Shiplake College

Shiplake College U14As produced the result of the day when the Henley school took on Lord Wandsworth’s College in Hampshire in the inaugural round of fixtures.  The home team hoped to make the most of a batting paradise but Shiplake’s bowlers found early swing and were well supported in the field. Sammy Mendis 2 for 16 and Harry Emmanuel 2 for 17 helped reduce the hosts to a perilous 97 for 8 after just 21 overs.

Young and Bentley survived some early partnership scares with some frenetic running between the wickets but Shiplake failed to produce the direct hit that would have called the umpires into action.  Largely hitting straight, Cooper hit 2 sixes and 9 fours as he struck an aggressive 78 not out from the last 9 overs.

Shiplake's openers Matt Dalrymple and Henry Atkinson were not in awe of chasing down 183 for victory from their 30 overs.  An opening partnership of 41 from just 5 overs gave first Miles Bridgman and then Will Gresswell the time to play themselves in when the openers fell in quick succession. 

Gresswell was the first to his fifty and he was soon followed by Bridgman. With the LWC fielders back on the distant boundaries Gresswell and Bridgman ran their way to victory with some well judged twos.  Appropriately Bridgman, the captain,  hit the wining boundary as Shiplake raced to victory by 8 wickets and with 3 overs to spare.  After losing their first two games of the season the team were delighted to record their fifth straight victory in a fantastic game of cricket that produced over 360 runs in just 57 overs.

Business students in Year 12 have been evaluating the success of their chosen organisation’s marketing. Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Tesco and Red Bull have all been put under the scrutiny of Lower Sixth formers. Armed with the concepts of Ansoff’s Matrix, the product life-cycle, the marketing mix, market segmentation, market positioning and an inquiring mind, they have looked at the story behind the sales figures.

Research suggested that Apple, despite a recent history of outstanding sales and profit figures, may not be in quite as an impregnable position as often thought. Recent sales figures for the i-Phone 5 suggest a shorter product life-cycle than Apple would like. A product extension policy, probably an i-Phone 5s, earlier than is optimum for existing stocks and planned production, looks likely. Post Steve Jobs, Apple may be showing a tendency to improve products rather than innovate.

For Tesco, unsuccessful Market Development into the USA (reportedly costing £1bn), the consumers’ preference for bricks and mortar over ‘bricks and clicks’ and consumers’ reluctance to display brand loyalty, have all impacted on the company’s ability to achieve their marketing objectives in recent quarters.

Although the power of Information Technology gives Tesco the abilityto undertake ‘relationship marketing’ through vouchers, e-shots and mailings, derived from harvesting loyalty card data, the projects raised doubts as to the effectiveness of this strategy. A number of projects suggested that the consumers’ increasing desire to protect personal data and the tsunami of information overload was making the Digital Marketing revolution less revolutionary than originally anticipated.

Etymologically samsara means ‘he flows into himself’ that is to perpetually pass through states of existence.  A walk to the river and a hands-on practical example provided a kinaesthetic learning experience when Year 9 pupils tackled the concept in Theology and Philosophy lessons.

Some Dharmic religions teach that our current life is just one of many and that we partake in a repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth but the class looked specifically at how Buddhism encourages devotees to break the cycle.

So the T&P department is using the fortune of our surroundings to teach this cycle through the analogy of the water cycle.

Preparing for Confirmation the candidates see beyond morning prayers and the Sunday sermon, they see the church at work in the wider world.

A visit to a nunnery, as part of the education on prayer, with nuns guiding the pupils around their home and place of worship, gives the role of prayer a more substantial context. A visit to RAF Benson brings far greater meaning to the theme of War and Conflict than a classroom lecture would.

‘Pupils are fascinated by the Church’s calendar. The year starts on the first Sunday of advent which is a date that moves from year to year. Yet the readings are fixed for the whole Christian world giving a rhythm to our worship. Wherever you visit a Christian church in the world you will hear the same readings on that day,’ said Reverend Stephen Cousins.

‘We often forget how in medieval times very few people could read and the liturgical colours were a visual sign to the congregation of the season. Personally I see white as the party colour for the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Purple is for the sad penitential seasons of Advent and Lent.   Red, representing blood, is for the saints and martyr’s days. I like to describe green as the everyday colour, it is a bit like wearing jeans for day-to-day events.’

Silver medals in the Women’s J18 doubles in the Ball Cup at Dorney Lake for Shiplake College’s Maddie Newman and Katy Ward was a reward for many hours of hard training.

Maddie and Katy, both in the Lower Sixth at Shiplake College, had been keen rowers before they joined the College. Proximity to the river has given them the opportunity to train on four or five occasions each week, coached by Rebecca McKellar.

