Sports New Letter

buckswood school . guestling . east sussex . tn35 4lt

GolfThe ‘Golf Club’ on Wednesday 4-5pm has been a roaring success, we have 18 members which includes 1 girl. We go to the Seddlescombe Driving Range and the students up to now have learnt to grip the golf club properly, stand in the correct position and swing the golf club in the correct way. Most of the students are now hitting the golf ball a good distance and some are taking to golf like a duck to water!

On Sunday afternoons we go to Seddlescombe Golf Club and put in to practice what the students have been learning on Wednesdays and play a round of golf on the golf course itself, whether that be the 9 hole par 3 course (for beginners) or the 18 hole course. Only a few students have been to the Sunday afternoon outings however, this up and coming term we have no doubt that the number of students will increase.

RugbyResult 38-3 to RobertsbridgeA gutsy display of rugby. The boys kept their heads high to the last minute pushing to their limits. I told the boys winning is not everything but no one takes the field to lose. With this the lads took pride in themselves and finished strong. The spirits were high and they enjoyed themselves.

We had a few young guys play in the side and they were indeed boxing above their weight. This did not scare them as they showed bravery and a willingness to push forward.

Special mention to William Ore as his boot was a lifesaver.

Keep it up guys . . . I am very proud of you.

Rugby TournamentThe tournament was an overall success, all entered teams arrived on time with no hassles. I feel that our tournament was more professional than the rest and would like to thank the senior rugby boys for their assistance with refereeing and time keeping.

ResultsRobertsbridge 30-0William Parker 25-0Battle Abbey 20-0Claverham College 5-0

As the other schools were a lot bigger and older, I am proud of them for standing their ground. Hats off to all the new-bees for their first game of rugby, glad they enjoyed it.

Football ResultsCubsBuckswood v Battle won 9-0Buckswood v Frewen won 5-1Buckswood v Battle lost 6-5

U14Buckswood v Hastings Town won 4-0Buckswood v Hillcrest won 7-0Buckswood v Frewen won 11-0Buckswood v Robertsbridge won 2-0

Buckswood v St Bedes lost 4-3Buckswood v Rye College won 6-0

U16Buckswood v Rye College won 6-4Buckswood v Battle won 7-1Buckswood v Hillcrest won 4-2

U19Buckswood v Plumpton won 5-0Buckswood v St Bedes won 11-1Buckswood v Ringmer won 8-1Buckswood v Littlehampton won 5-0Buckswood v St Bedes lost 6-4Buckswood v Varndean won 3-1Buckswood v Hastings College won 12-1

The Lions Truly RoaredRye College v Buckswood U16The newly formed U16s handed out a lesson in finishing to a hard working Rye College side.

Buckswood started strongly and were one nil up within a minute thanks to Shaun. A bizarre penalty followed and we found ourselves at 1-1 after only 2 minutes, it was clear then that this game was not going to be a bore draw. Another goal from Shaun followed and despite a number of individual mistakes we found ourselves 3-1 up a few minutes later as Shaun grabbed his third.

The weather was similar to a monsoon by now and we were finding out who really wanted to win and who wanted to hide. Rye scored again after another midfield loss of possession and we relied on Shaun to get us another for 4-2. The game turned into a swimming gala as the driving rain threatened to ruin it. But Nahid, Alex, Saeed and Tunay gave their all for Buckswood and went that extra yard to keep the advancing Rye attack at bay. More goals followed as a result of individual mistakes and we also saw an outstanding save from Abti to keep Rye out. Maxim and Shaun added to our tally to make it 6-2 and Rye scored two late goals to make the finish exciting but the lions held out to win the game 6-4.

The Man of the Match was five goal hero Shaun Okoji. Lazy but effective.

issue 30 . december 2010 . www.buckswood.co.uk

The Masked BallThis year the hall was transformed into a combination of the grand hall of Hogwarts with a dash of the X Factor stage set! Pupils this year had to come with a mask and wear something with a hint of purple in it. It was the ball of the year with a special appearance from The Headmistress of St Trinians School!

NEWS

Snow stopped school!For three days we were cut off from the outside world! The snow reached up to our knees! There were no teachers and therefore no lessons. Mr Sutton cooked rice, rice and more rice

and we had a massive inter house snow ball fight!

