gone
and the faces change over the rolling years,
but Bishop Thomas Grant School is a true
family community with deep roots and
traditions and its ethos and values as the
Head said “remain strong and steadfast
in the hearts of pupils, past and present
alike”.
Image collecting
Oliver Perales and Ewan Leatham
are taking photographs of just about
everything in sight around the school,
so that they can choose the best ones
for a presentation.
“We are are collecting images of the
people and the buildings for our IT
lesson,” Oliver told Nuntius.
“We have already started to make a
Power Point slide show, and we are
going to add our photos to ones taken
by other members of the group.”
Ewan explained: “It’s all for Year 6
pupils in primary schools who want to
come here. We are making a kind of
tour for them.
I enjoy using cameras and microphones.
Thanks to Mr Ghumra for helping us so
much.”
Where are they now?
The 1950s were a kind of golden age
for school uniforms: hats were more
common, and most boys’ knees were
uncovered until the age of twelve or
thirteen.
26 June for those who joined between
September 1975 and July 2009.
To apply for tickets for these events,
Apart from that, there has not been an
enormous change, with neat ties and
blazers still representing traditional
values.
This photograph was taken in
September, 1959, the very first term of
Bishop Thomas Grant School. How many
faces can you put names to?
Ms Murray recognises her sister Julia,
who is standing at the end of the third
row up, wearing a hat. She would love to
hear from anybody who knows more.
The BTG Fiftieth Anniversary
Committee is hoping to produce a
souvenir anthology of photographs,
reminiscences and anecdotes relating to
the history of the school. Please contact
Ms Murray if you have anything to
contribute.
Two Open Days are planned: on
Saturday, 20 March, 2010, for those who
joined the school between September
1959 and July 1975, and on Saturday,
—2—
please go to the school website at
www.btg.ac and download an
application form.
Dear Parents, Staff and Students
This term has been particularly pleasing. I
am very happy to inform you that the first
intake of Year 12 students, in our newly
established Sixth Form, have settled in
extremely well, and are now enthusiastically
engaged with an exciting new range of
subjects and enrichment courses.
Some of these students speak about the
experiences of their first term on the
centre pages, and it is obvious to me that
they have a strong sense of commitment
which can only lead to success, and they
are typical.
We had yet another highly successful year
at GCSE level: the percentage of students
achieving 5 or more GCSEs A* to C at
Bishop Thomas Grant is 87% compared
with a national average of 64% (2008 Nat).
The percentage of students achieving 5
or more GCSEs A* to C at Bishop Thomas
Grant including English and Maths is 60%
compared with a national average of 48%
(2008 Nat). This statistic is particularly
impressive considering that over 50% of
our student population in Year 11 last year
had English as their second language.
I would like to thank the whole school
community for their hard work in helping
our results to increase for the eighth
consecutive year. We expect this trend
to continue.
My thanks must also go to the Fiftieth
Anniversary Committee which has
been working extremely hard to raise
consciousness of our proud history as a
Catholic school, and I am looking forward
to meeting staff, parents and students
from the past and the present on our two
special Open Days this academic year.
Our popularity in the local area continues
to grow immensely. We now have
more girls than boys in Year 7, which is
particularly pleasing when you consider
that we are surrounded by so many
outstanding girls’ Catholic schools.
At present, we have nearly 1000
applications for the 180 places available
for September 2010.
I am pleased to inform you that during
the summer holidays there were a number
of improvements made to the school
premises: two new student canteens
and a Sixth Form common room and
study area are now in place, and the
school library has been redesigned and
refurbished as part of an ongoing plan.
Further improvements to the library are
scheduled to take place soon. It should
contain 12,000 new books and a range of
extra resources by Easter. The library is
open from 9.00am to 5.00pm every day.
Our new fire alarm and security system is
now operational.
We are moving towards a situation where
all students will have their own laptops
by 2013. The process has already begun
for members of Year 12. The school is now
fully wirelessed.
I hope you had a happy Christmas and I
wish you every success for 2010
Yours sincerely
Louis Desa
Creative entrepreneurs
‘Creative Kidz’ is the name of the Year
7 team which took part in the Young
Entrepreneurs Market, which was part
of Lambeth’s Global Entrepreneurship
Week in November.
