The Pre Commemoration Day was a day packed full of wonderful displays and exhibitions and enjoyed by parents in the May sunshine. Professor Glynn Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Bristol kept the congregation enthralled in the Chapel in the morning with an entertaining and captivating sermon. Speeches in the marquee followed Chapel with parents, staff and pupils having the chance to hear from the new Chairman of the School Council, Mr Tim Ross. The Headmaster then recapped on another successful and busy year at the Pre whilst also taking the opportunity to wish Mr and Mrs Nuttall a happy retirement. After lunch in the Houses parents could spend the afternoon admiring the displays in the classrooms, seeing the amazing art in the Hornby centre, listening to the Swing band and watching the wonderful gym display.

Enjoy browsing the gallery of pictures of Commem 2010.

Twenty-one members of the College community are being confirmed this week by the Bishop of Bristol in his Cathedral. During their preparation, I have compared the Church to a ship. When we are born and baptised, we are carried aboard. We enjoy the voyage as passengers, cared for and supported by the crew until the time comes for us to make our own decision about whether we belong. As children get older, some decide that Christianity is not for them and they disembark. Others choose to stay and express their commitment to the Captain of the ship and their identification with the mission of his vessel.

Confirmation is a rite of passage. It is when a person decides to fold his deck chair and become an active member of the crew.

Each year the Golf Foundation recognises the good work being done to attract more juniors into golf by presenting a series of prestigious awards, known as the President’s Awards.

The Burroughs Award is presented to an individual or a project that has made particular progress in golf in the face of adversity, or to somebody that made efforts to create opportunities for those with special needs.

Enjoy browsing the gallery.

Andrew Rudge, golf professional at Clifton College was delighted to accept this Award for our programme at Ashton Court, of making golf available in disabled schools within the Bristol area.

The Award was presented at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, during the BMW PGA Championships, and coincided with the Pro-Am day of the BMW Championships. A video of the pupils playing at Ashton Court was shown, with the award presented by Bernhard Gallacher (winning Ryder Cup captain) and DJ Spoony, from Radio One.

You may be interested to see the photo gallery, where Andy Rudge enjoyed a joke with Chris Evans who had just parked his new, and much talked about, £12 million car next to Andy’s!

Well done to all the golfing team at Ashton Court.

Members of the Hovercraft Club of Great Britain recently participated in a charity event in aid of Portishead Inshore Lifeboat, and the event is also believed to be the first hovercraft ever seen under the Suspension Bridge.

Approximately 10 craft launched from the slipway at Shirehampton Sailing Club and, with the Lord Mayor Elect, Councillor Colin Smith on the red craft, travelled up the River Avon to Bristol, stopping briefly at Cumberland Basin. They then proceeded up The Cut to Bath Road Bridge before returning to Cumberland Basin and then Shirehampton.

Hovercraft drivers donated to the charity Portishead Lifeboat Trust and also asked for sponsorship. This lifeboat is not part of the RNLI, so as club members operate in the Bristol Channel and are dependent on Portishead Lifeboat in the event of trouble, they decided to raise money for the charity. For anyone unlucky enough to fall in the tidal Avon, it is Portishead Lifeboat who come to the rescue.

Good fun was had by all, with a staggering £1,300 raised for the Lifeboat Trust. Further donations may be made at www.justgiving.com/hovercraft.

Thanks to Ross Floyd (OC) and Peter Stanley (OC) for providing this story.

Congratulations to the 70 girls of Poole’s and South Town and the 15 members of staff and parents who joined the 6000 women and girls that walked, jogged or ran the 5km in the Race For Life on the Downs on Sunday. The girls and staff in taking part helped raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Well done to all and thank you to Miss Pike for organising.

Enjoy browsing the gallery of the day.

Dear Parents,

It was a pleasure to see so many of you at Commemoration Day and I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed the day. I was very pleased to see the pupils behaving so well and acting as good hosts. The range of activities, performances and displays throughout the afternoon certainly provided for an extremely rich experience; I hope that you were able to see the Pre in the best possible light and felt very proud of our school – I certainly did. The Choir was magnificent and I thought that Professor Harrison spoke with great humility. Overall, the entire day reflected very well on our community. Of course, by the 'close of play' everyone was ready for a break; I hope that you and your family have enjoyed a relaxing and peaceful week! The Chapel collection for the Alexander Bjoroy Memorial Fund totalled a staggering £1,795.27; Thank you very much for your generosity! Mr Durkin also raised a 'whopping' £300+ for Alexander's fund through his Crepe 'factory'; very well done, indeed!

Upper Pre Sports Day

Just a reminder that the Upper Pre Sports Day is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 26th June at the Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (behind Brimsham Green School) in Yate, South Gloucestershire as per last year. Mr Martin will be in touch shortly with an update on the finer details but I have outlined the provisional timetable for your reference. Please note that there will be no school for Years 4 and 5 on that day.