Christmas at BuckswoodChristmas at Buckswood is a very special time. It is a time where the family come together to celebrate the achievements of the term and the true meaning of giving to others. We are always reminded that giving does not have be the giving of a physical gift purchased in a shop but could be just a simple thank you or a general sign of appreciation to others around us.

We celebrate the Christmas period by putting up a 15ft tree In the front hall which was decorated by matron and the juniors. We also sing our hearts out in the church in town at our annual carol service, which this year I think was one of our best performances as it summed up everything that is good about Buckswood. It had the combination of ceremony, traditional hymns, modern songs, the bagpipes of course, international readers and to keep Mr Callaghan happy a good old rugby song!


Football: The season so farTHE NEW SCHOOL BLEEP TEST SCORE WAS 15.3 All of our lions teams have done superbly well so far this season. We currently have two of our three age groups as league winners (u14s and u16s) and the other (u19s) sitting in second and still in the County cup at the time of writing waiting in the wings in the new term are Hove Park College who were last years runners up in Sussex.

CUBS (11 AND 12 YEAR OLDS) football squad captained by Tobias Mannering were formed when a need for our talented younger players wanted to represent the school. They have had a couple of fixtures so far this term with the weather claiming a few. But they have more than held their own in 9v9 games v Battle and Beechwood schools. A few more fixtures are planned in the new term and we look forward to watching this young group of players continue their development.

UNDER 14s football squad captained by Christian Hutson have gone the whole league campaign without conceding a single goal and scoring 19. Goal machine Ricardo Lopez has bagged 10 of the 19 and has worked hard to be my player of the season so far. Causeway school await us in the new term when the Hastings and district league winners play off against the Eastbourne and district win-ners to see who will be crowned Champions of South East Sussex. We look forward to welcoming them very soon and are very confident that a trophy will be coming to this age group in the middle of next term. UNDER 16s football squad captained by Nahid Ahmed have also gone the season unbeaten and in doing so have scored 10 goals and conceded 8. Always a very exciting game when you watch this squad. Shaun Okojie has scored 8 of these 10 goals and has done very well but my player of the season so far is tough tackling midfielder Phillipp Kramer, he has got better and better as the season has gone on and has even gone with the first team on a number of occasions as well. Filsham Valley School await this team in the new term in the Hastings and district play off finals so we look forward to welcoming them to Sutton Field.

UNDER 19s football squad captained by Marcus Dodds have had a very good start to the season. At the time of writing they have only lost one game (first day of the season) and are in the last 8 of the Sussex county cup. This is a fantastic feat for us as we have such a small group of players to choose from. This group of players play some fantastic football and at times have forced their opposition into surrendering by constantly keeping and passing the ball. We have had some big victories so far those feeling the full roar of the lions include Hastings college 11-1 win, Ringmer College 9-1 win and St Bedes 11-1 win. We have done very well considering most of our boys are only 17 or below so well done boys. I am expecting a top three finish and a strong battle against our county cup opponents in the new term.

The future has never been brighter. The future is Buckswood Football!Jim Colston, Director of football

Hockey Club Founders DayOn the 26th November Buckswood Hockey Club was officially founded. The first official hockey match was played between the Sutton Select and the Fish Select.

A “Bully”, not Mr Sutton, a “Bully” started the day – two players (Mr Sutton and Mr Fish) stood facing each other with their sticks on the ground, the ball between them. At the umpire’s signal, the sticks are raised, the flat sides are tapped once, and then either player can attempt to play the ball by passing it to a team member or dribbling it himself or herself. Mr. Sutton won the bully.

Captain of the Sutton Select Linus Schumacher started the game against the Fish Select captained by Shane Hart Jones. The game was dominated by the Fish Select but the Sutton select won by 2-0 with both goals scored by Jake Allen. Man of the Match was Fidel Moloi setting both goals up.

BasketballBasketball this term has been excellent. The focus has been on the 6th form players competing in Sussex County Level Basketball League as Hastings Falcons and this has brought challenges from National League teams. Playing against these teams is an experience they will never forget!

