News Archive

 

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM SUCCESSES AT BIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS

01/12/10

On Sunday 28th November 43 pupils from across the Junior and Senior School competed at the Regional Schools Biathlon Championships at K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley. There were over 500 competitors and conditions for the run were very difficult. The competition comprised a 50 metre swim and 500 metre run for boys and girls in Years 5 to 7. The pupils in Years 8 to 13 took part in a 100 metre swim and 1000 metre run. For many of our pupils it was their first biathlon competition and our pupils performed with great determination and sportsmanship.

There were some fantastic results for the Freemen’s pupils as both individual athletes and teams. Notable individual performances include Alicia Wilson who was crowned regional winner in the Year 6 girls’ competition, Jamie Wilks who was the winner of the Year 6 boys’ competition and Millie Reed who was the winner of the Year 8 girls’ competition. Freemen’s had 11 other top six placed individual athletes and five pupils achieved the best swim prize in their age groups. These were Emily Way, Alicia Wilson, Jamie Wilks, Rachel Dunne and Nathalie Richards.

In the team competition the Year 6 girls’ team of Emily Way, Funmi Morgan and Abby Holder were crowned team champions as were the Year 9 girls’ team up of Zoe Lyon, Rachel Dunne and Jasmine Stephens. The Year 5 boys, Year 6 boys, Year 8 girls and Year 10 girls’ teams were all runners up in their age groups.

Several pupils from Freemen’s have now qualified for the semi-finals championships on 13th February 2011 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. This competition includes the top competitors from three regions.

Mrs Nicky Clark said: "This is a brilliant set of results in both the individual and team competitions and it was great to see so many pupils from Freemen’s competing. I am really pleased with everyone’s achievements."

 

JUNIOR JENNINGS POETRY COMPETITION

26/11/10

A fiercely poetic competition was battled out again this year. Our winning performers for 2010 are Isabelle Trubshaw: We’re Having Mad Weather; Ed Sharpe: Octopus; Sarah Irwin: Gran Can You Rap; Ellie Howick: If You Were Made Of Chocolate; Rachel Slater: Matilda.

 

GIRLS GO GOAL CRAZY TO QUALIFY FOR IAPS FINALS!

24/11/10

 

DRAMA STUDENTS HEAD TO MILAN

24/11/10

 

 

PUPILS MIND THE GAP AT CAREERS CONVENTION

22/11/10

The Haywood Centre, Senior Assembly Hall and Junior Assembly Hall were buzzing on Thursday 18th November, as the School hosted its Careers, Education and Gap Convention. This event, organised by the Careers Department, gave pupils and parents from Freemen's and other local schools the opportunity to seek information and advice from over 80 organisations. The careers information on offer included accountancy, archaeology, architecture, art and design, dentistry, engineering, journalism, marketing, law, medicine, osteopathy, performing arts, physiotherapy, police, psychology, publishing, retail, scientific careers, teaching and veterinary. Universities represented included Cambridge, Durham, London School of Economics, Manchester, Nottingham, and Warwick. The gap providers who attended reflected the breadth of gap opportunities on offer, including expeditions and adventures, community development and sport. Comments received from pupils and parents reflected how very useful the convention had been. Representatives emphasised how pleasant, helpful, well-informed and well-prepared our pupils are".  

 

"THE BEST SENIOR AUTUMN CONCERT IN YEARS"

ART IS IN THE HOUSE AT THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

19/11/10

House Art took place last week and there were a fantastic 246 entries. There were some really outstanding and very creative pieces on show. The winning House was Gresham with Hale in second place and Whittington in third place. Well done to all of you who entered the competition.

The overall individual winners were: 1st - Daniela Zaks (pictured); 2nd - Lucy Yellow; 3rd - Liberty Gamble.

Mrs Catherine Williams, Junior Head of Gresham, said: "Gresham's victory in House Art once again shows what a creative and imaginative House we are. Congratulations to everybody who entered, especially the 17 prize winners. Special mention must go to Daniela Zaks the overall first place winner and Lucy Yellow the overall second place winner, both from Gresham. I was particularly impressed with the high standard of artwork entered in each of the five categories. Keep up the good work Gresham!"

 

NETWORKING FOR THE BOARDING COMMUNITY

16/11/10

A typical Saturday night in Chinatown is usually very busy, however, it was a bit more vibrant when a group of 84 people dined together in the same restaurant. Saturday 13th November was the Lord Mayor Show, which provided the opportunity for our boarders to go to London and enjoy a day out, watching the parade.

For the evening we were joined by Reeds school's boarders and had a very sociable meal together. The atmosphere in the restaurant was buzzing with excitement, chats were everywhere and with the variety and amount of food, no ingredient for a great dinner was missing. The food was utterly delicious and everyone went home with a very full stomach. All in all, the day definitely ended on a high note.

 

ENGLISH SCHOOLS SWIMMING ASSOCIATION INTER-DIVISIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (DIVISION 11)

16/11/10

On Friday 12^th November the Freemen’s swim team competed at the ESSA Inter-Divisional Swimming Championships at Guildford Spectrum. We are in Division 11 which includes schools from across Surrey and Kent and is traditionally a very strong Division. Swimmers can compete in both Medley and Freestyle relays of 4 x 50 metres.

The Junior Girls’ Freestyle was the first event and Freemen’s was in the first heat. The team of Rachel Dunne, Aila Diffey, Zoe Lyon and Tabitha Read-Cayton finished third in a time of 2.00.84. The Junior Boys Freestyle team swam next and the team of Marcos Penteado, Chris Richards, Callum Room and Mark Tuddenham swam a very good race to finish fourth with a time of 2.00.38. The Intermediate Girls’ Freestyle team of Lucy Archer-Lock, Zoe Clarke, Sam Earland and Nathalie Richards finished in a time of 2.08.42 and were fifth.

In the Medley relays the Junior Girls’ team of Zoe Lyon, Millie Reed, Rachel Dunne and Tabitha Read-Cayton swam incredibly well and finished second with a time of 2.17.03. The Junior Boys team of Jonny Rutherford, Michael Trubshaw, Mark Tuddenham and Chris Richards finished fifth and swam a time of 2.24.07. The Intermediate Girls team made up of Sam Earland, Zoe Clarke, Nathalie Richards and Lucy Archer-Lock finished fifth with a time of 2.33.27.

These times will be collated with the results from all the divisional round competitions and the top teams will be invited to participate at the National Finals in February 2011. We look forward with interest to the qualification results.

It was a very successful week for the boys and girls swimming teams. They were victorious in their annual gala against Sevenoaks School who are traditionally a strong swimming school.

 

JUNIOR CONCERT

 

QUESTION TIME FOR THE BATCHELOR SOCIETY

11/11/10

The Batchelor Society met on Tuesday 9th November for its annual Question Time. The panel comprised students and staff from a variety of academic and political backgrounds. Representing the neo-conservative right wing were Mr. Brooke and student Peter Hyams. Hannah Kent set out her stall on the centre ground whilst Mr Rutherford was the voice of compassionate one-nation Tory values with the panellists kept in check by Chairperson Laura Grayling.

The first question saw passionate discussion of the Browne report into university fees after which the panel picked over the problems facing Barak Obama. Strong opinions were heard on the potential reform of housing benefit with the right-wing duo of Peter Hyams and Mr Brooke firmly behind the government’s proposals. The wider success of the coalition was discussed next with the final issue under review the morality of paying footballers vast sums of money. This question saw sharp exchanges between the panellists as well as members of the audience such as Mrs Edwards who refused to accept Wayne Rooney’s recent pay rise as just.

Mr. Wright, Head of History, Politics and Sociology, said: “I would like to thank all the panellists for their preparation of the questions and time on the day. The Chairperson, Laura Grayling did an excellent job of keeping the discussion going and challenging any flabby argument. Finally, the Society would like to thank all those staff and students who came along to hear the discussion and contribute their points of view.”

 

LEAF LEAD EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS

05/11/10

On Thursday 4th November, Junior School pupils came into school dressed in green, not because they had all switched allegiance to Gresham but to celebrate Earth Day. There were some very creative costumes, and even the staff went green for the day. Pupils from the Senior School LEAF Club led the Junior School assembly which was on an environmentally aware theme. They also organised lots of enjoyable activities for the Junior School during the lunch break. Mr Beach, Head of Junior School, said: "It is important that pupils are aware of environmental issues, and we are glad they managed to fun whilst learning."

 

WE DIDN’T SINK, WE SWAM!

04/11/10

On Thursday 14th October 18 girls from the swimming team travelled to Trinity School in Croydon to compete in the Surrey Schools Swimming Association Secondary Schools Relay Championships. It is the first time in several years that we have been able to field full teams in all age groups.

In the Lower Junior girls’ competition the freestyle team of Maia Diffey, Isabelle Nash, Ashlynn Harvey and Lydia Room finished 6th in a time of 2.27:63. In the medley competition the team of Sasha Bruce, Maia Diffey, Lydia Room and Isabelle Nash swam well to finish third in a time of 2.51:38.

In the Junior girls’ competition the freestyle team of Rachel Dunne, Aila Diffey, Zoe Lyon and Tabitha Read-Cayton swam well in their heat and finished 3rd overall in a time of 2.04:98. In the medley relay the team of Zoe Lyon, Millie Reed, Rachel Dunne and Tabitha Read-Cayton swam incredibly well in a strong field to finish in third place in a time of 2.20:88.

In the Intermediate competition the freestyle relay team of Lucy Archer-Lock, Sam Earland, Emma walker and Nathalie Richards finished second in their heat and were fifth overall. In the medley competition the intermediate team were third in their heat and finished fifth overall.

In the Senior competition the freestyle team of Jessica Ventham, Jen Baldock, Gemma Golding and Chelsea Wilby finished fourth in a time of 2.04:32. In the medley competition the team were second in their heat and finished in fifth place overall.

Mrs Nicky Clark said: “Freemen’s competed at all age groups in the girls’ competition and performed well. Well done to everyone who participated.”

 

STAFF PLAY BALL AT KCS WIMBLEDON

22/10/10

The staff football team travelled down the A3 on Friday 15th October for their first fixture of the year against KCS Wimbledon. Staff from a variety of departments made up the team and after an enthusiastic start Freemen's staff eventually won 3-2. Captain Mr Knowles (Head of Biology) said about the victory: "This is a great way for the staff to finish for half term and it was pleasing to see the amount of good spirited football on show, especially from Mr Holland, who was outstanding". 

 

GOOD HEALTHY FUN

 

20/10/10

Pupils in Years 3 and 4 have been celebrating twice this week. As they break up for half term, the children who had eaten two vegetables at least three times a week, were presented with their own Broccoli badge to mark them out as a ‘Healthy Stars Winner 2010’.

 

Sarah Irwin, one of the pupils celebrating, said: "The Healthy Eating Challenge is really fun because while we’ve been doing it, we were all concentrating so hard on eating healthily, that no-one realised they are getting fitter. The other good thing about it is that we win prizes. I won a vegetable key ring today and I'm hoping to win a star prize later this year."

 

The special incentive scheme for 7 to 9 year olds is designed to add an element of fun to healthy eating. The scheme will continue to run after half term, and those children who continue to eat their vegetables regularly will win a star prize in the run up to Christmas.

UPPER 2 VISIT TO BOUGH BEECH

15/10/10

On Monday 4th October Upper 2 visited the reservoir at Bough Beech. 15% of our water comes from this reservoir and we found out how it goes from a cloudy brown solution to the clear and pure water that comes out of our taps. The children were a credit to the school, showing great enthusiasm and always remembering their impeccable manners.

The reservoir itself provided a stunning backdrop to a fascinating trip which brought our Water topic in Geography to life.

 

BEST STUDENTS IN THE COUNTRY

14/10/10

City of London Freemen's School were delighted to be informed that Patrick Kennedy and Eleanor Marsh have both won an award for their performances in the recent Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology Examination. Patrick has also won an Award in the Salters Advanced Chemistry Individual Investigations.

 

Patrick and Eleanor both gained the third highest mark in the Advanced Biology examinations this year and will therefore both receive a 3rd Prize Award of £150 plus a certificate. Mr Knowles, Head of Biology, said: "Ellie and Patrick are biologists of the highest calibre and they worked extremely hard throughout the A Level course. I am delighted to hear that their efforts have been recognised and I am sure that they will go on to excel at university."

Patrick also gained the highest mark in the Salters Advanced Chemistry Individual Investigations and will therefore receive a 1st Prize Award of £150 plus a certificate. Mrs Mitchell, Head of Chemistry, said: "Patrick was a student who showed genuine interest in the environment, and his project into Biofuels reflected his deep concern about climate change. It was a superb piece of work written at a level far beyond the A Level requirements."

Patrick and Eleanor are due to attend The Salters’ Institute Annual Awards Ceremony at Salters’ Hall on Thursday 4 November to collect their awards. 

 

AWARD FOR UNBEATEN 1ST XV RUGBY SQUAD

14/10/10

City of London Freemen's 1st XV rugby squad have won the Evening Standard team of the month award for September. This is the first time a school team has won this prestigious award. The team, many of whom have been together since the age of seven, completed a magnificent unbeaten tour of New Zealand pre-season, and have swept all before them back home, with their 11 straight wins including the scalps of Reed's and Emanuel. This season's success has been put down to the squads commitment and loyalty. "There are no real stars" says Head of Boys' PE and Games, Mr Bill Deighton. "They are dedicated and work for each other. We're very proud of this award which we've never achieved before. This award is also a result of commitment and endeavour of the dedicated coaching team over many years."

In recognition of the award, the school receives a framed picture of the 1st XV squad, taken before a recent fixture, from kickphoto.co.uk

 

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS SLAY THE DRAGONS

13/10/10

What are the Young Enterprise entrepreneurs of East and Mid Surrey doing this year? 11 companies from five schools presented their ideas to three (friendly) dragons at Freemen's, on Wednesday 6th October. The ideas ranged from football tournaments, talent contests and parties, photographic services and cosmetics, through to personalised clothing, jewellery and accessories. The prize, won by Spectrum Designs from Oxted, with their personalised range of covers for iPods, phones and Xbox, was £100 (£80 of which will go towards the company's registration fee). The event was well supported with over 80 achievers attending, including representatives from another Young Enterprise area who wanted to see how it was done. This year's four companies from Freemen's took a great deal from the event and have been galvanised by some of the questions and feedback from the dragons. They will be focussing on brand identity, value added and maximising profits in the coming weeks. 

 

TRIP TO KEW GARDENS

13/10/10

On Tuesday 5th October all Upper 6 Biologists and Geographers went to Kew Gardens to support their work on plants and climate change. The weather was unexpectedly clement and the pupils had a very pleasant and informative day in the autumnal sunshine. They enjoyed guided tours of the glasshouses looking at plant adaptations to rainforests and the dry tropics and Dr Owen Jones talked them through some of the noticeable effects that climate change is having on the UK's fauna. The day ended with the (slightly wobbly) tree-top walkway through the canopy of sweet chestnut and oak.

 

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

12/10/10

Staff and pupils at Freemen’s showed great “joie de vivre” as they celebrated European Day of Languages on Monday 27th September. The children’s costumes were inspirational, original and most resourceful. The day started with an assembly on the importance of language learning, and we found out that 14 pupils in the Junior School speak another language fluently. Many pupils entered a poster competition and their entries adorned the Junior School foyer along with balloons, banners and flags. The posters which the children designed were impressive. One of the most original entries was from Maria Carr, who had contacted people from all around the world to tell them about our celebrations and the significance of the day. Her poster was a collage of the 75 replies she received in all the different languages. The highlight of the day was the taster language sessions which gave pupils the chance to try languages other than the three main ones which we teach. Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Russian were all on offer and the classes were packed with enthusiastic pupils taking their first steps in this new language. It was especially rewarding to see that some of the taster classes were delivered by Freemen’s students which made it an even more special experience for the youngsters. (Picture taken by Seb Faber).

 

B TEAM SHINE IN FIRST EVER COMPETITION

08/10/10

Freemen's sent three teams to the IPS (Ibstock Place School) Debating Competition on Thursday 7th October. In the A team were Harry Househam and Gabbi Cox, in the B team were Ellie Riley and Louise Bluck and the C team comprised Michael McKeiver and Daniel Sareen.

They debated "This house would give employers the right to refuse to offer employment to smokers". Teams A and C came second in their debates. Team B won their debate and went through to the final in which they debated "This house would make illegal any type of clothing that obscures the face". The team did admirably, especially considering this was their first ever competition. The final was won by the team from City of London School for Girls.

 

FROM SIBERIA TO FREEMEN'S

07/10/10

Rob Lilwell came in to school on Wednesday 6th October and told us of his 30,000 mile cycle ride which started in Siberia, detoured via Australia and finished three years later.  The talk was supported by slides and personal anecdotes. In particular, Rob mentioned how he was welcomed in Siberia with warnings about how the bad weather would kill him. If he didn't freeze to death then a bear would be bound to eat him and, if all else failed the wolves would get him. He was living proof both of his staying power and amazing resolve. Rob remained in the school after the talk to sign copies of his book for pupils. Mrs Rowena Gregory, Head of Year 9, said: "The talk offered a real inspiration to the children not to be deterred by challenges. As Rob said, 'Taking the first step is often the hardest'.  This positive message was really appreciated by his audience."

 

PARKSIDE TRIATHLON

05/10/10

On Sunday 26th September a number of CLFS pupils entered the Parkside Invitational Triathlon. The distances raced depended on the age group.

 

In the Under 9s Aaron Teale and Lucy Yellow finished in medal positions and Matthew Wilding and Gezana Rai were the 9th boy and girl. James Wilks came first in the Under 11 race, Kaiya Rain was the third girl and Fred Geen was the fourth boy. In the Under 13s John Morrison and Sam Ashbrigdge did really well coming fourth and 6th.

 

Mr Gibson said “This was a great opportunity for our Triathletes who produced some truly outstanding results. Well done to all those that took part and well done to Parkside school on the running of the event”.

 

Full Results

 

Under 9s

Name	Overall	Boys	Girls
Aaron Teale	2nd	1st
Lucy Yellow	5th		3rd
Matthew Wilding	16th	9th
Gezana Rai	20th		9th

 

Under 11s

Name	Overall	Boys	Girls
James Wilks	1st	1st
Fred Geen	5th	4th
Kaiya Rai	17th		3rd

 

Under 13s

Name	Overall	Boys	Girls
John Morrison	4th	4th
Sam Ashbridge	6th	6th

 

 

ALL HALE THE HOUSE DRAMA WINNERS

01/10/10

House Drama took place on Tuesday 28th September, and Jessica Swale, who is a Director at the Globe Theatre, London, came to judge the competition. Having someone who is currently actively involved in world class drama productions was an honour indeed.

  

The competition began with Gresham . James Trinder performed an extract from ‘Flush’ by David Dipper which was moving and intense. Jessica was most impressed and her comment, “If this was a drama school audition, I’d let you in!” was a great compliment for James. Indeed, James was justifiably awarded Best Male Performer.

Gresham’s comic monologue was performed by Emily Wilkes from Upper 5. Emily’s energetic portrayal of a woman on a rollercoaster kept the audience engaged and she certainly managed to make her performance amusing for all the right reasons. Jessica commented on Emily’s ‘lovely facial expression and lovely choreography’. Emily’s performance was given the Best Female Performer award. These two excellent performances certainly got the competition off to a great start.

Next were Whittington. The Mengham twins, Clare and Rachel, both from Upper 5, gave a comic performance of an extract from ‘The Vicar of Dibley’.  Rachel captured the role of the dippy Alice perfectly and Clare, as the Vicar, maintained a calm façade throughout. This performance was commended by Jessica who loved the characterisation and attention to non-verbal elements.

Whittington’s original piece ‘Triple Date’ was written by Elise Wilkinson of Upper 6. This comic piece was set in a pub and showed what can happen when a man is dishonest with a number of women. The actor playing the misguided male, Graeme du Plessis of Upper 6, certainly got his just desserts at the end. Jessica commended this original piece for the ‘clear contrasting characters’ and the fact that ‘girl power’ won in the end. Performing a Shakespearian sonnet is a challenge and Whittington’s Laurence Belcher rose to this with his expressive and controlled delivery.

Last to go were Hale and they knew that they had a fight on their hands. Hale were commended for the ‘challenging’ material they had chosen, including a duologue from the play ‘Anne Boleyn’. The comic duologue which was an extract from ‘The Two Ronnies’, saw Harry Househam and Ben Mady, both from Upper 5 sitting on a park bench delivering a dialogue, which in typical two Ronnies’ style was a play on words. Jessica commented on the ‘great banter’ between the characters and the excellent use of pauses for comic effect.

Ollie Hampden, performed a monologue from the popular Shell Connections Collection ‘Chatroom’. This was a sad and moving piece and Jessica commended him for his timing which added to the tension of the piece.

Jessica was asked to give an award for the best piece and it was Hale’s performance of ‘Shrink’ which won. Written by Ollie Hampden and performed by Sixth Form Drama students Victoria Wales and Ariane Bieri this piece was a pleasure to watch. Set in a Psychiatrist’s surgery, the piece had a maturity which was impressive. Jessica enjoyed the ‘balance of comedy and seriousness and the excellent climax.’

In her summing up, Jessica told the assembled performers and directors that she had thoroughly enjoyed the morning and was impressed by the high standards she had witnessed. It was praise indeed.

Although it was a very close-run competition, Hale were the victors by a narrow 2.5 marks. Ms Sarah Chamberlain-Webber, Drama teacher, said: “We all enjoyed and were entertained by the pieces we watched. Congratulations to all those who were involved both on and off stage. Jessica said that she would love to return to CLFS and we very much hope that she will.”

 

UPPER 4 GEOGRPAHY FIELDTRIP TO BOXHILL

01/10/10

On Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd September, the Upper 4s departed CLFS for the Ryker’s car park at Mickleham and then climbed the impressive slope from Burford Bridge towards the summit to cries of 'Great view', 'Wow, look at that dry valley' (staff), 'How much further?', 'Is it far?' and 'Gasp…' (students). En route, footpath erosion measurements provided evidence of problems and at the top vegetation surveys using quadrates showed how bad trampling had become. Trying to capture the outstanding view from the Lookout by field sketching was interesting. Packed lunch outside the café (a honeypot site – ask the Upper 4 to explain) showed us how effective litterbins can be as well as the excellence of the local ice cream. Studies of the management of traffic, footpaths, woodland and sheep grazing showed us how the National Trust try to preserve the area and maintain it as it is today. Descending by the steep route to the Stepping Stones, we completed our studies with some views of the river Mole. On both days we were fortunate to have lovely weather and one and all had a great day.

 

SUCCESS AT A LEVEL PHYSICS

28/09/10

Christopher Turner and Douglas Young, who left Freemen's in the summer, were both top-scoring students in last summer’s A Level Physics exams. They each scored over 590 out of 600, placing them in the top 21 students sitting Edexcel Physics. This is an incredible achievement for both young men and proves their academic credentials and sustained efforts. Christopher is now beginning a Chemistry degree at Bristol, whilst Douglas starts his Engineering course at Cambridge.

 

CHINESE CHURCH VISIT BOARDING COMMUNITY

27/09/10

Our Boarders enjoyed a visit from Epsom's Chinese Church on Friday 24th September. The visit included a series of songs in the Ferndale Theatre followed by a competitive game of boy's basketball and girl's badminton. Many members of the church group are Old Freemen and it was a great evening for current and former pupils to swap stories and share other interests. Mrs Sharon Lee from Epsom Chinese Church, who arranged the evening along with Rev. Rutherford, said: "This is a great way for current pupils, especially those new to the School, to interact with local members of the Church." 

 

MRS D. E. J. (JOYCE) WILLIAMSON (1928-2010)

27/09/10

We were very sorry to hear of the recent death of Mrs D. E. J. (Joyce) Williamson who taught Domestic Science at the City of London Freemen's School from the 1970s through to the early 1990s.  Joyce died peacefully after a long illness at St Helier's hospital, Carshalton. The School extends to Joyce's family our sincerest condolences.

 

GB SELECT FREEMEN'S FENCER FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

23/09/10

Ellie Irwin, 14, has been selected as a member of the Under 17 Great Britain Epee squad, to go to the A Grade International Competition in Heidenheim, Germany this October.

This selection is based on her results of last year, and her performances in the first two point-scoring competitions this season.

Ellie recently attended the first British Fencing National Academy for the top fencers in the country where she received strength and conditioning training, sports psychology, nutrition advice and also referee training. Ellie has had financial support from the City of London Sports and Physical Activity Network, COLSPAN.

Mr Bryan Lewis, Head of Fencing said: "Ellie's success reflects her enthusiasm and dedication, her considerable efforts and the coaching expertise and time commitment here at school."

 

JESSICA SWALE TO JUDGE HOUSE DRAMA

 

22/09/10

Jessica Swale, Associate Director of Out of Joint, and Artistic Director of Red Handed Theatre Company, has agreed to judge this year’s House Drama on Wednesday 29th September, as our actors do battle. Jessica is also Director of the Globe Theatre’s production of Bedlam which is playing until 1st October.

Jessica trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and Exeter University. This season at the Globe she is the Director of Bedlam by Nell Leyshon, the first play ever to be written by a woman for that space, and Associate Director for Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2.

Jessica is also a regular director for Youth Bridge Global, an International NGO which uses theatre as a development tool. As such she has lived in Bosnia in Herzegovina and the Marshall Islands, directing bilingual productions of The Comedy of Errors (Marshall Islands) and Much Ado about Nothing (Bosnia). She is a LAMDA examiner and a regular teacher at East 15 and Central School of Speech and Drama.

Ms Sarah Chamberlain-Webber, of the Drama Department said: “We are really pleased to welcome Jessica to the school. To have someone of this stature and experience in the theatre world judging our actors can only be hugely beneficial to the pupils. I am sure that they will all learn from Jessica’s feedback on their performances.”

 

FREEMEN’S INVITATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY FESTIVAL SEES UNDER 12 GIRLS WIN GOLD AS UNDER 12 BOYS FINISH CLOSE SECOND TO CRANMORE

21/09/10

CLFS hosted its second cross country festival on Sunday 19th September. The event was almost double the first festival with nearly 130 boys and girls competing from seven different schools in both Under 10 and Under 12 competitions.

24 Freemen’s pupils took part, and our best results included Stefi Symonds finishing second in the Girls U10 race, and Anna Whitworth and Rachel Slater who finished second and third in the Girls U12 race helping their team to first place in the U12 Girls team competition.

In the boys races Cranmore had some particularly strong runners, finishing first and second in the U10s and second and third in the U12’s. However, Danes Hill produced a stronger team result to take the U10 Boys team title whilst Cranmore just pipped an excellent team effort from Freemen’s to clinch first place in the U12 Boys event.

Download the full set of results from the festival.

 

BOARDERS HAVE A ROLLERCOASTER OF A DAY!

21/09/10

On Sunday 19th September the whole boarding community, 68 pupils and staff, visited Thorpe Park. The trip allowed new and current pupils to spend time with fellow boarder's away from Ashtead Park and strengthened friendship groups. The group set off in four full mini-buses and the pupils were keen to sample rides such as Saw, Stealth and Samurai at the theme park. Pupils and staff alike had a fantastic day with all involved interacting away from the school environment which will hopefully make for two boarding houses at CLFS full of fun, laughter and hard work for this academic year. Mr Bird, Boarding House Assistant, said: "It was great to see the whole boarding community all together so early on in the school year. We all attend the Lord Mayor's show in the City in November but this was an ideal trip, especially for the large number of new boarder's to socialise with those already here". 

 

NEW DEBATING SOCIETY SEASON OPENS WITH A TOPICAL DEBATE

21/09/10

The motion ‘This house supports the Pope's visit to Britain’ prompted lively debate on Friday 17th September. New members were welcomed to the CLFS Debating Society and joined the deliberations with much anticipation. There was a good turnout with the audience very much in support of the Opposition who won hands down. The Proposition conducted themselves admirably as no one held their point of view.

Hannah Kent, Laura Grayling – First Proposition

Margaret Young, Catherine Sadler – Second proposition

Rosie Shakerchi, Sam Strijdom – First Opposition

Gabbi Cox, Eli Riley – Second Opposition

 

BUTCHER REPRESENTS SURREY U9’S

 

20/09/10

Ben Butcher, of Lower 2, has recently played for Surrey U9’s XI and did so with success. Surrey U9’s took the field at Headley CC against Buckinghamshire U9 XI and with the help of Ben’s bowling played extremely well.

Having played throughout last season for the U9’s at CLFS Ben regularly took wickets and also contributed with the bat. Ben plays his cricket at Ashtead Cricket Club and performances in both school and club games have allowed him to be identified for the representative side.

Mr Moore, master in charge of Cricket said: "This is a great achievement and continues the strong tradition of CLFS players representing Surrey highlighted by Rory Burns’ (OF 2008) inclusion in the Surrey CCC senior squad which will hopefully inspire Ben and the other talented cricketers at Freemen’s".

 

NETBALLERS START OFF WITH SUCCESS

16/09/10

A nervous group of U11 girls arrived at Sutton High school on 14th September to play in their first Versatility Tournament. In this event each team plays seven matches and each player must play in a different position in each game.

The A team worked with great determination and concentration and after a slow start finished the event undefeated, clocking up good wins over new opposition such as Bramley, Seaton House and Surbiton High, and therefore winning the competition.

The B team, who were competing against mainly A teams from other schools, also showed great enthusiasm and effort and finished in a very creditable 6th place.

Mrs Bennett, Acting Head of Department, said: "I am delighted with the effort and determination shown by the entire squad at this new event. It take excellent teamwork and concentration to play in so many different positions and the girls should be very proud of themselves."

 

UPPER 4 PGL WEEKEND

16/09/10

Over the weekend of 10th-12th September the Upper 4 went away for the weekend on a PGL trip to Merchants Hill. The weekend was a great chance for the year to do some team building and it allowed new pupils get to know students who had been at Freemen’s in the Junior School.

There were lots of activities for us to try, such as quad biking, zip wire, aeroball and Jacob’s ladder. A favourite activity was the giant swing, because as you tugged on the rope you got swung through the air with a great rush. The activities were fun even when you were waiting for your go because you could chat with others who were waiting or encourage whoever was having their turn. The disco on Saturday night was a great laugh, a few of the boys decided to go dressed in white t-shirts and pyjama bottoms, which caught on and eventually almost everyone changed into their pyjamas for the disco too.