• 10.20am: arrive for registration
• 10.30am: warm up
• 11.00am: events start
• 5.15pm: Presentations

Calendar Events

The final few weeks of the Academic Year are incredibly busy and I have picked a number of key dates for your diary which I hope will not be lost amidst the eventful times ahead.

• Saturday June 19th at 11am: Informal Concert
• June 22nd: Year 3 Parents' Induction into Year 4.
• June 25th: Lower Pre Sports Day: Years 4 and 5 – at BB (2:30pm)
  Year 4 and 5 parents - please download and read this letter
• June 25th: 8GB performance of Tybalt Tonight and School Concert.
• June 26th: Upper Pre Sports Day: Years 6, 7 and 8 – Yate (10:20am registration)
  Year 6, 7 and 8 parents - please download and read this letter
• June 27th: Pre Leavers' Service at 11:15am – followed by drinks in the Rose Garden.
• June 29th and 30th: Performances of 'Joseph' – Year 5 Play (6pm)

Sincerely,

John Milne
Headmaster

The triumphs and disasters of another football tournament are upon us. Supporters of England are riding the usual emotional roller coaster. In an era when many sports fans miss no opportunity proudly to blow their own vuvuzelas, here is a true story of another way.

The World Cup Final of 1966 is one of my abiding memories...but not for the obvious reason. I was 8 years old and on a camping holiday in Italy with my family. Desperate to see the match, my mum, dad, two brothers and I joined two or three other British campers, and we found our way into the back room of an Italian café. The room was packed with over 100 people. The atmosphere was tense.

When Helmut Halle scored the first goal for West Germany, the whole room erupted with the joyful celebration of approximately 98 Germans! Not long afterwards, Geoff Hurst equalised for England, and the whole room turned as one to spy the weedy cheers of half-a-dozen or so English people perched sheepishly at the back. The rest, as they say, is history.

As the final whistle blew, we were worried. It became apparent that we were not being allowed to leave the room by the German supporters. We were herded to the front of the room next to the TV, and then...the Germans made two lines and a tunnel and they clapped and cheered us all of the way out of the café. I have never come across such sportsmanship. It is something you never forget.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same. (R. Kipling)

Sunday 13 June saw a group of 20 boys from East Town, along with Jonathan Thomson-Glover, Lindsay Telling, Michael Whitton and Allan Wilkie, setting up camp at 9am on Bristol City Docks in preparation for the Bristol Breakfast Rotary Club Dragon Boat Festival.

The first half of term was spent fundraising for Childline, and especially The Childrens Voice Appeal, together with some amazing donations to their Justgiving account. A whooping £1,500 has been raised so far! The boys have bag packed in Sainsbury’s, had a cake sale and Lindsay has cooked more bacon baps for them to sell than she would like to remember! It has all been in a good cause, so a really big thank-you to everyone who has been involved.

Enjoy browsing the gallery of the day.

The Dragon Boat Race Day was amazing and although the race times were not good enough to get the East Town Tigers team into the semi-finals, everyone had a great time. All the boys had two races, with some boys volunteering to help with The Princes Trust Team 2 Boat, so they worked even harder and an appreciative thanks go to them too.

TG even took on the role as drummer for one race and managed to do surprisingly well, despite comments about how much more fun it would have been had he fallen in! Apart from getting very wet anyway, the weather was fantastic and with the BBQ in full swing it was a great atmosphere with parents dropping in during the day. It was certainly a fun day to remember.

Fundraising still continues apace too, in the hope of raising over £1,600 which will pay for a new Childline counsellor to be trained – so please do dip into your pockets for this excellent cause if you have not already contributed.

A Sixth Form play hadn't been attempted for four years and it was hard to see why, as even with the pressure of the recent exams a polished, smooth and emotional performance rendered even the harshest of Clifton critics speechless on Wednesday night. I am, of course, talking of the rendition of "Equus", directed by Dave Benger of Wiseman's, which was performed by a troupe consisting entirely of Sixth Formers. The decision was made early on that the play would take place within the School fives courts, an interesting artistic decision, making for closer actor to audience confrontation. And indeed, we certainly received it.

A pleasant atmosphere lingered in the fives courts as I drifted away from an ill-fated junior house cricket match against Moberly's. This peaceful feeling lasted until the red curtain was lifted and the audience of 50 people or so was allowed to their seating. The air gradually turned heavy with dry ice which made the area in which the play was set feel claustrophobically small, setting the tone nicely for the evening's play. The set included the original Bristol Old Vic production's horses heads made of wire which resembled the stable in which some key sequences took place. At this point a mention should be made of the Redgrave staff who helped with the set. The attention to detail was immaculate, from the exquisiteness of the office of the psychiatrist Martin Dysart to the hay bales and riding equipment which implied a barn, both being cleverly used in scene transitions as other key locations. All possible facets of the fives courts were used inventively in the scenery, as the back wall of the court was used as a bed and the stable was well represented due to the nature of the courts.