Buckswood School entered teams of students into the East Sussex 3v3 Competition and Won!

This has increased the popularity of basketball at the school and now the younger students want to get involved. I have had the girls and forms 1-3 boys asking for coaching and when they will get to represent the school? I wish I had an honest answer for them.

Next term will involve the Local Schools Competitions, last year Buckswood School won the yr10 league (under 15’s) and came 3rd in y11’s (u16’s). We are really looking forward to once again dominating the competition and sending out the message that Buckswood is the Best for Basketball in all age categories.

Watch this space!


Football: The season so farTHE NEW SCHOOL BLEEP TEST SCORE WAS 15.3 All of our lions teams have done superbly well so far this season. We currently have two of our three age groups as league winners (u14s and u16s) and the other (u19s) sitting in second and still in the County cup at the time of writing waiting in the wings in the new term are Hove Park College who were last years runners up in Sussex.

CUBS (11 AND 12 YEAR OLDS) football squad captained by Tobias Mannering were formed when a need for our talented younger players wanted to represent the school. They have had a couple of fixtures so far this term with the weather claiming a few. But they have more than held their own in 9v9 games v Battle and Beechwood schools. A few more fixtures are planned in the new term and we look forward to watching this young group of players continue their development.

UNDER 14s football squad captained by Christian Hutson have gone the whole league campaign without conceding a single goal and scoring 19. Goal machine Ricardo Lopez has bagged 10 of the 19 and has worked hard to be my player of the season so far. Causeway school await us in the new term when the Hastings and district league winners play off against the Eastbourne and district win-ners to see who will be crowned Champions of South East Sussex. We look forward to welcoming them very soon and are very confident that a trophy will be coming to this age group in the middle of next term. UNDER 16s football squad captained by Nahid Ahmed have also gone the season unbeaten and in doing so have scored 10 goals and conceded 8. Always a very exciting game when you watch this squad. Shaun Okojie has scored 8 of these 10 goals and has done very well but my player of the season so far is tough tackling midfielder Phillipp Kramer, he has got better and better as the season has gone on and has even gone with the first team on a number of occasions as well. Filsham Valley School await this team in the new term in the Hastings and district play off finals so we look forward to welcoming them to Sutton Field.

UNDER 19s football squad captained by Marcus Dodds have had a very good start to the season. At the time of writing they have only lost one game (first day of the season) and are in the last 8 of the Sussex county cup. This is a fantastic feat for us as we have such a small group of players to choose from. This group of players play some fantastic football and at times have forced their opposition into surrendering by constantly keeping and passing the ball. We have had some big victories so far those feeling the full roar of the lions include Hastings college 11-1 win, Ringmer College 9-1 win and St Bedes 11-1 win. We have done very well considering most of our boys are only 17 or below so well done boys. I am expecting a top three finish and a strong battle against our county cup opponents in the new term.

The future has never been brighter. The future is Buckswood Football!Jim Colston, Director of football

Hockey Club Founders DayOn the 26th November Buckswood Hockey Club was officially founded. The first official hockey match was played between the Sutton Select and the Fish Select.

A “Bully”, not Mr Sutton, a “Bully” started the day – two players (Mr Sutton and Mr Fish) stood facing each other with their sticks on the ground, the ball between them. At the umpire’s signal, the sticks are raised, the flat sides are tapped once, and then either player can attempt to play the ball by passing it to a team member or dribbling it himself or herself. Mr. Sutton won the bully.

Captain of the Sutton Select Linus Schumacher started the game against the Fish Select captained by Shane Hart Jones. The game was dominated by the Fish Select but the Sutton select won by 2-0 with both goals scored by Jake Allen. Man of the Match was Fidel Moloi setting both goals up.

BasketballBasketball this term has been excellent. The focus has been on the 6th form players competing in Sussex County Level Basketball League as Hastings Falcons and this has brought challenges from National League teams. Playing against these teams is an experience they will never forget!

Buckswood School entered teams of students into the East Sussex 3v3 Competition and Won!

This has increased the popularity of basketball at the school and now the younger students want to get involved. I have had the girls and forms 1-3 boys asking for coaching and when they will get to represent the school? I wish I had an honest answer for them.