Sunday lunchtime came too soon as we all wanted to stay and have a go at even more activities. Thank you to Mrs Guest and the rest of the teachers for all their hard work, the weekend was a great way for Upper 4s to make new friends and spend time with old ones.

Written by Tim Newhouse

 

A TRIP TO THE TATE? HOW MODERN!

16/09/10

On 7th September all of the Lower 5 Art students visited the Tate modern in order to broaden their appreciation of the subject and help develop their first GCSE project based on the theme ‘Contrasts’. All GCSE themes are designed so that they can be interpreted in a number of different ways and every student has already begun to move in their own direction. All students enjoyed the trip and managed to record information in their sketch books which they have since built upon in school. As usual everyone behaved impeccably and all of the staff involved commented on the success of the visit. Thanks go to Mrs Humphreys who organised the trip and made it run so smoothly.

 

BASKETBALL PUTS SPRING IN STEP OF BOARDERS

16/09/10

The Boys Boarding House played their first basketball fixture of the season against a strong and experienced Epsom College team. The boys, who regularly use their recreation time to play the sport, visited Epsom on Sunday 12th September and playing some exciting basketball looked sharp and comfortable against their opponents.  Captained by Andre Wong, who has played a high standard of basketball previously in Hong Kong, orchestrated play and Richard Lam, Trevor Cheung and Jeffery Wan contributed with important points. In a very close game we lost by just one point (34-35) but the team look forward to their next fixture against local rivals Reed's. 

 

DID THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK IN THE RETURN OF THE SOCIETY?

15/09/10

The Batchelor Society met for the first time in 2010/11 on Tuesday 14th September. A well-attended debate in the Haywood Centre foyer centred around the motion 'This House believes that we should be proud of Britain's Imperial Past' with Mr Wright proposing and Mrs Edwards in opposition. The proposition stance revolved around the British Empire being based on cooperation with native peoples, a positive force in the world in terms of aid, trade and development as well as a benign influence compared to the rival imperialisms of nations such as Japan. Mrs Edwards in opposition focused on the importance of slavery to the early Empire as well as the exploitative nature of relations between Britain and its subject nations. The argument also highlighted racism and negative legacies of Empire on both the British and its former colonies. The audience were then invited to contribute their points of view and questions to both sides before these views and questions and incorporated in the proposition and opposition's concluding remarks. A final vote was then overseen by the Chair of the Debate and one of this year's Society Presidents Laura Grayling.

 

GOOD HEALTHY FUN

 

15/09/10

City of London Freemen's School have come up with a new initiative to encourage children to eat healthily and develop good ‘food behaviours’ of pupils.

 

The special incentive scheme for 7 to 9 year olds is called Healthy Stars, and the aim is to add an element of fun to healthy eating. Children are given one Healthy Star if they choose two vegetables with lunch, and if both are eaten their star is put by their name on the Healthy Stars board (pictured).

 

The scheme will run until Christmas in two six-week cycles.

 

Children who have eaten two vegetables at least three times a week will receive a Vegetable Key Ring to collect. If they carry on eating their vegetables until Christmas, they will win a Lego Santa Key Ring. There will also be special bonus prizes for those who have consistently eaten the most vegetables.

 

Mr Spencer Thorne, Head of Aramark catering at the School, said: “Who says healthy eating can’t be fun?”

 

CLFS LINKS WITH KEW

13/09/10

In July 2010 Patrick Kennedy gained a prestigious place as a student for a week in the Jodrell laboratories. Patrick, who completed his A Levels in the summer, spent time with scientists and worked on a number of projects in the different departments of this world class laboratory. He goes on to take a place to read Biological Sciences at Oxford (Brasenose).

This continues to build on the links made by Dr Owen-Jones between the School and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In 2008 Kew horticultural students came to visit the school grounds and the walled garden. They were impressed with the gardens and used them to design a possible teaching space as part of their final diploma assessment. They drew up 16 different plans all with planting schemes and ideas for maintenance. The Biology and Geography departments then visited Kew in the autumn of 2009 (and are due to visit again in October). During the visit they learnt about the dry tropics, wet tropics and the way in which climate change is affecting plants. 

 

FORM 1 BUILD A NEW TEAM

10/09/10

Form 1 took part in their team building Induction Day on Thursday 9th September. During the day, the pupils engaged in a series of team activities and tasks aimed at developing problem solving skills. These included arranging different sized tyres into a particular order in the ‘Tyre Teaser’ game and a number of multi-sensory challenges.

Confidence grew during the day and everyone enjoyed taking responsibility.

The pupils all solved problems, worked as a team and made new friends. Mrs Wilby made over 20 new friends, and Mrs Samson organised an exciting end to the day. Mrs Williams enjoyed the range of fun team games and challenges.

 

BAKE A CAKE FOR CHARITY

03/09/10

On Thursday 2nd September, Upper 3 began the year with an 'edible' team-building activity. They were set the challenge of working and learning together whilst making money for charity by decorating cakes together. Amidst all the chatter and artistic endeavours the pupils completed the task and achieved the further objective of organising themselves independently. Upper 3 worked together well and created 200 cakes in less than 30 minutes. The following day they continued with the theme of organising themselves by forming into teams to sell the cakes during their lunch-break.  

A big thank you must go to all those involved and particularly the Junior School pupils and parents for being so generous with their pennies (and pounds) at the start of term. In total we made, donated and sold £220 worth of cookies and cakes. These funds raised by the Upper 3 will be sent to the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan.

 

GCSE RESULTS SUCCESSES AT FREEMEN’S

 

24/08/10

GCSE students at City of London Freemen’s School have once more achieved record breaking GCSE results this year.

The overall A* – C pass rate was 99.5% and all of the students achieved five or more passes at A* – C.

81.2% of the grades this year were either A* or A. 32 of the students gained straight A*s or As in all of their subjects and five students achieved A* grades in all ten of their subjects.

Headmaster Philip MacDonald said: "These superb GCSE results are evidence of the hard work of students and their teachers here at Freemen’s. The students this year have matched the record breaking achievements at GCSE in 2009. Well done and congratulations to everyone."

 

OUTSTANDING A-LEVEL RESULTS

19/08/10

The 100 A-Level students at Freemen's had good reason to celebrate their A-Level results this year.

The pass rate was 100% and 26% of the grades were the new A* grade (nationally, this figure was 8%).

Nearly two thirds of the grades were either A* or A and the percentage of A*, A, and B grades this year was 88.7%. These results are the second highest A-Level results in the past ten years at Freemen's.

42 of the 100 candidates gained straight As or A*s and of these, seven students gained straight A*s in all subjects.

Almost all of the students will be able to confirm their places at their preferred universities and colleges, and this year seven students have confirmed offers at either Oxford or Cambridge.

Headmaster Philip MacDonald said: "I am delighted with this outstanding set of A-Level results which are a credit to the students themselves, and the commitment and hard work of their teachers. I am particularly pleased with the high percentage of the new A* grade which shows the very high standards students here achieve at A-Level. My congratulations to everyone."

RUGBY SENIORS SIGN OFF IN STYLE IN NEW ZEALAND

17/08/10

City of London Freemen’s School have just returned from an incredible unbeaten senior rugby tour of New Zealand. Two teams travelled the length of the country and each played five games. The 1st XV won all of their fixtures, whilst the 2nd XV picked up three victories. 

This was the school’s first tour of New Zealand, the first time CLFS had taken two rugby teams on a single tour and the first time the Under 16’s had joined the senior tour party. During three weeks away the squad of 39 players and five staff travelled from Auckland near to top of the North Island to Bluff the most southerly point of the South Island, passing through Rotorua, Whakatane, Levin, Wellington, Queenstown, Invercargill, Cromwell and Wanaka before finishing in Christchurch. The boys did not just play rugby, they also got a chance to go jet boating, helicopter riding and white-water rafting. They also visited Eden Park (the venue of the 2011 world cup final), a Maori village, where they experienced a Hangi (maori feast), the Te Papa national museum and much more. Pupils also managed to bump into a number of All Blacks and Australian national team members as they prepared for their tri nations encounter in Christchurch.

 

The boys faced fierce pre match Hakas and encountered some huge and physical opposition. Crowds were also large, at times in excess of 600, which included a number of travelling CLFS families. The 1st XV recorded their victories against Avondale College, Auckland (17-19), Trident School, Whakatane (0-24), Horowhenua School, Levin (5-29), James Hargest High School, Invercargill (17-50) and Mount Aspiring School, Wanaka (19-31). Whilst the 2nd XV had great victories against Avondale, Trident and James Hargest, they missed out against Horowhenua and Cromwell 1st XV’s.

Notable mentions go to tour Captains Alex Wright and Dom Sinnott. Player of the tour was awarded to openside flanker Seb Cox, and James Wilson was voted players player. However, this was an amazing collective effort from all players, coaches and supporters.

Tour 1st XV coach Mr James Gibson added "This was a great experience for the boys on and off the rugby field. To go unbeaten on a tour is a phenomenal achievement in any country let alone in New Zealand which is considered by many as the corner stone of world rugby. It was a fitting end to the CLFS rugby career of the Upper 6 boys who have committed so many years to the school. It also sets up an exciting forthcoming 1st XV season for the younger age groups. A huge thank you must go to all those that made this tour happen especially the parents, boys and local companies who helped to raise over £20,000. Thanks also to the tour operators, our hosts and billet families out in New Zealand".

 

TRYING TIMES AS BOYS FLY-HALF WAY AROUND THE WORLD FOR RUGBY TOUR

19/07/10

The Senior Rugby squad have today flown off on their three week tour of New Zealand.

This is the first time the school has been to New Zealand and also the first time two teams have been taken on an international tour. The massive fundraising effort has led to over £20,000 being raised to help fund the trip.

Whilst on tour, the boys will travel to Auckland, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Levin, Wellington, Queenstown, Invercargill, and Christchurch. The team will play five matches against Avondale College Auckland, Spotswood College, Horowhenua College, James Hargest High School and Shirley Boys High School.

As well as playing against local teams, there will also be time to have some fun. The tourists will be going on an Auckland Sky Tower trip, they will take part in group activities in Wellington including a visit to Te Papa and a stadium visit, they will spend a day in 'The Sulpher City' visiting the mud pools, hot springs, spa and Agrodome, and also the boys will undertake the Queenstown 'Triple Challenge'.

The tour returns on Saturday 7th August so a full report will follow shortly after.

 

FOLLOW THE YELLOW WIZARD OF FREEMEN'S

16/07/10

During the first week of the Summer holidays (12th - 16th July) the pupils followed the yellow brick road to City of London Freemen’s School! During a one week drama workshop, pupils from Years 3 to 8 at Freemen's and other schools, took part in acting, singing and dancing.

On Friday 16th July, the cast, led by Libby O'Neil as Dorothy, Sam Wilson as Scarecrow, Clare Baltay as Tin Man and Jack Maison-Hayman as Lion, put on a 30 minute performance of Follow the Yellow Brick Road, a musical based on The Wizard of Oz that all of the 15 pupils contributed to, especially as there were 25 parts to perform!

Claire Ruby and Bradley Fricker, who ran the workshop, were very pleased with the end result: "This is our first anniversary at CLFS, and each time we've been back the children have produced great theatre, and this was no exception. They have worked so hard this week, and we have been blown away by their enthusiasm and utter commitment."

 

HOWZAT?! PRETTY GOOD ACTUALLY

14/07/10

During a successful cricket fortnight the CLFS 1st XI enjoyed a resounding win against the XL Club on Thursday 24th June, with Fred Davies scoring a magnificent 169 not out in a total of 271-2. The team also had a narrow loss to the MCC on Friday 25th June although they enjoyed an exhilarating last over victory against Australian touring side St Laurence’s College, Brisbane on Saturday 3rd July.

 The 1st XI also spent a week, from Monday 5th July at the cricket festival hosted by King’s School, in Bruton where they lost to Christ’s Hospita, drew with St Peter’s York, and then beat Bruton to finish second overall.

 

FORMER PUPIL ANDREW GARFIELD NAMED AS NEW SPIDER-MAN

12/07/10

Former pupil Andrew Garfield has been unveiled as the new choice to play Peter Parker, the average youth who transforms into a superhero, to star in the next Spider-Man film.

Andrew, who is now 26, attended Freemen's between 1996 and 2001, before being trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

His previous credits include last year's Heath Ledger film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and Channel 4's acclaimed drama Red Riding Trilogy, and will soon be seen in the The Social Network, David Fincher's film about the founders of Facebook, and Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan's upcoming drama, Never Let Me Go.

Although he has already won plaudits for his work in Red Riding, and a television Bafta for drama Boy A, the coveted Spider-Man role will be his most high-profile to date.

The as-yet-untitled Spider-Man 3D film will go back to the beginning of the Peter Parker story and begins shooting in December although it is not set to hit cinemas until July 3, 2012.

Director Marc Webb said: "Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor's work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker."

 

NATIONAL TRIPLE JUMP CHAMPION LEADS WAY FOR FREEMAN'S ATHLETICS

08/07/10

On Monday 5th July 2010 the National Prep Schools Athletics Finals were held at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Five Freemen’s girls were competing in a total of seven finals. First to compete was Aila Diffey who finished fifth in the 70m Hurdles heats in a time of 12.91, narrowly missing out on a place in the finals. 

Next were the heats for the 200m with Emily Stewart in the Under 14 race and Aila Diffey in the Under 13. Emily ran in a time of 28.46 secs finishing third in her heat and Aila ran a new personal best time of 28.90 also finishing third, meaning both girls secured places in the final. The competition in the finals was steep and Aila finished 6th and Emily 7th.

The field events kicked off with the Triple Jump and Emily Stewart qualified for this final at the Regional round setting a new Regional Record. Each of the athletes took three jumps and the top nine then went through for one further jump. Following her third jump Emily was in second with her furthest jump at 10m and the girl ahead of her at 10.05m.  Emily’s final jump was an outstanding 10.15m, a new National record.  Emily is now the Under 14 Triple jump National Champion 2010.

Emma Clifford threw in the Under 14 Discus event. Emma was fairly new to throwing the Discus when she arrived at Freemen’s but she has excelled and is getting better and better. She finished 9th in a strong field with a measurement of 19.11m.

Mia Bradford our youngest competitor of the day was competing in the Javelin. The wind was very strong by this point in the day but Mia was undeterred. She finished 15th with a throw of 13.48m - an excellent starting point for another promising Freemen’s athlete.

Our final event of the day was the under 13 800m featuring Tabitha Read Cayton. This was an extremely fast race and Tabitha finished with a good time of 2.50.56 secs.

Miss Bone, Head of Athletics, said: "This has been a pleasing end to a very successful athletics season. Well done to all the Freemen’s athletes, particularly Emily Stewart, the new Under 14 Triple Jump National Champion."

 

SPLASHING SUCCESS AT CLFS PREP SCHOOLS SWIMMING FESTIVAL

 

07/07/10

On Thursday 24th June, 18 Freemen’s girls took part in the CLFS Prep Schools Swimming Festival. There were five schools competing in the girls’ competition and there were some very close races. A number of CLFS girls won their races and were awarded winners medals.

 

In the both the U10 and U11 competition the CLFS team finished in second place, whilst in both the U12 and U13 competitions the CLFS teams were winners. This meant that in the final results the CLFS girls team were winners overall.

Well done to Alicia Wilson, Anna Whitworth, Emily Elstub, Rosie David, Sasha Bruce, Lydia Room, Eleanor Whalley, Maia Diffey, Millie Reed, Tabitha Read-Cayton, Zoe Lowrey, Aila Diffey, Emily Stewart, Eleanor Wilson, Emma Archer-Lock, Jasmine Stephens and Rachel Dunne (Captain).

 

GIRL POWER GREENPOWER!

05/07/10

Design and Technology Week took place between 21st and 25th June, and to celebrate a group of female pupils were given the task of building a new Greenpower car in five days. The pupils worked every afternoon to build the kit car which had been kindly purchased by the Freemen’s School Association and on the afternoon of Friday 25th June, after many hours of work and effort, they successfully completed some initial test runs.

The girls will now be putting the final touches to the vehicle before competing in their first race at the Dunsfold Circuit in September, which is better known as the Top Gear test track.

The Upper 4 and Lower 5 pupils also had a talk from Tom Gaymor of the GoMotorsport organisation, which provided a valuable insight into the world of motorsport and how the pupils could get involved.

 

WE DON'T LIKE CRICKET! WE LOVE IT!

05/07/10

The Dorking cup has been a target for silverware for the U15 cricket team all season. We started our campaign with three group matches against RA&A, Howard of Effingham and Ashcombe, all three of which we won very convincingly. In fact, we won our group with the loss of only three wickets throughout all three games. Highlights were Rudnai picking a hat trick and a 50, Morrison scoring his first school 50, Eglen scoring 62 and Seymour scoring a miraculous 134 not out.

In the final, on Wednesday 23rd June, we played local rivals St Johns, who are a strong side with many club cricketers. We lost the toss and were put in to field. Culhane picked up two early wickets and fellow opener Jackson from the U14’s picked up one. Rudnai then proceeded to dismiss their second opener and then one other batsman. On came Dawes who got a magnificent six for 22 which meant we had bowled out St Johns for 113.

Freemens batted with the inspiration of watching the England football team go through in the world cup. Eglen and Seymour batted with patientence and determination. At 12 overs we were 62 for 0 and on track for a win. Seymour was dismissed soon after drinks for 25, to bring in Dawes. After a quick patnership Eglen was out for 38, but Coyle then came in and finished of the chase. Dawes ended on 20 not out and Coyle ended nine not out. Freemen's won by eight wickets and we had won the Dorking cup.   

Report written by George Seymour.

 

PRIZE DAY 2010 - THURSDAY 1ST JULY

02/07/10

A chance to celebrate the many successes and achievements of our pupils is always welcome, and Prize Day 2010 did not disappoint.

On a gloriously sunny day, the school buzzed with excitement, as all aspects of school life were acknowledged and celebrated.

As last year, there were both Junior and Senior Prize Giving Ceremonies, which provided the opportunity to showcase music and drama alongside the actual prize giving.

In the afternoon, the Lord Mayor Locum Tenens was in attendance, and his procession to the Senior School ceremony created palpable excitement amongst the pupils (as well as staff and parents). In what is now a tradition, pupils tried on the Lord Mayor's tricorn hat (made of ostrich feathers), and held both the Sword and Mace.

Outside of the ceremonies we were treated to a variety of sporting, musical, and dramatic performances and departments displayed wonderful exhibitions. Taking advantage of the sunshine, picnic lunches, cream teas and strawberries were provided by Aramark.

A big thank you to all parents who attended, and to all pupils who, as always, were a true credit to the school.

 

JUNIOR SCHOOL ACTIVITY WEEK

 

01/07/10

Junior pupils at the School had a busy week between 21st and 25th June in their Junior School Activity Week. We saw Vikings and Romans invade on Monday accompanied by Victorians, and followed swiftly by some Ancient Egyptians on Tuesday – all dressed in marvellous costumes. Other activities included presentations and workshops led by the explorer James Hooper, street dance, cycling, art and craft, a Maths Fun Day, a visit to Leeds Castle, a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, a musical theatre production watched by Form One and Lower Two pupils - and of course The Big Camp. In addition, the pupils have carried out a number of sports fixtures as well as some class work. Mr Beech, Head of the Junior School sais: “A huge congratulations to all the pupils – and especially to all those who have performed in concerts and productions over the last week – for their enthusiasm, energy and commitment to their school, and also a very big thank you to the parents for their support and costume making skills!”

 

SMIKE!

30/06/10

75 Key Stage 3 pupils at Freemen’s performed the musical Smike by Roger Holman and Simon May for a run of three nights. The performance on Wednesday 23rd June was attended by Simon May himself, who had taken a keen interest in the production from the outset. Director Sarah Chamberlain-Webber and musical Director Paul Dodds were delighted that he was able to attend a performance and Simon also dropped into one of the rehearsals to see how the pupils were getting on and to offer words of encouragement. Simon was impressed with the warm welcome he received from the pupils.

Year 9 pupil Jack Flammiger impressed with his dark and, at times, disturbing portrayal of Wackford Squeers, expertly wielding a cane to beat pupils of Dotheboys Hall. Jack certainly dominated the stage and the pupils as the brutal Head of the school. Georgie Chapman was excellent as his equally vicious wife, spooning the horrid brimstone and treacle down the hapless boys’ throats and never missing an opportunity to beat any boy she came across. Their offspring, the bully Wackford Junior and daughter, Fanny, were brought to life by Alex Duke and Jessi Hampden (one of the youngest members of the cast) respectively. They performed energetic routines as the constantly bickering children of Mr and Mrs Squeers and certainly entertained the audience with their physical squabbles which were frighteningly realistic at times.

The 18 pupils playing the parts of the boys at Dotheboys Hall shivered and cowered their way through the performance until they were set free from their ordeal by their horrfied teacher Nicholas Nickleby.

An element of feminism was added to the production with the part of Nicholas Nickleby being played by a female Year 9 pupil, Jo Sneller, whose clear voice was a joy to listen to. Jo perfectly communicated Nickleby’s growing rage at the injustice of the situation. Year 8 pupil Angus Gillan, playing the part of the lonely Smike, moved many members of the audience with his singing, especially in the plaintive song 'Better Off The Way I Am'. Angus rose perfectly to the challenge that this role gave him.

In addition to the many on-stage performers, pupils played the roles of Victorian street sellers and mingled with the audience before the show and during the interval. A troupe of dancers performed in the opening of the piece and in the lively finale, 'Dotheboys Rock', which was accompanied by a band of both staff and pupils. The finale literally gave the dancers the opportunity to 'let their hair down' with an 80s feel to it – there was plenty of coloured hair and hair spray to contrast with the dull tones of Dotheboys Hall.

The set was designed by artist Sam Jeffereys who came into school to work on it with a group of talented Sixth Form students. Sam created the imposing form of the central character by referring to post WWI German Expressionistic images. The brooding, dark feel to the entire piece evolved around the Dickensian characters. The set took two solid days to complete. In addition to the set, art teacher Mrs Rebecca Houseman produced side panels which greeted the audience as they entered the Hall. Chalks and pastels were used to create an old blackboard feel. The images were based on silhouettes created around the Dickensian era.

 

Being a Key Stage 3 production meant that pupils from both the Junior and the Senior Schools were working together to produce the final result which its composer, Simon May described as "special and unique".

 

PUT THEM TOGETHER AND WHAT HAVE YOU GOT…...?

ANOTHER WINNING COMBINATION!

29/06/10

On Tuesday 22nd June the Junior and Senior teams combined to compete at the Claremont Invitational Athletics Festival. Featuring teams such as Guildford High, Tormead, Priors Field, Kingston Grammar, Notre Dame, Heathside and Hinchley Wood it was a great challenge for our unbeaten girls. In true Freemen’s style our girls rose proudly to the challenge.

Despite last minute changes the Year 7 team pushed hard in each event to accumulate enough points to win their section. For the first time the Queen of 200m Aila Diffey had to battle for her crown, and despite being behind as the race rounded the bend, her true quality shone through as she crossed the line well ahead of the field.  An excellent practice race for the national finals on the 5th July.

The Year 8 team had lost key athlete Olivia Morris, but undeterred they dug deep and the replacements excelled to ensure third place. Emily Stewart (national finalist) managed to better a long standing personal best in the high jump, jumping 1m 41cm, and Emma Clifford (national finalist) continued her winning form at discus.

The Year 9 team – undefeated this season – again seemed to cruise through to a win. Outstanding performances came from Philippa Nicholls who improved on an already lightening 200m time and made light work of the long jump in a distance of 5m 10cm, Amy Owens and Mia Penfold who both won their 300m races by some margin, and Holly Stringfellow who won the shot putt, rounding off a pleasing seasons throwing.

The Year 10’s have been one of the most committed and reliable groups of athletes that Freemen’s has seen for some time. They have led by example and inspired many of the younger athletes over the years. They came third overall with excellent performances from Louise Bluck who jumped a staggering 1m 45 personal best to win the high jump and Kate Holmes (Central Surrey) who won the discus. They will provide the strong core of the Under 17 team who will defend their title at the Districts next year.

When all the results were added together CLFS won the event overall and came home with three trophies to add to their increasing collection, one for the Year 7 team, one for the Year 9 team and one for the overall title. Miss Stacey Bone, Head of Atheltics, said: “These results round off our most successful athletics season for some time in style. Well done girls.”

  

JUNIOR ATHLETES' TIME TO SHINE

22/06/10

The Under 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 girls athletics teams took to the track and field at the IAPS West Surrey athletics on 17th June at the John Nike Stadium in Bracknell. There was some closely fought competition in the under 10 and 11 age groups for medals and certificates whilst the Under 12, 13 and 14 age groups were competing with the ultimate goal of reaching the National Finals.

In the Under 10s performances of note came from Funmi Morgan who ran two personal bests to finish second in the finals of both the 75 m and 150 m, Zoe Chatterton finished second in the High Jump, and Stephanie Symonds achieved two personal bests in the 150m and Long Jump. The Under 10 relay team of Stephanie Symonds, Zoe Chatterton, Katie Fraser Ker and Funmi Morgan finished third.

In the Under 11s Alicia Wilson won the 200m and finished second by the narrowest of margins with a personal best in the Long Jump, and Laura Swift also ran a personal best in the 200m. Anna Whitworth and Rachel Slater came second and third respectively in the 800m with Anna attaining a personal best.

In the under 12s, personal bests were achieved by Georgia West and Isobel Briggs in the 800m and Zara Bailey in the 1500m, and Isobel Briggs also jumped a personal best in the Long Jump. Mia Bradford excelled in the throwing events, finishing second in the Discus and winning the Javelin to earn a well deserved place in the National Finals. Lydia Room finished third in the Javelin.

The under 13s attained a record number of personal bests – Amelia Reed in both the 1500m and the Javelin, Anna Craig and Zoe Lowrey in the Shot Putt, Tatiana Dudnikova in both the 800m and the Long Jump and Lucy Connor in the Hurdles. Tabitha Read-Cayton finished second in the 800m but qualified for the Nationals with a personal best time. Aila Diffey won the 200m by over four metres and was narrowly beaten into second in the Hurdles but has qualified for the Nationals in both events.

In the under 14’s personal bests were achieved by Katharine Curran in the 200m and Katie Griffin and Rachel Dunne in the 1500m.

The star performer of the day was Emily Stewart who won the 200m in a personal best time and won the Triple Jump setting a new regional record. She will now compete at Nationals in both events.

Miss Bone, Head of Athletics, said: "It is fantastic for the girls that all their hard work and preparation has paid off, as they have been a really committed group. Athletics at Freemen’s is going from strength to strength".

 

FREESTYLE FLYING

18/06/10

Lydia Room of Lower 3 has recently competed at the South East of England Swimming Championships at K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley on 29th/30th May and had a very successful day of swimming. Lydia is now the regional champion in her age group for 400m Freestyle and 200m Butterfly, winning gold medals in both. She also won silver medals in 200 Individual Medley and 100m Fly. Well done Lydia.

 

FANTASTIC FENCING AT IAPS

14/06/10

The fencer's at Freemen's were celebrating today after superb results at the IAPS Championships held at Millfield School on Saturday 12th June. The girls Under 14 team dominated their event with the top six finishers all from CLFS (won by Katy Griffin) - due rewards for all the extra training and lessons undergone by all of them throughout this term. In the Under 11s Emily Elstub excelled herself in beating older and more experienced Millfield girls in very close fights in the semi-final and in the final (winning 10-9). In the boys Under 14s, Ryan Cooper achieved his first major success, beating a powerful and bigger Millfield opponent 10-9 in the final fight.

The following results were achieved:

 

U14 Girls:

Katy Griffin 1st; Zoe Lowrey 2nd; Stephanie Elstub 3rd=; Marie Pritchard 3rd=; Katherine Curran 5th; Alexandra Willcox 6th; Jemima Shickle 11th; Abigail Connor 12th; Clara Baltay 13th.

 

U11 Girls:

Emily Elstub 1st; Sarah Spice 5th; Evelyn Frewin 6th; Lizzie Curran 10th. (All of these girls have another one or two years in this age group).

 

U14 Boys:

Ryan Cooper 1st; Nathan Dunne 10th; Alex Walsh 11th

 

U11 Boys:

Luc Tran 9th; Arthur Baltay 10th

Mr Bryan Lewis, Master i/c of Fencing, said: "It was a long but very rewarding day, with superb results. Congratulations to all who fenced today. Also, my thanks to a whole group of parents for their enthusiastic and whole-hearted support, but especially to James Frewin who helped tirelessly all day and refereed in every round of the event."

 

CLFS PUPILS PLAY AT TWICKENHAM

14/06/10

On Saturday 29th May prior to the Guinness Premiership Final between Leicester and Saracens, Upper 3 pupils Oliver Orchard, Louis Swindell, Christopher Richards, Alexander Lumsden and Aran Fitzpatrick represented Cobham RFC in the plate final of the Gulliver's National Tournament at Twickenham.

14 teams, many of them county champions, went to play in the Gulliver's National Tournament at Nottingham. After passing through the qualifying rounds Cobham then went on to beat Dartfordians comfortably 4-1 in the semi-final and make it through to the final at our national rugby stadium.

Despite losing a lot of set piece ball and missing another CLFS pupil, Jared Harvey, the score at half time was 0-0. As the whistle started the second half half a couple of passes were dropped by Cobham and we were back on our five metre line. Otley produced a well executed set move and tumbled over the line to score the only try of the match.  Cobham thought they had levelled when Orchard snipped over but the try was disallowed as quick tap penalties in this tournament had been outlawed.

Oliver Orchard described the occasion as "a great honour and an opportunity not many people receive. It was therefore a memory we will treasure and never forget for the rest of our lives". Mr Gibson, their CLFS coach added: "This was an awesome opportunity for the boys and one that I hope will provide them with the inspiration to play at a high level and in major rugby stadiums in the future".

This is the second national success in a short period of time for CLFS pupils who also play their club rugby at Cobham RFC. Henry Swindell, Olly Mays (although injured) and a number of ex pupils were involved in winning the National Under 17 Clubs Cup at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton Saints RFC on 2nd May beating Bedford Heavily 55-3.