But the strength of the production did not lie fully within the boundaries of the set and production values, far from it. The cast was guided by a series of strong performances, notably from the lead roles of Martin Dysart and Alan Strang, played by William Rushworth and Dave Benger respectively. The soft-spoken Dysart was played in such a way that we were uncertain whether he was the psychiatrist or the patient, as he grapples with his conscience over the decision to heal Strang, a mentally unstable boy who is let off from a life sentence for blinding six horses, or to envy him. The dilemma is apparent; can we really live a life devoid of passion? Dysart believes that if he does try and "heal" Strang, to take away his mental anguish, he could lose what makes him human. The relationship and chemistry between the two characters strengthened as the play progressed, with Dysart eventually making some progress with the hard to read and difficult Strang.

The power of the two lead roles significantly added to the core strength, but the supporting cast ably assisted in furthering the production. James Moore and Grace Humphries were particularly convincing as the dysfunctional and fundamentally divided parents of Alan, both showing us the instability of Alan's history. Venetia Sims played the love interest of the shy and retiring Alan in flashback scenes, providing us with a believable, more sexually liberal, counterpart to the parents of Alan. Esther Bebb and Joanna Kowalska played Dysart's friend and a nurse respectively, giving us welcome grounded figures amongst the absurdity which exuded from the behaviour of the other characters. Without a single weak link within the cast, and a surprisingly strong grasp of the difficult content of the play, the dialogue flowed with unremitting pace.

Strong performances all round meant for a hugely enjoyable production of a very ambitious and difficult play. With a small, tight-knit and unanimously talented cast and a passionate director at its helm, there was never really a shadow of a doubt that it would be good, but it somehow surpassed this level, even with the short amount of time in which it was put together, and was undeniably memorable. A triumph all round, and such an ambitious spectacle may not be tackled for a long time at Clifton, much to the credit of the director, cast and crew.

Rhys Edwards

See the production's programme.

Can his fashion emporium survive after his tragic suicide?

Over the past few weeks many tributes, from both clients and fellow designers, have been paid to British fashion designer Alexander McQueen after his recent and unexpected suicide. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, referred to McQueen as being a profound influence "to a whole generation of designers" and "his brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs". However the most notable of these tributes was the preview of his final collection at Paris Fashion Week, which has been deemed as "mesmerising" whilst standing "in a class of its own". All sixteen creations were inspired by the classical music he listened to while working in his studio. This was evident due to the religious, historical and gothic allusions that emanated through both the ornate setting and majestically gilded garments. Other inspiration was taken from the works of Hieronymus Bosch, the medieval artist renowned for his incredible yet tormenting portrayals of contemporary views on morality and religion. McQueen printed the digitally distorted paintings onto impeccably tailored garments, creating an incongruous element of futurism, which was always present in his work. However to some the show revealed an inexplicable foreshadowing of his death, as in contrast to many of his previous works that screamed controversy and rebellion whilst expelling a tone of crazed euphoria, there was an element of purity and uncharacteristic serenity.

McQueen began his career through earning a place at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design on the basis of his accomplished work as a tailor's apprentice on Savile Row. He emerged in the industry following his graduation, a transition that was marked by his transformation from Lee McQueen to Alexander McQueen, and was immediately catapulted into the spotlight (winning British Designer of the Year a record four times) largely because of his faultless tailoring, unique outlook, and the shock tactics he employed whilst displaying his work. Much controversy arose after his use of a double-amputee model to showcase his work for Givenchy in 1998 and additionally in this very same show his use of car-robots to spray paint over white dresses. It is evident that McQueen used fashion as a means of conveying his critique on contemporary society. Further examples of this include his comment on the "disposable" celebrity culture and the progressive fascination with modifying our appearance through undergoing plastic surgery.

The news of his suicide was announced on the 11th February shortly after the death of his mother, and many question whether his brash actions were a direct result of his inability to cope with his overwhelming grief. Others feel that the suicide of Isabella Blow, a close friend, mentor and fellow designer, may have also contributed to or been associated with his own wish to end his life. Friends and family turned out in force at McQueen's funeral, which was held in Knightsbridge, London. Among the mourners were Kate Moss, Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell.