Next term will involve the Local Schools Competitions, last year Buckswood School won the yr10 league (under 15’s) and came 3rd in y11’s (u16’s). We are really looking forward to once again dominating the competition and sending out the message that Buckswood is the Best for Basketball in all age categories.

Watch this space!

issue 31 . january 2011 . www.buckswood.co.uk

CambridgeShurong Li: offered a place at Cambridge University to read Biochemistry for Oct 2011

Buckswood Young AuthorsTalent is something which is celebrated in the Junior School at Buckswood and the Buckswood Young Author’s Club, which meets every Wednesday, has just published another paperback in its collection of books entitled: Buckswood Young Writers. This book showcases the incredible writing ability of its young students and makes a wonderful present for family and friends. Jamie Osborn (pictured) was the winner in the Wicked Young Writers Awards November 2010.

KiP – Knowledge is PowerOn Wednesday 19th January, Holocaust survivor Rudi Oppenheimer came to Buckswood to speak about his experiences. He described his early childhood in Berlin prior to the war and took the audience through his travels to Britain and then Holland, where he was living when Germany invaded. Students listened to his first-hand account of life under the Nazi regime and the steady progression of discrimination against the Jewish community in Holland. Rudi spoke movingly of his family’s ordeal and how he lost his parents to illness whilst being held in the notorious Bergen-Belsen concentration

camp. He spoke of the hardships endured through his childhood and of his eventual liberation from imprisonment with his brother and sister. His talk was truly an eye-opening experience for many of the students in the audience and one that will be remembered for the rest of their lives.

LAMDAThe Drama Department is pleased to announce the latest LAMDA Acting Exam results: nine Lower School Passes at Grades 4 and 5, and another seven actors gaining Merits. Four from Forms 5 and College took Grade 6 (Bronze Award) and all gained high Merits. A Drama Club of twenty-three pupils from all year-groups is already rehearsing A Little Hotel on the Side which will be performed at the end of the summer term. Book early to avoid disappointment!

County Sports RepresentativesDaniel Archer - Sailing - Purple Marine Topper National Youth Squad.William Orr - Hockey - Sussex Under 15’sJamie Ball- Rugby - Sussex Under 14’sChristian Hutson - Football - Sussex Under 12’sHarry Phipps - Football - Sussex Under 12’s

NEWSEnglish as a Second languageIELTS success - All members of Form 4 entered for the Cambridge Exams in December passed with flying colours. There were 10 ‘Merits’ earned, with a high score of 96%!!

Form 4 - PET and KET results – 100% pass with 7 merits

Record Turnout at Scholarship MorningsOn Saturday 22nd January, a record number of local children attended the Scholarship Morning at Buckswood School, where they sat a series of written tests and attended interviews with senior staff, to try and win one of the many scholarships and bursaries available to Buckswood students. Children from a wide range of local state and independent schools were keen to show off their potential, and while the children sat their tests, their parents were entertained to coffee and a recital in the performing arts suite, courtesy of talented Buckswood students from the senior school.

Form III bringing Old England to New EnglandFor the second half of the Easter term, form 3 students are going to be leaving the shores of Old England and heading to New England! This year, the form 3 Buckswood International experience is in the USA. Here, they will follow the Buckswood curriculum for half of the time, whilst the rest of the trip will be spent in a US high school in the Connecticut town of Westbrook, where they will study alongside 9th grade students, whilst experiencing life in America with host families. During the trip, students will visit New York and Boston as well as Hartford and Newport, Rhode Island. They will visit Harvard university, Yale university and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as various sites of interest around Connecticut including the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal museum and taking a boat trip looking for Captain Kydd’s treasure around the Thimble Islands!

Astro Turf!Naturally the astro turf was a large capital expenditure for the school, but it has been worth every penny. Since it has been down we have had some of the worst rain ever which at times even water logged the pitch, however rain has not stopped play and it was a very proud moment to see Buckswood playing Battle (and winning!) on our new large fantastic facility.

Rugby19th January1st XV 0 vs Plumpton 17We took the field at Plumpton on a cold and windy afternoon. The pitch was wet which made for a typical English rugby encounter. The boys were excited as it was their 1st fixture back from the xmas break. It was going to be a physical challenge from the beginning as we were a bit rusty.