 

LATEST FROM THE DEBATERS

08/06/10

On Saturday 5th June, CLFS entered three teams of Lower 4 pupils into the UCL Junior Debating Competiton. The A team compised Rosie Shakerchi and Angus Gillan, the B team was Sam Strijdom and Tom Clarke, and the C comprised Ellie Turner and Rachel Dunne.

Each team debated:

This House Would (THW) give all police firearms (CLFS A 1st place)

THW ban all violent sports (CLFS C 1st place, CLFS A and B both 2nd place)

THW ban advertisements aimed at children (CLFS C 2nd place)

THW make payment of unemployment benefit conditional on community service (closed adjudication).

The teams had a superb day in London and the tab will be uploaded to the DebSoc website as soon as it is released.

It has been a busy month for the CLFS debating teams. The Senior A and B teams competed at the ICYD Finals Day, at The Oxford Union on Saturday 15th May. The A team consisted of Nikki Abbott and Harry Househam, whilst the B team comprised Rosie Shakerchi and Angus Gillan.

They debated:
THW legalise all drugs

THW abolish faith schools

THW would make it a legal requirement for all adults to care for their elderly parents.

The teams had a great day in beautiful Oxford. CLFS B debated in the Chamber and as the youngest team in the competition did very well. CLFS A won their final debate and Nikki placed mid-table in the speaker tab. See DebSoc website for the complete tab.

 

INTERNATIONAL FLY GUY

02/06/10

At the Wellington College International Festival 2010, held between Saturday 3rd April and Friday 9th April 2010, James Wilson, from City of London Freemen’s School, was selected to represent the London and South East Division, against Portugal U17 at Wellington College on Tuesday 6th April 2010. This was the first time James had represented London and the South East. 

The day started with presentations of a special playing shirt; ties and division socks. This was followed by a training session with the London and South East coaches, whilst the afternoon was punctuated with a presentation photo of the two teams together in the grounds of the college.

For the actual game James started on the bench, but played the whole of the second half at fly half. James played an error free half and scored a number of conversions. He was significantly accurate in his kicking from hand. Overall the final score was London and South East 46, Portugal 19.

Participating Teams in the Festival: England U16A ● Belgium U17 ● Canada U17 ● France A ● Italy A ● Portugal U17 ● Scotland U17 ● North and Midlands ● London and South East ● South West

 

DISTRICT CHAMPI0NS!

24/05/10

On Thursday 20th May 2010 the CLFS Athletics teams travelled to Kingsmeadow Stadium, Kingston Upon Thames to compete in the Central Surrey Schools’ Athletics Championships, with the Under 15 girls competing to retain their title, and the Under 17 girls looking for their first title. 

The Girls team were organised, focussed and ready for their events. The first and most crucial part of the day were the heats to determine which athletes could be eligible for points representing their team in the finals. CLFS were the only team to have both their athletes in every track event qualify for the finals, a phenomenal achievement.

Particularly outstanding performances in the Girls Under 15 age group included Philippa Nicholls, who ran like lightening to win both the 100 and 200m finals and Zoe Clarke, who smashed the field by a clear 11cm to win the Long Jump and finished second in the 75m Hurdles. Emily Stewart came second in the High Jump jumping the same height as the winner but losing out to an early knock down. There were also some very promising performances from the younger athletes who were competing up an age group: Aila Diffey finished third in the 75m Hurdles and fifth in the 200m and Millie Reid finished fifth in the 1500m - reassuring news that future teams look to be in safe hands.

In the Girls under 17 age group Jessica Filby stormed to victory in the 800m finals with a time of 2.34 mins and Katelyn Aitchison who came second in the hurdles also won the Triple Jump by a clear and substantial 42cms. Holly Bicknell was narrowly beaten into second by a whisker in the 200m. Two athletes from Year 9 then joined the Under 17 team for the 300m race, Amy Owens and Mia Penfold showing real promise in this distance. They ran strongly against the older athletes to finish second and third.

The relays provided an exciting and fitting end to a fantastic day’s athletics with both the Under 15 and Under 17 teams winning in convincing style.

 

These events rely on strong individual performances, but overall results are dependant on the effort of the whole team effort. Girls that were perhaps not in the top three make a big difference at the end of the day in such a competitive environment where every single point and placing counts. As a result of the performances throughout the day, the Under 15 team retained their crown as District Champions, and the Under 17 team won their first ever District Champions title. Miss Bone, PE and Games teacher, said: "I have to thank and congratulate each and every member of the teams for their performances and conduct on the day. Both teams are truly deserving winners and have done the school extremely proud."

The boys also had some excellent individual performances. Will Straughan sped away to win the Hurdles before out jumping the Epsom College favourite to win the Triple Jump. More success came in the afternoon when Sam Eglen dominated the Under 17 boys 1500m race (despite being a year young), winning by over 200 metres and breaking his own personal best by 12 seconds. Steven Pilley ran strongly to win the the 800m. Other notable performances came from Dominic Holm-Kander who finished second in an entertaining 1500m Steeplechase, Philip MacDonald second in the Discus and Tai Bucks in the Shot putt.

  

Under 17 Girls Team

Katelyn Aitchison (Captain), Hannah Anderson, Abigail Bender, Holly Bicknell, Louise Bluck, Catriona Chick, Francesca Crabtree, Saskia Davies, Jenna Earnshaw, Jessica Filby, Kate Holmes, Laura Koepke, Amy Owens, Maia Penfold, Lizzie Smart, Moya Smith, Lottie Sudell, Jessica Ventham, Katherine Walkling.

Under 17 Boys Team

Joshua Carter, Alexander Culhane, Sam Eglen, Oliver Garrod, Benjamin Gosling, Dominic Holm-Kander, Sebastian Legros, Philip MacDonald, Nicholas Mays, Charlie Morrison, William Nash, Stephen Pilley, William Straughan, Oliver West.

Under 15 Girls Team

Rebecca Baker, Zoe Clarke, Emma Clifford, Aila Diffey, Julia Heasman, Ellie Irwin, Celia MacDonald, Olivia Morris, Philippa Nicholls, Millie Reed, Emma-Louise Sheehan, Jasmine Stephens, Emily Stewart, Holly Stringfellow, Jessica Thompson, Libby Wells. Res: Gemma Swift.

Under 15 Boys Team

Tai Bucks, George Earl, Nicholas Etherington, Jack Flammiger, George Florentine, Michael Harvey, Matthew Jackson, Oscar Ntow, Daniel Sareen, Karim Shabankarah, Alexander Tzortis.

Following the event the following boys and girls have been selected to represent Central Surrey at the Surrey Schools Championships on 12th June:

Katelyn Aitchison, Holly Bicknell, Louise Bluck, Tai Bucks, Zoe Clarke, Saskia Davies, Sam Elgen, Jessica Filby, Oliver Garrod, Kate Holmes, Dominic Holm-Kander, Philip MacDonald, Philippa Nicholls, Moya Smith, Emily Stewart, William Straughan, and Lottie Sudell.

 

THEY TALKED THE TALK, THEY WALKED THE WALK

24/05/10

Many congratulations to Mrs Brooks, Ms Chamberlain-Webber, Mrs Fox, Miss Joss, Mrs Jowitt, Mrs Samson, Mrs Sullivan, and Mrs Wilby who successfully pounded 26.2 miles of the streets of London in six and half hours during the night to raise money for breast cancer. You still have time to sponsor them if you wish at
www.walkthewalkfundraising.org/freemens_mooonwalkers_2010

Many thanks to everyone who has already sponsored the staff team and contributed to the current total of nearly £1000.

 

BOYS STRIKE GOLD

21/05/10

After tough qualifying rounds CLFS Boys travelled to K2 Arena, Crawley for the 2010 IAPS Swimming Finals on Saturday 15th May. The team got off to a superb start with the U10 Boys, who were ranked number one prior to the competition, winning Gold in the 4x50m Freestyle Relay, a superb achievement for pupils Henry Offin, James Wilks, Oliver Cooper and Ethan Kitto. These pupils have all been ever present during squad sessions and galas and after some technical practice, particularly on takeovers secured first place convincingly. Other success followed within the individual’s events: Henry Offin, who has recently gained silverware for his swimming club Guildford City also achieved Bronze in the U10 Butterfly.

Other results included Chris Richards came fifth in the U12 Butterfly, Michael Trubshaw came fifth in the U12 Breaststroke, our Junior Boys swim captain Callum Room was 9th in the U13 Freestyle, James Lawrence 9th in the U11 Backstroke, Oliver Cooper 10th in the U10 Freestyle, Marcos Penteado 12th in the U12 Freestyle and Ethan Kitto 12th in the U10 Breaststroke. 

Mr Andrew Bird, Mi/c of Swimming, said "After more than 15 galas against other schools this year and swim squad sessions before school these results are a credit to all pupils involved. To have ten boys representing CLFS on a national stage is fantastic and very encouraging for future swimming seasons at Ashtead Park."

 

SPLASHING SUCCESS

19/05/10

 

On Saturday 15th May, 13 girls from Upper 2 – Lower 4 participated in the finals of the IAPS National Swimming Championships at K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley. Over 3500 swimmers from 195 schools from across the country competed in the 33 preliminary rounds of this competition, one of which was held at CLFS in January. The girls swam well at the preliminary round and two medley relay teams, two freestyle relay teams and ten individual swimmers qualified for the finals day. The standard of swimming at this event was extremely high and the girls had an exciting and very successful day.

In the relay events the U12 medley team of Zoe Lowrey, Millie Reed, Tabitha Read-Cayton and Aila Diffey swam a time of 1.03:76 and were crowned champions. In the U13 medley relay the team of Eleanor Wilson, Emma Archer-Lock, Rachel Dunne and Emily Stewart swam five seconds quicker than their preliminary time and were awarded third place in a time of 1.04:70. In the freestyle event the U12 team of Tabitha Read-Cayton, Millie Reed, Zoe Lowrey and Aila Diffey swam a brilliant time of 57.55 and were again winners. The U13 team of Rachel Dunne, Eleanor Wilson, Jasmine Stephens and Emily Stewart swam a great time of 57.54 and finished third.

In the heats of the individual events CLFS had ten competitors. In the U10 freestyle, Anna Whitworth finished in 12th place, Lydia Room was 13th in the U11 butterfly and Eleanor Wilson finished 9th in the U13 backstroke narrowly missing out on a place in the final.

Seven CLFS swimmers progressed to the finals and achieved four individual medals. In the U10 butterfly Alicia Wilson was first, breaking the IAPS record with a time of 15.63. Fredrika Penniket-Dessent won the bronze medal in the U12 butterfly and Rachel Dunne was fourth in the U13 butterfly. In the breaststroke events Millie Reed was first in the U12 event and Emma Archer-Lock was sixth in the U13 event. Tabitha Read-Cayton was narrowly beaten into second place in the U12 freestyle and Emily Stewart finished fifth in the U13 freestyle.

It was a very successful day for the CLFS swimmers. In the final standings in the team rankings the Under 12’s were champions in their age group and the U13’s were runners up in their age group. In the overall team scores CLFS finished in second place, narrowly beaten by Millfield School.

Miss Nicky Higgins, PE and Games teacher, said: "It is an amazing set of results for CLFS swimming. There were some outstanding individual and team performances and the girls should be extremely proud of their achievements. Well done."

The boys had an equally successful event and a report on their results will be available on Friday.

 

A TRIP BACK IN TIME

19/05/10

On Wednesday 12th May, Lower 3 pupils paid a visit to Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, Hampshire to support their current History topic - Britain Since 1930. The children took part in a variety of activities including listening to talks from a wartime factory worker and a land girl, dressing up in period costumes and experiencing the conditions in an Anderson shelter. It was a fun and informative visit and the pupils were very good ambassadors for CLFS.

 

BRAVO FOR BRASS

14/05/10

On Wednesday 12th May Rosie David won the Anniversary Cup at the Redhill and Reigate Music Festival for Best Solo Brass Performer. The adjudicator, Brian Thomson, wrote "an outstanding immaculate performance, showing such musical contrast in your playing." Rosie will now be performing one of her pieces at the cup winners concert at the Harlequin Theatre on Thursday 20th May.

 

SPLASHING SUCCESS!

14/05/10

Congratulations to Nathalie Richards of City of London Freemen's School on her latest swimming success. She has recently competed in the Welsh Open and swam incredibly well coming first in Wales in the 100 metre butterfly, first in the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke and second in the 200 metre butterfly. She has also recently competed in the Surrey Championships and came first in the 50 metre, 100 metre, 200 metre butterfly and the 1500 metre freestyle. She has also gained British National times in the 100 metre butterfly and 200 metre butterfly with times of 1:07 and 2:28 respectively for long course. If Nathalie continues to perform at this level relative to her peer group she will be eligible to compete for Wales in a future Commonwealth Games.

Miss Nicky Higgins, PE and Games Teacher, said: "Nathalie trains incredibly hard and thoroughly deserves this success. Well done".

 

IT'S NOT ALL DOWNHILL FOR SISTER SKIERS

 

12/05/10

Sasha and Abigail Bruce from City of London Freemen's School attended the British Championships in April 2010 in Meribel, France, representing Sandown Park Ski Race Club. The Club had the largest contingent of Minis (racers aged up to 11) from any club in the UK and the results were excellent, both overall and for Sasha and Abigail.

The event started with a weeks race training under the supervision of Kevin Blanks, Head Coach of Sandown and one of the most experienced ski coaches in the UK. During the second week, training including technical gate training continued under the supervision of two professional Swiss trainers employed by the Club, with intense training taking place on a daily basis.

 

The racing consisted of two Giant Slalom courses, under BARSC supervision, consisting of a practice run as well as two race runs for each course. Racing was held on two separate days to ensure the athletes were all given the opportunity to be fit.

The results are broken down into position in Mini category as well as year of birth (it is the latter that will be taken into consideration when team selections for national squads are considered as the girls progress):

 

	Race 1	Race 2
Sasha Bruce Overall	12	14
Sasha Bruce (Year of Birth 1999)	8	9
Abigail Bruce Overall	14	18
Abigail Bruce (Year of Birth 2000)	5	7

 

A MOONWALKING THRILLER

07/05/10

Eight members of staff from City of London Freemen's School are again taking on the Moonwalk challenge during the night of Saturday 15th May. The Moonwalk involves 26.2 miles of power walking around central London, overnight and dressed very inappropriately for the time of year. In the team this year, joining Moonwalk veterans Louise Jowitt, Ruth Samson and Penny Brooks, are Moonwalk virgins Raylene Fox, Rachel Sullivan, Janet Wilby, Liz Joss and Sarah Chamberlain Webber (all pictured demonstrating their serious intent).

The money raised by the Moonwalk goes to support various projects and campaigns that are involved with breast cancer. We know that there are many excellent events that staff have recently taken part in and that the school community has supported generously. However if you would like to support the walkers this year by sponsoring them as a team, please do so through the Walk the Walk fundraising website - which means that none of the money donated will be swallowed up by administration fees for external organisations. Our page is at www.walkthewalkfundraising.org/freemens_mooonwalkers_2010

Your help will keep us going through the dark hours of the night next weekend and if anyone knows of an effective method of ensuring a warm and dry night, please let us know, as the forecast sounds pretty grim!  With very many thanks from us all.

FREEMEN’S HITS THE HIGH NOTES IN CLASS ACT 2

30/04/10

The tough challenge facing City of London Freemen’s School was how do you better A Class Act? In this case, you produce a sequel, and unlike most sequels, A Class Act 2 did not disappoint. At the whole school musical extravaganza held at Dorking Halls on Thursday 29th April, the school musicians, from 7 to 18, not only performed for the 700 strong sell out audience, they entertained, taking those lucky enough to be present on a rollercoaster of emotions.

Starting off with a bang was Senior Brass playing Fanfare for a Dignified Occasion. The audience had no idea what an occasion they were indeed in for as the first half of the show continued with singing from Viva, and performances from Polyphony, and the Senior Wind Band including soloist Timothy Peters, the Schools 13 year old music scholar. It was fitting that the Junior African drummers and then the Phoenix and Cantabile choirs took us into the break with the final song being Feel Good. It was clear that as everyone headed into the interval, they all definitely felt good.

The Senior African Drummers got the show swinging straight after the return with three thumping renditions from the Ivory Coast and Guinea. A more mellow passage followed of Combined Junior Ensemble, Senior Strings and Senior Chamber Orchestra, including soloist Samuel Matthey, one of our senior music scholars. The Jazz Band then took centre stage with diva Claire McCarthy blasting out Orange Coloured Sky, before Camerata and the Senior Orchestra brought the curtain down on a truly magnificent evening.

Mr Paul Dodds, Director of Music at City of London Freemen’s School, was understandably jubilant when he said: “Tonight was a vintage evening for Freemen's musical family with pupils young and old thoroughly enjoying performing to a packed Dorking Halls. I thank and congratulate all involved for a superb performance”.

So as the dust settles on A Class Act 2 and the plaudits roll in, minds turn to A Class Act 3 and completion of a trilogy.

 

SWIMMERS GO TO GREAT LENGTHS FOR CHARITY

28/04/10

The SwimathonCLFS2010 Team on Sunday 25th April swam 1281 lengths which equates to 32Km and one length. Of that, the ten staff swam 940 lengths which is 23.5km (so well beyond our initial target of 20km). So far we have raised over £1000 in donations. Gift Aid will add another £300. Thank you all for your support. We have had an amazing response and are very grateful. If anyone would still like to donate they can do so via www.justgiving.com/CLFS2010 

 

NEW JUNIOR LIBRARY EXTENSION OPENS

22/04/10

The new improved Junior School library extension was officially opened by the Chairman of Governors, John Bennett, on Wednesday 21st April. The £60,000 extension means the library is now twice its original space, with a larger book stock, six networked computers and a cushioned area for relaxed reading.

 

KIDS GO GA GA FOR QUEEN PRODUCTION AT CLFS

21/04/10

Over the Easter holidays the pupils went Ga Ga at City of London Freemen’s School! During a one week drama workshop, pupils from Years 3 to 8, took part in acting, singing and dancing, including techniques such as improvisation, different singing genres from musical theatre and several dance styles. On Friday 16th April, the cast, led by Harry Batstone as Freddie, put on a 30 minute performance of Radio Ga Ga, a Queen based musical that all of the group contributed toward, wowing the audience of families and staff.

Claire Ruby and Bradley Fricker, who ran the workshop, were very pleased with the end result: “This is the first time Radio Ga Ga has been performed. We weren’t sure how it would play out but the kids have been fantastic all week putting their heart and soul into both practice and their performance this afternoon. They are a credit to the school and their families who came to watch.”

 

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT.....

06/04/10

In aid of their summer tour to New Zealand, last weekend the 1st XV Rugby squad put on an oarsome display rowing 1600km - the distance from the top of North Island to the bottom of South Island of New Zealand - over a period of 24 hours.

The 40 boys worked in teams rowing and sleeping in shifts across the 24 hours, with each boy rowing approximately 40km. The row was held in the Junior Assembly Hall on six rowing machines, four borrowed from Epsom College. There was a great team spirit, as the boys worked together to complete the gruelling task with two and a half hours to spare. They were encouraged by staff and fellow pupils during the day and then parents through the evening who also brought snacks to help boost morale and energy levels. Mr Gibson, part of the team who organised the row, said: "The boys showed great commitment and dedication, and despite some blisters, thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. I congratulate all involved."

 

CLFS IMPRESS IN THE POOL AGAIN AS THE BOYS WIN DOUBLE GOLD

06/04/10

On Saturday 20th March the CLFS Boys and Girls Primary relay teams (Under 10 and Under 11 combined) travelled to the Guildford Spectrum to compete against the best teams in Surrey. Our girl’s team were hoping to build on last year’s success where they not only won both the National Freestyle and Medley relays but smashed the long standing recorders in both. The boys team also knew they possessed one of the strongest teams they had taken to this competition in years.

After some tough heats the boys and girls progressed into all four relay finals. The girls team, swimming against some really strong opposition managed to improve on both of the qualifying positions finishing a very respectable 4th in the Medley and taking an impressive Bronze in a close finish for the Freestyle.

After so many outstanding performances from the CLFS girls over the years it was the boys chance to shine. Having powered into the finals they hit top gear to pick up gold in both the Freestyle and the Medley relays. A brilliant achievement.

The girls team comprising Lydia Room, Maia Diffey, Anna Whitworth, Alicia Wilson, and Emily Elstub and the boys team comprising James Lawrence, Jamie Wilkes, Henry Offin, Ben Sidwell and Oliver Cooper will now travel to Sevenoaks for the Division XI’s after the Easter Holidays where Mrs Restall, Mrs Whiteley and Mr Gibson will be hoping the hard work put in at the CLFS pool will lead to more representation at the National Finals in Sheffield in the Summer.

 

GIRLS COCK-A-HOOP AFTER NETBALL SUCCESS

31/03/10

It has been a great end to the netball season for three of the school’s teams.

On 9th March the U10’s went to St George’s College for the annual invitational tournament which brings together 20 of the best netball prep schools in Surrey. The girls played extremely well in the group matches and were delighted to come second in their group and progress to the quarter finals, where they met Lady Eleanor Holles. In a very close match which remained tied even after extra time, the game was eventually decided by a ‘golden goal’ scored by the opposition after a further three minutes of play, and although disappointed to have lost, the girls were delighted to receive the Fair Play Shield during the final presentations and Aisling Slater received the award for the team’s Most Improved Player.

The following week it was the turn of the 1st VII to take to the court at the Central Surrey Netball Tournament. The first match of the day against Rosebery proved to be the hardest but we came out 8-6 winners. After that there was no stopping the team and they went from strength to strength with good wins over Hurtwood House, Blenheim, Howard of Effingham and Greenacre. A 9-9 draw with St Teresa’s meant that Freemen’s were unbeaten and thereby crowned District Champions for 2010. A fantastic achievement for a team which has now completed an unbeaten season.

Finally it was the turn of the U9’s on 23rd March to show what they could do in their first ever tournament – The U9 Invitational Tournament. The weather made it difficult for the teams to control the ball but after a slow start the team played some excellent netball, notching up wins against Reigate St Mary’s, Aberdour, Sutton High and local rivals Downsend, the defending champions. A draw against Greenacre meant that the girls finished the afternoon unbeaten and were therefore very excited winners of this year’s event (pictured). The Shield and medals were presented by Mr MacDonald and the Most Improved Player Award went to Stephanie Symonds.

Mrs Bennett, Girls PE and Games teacher said: "The progress that the girls have made with their netball throughout the school is fantastic and it is very exciting to see all their hard work and enthusiasm rewarded with these successes."

 

U13B RUGBY TEAM ACHIEVE 100% SUCCESS IN UNBEATEN SEASON

29/03/10

City of London Freemen’s School’s U13B rugby team completed a remarkable unbeaten season on Wednesday 24th March by demolishing Willington 53-0. The team has played 13 games during the season winning all of them with an incredible points record, scoring 480 points and conceding just 62.

This stat is a result of the team’s all year round grit and determination, training hard twice a week and showing true dedication on the pitch.

Throughout the season the squad played some delightful rugby scoring over 70 tries, and there were many highlights. The team put in a great performance against Sutton Valence romping to a 68-0 victory. Arguably the best try came against rivals Reeds, the ball was won inside their 22, the backs then took control with superb handling to let winger Liam Fitt score in the corner. Referee, Mr Retzlaff, said afterwards that it was one of the best U13 tries he had ever seen. Alex Lumsden frequently got the team out of danger with his accurate kicking, with his best coming against Harrodian, under pressure in our 10 metre line he cleared to win a lineout on their five metre line, a kick any professional would be proud of.

The team has also had to grind out some very tense games, especially against Emanuel and Chislehurst & Sidcup, but the team stayed focused and just kept the opposition at bay.

Thanks must go to all the sports staff who helped throughout the season, but especially to Mr Gibson and Mr Chadwick who inspired the team to work hard and to play good rugby. There is no doubt that the team wouldn’t have achieved this superb run of results had it not been for them. Also the captain, Rory Penfold lead the team superbly keeping everyone’s heads up if we were losing and leading by example on and off the pitch.

It was a great season topped off by the fact that half of the team were U12 players, which builds a strong platform for next season. For the players moving up into the U14’s and senior rugby they are already looking forward to next season.

                 

BLUE IS THE COLOUR ON HOUSE DAY

29/03/10

RAG Week 2010 came to an exciting end on Friday 26th March. The pupils and staff (naturally) were dressed in house colours: Gresham green, Hale red, and Whittington blue. As per the rest of the week, the costumes did not disappoint as pupils used their imaginations superbly. There was fruit, the incredibles, sailors, surgeons, mr men (and little miss') and superheroes to name just a few. The last RAG event was the House Olympics, although these events will probably not be part of the 2012 London games! There was the sack race, the three legged race, the dressing up course, the apple bobbing run, and the egg and spoon/hula race. The games were won by Whittington, with Mr Bramhall commenting: "Whittington reign supreme to make Hale and Gesham feel blue!".

 

BRITISH INTERSCHOOL SKI CHALLENGE 2010

29/03/10

City of London Freemen's School took to the slopes recently and had great success. In the British Interschool Ski Championships in Les Houches (on 8th and 9th March), the Freemen's team of Abigail and Sasha Bruce came a fantastic 11th out of 140 schools and 2nd in their U11 category. These placing were a result of some top five and ten placings in their individual races. Miss Ridley, Head of Girls Games said: "Well done to both girls on this fantastic achievement."

ANNUAL BATH FOR FREEMEN'S

26/03/10

The Bath Cup 2010 took place at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Friday 12th March 2010. This competition comprises some of the top 50 public Schools in Britain.

The girls’ freestyle competition is a 4 x 50 metre event and the Freemen's girls’ team of Charlotte Robertson, Nathalie Richards, Lucy Archer-Lock and Rachel Dunne swam well in the heats to qualify for the final ranked 4th. The final was an exciting race and CLFS swam a quicker time to achieve bronze medal position.

The boys’ freestyle is a 4 x 100 metre event and the CLFS team of Masayuki Takii, Max Bower, Chris Etherington and Jacky Yick swam a time of 4.24:61 and finished in 38th place and were ranked 12th in the small schools competition.

In the girls 4 x 50 metre medley event the CLFS side of Rachel Dunne, Nathalie Richards, Lucy Archer-Lock and Jessica Ventham performed well in their heat and finished in 15th place overall.

The boys’ medley team which included Masayuki Takii, Max Bower, Chris Etherington and Callum Room swam well in their heat.  

 

A FISHY TALE

25/03/10

The School went Under the Sea on Thursday 25th March as part of the RAG Week activities. Sixth Form students (and staff of course) wore fancy dress relating to anything under the sea. Costumes included swimmers, divers, fish, sharks, penguins, jellyfish, a submarine and an almost life size whale. One wag even took the day literally and wore a big C hat.

Lunchtime saw the students competing with staff again at Universally Challenged, and it proved that although the students had the brawn (see the quidditch match report from 23/0310), they also had the brains winning by 174 points to 60. Quiz master Patrick "Packs-man" Kennedy said: "I think it's back to school for the teachers!".

 

FREEMEN'S GOT TALENT!!

24/03/10

In what can only be described as an extravaganza, pupils from the Senior School proved beyond doubt that Freemen's does indeed have talent. As part of the RAG week activities, a packed assembly hall were treated to an eclectic mix of song, dance and musical performances. The evening started with Kate MacLeod, Becky Baker, Jonny Woodley and Jason Porter playing Lady of the Sea by Seth Lakeman. This was followed by Rikki Cooksie and Jess Ventham performing a duet, and then Mr Rutherford, Mr Knowles and Mr McCleave played a medley of Tears in Heaven and Heartbreak Hotel with Mr Rutherfords playing of the harmonica amazing the audience. The Jazz Group of James Mady, Dan Sperrin, Darcy Taranto, and Henry Bird keeping the tempo high with a rip roaring rendition of Opening Jam by Colonel Les Clatpool's bucket of Bernie Brains.

Jason Porter and Chris Curtis then declared their Guy Love - from hit US TV show Scrubs, which was followed by Ellie Whites solo dance. Claire McCarthy then performed Love Song by Sara Bareillas and the African Drumming of La Chasse - Rythms from the Ivory Coast got the audience clapping, whooping and a hollering. Becky Baker then perfomed The Happy Violin, which was followed by the 1st Rugby Boys performing their own Dance Medley. It is fair to say dancing was redefined last night, and a new disco craze must surely sweep the nation. The interval was welcomed after the Staff band perfomed Weak by Skunk Anansie.

The second half of the show  started with Rikki Cooksie, Joe Dipre and Phil Earl performing Single Ladies by Beyonce. So similar was their choreographed moves, it was like the former Destinys Child was in the room. Mikaela Eldridge, Callum Ross and Kate Zinser then sang I Wanna have your Babies by Natasha Bedingfield, before Dasol Lee played a beautiful piano piece. Hannah Walker, Jason Porter and Jonny Woodley sang about their Fascination before Mitch Forsyth played Eye of the Tiger on Ukeleayle. Jonny Woodley performed his personal piece with Dasol Lee, before Superstition, the penultimate piece played by the Whittington House Band. The evening finished with an extraordinary Prefects Dance as they turned into zombies, werewolfs and generally scary things. A superb end to a superb evening. Mr Martin Hearne, who was zombified by the prefects said: "uurugh ryhjas woshanytr jhtyul wbgyrgsdhi rag week vgyuslkasq arrrgggg zzuuuumm aaarrrrgggg!". Translated from zombie speak, this means: "The prefects have done a fantastic job organising the RAG Week Talent Show and should be very pleased with their efforts!".

 

TWO NATIONAL MODERN BIATHLON NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS

25/03/10

City of London Freemens School are celebrating two national team champions in the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships.

Following a series of 12 regional qualifying competitions in the autumn, 16 pupils from the Ashtead school were successful in reaching the finals of the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships which took place at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Sunday 21st March 2010.

The pupils competed in two disciplines over the course of the day; a 50 metre swim and a 500 metre run for the competitors in Years 5 – 7 and a 100 metre swim and 1000 metre run for competitors in Years 8 and above. CLFS was one of the most represented schools at the finals and it was a very exciting day for all of the pupils who took part.

In the Year 5 girls team competition Anna Whitworth, Alicia Wilson and Rachel Slater were crowned national champions. In the individual competition, Anna won the silver medal, Alicia won the bronze and Rachel finished 43rd..