However the biggest question surrounding his death is the uncertain future of his company. Many assume that due to its success, especially in recent seasons, it will continue to live on without its inspired founder. There have been many cases of this in the past most notably the survival of labels such as Dior and Chanel, which have both managed to stay true to the roots of their design houses yet also add a new dimension and refreshing edge. However speculation that the McQueen label had raked up millions of pounds worth of debt in the run-up to his suicide could threaten its continuation and popular status. In an interview due to be published in the coming weeks McQueen confesses, "I'm 40 now, but I want this to be a company that lives way beyond me, and I believe that customers are more important to making that happen than press." It may transpire that a small and relatively unestablished company cannot clear their ever-increasing debts, ultimately resulting in its closure yet through his work and late partnership with Givenchy, McQueen's designs and unique philosophy may live on.

Dear Parents,

We are now entering the last lap of the school year, and the children are getting excited about their holidays and what lies beyond. I am delighted that both sports days went ahead in lovely weather, and I hope the downpour did not stifle your enjoyment at the barbecue on Friday.

We still have a busy eight days ahead of us, so here are some reminders and details of what is in store.

Parents’ Evenings

The lists for Parents’ Evening appointments will be going up in the usual places on Friday morning for you to sign up for a slot. Mme Chidgey (French) and Mrs Gillam (Music) are available on Tuesday evening only. If you would like to speak to either of these teachers but are unable to make a Tuesday appointment please leave a message at the office with Annabel and we will arrange for the teacher to contact you. Similarly, if you wish to speak with Ms Cordwell (Mandarin) who is unable to attend either evening, please let Annabel know and we will do the same.

Staff News

Mrs Rose Baker and Miss Mary Gill will be leaving the Nursery at the end of term. Rose is taking up a post at a school nearer her home, and she will be sorely missed by the children and staff alike. Hopefully we will see Mary at Butcombe again later in the academic year when children increase their sessions - unless another nursery has gobbled her up in the meantime. I am sure you will want to join me in wishing Rose and Mary every happiness in the future.

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Just a reminder there is a Second Hand Uniform Sale tomorrow in Butcombe Hall from 2.45 p.m.

Year 3 Farewell Drinks

Kevin and I are looking forward to welcoming Year 3 parents to our home for farewell drinks on Friday evening, 25th June. If you have yet to reply, please let Annabel know as soon as possible.

Leavers’ Chapel, Sunday 27th June 11.15 a.m.

Many Year 3 parents have already replied to Mr Milne’s invitation to the Leavers’ Chapel Service, and to drinks in the Rose Garden on Sunday, but if you have yet to reply, may I once again ask you to do so as soon as possible.

Swimming Galas

Well done to Year 2 on a very competitive and entertaining gala on Wednesday afternoon, and good luck to Year 3 on Friday morning when it is their turn. Spectators are very welcome, but be warned, it is baking hot up in the gallery.

Rounders Results

The girls have been busy with a number of Rounders matches over the half term. Having notched up wins against Clifton High and BGS, they are looking forward to their Rounders Festival on Saturday at the Downs School.

Judo Awards

Congratulations to the following children who have passed gradings in Judo:

Will Craton - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Joshua Wise - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Rocco Webb - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Thomas Burbidge - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Paul Cabrieres - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Pranav Khera - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Mitsuki Faustino - 6th Mon Yellow Belt
Albert Pinadell - 9th Mon Orange Belt
Alexander Moody - 10th Mon Green Belt
Freddie Middleton - 11th Mon Green Belt

Ballet and Tap exams

Good luck to all the children taking part in ballet and tap exams on Wednesday morning next week in the Butcombe Hall. I will include the results in the first newsletter of the new school year, as I doubt they will arrive in time to be included this year, so parents of children will be able to find the newsletter in the website in due course.

Pyjama Day

Another email will be following shortly from Mr Newman and Luca thanking everybody for taking part in their fund-raising event.

'Ice Cream Thursday'

Many of you are aware of the tragic death of Ryan Bresnahan, a pupil in the Upper School, who had spent the earlier part of his school career at Butcombe. Ryan died of meningitis at Easter. His family have set up ‘A Life for a Cure: Ryan Bresnahan’s Meningitis Fund’ in his memory, and many people in the College community have been busy raising money for research into the disease that so quickly and cruelly affects young people.

At Butcombe, we would like to raise some money in a different way that the children will definitely enjoy. As such we are having an ‘Ice Cream Thursday’ on the last Thursday of term, 1st July at 2.30 p.m.. Children are asked to bring in a donation of at least £1.00 to purchase ice creams that they can decorate with sprinkles, jellies and other toppings. Hopefully we will be in the playground, with two parents helpers from each class to help dish up the ice cream – the class reps are recruiting people to help. The children will enjoy their ice creams sitting in the shade and enjoying the beautiful weather, we hope. Mrs Chapman is overseeing what the children with allergies and intolerances are able to eat, but perhaps you might like to have a quick word with her if you have a child that has a dietary need.