The match went well with the boys bashing the ball up and spreading it to the backs to finish the phases.

Due to having the dominant Pack this was the kind of game we could play. Special thanks to Alex Cullen for playing out of position and stepping up to answer the call, I am proud to say that here at Buckswood we have boys who can put aside what they are comfortable in and step up for the greater good of the team. These are the kind of morals one learns from Rugby.

Man of the match went to Marvin, a fresh breath of talent and hard work combined into a solid Flanker. Keep it up Mate, you have a lot to offer to the team.

Hockey Seniors: Slow Start But Strong FinishThe Buckswood Senior Boys A & B hockey team and Battles Senior A participated in a mini tournament at Buckswood on 12 January. This was the first ever hockey fixture on Buckswood soil.

The A teams played each other first. Battle’s on-song striker netted a fine field goal and Shane Hart Jones and Linus Schumacher tried equalizing on a number of occasions without success. Battle winning the first match 1-0.

Buckswood’s inexperienced B’s took on Battle A next and did really well to draw 0-0. They listened to instruction and played to a plan.

Buckswood’s A in their second game against Battle was a different prospect. Buckswood hurt by their first game loss came back and dominated possession, shots at goal and territory. Two goals by Shane Hart Jones finished off a really good team performance.

Buckswood’s B continued playing well in the second game against Battle only conceding a goal. Alexey Vasiliyev dominating in the middle of the field and thus earning the Player of Match.

Juniors Dominate

Played Won Lost Drawn GF GA

7’S A 3 3 0 0 8 0

7’S B 3 2 0 1 4 1

Both Teams won against Battles A team.

Goal Scores A: Goergie Shrive – 3; Tim Arden – 3; Christian Hudson – 1; Harry Reeece – 1

Goal Scores B: Angelo – 2; Max O – 1; Archie – 1

Man of the Match: A TEAM: Tim Arden; B TEAM: Angelo

S P O R T I N G S U C C E S S A T B U C K S W O O D

Astro Turf!Naturally the astro turf was a large capital expenditure for the school, but it has been worth every penny. Since it has been down we have had some of the worst rain ever which at times even water logged the pitch, however rain has not stopped play and it was a very proud moment to see Buckswood playing Battle (and winning!) on our new large fantastic facility.

Rugby19th January1st XV 0 vs Plumpton 17We took the field at Plumpton on a cold and windy afternoon. The pitch was wet which made for a typical English rugby encounter. The boys were excited as it was their 1st fixture back from the xmas break. It was going to be a physical challenge from the beginning as we were a bit rusty.

The match went well with the boys bashing the ball up and spreading it to the backs to finish the phases.

Due to having the dominant Pack this was the kind of game we could play. Special thanks to Alex Cullen for playing out of position and stepping up to answer the call, I am proud to say that here at Buckswood we have boys who can put aside what they are comfortable in and step up for the greater good of the team. These are the kind of morals one learns from Rugby.

Man of the match went to Marvin, a fresh breath of talent and hard work combined into a solid Flanker. Keep it up Mate, you have a lot to offer to the team.

Hockey Seniors: Slow Start But Strong FinishThe Buckswood Senior Boys A & B hockey team and Battles Senior A participated in a mini tournament at Buckswood on 12 January. This was the first ever hockey fixture on Buckswood soil.

The A teams played each other first. Battle’s on-song striker netted a fine field goal and Shane Hart Jones and Linus Schumacher tried equalizing on a number of occasions without success. Battle winning the first match 1-0.

Buckswood’s inexperienced B’s took on Battle A next and did really well to draw 0-0. They listened to instruction and played to a plan.

Buckswood’s A in their second game against Battle was a different prospect. Buckswood hurt by their first game loss came back and dominated possession, shots at goal and territory. Two goals by Shane Hart Jones finished off a really good team performance.

Buckswood’s B continued playing well in the second game against Battle only conceding a goal. Alexey Vasiliyev dominating in the middle of the field and thus earning the Player of Match.