With the races taking place over a 750 metre course the competitors had windy conditions to contend with in the heats. Drawn against Ardingly RC and Kings College School the Shiplake girls made a slow start and were trailing after ten lengths. Finding their rhythm they pushed through the other crews and held the lead at the 500 metres mark. They continued to increase their lead and finished with a winning margin of around one and a half lengths.

The weather had calmed slightly for the final and the girls were able to have a much smoother race but in the final it was Cambridge City RC who made the better start. The Shiplake girls pushed them all the way to the line but still trailed by a length and a half at the finish to take the silver medals.

Bill Evans, visiting the College from TTP Harley Street, a consultancy specialising in addictive and disorder therapy, gave hard-hitting presentations to Y9 pupils and Y9 parents. Looking at the issues of what a drug is and the laws regarding drugs Evans gave powerful and well-informed presentations that raised the awareness and educated on prevalence of misuse. His talks covered drugs, solvents, tobacco and alcohol as well as the growing use of ‘legal’ highs.

The high levels of caffeine that people take on board, from large coffees through to energy drinks, such as Relentless, also give cause for concern. Evans also focused on abuse of over the counter drugs such as painkillers. Pupils were shown how to develop their refusal skills for occasions when offered substances.

Evans presented alarming statistics on how severe a problem drug abuse is in the UK.  In 2011 abuse cost theUK economy a staggering £4.2bn with 1m working days lost.

After last summer’s success Shiplake College is offering a summer rowing camp for boys and girls from Year 8 to Year 13. The camp will run for two weeks, July 29th to August 2nd and August 5th to 9th and offers expert coaching and tuition for beginners and intermediate rowers. Shiplake offers excellent facilities and qualified coaches whose comprehensive tuition will ensure that participants are able to develop their skills and technique throughout the week.

Camps run from Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm and cost £180 per week, including lunch. If you would like your son or daughter to attend both weeks please indicate this on the form, we will do our best to accommodate this where possible.

To book your place please fill in the application form and return to rowingcamps@shiplake.org.uk or to Rowing Camps. Shiplake College, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 4BW. Cheques should be made payable to Shiplake College. Forms can be returned in by email in the first instance and payment sent in by post. Places are limited and it is advisable to book as soon as possible.

If it is Monday then for Year 11 GCSE pupils it is extra Drama revision at lunchtime, a top-up on ICT knowledge and skills at 4.30 pm, followed by a quick sprint along to the Mathematics depart for 5pm. Then finally there is an invaluable hour of GCSE Theology and Philosophy after supper.

Pupils, preparing for public examinations, have a vast number of additional revision clinics to choose from during the examination period.

‘I have counted that there are 27 revision events for GCSE pupils, 31 for those taking AS examinations and 28 for A2 pupils.  The teachers have devoted many, many hours to preparing pupils for their examinations and I believe that our pupils will be better prepared than ever before. However, pupils must still take responsibility for identifying their areas of weaknesses. Working conscientiously through past papers, during individual study, is essential so that pupils know what help to ask for. Revision needs to be active, reading through notes, with a highlighter in hand, is usually just an easy option,’ said Gregg Davies, Headmaster.

With intelligence suggesting a large airborne invasion and a reconnoitre party arriving in advance of a large landing of men, equipment and vehicles, Shiplake cadets had a mission on their hands.

Acting as 1 Platoon of the First Shiplake Rifles the platoon was tasked with clearing enemy patrols. Each section conducted two ambushes after they had been issued with weapons and blank ammunition. They found a map of enemy patrol routes on the body of one of the foes which facilitated further successful ambushes.

In a very successful afternoon of operations senior members of the CCF army section, moving cohesively, quietly and swiftly showed the benefits of their training. Disciplined and effective action demonstrated the value of their effective communications strategies.

For Shiplake College’s Upper Sixth early morning Ascension Day prayers, on Maidensgrove Common, have become a rite of passage. It is rare for teenagers to rise before 6.30 am but every year there is a queue for the two mini-buses departing for one of Oxfordshire’s most idyllic natural beauty spots.

After prayers Reverend Stephen Cousins invited pupils to blow bubbles, ‘Put anything in the bubble that you want to blow away, to forget from your schooldays. Maybe you want to celebrate some of your happy memories and blow them away joyously.’

In the traditional rounders battle between the Head Chapel Warden’s team, captained by Paul Vanner, and the Deputy Chapel Warden’s team, led by Louis Miller-Bains it was Paul Vanner’s team whose team had the best tales to tell over a breakfast of fruit, croissants, sausages and pastries.