We will also be selling wrist bands with ‘A life for a cure’ on and details of the website, which many of the older pupils are wearing to show their support. They are £3.00 each or two for £5.00 Mrs Bresnahan will be bringing these along, and I know it will evoke many happy memories of seeing Butcombe children enjoying themselves as Ryan once did. Please help us to make this a special event for the penultimate day of term, and give as generously as you are able.

Year 3 set off on their overnight trip on a sunny Wednesday morning in June. There was much excitement as bags were stowed on the coach ready for departure. After a short hop over the Severn Bridge we were in Wales for the first stop in the Forest of Dean, where we followed the Sculpture Trail. The sculptures were a big hit, especially the Giant’s chair and the Stairway to Heaven, both of which proved to be ideal photo opportunities. After a picnic lunch in the woods we were off again, this time to visit the ancient iron mine at Clearwell caves. It was very dark and cold in the cave but luckily our guide had a strong torch and many interesting tales to tell. Above ground again we set off for Goodrich Castle which towers above the Wye Valley. We explored the site thoroughly, experiencing not only the dungeons, complete with skeleton, but also the towering battlements which proved to be very high indeed!

There was just time to fit in an ice-cream before heading off to our youth hostel for the night. The most difficult challenge of the day proved to be the bed making as we wrestled with uncooperative duvets, sheets and pillowcases. After many riverside games and midnight feasts all was quiet until our 6 a.m. wake up call by the boys off for an early football game. A hearty breakfast was followed by packing and stripping of those troublesome beds and then we were off once more, this time to the Amazing Hedge Puzzle. We were treated to an impressive Diablo display after which we were free to explore the maze and play games there.

Our final venue was the National Birds of Prey Centre where we watched flying demonstrations by several types of bird. The hawks, eagles and falcons were swift and deadly but our vote for the cutest bird went to a tiny burrowing owl called Ruby. All that was left now was a trip down the motorway back to Butcombe and our families, tired yet happy and bursting with stories to tell.

Dear Parents,

It was a pleasure to see so many of you last weekend at the Lower and/or Upper Pre Sports Days and at the Leavers' Service. I'm sure you will agree that both Sports Days were extremely successful and I would like to extend my thanks to Mr Martin for running such a 'tight ship'. The Upper Pre Sports Day was particularly impressive: as the sun shone, school records fell while the atmosphere grew throughout the day.

Year 8

It has been a quite remarkable year for your children and so much has been achieved. We bid a fond goodbye to our Year 8s, thanking them and their families for their unfaltering commitment, support and dedication to the Pre throughout the years. Last Friday's 8GB play, Tybalt Tonight, and the entertaining Y8 Concert were fitting tributes to our Year 8s. The behaviour of the pupils, their enthusiasm and spirit shone through in what was a tremendous evening of performance.

Year 5 Play

I thought the Year 5 production of Joseph was one of the best Junior Plays I have seen, as I mentioned on the final evening. The entire cast was superb and Mrs Joyce - ably assisted by Mr Edgell, Mr Pafford, Miss Loynton, Mrs Whiteley, Mrs Taplin, Mrs Trenouth and Miss Lyons - performed wonders with the sixty five pupils involved on stage; testament, again, to the incredible breadth of experience we give to the pupils in the Pre.

Deputy Head - Pastoral

I wanted to let you know that I have decided to make Mr Pafford's role as Deputy Head (Pastoral) a permanent appointment.

Mr Pafford has done an excellent job over the past year and has worked very closely with many parents as well as the girls and boys of the Lower and Upper Pre. I'm sure you will agree that Mr Pafford is very passionate about the school and its ethos and will be an excellent appointment.

If I don't have the opportunity to see you before the end of term, I would like to thank you for your support of the school throughout the year. It has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride at times but much has been achieved and the school remains in very good shape.

Helen joins me in hoping that you and your family enjoy a very peaceful and restful Summer break.

With kind regards,

John Milne
Headmaster

Dear Parents,

There are few events which challenge a school community more than the untimely death of one of its pupils. In the Easter holidays we were all shocked and saddened by the sudden death, from Meningitis B, of Ryan Bresnahan (MH), a very popular and gifted fifth former. Before the term began, a funeral service giving thanks for Ryan’s life took place in a packed chapel, and when the school returned, tribute was paid to him in the first chapel service. As a community we have witnessed the unstinting support and care which the pupils and staff have given to each other in their shared grief, along with the outstanding Housemastering skills of Alan and Cath O’Sullivan. I doubt that any school could have been better served by its Chaplain in its hour of need: Reverend Kim Taplin shepherds his flock with immense wisdom. There have already been, and will be, a number of fundraising events for “A Life for a Cure” in Ryan’s memory. As I said at Commem, sometimes adversity strengthens the collective soul and I have to say that the pupils have been remarkable this term. There was a really purposeful atmosphere during the exam period and we have every reason to believe that August will bring excellent results. In the final assembly of term there were no fewer than 110 academic prizes awarded: a measure of the way in which the pupils have applied themselves to their studies. But as ever, they have done so much more besides. Here is a selection of highlights.