The Year 7 girls team of Millie Reed, Aila Diffey, and Tabitha Read-Cayton were also crowned national champions. In the individual competition Millie finished 4th, Aila 22nd and Tabitha in 27th.

 

The Year 5 boys team competition was closely fought and Jamie Wilks, Oliver Cooper, and Matthew Stanley were just pushed into 4th position. In the individual competition Jamie finished 15th, Oliver 17th and Matthew in 39th place.

James Lawrence was Freemen’s only representative in the Year 6 competition, performing well finishing in 17th place.

In the Year 7 boys competition Chris Richards finished in 34th place, Edward Vinter finished in 36th and John Morrison was 46th. In the team competition the boys were 8th.

Callum Room competed in the Year 8 boys competition and performed consistently in both the swim and run and achieved 17th place. Nathalie Richards took part in the Year 9 girls event and finished in 24th place and Jessica Filby took part in the Year 10 event and finished in 22nd position.

The standard in both the swimming and running was outstanding and the CLFS pupils performed with great effort and determination and supported each other with enthusiasm.

Miss Nicky Higgins, PE and Games Teacher in charge of Biathlon said: “The pupils have worked hard in the run up to this competition and we are very proud of them. It is a great achievement to qualify for a national competition and to be crowned national champions at two age groups is outstanding – well done!”

 

FREEMEN'S ROCK ON DURING POPTASTIC DAY

24/03/10

Wednesday 24th March saw the mid point of RAG Week 2010 as the Junior School was transformed into a who's who of famous rock and pop stars ranging from the 1950's to the present day. Pupils (and staff once more) dressed up as rock and pop legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Ozzy Osbourne, and The King, through to modern day heros such as Lady Ga Ga, Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse. After refuelling at break at the Cake Sale, the stars of the day put their outfits to good use during the lunch time busking sessions. Miss Nicola Chambers said: "I always believed in my dream of being a pop star and today I got my 15 minutes of fame!". Mrs Louise Jowitt, or Agnetha (look her up) as she was known today, added: "Today's line up would top the bill of any festival, even Woodstock!".

 

TEARS OF A CLOWN? NOT ON CIRCUS DAY AT FREEMEN'S!

23/03/10

RAG Week continued on Tuesday 23rd March with members of the Upper School (and staff again) dressing up as clowns, animals, fortune tellers, mime artists, magicians, and 'old man who can't find his seat' for Circus Day. The morning saw Hot Chocolate being sold, and at lunch time, a silent disco was held, aptly, in the library. Juniors and Seniors busted their grooves together in scenes not out of place on the TV show Britain's Got Talent. Mr Mike Collier, clown for a day, said: "I couldn't hear the music in the silent disco, but I could definitely feel the vibe!".

 

SIXTH FORM PUT A SPELL ON STAFF AT START OF RAG WEEK

23/03/10

Monday 23rd March saw the start of RAG Week 2010 at City of London Freemen's School, the annual event of week long activities with the aim of Raising and Giving for charity. The day saw the Sixth Form (and staff) dressed up in Harry Potter costumes, sales of Butterbeer (Butterscotch sauce and American soda) and sweets and a hotly contested game of Quidditch between staff and sixth form students. After a tense affair with "goals" shared equally between the teams, the students stormed to the win thanks to catching the Snitch and the elusive 150 points. This resulted in a 170-20 victory, and more importantly bragging rights for eternity. A jubilant Claire McCarthy said after the game: "Maybe the staff should stick to teaching as the students are clearly better at handling broomsticks!".

 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FOR FREEMEN’S FENCERS

 

22/03/10

On Sunday 14th March the fencing teams from City of London Freemen’s School achieved national success once again in the National Schools Team Championships at Acland Burghley School in London. The Under 15 team of Clara Hutter, Ellie Irwin, and Louisa Sparks are National Team Champions after beating Bishop Challoner School 45-26 in the final. This is such a notable performance as it is their fourth national team title as a trio as they have advanced through the age groups.

The Under 13 team of Katy Griffin, Marie Pritchard, Katherine Curran (pictured) also won their tournament beating Woldingham School 45-30 in the final to become national champions. The Under 11 team of Emily Elstub, Sarah Spice, Georgia West and Maia Diffey, were so close to making it a clean sweep for Freemen’s but unfortunately lost 28-37 in the final.

Mr Bryan Lewis, Head of Fencing at CLFS, said: “The results show the strength in depth of girls epee fencing at the School. Our three top girls – Clara, Ellie and Katy – showed how good they are, fully justifying their selection for the England Schools team going to Poland later in the month.”

 

SURREY U11 MINI HOCKEY FINALS – PLATE WINNERS

18/03/10

On 17th March the Under 11 Hockey team went to Surbiton Hockey Club for the Surrey Under 11 Mini Hockey Finals. It was an exciting experience for us all including Miss Bone and Miss Ridley. Each game was six minutes each way. Our first match against Thomas’s Clapham we drew 1-1. We came back to win our next game 1-0 against Sutton High, and then tied our next game 0-0 against Downsend. Unfortunately this meant we got knocked out of the Cup competition because Thomas’s Clapham had scored more goals.  

Our first match in the Plate competition was against Hornsby House, which we won 1-0 . In the next match we had the same score but it was against Study Prep. These wins took us through to the semi-finals and if we won this, we would still have a chance of winning! We played quite well against St Catherine’s and won 1-0, meaning we were into the final!

In the final we played brilliantly as a team and scored five goals against James Allen Prep school, meaning we were the winners of the Plate! Miss Bone and Miss Ridley were very proud of us and we thank them very much for looking after us at the tournament. We also need to thank our Goalie, Maria Carr.

Article written by Bethan Moncur and Emma Whiteley (Lower 3)

 

GOOD NEWS? IT’S NOT UP FOR DEBATE......

17/03/10

ICYD (The International Competition for Young Debaters)

On 7th March, 2010 three teams of debaters from City of London Freemen’s School went to the Oxford Union for the ICYD (The International Competition for Young Debaters).

The teams debated: This house would withdraw all coalition forces from Afghanistan immediately; This house would prevent workers from striking; and This house believes that sports people who grievously injure a competitor in play should face criminal charges.

The Year 10 team, consisting of Harry Househam and Nikki Abbott, came 3rd. 1st and 1st, placing 8th overall, and the Year 8 team, Angus Gillan and Rosie Shakerchi, came 2nd, 1st and 3rd placing 14th overall. As a result both of these teams break to finals day meaning that CLFS will have the youngest team at finals day from across the UK.

The Year 9 team of Rebecca Baker and Jordan Turton, came 4th, 2nd and 1st placing 26th overall.

Rosie Shakerchi was the best speaker from all of the Freemen's pupils, as she placed 22nd out of 116, all of whom were up to two years older than her.

Oxford Union Finals Day, 13th March 2010

 

Regional finalists Laura Grayling and Hannah Kent attended Oxford Union Finals Day on 13th March. They placed first in two out of four of their debates: This house would require government to call a referendum before commencing a non-defensive war; and This house would remove charitable status from organisations dedicated solely to animal welfare. They placed mid-table by the end of the competition and were a credit to the school.

 

SEVENS HEAVEN

16/03/10

On 11th March the U15A rugby team were victorious in the Surrey Sevens held in Caterham, winning the Plate.

Although we lost our first match against Riddlesdown 24-19, it was our only defeat. We conquered Harrodian on a narrow field 31-5 which meant we finished second in our pool and were therefore competing for the Plate. We quickly dispatched Ewell Castle 34-7 in the quarter final, but our best display of the tournament was our semi final victory against a typically big Christ's Hospital team, 45-5. We marched with ever-increasing confidence to the Final against Tiffin.

The victorious score line of 28-7 belies the tale of our success. The team grew in stature, self-belief, trust in their peers, and played such an exciting brand of rugby – full of flair and structure.

The medal ceremony was a little poignant. Mr Fred Batchelor, formerly Head of History at Freemen's, now the president of Surrey Schools' rugby, beamed with pride as he shook the hands of our 12 boys. And they could not contain their well-earned pride either.

Mr Bloomer, Rugby Coach, said: “We played an attractive brand of sevens, and the boys worked so hard, running and running and holding back and passing and looping and holding an arrow-like line. It was a magnificent tournament, and one which I am sure the boys will be regaling many a time in the years to come.”

 

GIFTED & TALENTED? YES!

09/03/10

On Saturday 6th March, professional artists exhibited for the first time at City of London Freemen’s School. The school's Livery Room became the perfect setting to show the excellent work produced by Sam Jefferys and Rob Sollis (pictured with Mr Tim Rees, Head of Art at the school). Both artists have worked with pupils in the school and have bought a great degree of inspiration to many of them, influencing their work and giving them confidence. The show was open to the public and many people came in to view the work on display. Several pieces were sold throughout the day and a proportion of the profits went to the charity Shelterbox.

Mr Tim Rees, Head of Art at the school commented: "The exhibition was the first of its kind at Freemen’s and everyone involved enjoyed the show. We are looking forward to producing another exhibition in a few months and showing off the talents of our Photography students and Geoff Coates, a local professional photographer."

 

ALICE AND THE BFG ARE IN WONDERLAND

08/03/10

World Book Day is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland. Every year at City of London Freemen’s School we celebrate the event with a week of fun activities and competitions, and this year was no different.

On World Book Day itself on Thursday 4th March, the whole School joined in the celebration, from Year 3 to Upper 6. All Senior School pupils took part in the hotly-contested Inter-House Book Quiz (won by Whittington House) while events in the Junior School were rather more low-key.

 

All junior pupils (and most of the staff) came to school dressed as a favourite character from a book and began the day with one of our regular DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) sessions. Prizes for best costume were awarded to Megan Haine as the BFG, and Ella Pearson as Alice in Wonderland by the new Head of Junior School, Mr Mark Beach. During the day, pupils toured the Junior School classrooms, the doors of which were decorated as book covers, and also took part in a Book Swap, recommending and exchanging books with each other.

Mrs Sue Dawes, Senior Librarian, said: “The great thing about World Book Day is that it emphasises the fun of books and reading – whether it's the good-natured rivalry of the Inter-House Book Quiz or the novelty of dressing up as a lion and joining your friends getting lost in a book at the start of the school day – there's a way for everyone to become involved.”

 

HOT HOT HOT SALSA NIGHT AT FREEMEN'S!

05/03/10

On Saturday 27th February, the heady sound of Salsa beat raised the rafters at City of London Freemen's School as the first ever Latin Night was held in aid of the Sporting Tours trip to New Zealand this summer.

The evening started with a breathtaking display of Salsa dancing by the Slovakian European Salsa Champions. Inspired, the guests took to the dance floor for a lesson in basic Salsa dancing given by the Colombian Salsa teachers, Jeff Davila and Lilly Suarez.

After an enjoyable Chilli supper, there was another superb display by Marosh and Kristina, after which everyone took to the floor to practice their moves. The evening ended with everyone, including the New Zealand tourists who had been on duty all evening, dancing the Bachata, much to the delight of many mums who enjoyed a rare dance with their sons.

For more information on Jeff and Lilly's classes go to www.colsalsa.co.uk and for more photos of Marosh and Kristina go to www.maroshkristina.com

 

JUNIOR SCHOOL SKIING? TRES BIEN!

 

01/03/10

During February half term 38 juniors and six staff took to the slopes in Le Corbier, France. Not only was it great to be out on the slopes, but we were blessed with sunshine for most of the week. Ski conditions were lovely at the start of the week but became very icy with two days of skiing left to go. Despite the icyness we arrived home without a single serious injury. Mr Valkenburg, Ski Leader, said: "I would like to thank the staff for giving up their time to look after the children, as well as the children for their terrific behaviour."

 

IT WAS A FUN AFFAIR!

24/02/10

All the fun of the fair was had at the Freemen’s Christmas Fair. There was something for everyone, whether they wanted amusements, attractions, raffle prizes, singing staff or a chance to buy presents for relatives and friends.

Those who were there were treated to games such as Hook a Duck, Hoopla, and Football Tombola and many more. Santa was there in his grotto, and in the secret room was…. well, that’s a secret.

It appeared that tigers and lions were on the loose in the school but on closer inspection it turned out to be children with their faces painted!

There were stalls a-plenty selling a plethora of items and once all the shopping had been done, there was a chance to relax with a cake and a cup of tea or mulled wine.

And as the fair drew to a close, who will forget the climax of the wii tennis tournament or indeed the look on Mr Riley’s face as he realised his score had been beaten with just seconds of the fair remaining?

On a more serious note, the fair raised in the region of £7,550 and a fantastic £891.05 for the Royal Marsden Children’s and Teenage Cancer Centre, through shakers and rattling buckets.

Huge congratulations must go to the FSA and to everyone involved, for organising such a successful fair. Their aim of “You can expect a fun day out at the Freemen’s Christmas Fair” was most definitely fully achieved. Roll on next year…..

 

NATIONAL HOCKEY CALL UP FOR KATE HOLMES

15/02/10

Kate Holmes has just been selected to play in the England National U16 Girls Age Group for hockey. This is an outstanding achievement and the first time a CLFS pupil has accomplished this.

The selection process started in the summer of 2009. Following county and regional matches, training and assessment during the spring and summer 2009, Kate was selected as one of 64 players to participate in the National U16 Hockey Girls Futures Cup representing the South and East of England in the Saxon Tigers team. This tournament took place in October 2009 and the Tigers went on to win the competition.

Kate was then selected to be part of the England National Age Group Training squad as one of 34 players and attended a three day camp during November. This group was then reduced to 30 players and Kate attended further assessment camps in December, January and February. On 7th February Kate attended the final assessment camp and was selected for the England National U16 Girls Age Group 2010. This group will continue to train together and teams will be selected to play in various international fixtures.

  

Miss Nicky Higgins, PE and Games teacher said: "This is fantastic news for Kate, and we are very proud of her. She has shown a lot of dedication and hard work and we wish her the very best of luck. We look forward to hearing all about her future endeavours. Well done Kate."

 

COULD THE GIRLS HAVE DONE-BETTER? NOT IN THE DUNOTTAR SHIELD

09/02/10

In a first for Freemen’s, the 1st VII netball team were the winners of the recent tournament for the Dunottar Shield.

The team of Mikaela Eldridge (captain), Jenny Baldock, Fiona Bull, Charlie Robertson, Alex Willis, Katherine Hall, Lucy Owen, Ishy Waugh and Katie Zinser were undefeated with wins against Dunottar, Greenacre and Sutton High and an exciting draw against a strong Reigate Grammar team.

Mrs Bennett said: "‘I believe this is the first netball trophy that Freemen’s has ever won and the girls are understandably over the moon about this achievement. As this was also the first tournament we have entered, the girls were a little nervous at the start but they played extremely well and worked incredibly hard for each other as a team. I am very proud of them."

 

SWIMMERS SENT TO COVENTRY FOR NATIONAL FINALS

09/02/10

On Saturday 6th February, the Junior Girls Freestyle Swimming team travelled to Coventry Sports Centre to compete in the English Schools Swimming Association Secondary Schools National Relay Finals. It was a great achievement to qualify for this prestigious event which is open to all schools from around the country, and follows several divisional qualifying competitions. The standard of swimming at this competition was exceptional and the CLFS team performed with tenacity. The team of Nathalie Richards (Captain), Emily Stewart, Rachel Dunne and Tabitha Read-Cayton finished in 14th place in a time of 2:03.75. Miss Higgins said: "Three of the four team are still eligible to swim in this age group next year so it was a great experience for a young team. It was a great accomplishment for the girls and I am proud of their efforts. Well done."

 

U10S NOT QUITE FIRST IN THEIR FIRST EVER HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

09/02/10

On Saturday 6th February Freemen's hosted an U10 hockey tournament also involving Downsend and Cranleigh. All three schools entered two teams and after a round robin competition the winners were Cranleigh A. The Freemen's A team played brilliantly all morning in what was their first ever tournament and won their first four matches convincingly before losing narrowly 2-3 to Cranleigh in their last match. For the B team the morning proved to be a steep learning curve but the girls listened carefully to the coaching they were given and worked extremely hard showing good improvement in every match they played.

Mrs Bennett said: "Opportunities to play in tournaments such as this provide invaluable match experience for our young players and we are hoping to make this tournament an annual event in the school calendar."

 

U10 RUGBY TOUR 2010

08/02/10

On Friday 29th January 22 boys left Ashtead Park for their first rugby tour as CLFS pupils. On arrival at Terra Nova Preparatory school in Cheshire, the pupils met their opponents for that afternoon’s game before setting off to Jodrell Bank, an astrophysics centre. This trip clearly inspired the boys as both CLFS A and B teams played some excellent running rugby and defeated Terra Nova 40-5 and 45-30 respectively.

That evening the boys made the short journey to Edgeley Park to watch an exciting match between Sale Sharks and Northampton Saints, with the end result being 14-20. The second fixture on the Saturday was in doubt due to a deep frost, but after a long warm-up and discussion between staff, CLFS played Ryley’s Preparatory in a game of touch, with both teams playing some exciting rugby, pleased to have played despite the conditions.

The party then changed sports and visited Old Trafford Football Stadium, known as the 'Theatre of Dreams', and the boys must have thought they were dreaming as they went on a guided tour of the stadium including the changing rooms, lounges, trophy room and even walking down the tunnel!

The weather reports for Sunday were the talk of both boys and staff and unfortunately the tour party woke up to several inches of snow. This therefore meant our final fixtures against Sandbach RUFC were cancelled. Mr Bird, who lead the tour said: "All boys who were involved experienced the wonders of rugby touring and will hopefully remember the trip long into the future. I would like to thank all the boys who conducted themselves in a mature and independent manner and also the other members of staff who supported the trip both before and during our time in the North West."

 

PRACTICE PAYS OFF FOR MUSICIANS

04/02/10

On February 2nd 2010, CLIC Sargent representative Emily Jenkins, visited the school to meet the music staff and some of the children who participated in the Music Department Practice-a-Thon in the Autumn Term. Children across the School managed to raise a final grand sum of £1349.55. 

Emily was delighted with the final amount, thanking the children for their efforts and hard work. She also gave the department food for thought about how even more money could be raised in the future.  

It is a perennial task trying to get children to practise daily, but we were delighted that so many children took part and helped to raise the money, and by doing so were able to improve their own playing. 

Pictured around the piano with Emily Jenkins (back row, far left) are the music staff, Mrs Pritchard, Mr Dodds and Ms Krawec, and some of the children who helped raise the money. From left to right are Abigail Bruce (U2R), Stephanie Elstub (U3G), Natalya Robinson (L2DC), Emily Elstub (U2R), Andrew Brinkworth (L5G1) and Alice Witt (U4W2).  Together, they managed to raise over £350. 

Ms Krawec said "Well done and thank you to all the fundraisers and those who donated so generously."

 

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM SWIMMING SUCCESS FOR CLFS

03/02/10

On Thursday 28th January the CLFS girls’ swimming team took part in the Surrey Schools Individual Swimming Championships at Trinity school in Croydon. All events were contested over 100 metres and the girls all performed brilliantly.

In the lower junior competition CLFS had competitors in all five events. In the breaststroke Millie Reed was first in a time of 1:22.84 and Zoe Lowrey was first in the backstroke in a time of 1:21.45. Aila Diffey was third in a time of 1:22.64 in the Individual Medley and Tabitha Read-Cayton was third in the freestyle with a time of 1:09.56. In the butterfly Freddie Penniket-Dessent was sixth in a time of 1:30.98. These excellent results meant that the lower junior team were crowned champions in the team event.

In the junior competition Rachel Dunne was third in the butterfly in a time of 1:17.45, Nathalie Richards was third in the backstroke in a time of 1:11.89, Emma Archer-Lock was fourth in the breaststroke in a time of 1:33.92, and Emily Stewart was fifth in the freestyle in a time of 1:07.62. The junior team were third in the team competition despite not having a full team.

Lucy Archer-Lock competed in the intermediate breaststroke event and finished in fourth place. The girls performed well against some strong competitors and congratulations must go to Millie Reed and Nathalie Richards who were selected to represent the ‘County Schools Team’ in March.

 

CLFS SWIMMERS HOPE HOME ADVANTAGE HELPS

22/01/10

CLFS last night hosted the 'I.A.P.S. National Swimming Championships Regional Round' where five schools - CLFS, Danes Hill, Hazelwood, Unicorn and The Mall - competed against each other in both boys and girls events. These results will be recorded and ranked by time alongside all of the results from the regional rounds around the country, and in March, the top 16 swimmers in the individual events and top 12 relay teams from across the country will be announced to compete at the IAPS national finals at K2 Leisure Centre, Crawley on 15th May 2010.

 

COMMUNITY ACCOLADES FOR OUR STUNNING MUSICIANS

 

22/01/10

 

On Saturday 16th January at the church of St Martin’s, Dorking, Ashtead Choral Society performed Karl Jenkins ‘The Armed Man’ and John Rutter’s ‘Magnificat’ under the baton of Mr Paul Dodds. A guest Imam from the local Morden Mosque intoned the Call to Prayer at the appropriate juncture, the simulation of horror by over 100 members of the ACS choral society was suitably harrowing and the Last Post was played by an unseen trumpeter after 30 seconds of deathly hush.

The stars of the evening were our talented young musicians, both current and former pupils. The concert was a sell-out and the students’ performances were stunning, the accolades have poured in since from all areas of the local community.

The musicians were Ellen Timothy (soprano), Kate Aitchison (mezzo-soprano), and Leo Morrell (baritone). The orchestral ensemble included David Pearce (trumpet), Rebecca Johns (trumpet), Jeremy Cole (organ), Ms Natalka Krawec (piano) and Mr James O’Carroll (percussion).

Kate and Leo’s rich and powerful tones held the audience motionless during their solos and conveyed a maturity of voice beyond their years. The applause at the end of the evening for them was overwhelming. Jeremy, who has not only been a musically gifted CLFS pupil for many years, but also a frequent and popular guest organist at previous ACS concerts, was again most warmly applauded after his superlative playing throughout the evening.

Special mention goes to David Pearce for the ethereal quality of the Last Post from the back of the church. Both he and Rebecca Johns coped admirably with the complexities of the trumpet scores and the exposed musical rhythms.

John Rutter’s ‘Magnificat’ was a vibrant and youthful piece, full of energetic and syncopated South American dance rhythms, interspersed by gentler subtle melodies. 

Ellen Timothy, taking on the solo soprano role, captivated the audience by the beauty of her voice, which echoed to the furthermost corners of the roof. Ellen is already a music scholar at CLFS and a member of two National Youth Choirs, with substantial experience of national opera. The three solo movements – ‘Et Misericordium’, ‘Esurientes’ and ‘Sancta Maria’ – were each delivered with an exquisitely pure and thrilling sound.

Mr Dodds, Head of Music, said: “This is truly where CLFS lies – in the heart of the local community – and events such as these, showcasing the talents our youngsters possess, alongside our friends, neighbours and colleagues, makes for a wonderful spirit of harmony which crosses every threshold of culture and religion.”

 

EXCITING EVENTS ANNOUNCED FOR NZ2010 RUGBY TOUR FUNDRAISING

21/01/10

The Boys PE and Games Department have announced a series of exciting public events this term to help with the fund raising effort for the summer rugby tour to New Zealand.

In July and August this year, 42 of the Upper 5 – Upper 6 pupils will be embarking on a tour of the ‘land of the long white cloud’ to try and conquer opposition who aspire to wear the famous All Black shirt. The CLFS pupils, staff and parents have been working exceptionally hard at fundraising for this tour to New Zealand and made good progress towards their target by selling refreshments on match days, getting player and brochure sponsors, packing supermarket bags and holding an enormously enjoyable and successful Winter Ball.

The next exciting events include the Sporting Tours Quiz Night on Saturday 30th January, the Sporting Tours Salsa/Latin Night (including professional demonstrations and lessons) on Saturday 27th February, and the Sporting Tours Sponsored ‘Row the Length of New Zealand’ event on Friday 26th March.

Tickets for these events and sponsorship of players, tour and kit is available from the Boys PE and Games department. For more information please contact Mr Jon Moore by email at jmoore@clfs.surrey.sch.uk or telephone 01372822437.

 

BOY'S INTERHOUSE CROSS COUNTRY

14/01/10

The CLFS Inter-House Cross Country proved to be as competitive as ever in the final two weeks of the Autumn Term in some challenging conditions.

Every boy in from Form 1 to Lower 5 had the opportunity to represent their House over varying distances and courses. The Seniors also raced with eight members of each House representing their respective Houses.

Results

Form 1 - Hale, Gresham, Whittington (Winner Aaron Teale, Whittington)

Lower 2 - Hale, Whittington, Gresham (Winner Fred Geen Hale - New Record)

Middle Junior - Whittington, Gresham, Hale (Oliver Williams, Whittington)

Upper Junior - Gresham, Whittington, Hale (Edward Vinter, Gresham)

Intermediate - Gresham, Whittington, Hale (Sam Eglen, Gresham- New Record)

Senior - Whittington, Gresham, Hale (Oliver Garrod, Hale - New Record)

Mr James Gibson, Boys PE and Games, said: "I congratulate all boys who took part, but special mention must go to Oliver Garrod of Lower 6 (pictured) and Sam Eglen, Upper 4, both of whom smashed the schools records in their respective age groups and who have qualified in 1st place in their age groups at the Distirct Cross Country Competition."

 

CHRISTMAS BANNED AT CLFS!

22/12/09

At the annual internal CLFS debate on Wednesday 16th December, the motion was put forward that 'This House is boycotting Christmas to save the planet'. There were strong arguments from both teams, with members of Junior DebSoc joining the debate alongside members of Senior DebSoc for the first time. Points were made including the amount of deforestation required for Christmas trees, cards and wrapping paper from the team in favour of boycotting Christmas, with counter arguments in favour of Christmas concerning the effect on the retail trade, and Christmas being a time of happiness in dark economic times.

The winning motion was too close to call until the team in favour of Christmas sensationally changed their plea to call for a complete ban on Christmas! After some very emotive, and somewhat theatrical arguments were put forward, accompanied by a blanket refusal to let the other team pull them up on a point of information, the gathered audience had no hesitation agreeing that 'Christmas should be banned' to be the winner. It didn't stop them all charging off on their holidays though.....

 

YOUNG VOICES BUT GREAT VOICES AT THE O2 ARENA

22/12/09

On Tuesday 1st December, the Music Department took 90 children from the Junior School to the O2 Arena to take part in a Young Voices concert.  This is the first time that City of London Freemen’s School has taken part in one of these concerts, but Young Voices is now in its 13th year. 

Cantabile and Phoenix Junior Choirs had been working very hard all term learning the huge range of songs for the event. We performed two Gospel songs at the Party in the Park concert back in September, but we also had to learn music from lots of different styles. There were songs about animals; songs in the current charts by artists such as Take That, Taylor Swift and the Sugababes; songs from the Classical genre such as Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck and even songs from the 80s.

The enormity of the event did not really hit until we arrived at the arena and stepped inside the venue. Over 8000, yes eight thousand, children from a variety of different schools were there with us, and after a lunch break, we spent the afternoon rehearsing with the live band, ably led by resident conductor, David Lawrence.

 

It was during this amazingly exhilarating rehearsal when we truly saw the effect that Young Voices has on all those involved and the sheer excitement generated by so many working towards one goal. The event in the evening was quite simply an unforgettable experience for all of the children. The pupils, who were the stars of the show, performed to a capacity audience of thousands in one of the biggest arenas in the country. They were joined by singer V. V. Brown, Classical vocal quarter All Angels and street dance group Urban Strides. It was a fantastic, fitting end to the rollercoaster ride that was Young Voices.

 

U14 HOCKEY GIRLS THE FOURTH BEST IN SURREY, WHILST U18 AND U16 ARE BOTH SURREY PLATE COMPETITION WINNERS

 

21/12/09

City of London Freemen’s School were celebrating hockey success as the Under 14s came fourth in Surrey whilst the U16s and U18s both won their plate competition.

The U14s (pictured) stormed into the finals day of the Surrey Hockey Tournament. They won their pool games against Epsom 1-0 after dominating the game, JAGS 1-0 after playing well as a unit and taking one of a few chances that came their way, and Oxsted School 6-0 after again dominating the game and working well as a team.

Going through to the quarter finals as group winners, the team went on to beat Alleyn’s School 2-0. The team was confident and determined to win. The girls settled into their own style of play manipulating our strong right side. The defence improved enormously throughout the tournament and enabled the team to retain possession and create effective phases of attack. 

The finals day on Wednesday 18th November at Surbiton Hockey Club was a round robin affair and the girls unfortunately lost to Kingston Grammar 0-4, Sir Williams Perkins 0-1, and St Georges 1-2. At the end of the day, we had no medals to show, but came away with the title of the fourth best Under 14 team in Surrey. Miss Katie Ridley, Head of Girls' Games said: "The girls played fantastically well, and on another day, we could've finished higher, but I congratulate the whole team on agreat achievement."

  

Meanwhile both the U18’s and U16’s won their respective plate competitions at Surbiton Hockey Club. After disappointing results for both teams in the preliminary rounds of the Surrey Hockey Tournaments which meant they did not progress to finals day they were out to prove themselves.

The U18’s quickly dealt with Tormead in their semi-final eventually winning 7-0. The final was against Reigate Grammar School who had played their semi final prior to finals day and were keen to make their mark in the competition. However a strong Freemen’s side had other ideas and with excellent constructive play and swift passing throughout the whole team, Freemen’s ran out 7-1 winners meaning the U18’s were also crowned ‘Surrey Plate Winners’.

The U16’s played Winston Churchill in their semi-final and we played very decisively, winning the game 11-0. After a quick change of venue Freemen’s faced Prior’s Field in the Final of the Plate Competition. We started well and with some swift accurate passing quickly converted our chances. Prior’s Field applied some pressure to our defence but it was quickly dealt with. The final score was 6-0 the U16 were crowned ‘Surrey Plate Winners’.

Miss Nicky Higgins was delighted with both plate wins, and said: “Well done to all those involved. The teams produced excellent performances, and to win two plate competitions is fantastic.”

 

SWEENEY TODD REVIEW

08/12/09

In September the music and drama departments of City of London Freemen’s School took on a seemingly impossible task: Sweeney Todd was chosen as the senior school biannual musical. However, three performances of Christopher Bond’s adaptation, with music by Stephen Sondheim were put on from 26th-28th November at the Ashtead school, to great applause.