Team members were Aleksandra
Kondracka, Ewa Kunysz, Natasha
Mahatantila, Joanna Predota, Alexandra
Sanyaolu and Lucy Sturmer, who are
pictured.
if anyone would be interested in buying
things from us or whether the things we
had made were any good,” said Ewa.
“At the beginning of the competition we
did not get any customers, so Ola and
Joanna began dancing to try and attract
attention. The rest of us laughed because
we thought it would scare customers away.
I think the reason we were so successful
was because we had such a wide range of
stock. We had handmade scarves, cards,
carrot cake and handmade Christmas
decorations.
This experience was great! We learnt lots
of things about running a business and
this could help us in the future.”
Creative Kidz
They received an award for the ‘best
customer service’ and second place in the
‘most profitable’ category.
Market stalls were set up under the
London Eye and outside The National
Theatre after students were challenged
to start up a business with a grant of
twenty-five pounds.
Students were selling alongside
emerging and established entrepreneurs
including the past winners of the Make
Your Mark on the Markets campaign and
female entrepreneurs who participated
in Lambeth’s Brand Piano Project.
Stalls included German sweets and
sausages, hand-made gifts from the
Amazon rainforest, Chinese tea, delights
from Dubai, designer handbags and
much more.
“Having never done anything like this
before, it was very scary. We didn’t know
—3—
Something for all tastes
One of the students commended by Mr
Watkins at the St Cecilia’s celebration was
Denise Acosta Rodriguez. She spoke to
our reporter:
“It was an excellent evening of music.
There were a few soloists, Junior Choir
and Chapel Choir, Barbershop Girls and
Boys and African drumming – something
for all tastes.
The singing was in a variety of languages,
but I sang only in English: it was A Foggy
Day in London Town, and it was suggested
by my singing teacher Ms Cyers
I love ballads, and my favourite ones are
Unbreak My Heart by Tony Braxton and I
Have Nothing by Whitney Houston.
I have been singing since I was four years
old and I want to study Music at GCSE,
then take it further.
I am sure that all the parents really
enjoyed St Cecilia’s Day. I know my
own mother did, because she told
me so. She especially liked the
African drumming.
Blessings from Sri Lanka
Ms Macadam writes:
Whilst on holiday in Sri Lanka, I called in
to have lunch with Reverend Mother and
Sister Laurenta at the Holy Angels School
of Payagola.
I was delighted to take with me the
cheque for five hundred and eight
pounds which Matthew House raised for
the school and the orphanage.
Reverend Mother was so grateful, and
very moved that our students had given
their time and energy to raise such a large
amount.
She sends her blessings and thanks to us
all, and promises that the money will be
put to good use.
Merton Pisces
Champion
Ms Prime writes:
Congratulations to Ewa Kunysz 7MP on
her success in the recent Swimming Club
Gala at Morden Baths on two Fridays 20 and 27 November.
She competed against other swimmers
aged 11-14 and came first in all of her
five events: 50m front crawl, backstroke,
butterfly, breaststroke and the medley.
Ewa was awarded a medal for each win
and an overall Champions Shield by her
club, Merton Pisces Swimming Club with
whom she has trained for the last four
years.
Ewa’s favourite discipline is backstroke
but her personal best of 1:19 seconds for
100m is in the front crawl.
We wish her all the best for her upcoming
competition in the Open Championship
Swimming Gala on 6 December.
—4—
Since I last visited the school, the new
classroom, to be used as a Science
laboratory, has nearly been built.
The school is hoping to add another
floor, eventually, because it is better to
go upward than use up more land. There
is also a plan to buy more books for their
new library shelves.
A group of our Year 7 students are writing
to their counterparts in Sri Lanka in a
scheme which will strengthen our links
and make it possible to learn a little more
about each other’s lives.
Look out for the Christmas Raffle to raise
more funds.
Tribute to the Fallen
Mr Parchot writes:
ones left at home, shown in a dramatised
extract from The Accrington Pals, a play
by Peter Whelan. In the extract the
women folk of Accrington, a town near
Manchester, hear rumours that, of seven
hundred of their men who marched off to
fight in the First World War, only seven
have returned alive.
“They shall not grow old as we that are
left grow old”
Students from Year 10 presented a
moving tribute to ‘the fallen’ of all wars
through poetry readings, dramatic
sketches and choreography.