Clifton competed in London on Monday 21st June 2010 in the final of the prestigious UK Teams Maths Challenge. 1450 schools entered the competition and 80 schools won a place in the final. After 5 hours of maths Clifton came third: a great achievement. The team comprised James Fraser and Gareth Jones from the Pre, and Emily Wright and Lizzie Powell from the Upper School.

The musical highlight of term was Commem weekend, when scores of pupils were involved in the Friday night Commemoration concert, Music and Fashion show in the marquee, Saturday service in chapel, music from Concert Big Band in the marquee, Kadoorie Cup and informal concerts in the music school. Serenade to Music performed by the chamber choir and Lana Trimmer’s winning performance in chapel at the Kadoorie Cup final were outstanding. At the OC dinner in Big School Oliver Gittings elicited the first standing ovation to have been witnessed at such an event. Oliver, along with numerous other talented pupils, also performed at the annual Summer Serenade in chapel. This attracted a large and very enthusiastic audience and was brilliantly directed by Martin Pring and included a world premier of Catrin Cox’s “Serenade for Harp”. The Tuesday lunchtime recital has embedded itself into the weekly routine and there were eight memorable performances over the course of the term. Of special mention were three evening recitals; Giles Nuttall, Lauren Gilmour and a joint vocal recital given by Elleri Hughes and Marienella Phillips. There were many highlights and what impressed most was the sheer depth of musical talent from girls and boys, spread evenly over all five year groups.

The outright stars of the summer term games programme were the tennis teams where both the boys and girls first teams were unbeaten. This achievement is made all the more remarkable considering the strength of the opposition, including new fixtures against Millfield (whom the boys beat 8-1) and Marlborough (whom we beat 7-2). Harry Davies and Freddie Kalfayan led the way, with Andre Vakilzadeh and Captain Cameron Brown second pair and James Johnson and Will Evans as third pair. This looked to be the strongest 1st VI the school had produced in the last decade and on occasions they did play like it. Highlights were certainly wins over the MCC, Monmouth, Sherborne and Bromsgrove. 2010 saw the start of a National HMC T20 competition. This provided the high point of the season as Clifton qualified for the West Final against Millfield having beaten BGS, QEH, Filton College and KES Bath. On the day, Millfield proved too strong and went on to win the competition. The Yearlings A side have shown a huge amount of promise for the future with Tom Smith and Hamish Matthews sharing the school partnership of the season at Blundells. In March the Clifton College golf team convincingly beat Malvern College in the Regional Final of the ISGA Match Play Tournament to secure one of 16 places in the National Finals. The team’s final score of 309 placed them 8th out of 114 schools who originally entered the competition from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Sailing Club has had its busiest year for some time with all year round sailing and power boating and a longer list of racing fixtures. Thanks to investment by the school and the generosity of the OCs, September saw the arrival of three brand new, Rondar-built, matched, team-racing Fireflies with ‘Clifton College’ emblazoned across the hulls and the azure-blue sails. The racing season is getting longer than usual with ‘local’ fixtures against Millfield, Prior Park, Colstons and Sherborne to complement the Southern and Midland BSDRA events. Finally we have three internationals this term: Lily Owsley has made the U18 England squad for the UK school games in the summer; Murray Lidgitt will shoot for GB and Ryan Westley is in the Kayak team.

On Sunday 13th June, twenty-one candidates (10 from the Pre, 10 from the Upper School and one member of staff) were confirmed by Bishop Mike of Bristol in the Independent Schools Confirmation Service at Bristol Cathedral. Clifton was the only school represented this year, and we filled the nave as each pupil received excellent support from their families, godparents and friends.

Over 120 candidates have taken LAMDA examinations this year with more Distinctions than in any other year before. Seven 6th formers put on a production of Equus in the Fives Courts, which proved an effective setting indeed and thanks must go to David Fells for coming up with this innovative idea for the staging. The Junior play was Present Laughter by Noel Coward. The acting in both was superb giving audiences a taste of the talent present and to come.

Next term begins on Tuesday 7th September for all new pupils and boarders: lessons begin on Wednesday 8th. Sheridan Leech will be Head of School: his deputies will be George Kinsey and Lauren Gilmour.

Have a very good summer.