Juniors Dominate

Played Won Lost Drawn GF GA

7’S A 3 3 0 0 8 0

7’S B 3 2 0 1 4 1

Both Teams won against Battles A team.

Goal Scores A: Goergie Shrive – 3; Tim Arden – 3; Christian Hudson – 1; Harry Reeece – 1

Goal Scores B: Angelo – 2; Max O – 1; Archie – 1

Man of the Match: A TEAM: Tim Arden; B TEAM: Angelo


BasketballBasketball this term has been great!

13 Jan Filsham Valley 16 Buckswood 37 (won) U1324 Jan Filsham Valley 26 Buckswood 16 (lost) U1424 Jan The Grove 16 Buckswood 6 (lost) U14

Sergio Rodriguez has captained the Junior teams and shown leadership and played unselfishly! To award him I bought him an official NBA basketball vest, there is a professional basketball player named ‘Sergio Rodriguez’ so his shared name is printed on the back.

Guillaume Caremeties is most improved junior of the term! and Harrison Leney was Man of the Match (24 Jan )

The Yr 9, 10, 11 School Finals are on hold as the venue (Summerfields) didn’t keep Andy Hodders booking!

Football3 Minutes of Madness Cost The Lions DearlyU19 Sussex County Cup quarter final Hove Park College 4 v 1 Buckswood

A tough game in Brighton saw the end of the Lions county cup run for 2011. We started slowly and conceded in the fourth minute to a soft Hove effort. Two minutes later we were level with a close range Pringle effort and starting to believe that we could beat this opposition.

The game was not for the faint hearted and contained more than a fair amount of strong tackles as both sides were fully committed to the game. However it was amazingly still 1-1 at half time. The second half started with the Lions taking charge with the outstanding Simon De Freitas Castro breaking up every attack that Hove could muster. Sonny was working hard to hold up the ball up front but our midfield were not getting support to him quick enough and we faced attack after attack, all of which we defended well.

Buckswood hearts were broken in a matter of three minutes when Hove got lucky with a deflection off Marcus Dodds back for 2-1 and then followed another two quick goals which were a bit of a blur to everyone watching.

In the time it takes to boil an egg we had given up our place in the county cup. Mark Mwaungulu played very well as full back and Sonny worked hard but in truth we were not at our best today and the game petered out with Hove holding on to their three goal cushion and claiming a place in the county cup semi final.

Man of the match was Simon De Freitas Castro who gave everything and more for the Buckswood cause.

Fearsome Lions Show Their TeethU16 South East Sussex League Playoff Filsham Valley 1 v 10 Buckswood U16s

The Lions of Buckswood showed their true class as they outplayed and outfought a plucky Filsham side who were dazed within 5 minutes at the valley.

Goals from Maxim, Cem , Shaun, Lopez, Phillipp, Erwin and Marcus saw the Lions home and booked them a place in the league playoff semi final at home to Eastbourne Academy.

Buoyant Buckswood Break Bishop Bell HeartsBishop Bell School 1 v 2 Buckswood

Buckswood’s young Lions broke Bell hearts today to become champions of South East Sussex.

Bell started very strongly and some good defending early on kept us in the game. After several missed chances the Lions started to take control and the midfield battle was being won by Christian and Murtaz. We peppered the Bell goal with shot after shot and chance after chance went astray and the Bell keeper had a fantastic game.

Half time came and both teams were locked at 0-0 and a great half of football from both sides.

Bell started quickly and nearly opened the scoring early on but Harry and Oscar and the outstanding Tunay Apak kept Bell at bay. It was a corner that finally opened the scoring and a well worked move saw the Bell right back steal in at the back post to slot past Joe Konu for 1-0 Bishop Bell to the delight of the home crowd.

This spurred on the young Lions and after a re shuffle and another wide substitution bringing on Jamie Bell for Harry Reece we started to gain the upper hand as Bell defended for all they were worth. We wasted chance after chance but still stayed patient as we worked our way into the Bell half.

Captain Hutson, on his birthday ,went round 3 players got into the box and slotted the ball past the unlucky Bell keeper for 1-1 with just 2 minutes to go. This gave us the momentum we needed as Bell were shell-shocked and with 1 minute left on the clock and the game heading for penalties Lopez popped up with an outstanding finish to break Bell hearts. 2-1 Lions.