Whilst Armistice Day, the eleventh hour
of the eleventh day of the eleventh
month marks specifically the end of the
First World War 1914-1918, the main
focus of the assembly was directed
towards current and ongoing conflicts
such as Afghanistan, where many of our
own young men and women are facing
grave danger on a daily basis and even
laying down their lives in the service of
our country.
I was aware of people in the assembly,
staff and pupils alike, who have
loved ones caught up in that conflict,
adding a special poignancy to our
commemorations.
A number of the performances during
the assembly used the poetry of Wilfred
Owen as their stimulus. His experience of
The extract was powerfully and movingly
enacted by students from 10X1,
depicting the women of Accrington
clinging to each other, barely able to
contain their grief at their terrible loss.
Joshua Medine, Sam Woodman and Paul Brown enact the
Wilfred Owen poem Dulce et Decorum Est, which formed
part of an assembly on the horrors of war.
War and close observations of its horrific
impact on the lives of combatants is
graphically depicted in Dulce Et Decorum
Est Pro Patria Mori (It is sweet and fitting
to die for one’s country). Young men
‘Bent double…coughing like hags…all
lame…all blind’ is anything but a sweet
picture of war. War has destroyed their
health and vitality for life and aged them
prematurely.
Similarly, in the poem Disabled we are
presented with a young man who ‘gave
his lie’ signing up for the First World War
saying he was nineteen years old. In the
poem we see him returned home, his legs
blown off, not greeted as a hero, but a
figure of pathos. He can no longer play
football, the game he loved, and girls
do not look at him anymore. Such tragic
images are as true of war today as they
were in 1914.
The commemorative assembly also drew
attention to the impact of war on loved
—5—
The famous lines of Laurence Binyon’s
poem For the Fallen were read, followed
by ‘The Last Post’ and a minute’s silence.
They shall not grow old as we that are
left grow old;
Age shall not weary them nor the years
condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the
morning
We will remember them.
Looking forwa
Daniela Vizuete and Richard Ranghel are
taking Accounting and Business Studies
A Levels.
DANIELA: In Accounting recently we
have been concentrating on control
accounts, subsidiary books and day
books. A control account is a summary
account in the general ledger.
RICHARD: In Business Studies right
now we are looking at cash flow
forecasts and ways of paying bills. Most
companies ask for payment within thirty
days, but it could be three months.
You have to make sure everything is in
order by learning the headings and the
control process.
We are also studying entrepreneurs,
how they start up their new businesses,
how they follow through on an idea and
put it into practice.
We are learning the structure of each
kind of account – they vary a lot –
and the difference between assets,
expenses, liabilities and capital.
I want accountancy to be my career: the
subject goes well with my other A Levels
– Mathematics and RE. I enjoy sixth
form life because everything is more
related to the real grown-up world than
previously in school.
Craig Poku is studying A Level
Chemistry, along with Biology,
Mathematics and Physics.
“I did well at GCSE level, with six A
stars, six As and a B. My favourite
subject last year was Maths, so it was
logical that I chose it this year because I
still enjoy problem solving!
Maths goes well with the Sciences of
course. At the moment in Chemistry
we are learn about enthalpy, which
is a thermodynamic property of a
thermodynamic system, and the use of
mass spectrometry.
Taro Isidore and Malgorzata Mucha are
studying Psychology as one of their A Levels.
There are many approaches, and I have
been given ideas on how to go into
business myself.
Mr Stapelberg is our teacher and
he makes sure we have a clear
understanding of a topic before we
move on.
I like Chemistry in particular because
it is a science which is really applicable
to real-life situations, for example,
when we ask ourselves about the use of
catalytic converters on cars.
It is also useful for understanding
aspects of Biology, for example when
we look at how bonding happens in
glucose molecules.
This year, we are bridging the gap
between being told what to do and
choosing everything for ourselves. I
don’t like spoon feeding.”
TARO: Psychology stands out from
the rest of my subjects, which are
Biology, PE and Physics. I have become
particularly interested in the topic of
Attachment.
When we studied babies attaching
to parents it raised many questions
for me. I didn’t realise that emotional
deprivation could have so many
detrimental effects – and the older the
children become, the worse it gets.
It was so engrossing! I would like to
study Psychology at university, and then
perhaps move on to a career in therapy.