From the very opening of the show with the full company of 63 13 to 18 year-olds on stage it was clear that this would be no ordinary school musical. The cast were accompanied by a 23 piece band. Lead by Mr Paul Dodds Director of Music at CLFS and the show’s musical Director, the band comprised of talented staff, pupils and professional musicians who played Sondheim’s infamously challenging score with ease. Pupils, lead by Mr Chris Ruby, were also responsible for the professional lighting and sound systems which effectively dramatised the events of the show. The red and black themed Victorian costumes, designed by Mrs Tong and managed throughout the performances by Mrs Dodds, set a macabre scene for the gripping tale.

The story begins in 1849 London witha bitter Mr Todd returning from exile in Australia in search of his family. Upon his arrival at the flat he used to occupy on Fleet Street he meets Mrs Lovett and learns of the suicide of his wife and adoption of his daughter. Between Todd’s determination to seek revenge on Judge Turpin and Lovett’s desperation for her pies to be a success the pair get carried away with their cut throat plan. The gruesome plot unfolds in a collection of complicated songs whose harmonies were tackled expertly by the entire cast, mixing the menacing tone seamlessly with the comic lyrics. The lead of Sweeney Todd played by James Trinder, 16, managed to capture and maintain the eerie and sinister qualities of the murderous barber. His partner in crime, Mrs Lovett, played by Maddy Dempsey, 17, perfectly characterised the pie shop owner with the comic timing of a very accomplished actress.

The set, described by Mr Dodds as ‘The most expansive set we have ever had’, belonged to Royal Holloway. It expertly transformed the scenes between London’s Fleet Street, Mrs Lovett’s pie shop, the bakehouse and Todd’s barbershop, complete with a mechanised chair which cleverly led to the ‘disappearance’ of many unsuspecting men in need of a shave.

Thursday night’s audience included Nick Bailey, Dr Truman in the award winning UK soap opera EastEnders, who said: “Seldom have I seen an amateur production presented with as much joy, group support and clarity. The level of commitment was palpable and the characterisations clear. You all made a very complex piece concise and enjoyable. The performance was excellent.” The entire cast and production team were thrilled to be praised so highly on the opening night by such an accomplished actor.

Despite being even more of a challenge than the school’s highly memorable musical production Les Miserables in 2003, many members of the audience who witnessed both thought Sweeney Todd outshined all previous musicals ever performed at CLFS. Mr Dodds said: “I did my first show here 21 years ago and I do believe this is the best cast I have ever had.” Mr Phil Tong, Head of Drama at CLFS and the show’s Director, described just how much of a challenge Sweeney Todd was to perform as a school musical: “Sometimes you have to be brave enough to tackle the really daunting things in life. For me one of the most exciting things was that everyone who worked on the show was brave enough to take on the most ambitious musical project ever performed at CLFS”.

The audience, who gave the company a standing ovation, were left amazed at what had been achieved in such a short space of time by such an talented set of young people.

 

ANOTHER MARK OF SUCCESS

07/12/09

It’s official – City of London Freemen’s School’s pupils are provided with one of the finest preparations for life in the country.

CLFS is proud to have achieved Career Mark, a nationally-recognised award for excellence in helping young people make choices and in supporting them in trying to make those choices a reality, particularly as we are one of only about 100 schools to have done so since Career Mark was first awarded in 1997 - many more schools have tried to attain Career Mark, but have given up because they fail to convince Career Mark Assessors that their provision meets the required standard. Provision such as the School’s Personal, Social and Health Education programme came under the scrutiny of Career Mark’s Assessor, as of course did CLFS’s performance in such areas as helping pupils with career decisions, subject options, degree and university choices, gap year decisions, work experience, applications, interviews, and with the provision of information supporting all of these activities.

The process involved in gaining Career Mark is very rigorous, demanding the compilation of volumes of written evidence and an on-site visit by an Assessor from outside the School. CLFS is therefore particularly proud to have been awarded 'Career Mark' at its first attempt and, in the words of the Assessor’s report, “without reservation”.

Bernard Hall, CLFS’s Head of Careers, said: “I feel that the award of Career Mark is yet another indication of the quality of education offered to pupils at the School. The award is a tribute to the work done both by myself and by my colleagues in a range of capacities throughout the School. One of the special features of careers work at CLFS is that I am a qualified and experienced Careers Advisor employed full-time at the School. Whilst possibly not unique, I feel that this arrangement emphasises how seriously the School takes the concept of 'education for life' – 'careers' provision at many schools seems to be met by a subject teacher with a few hours per week allotted for careers work, possibly drawing on some outside support. I strongly believe that CLFS’s arrangements enhance factors such as accessibility, quality and speed of service, to both pupils and their parents”.

 

OUTSTANDING SUCCESS FOR FREEMEN’S IN THE REGIONAL SCHOOLS BIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS

30/11/09

On Sunday 29th November 31 pupils from CLFS competed in the Regional Schools Biathlon Championships at K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley. There were over 600 competitors in this competition and the standard was very high. The competition comprised of a 50 metre swim and 500 metre run for those in Years 5 to 7. The pupils in Years 8 to 13 took part in a 100 metre swim and 1000 metre run. For many of our pupils it was their first biathlon competition and all of our pupils performed with great sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

In an outstanding set of results, 19 of our pupils finished in the top six of their age group and gained trophies and medals.

In the Year 5 Girls competition, Alicia Wilson was crowned regional champion and Anna Whitworth was second. In the team competition Alicia Wilson, Anna Whitworth and Rachel Slater were crowned team winners.

In the Year 5 Boys competition, Jamie Wilks was awarded best swim, and was crowned regional champion. In the team competition Jamie Wilks, Oliver Cooper and Matthew Stanley were also crowned champions.

In the Year 7 Girls, Millie Reed was crowned regional champion and Tabitha Read-Cayton was second. Tabitha was also awarded best swim. In the team competition Millie Reed, Tabitha Read-Cayton, and Aila Diffey were also crowned team champions.

In Year 7 Boys Chris Richards was awarded best swim and crowned regional champion. The team of Chris Richards, Edward Vinter and John Morrison were awarded second place in the team competition.

In the Year 11 Girls team event, the team of Jessica Ventham, Gemma Golding and Georgia Eldridge were awarded second place.

Miss Nicky Higgins said: “It was a really successful day for our pupils and they performed incredibly well in a very strong field of athletes. I am very proud of what they have achieved. Well done to everyone who took part.”

 

WE ACHIEVED OUR TARGET (2.0) OF BECOMING REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

27/11/09

Our team of Upper 6 economists today won their regional heat in the Target 2.0 competition (Bank of England and The Times Interest Rate Challenge). They presented their analysis of the current state of the economy and likely future direction to a team of three economists from the Bank of England, followed by recommendations of the action they would take to achieve the government's target of 2% inflation.

Based on their assessment of the slight pick-up in world trade, the significant amount of spare capacity in the economy and the fragile signs of a return in consumer confidence, as well as some slight recovery in bank lending to businesses and consumers, they recommended that the base rate should be held at the current rate of 0.5% and that quantitative easing should be maintained at the current level as it does appear to be effective.

They also made reference to the breaking news about the Dubai property group asking for an extra six months before they pay interest due on their lending, and considered the impact that this might have on banks, markets and confidence.

After questioning them closely about the detailed background to their reasoning the judges praised them for the structure of their analysis and the depth of their economic knowledge, and particulary liked the consumer confidence survey that they had carried out at the CLFS Prize Day in June and at Open Mornings in October and November.

The team, consisting of Stuart Keenan, Heather Shakerchi, Callum Ross and Michael Dawes, are all studying Economics at A-Level in Upper 6, but the data collection and analysis that was used in their presentation had been carried out by all 16 students who are studying Economics in Upper 6 this year, so this really was a team effort.

 

THE TIGER BECOMES A NAG

10/11/09

Congratulations to Kate Holmes who has been selected for the Under 16 National Age Group Squad Assessment Camp (‘NAGS’) on 14th and 15th November, meaning that Kate has reached the final stages of selection for the England Under 16 Hockey Squad. There are only 32 girls who have reached this stage so this is a great achievement.

Kate has progressed from the ‘Tonbridge Tigers’ squad which is the Junior Regional Performance Centre (Tier 1) to the ‘Saxon Tigers’ squad which is Tier 2. Kate was selected to play at the England Hockey Futures Cup, which took place during half term at Cannock Hockey Club. From this, Kate has been selected to attend the National Assessment Camp. Kate thoroughly enjoyed competing in the England Hockey Futures Cup and was very pleased to be part of the winning team.

Miss Nicky Higgins said: "This is fantastic achievement for Kate and is a result of real dedication and hard work. Kate is the first CLFS pupil who has been selected for this prestigious training camp and we are very proud of her. We wish her every success for this weekend at the National assessment camp."

 

NIGHTMARE RUNS LIKE A DREAM

05/11/09

On Sunday 18th October, the Freemen's Greenpower team took part in the National Final at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex. This was the fourth year in a row that the team have qualified for the event and were looking to break into the top 20 for the first time. The car was driven by a team of Upper 4 pupils who had qualified for the event by taking part in heats at Dunsfold and Rockingham.

The car called 'Nightmare', built entirely by pupils at the school, ran faultlessly for the four hour race which involoves a team of drivers taking it in turns to drive and act as the pit crew to change batteries and make running repairs as necessary. In the closing stages of the race as other teams' cars began to fail, 'nightmare' was rapidly catching the cars ahead of it and this led to an exciting finish with us overtaking 30 cars in the second half of the race. George Seymour who was the final driver of the day was not quite able to catch the other six cars who were on the same lap as Freemen's  at the end, so although we finished in 32nd place there was much for the team to be proud of. The team will be working on the car over the winter and it is hoped that the planned improvements will see the car climb further up the field next year.

 

GREASE WAS THE WORD AT CLFS

 

26/10/09

Over the half term holiday Grease was the word at City of London Freemen’s School! During a one week drama workshop, pupils from Years 3 to 8 took part in acting, singing and dancing, including techniques such as improvisation, different singing genres from musical theatre and several dance styles. On Friday 23rd October, the cast, led by Olli Meek as Danny, and Abi Jordan as Sandy, put on a 30 minute performance of Grease, that all of the group contributed toward, wowing the audience of families and staff.

Claire Ruby and Bradley Fricker, who ran the workshop, were very pleased with the end result: “The show has effectively been put on in three days, and the quality of it is due to the talent and enthusiasm shown by the children which really came through in the performance.”

 

SURREY SCHOOLS SWIMMING ASSOCIATION SECONDARY TEAM RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

16/10/09

On Thursday 15th October 12 girls from CLFS competed in the Surrey Schools Team Relay Swimming Championships at Trinity School in Croydon.

Millie Read, Zoe Lowrey, Aila Diffey and Tabitha Read-Cayton made up the Lower Junior team. They all swam incredibly well but were beaten into second place in both the Freestyle and Medley Relays by a very strong Guildford High team.

The Junior Team included Nathalie Richards, Emily Stewart, Rachel Dunne and Emma Archer-Lock. In the Medley relay they achieved third place and in the Freestyle relay they were narrowly beaten into fourth.

The Intermediate team of Jessica Ventham, Gemma Golding, Lucy Archer-Lock and Jesscia Filby swam well and gained sixth place in both the Freestyle and Medley Relays.

Miss Nicky Higgins, PE and Games teacher, said: “Well done to all who took part.”

 

MUSIC DEPARTMENT SIR MALCOM SARGENT APPEAL PRACTICE-A-THON

06/10/09

The music department is holding a week long practice-a-thon, in aid of CLICSargent, a charity that helps children with cancer. The week begins on Monday 12th October, in which pupils are encouraged to practice lots, and raise as much money as possible in the process.

Pupils can be encouraged in their quest, either through sponsorship or positive encouragement? Thank you for supporting the music department in this endeavour, and hopefully the increased practice will also prove beneficial to the pupils. Visit www.clicsargent.org.uk/practiceathon for further information.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FENCING VICTORY

05/10/09

City of London Freemen’s School were celebrating last weekend as James Frewin won the Under 17 National Championship Boys Epee held at Sheffield National Institute of Sport on Saturday 3rd October. James won all six of his round robin matches to progress to the knockout stage. He won all five direct elimination bouts beating the pre-tournament favourite 15-14 in the final. James was presented with a medal, trophy, and a ceremonial sword (pictured).

By winning this competition, James follows in the footsteps of many famous fencers including Tom Bennett who is now on the 2012 Olympic pathway. James’ victory follows on from his success in March 2009 winning the National Public Schools Championships in Nottingham.

James then followed his success on Sunday 4th October by finishing 8th in the Under 20 Championships, after being knocked out by the eventual winner, also held at Sheffield Institute of Sport.

 

CLFS CROSS COUNTRY FESTIVAL

21/09/09

On Sunday 20th September City of London Freemen’s School hosted its first invitational cross country event with races for U10 Girls, U10 Boys, U12 Girls and U12 Boys.

The U10 girls team trophy was won by Freemen’s with Rachel Slater running a brilliant tactical race, timing her sprint finish to perfection to take first place and the winners medal. Supporting Rachel, Anna Whitworth came 3rd, Emma Bridgeland 8th, Alicia Wilson 13th and Aisling Slater 15th.

The boys U10 race was won by Elliott Jones of Danes Hill, but a strong team performance from Cranmore, whose runners finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 10th, saw them take the team trophy in their age group.

The U12 girls race was dominated by a very strong run by Sophie Rumble and Thea Cosham of Danes Hill. However, Millie Reed led the way for Freemen’s finishing 3rd and with excellent performances from Georgia West 6th, Tatiana Dudnikova 7th and Freddie Penniket-Dessent 12th the Freemen’s team just edged ahead of Danes Hill to win the team trophy by one point.

The boys U12 race was won by Harry Spanforth of Danes Hill and in a closely contested team event Danes Hill emerged as the winners.  

Ms Alison Bennett, PE and Games Teacher at Freemen’s said: “Well done to all the runners who took part. We hope this inaugural event will become a permanent fixture in the School’s calendar”.

 

UNDER 10 RUGBY TEAM WINS SHIELD WITHOUT CONCEDING A POINT

21/09/09

City of London Freemens School were celebrating recently after the U10 IX Rugby team won the Reading Oratory Cardinal’s Shield 2009. Unbeaten in six games (against St John Beaumont, Donhead B, Oratory B, Abingdon Prep, Thorpe House and St Hughes) the boys scored 110 points without conceding any in reply, it was truly well deserved victory. Mr Andrew Bird, PE and Games teacher, said: “We are very proud of the boys who all played incredibly well. Winning the shield is a great start to the season and I look forward to building on this momentum.”

 

FREEMEN'S GIRLS GROWL ABOUT SUCCESS

17/09/09

Three of our Hockey players have been selected for the Tonbridge Tigers Hockey Squad - Kate Holmes (Under 16), Katelyn Aitchison (Under 17) and Cleo Halliday (Under 18). It is one of the Junior Regional Performance Centres, which involves training sessions and a tournament, and can lead on to selection for the High Performance Assessment Camps and England Hockey Futures Cup which leads onto the National Squad. Miss Higgins said: "Congratulations to the girls, we look forward to hearing their progress in the forthcoming training sessions and tournament."

 

FOLLOWING IN BOLT'S FOOTSTEPS

17/09/09

In August Amelia Reed (U3) participated in the National Schools Invitational Biathlon at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The competition involved a large field of strong athletes and consisted of a 1000 metre run followed by a 50 metre swim. The run was particularly difficult as it zigzagged across different surfaces making it hard to achieve a steady pace. However it was exciting for Millie to run on the same track as Usain Bolt. The swim was an easier one length sprint. At the end of a tough day Millie finished in 7th place in the run and 2nd in the swim which meant she was 5th overall and in a medal position.  

Miss Higgins said: "This was a great experience for Millie and good preparation for the forthcoming Schools Biathlon Qualifying competition in November. Well Done."

 

OUTSTANDING GCSE RESULTS AT FREEMEN’S

 

27/08/09

GCSE students at City of London Freemen’s School have gained record breaking GCSE results this year.

All 94 students achieved five or more passes at grades A*- C with 81.2% of grades being either A* or A. The overall pass rate this year for grades A* - C was 99.8%.

More than one third of the students gained straight A*s or As in all of their subjects and three students, Hannah Kent, Ben Reavley and Katherine Zinser achieved A* grades in all ten of their subjects.

Headmaster Philip MacDonald said: “I am very pleased with the results achieved by our GCSE students this year. These excellent results are the product of much hard work on the part of both the students and their teachers. Congratulations to everyone.”

 

RECORD A-LEVEL RESULTS AT FREEMEN’S

 

20/08/09

103 A-Level students at City of LondonFreemen’s School, Ashtead were celebrating record A-Level results today. The results broke records at the school with a 100% pass rate and 91.2% of the grades were either an A or B, some five per cent more than last year.

Almost all of the students will be able to confirm their places at their preferred universities and colleges and this year nine students have confirmed offers at either Oxford or Cambridge.

47 of the 103 students gained straight A grades, of these three students gained straight A grades in five subjects, 14 in four subjects and 30 in three subjects.

Philip MacDonald, Headmaster at Freemen’s, said: “This is again an outstanding set of A-Level results; I congratulate all our students and their teachers on a magnificent achievement this year. The continuing trend in higher A-Level results, especially in the traditional A-Level subjects at Freemen’s, is very encouraging and I wish all our students every success as they move on to Higher Education.”

 

FORMER STUDENT HAYLEY GRIFFITHS BIDS TO TOP CHARTS

11/08/09

Hayley Griffiths, who studied at Freemen's between 1993 and 2003, has just released her debut single Separated by Glass online, which will be followed by a full album in the Autumn.

Miss Griffiths, who started singing lessons at the age of six, has been the lead singer in the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance shows over the last five years, and has performed before the Emporer of Japan and in the Kremlin in Moscow.

Hayley has toured acropss Europe, North America, Russia, Japan and China but said: "The hardest thing has been being away from family and friends. I always look forward to coming home with such excitement and being back in Ashtead. It always feels like a bit of a treat and a holiday to be home."

Separated by Glass is available to download on various sites, including Amazon and iTunes. Miss Griffiths said: What I'm most excited about is that we have created something really different for the market. I don't think it sounds like anyone else and a goal for the album has been to modernise the approach to classical music. I love the rawness to what we have produced and hop it will find longevity as I'm sure every artist hopes."

 

FREEMEN'S WINS AWARDS FOR BEING A GOOD SCHOOL

12/08/09

The School was delighted to be told it had won not one, not two, but five awards from the Good Schools Guide. The 2009 awards are made on the basis of results for the three years 2006, 2007 and 2008 combined, and on the basis of the popularity of each subject relative to similar schools, and of the success that pupils achieve relative to other examinations they take.

The School has won the 2009 Good Schools Guide:

GCSE Award for Girls taking Electronics at GCSE at an English School.

GCSE Award for Girls taking Physics at GCSE at an English Independent School.

GCSE Award for Boys taking Physics at GCSE at an English Independent School.

A Level Award for Boys taking Physics at A Level at an English Independent School.

A Level Award for Boys taking Psychology at AS Level at an English Independent School.

The School is obviously delighted to receive these prestigious awards. Mr Mike Collier, Head of Electronics, said: "Our girls have averaged 95% at GCSE over the last three years. It is great to receive recognition for their hard work and dedication". Mr James Hallam, Head of Science and Physics, said: Congratulations to those who teach these year groups. We are very proud of our pupils for their positive attitude to the subject and to their achievements". Miss Joanna Vinall, Head of Psychology, was equally pleased saying: "I am delighted to receive this recognition for the department and the school. This is down to our students and I am both very pleased and proud of the achievements of everyone who worked so hard for such excellent results".

 

CLFS SUMMER MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP – 'TAKE A CHANCE ON ME'

24/07/09

Over the week of 13th – 17th July the School offered a week long workshop for students at CLFS and their friends to be part of an Abba based musical – 'Take A Chance On Me’ with the aim to put a show on in five days. The week consisted of all three disciplines – acting, singing and dancing.

The workshop was for all levels of ability and flair children aged 7 to 16 took part. Auditions took place, and then time was spent on techniques such as improvisation, some different singing genres from musical theatre and several dance styles. Various drama exercises helped with confidence building, script reading and voice strengthening. The week ended with a 30 minute performance of ‘Take A Chance On Me’ that the whole group contributed towards.

The workshop was run by Claire Ruby and Bradley Fricker who both graduated from Guildford School of Acting with BA Honours in Musical Theatre. They are now professional working actors – Bradley recently returning from an International tour of 'Pirates of Penzance' with The Carl Rosa Opera Company and Claire being part of Ray Cooney's Musical 'Time's Up!' They have both acted in 'Titanic', 'Oklahoma' and 'The Full Monty', among others. They have taught together for six years, running numerous workshops for all ages and abilities.

 

FIRST XI CRICKETERS WIN NATIONAL FESTIVAL

24/07/09

After a very successful season which started way back in October on their tour of Dubai the 1st XI cricketers finished their season on a high by winning their festival, held from 28th June to 1st July. The festival was based in King’s Bruton School, Somerset, and CLFS played three days of cricket against St Peter’s York (Yorkshire), Ardingly (Sussex) and the West county hosts Bruton. In scorching conditions the Freemen’s boys recorded a favourable draw against Ardingly on the first day. On the second day a fifty from Fred Davies and sixty from James Godfrey lead the way in a thrilling run chase which Freemen’s won in the last over. With the game between Ardingly and St Peter’s finishing with two hours left to play in our game, CLFS knew that a draw with Burton would be enough to win the tournament. Mr Moore said "This was a fitting way to finish a very successful season (Played 15, Won 11, Draw 3, Lost 1 - excluding Dubai tour and twenty20 games) and for the upper 6 (pictured) to complete their CLFS sporting careers. Well done to all the boys involved."

 

LONDON YOUTH GAMES

13/07/09

On Saturday 4th July six pupils from the School represented the City of London borough at the London Youth Games at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. This event is the largest youth sports event in Europe and all 33 London Boroughs were represented. The six girls made up the swimming team alongside pupils from other City schools. The standard of swimming was extremely high with many swimming clubs entering teams.

                      

The junior competition combined swimmers from years 7, 8 and 9. In the junior butterfly event Rachel Dunne finished in 23rd place, Zoe Clarke came 13th in the junior breaststroke, Laura Douglas was 20th in the backstroke and Danielle Tullett was 12th in the freestyle. The medley relay team and freestyle relay teams both came 20th.

The senior competition combined swimmers from years 10, 11, 12 and 13. In the senior butterfly event Jessica Ventham finished in 11th place and in the senior backstroke Gemma Golding came 17th. Jessica swam in the medley relay which finished in 16th place and both Jessica and Gemma swam in the freestyle relay which came 17th.

Miss Nicky Higgins said: "It was a great experience for the girls to be part of such a big event and to be in a team with pupils from the other City schools. The Freemen’s girls were the youngest members of the team and therefore can benefit from competing in The London Youth Games in the future."

 

NEW HEAD FOR THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

 

03/07/09

The School is pleased to announce that the new Head of the Junior School will be Mr Mark Beach. Mr Beach will take up his appointment in April 2010.

Mr Beach, who is 42, was educated at Sutton Valence School and then Gordonstoun. He has a degree in History from The University of Wales and took an MA in Education in 2001. Having travelled in South East Asia as a young graduate, he taught at Clayesmore School before becoming Head of History, Director of Studies and Deputy Headmaster at Barfield School, in Runfold Farnham. He has been Headmaster of Longacre School since 2003 where, under his leadership the school has grown and flourished. Mr Beach has experience as a preparatory school governor and is an Independent Schools’ Inspector.

Mr Beach has three young children and among his interests are rugby, sailing, skiing, running, cycling and fishing, as well as naval history. Mark Beach will bring a wealth of experience in preparatory schools to Freemen’s and will build upon Ian Thorpe’s many achievements so that the Junior School will continue to thrive under his leadership in the years ahead.

Mrs Louise Jowitt has agreed to be Acting Head of the Junior School from September 2009 until April 2010, providing continuity of care for all our Junior School pupils during that time.

 

NIGHTMARE IN NAME ONLY FOR GREENPOWER TEAM

03/07/09

On Thursday 2nd July Freemen's Greenpower team took part in the Midlands Heat which is held at the Rockingham Circuit in Northamptonshire. 55 teams took part with Freemen's racing their new car called 'Nightmare' for the first time. The car had been built as an A level project by Jonathan Sneller and then completed by the members of the Freemen's Young Engineers' Club.

The races are four hours long and see teams of five or six drivers competing to complete as many laps as possible. Employing a very defensive 'just get round' strategy, the team still came a very creditable 14th place and this result should see them qualify for the National Final at Goodwood Motor circuit in October. Further improvements are planned to the car over the summer break.

The team consisted of Harry Househam and Steven Pilley in U4 and Hugh Ward, George Bender and Alex Freeman in L4. Well done to all of them on a magnificent performance.

 

SCHOOL CELEBRATES NATIONAL SWIMMING GLORY

 

26/06/09

The U11 girls’ team from City of London Freemen’s School won two National titles on Saturday 20th June at the English Schools Swimming Association’s 15th Team Championships for Primary Schools, held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. The team had already dominated earlier in the year, winning the County and Division rounds in both the Medley and Freestyle relays to qualify for the Championships in this, the ESSA’s 60th Anniversary year.

The girls’ freestyle team, consisting of Tabby Read-Cayton, Zoe Lowrey, Aila Diffey and Anna Christiansen, started the afternoon in great style by qualifying and then winning the National Freestyle relay title. The team then went onto achieve even more success when, later that day, the medley team, consisting of Tabby Read-Cayton, Millie Reed, Anna Christiansen and Zoe Lowrey stormed through the heats in an amazing time of 1.03.79. They broke the national record in the process, held by Millfield School since 2005. In their final race of the afternoon they secured their second National title, finishing four seconds ahead of the second placed team. The perfect afternoon was then capped when the third trophy of the event was awarded to Freemen’s, as the top girls’ team of the championships.

Mrs Michelle Restall and Mrs Philippa Whiteley were delighted with the girl’s success, and said: "The girls thoroughly deserved to win both National titles and set a new record. All year, they have shown great enthusiasm and dedication, training extremely hard. All of us here at CLFS are extremely proud of their achievement." Mr Garfield, the swimming coach, added: "They are simply the best team in the history of primary school swimming. To break the medley record was amazing and well deserved, I am very proud of them."

 

CITY OF LONDON FREEMEN’S HOST INAUGURAL PREPARATORY SCHOOLS SWIMMING FESTIVAL

26/06/09

On Thursday 25th June, 140 swimmers, spectators and teachers descended on the swimming pool at Freemen’s for the Inaugural Preparatory Schools Swimming Festival which concluded the highly successful swimming season for CLFS. Teams from Cranmore, Milbourne Lodge, Ewell Castle, Aldro and Elmhurst competed and swam in some highly competitive races over varying distances and strokes culminating in both the Medley and Freestyle relays.

The CLFS girls team were crowned winners, yet another piece of silverware to add to their National IAPS, ESSA National Championships and ‘ESSA best school’ accolades. The CLFS boys team finished a commendable second against some strong local opposition and credit must go to these swimmers who have had a long and eventful season.

 

SURREY COUNTY CRICKET CLUB CONTINUE THEIR LINK WITH CLFS

26/06/09

Surrey County Cricket Board continue to base their Academy training at the City of London Freemen’s School and over recent weeks have been singing the praises of the facility which has been provided.

Gareth Townsend (pictured coaching Rory Burns Ex CLFS pupil and Surrey 2nd XI player during a Surrey session), director of the SCCC Academy, has not only been impressed with the idyllic setting of the cricket facility but also the quality and professionalism of the Groundsmanship headed up by Gary Marshall.

The ground is currently used for Surrey’s weekly academy training, Surrey County U15 games and some South East regional fixtures. Comments made by experienced coaches and visiting professional cricketers recently suggested that the CLFS 1st XI would be an excellent venue for a Surrey 2nd XI fixture.

 

IAPS ATHLETICS WEST SURREY COMPETITION 2009

24/06/09

CLFS athletes competed in the West Surrey Athletics in Bracknell on Thursday 18th June, with a record number qualifying for the National Prep Schools Athletics on Monday 29th June at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium. Miss Stacey Bone, Games and PE Teacher, said: "All the girls competed strongly on the day and did us proud. It's a fantastic achievement for the school to have so many girls through to the next round."

Medals & Certificates for 1st place - all of whom qualify for the Nationals:

Aila Diffey – U12 200m

Tabitha Read-Cayton – U12 800m

Amy Owens – U14 300m

Phillipa Nicholls – U14 100m

Zoe Clarke – U14 Triple Jump

B. Pembridge – Relay

Other National qualifiers, who gained qualifying time/distance in 2nd place:

Aila Diffey – Relay

Tabitha Read-Cayton – Relay

Amy Owens – Triple Jump

Phillipa Nicholls – 200m

Zoe Clarke – Long Jump

Bethany Pembridge – Relay

Millie Reed – 1500m

Libby Wells – 800m

Rebecca Baker – High Jump

Certificates for 2nd Place:

Millie Reed – U12 1500m

N. Richards – U14 1500m

Phillipa Nicholls – U14 200m

Aila Diffey – U12 70m Hurdles

Libby Wells – U14 800m

E. Thorn – U12 Javelin

Amy Owens - U14 Triple Jump

U10 Relay Team - Swift, J. Clarke, Marshall, R. Slater

Certificates for 3rd Place: 

Tabitha Read-Cayton – U12 100m

Rachel Slater – U10 150m

F. Diffey – U14 800m

Rebecca Baker – U14 High Jump

U14 Relay Team – A. Owens, E. Spencer-Ruddy, Z. Clarke, Phillipa Nicholls

 

SOLD FOR SUCCESS

17/06/09

All pupils in Upper 4 took part in 'Sell for Success' on 16th June 2009.  This was a day-long event, run by Young Enterprise, where pupils had the opportunity to form a company, design, market and then sell a new games console in a fictitious town.  Pupils were broken down into the departments of Sales and Customer Service, Marketing, Finance and Production.  Each company worked alongside an external business advisor and made appointments throughout the day with a real bank manager and supply manager. They also had to negotiate a deal, design a 'shop' display and give a group presentation. Pupils remarked on having learnt the importance of communication and teamwork, and Miss Gillespie, who organised the day said: "I was thoroughly impressed with the standard of the competition and how involved each pupil was on the day. Each company competed with great professionalism and I would like to congratulate the yellow team on winning the prize for Company Most Likely to Succeed. Well done on your achievements Upper 4, the day was certainly a success."

