Clifton College Website

Prep School Headmaster's Bulletin

Mr John Milne, the Headmaster of Clifton College Preparatory School, writes a regular newsletter about the "the Pre"...

Archive...

Issue 10

Dear Parents,

It was with great pleasure and pride that yesterday morning I presented the boys from the Under 11 Boys' Football team with their trophy and medals from the English Schools' Football Association Regional Tournament. Mr Edgell has provided a report for you to read but, suffice to say, the boys' success – they now advance to the National finals in May as one of four finalists out of all the Independent Junior and State Primary schools in England – is one of the best in footballing terms for the Pre. When you consider the footballing talent in English Primary Schools, it is a wonderful achievement in itself getting to the finals at Watford F.C and I am very proud of them all! Well done to Mr Edgell – you now have the dreaded vote of confidence from your Chairman of the Board!

Music

Mr Crabtree and the Music department staff continue to nurture our young musicians in a very special way, as seen in the recent Anne Guy and Informal Concerts.

Well done to those who participated in the recent Anne Guy Concert:

James Fraser – Winner
Angharad Williams
Anna Morgan
Francesca Eldridge
Theo Tindall
Ruoxuan Cai
Hud Abdul Sattar

Appointments

Head of Mathematics

I am delighted to announce that Mr Phil Clear (Oxon) will be joining us in September as the new Head of Maths in the Pre; Mr Nuttall is retiring as planned and Mr Procter will remain as an integral part of the Maths Department and a teacher but take on more of a management/admin role within the school.

I am very excited at the prospect of Mr Clear joining us at the Pre as he is a very experienced mathematician. As second in charge at Dauntsey's School in Devizes, Mr Clear is presently teaching from Year 7 to A-Level and runs the Gifted and Talented programme at the school. The Dauntsey's Dodecahedron is a renowned national Maths challenge run by Mr Clear and an event that our very own Gareth Jones has won for the past two years. Rather interestingly, Mr Clear is also a rare breed in that he currently runs a day House of 55 girls at Dauntsey's which is a tremendous success. Mr Clear is a passionate Mathematician who will undoubtedly bring a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and academic rigour to what is already an excellent department for our girls and boys throughout Years 4-8.

Teacher of Science

Mr Guy Hughes-Games will also be joining us in September from Cheltenham College in the Science Department. Mr Hughes-Games – an Old Cliftonian – is a very talented teacher as well as coach of rugby and cricket; he will be an extremely good all-round asset to the Pre.

Teacher of Art

Miss Lara Saxby will be joining the Art department from Charterhouse School in September and will bring much enthusiasm and talent to what is already an extremely successful department. Miss Saxby is a very able sculptor and will be an inspiration to the girls and boys in the school. She is currently working in a department at Charterhouse in which her Head of Department has won this year's prestigious BP Portrait Award.

All in all, these are three very strong appointments to the Pre teaching staff – with some more to come – which will only add to the existing very able and talented 'team' that we have. The school is already close to being full for September – there is currently a waiting list for overseas boarding in Poole's and Hartnell's – and I anticipate that demand for places will remain strong. Although there is still a great deal to achieve, both this term and in the term ahead, all of these factors will ensure in the future that your child's education will continue to improve in quality and breadth as we head into the new academic year!

ECDL

Last week we were visited by the Chief Inspector of the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) to re-inspect the Pre on its provision of ICT in Years 7 and 8. Miss Davies has successfully navigated her department through this process in previous years and established the Pre as a centre of excellence. This year was no different with Miss Davies achieving an 'Outstanding' award with no recommendations; well done! ECDL is one of the most recognised and admired IT awards for businesses and schools internationally and so Miss Davies should be very proud indeed!

Headmaster's Ceilidh

The Ceilidh charity for this year was the Philippines Community Fund whose website is www.p-c-f.org. The raffle at the event raised £545 for these children which is a very significant sum which will be used for teaching resources.

Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride

Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride encourages children to cycle, whether cycling to school or for leisure, and ties in with Bristol's aim as a Cycling City to double the number of regular cyclists in Greater Bristol and pupils cycling to school. On Sunday 20th June, we will be entering as many parents and children from Clifton College Prep School as we can into this event. Details have not yet been released by the Council for the 2010 Bristol Biggest Bike event; however, last year's event – which I would imagine will form the basis for this year's event – provided people of all ages and abilities a chance to cycle on a traffic-free Portway, as well as venture into the surrounding countryside. There was a choice of routes ranging from 9 to 38 miles, and 7000 riders took part in 2009 making the event one of the most successful free non-competitive cycling events in the country. 2010 is the 17th year that Bristol Biggest Bike ride has been running and Clifton College participation will begin and end at Whatley with a school picnic; I hope that many of you will take the opportunity to join in!

Bristol to Paris Charity Bike Ride 3rd - 6th July 2010

A webpage has been set up on the website. Here you will find the route, itinerary and any documents that may be of interest to you. Please take a moment to visit the page, especially if you have already signed up to take part.

A series of workshops, rides and fitness sessions are planned for all abilities. If you are interested in sponsoring any part of this event – from the official Clifton College Jersey to the supply of bottled water and bananas – then please let me know as we have several opportunities to promote your brand within the Clifton Community.

The most recent meeting at the Pre was a success and all concerned are now highly motivated and focused on the challenge ahead – 333Kms in total!!!

If you would like to register interest, then please email James Breeze – Marketing – on jbreeze@clifton-college.avon.sch.uk and send a cheque made payable to 'Clifton College' for £100 to secure your place. The deadline for sign up is 15th March, 2010. Please send your cheque to Elena Edwards in Accounts at 32 College Road, BS8 3JH. At present, 45 individuals of all abilities have signed up!

I hope you enjoy the blog and please do forward it on to anyone else who might be interested.

Pre Service

I hope that you will join us at the next Pre service on March 21st at 11:15am, where the Preacher will be Dr Acheson (Former Headmaster of the Pre).

Sincerely,

John Milne
Headmaster

10 March 2010

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