MALGORZATA: I was surprised when
I started on the Psychology course at
how much Science there is in it. We have
to learn about a lot of different research
—6—
methods.
It’s an enjoyable subject even though
it’s hard.
We have just been studying the module
Memory and Attachment. I find the
memory side easier, I think.
My other A Levels are Accounting,
Art, Economics and Polish - which I will
complete in a year. I would like to use
Psychology when I leave school.
Mr McDonald is fun! He makes the
lessons enjoyable.
ard to success
Emmanuel Locord and Stefan
Worburton talked about what they are
doing in the Enrichment Programme
which leads to the AQA Baccalaureate,
a two-year course which was launched
last April.
Emmanuel is taking A Levels in Biology,
Chemistry, English Literature and
Physics, and Stefan is taking A Levels
in Art and Design, English Literature,
French and Mathematics.
EMMANUEL: Year 12 is what I expected
– a good working environment.
I have now finised the introduction to
my written report which is entitled The
Psychological, Emotional and Cognitive
Effects of Alcohol on the Consumer.
My background research involved
looking at the definitions. I studied
some statistics on the effects of
drinking alcohol to success, and I found
out about the attitudes of people and
religions which do not accept alcohol.
I have plans for a questionnaire for
adults, so that I can collect my own
statistics.
STEFAN: I am engaged on an Art project
in which I am looking at definitions of
modern art, concentrating on the period
after World War Two.
I enjoyed the variety of exhibits recently
when I visited the Saatchi Gallery.
I find that abstract art helps to express
human emotions more than other
forms. I like the art of Kandinsky, who
expressed his love of music through his
paintings.
My final plan is to add five pieces of
abstract art created by myself to my
written report. I am starting work on
them now.
Jonathan Higuita, Javier Espinosa,
Kathryn Texeira and Michele Spinola are
all studying A Level Economics.
again after being neglected. I am going
to be an accountant when I leave school.
JONATHAN: I chose this subject
because I want to know about what is
happening in the modern economy,
with all its problems with banks and
the credit crunch. It goes well with
Accounting, which I am also studying at
A Level.
JAVIER: There are so many theories, and
I want to interpret them, for example
the one proposed by John Maynard
Keynes, which is becoming popular
Alex Cunha and Anne-Marie Tarbie are
taking A Level Computing.
and using new commands to make it
generally easier to use a computer.
ALEX: This is a step up for people who
liked ICT at GCSE level, because it is
more complex.
My other A Levels are Accounting and
Psychology.
We have spent much of this first term
learning programming, in PYTHON 2
and in MSWLogo – which is an advanced
multimedia Windows version of
UCBLogo.
We are currently writing our own
programme for an examination, and
learning how to debug – in other words
how to fix problems.
We are also learning about new
hardware and software, making
presentations to the class in groups
ANNE-MARIE: This is totally different
to what I did for GCSE. We started
the year doing basic tasks and making
shapes in MSWLogo, using code
and creating commands in order to
communicate with other people.
One of the most interesting units
was one on the history of computer
technology, on the first use of
binary and dinary numbers and the
development of machine code.
My other A Levels are English
Literature and Psychology.
—7—
KATHRYN: I have always been
interested in this sunject, so of course
I chose it. It is interesting to match the
theories with what happens in real life.
MICHELE: I have plans to work in Travel
and Tourism, so Economics will be useful
when the costs and finances are worked
out. Knowledge of the subject will be a
good background.
Mr Clare has been really supportive
since we began.
The atmosphere was amazing
Mr Lindsay-Noble writes:
European Day of Languages was
celebrated with much enthusiasm in
September.
As well as a number of different Europebased activities that replaced normal
lessons for the day in the Modern Foreign
Languages department, there was a very
well attended lunchtime session in the
Main Hall.
Here, students from all age groups were
treated to a number of delicious dishes
from around Europe. They then took part
in two Europe-based quizzes as well as
two foreign language songs - Schnappi
from Germany and Dragostea din tei from
Romania.
especially the pizza.
Chowdhry and to the canteen staff, for
preparing such a wonderful spread for the
DANIEL: What a way to spend your Friday
students.
lunchtime! The best part for me was the
food, and I liked the prizes which were
Three of those students, Paulina Kudla
given out too.
and Anthony Menezes from Year 8, and
Daniel Cecile from Year 9 (pictured) The atmosphere was amazing and by
spoke to Nuntius:
looking at everyone, they were stunned.