 

THE CHRYSALIDS

 

16/06/09

To describe the drama production of The Chrysalids performed by the Drama Department, we would use one word – brilliant. The adaptation of John Wyndham’s novel was not only directed expertly, but successfully brought to life by the talented cast, consisting of pupils in years Upper 3-Upper 4 (aged 11-14). 

The Chrysalids tells the story of the future: after the nuclear holocaust when most of the population are normal – pure people; however the others – outcasts, Fringers, are pushed away from the rest of society, for having such little mutations as six toes on both feet. In fact, this example is true of the character ‘Sophie’, whose family is hiding her secret from the rest of the world, and ‘The Authorities’ for fear of their lives.

When she is discovered by ‘David’, and the truth is uncovered, a dangerous friendship forms between them. If you don’t know the rest of the story, then you missed out on one of the best productions to happen at Freemen’s in a while. However, if you were unlucky enough to miss it, (it was sold out on two nights) then a DVD will be available soon.

The Junior School pupils excelled themselves and it is safe to say that the future of drama at the Ashtead school is in good hands if the promising performances from every member of the cast who worked brilliantly together as a team, and individually, is anything to go by. Directed expertly by Mr Richard Metcalfe and Mr Phil Tong, The Chrysalids was, from the opening, a piece filled with dramatic tension and suspense, a thought-provoking and above all outstanding portrayal of the well-known novel.

The opening was captivating and enthralling, drawing the audience directly to the storyline. From the moment the echoing words “Two hands, ten fingers, two feet, ten toes…” resounded through the hall, we were immediately intrigued. 

The play was set in the round giving the audience a wider perspective on every scene. The scenery was imaginative and must have taken a long time to construct, and the end product was spectacular: the time spent was definitely worth it.

One of the factors of the play that really added to the atmosphere was costume. Although the play is set in the future, the costumes were emulating the kind of clothes you would expect to see in the early 1900’s. This was interesting and was an immediate clue to the audience of the backwards nature of the society shown in the play. The costumes and make up of the ‘Fringers’ in particular were amazing. They wore ripped and tattered clothes, which contrasted perfectly with the costume of the other members of the cast, again showing the clear difference between the ‘pure’ families and the ‘Fringers’.

Sound effects were used impressively to create an echo effect in certain parts of the play. It was used to show the exchange of thoughts between the telepathic children, which was both eerie and powerful in showing the sense of paranormal.

The students who took part in this imaginative play really do show great promise for the drama department at Freemen’s. I expect to see all sorts of amazing plays during the course of the next few years. Freemen’s does really have amazing talent and the fact that it is in both sections of the school shows what high standards are expected of these pupils. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the play.

Review by Rebecca Howe, Chloe Ishmael and Catriona Chick

 

WEEKEND OF OLD FREEMEN'S EVENTS SEES LAUNCH OF FREEMEN'S FRIENDS

15/06/09

Pupils who left the School in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's returned to CLFS on Saturday 13th June for a specially organised 'Decade Dinner'. Approximately 50 former pupils attended to catch up with former class mates and reminisce about their days at the School and their memories of CLFS. They were treated to a captivating performance by the Four-Tunes, the School's own Barber Shop Quartet, followed by a fine three course meal.

The Sunday, 14th June, saw Old Freemen's Day. Run by the OFA, it was a chance for former pupils of all ages to come back to the School and partake in various activities throughout the day. The Old Free's tasted success in both the Cricket and Tennis matches against the current School teams, showing there is no substitute for experience.

The weekend also saw the launch of Freemen's Friends - a new online community that will allow former pupils to easily keep in touch or get in touch with their classmates and the School.

Freemen's Friends will be able to upload photographs, inform peers of recent news, publicise events, offer professional services, and of course keep in contact with people you went to school with.

Go to www.freemensfriends.co.uk to register and start re-connecting.

 

FREEMEN’S SWIMMERS RE-WRITE THE RECORD BOOKS

07/06/09

Under 11 swimmers from the School have been celebrating national glory with success at the recent IAPS National Prep Schools’ Finals in Crawley. The medley relay team, consisting of Zoe Lowrey, Millie Reed, Tabby Read-Cayton and Anna Christiansen claimed their gold medal, smashing the existing national record by three seconds in the process. The girls then also went onto qualify for the finals in their individual events, Millie coming 4th in the 50m breaststroke, Tabby 3rd in the 50m freestyle, Zoe 2nd in the 50m backstroke and Anna 1st in the 25m butterfly.

In the evening, the freestyle team of Tabby Read-Cayton, Zoe Lowrey, Aila Diffey and Anna Christiansen completed a perfect day by winning the team’s second gold and breaking a second national record, previously held by Millfield School since 2005. The girls are looking forward to their final big event of the season, the National Primary Championship Finals, in Sheffield, to be held later in June, with optimism.

 

FENCING STRIKES AGAIN

07/06/09

CLFS Fencers had another fantastically successful day at the IAPS tournament held at Millfield Junior School, on Saturday 6th June 2009. We had 26 entrants and achieved three winners in the four age group events:

 

U-14 Girls Epee                                

Clara Hutter 1st; Katy Griffin 2nd; Louisa Sparks 3rd; Marie Pritchard 5th; Katherine Curran 6th; Abigail Lister 8th.

 

All six fencers looked good. Clara Hutter overcame pain from seven stitches in her foot to continue her incredible season of top results.

 

U-11 Girls Epee                                

Zoe Lowrey 1st; Stephanie Elstub 2nd; Alex Wilcox 6th; Lily Latimer-Smith 8th; Rachel Christiansen 11th; Emily Elstub 12th; Suzy-May Lister 14th; Jemima Shickle 15th; Maia Diffey 16th; Georgia West 18th; Merlyn Latimer-Smith 19th; Bethan Moncur 21st; Elizabeth Curran 22nd

 

Zoe and Stephanie (pictured) won every fight in their two rounds of pools and then every direct elimination bout until they met in a hard fought final.

 

U-14 Boys Epee                                

William Lane 1st; Ryan Cooper 7th; Oliver West  8th; Blaise Sadler 12th.

 

Williams success (15/14 in a very tense final) against some notable opposition was our most unexpected success of the day. This will give a huge boost to our other boy fencers.

 

U-11 Boys Epee                                

Nathan Dunne 5th; Alex Walsh 8th; Luc Tran 16th.

 

Well done to Nathan & Alex for getting through two rounds of pools to achieve their best results so far.

 

Mr Bryan Lewis, Head of Fencing at CLFS, said: "Overall this was a long, tiring but hugely rewarding day. My thanks to Matt Dean and Natasha Lewis-Oliver for refereeing all day. Also my thanks to the mass of parents who gave so much vocal and emotional support to help make the whole day worthwhile."

 

FIRST OVER THE LINE

01/06/09

The Under 15 girls athletics team recently stormed to victory over 15 other schools at Districts, whilst the Under 17 girls and boys placed second. Miss Stacy Bone, Girls PE and Games Teacher said: “It was a brilliant team effort. Well done everyone.”

As well as the excellent team results, after outstanding individual performances, the following pupils have been selected to represent central surrey in the next round of the competition.

Under 15 Girls                           Under 17 Girls                    Under 19 Girls

100m: P Nicholls                          200m: E Hamilton                  Shot Putt: M Eldridge

200m: H Bicknell                          1500m: A Bender

High Jump: L Bluck                       Hurdles: K Aitchison

Long Jump: E White                      High Jump: G Tsang

Shot Putt: L Sudell                        Long jump: M Smith

               J Earnshaw

Javelin: L Smart

Under 17 Boys                           Under 19 Boys

Hurdles: W Straughan                   200m: M Rees

Shot Putt: P Hyams

               O Mays

 

THEY MOON-WALKED THE WALK

  

25/05/09

  

On 16th May, our intrepid team of walkers, Mrs Louise Jowitt, Ms Fiona Moncur, Mrs Ruth Sampson, Mrs Bridget Denyer, Mrs Penny Brooks, Miss Rowena Gregory and Mrs Rosemary Hobbs, power walked 26 miles around the London night streets wearing pink bras. No they hadn't been drinking, it was in aid of Walk the Walk - a breast cancer charity.

  

Overall, the team managed to raise in excess of £4250. Mrs Louise Jowitt said: "It was the best thing I have ever done and will certianly be taking part next year." Mrs Rowena Gregory did not seem so keen after completing the gruelling course, but seemed happier after hearing how much had been raised: "A huge thank you to everyone who sponsored us, it made it all worthwhile. See you next year....."

 

NEW PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE OPENS

 

22/05/09

The official opening of the new pedestrian entrance on Park Lane took place on Tuesday 19th May. The Headmaster cut the ribbon accompanied by Members of the Safe Routes Committee and Councillors Chris Townsend, Tim Ashton, Chris Hunt, David Howell, Bryan Davis, and Chris Reynolds.

The plan for the new entrance was first discussed by the CLFS/St Giles School Safe Routes to School Committee back in 2006 as an alternative safe entry point to CLFS for those on foot or bicycle. The process of creating the solution and implementing the path to its opening has been lengthy with all the safety considerations and consultations required. It has required the joint cooperation and efforts of the School, the City of London and councillors and officers from Surrey County Council and the Highways Agency to achieve its opening this summer. Headmaster Philip MacDonald said: "I'm glad we have been able to enhance our facilities to offer a safer route into school for those children travelling on foot or by bicycle."

 

GIRLS IAPS SWIMMING FINALS 2009

 

22/05/09

On Saturday 16th May, 20 girls from U2–L4 participated in the finals of the IAPS National Swimming Championships at K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley. 182 schools from across the country competed in the preliminary rounds of this competition, one of which was held at CLFS in March. The girls swam well at the preliminary round and four medley relay teams, three freestyle relay team and 13 individual swimmers qualified for the finals day. The standard of swimming at this event was greater than ever and the girls had an exciting and successful day.

The first events were the medley relays and CLFS were represented in all four age groups. The U10 team of Eleanor Whalley, Maia Diffey, Lydia Room and Rachel Christiansen finished in 9th place. The U11 team of Zoe Lowrey, Millie Reed, Anna Christiansen and Tabitha Read-Cayton were crowned champions in a new record time of 1:04.87. The U12 team of Eleanor Wilson, Emma-Louise Sheehan, Rachel Dunne and Emily Stewart finished in 4th place and the U13 team of Nathalie Richards, Zoe Clarke, Laura Douglas and Evie Spencer-Ruddy achieved 3rd place.

In the Individual events Freemen’s were very well represented. All but one of our swimmers progressed through the heats into the finals. Eleanor Wilson finished in 11th place in the U12 backstroke, Lydia Room finished 8th in the U10 butterfly, Emma Archer-Lock finished in 8th place in the U12 breaststroke, Laura Douglas was 7th in the U13 butterfly and Evie Spencer-Ruddy was 7th in the U13 freestyle. Rachel Dunne finished in 6th in the U12 butterfly, Emily Stewart finished in 6th place in the U12 freestyle and Millie Reed finished 4th in the U11 breaststroke.

CLFS achieved four medals in the individual events. Tabitha Read-Cayton won bronze in the U11 freestyle, Zoe Clarke won silver in the U13 breaststroke, Zoe Lowrey won silver in the U11 backstroke and Anna Christiansen was crowned champion in the U11 butterfly competition.

The final events of the day were the freestyle relays. The U11 team of Tabitha Read-Cayton, Aila Diffey, Zoe Lowrey and Anna Christiansen swam brilliantly and again broke the competition record, winning in a time of 58:94. The U12 team of Rachel Dunne, Eleanor Wilson, Jasmine Stephens and Emily Stewart finished 5th and the U13 team of Evie Spencer-Ruddy, Sam Earland, Laura Douglas and Nathalie Richards finished in 4th place.

It was a very successful day for the CLFS swimmers. In the final standings in the team events the U11s were winners in their age group and overall CLFS finished third. Well done to all competitors.

 

SPORTING SUCCESS FOR 2008 LEAVERS

 

20/05/09

Over the past few months three CLFS ex pupils who finished their A-levels last year have excelled in the sporting arena. Rory Burns (pictured playing for surrey), who broke the school 1st XI cricket run scoring record in the 2008 school season made his Surrey 1st XI debut against Leeds and Bradford UCCE at the Brit Oval. The wicket keeper/batsman kept well and scored 22 not out (some of the highlights of his innings can be viewed at www.britoval.com/tv/ucce-friendly). He is currently playing regularly for the 2nd XI.

Ann Hyams who studies Geography at Oxford University (St John’s College) represented Freemen’s in a number of sports during her time here, but was perhaps best known for her swimming ability. Ann swam for Oxford in the long standing annual ‘Varsity’ fixture against Cambridge. In what is only her first year at the University Ann won the women’s 200m freestyle before swimming a pivotal second leg in the women's 4x50m freestyle relay. (A full report can be viewed at www.cherwell.org/content/8489). Ann’s influential role in the team helped them retain the competition by a single point, 89-90.

 

Not to be out done, last year’s Head Girl and 1st XI Hockey Vice-Captain Rachel Hargrave (pictured – standing fourth from the left) played for Oxford University Hockey 1st XI in the Varsity match against their Cambridge counterparts. Rachel who is reading English Language and Literature at Trinity College played at both left half and right defence during the game, with Oxford again eventually winning 2-1.

All the staff at Freemen’s would like to congratulate these ex pupils and the others who are succeeding in all walks of life having left the school. We look forward to hearing of more success.

 

MORE ENTERPRISING SUCCESS FOR BRIGHT IDEAS

 

14/05/09

During the spring term, 16 Lower 5 pupils from the company ‘Bright Ideas’ entered the East Mid Surrey Young Enterprise Competition, and won the cash prize for ‘Best Presentation’ and secured a place in the Surrey Final ‘Best Overall Company’.

The Young Enterprise Surrey Final took place on 5th May, hosted by Surrey University. Ten schools participated and the Lower 5 pupils in ‘Bright Ideas’ where up against some very strong competition. Miss Andrea Gillespie said: “The pupils competed with professionalism and determination and should be congratulated on winning the prize for ‘Best Display’. This is a fantastic achievement.”

Participants:

Thomas Clark, Josh French, Gemma Golding, Sarah Howard, Charlie Ladd, Dan Sperrin, Sam Wood, Livy Laverock, Becky Fenwick, Rosie Absalom, Megan Ross, Robbie Smart, Luke Shakerchi, Darcy Taranto, Chalie Buck, and Ed Walton.

 

JOE SETS THE BENCHMARK

 

11/05/09

Joe Goldman in Upper 4 was recently a finalist in the ‘Young Garden Photographer of the Year Competition’ which was associated with Kew Gardens on its 250th anniversary year. It was a significant achievement to be selected to the final eight. Mr Rees, Head of Art at Freemens’ said: “Joe is a very enthusiastic pupil and I am convinced that he would spend the entire day in the darkroom if he was allowed! I am very impressed by his achievement and it is well deserved. I am sure we will see him attain even greater accolades as he progresses through the school.”

 

NATIONAL SUCCESS FOR FREEMEN'S FENCERS

 

06/05/09

The School has achieved fantastic double-national-titles success in the National School Team Epee Fencing Championships held at Whitgift School on Sunday 3rd May where 20 of our U13 and U11 fencers competed.

CLFS fencers’ results were again superb:

U13 Girls:

A team (Clara Hutter, Ellie Irwin, Louisa Sparks) 1st

B team (Katy Griffin, Marie Pritchard, Katherine Curran) 3rd

This incredibly close competition was decided on count of hits

Our A team lost to Guildford High narrowly, but they were saved by a marvellous performance from our B team who all fenced superbly to just beat Guildford and cause a 3-way tie, which our A team just won.

U11 Girls (pictured): 

A team (Zoe Lowrey, Kate Irwin, Stephanie Elstub) 1st sweeping aside all opposition, comfortably winning every match

B team (Jemima Shickle, Georgia West, Rachel Christianson, Bethan Moncur) 4th

U13 Boys: 

(Ryan Cooper, William Lane, Angus Gillan, Daniel Sareen)  

Placed 10th out of 14 teams, but all fenced better and better throughout the day gaining a good victory in their third match after two earlier match defeats.

U11 Boys: 

(Nathan Dunne, Alex Walsh, Joshua Brandon)

Placed 9th out of 10 teams, all 3 of these juniors fencers learnt a lot and improved enormously as the event proceeded.

Mr Bryan Lewis, Head of Fencing at CLFS said: “This is now the fourth successive year that CLFS girls fencers have won a national team title. Long may this continue. My thanks to Matt Dean for his coaching and warm-up lessons, but my particular thanks to the masses of parents who gave so much vocal and emotional support.”

 

EPEE-C SUCCESS FOR FENCERS

28/04/09

The Elite Epee Finals were held at the City of London Freemen’s School on Saturday 18th April. The day consisted of 48 fencers – 6 finals with 8 fencers in each, who had won qualification from three Elite Epee tournaments held earlier this season.

The CLFS sports hall was spectacularly presented with 6 metallic pistes, 6 high tower sets of electric recording apparatus, each with hit counts and time-keeping. There was a lot of great fencing for the impressive number of spectators to view.

CLFS fencers' results were outstanding:

U11 Girls:

Stephanie Elstub 1st

Maia Diffey 5th

U13 Girls:

Katy Griffin 5th

Louisa Sparks 8th

U16 Girls:

Ellie Irwin 2nd

Clara Hutter 3rd

U16 Boys:

James Frewin 1st

The closeness of the hard fought competition was shown in the scores - James Frewin won his final 15-14 after being 12-14 down. Stephanie Elstub won on the last hit in extra time, Ellie Irwin narrowly lost her final 13-15. Mr Bryan Lewis, Head of Fencing at CLFS said: “A big well done to all our fencers and a big thank you to all our parents for their support and help.”

 

SNAP SHOT OF SUCCESS

 

08/04/09

In a recent National photography competition run by The Royal Bank of Scotland, Rebecca Vinter from the City of London Freemen’s School achieved first place for her response to the competition theme of ‘emotion’. Rebecca, who is going to study Classics at Exeter University next year, will receive a state-of-the-art camera as her prize and her image will be used by the Bank.

Tim Rees the Head of Art at City of London Freemen’s said: “I am very proud of Rebecca and very pleased that she has managed to accomplish such an accolade. Photography is a developing area within the Art Department at the School and Rebecca’s achievement highlights the quality of the work being produced. I am confident that we will see plenty of success with photography from the younger years as they progress through the school”.

 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS

06/04/09

CLFS achieved super results at the Public Schools Fencing Championship, held at Nottingham University Sports Centre from 24th to 26th March. This is the biggest tournament staged in Europe for fencing with 1500 fencers in 18 different categories of weapon, age and gender.

We achieved three podium results from our five fit entries (sadly Ellie Irwin was too ill to take part).

James Frewin was first in the Boys U16 Epee, beating James Allen of Whitgift School 15-14 in one of the best finals of the whole tournament. James was unbeaten all day in two rounds of pools and six direct elimination bouts.

Natasha Lewis-Oliver was second in the Girls U18 Epee, beating Emma Byatt of Fettes College in the quarter-final (the recent U20 Commonwealth Silver medallist and favourite to win here, by 14-9 on time). Natasha won her semi-final 15-14 but lost 6-15 in the final when suffering badly from cramp in her sword arm.

Clara Hutter excelled herself in the U14 Girls Epee being placed third. She was No. 1 seed after the two rounds of pools and comfortably going through DE bouts until the semi-final when she lost 11-15. This result, following on from her third place in the British Youth Championships makes her one of the best up and coming young fencers in her age group.

Anna Sparks in the U16 Girls Epee came a creditable 19th. She was seeded 11th following the two rounds of pools before being eliminated 10-15 in the DE. She has proved to herself that she can fence at this level.

Louisa Sparks in the U14 Girls Epee came 25th. After a good first round of pool fights when she won three and lost one she faded in the second round, just failing to gain promotion by one hit.

Such outstanding success by our star fencers is making CLFS fencing recognised more widely on a national profile.

 

FREEMEN'S MOONWALK 2009

26/03/09

Seven members of staff at City of London Freemen’s School are currently training hard for the London Moonwalk on 16th May. The group includes Rowena Gregory who was treated for breast cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton last year, and is now back at work and walking-fit.  

Mrs Louise Jowitt, Ms Fiona Moncur, Mrs Ruth Sampson, Mrs Bridget Denyer, Mrs Penny Brooks, Miss Rowena Gregory and Mrs Rosemary Hobbs will powerwalk a 26 mile marathon route around London, starting at midnight from Hyde Park, wearing decorated bras, for the charity Walk the Walk.

The charity raises awareness about breast cancer, provides grants to hospitals and funds research into the condition which affects one in nine people (including some men) during their lifetime. These days, the prognosis for people treated with breast cancer is very good, with 95% of them returning to health.

If you would like to sponsor the Freemen’s Moonwalkers, please visit their Justgiving page at www.justgiving.co.uk/freemensmoonwalk2009

 

LEITH HILL MUSIC FESTIVAL

23/03/09

After weeks of rehearsal, preparation and build up, Phoenix and Cantabile Junior choirs performed at Dorking Halls on Saturday 21 March. Phoenix performed in the morning, singing Bring Him Home from ‘Les Misérables’, and Chattanooga Choo Choo. Val Whitlock, festival adjudicator commented that the choir sang with lovely long phrase lengths, good dynamic control, voice colour and interaction. Cantabile sang in the afternoon, the two contrasting pieces being Irish Blessing and The Lonely Goatherd. Once again, adjudicator comments were very favourable: the choir sang in three, well-balanced parts, had a lovely unison tone and controlled expression. Both Cantabile and Phoenix were in tough categories and, on the day, lost out to two impressive, invitation choirs with children who were generally much older. The two CLFS Junior choirs were awarded marks in the Commended Category.  Cantabile received a total of 85 (only four points behind the winners in their class) and Phoenix 86 (only one point behind the winners in their class).

Ms Krawec, Deputy Director of Music, said: "The whole event was incredibly well organised, and our children had the opportunity to see older choirs perform too. Well done to all the children, who behaved impeccably and were a credit to the school.  I really do have the most wonderful job, working with such lovely choirs and seeing them develop."

 

YOUNGSTERS SHOW ENTERPRISE

23/03/09

On Thursday 19th March, three Young Enterprise companies from the School participated in the ‘East Mid Surrey Area Competition’. The competition required companies to submit a business plan, give a presentation and create an innovative display. All three companies from the School – A2Z, All Seasons and Bright Ideas – were very professional and provided strong competition for the other schools, many of which consisted of pupils who were two years their senior. The evening was a great success with ‘All Seasons’ receiving the cash prize for best business plan and ‘Bright Ideas’ winning the prize for best presentation. ‘Bright Ideas’ should also be congratulated on being the overall winners in the East Mid Surrey Area: they will now be competing in the ‘Young Enterprise Surrey Final’ in May. Miss Gillespie said: "Well done to everyone who took part and all the very best to ‘Bright Ideas’ for the next competition."

 

FREEMEN’S GIRLS MAKE A SPLASH IN THE NATIONALS

20/03/09

On Saturday 14th March, the U11 Girls’ Swimming team from the School travelled to the Guildford Spectrum to take part in the county rounds of the ESSA championships. The Medley team, consisting of Zoe Lowrey, Millie Read, Anna Christiansen and Tabby Read-Cayton, swam very well in the heats, making it to the finals as the fastest team. They then replicated their heat position, coming first in the finals, almost four seconds ahead of their nearest rival.

The Freestyle team of Tabby Read-Cayton, Zoe Lowrey, Aila Diffey, Anna Christiansen and Freddie Penniket-Dessent swam extremely well in the heats, again being placed in top spot, before completing the perfect evening by securing the winner’s position in the finals.

As a result, the girls qualified for the Regional round of the event in both relays, full of confidence having seen off some of the best schools in Surrey.

 

BRITISH SCHOOLS BIATHLON NATIONAL FINAL

16/03/09

The British Schools Biathlon National Final was held at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Sunday 15th March. Six pupils from the School were successful in reaching the finals of the competition after 31 CLFS pupils competed in the regional round of the competition. The successful pupils were Millie Reed, Edward Vinter and John Morrison from Year 6, and Toby Nash, Callum Room and Lewis Bizaou from Year 7. The pupils competed in two disciplines over the course of the day: a 50 metre swim and a 1000 metre run.

Our greatest success on the day was Millie Reed. Millie completed a good swim to leave her in 12th place going in to the track event. Millie then ran an excellent race, coming 5th in a very strong field. This meant that in the final standings Millie placed 4th overall, which is a fantastic achievement.

Miss Nicky Higgins said “It was a very exciting day and the pupils gained valuable experience from competing in a national event. It was a superb achievement by Millie to finish 4th in the National Final. All our competitors were a credit to the school.”

 

FREEMEN'S RUNNERS UP IN GREAT PHARMACY DEBATE

16/03/09

The City of London Freemen’s School were runners-up in The Great Pharmacy Debate, a national debating competition hosted by the Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) at its headquarters in London on Friday 13th March.

Over 50 science students aged 14-16 from ten schools competed in four rounds of debates on topical and controversial issues in medicines and health, culminating in a final won by St Francis Xavier College, Liverpool, who proposed the motion ‘This House believes there is no such thing as a bad medicine’.

Runners up were Margaret Young, Catherine Sadler and Luke Shakerchi of Year 10 at the City of London Freemen's School. Mrs Trehearn, Head of Debating at the School said: "The Great Pharmacy Debate was so different to the other competitions we have been involved with. The focus on medical ethics made for some stimulating and challenging debates. I am sure the students will have plenty to say in their Science lessons this week."

Taking place during National Science and Engineering Week, the debates were combined with a talk from the RPSGB’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Jayne Lawrence, and guided tours of the RPSGB’s Museum, which contains over 45,000 items on all aspects of pharmacy and medicines history collected since 1842.

Briony Hudson, Keeper of the RPSGB’s Museum Collections said: “Hosting a national debating competition is a completely new venture for the Museum. We were really impressed with the skills of the young people who took part, and their grasp of both current and historical pharmacy issues.”

 

PHYSICS MATTERS AT FREEMEN'S

13/03/09

The Physics department has recently been informed that it has won not one but two Good Schools Guide Awards. They both relate to GCSE results in 2007 and are for The best results at GCSE achieved by Boys taking Physics at an English Independent School and The best results at GCSE achieved by Girls taking Physics at an English Independent School.

James Hallam, Head of Physics said: "This is a great boost for the department as we all teach the GCSE years. I would like to congratulate the Physics teachers for their dedication and hard work as well as the pupils for performing so well."

 

BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS IN ART

12/03/09

Seven students from the School are heading for success in the Art world as they move on to foundation and university courses when they complete their A Levels in the summer.

Head of Art, Tim Rees, said: "I am very pleased to see so many students progress to the next level of their Art education and happy that they are pursuing a variety of directions within the subject area. The standard of Art in Freemen’s is very high and the foundation or degree courses that our pupils will go on to will be fortunate to have such hard working, confident and talented individuals."

Central Saint Martins will be welcoming Chloe Burrage and Kelly Lim, while Emily Dean, Mary Mosterjarem and Gloria Tsui are all planning to study at UCL Epsom. History of Art is the subject of choice for Charlotte Moore which she hopes to study at Nottingham University. Tom Bower, a budding architect, is also going to Nottingham.

Tim Rees concludes: "Art is a very diverse subject and we promote a range of media at the School. Success can be achieved through any of them."

 

GLADIATOR'S BRIGHT IDEA TO ENDORSE YOUNG ENTERPRISE

11/03/09

The Young Enterprise group, 'Bright Ideas' are selling base layer products for use in various sports. These are quality personalised products, sold at a competitive price and approved by PE to be used as part of the games kit.

To promote their product, Bright Ideas arranged for the Gladiator 'Spartan' to visit CLFS. Spartan plays American Football for Great Britain and is a Gladiator in the New Gladiators TV programme. Whilst at CLFS, Spartan visited the Sixth Form and Senior assembly, entertained the Form 1 rugby boys and was bombarded with fans during an autograph session at morning break. Bright Ideas are delighted with the success of this mornings events and they would like to encourage pupils to collect a base layer order form from reception.

 

SEVENS SIDES OFF TO A GREAT START

11/03/09

The rugby sevens season is well underway with teams from U13 and U18 playing in a variety of Tournaments. The Senior Sevens last week won the Emanuel Sevens Competition defeating Wimbledon College and Latymer Upper along the way. This is the Second year in succession that CLFS have won the trophy.

The U14's & U16's travelled to QE Barnet on Sunday 8th March and put in some excellent performances. The U16 side (Unbeaten in the 15-a-side season) were eventually knocked out by Daily Mail Cup Winners Wellington College in the Quarter Final after convincing wins against Nationally recognised rugby schools St Benedict's, Kings Canterbury & Campion.

 

CLFS HOST A VERY SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENT

10/03/09

CLFS hosted 14 schools for the annual CLFS U13 Rugby Seven's Tournament. As always the tournament was very competitive at all levels with teams battling for Cup, Plate and Shield competitions. CLFS won three of their five games, losing in the last play of the game to Gordons school. Having played well they finished joint second in the shield but lost out on points difference. The eventual winners of the Cup tournament for the first time were Halliford (pictured). They were presented with the trophy by Mr Fred Batchelor (Ex Head of History at Freemen's and President of Surrey Rugby Elect) and Mr Thorpe (Head of the Junior School).

 

MAD AS A HATTER FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

09/03/09

As part of the celebrations for World Book Day, pupils in the Junior School at the City of London Freemen’s School were invited to come to along wearing a ‘Literary Character’ hat. These included, amongst others, the Mad Hatter’s top hat, Where’s Wally’s bobble hat and a Hogwarts Sorting Hat. The winning hat, on a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme, was designed and worn by Thomas Goodhall, age 7, who said "I love this book and had good fun making the hat."

Other activities taking place included a popular Book Swap where pupils and staff brought in books which could be exchanged for vouchers which in turn could be swapped for another book.