Man of the Match – Tunay Apak – Awesome defensive display



RumplestiltskinFeaturing an all-star cast ranging from Form 1 to Upper 6th, the Buckswood Drama Club Christmas Pantomime, Rumplestiltskin – or 101 Ways to Lose a Baby, was performed on the last morning of term to a packed house of staff and pupils eager for a laugh and to be attacked by members of the cast with super-soakers, shaving foam, purple paint and flour.

As usual, the play was devised and written for Buckswood by Mr Tim Baker and the cast – this time in honour of Christian Argile, whose ability to carry a show to ridiculous lengths (he has now been transported for life to Australia) made him a barking Rumplestiltskin. As the audience has come to expect, the show featured a good deal of cross-dressing, sumo wrestling, a home birth, a kidnap and the attempted barbecuing of an infant. All good clean fun.

BUCKSWOOD DRAMA

issue 32 . february 2011 . www.buckswood.co.uk

NEWSSuccess in Basketball

More success as the team have just won the Year 11 Schools Finals!Leo Kempf, Seun Teyuoso, Luke Staples, Nicolo Hu, Iliyas Orazalin, Jose Arroyo, Domonic Critici, Canbazoglu Ogulcan, Alex Cullen,

Our U13’s Won!Buckswood U13’s won 36-28 against Filsham Valley, Archie Harrison was man of the match! He was our tallest player, and a had very mature and sensible attitude, he didn’t get flustered or pressured even when we were loosing. Everyone played well and can’t wait till the next game. Guillaume C. (Captain) played an excellent game even after he got a knock to the eye!

Other Basketball match scores07.02.2011 – U14 – Year 9’s: Semi Finalist – Vincent Rong Feng was player of tournament, Sergio Rodriguez Captain

09.02.2011 – U15 – Year 10’s: 4th Position – Rodrigo Lopez was player of tournament, Sergio Rodriguez Captain

03.02.2011 – U16 – Year 11’s: Champions! Canbazoglu Ogulcan was player of tournament, Seun Teyuoso Captain

Junior Scholarsvisit the Thames BarrierTen Junior Scholars visited the Thames Barrier on Thursday 10th February.

The students watched a video presentation showing the devastating floods which affected London in 1953, and which led to the creation of a barrier capable of holding back the highest of North Sea tides. Part of the barrier was raised on the occasion of the students’ visit so that the students were able to appreciate the enormity of a project that took thousands of workers eight years to create.

The most astonishing fact that the students learnt about this famous London landmark is that the barrier’s operating mechanism was designed using the simple but ingenuous design of the standard gas tap.

“Success” at ECDLJulia Fuertes recently scored 100% for the word processing exam

Lisa Atfield has passed the whole qualification in 10 weeks

We have just had THREE form 2 students pass their first exam Harry Phipps, George Shrive and Grace Stevens, this is a fantastic achievement

Buckswood students visiting the Science Museum

Debating CompetitionExcellent Debut Performance for BuckswoodOn Monday 24th January, Buckswood took part in its first ever inter-school debating competition. The ESU Schools’ Mace is the oldest and most prestigious schools’ debating competition in the country, and it was a privilege to be able to take part in it.

The current Buckswood Debating Society has only been going since October, in contrast to some of our opponents, who had well-established debating teams. The final team selected for the competition were Rosanna Ford and Jamie Osborn, with Edward Wilson as reserve.

The first round heat was held at Kings School Canterbury, founded in 597, making it the oldest school in the world. Including Buckswood, 6 schools took part. There were three debates, each school having been allocated a motion and a side (proposing or opposing) a few weeks beforehand. We had to propose the motion ‘This House Would Return National Treasures to their Countries of Origin’.

There are very strict rules and conventions in debating competitions and we had to learn all of these, from scratch, as well as preparing and practising our speeches (we needed to make two 7-minute speeches, and one 4-minute summary speech).