PAULINA: It was great fun. We had food
ANTHONY: It was so much fun! I
from all around the world. We also took
particularly like the quizzes and the
part in quizzes with sweets as prizes,
competitions. My favourite was a singing
and sang songs, like Schnappi, das
contest in which the prize went to the
kleine Krokodil, which was my favourite.
person who could sing the loudest.
I particularly liked the Italian food,
In the canteen, Mark and his team had
prepared a wonderful array of dishes
from around Europe and the pupils
enjoyed these surrounded by dozens
of European flags, having had to order
first from menus in French, German and
Spanish.
Special thanks go to our new French
Foreign Language Assistant, Mrs Josiane
A pleasure to teach
Tabea Rath and Alicia Ojeda area two of the new assistants in the
Modern Foreign Languages department. They both spoke to Nuntius:
TABEA: I went to school in Wilmersdorf, part of Berlin, and the last
time I was in London was on a school trip from there. I love the city and
also the Lake District, which I visited in the spring.
I work here and at Lambeth Academy near Clapham Common.
The Year 7 and 8 students at BTG are so enthusiastic, and a
pleasure to teach.
I will probably teach when I get back to Germany, but I am also
interested in working for a publisher of educational textbooks.
This school is much better equipped with computers than
schools in Germany, and it is so beautifully situated on the top
of a hill with a view.
ALICIA: My home town is near Seville in Spain, and I came to
London on a scholarship. Before London, I was in Liverpool.
I really like the atmosphere in this school because it is so different
to what I know in Spanish schools.
It also compares very well with other London schools I have
encountered. The students are all willing to learn all the time.
There is a football connection with language learning here, so I can tell
you that my favourite team is Seville.
Which word
or phrase is
this?
M ckey
M nn e
M ghty
—8—
Say what you see.
Write down your solution and put it in
a sealed envelope with your name and
form on it. Write NUNTIUS PUZZLE on it
as well.
Take this to Mr Cuddy, who will give
a prize for the first correct solution
received.
Chatroom
Rehearsals have begun for Chatroom, by
Irish playwright Enda Walsh, a powerful
short play about young people which
is full of topical references, for example
cyberbullying and the effects of the
Internet.
Six teenagers are brought together in
Internet chat rooms. The central character
is a boy called Jim who contemplates
ending his life because of the manipulative
and self-centred characters he meets.
It will be performed next term by the
Gifted and Talented National Theatre
Group, who will be directing it themselves.
Chatroom cast Paul Brown, Lydia Greentree,
Joshua Madine, Aoife Mulcahy, Rohan Nedd and
Ella Ochugbalu.
Star gazers
Year 9 GCSE Astronomy students Shauna
Corrigan and Felipe Marques Jesus are
holding a model of the solar system
made by new BTG student Courtney
Joseph.
“They are on a one-year accelerated
GCSE course,” said Science teacher
Ms King.
“They go to the Royal Observatory at
Greenwich for thirty Saturdays. Four
boys and four girls from this school are
representing Lambeth.
Other students representing Southwark
and Wandsworth join them each week in
the Planetarium there.
It’s very good for them to have the use of
such facilities to learn about the sky
at night.
Felipe added, ”I didn’t realise that the
Greenwich Mean Time line actually
runs through the Observatory. It was
impressive to look at.
I was also very interested in another
exhibit, John Harrison’s chronometer,
which was used to calculate longitude on
board ships.
We get on well with the students from
other schools.
I would like to study astronomy at
university.”
Other members of the class are Glenn
Hutchinson, Izabella Johnson, Hayden
Kidd, Adyan Mehasi, Sebastian Paz Mesa
and Fidelia Prosper.
I am taking the examination as well!”
“I have learned a lot about Mars in
particular,” said Shauna. “It’s red
because of all the oxides of iron
in the Martian soil.
On our trip around the
Observatory I noticed
that it is covered with
the names of famous
astronomers like
Galileo Galilei and
Tycho Brahe.
It’s really great
going with Ms King
– we’re competing
against her for
the GCSE and she
doesn’t mind.”
Time to head home
Ms Prime writes:
Where did the time go? I started
teaching PE at Bishop Thomas Grant six
years ago fresh from New Zealand.