Mark Moore
Head of College and Head Master of the Upper School

The first day of this year’s lower sixth leadership course was, by all accounts, a huge success. Not only were the team of instructors highly impressed by the input of Clifton’s students, particularly considering we were trialling a newly devised project, but both myself and my peers managed to both gain an enormous insight into the skill-set required for success in our future careers from highly trained and experienced instructors. We also greatly enjoyed ourselves (which I suppose is precisely what you want at the end of a long academic year).

The day itself began with the entire L6th being split up into 5 groups, and each placed in the hands of a leadership instructor. From media to the Royal Navy, the instructors came from diverse backgrounds and each offered new skills and ideas which we were able to draw on throughout the day. Firstly, our five groups were then split up into three further groups, of roughly 6 or 7 people. Among them, we were asked to devise plans for a hypothetical music festival that would occur in the surrounding area. This task required strong teamwork, innovative ideas, well-considered planning and a short presentation to the other groups to promote our individual concepts. There were positives in the work of each group, from placing an emphasis on the environment to promoting local bands and businesses.

Our second assignment also required enterprise, because we were set the task of spending an imaginary £5 million on a new housing development in the Clifton area. The students thrived when asked to consider the needs of local people, and this is proof of the College’s strong understanding of its place in the local community. Some of the plans included: affordable family housing to make up for the apparent shortage of such accommodation in Clifton, a replication of the English village community, and even stylish waterside apartment blocks.

The day concluded with each group collaborating on the best ideas and creating a final plan for each venture. These concepts were then pitched to the rest of the year group and the other instructors in a variety of ways, such as in the format of a radio show or simply by effectively using PowerPoint presentations. Each group’s presentation was well received, and displayed the extent to which we had learned new skills throughout the day.

All in all, the day was widely considered a great success, and the programme introduced us to a diverse range of innovative ideas and concepts which are essential to marking potential job applicants out from the rest.

Tuesday’s activities revolved around film making, with the morning being spent listening to and learning about how to make movies, followed by an afternoon of putting our newfound skills to the test. 14 groups each produced a short 2-minute film, containing 10 different camera shots. The end result was a wide variety of highly entertaining, and technically advanced short films, which were all competing for the prize of ‘Best Film’.

The prize, awarded by the day’s instructors, went to a picture called ‘Have a Drink on Me’, which revolved around a complicated love quadrangle. As with the first day, Clifton’s students learned a great deal about the vital assets of teamwork and leadership, and the course was a great chance for new people to work together. It was also tremendously enjoyable, with many budding filmmakers given the chance to express themselves.

James Hanson
Moberly’s House

The school year has come to an end – how quickly it flew by! The children are more than ready for their well-deserved summer break, and we look forward to welcoming them back in September. For those moving on to new schools, we hope they will look back in years to come on their time at Butcombe with affection, and we genuinely look forward to them keeping us posted of their future successes as they happen.

Dance Awards

I am delighted to end the year by informing you of the successes of our dancers in their annual examinations. Congratulations go to the following children who achieved the following awards

Rounders – unbeaten!

A very successful morning of Rounders was had at The Downs School last Saturday. The Y3 girls played three matches, the results are as follows:

Add to that the other two wins earlier in the term, that gives Butcombe an unbeaten season! Well done, girls!

Staff Farewells

A final farewell to Mrs Nicky Gardiner, Mrs Rose Baker and Miss Mary Gill. We will all miss them very much and wish them every success and happiness in the future.

Finally...

All that remains is for me to thank you all, the parents, for your unstinting support over the year. I wish each and every one of you a fantastic summer with your families, and hope that when we meet again you will be rested and ready for the year ahead.

With my very best wishes,

*****

Minis Holiday Club (3 & 4 year olds)

For 3 & 4 year olds, we run the ‘Minis’ club in the Butcombe Nursery at Clifton College. Every holiday we provide a stimulating, caring environment for your child to play, learn and develop within. All our play spaces are registered with Ofsted and the content of each day is tailored to meet the needs of your child. Our team of experienced and qualified practitioners work at Butcombe during term time. We are committed to providing the best possible child care facility for our parents.

What happens at the Minis Holiday Club...

This play-based provision supports young children’s curiosity and development; we balance children’s free choice time with a variety of adult lead activities to include:

- Arts and Crafts
- Co-operative games
- ‘Sticky Kids’ – a fun physical exercise programme
- Baking
- Story telling
- Drama and Music

We have extensive use of everything the Butcombe playground has to offer to provide the best possible balance between indoor and outdoor facilities. In warmer weather we enjoy picnics, the sandpit and den building.

REMEMBER, CLIFTON COLLEGE PUPILS GET 10% OFF TOO!!! CALL 0117 3157 666.