Our debate was the second to be held, which gave us a chance to watch two of the other schools first and see how it’s done! Then we went up and began the debate, in front of a small audience of the other schools and their teachers. Rosie gave a passionate opening speech, followed by a confident seconding by Jamie. Our opponents responded equally well. There were heated moments, as both sides threw themselves into the debate wholeheartedly, with some raised voices and shouting. And then it was all over and, still shaking slightly, we sat back down and watched the last debate.

The judges – there were three of them, including a Romanian graduate who had represented his country in an international debating competition – took at least 20 minutes to decide the winners, showing how close the competition was. We were delighted to find out that we had come third – runners-up as there were two winners. This was an excellent achievement considering how inexperienced we were, and that we were up against schools more than twice our size. This house believes that Buckswood has once again done itself proud!

30 keen and volunteer cadets – boys and girls from all three participating schools – and 7 adult staff attended a most successful field day in the grounds of Buckswood School.

After arrival and a quick parade, roll call and inspection, the cadets were divided into four sections under a cadet NCO or senior cadet and they then took part in a round robin of practical activities and training each stand lasting an hour. This included two field craft stands where the cadets learned about living and moving in the field. Then learned how things are seen, put on camouflage cream, learned about different formations and silent hand signals and then practised them. There was a second field craft stand where they learnt how to erect bivouac sheets/shelter sheets amongst the trees with waterproof materials, hooked bungees and pegs, viewed and sampled the contents of the famous forces’ 24-hour ration packs, enjoying the delights of heating and sampling pre-cooked meals and trying out soups, hot drinks, boiled sweets, chocolate and biscuits – they will use these ration packs on future exercises and camps. The food was cooked on the individual hexamine cookers provided.

Practical navigation followed with the cadets working out where they were in the world and then relating the map to the actual ground and finding out ways of finding North including using the Sun which was behaving perfectly for the demonstrations. They then learnt about and practised using the lightweight compass to set the map and march on bearings and then experimented with learning how many paces they each took to cover a 100 metre distance walking and jogging – a vital skill needed for future navigation practice. They finally put the skills learned into practice in the extensive school grounds.

The fourth stand was ‘civilian’ cooking having already tried the army ration packs. A variety of camping stoves were available as were a variety of ingredients and cooking utensils and the cadets took the opportunity to create – and eat – fry-ups and prepare and cook pancakes and omelettes out-of-doors in a wind and in the cold. They also practised washing up. Again, all this practice will prepare them for overnight exercises and competitions in the future where they will have to cook for themselves. Asked before they started how many had cooked anything at all at home before the vast majority said that they had!

CCF – First Field Day of 2011

Wisdom inspects the troops

CCF – First Field Day of 2011

After three of the sessions were completed all adjourned to the Buckswood Dining Hall to sample bacon and eggs and beans cooked for them by the Buckswood Catering Staff – their Chef turned out to have a full previous career as an Army chef.

After a short break, during which the two RAF cadets present tried out their new radio-controlled helicopter in the Sport Hall the fourth rotation of activities took place and then it was time for some football and basketball in the Buckswood Sports Hall prior to packing up the kit, having a final parade and departing.

This was the first full-day out of the CCF’s 2011 year and everyone who attended played a full and active part in the activities. Future field days and weekend camps will build on the skills learned on Tuesday afternoons. This first field day will lead to all the cadets who attend becoming accomplished outdoor people with useful skills, which will enable them to take part in a variety of challenging activities. All the skills, once mastered, will contribute to passes in different sections of the Army and RAF Proficiency Certificates.

DramaForm 1 performed a pair of lunatic devised pieces to each other and the Headmaster before half term. 1A produced an episode from something a lot worse than Casualty involving a hospital infested with drunks, a babe-magnet doctor, dancing cleaning ladies, plenty of drag artistes, a long-suffering staff nurse, an extremely camp receptionist and a pair of hospital inspectors who felt honour-bound to close it all down.

Meanwhile, 1B exposed the dangers of time-tourism if someone tampers with the central controls of the Time Bus. Which someone did. The girls were abandoned to a grisly fate amongst gibbering cannibal boys 30,000 years in the future whilst the boys were left in the clutches of some wild women sometime long, long ago. At least, I think that was what was happening.

Massive energy and noise throughout, and some startling performances from all. Tim Baker accepts no responsibility for any of the above. It was all their fault.

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