The whole School also enjoyed a ‘Drop Everything and Read’ session when everything stopped for ten minutes of reading.  Sue Dawes, Senior Librarian, said: "We enjoy celebrating reading any time but World Book Day is a great excuse for lots of fun book-related activities and competitions which hopefully encourage the love of books."

ENDANGERED SPECIES 2009

06/03/09

The Music Department is currently promoting the uptake of certain musical instruments which we have titled ‘Endangered Species’. These are instruments which do not seem to have the same popularity associated with them as the more obviously ‘cool’ guitar or drum kit, and (perhaps) the more accessible piano or voice. The department is challenging this frame of mind and working very hard in trying to promote the french horn, euphonium, trombone, tuba, oboe and bassoon. 

During periods 1 and 2 on Friday 27 February, Lower 3 – Lower 4 were entertained by the instrumental visiting staff who teach these instruments: Mr Dave Eaglestone for lower brass and Mr Paul Smith for woodwind. Mr Dave Ward assisted by preparing the fabulous Junior and Senior brass ensembles, and the newly formed senior wind trio also performed. There were demonstrations on all instruments, given with a sprinkling of individual teacher humour.

During the next couple of weeks, children will have the opportunity in classroom music lessons to hold and play all of these instruments for themselves. Mr Dodds, Ms Krawec and Mr Bird will be helping the children to learn more about them and will be observing any particular talents hidden among these year groups. 

The Headmaster has also agreed to assist in financing free instrumental lessons for this scheme. We will be contacting parents, offering one free term’s tuition for a limited number of children who show particular enthusiasm and aptitude for one of the endangered instruments.

 

OVER AND LINE OUT FOR THE SEASON

03/03/09

The U16XV rugby team has just completed an unbeaten season winning 12 games and drawing one. This outstanding achievement reflects the hard work and commitment of a very talented set of boys.

As a year group they have been enthusiastic about improving their rugby and squad sessions have seen on average thirty players each time keeping competition for places very high. What makes this season even more remarkable is that this continued success has been maintained by a year group containing only 58 boys – a number significantly smaller than all of our competitors.

Mr Jon Moore, Head of Academic PE said: "The platform for success was based around a dominant and mobile pack with some excellent finishing from top try scorer Olly Neill. In a great team, there have been outstanding contributions from captain and No 8 Gareth Powlson, Seb Cox, Olly Mays, Olly Neill and Henry Swindell. All the team are to be congratulated on their performances and attitude throughout the season and duly deserve praise."

FENCING AT THE JUNIOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

27/02/09

Natasha Lewis-Oliver thoroughly enjoyed competing in the Junior Commonwealth Games, in a different climate and against many opponents who had not been faced before. High temperatures and even higher humidity meant that drinking the right fluids was a top priority. In the individual event she beat a Malaysian girl in the direct elimination stages, but then losing to an English girl. In the team event, her team Wales took the Bronze medal: losing in the semi finals 30-45 to England, the eventual winners (but scoring 10 more hits off them than did Malaysia the Silver medallists).The crucial medal match for Wales was in beating India 45-41 in a tight struggle.

 

SURREY SCHOOLS SECONDARY INDIVIDUAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009

26/02/09

Well done to all the girls who competed in the Surrey Schools Secondary Individual Swimming Championships at Trinity School on Thursday 12th February. CLFS had a very successful evening and swam extremely well.

The Lower Junior Girls’ team of Rachel Dunne, Jasmine Stephens, Emma Archer-Lock and Eleanor Wilson were first overall. Rachel Dunne won a gold medal in the Butterfly, Jasmine Stephens won the silver medal in the Individual Medley, Emma Archer-Lock won bronze medal in the breaststroke and Emily Stewart also won a bronze medal in the freestyle event.

The Junior Girls’ team of Lucy Archer-Lock, Nathalie Richards, Danielle Tullett and Jessica Filby were third overall. Lucy Archer-Lock won a silver medal in the breaststroke.

The Intermediate Girls’ team of Jessica Ventham, Gemma Golding and Jenny Baldock were third overall. Jessica Ventham won a bronze medal in the Individual Medley event.

 

NORMAL SERVICE RESUMED

10/02/09

After two weeks of weather conditions that can only be described as adverse, the school is now operating fully again as normal. Thank you to all parents, pupils and staff for their patience and understanding as we have battled the elements to keep disruption to a minimum throughout this difficult time. Also, thanks are due to our colleagues at Ashtead Common, part of the City of London's Open Spaces Department, who lent us their tractor, which was a great help to the Estate Maintenance, Grounds and Gardens teams who valiantly cleared away the snow which allowed us to reopen at the earliest opportunity.

 

IT ALL ADDS UP IN THE SURREY SCHOOLS MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

05/02/09

On Thursday 4th February, two teams of sixth form students from CLFS braved the remains of the snow and the foggy conditions to travel to Surrey University in Guidford to take part in the Surrey Schools Mathematics Competition for AS Students.

The competition required teamwork, quick thinking and accuracy, as the students competed against the clock with over 30 teams from schools across the county. At the end of the Challenge, we were delighted to find that one of our teams had the second highest score.

 

OXBRIDGE HERE WE COME

02/02/09

A group of nine students from the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead are celebrating receiving conditional offers from the country’s two most prestigious universities.

Four are hoping to head for Oxford: Fabienne Cheung to read English and French at Merton College; Madeleine MacDonald has been offered a place at New College for French and Italian; Charles McMillan is planning to read Mathematics at Trinity College; and Kathleen Tsoi hopes to study Medicine at Hertford College.

Cambridge University offers went to Lara Durgan for Natural Sciences (Biological) at Homerton College; Benedict Gliniecki for Law at Selwyn College; Rose Hills to read English at Pembroke College; Ronak Patel to study Medicine at Sidney Sussex College; and to Jeremy Cole to read Music at Trinity College (2010 entry). Jeremy (pictured right) has also been elected as the Organ Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge from 2010, but prior to that will take up the Organ Scholarship at Hereford Cathedral from September 2009.

Head of Sixth Form, Martin Hearne, said “We’re delighted that, despite fierce competition, so many students have the opportunity to further their education at Oxford and Cambridge colleges.  They are all working extremely hard to ensure that they attain the grades required in their A levels.”

 

MORE DEBATING SUCCESS FOR FREEMEN'S

02/02/09

On Saturday 31st January at the ICYD (International Competition for Young Debaters) held at The Oxford Union, CLFS 'A' - this time being Margaret Young and Catherine Sadler, broke to Finals Day. They were placed 9th overall out of 64 top independent and state schools from all over the country.

They debated 'This house would ban all music that glorifies crime' - placed second, 'This house would ban meat' - placed first, 'This house would require all children's television programs to represent heterosexual and homosexual couples equally' - placed third, 'This house would pay the parents of obese children for their children to lose weight' - placed second. They will now compete for a place at the international stage of this competition on 25th April at The Cambridge Union.

 

BOYS HOLD THEIR OWN AGAINST THE GIRLS

30/01/09

The U12 boys have today played their first ever hockey match against the U12 girls. With almost all the year in the stands or playing the atmosphere was electric.

The girls enjoyed most of the first half possession and dominated most of the play but at half-time the score was 0–0.

The boys finally got some possession and scored with a lovely move. The ball was transferred from one side of the pitch to the other and played up to Edward Stringer who beat a defender and played a superb ball through into the centre. James Howard then flicked it on past the girls’ goalie Eleanor Wilson for David Pilley to just tap the ball in. Both coach Harriet Newhouse and 1st team coach Martin Durban said that the pass into the box was an astonishing piece of play.

 

The boys went mad and all their fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate with them. It seemed, however, after all the hype of the goal the boys switched off in defence. The girls thought they had scored but the whistle had already been blown for a foul.

With about five minutes to go the girls got their equaliser. At a short corner the ball got passed back to the top of the D where the girls made one pass and then shot. Elliot Barnes the boys’ goalie did not see it until it was too late and couldn’t hit the ball away to stop the girls from scoring.

 

The boys thought that they had won the match with a goal late on but it got disallowed for an infringement earlier in the piece of play.

The game ended 1-1 with both teams feeling good about the performance. Overall it was a good game and both teams played well although we could not find a winner this time both teams are up for a rematch.

Written by Tim Newhouse

 

LOCAL SCHOOLS DEBATE THE ISSUES

29/01/09

On Wednesday 28th January the School hosted the inaugural year of the Surrey Prep Schools’ Debating Championship, an exciting new competition for students in years 7-8.

Parkside School, Downsend School, Guildford High School for Girls and CLFS were all represented and took part in three debates during the course of the evening.

The first two rounds included debates such as 'This House would make sporting clubs financially responsible for the violence perpetrated by their fans' and 'The House would ban all digital enhancement of photos of people in magazines and advertising'. The rounds saw Guildford High School for Girls emerge as the strongest team with CLFS running in second.

The final was a close fought competition in which the two single-sex schools of Parkside and Guildford High had to argue that co-educational schools were best and the co-ed CLFS teams had to argue for single-sex education. Rebecca Baker and Jordan Turton of CLFS 'A' narrowly won the debate.

A parent commented: "It is wonderful to see such young girls and boys engaging with these difficult issues and expressing themselves with such confidence."

The convenors would like to thank the judges from Saint Cecilia's Church of England School, Wandsworth, for their help in making this competition a success.

 

FREEMEN'S PUPILS WIN THE ARGUMENT

28/01/09

Patrick Kennedy and Ben Gliniecki (pictured far left and far right with our Junior debaters) of the City of London Freemen’s School won at the Regional Final of the Cambridge Union Schools' Debating Competition on 27th January which was hosted by the school. They defeated some highly skilled and well trained debating teams from leading independent schools in the South East of England including Wellington College and King’s College Wimbledon.

The teams debated: “This House would ban all advertising of cosmetic surgery” and “The House believes that adults should be made to care for their elderly relatives”.

Mrs Trehearn, in charge of Debating at CLFS, said “This incredible achievement marks the culmination of four years of hard work for this team. Debating success is quickly becoming one of the hallmarks of CLFS and the students gain so much confidence from being involved in this sort of competition.”

The CLFS team will now proceed to Finals Day to be held at The Cambridge Union on 26th February.

 

FREEMEN’S SCHOOL FENCERS’ SUCCESS AT NATIONALS

26/01/09

Two podium places were achieved by City of London Freemen’s School this weekend at the British Youth Fencing Championship Finals held at Stoke on Trent. Over 300 fencers had qualified for these finals from all 12 sections of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  The CLFS fencers represented the South East section.

The Freemen’s greatest successes were James Frewin who achieved 3rd place in the Under 16 Boys’ Epee (after beating the No 1 seed in the Quarter Finals), and Clara Hutter, 3rd place in the Under 14 Girls’ Epee.  Clara’s position was her best National result to date.

                                       

In the Under 12 Girls’ Epee, CLFS had three competitors, Zoe Lowrey (10th), Marie Pritchard (11th) and Kate Irwin (23rd).

Freemen’s School Fencing Coach and International Fencing Referee, Bryan Lewis, commented: “We hope that these successes at such a prestigious National event are just a taste of what’s to come!”

 

HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY

17/12/08

During the last two weeks of the term all the boys took part in the Annual House Cross Country Competitions in a variety of weather and conditions. The races were hard fought not just at the front, with the pupils trying to get into the top three positions, but also in the lower positions as each of the boy's score contributed to the final overall scores and thus their House points. It was Gresham that enjoyed the most success, winning the Junior House Competition (Newnham Shield) and four of the six races in both the Junior and Senior School. Overall, it was an excellent competition with all the boys challenging themselves whether it was to win the race, beat a classmate or just complete the course. Well done to all those competitors.

 

FREEMEN'S NOT SITTING ON THE FENCE

15/12/08

The 2nd Elite Epee Series fencing event was held at CLFS on Saturday 13th December. Approximately 150 fencers contested this tournament in Under 11, U13 and U16 age groups. Freemen's enjoyed notable success in the Under 16 Boys with James Frewin in first place, in the Under 16 Girls, Clara Hutter was second with Ellie Irwin third, and in the Under 11 Girls, Stephanie Elstub was first. Bryan Lewis said: "it was a great achievement to get four podium places, including two first. It was also satisfying to have quite a number of fencers new to the sport this term enjoying their first competition." Congratulations to all competitors.

BRITISH SCHOOLS BIATHLON SOUTH EAST (W) QUALIFIER

15/12/08

On Saturday 6th December, 31 pupils from Freemen’s travelled to High Wycombe to compete in the British Schools Biathlon South East Qualifier. Years 6, 7 and 8 had to swim 50m and run 1,000m. Years 9 and 10 had a 100m swim and a 1,000m run. All pupils performed brilliantly and achieved some excellent results.

Freemen’s entered both teams and individuals in this event and our teams all finished in the top four. Congratulations to Millie Reed (Year 6 Individual Champion), Tabitha Read-Cayton (Year 6 Best swim), Edward Vinter (Year 6 Individual fourth), Callum Room (Year 7 Individual fifth and Best swim), Nathalie Richards (Year 8 Individual fifth), Sebastian Haddock (Year 8 Individual fourth) Jessica Filby (Year 9 Individual fourth), Jessica Ventham (Year 10 Individual fifth). Well done to the teams of Year 6 Girls (second), Year 7 Girls (third), Year 7 Boys (third), Year 8 Girls (second), and Year 9 Girls (third).

Millie Reed did especially well to become Individual Year 6 Champion competing against over 50 others. She is now through to the next round which takes place on 15th March 2009 at Bath University.

Nicky Higgins, CLFS team coach, was 'delighted with the fantastic results as this is a particularly strong region to compete in'.

 

TEACHERS HAVE A BALL IN CINDERELLA

11/12/08

Sometimes words can not do justice to a dramatic performance. Such was the case with the recent Staff Pantomime - Cinderella. Pupils and staff were treated to acting and a script of the highest calibre, that can only be described as fantastic and hilarious. Congratulations to all involved, be it acting, writing, organising, stage management or narrating. We look forward to what next Chriastmas offers.

Words may not do Cinders justice, but the picture gallery might.....

 

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW!

8/12/08

After what seemed a very long November, 12 male members of staff - sporting a variety of moustache styles ranging from the muskateer to the handlebar - were very proud to raise £700 for the charity Prostate Cancer UK in a national campaign - Movember - to help raise money and awareness of male prostate cancer. In one final fund raising effort, a shave off was carried out in front of hundreds of pupils and staff, whereby each Mo Bro shave off half their facial hair (even if some had to be coerced) before shaving the rest off at the end of the day. Campaign organiser Mike Collier, simply said: "Give me my razor!". Congratulations to Mr Bloomer, Mr Bramhall, Mr Collier, Mr Gibson, Mr Holland, Mr Kew, Mr Knowles, Mr Metcalfe, Mr Rees, Reverand Rutherford, Mr Salter, and Mr Treloar for their efforts. A big thank you to all pupils, staff and parents who donated, it was gratefully appreciated.

 

BRIGHT IDEAS WIN PRIZES IN ALL SEASONS

8/12/08

Young Enterprise is a scheme whereby pupils have the opportunity to form and operate a real company and ‘Learn by Doing'.  This year, 48 pupils from year 10 have formed three thriving Young Enterprise Companies at the City of London Freemen's School.  The companies have designed and produced products including a celebrity cook book, school merchandise and personalised pyjamas.  On 4th December, 48 eager pupils travelled to Oxted School to compete in the East Surrey ‘Christmas Trade Fair’ against several other schools, many of which were sixth form students. There were two prizes up for grabs of £100 each and the pupils of CLFS won them both. Congratulations to ‘Bright Ideas’ for the best display at to ‘All Seasons’ for the best presentation, given by Margaret Young – a great start to a most promising year."

 

‘IT’S NEARLY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN’

8/12/08

City of London Freemen’s School performed a new play written and produced by Phil Tong, Head of Drama, with 10 original songs adapted from the Peanuts cartoons by the American artist Charles Schultz.  This show has all the favourite characters, Snoopy and Woodstock, Charlie Brown and Linus, Sally and Lucy and a whole host more. The premise is that Sally, Charlie Brown’s sister is reviewing her year to see how deserving she might be of ‘a good crop of Christmas gifts’.

The cast contained many of the young and gifted actors who performed in ‘The Withering’ at the Edinburgh Festival this summer together with a number of new faces. The songs were written with Phil Tong together with Tom Hardy, who is now a Head of Art and academic, but who in a previous incarnation was the original guitarist in Adam and the Ants, and who went on to have even greater success in the band ‘The Monochrome Set’ where he played under the name ‘Lester Square’. In creating the music for the piece they have tried to keep something of an American feel to the songs whilst at the same time looking to retain something of the child-like quality of the actors.

Phil Tong comments ‘For me, the world of ‘Peanuts’ is a world of nostalgia and, in today’s cynical climate, is that such a bad thing?’.

 

CITY OF LONDON FREEMEN'S PUPILS RATED BEST IN SURREY

 

4/12/08

Pupils at the City of London Freemen's School were celebrating when the Sunday Times newspaper published its Parent Power league tables. Much to its delight, the Ashtead school was ranked as the top co-educational school in Surrey based on excellent Key Stage 2 scores over the past 3 years. Head of Junior School, Ian Thorpe, was proud of his pupils and staff, commenting, "The league tables are just one indicator of a school's success but we are pleased to have achieved these exceptional results on a consistent basis."

The School also improved its ranking on the basis of GCSE and A Level results and is now also ranked as the top co-educational school in Surrey based on GCSE results.

 

NO NEED TO DEBATE IT, WE WERE THE BEST

04/12/08

Pupils from Freemen's dominated in a debating competition against six schools on 3rd December. The Schoo entered four teams in the first round of the Cambridge Union School's debating competition, which was hosted at CLFS.

The four teams took on 12 other teams from Guildford High School, Tormead School in Guildford, Catherham School, Hurtwood House School in Holmbury St Mary, St Catherines School in Guildford and Skinners School in Royal Tunbridge Wells, and debated four subjects.

The teams had to debate a number of subjects including supporting performance-related pay for teachers, making vaccinations mandatory, sending obese people to fat camp and making online gambling illegal.

Only four teams qualified for the second round and all of them came from Freemen's. Amanda Trehearn said: "It was an incredible achievement compounded by the fact that many of the students are only 14 years old and took on some highly experirnced sixth form debaters".

 

MEDIEVAL MADNESS AT FREEMEN’S

20/11/08

Year 7 pupils at City of London Freemen’s School have had the opportunity to experience different aspects of medieval life. In just one day organised by their History teacher, Mrs Joss, pupils learned about lives of monks and knights, looked at heraldry as well as having a go at calligraphy and medieval weaving.  They had talks on medieval costumes and armour which they tried on, including chain mail and plate armour. 

Harrison Bird said ‘I got to try on an iron hat from the fourteenth century which was fun.  Medieval Day was a fantastic experience of medieval life’. Blaise Sadler also loved looking at the armour and enjoyed the weaving ‘which looked hard but was easy’.

 

NATIONAL ANTI-BULLYING WEEK MARKED BY LAUNCH OF PEER MENTORING PROGRAMME

17/11/08

The Peer Mentoring programme has been launched at City of London Freemen’s School to coincide with National Anti-Bullying Week. The aim of peer mentoring is to create and maintain a safe and supportive environment for pupils in which bullying won’t happen.

A team of 40 young mentors from years 11 and 12 has been recruited and fully trained to provide a confidential listening, support and advice service to younger pupils in the Junior School (age 7-13). The mentors attended a comprehensive workshop run by the School Counsellor, Karen Raymond, in which they learned key counselling skills. They practised listening, role play and brainstormed ways of dealing with difficult situations. The mentors left skilled and with the confidence to hit the ground running. The service is now fully operational with four of our young counsellors on duty every lunchtime.

The first week’s Duty Team ran a series of fun activities in the Junior School to get to know the younger pupils and to promote the service: Musical chairs, bumps and statues, drawing slogans, ball games and three-legged races and dancing competitions. Anti-bullying stickers and blue ribbon pins were distributed along with lolly prizes. "I am delighted both by the number of pupils coming forward to be mentors and at the response they have already had within the school community" said Louisa Burningham, Peer Mentoring Co-ordinator.

 

A CLASS ACT INDEED!

17/11/08

On Thursday 13th November, the City of London Freemen’s School Music Department welcomed over 400 guests to the inaugural concert at Dorking Halls.  Over 160 children performed music from a whole range of different styles.  There was Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Twentieth Century, Jazz, Gospels, Spirituals and even African music.  Our marvellous musicians buzzed, tooted, scraped, plucked, hit and sang for the audiences listening and viewing pleasure.

The first half of the show included performances from Senior Brass, the Senior orchestra, Jeremy Cole performing with a reduced orchestra, the Jazz band and Cantabile and Phoenix Junior choirs.

Diana Greenman, Chief Executive of Music In Hospitals - the charity that the School chose to donate to as part of the evening’s proceedings - then gave an emotive speech outlining how the money raised by the School would be used to benefit the charity.

The second half of the show began with a lively rendition of African drumming, followed by Senior Wind band, a solo performance by the prestigious Rebecca Baker, Camerata, and the Senior Choir. The evening then finished with a joint performance by the Senior and Junior Choirs.

Freemen's Music Department managed to achieve its primary vision, to enable our musicians to be heard and appreciated on a larger scale. It is important to remember just how impressive A Class Act was.  It is certainly something that all of us will remember for a very long time and we are so proud of all the children.

Read the full report

 

FREEMEN'S GETS MOTORING

17/11/08

The School has recently invested in two brand new minibuses to replace two that are set to be auctioned off. The new buses, to be used for school trips, and to take pupils to and from school and sporting fixtures, are fully compliant with both European and UK regulations. To ensure pupils travel safely and in style, the buses are fully air conditioned, fitted with cruise control, restricted to a top speed of 62 mph and have bluetooth connectivity to enable safe communications. Headmaster Philip MacDonald (pictured) said: "Our investment in new transportation shows how important it is to the School that our pupils and staff travel safely and in comfort". The buses are soon to be fitted with new roof racks - partially funded by the FSA - which will no doubt help on future camping trips.

 

HONEY I'M HOME

11/11/08

The humble bumble bee is a threatened species and could be extinct in 15 years. However, not if the School Environmental Club have anything to do with it. The Living Earth Association of Freemen's (LEAF) group have planted their first bee box in the School which bumble bees can use to nest in. LEAF have also set up a bird box for nesting and the next step is to increase the number of boxes for both birds and bees, and set up a webcam to watch them as they make themselves at home. LEAF President, Patrick Kennedy, said: "We have a duty to protect bees as they're so threatened in this country. It's particularly sad that people don't know about their plight." The group - along with Junior LEAF - was set up to discuss wildlife and agricultural concerns, and they meet every fortnight.

 

GREAT SOUTH RUN SUCCESS FOR FREEMEN’S

07/11/08

While most of their friends were busy sleeping late during half term, eight young Freemen’s runners took to the streets of Portsmouth to compete in the Mini and Junior Great South Runs.

The athletes ranged in age from Rachel Slater in Lower 2, to Michael Mc Keiver in Lower 4. The runners attend weekly running club sessions which incorporate speed work and building up stamina.

In the first race of the day, the Mini Run, (a mixed race for boys and girls) Rachel Slater finished third overall and was the first girl by a substantial margin. What was even more impressive is that the two boys who finished ahead of her both attend running clubs out of school and they finished only seconds ahead.

Rachel was awarded her 1st place trophy by the Mayor of Portsmouth and was fortunate enough to meet Liz Yelling, Britain’s Olympic marathon runner who competed in Beijing (pictured above).

With over 700 athletes competing in the Junior Run, many of the school’s older runners were brushed aside by their club based opposition. Martin Valkenburg, Running Club Coach, said: “On the whole, it was an enjoyable outing for our young runners and I’m sure they are looking forward to their next competitive race.”

 

NATIONAL SCHOOLS HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP SURREY ROUND

05/11/08

The City of London Freemen's School were congratulated as the only School in Surrey to have their U14, U16 and U18 teams represented at Finals Day at Surbiton Hockey Club on Wednesday 5th November.

The U18's took silver, losing to Kingston Grammar in the final, the U16's took bronze after beating Cranleigh in the 3rd/4th place play off, whilst the U14's were unlucky to lose to Kingston Grammar to finish 4th.

Congratulations to all the girls who took part.

 

JUNIOR SCHOOL SHOW TALENT FOR CHARITY

05/11/08

Pupils at the City of London Freemen's School, Ashtead, have presented their nominated charities of 2008 with substantial contributions. The two worthy causes, Cancer Research UK and Surrey Air Ambulance, both received over £5000, and declared themselves to be delighted at the support received. Head of Junior School, Ian Thorpe, explained, "The children carry out a whole host of activities throughout the year, ranging from Talent Shows and discos to cake sales." Emma Cronin, who came to the school on behalf of Cancer Research UK to receive their cheque (pictured) was delighted with the school's efforts and told the children how the money would be used. The students will now be directing their efforts towards their 2009 charity, Different Strokes.

 

DUBAI CRICKET TOUR - IT'S OVER, BUT THEY'RE NOT OUT

03/11/08

City of London Freemen’s School 1st XI has just returned from a successful and enjoyable tour of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.  The boys played in a variety of venues ranging from a concrete school pitch with a multi purpose outfield to a National stadium under floodlights!

The tour also included being taken around the Abu Dhabi Mosque, being enlightened about the cultural aspects of the country and experiencing the high pressure environment of the Sioux (local markets).

In the first game against Sharjah Cricket Club, despite losing the toss, CLFS batted first and Fred Davies top scored with 30 of a 138 total.  In what turned out to be a thrilling finish, CLFS ran out winners after bowling SCC out for 136.

 

The second match was against Zayeed at the Sheikh Zayed National Stadium - a major venue. Winning the toss CLFS batted first, and Jamie Brooks hit 71 and James Godfrey 45 as the team amassed 202 runs.  In reply Zayeed were initially controlled by some good bowling but then staged a comeback.  In another tight finish the last over required 5 runs or 2 wickets for the win. First ball delivered a wicket, followed by 2 wides and then the match was wrapped up with the next delivery.

The third match was played in the grounds of the Emirates Palace Hotel.  Dominic Cork was a guest of the hotel promoting their involvement in cricket.  This 20/20 match also against Zayeed was lost to the rejuvenated team.

Match 4 at Zabeel Park saw CLFS bowl first against the Dubai young talents, who were restricted to 147.  In reply Jamie Brooks spearheaded the reply with 57 as we ran out winners by 7 wickets.

The fifth match of the tour was against a combined Dubai College/Jumeirah College side.  Unfortunately we finished u 25 runs short but were determined to put things right for our final game of tour.

The last game was a day/night at the Sharjah Stadium against the Barmy Army Colts.  Winning the toss we batted first and again Jamie Brooks got us off to a solid start scoring 34 before James Godfrey joined Jonathan Lewis-Oliver steered us toward a total of 184 sharing a century partnership and James Godfrey 95*. A late onslaught saw 24 runs come from the last over!  In reply the Barmy army were restricted to 140.

Congratulations to all boys involved on the success they achieved and for their conduct throughout the tour.

 

HAIR WE GO!

30/10/08

Staff at the School will be hoping for a hair raising experience in November as they do their best Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck impressions. The national charity event - Movember - will see men grow and groom a moustache to help raise money for Prostate Cancer and as much awareness about male health issues as possible.

Pupils, parents and staff can sponsor one of the School Mo Bros (some of whom are pictured) who are hoping to raise in excess of £200 for the charity. For more details on Movember, please visit http://uk.movember.com

 

CHINA IN THEIR HANDS

17/10/08

Pupils from the School have today set off on a one week cultural trip to China. Pupils from Upper 4 through to Lower 6 will travel to Shanghai, Beijing and Xian to take in such attractions as the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square as well as a visit to see the Terracotta Army. The pupils will also visit the sites of the Beijing Olympics, which could come in handy if the London committee ask for any tips for 2012. Head of Upper School, Evelyn Guest, said: “This is a great opportunity for the pupils to visit some remarkable and beautiful sites, which will help to broaden pupils’ experiences of other cultures.”

The trip returns on Friday 24th October with another story to follow on their experiences.

 

HOWZAT! SENIOR CRICKET TOUR HEADS OUT OF THE PAVILION FOR AN INNINGS IN DUBAI

16/10/08

 

The City of London Freemen’s School Senior Cricket Squad today set off to Dubai for their six match tour. 15 players from Years 10 to 13 will play both day and day night matches against opposition including Zayed, Zabeel Park, Dubai College and the Barmy Army. The tour will also include cultural trips to the Emirates Palace and around Karama as well as an afternoon on Desert Safari. Even England great Alec Stewart is hoping to stop by to offer his advice. Head of Cricket, Mr Moore was bowled over with excitement when he said: “The tour is a fantastic opportunity for the boys to get great experience – both on and off the field – in an area where cricket is really starting to take off."

The tour returns on 28th October, so check back then to see how the boys got on.

 

INTER HOUSE SPORTS COMPETITION 2008

15/10/08

The Inter House Sports Competition took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 15 October 2008. Lessons were cancelled as pupils battled it on pitches, courts and tables for House honour.

Representing Gresham, Hale and Whittington, pupils were dressed and even painted in their respective house colours. The teams competed in Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Squash and Table Tennis to gain points which will be taken forward to future events, with eventual prizes given out at the end of term. Head of Boys PE and Games, Bill Deighton said: “The matches today were played at a very high standard, and will certainly have given our School selectors something to think about.” Head of Girls PE and Games, Katie Ridley said: “It was great to see the pupils giving their all for their houses – whether playing or spectating – their level of commitment and team spirit was inspiring.”

 

SILVERWARE AT THE SURREY SCHOOL’S SWIMMING RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008

10/10/08

The City of London Freemen’s School took 24 swimmers to Trinity School, Croydon on 9th October for the annual Surrey School’s Relay Championships and collected silverware.

The girls swimming squad is continuing on its successes of last year by being crowned Surrey Medley Relay Champions at Under 12’s, with Emily Stewart swimming a superb anchor leg. The Under 12’s also received a silver medal in the freestyle relay.  Junior Girls (Under 14’s) received two second places whilst the Intermediate Girls (Under 16’s) were fourth in both freestyle and medley relays.

The Under 12’s Boys squad took the bronze medal in the freestyle relay.  However, the Under 14’s and Under 16’s Boys teams narrowly missed out on podium positions but performed well producing personal best times.