Brad Clark
Residential Sports / Language Courses Coordinator
Clifton College Services Limited

bclark@clifton-college.avon.sch.uk
0117 3157 143
0117 3157 603
www.cliftoncollegeuk.com/ccsl/holidaycourses/

See the gallery

After a very successful and enjoyable Lower Pre Sports day, the Upper Pre had their sports day on a gloriously sunny Saturday at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. Events started at 11.00am with field events including javelin, long and high jump and shot put which were followed by the relays and finally presentations.

The day was a great day out for pupils, staff and parents with several Pre Sports day records broken. The Pre Sports day records holders is available for you to download. Those highlighted in red are those records that were broken at Yate this year.

A Clifton team of 4 pupils from years 8 and 9 competed in London on Monday 21 June 2010 in the final of the prestigious UK Teams Maths Challenge trophy.

1450 schools entered the competition run by the UK Mathematics Trust and 80 schools won a place in the final by winning or coming runners up in their regional heat. The day included a group circus involving practical maths problems, a relay race which is a combination of speed across the room and speed at solving maths problems, a mathematical cross-number puzzle in which two members of the team work on the across clues and two on the down clues and a series of head to head races where answers from each question feed into subsequent questions and bonus points are given for beating the opposing team to the final solution.

After 5 hours of maths and all these rounds Clifton came third, which is a fantastic achievement.

Well done to team members Gareth Jones NT Pre, James Fraser NT Pre, Emily Wright OH, and Lizzie Powell WoH.

The girls of Poole's and South Town took to Collins to play in the second annual inter house Pre girls football match for the Cannon Cup.

With some very skillful football being played by both teams and vocal support from the large crowd, goals soon followed. Poole's scored the first three goals with some precision football, South Town then rallied back and some good team work saw them score at the other end. After some half time tips from coaches Mrs Bradley and Mrs Cook, the second half was a close fought affair with some excellent football on display; the final score was 4–1 to Poole's House who retain the Cannon Cup.

Well done to all the girls who played, and thank you to Mr Siddall for refereeing.

The Clifton Shooting Team spent an enjoyable 12 days camping at Bisley with Mr Simon Heard (Master i/c Shooting) and Peter Stanley (assistant coach) in July 2010 and the team continued their run of improved performance. It was also good to see Ron Cross, a former School Marshall, who spent a few days with the team, allegedly managing to keep the rain at bay too!

Clifton were up two places from last year in 16th place in the Cadet Ashburton Shooting Competition. In the 300-, 500-, 600-yard aggregate, the team were unlucky not to have raised their overall ranking even higher with most averaging over 30 points out of 35 per distance. The young team was made up of Murray Lidgitt (Shooting Captain and Atheling), Henry Tancred-Holmes, Daniel Odutola, Tom Waycott, George Irish, John Molesworth, Leopold Kucharczyk, Harry Swindon and Clara Baltesz (Reserve).

Seven pupils also took part in the Imperial Shooting Competition, namely Murray Lidgitt, Daniel Odutola, Tom Waycott, Henry Tancred- Holmes, George Irish, John Molesworth and Harry Swindon. This is the Open Shooting Competition organised by the National Rifle Association at Bisley, the home of shooting in the UK. The competition is open to anyone belonging to a shooting club and it is an individual, not a team event. It is also the pinnacle of long range and middle distance shooting in the UK. The rifles fire the 7.62mm calibre bullet and the competitions comprise the following distances 300-, 500-, 600-, 900-, and a 1000-yards using open metal target sights only. The most prestigious prize is the Queens (originally presented by Queen Elizabeth II). John Molesworth (102 ex 105) and shooting Officer Simon Heard (104 ex 105) made it through to the second round of Queen’s and George Irish (146.15V) got through to the prestigious St Georges stage 2. Very well done to them. Next year’s team looks very strong indeed.

Murray Lidgitt, Clifton’s Atheling, travels to Canada in August on a special tour. It is organised each year by the two countries and combines national shooting competitions with outdoor pursuits in Canada, so we wish him well with his shooting there. The UK Cadet Atheling Team beat the Canadians in the first competition back on home turf.

An Atheling is a Cadet who is chosen to represent the United Kingdom in a shooting match against the National Canadian Cadet Team. The Canadians come over every year and shoot at Bisley, they also compete against the UK Cadets (Athelings).

John Molesworth (45.4V) and Daniel Odutola (40.1V) also managed to win mentions in the McQueen Sniper Competition. This is a special competition shot at 300-yards with a randomly moving target which appears in the target window frames. They use Accuracy International 7.62mm rifles fitted with Telescopic sights and a magazine of ten rounds. The Competition is quite different from the others in that the firer has to keep his sights trained upon the whole target and, like in snap shooting, engage the target only when it appears. Speed and delicate sighting and shot release are the key to this discipline!