During my time here I have been a Tutor
Teacher, Head of Department and
Healthy School Co-ordinator and seen
thousands of young men and women
pass through the department, some of
whom have gone on to greatness.
BTG is one of the loveliest places to work
as a teacher in London, the main reason
being the fabulous students. You all
have so much to offer. Please believe in
yourselves and listen to your conscience
– it will keep you on track if you allow
it. Be brave, challenge yourselves and
remember, it is a big old world out there.
Open your eyes, travel beyond London and
maybe come to New Zealand some day!
I would like to make special mention of
a few people who have impacted my
time at BTG. Big thankyous must go to
Ms Murray for her ongoing support and
advice as my line manager both as Head
of Department and Healthy School
Co-ordinator, to Mr Desa and all the
Senior Management Team for their
words of wisdom and of course the
Physical Education Team.
I know the department will continue
to flourish in the capable hands of Mr
Myton and Mr Haywood. I wish Miss
Allen and my replacement all the best in
promoting excellence in girls’ sport and
health.
I have made so many friends on staff
and would like to thank them for all
the good times both during lunchtime
conversations and social events. I will
miss you all. I will particularly miss my
current Tutor group - 8JF.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at
BTG, but now feel it is time to return
home to my family in New Zealand. Come
February, I will be taking on the role of
Head of Physical Education and Health at
—9—
Te Kauwhata College, near Hamilton in
the North Island.
I look forward to the new challenges that
lie ahead and intend to apply all that I
have learnt during my time at BTG. I wish
the school community every success for
the future.
Ka kite ano (Until I see you again)
In memory of Emma
At the end of last term, a football contest
was held at the school in memory of
a teacher who died in 2007 in a tragic
accident. Six South London primary
schools took part.
Emma Wallace-O’Flaherty, an ex-student
of Bishop Thomas Grant School, was a
PE specialist who taught at St Andrew’s
School in Polworth Road, Streatham
Common.
Her friend Mr Grehan said: “It was
brilliant, a really good afternoon.
It epitomised Emma.
won by St Mary’s school in Westgate
Road, Beckenham.
She would have loved it. It was a
high standard of sport with a warm
atmosphere.”
Emma’s father paid tribute to his
daughter at the event.
St James The Great school in Windsor
Road, Thornton Heath, were runners-up.
Other competing schools were
St Andrews, Corpus Christi, St Cyprian’s
and St Mary’s in Crescent Lane, Clapham.
The tournament was played by girls’ and
boys’ teams from each school, and their
points were added up at the end. It was
Mr Myton was the main organiser of
the tournament, which will now take
place annually.
Winners St Mary’s
Primary Schools
This term saw Bishop Thomas Grant host
the Primary Schools Multi-Skills event as
part of the Lambeth SSCO program. The
event was excellently organised by our
SSCO Mr Cox, with four primary schools
bringing over a hundred pupils to take
part in the day.
The atmosphere was excellent. We are
looking forward to hosting another event
like this in the near future.
We will continue to make sure that all
students have the chance to experience
sporting activities outside the
curriculum. We would like to thank those
—10—
students who attend extra curricular
clubs and represent our teams and also
the teaching and non-teaching staff who
help and support us to ensure we can
attend our fixtures.
SPORTS REPORT
Mr Myton writes:
Football
We have already played fourteen games
across all year groups, with mixed results.
All years remain in the South London Cup.
A special mention must go to the Year
9 team who have stood out as the most
impressive team so far this year, with
excellent performances from Viv Soloman,
Andreas Gergiou and Joseph Haddad.
Rugby
Rugby is back at Bishop Thomas Grant after
an absence of nearly twenty-five years.
Since the turn of the year I have been
working with a small group of students to
develop rugby within the school.
Numbers have slowly risen, with great
assistance from new Geography teacher
Mr Melson and teaching assistant
Mr Egelnick we have reached a point
where we are able to compete.
We played our first game this term against
Dunraven at London Storms ground in
Croydon and although we suffered a
22-0 defeat the boys learnt a lot from
the experience and are already looking
forward to the next match.
We still need more players: interested
students should come to training every
Wednesday after school.
Dunraven 7–1 and just lost a close-fought
match against St Martins 2–1. A special
mention must go to Deborah Ibitoye, Ama
Dickson and Kathleen Lissenburg, whose
dedication and strong skills have been a
highlight of our season so far.