Overall the CLFS swimming squad received medals in five of the 12 races which shows great attitude towards both competition and training and will hopefully breed further future success in Divisional Championships and inter school galas.

 

FREEMEN’S SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE!

 

10/08

Pupils at City of London Freemen's School in Ashtead celebrated the European Day of Languages by coming to school wearing national dress from around the globe.  The pupils, who study French, German and Spanish from the age of 7, participated in a range of activities and games throughout the day, inspired by their teachers, many of whom also sported national costumes.  Head of the Junior School, Ian Thorpe, conducted part of the school assembly in Dutch in order to kick off proceedings.  He commented, "Having grown up in Belgium myself, I am all too aware of the confidence that can be gained from developing another language.  Our pupils love their language learning and it is wonderful to see them immersing themselves so enthusiastically in other cultures."

'CLASS ACT' : MUSIC DEPARTMENT SET TO IMPRESS AT DORKING HALLS

17/09/08

On Thursday 13th November 2008 the Music Department at City of London Freemen’s School will be showcasing its most talented junior and senior musicians in an evening concert entitled ‘Class Act’ at Dorking Halls.  It has been apparent over recent years that many of the large ensembles have outgrown their usual environment at the school – both in size and musicality.  At the Junior Summer Concert, extra benches had to be squeezed in to seat all the Phoenix and Cantabile choir members and their families.  A few weeks before at the Senior Concert, the Orchestra demonstrated their increasing prowess at tackling standard repertoire with a marvellous rendition of Sibelius’ Finlandia and Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture. 

Alongside departmental ensembles that also include Senior Band, Camerata, Senior Choir, Senior Strings and African Drumming,  two of our most talented and promising soloists will have the opportunity to play a concerto with the orchestra.  Rebecca Baker, who is in Lower 4, will play Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Jeremy Cole, who is in his final year at the school, will play the first movement from Mozart’s 23rd piano concerto. 

Our talented youngsters are ready to play and be heard on a larger scale and this concert promises to be something special.  Don’t miss out!

Tickets for this event cost £6 with a percentage of ticket sales going the chosen charity, Music in Hospitals.  Please contact the Music Department on 01372 822449 or email nkrawec@clfs.surrey.sch.uk. 

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CLFS STUDENTS AMONGST TOP TEN IN COUNTRY

18/09/08

 

Students at the City of London Freemen’s School not only celebrated excellent GCSE and A level results this year but several of them were amongst the country’s top ten students in their subject.

Charles McMillan, Kathleen Tsoi and Vincent Chan were amongst the top ten students in GCE Maths, with Vincent Chan achieving a double by also coming amongst the top ten candidates taking Physics.

Hannah Davies, Eleanor Marsh and Kelly Lim sat their Fine Art exams and achieved amongst the top ten highest overall marks nationally. 

 

Lewis McDonald was one of the top ten of 15756 GCE Spanish students.

Yet another, Lawrence Pang, a boarder from Hong Kong who has been studying at the School for three years, gained one of the top ten marks nationally in his English as a Second Language exam this summer.

Headmaster Philip MacDonald said: “This is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the hard work students and staff put into preparing for their exams.  We congratulate them all and are very proud of their achievements.”

FREEMEN'S RECORDS FURTHER GCSE SUCCESS

21/08/08

GCSE students at the City of London Freemen’s School celebrated an excellent set of results this week.

All 100 students achieved 5 or more passes at grades A* - C with almost three-quarters of all grades being either A* or A. The overall pass rate this year for grades A* - C was 99.2%.

30 of the students achieved A* and As in all of their subjects and 2 students, Hannah Davies and Patrick Kennedy achieved A* grades in all ten subjects.

Lawrence Pang, a boarder from Hong Kong, who has been studying at the School for three years, gained one of the top ten marks nationally in his English as a Second Language exam this summer.

Headmaster Philip MacDonald commenteed: "I congratulate all our students on their excellent results.  Both they and their teachers have worked hard to achieve these results and I am pleased to see a continuing trend of outstanding GCSE performance at Freemen's".

A more detailed breakdown of the results can be found on the Upper School Results page.

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100% SUCCESS IN ANOTHER RECORD YEAR

14/08/08

The 102 A-level students at City of London Freemen’s School, Ashtead had good reason to celebrate their A-level results this year. The results were an all time record at the school with a 100% pass rate. The percentage of top A and B grades was 85.8%, some three per cent higher than last year’s record results.

Almost all of the students will be able to confirm their places at their preferred universities and colleges and this year eight students have confirmed offers at either Oxford or Cambridge.

Fourteen students gained A grades in four A-levels and five students – Katharine Anderson, Catherine Brinkworth, Rachel Hargrave, Marcus Leung and Edward Willis-Jones - gained straight As in five subjects.

Philip MacDonald, who has just completed his first year as Headmaster at the School, commented:   “I am delighted with this splendid set of A-level results which are a credit to the students themselves and the commitment, skill and patience of their teachers. It is most encouraging to see the continuing trend of higher academic results at the School which goes from strength to strength. My congratulations to everyone!”. A more detailed breakdown of the results can be found on the Sixth Form Results page.

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LORD MAYOR PRAISES PUPILS' ACHIEVEMENTS

03/07/08

The Lord Mayor of London Locum Tenens, Alderman Sir John Stuttard, was the chief guest at the City of London Freemen’s School’s annual Prize Day.

On his second visit to the School Alderman Studdard heard Headmaster Philip MacDonald give his first Annual Report before distributing prizes and trophies to all the prize winners.

After his first year at the Ashtead Park School, Philip MacDonald reported on the wide ranging achievements of the pupils both inside and outside the classroom and how lucky he felt to be leading such an outstanding School.  He also paid tribute to the hard work of staff and parents in supporting the pupils’ endeavours.

Head Girl Rachel Hargrave, who herself won a number of prizes, presented her report on the School year whilst Head Boy Stefano Tomaselli, equally successful in achieving a number of prizes, gave an address of thanks to the Lord Mayor Locum Tenens.

In his address Alderman Studdard praised the all round achievements of the School’s pupils and the success of the Headmaster in his first year at the School. Reflecting on perhaps his most famous predecessor, Dick Whittington, he encouraged the pupils leaving the School to move positively in to the next stage of their lives confident in the knowledge that the School had prepared them well.

In addition to the ceremony the School celebrated Prize Day with a range of exhibitions of pupils work and a concert of Music Scholars.

HAVE THEY GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THE NEXT APPRENTICE?

23/06/08

For one day all Year 9 students at City of London Freemen’s School embarked on new careers and ran their own business for the day. They spent a day on the Young Enterprise ‘Sell for Success’ programme, in which they were divided into four teams, each of whom competed to create and sell games consoles in the mythical market of Big Town. To add to the business-like atmosphere, the pupils came dressed not in their school uniform, but in ‘Business Dress’, and prizes were awarded for the Best Dressed Businessmen and Businesswomen. They had to create a company with Marketing, Production, Finance and Customer Service departments, negotiate with their Far Eastern supplier to buy components and create a specification for the console that they felt would most attract the market.

Having put together a marketing plan, they visited a bank manager to arrange a loan, decided on their pricing strategy, and built a prototype of their ideal product. Finally, while some team members built a mock shop, staffed it with customer service experts, and faced some difficult customers who were determined to put their policies and product to the test, others prepared a presentation describing how their team had worked together and what they had learnt from the day.

Fortunately, each team was helped in all of this by volunteer Business Advisers, who joined them for the day and guided them through the new areas of identifying target markets, estimating the likely number of sales, and preparing a budget. They worked to very strict timescales, in order to simulate two years of trading in the space of a day!

In the first ‘year’, only one company made a profit, while the others all recorded losses of up to £500,000!

However, they demonstrated admirable ability to learn from their mistakes and all succeeded in making a profit in their second year, with the largest profit going to the team who had perfected the technique of estimating the market size based on identification of their target market.

The Business Advisors, Supplier, Bank Manager and Young Enterprise Games Master all joined forces to award prizes for different business skills such as Best Marketing, Best Presentation and Most Innovative Product.

“It was a most successful day, in which every pupil was fully focused on their business throughout, and learnt a huge amount not only about how business works, but also about the realities of budgeting, time management and team work,” said Penny Brooks, Head of Business Studies.  “We look forward to great things from this year group when they have the chance to enter the Young Enterprise company competition next year.”

PROVING MATHS CAN BE FUN

20/06/08

Year 9 pupils at City of London Freemen’s School enjoyed a range of experiences as part of their Maths Activity Day this week, with Lower Sixth students helping to run many events.  “This is a great opportunity to show the pupils how maths can be not only useful but good fun too,” said Head of Maths, Rosemary Hobbs.

The whole year group had the opportunity to learn about the sport of orienteering by completing a course mapped out in the school's extensive grounds in Ashtead Park.  Equipment and expertise were provided by a Mole Valley Orienteering Club representative, Mike Elliot, assisted by brothers Charlie and James McMillan (a former Head Boy), and parent Robert Newhouse.

A ‘Record Breakers’ session tested pupils’ physical and estimation skills, with data being collected to use in their Maths lessons.

In ‘The Fair Trade Game’, groups represented countries competing for resources and wealth, and pupils learnt about the benefits of buying Fairtrade goods.

SUSANNAH ENGINEERS A SCHOLARSHIP

13/06/08

Susannah Westby’s dream of a career in Engineering was given a boost this week with the news that she has been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship.

Susannah, 15, who attends the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead will now be sponsored through her A level studies which will include Design Technology and Mathematics.

“I was a bit surprised but really pleased to have been chosen”, said Susannah, adding: “I’m even more determined to study Engineering at University now.”

She was selected to receive an Arkwright Scholarship after successfully passing the Arkwright Aptitude Paper demonstrating flair and originality in solving engineering design problems and presenting GCSE work to a panel of interviewers in April.

The selection process then culminated in an interview for shortlisted candidates at Imperial College.  A team exercise presented by the university provided the interviewees with an experience of the challenge and excitement of engineering related careers.

Head of Design Technology at the School, Alex Kew, commented: “This is the first time one of our students has achieved this Scholarship but in Susannah’s case it is well deserved.  The Department, and the School as a whole, are proud of her achievements."

Scholarships are sponsored by Industry and Charitable Trusts and will be formally presented at a ceremony hosted by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London, on Friday 31st October 2008. 

CLFS SWIMMERS MAKING WAVES

19/05/08

Last Friday the City of London Freemen’s School Girls’ Under 11 freestyle team took part in the Surrey/Kent round of the ESSA (English Schools Swimming Association) Swimming Championships, having qualified in second place at the county competition last term.

After an exciting night of very high standard swimming, the girls won in a time of 1.01.82.  They not only beat the Kent schools but also the school who had beaten them at the earlier county round.

As a result, they were crowned Division XI Champions and are off to the National Final at Ponds Forge in Sheffield on 21 June. The team of Rachel Dunne, Emily Stewart, Jasmine Stephens, Tabitha Read-Cayton and Anna Christiansen are proudly holding their trophy above.

On the same night, four of the CLFS pupils were chosen to represent Surrey in the Kent v Surrey competition.  Callum Room, Rachel Dunne, Anna Christiansen and Tabitha Read-Cayton swam individually as well as part of the Medley and Freestyle teams and ended on the winning side.

"The girls have excelled themselves in the ESSA Championships so far and we are looking forward to continued success at the Nationals in Sheffield next month", said Junior School swimming coach, Michelle Restall.

HITTING THE HIGH NOTES

12/05/08

Year 3 singers from the City of London Freemen's School were celebrating after holding off stiff opposition from local schools to win their categaory at the Reigate & Redhill Music Festival.

Their renditions of 'Castle on a Cloud' and 'Rivers of Babylon' were described by the

Adjudicator as "disciplined and dynamic with excellent tuning".  As a result, the School was placed first in the Junior Choirs class and will be performing later this month at the Trophy Winners' Gala at the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill.

Assistant Head of Junior School, Louise Jowitt, who conducted the Choir, was delighted with their performance.  "All our Year 3 pupils took part so to produce a performance of that quality was hugely rewarding for the watching teachers and parents."

MAKING A SPLASH IN NATIONAL FINALS

05/05/08

Junior School girls are celebrating their best ever showing at the IAPS National Swimming Finals. The event, held at K2, Crawley, attracts the finest junior swimming talent from across the country. Whilst sporting specialists from Millfield Prep may have retained their title, CLFS finished in the runners-up spot, just 13 points behind the eventual winners and 30 points ahead of the team in third place.  The U12 Medley Relay team, along with individuals Nathalie Richards (U12 Backstroke) and Lucy Archer-Lock (U13 Breaststroke) all won bronze medals. There were individual silver medals for Zoe Lowrey in the U10 Backstroke and Tabitha Read-Cayton in the U10 Butterfly; the girls were joined by Aila Diffey and Anna Christiansen in the medley relay, winning gold, before the freestyle team, also containing Fredrika Penniket-Dessent, completed a double gold, winning the freestyle relay event. Danielle Tullett's win in the blue riband race, the U13 freestyle, capped off a fantastic evening.

Ian Thorpe, Head of Junior School, commented, "Staff and pupils have trained hard throughout the year and to be rated, by IAPS, as its most successful swimming school in the South-East makes all the effort worthwhile. Our boys will be striving for further success when their finals take place in just over a week."

FINISHING ON A HIGH NOTE

28/04/08

The under 13 7-a-side hockey team finished the season on a high note by reaching the quarter finals of the South Regional Championships - the first time a CLFS team had reached this stage since 1991.

The girls qualified for the Regional Finals as runners-up to St. George's College in the Surrey Mini Hockey Championships and performed well in the group stages.  On an extremely hot day at Cranleigh the girls produced some brilliant team performances and demonstrated their awesome goal scoring ability to finish as undefeated winners of their section earning a well deserved place in the last eight. 

The team were up against it with a quarter final against the hosts but the girls put in a big hearted performance before going down by the odd goal in five.

Although disappointed the girls were able to look back on a successful tournament that capped an equally successful season. Congratulations go to Lauren Rofe,  Ellie Sutherland,  Rachael Green,  Emily Wilkes, Louise Block,  Kate Holmes (Captain), Lizzie Smart, Lindsay Sinclair, Ellie White and Holly Bicknell as they look forward with eager anticipation to next season.

BRINGING HOME THE BAFTAS

21/04/08

The TV fraternity were queuing up to congratulate former City of London Freemen's School pupil Andrew Garfield who last night scooped the Best Actor award at the 2008 TV BAFTAs.

At only 23 years old and having starred in his first major TV role, Andrew beat off competition from internationally recognised actors such as Anthony Sher.

Andrew won the award for his performance in the Channel 4 drama Boy A for which he received significant critical praise.

Head of Drama, Phil Tong, commented: "It was obvious from his School days that Andrew was a special talent.  For him to achieve this recognition so early in his career is fantastic and an inspiration to the current Drama students at the School".

You can find out more about what is going on in the world of Drama at CLFS by visiting www.theatredreams.co.uk

A MARATHON EFFORT

14/04/08

The City of London Freemen's School was represented in both the London Marathon and the London Mini Marathon yesterday.

Head of Design Technology, Alex Kew ran as part of the City of London Running Club and managed a very respectable 3 hours 42 minutes in his first marathon.  He raised over £500 for the Lord Mayor's charities which this year include Wellbeing for Women, Pulmonary Hypertension Association and SMIT Childrens' Haven in South Africa.

Joining him in the main race was Sixth Former Calum Williams who was also running his first marathon and who produced an equally respectable 3 hours and 47 minutes.  Calum was raising money for CHASE, the children's hospice charity.  After the race he said: "The experience of running in the event wsa phenomenal and something that I can recommend to anyone.  All the training and even the pain in your legs after the first few miles is all worth it!"

Not to be outdone, 15 year old Oli Garrod from Epsom and Vusa Mtunzi, 14, from Carshalton ran in the Mini Marathon and did themselves and the School proud.

GETTING IN THE SWING

07/04/08

City of London Freemen’s School had six pupils teeing off in the recent Surrey Schools’ Golf Handicap Competition at Chipstead Golf Club.

The girls came out best on the day with Sixth Former Abigail Chatterton from Epsom taking the honours in the Girls Net event with a score of 70. She was closely followed by Natasha Lewis-Oliver and Charlotte Fryer who shared fourth place.

The three boys, Dominic Orchard, Nick Bluck and Jonathan Lewis-Oliver, who are all fairly new to tournament golf, put in very creditable performances and all gained useful competition experience.

"It is good to see more pupils having the opportunity to take part in an ever-expanding range of competitive sports’, said Bryan Lewis, golf co-ordinator.  ‘This was a very successful day for our players."

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

10/03/08

Last week saw the culmination of this year's House Music competition with a Gala Concert given by all the prize winners.

With such an array of talented performers the adjudicators had had a difficult job choosing the winners.  The standard of performances at the Gala Concert showed what a  thorough job Amy Whetmore (professional trombone player & member of Brass10) and David Oliver (Director of Music St.

Mary's Church, Leatherhead & TV composer) had done.

Family, friends and members of the School appreciated talented playing from the French Horn to the Violin with solo performers ranging from 7 year old Olivia Yang (Piano) to 18 year old Victoria Rule (Trumpet).

Director of Music, Paul Dodds, commented: "The School has a significant number of very talented musicians and the Gala Concert is an excellent way of showcasing their skills.  With performers as young as seven we know the future of Music in the School is in safe hands."

Hale House was victorious in both Junior and Senior House Competitions with the full list of award winners being:

 

Most Promising Junior Singer (Britten Cup)	Fern Ashby
Most Promising Lower Junior Musician (Walton Cup)	Olivia Yang
Most Promising Middle Junior Musician (Handel Cup)	Julia Heasman
Most Promising Upper Junior Musician (Thorne Cup)	Rebecca Baker
Most Promising Junior Duet (Holst Cup)	Rachel & Nathan Dunne
Most Promising Junior Woodwind (Delius Cup)	Clara Hutter
Most Promising Junior Brass (Mathias Cup)	Georgina Chapman
Most Promising Junior Pianist (Purcell Cup)	Georgia Holloway
Most Promising Junior String (Delius Cup)	Rebecca Baker
Best String Player (Henderson Cup)	Ellen Timothy
Best Brass Player (Cowell Cup)	Victoria Rule
Best Pianist (Cole Cup)	Jeremy Cole
Best Woodwind Player (Elgar Cup)	Sam Richards
Best Duo (John Cup)	Sam Richards & Fergus Marr
Best House Ensemble (Goddard Cup)	Gresham House Band
Best Singer (Dowland Cup)	Camilla Clarke
Best Overall Performer (Harris Cup)	Fergus Marr
Adjudicator's Commendation	Kate Aitchison
Best House Singing (Martin Cup)	Emily Aldridge, Izzy Griffin-Smith, Kate Aitchison, Giles Jordan, Leo Morrell, Jeremy Cole
Best Rock Performance (McElwaine Cup)	Uncle Chimpers, Bobo Danny, Staniella Ramones, Stevie Skids, The Gutsy Gibbon, The Wenis Scream, Popohuntus, Missus Mugabe, Starfish Sally, Yogi Chaffel

 

FREEMEN'S FENCERS STRIKE GOLD

03/03/08

TV crews spent last Sunday filming fencers from the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead Park as they delivered excellent performances in the National Team Championships at Whitgift School.

Stars of the day were the gold medal winning Under-11 Girls A team (see photo).  Abigail Lister, Marie Pritchard, Zoe Lowrey and Kate Irwin all contributed to the success, Final score 45-38.   The U-11 Girls B team also did well and took 3rd place. 

The Under-11 Boys did well to make the Direct Elimination stages and were placed 8th.

In the Under-13 Girls Epee, Clara Hutter and Louisa Sparkes put up winning

performances, but the Freemen’s School team narrowly missed out on the national title only because of illness of the third team member, Ellie Irwin.  

Freemen’s School Fencing Coach Brian Lewis commented: “Fencing is one of many sports at the School but we have managed to encourage some very promising young fencers to pursue their talents. The girls, their parents and the School are very proud of their ever increasing success.” 

GREEN CHAMPION MEETS BROWN

28/02/08

Patrick Kennedy from Dorking has been announced by Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as the South East Climate Change Champion for 2008.

The 16 year old, who attends the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead, was present at last week’s Downing Street announcement having come through a defra-organised competition to receive the accolade.

“I’ve always been passionate about the environment and climate change and being the Climate Change Champion gives me the opportunity to raise awareness amongst young people”, commented Patrick.

Patrick’s entry in the competition was a climate change website www.forceforchange.weebly.com. The judges were so impressed he was short listed and last month attended an interview in London with two other contestants.  So articulate and passionate was Patrick in the interview that he was chosen as Climate Change Champion for the South East.

His first task in the role was to undertake a 4-day climate change expedition to Amsterdam.  Following on from this Patrick will participate in and speak at regional, national and possibly even international climate change events during the course of the year.

He has also been awarded £1,000 to organise his own climate change event or carry out a climate change project.

A determined Patrick who is raring to take up the challenge said: “I am hoping to use the year to be a force for change.  I want to get across the message to as many people as possible that climate change is the most important issue facing us all.”

The School is just as proud of Patrick's achievements and Headmaster Philip MacDonald commented: "I am delighted to hear that Patrick has become the South East Climate Change Champion.  Climate change is a matter of real concern today and especially so for young people. Patrick hasproved aworthy recipient of this award and I am sure he will take his role in raising awareness of this key issue very seriously." 

NOT SUCH A STUPID IDEA

08/02/08

Stupid?, an original play by Junior School teacher Richard Metcalfe, was performed to over 600 people this week by a 130-strong cast and crew of Junior School pupils.

Based on a Grimm tale called "The Gnome"and incorporating magical illusions and complex trickery, Stupid? tells the story of a boy and girl living rough on the streets of a city who are somehow magically swept into a world dominated by the Wizard (who spends the majority of the play suspended 12 feet above the stage).  In this mythical world the boy and girl learn the advantages of co-operation and the value of creating something together. 

Along the way princesses are lost and found, a three headed dragon meets an untimely end, beautiful assistants appear from empty trunks and Stupid wins the day.

Is this all Stupid?  “Well I hope not", said Richard.  "Was I stupid to volunteer to write and direct the play?  Only time will tell”, he added.

"I've always wanted to write a play but have, until now, found excuses for not doing so.  However, in a rather rash moment, ten months ago, I volunteered to write the next Junior School play.  There's nothing quite like the expectation of nearly 400 pupils and staff to galvanise one into action.  And action there has been.  Stupid? was born and I'm very proud of what we have created.

I thank the staff, parents and pupils at CLFS for all their help in turning imagination into reality." 

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHORAL STARS

01/02/08

Ashtead Choral Society recently performed their first concert of 2008 in St Martin's Church, Dorking and they took the bold step of engaging, as soloists and accompanying organist, pupils from the City of London Freemen's School.  The concert was reviewed by Diana Morgan in the Leatherhead Advertiser and her comments included:"The soloists were soprano Emily Eldridge, mezzo soprano Kate Aitchison and baritones Mark Nathan and Leo Morrell. All four showed great maturity and understanding of the works, their performances being received with acclaim. The genius of organist Jeremy Cole was evident throughout the concert."

Of Faure's Requiem she commented: "Eldridge sang the Pie Jesu with clarity and emotion and Nathan sang the baritone solo in Libera Me with great confidence. The rare talent of young Cole could be appreciated from the opening bars of his skilful, sympathetic playing which continued throughout the concert."

Of Durufle's Requiem she noted: "Once again Cole rose to the occasion with skill and feeling, giving a stunning performance. Morrell sang the baritone solos in Domne Jesu Christe and Libera Me showing maturity of interpretation that belied his years. Aitchison sang Pie Jesu with confident vocal skill, her mature understanding of the demanding part making a valuable contribution to the performance".

And CLFS Director of Music and Choral Society conductor Paul Dodds did not escape comment as Morgan noted that he "expertly guided the talented young performers and choir through a special evening for everyone concerned."

GOING GREEN AT FULL POWER

15/01/08

City of London Freemen's School qualified for the second year running in the Greenpower National Final, which is a nationwide competition where pupils are challenged to design, build and race their own electric powered racing cars in a four hour endurance race. The car is powered by a 24 volt wheelchair motor and two 12 volt car batteries to get the car up to an average speed of 23 miles per hour.

300 teams took part this year and the Freemen's team in their improved car, 'Rivet Racer', came 24th out of the 75 starters in the final at the Goodwood Motor Circuit and achieved their second silver distance award by covering 91 miles in the four hour race.

The team are now building a second car which they hope will see them break into the top ten next year.

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

20/12/07

To celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, pupils at the City of London Freemen’s School took part in Carol Services at St. Giles’ Church in Ashtead which adjoins the School.

The services, which were attended by the whole school, were led by Rev. Daniel Rutherford, School Chaplain and Head of Year 7.  The carols were led by the 30-strong Freemen’s School Camerata, conducted by Director of Music Paul Dodds.

Music was provided by organist Jeremy Cole and the Senior Brass Ensemble led by Victoria Rule.  Jeremy, 16, from Kingswood and Victoria, 18, from Ashtead are both sixth formers at the School.

In addition to the services for pupils, the church hosted the School’s Carols by Candlelight service for parents and staff.

“Christmas is a very busy and exciting time for everyone including our pupils”, commented Rev. Rutherford.  He added: “The services in the historic St. Giles’ Church provide time for pupils, parents and staff to contemplate and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with the whole Freemen’s School community.”

The School has a long association with St. Giles’ Church and currently weekly Junior School assemblies are held there.

A MUSICAL TRIUMPH

05/12/07

The City of London Freemen’s School went back to one of the traditional favourites for their bi-annual musical production when the 44-strong cast gave three public performances of Oklahoma! this week.

Accompanied by a 28-piece band made up of pupils and staff, the cast belted out classics such as ‘Oh what a beautiful morning’, ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘Surrey with the fringe on top’ during the two and a half hour production.

Assistant Director of Music at Freemen’s School, Natalka Krawec explained: “With only ten weeks of rehearsals the pupils and staff have had to work extremely hard. Everyone has been very supportive and motivated and they have delivered a very professional production.”

And it wasn’t just as performers that the pupils starred.  Sixth former Emma Chapman from Cobham, who is hoping to read Drama at university, acted as Assistant Director and Ollie Raggett, 15, from Epsom was the show’s choreographer.  “Although I’ve been dancing ever since I can remember, choreographing a show of this size was a new challenge but it has been really great fun” enthused Ollie.

“This is my twelfth school musical at Freemen’s School and I never cease to be amazed at the quality of the singing, playing and performing of the pupils.  Productions like this just reinforce what strength in depth in musical talent we have right across the School”, commented Paul Dodds, the School’s Director of Music.

A STAR IN THE MAKING

29/11/07

Former City of London Freemen’s School student Andrew Garfield is now starring in his first big-screen role – in a film directed by and starring Robert Redford.  ‘Lions for Lambs’ which opened recently also stars Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep.

It is only three years since Garfield left drama school and in that time he managed to pick up awards as Most Promising Newcomer at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards and the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

After being a promising young gymnast, he took up acting as a teenager.  At City of London Freemen's School his drama teacher Phil Tong spotted his potential and encouraged him to study the subject at A-level.

Garfield recalls Tong taking the class to the theatre: “He said, ‘You could be doing that’ and I began to feel excited about how it could happen on a bigger scale.” Tong suggested that Garfield apply to drama school. He was offered a place at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama in London and enrolled at 18.

Despite so much success in such a short time Garfield is not resting on his laurels.  Since filming Lions for Lambs he has made a feature-length drama for Channel 4 – Boy A directed by John Crowley.  Boy A, which was aired on Channel 4 recently to rave reviews, tells the story of a 24-year-old man who re-enters society with a new identity after spending most of his life in prison. Garfield plays the title role of Jack.

DRESSING DOWN FOR DROP-IN CENTRE

22/11/07

City of London Freemen’s Junior School recently held a mufti day to raise over £350 for Pitstop, the day-time drop-in centre in Leatherhead for the homeless, unemployed and socially isolated.  This sum, which could fund  the running of the centre for several days, was handed over to Wallace Whybrow, counsellor and advocacy worker from Pitstop.  Wallace said "This money will help towards providing much needed services not just for the homeless but for the whole Mole Valley community".

Rebecca Baker, the year 7 pupil at Freemen’s who nominated Pitstop to receive the money was delighted as she "wanted to help a worthy local cause".

Pitstop, which is entirely dependent on donations for it’s survival, offers support in a variety of ways: shelter and friendship, snacks and lunch, counselling and advice and skills development. 

Pitstop is just one of several charities being supported by City of London Freemen’s School this year.  Others include Surrey Air Ambulance (providing a life saving service to sick and injured people in Surrey), Cancer Research (working together to beat cancer), Sense (supporting and campaigning for adults and children with sight and hearing impairment), the Royal Marsden (leading cancer specialist hospital for critical care and rehabilitation) and World Vision (working to make a serious and sustainable impact on poverty and its causes, especially as they affect children).

CLFS takes charity seriously and pupils are encouraged to investigate the many needy causes as part of their social education.  Last year, the Junior School raised an astonishing £11,000 for Rianna’s Fund, a local charity building a school for orphans in Uganda.  Another £1,500 was raised by the Juniors in their Save the Children Tennis Tournament.  Not to be outdone, the Upper School raised over £3,000 for Fishing for Wishes including over £1,000 from Young Enterprise ventures.  The Sixth Form supported the Teenage Cancer Trust with a donation of over £1,000.

HEADING FOR THE TOP

18/11/07

The City of London Freemen’s School is celebrating its success in this year’s public examinations from KS2 through to A-level. In the “Sunday Times” Parent Power league table of independent schools, based on KS2 results for 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Junior School was number five nationally of co-educational prep schools and the third highest scoring school in Surrey. Freemen’s Senior School in the same survey based on this year’s GCSE and A-level results in co-educational schools was 24th nationally and number 8 in Surrey.

New Headmaster, Philip MacDonald, who joined the school in September 2007 said: “I am delighted that these outstanding achievements have gained Freemen’s such recognition both nationally and locally. This school will continue its drive to provide an education of the highest quality for our pupils. I congratulate all our pupils on this splendid achievement and commend the hard work and commitment of the teaching staff at Freemen’s.”