The Year 7 team have been impressive,
losing narrowly to St Martin’s Year 9
team and comprehensively beating local
rivals Dunraven 9-1 and 16-1. Well done
to all the Year 7 girls especially our Goal
Attack Ewa Kunitz and our Centre
Ola Kondracka.
Badminton
Netball
This year has seen an increase in netball
matches, thanks to the hard work of
Miss Allen. The Year 10 and 11 team beat
Congratulations to Badminton team who
comprehensively beat Lambeth Academy
at a tournament organised by Miss Prime
and hosted by Bishop Thomas Grant.
Cross Country
Our fantastic performances continued
in this event when Mr Haywood took
the BTG Athletics Team to the Lambeth
Cross Country Championship at Brockwell
Park. We again took home the majority
of medals available, just like last year,
with excellent performances from twice
nominated Sports Valedictorian Maria
Kavanagh and Year 9’s Viv Soloman, both
winning their overall competitions.
The winning boys’ team: John-Paul Ennis, Abel Tekle,
Thomas Hamerton and Ashley Sullivan at the back,
Christou Ellis, Andrew Glazebrook, Viv SolomanOtabor, Andre Bingham and Arun Butler-Kowlessar at
the front.
Viv Solomon and Maria
Kavanagh were overall
cross country winners.
Maria told Nuntius:
“I knew I had it in me,
so when I came first I
was over the moon.”
Goodbye
Miss Prime
The PE department would like to say
goodbye to Miss Prime who will be
leaving us at Christmas to return home
to New Zealand.
For over six years, Miss Prime has
worked hard to help raise the profile of
PE and Health within our school. She
will be sorely missed.
Good luck and stay in touch!
—11—
Elephants stick together
In November, Peer mentors Amy Dutch
and Isabella Perales were part of a
team which interviewed MP Angela
Smith, who is Minister of State for the
Third Sector. She was asked about her
own experiences of mentoring and
befriending.
Her response was: “I have seen the
difference mentors and befrienders
make within communities.
It helps people in so many different ways
– most importantly by giving people
new confidence and new strength. With
mentoring and befriending you can
really turn lives around and make a huge
difference.”
She chose the two words ‘empathy’ and
‘understanding’, and these were stuck on
to the elephant.
Everyone then stuck on their chosen
words, which included ‘motivating’ and
‘life line’.”
Isobella added, “We were photographed
with an elephant, which was part of a
kind of herd of sculptures.
There were fifteen of them, with names
like Rainbow, Billy and Stomp.
They were created in schools across
England and helped to launch AntiBullying Week. We were at the
National Conference of the Mentoring
and Befriending Foundation.
Elephants were used because they stick
together when threatened.”
More than two hundred and fifty
mentoring and befriending policy
makers, funders, practitioners,
commissioners and leaders attended the
conference.
The national art exhibition ‘An Elephant
in the Room’ was at the London Zoo
throughout Anti-Bullying Week.
Prepare for News Day
BBC News School Report is a project
which helps teenagers across the UK
to make and broadcast news. Students
get the opportunity to develop their
journalistic skills using resources which
are available on the School Report
website at
www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport
In March each year, the BBC runs a
UK-wide News Day when all student
reports will be published on websites and
simultaneously linked to the BBC.
Headteacher: Mr L Desa BSc
Bishop Thomas Grant School,
Belltrees Grove, London, SW16 2HY
The project will help those taking part
with the knowledge and skills they need
in many subjects including Citizenship,
Drama, English and Geography.
The main aim, of course, is to interest
young people in news of all sorts. It is also
an opportunity for students to inform a
real audience, via BBC programmes and
web pages, about the stories which are
important to them.
For further information, see Ms Turvey.
Telephone 020 8769 3294 Fax 020 8769 4917
website: www.btg-secondary.lambeth.sch.uk
Email: headteacher@btg-secondary.lambeth.sch.uk
—12—
Edited and produced by Richard Wilcocks. Enquiries to Meerkat Publications and Design 07940 476455
“She was more nervous than we were,”
Amy told Nuntius. “At one stage in
the interview, which was done
along with two peer mentors
from another school, we
asked her how she would
sum up the point of
mentoring in just
two words.