Friday 2 March 2012 sees the 100 anniversary of Newcombe’s first stone being laid and we would be delighted if you could join us for an event to celebrate! Whether you are a former student or an ex-member of the House staff, it would help to make the day special if a good crowd gathered to remember the times you shared as a boarder – see for yourself if anything  has changed and, in the words of one recent old scholar who visited – does it still smell the same?

 We will be leaving Newcombe at the end of March after living here as Houseparents for 6 years – so, if you were at Newcombe during our time it would be particularly good to see you before we go and catch up on how things are going for you.

 Please make this a date in your diary or iPhone and … there will be cakes!

Hoping to see you,

Best wishes,

Andrew and Alison Sinclair

You may be interested to meet our new Headmaster, Iain Kilpatrick. We were! Here we ask him a few questions about himself and Sidcot School.

Kloe Cooper (Head Girl) , Alexander Zamaev (Head Boy) and Alfie Cunningham

Sidcot General Meeting

Sunday 11 March 2012

 11.30am Arrival

11.45am Visitors’ Report and Discussion

12.45pm Lunch (in the Refectory)

1.45pm Meeting for Worship in the Old Library

2.00pm General Meeting in the Old Library

4.00pm Tea

In addition to duly appointed Area Meeting representatives all interested Friends are most welcome. Please confirm your attendance with Alison Thomas by emailing alison.thomas@sidcot.org.uk or telephoning 01934 845208.

This proved to be a very successful afternoon. As expected, the Gala took place in an atmosphere of enthusiastic, friendly rivalry and competitiveness.

There were some hard fought, very close races and a complete range of swimming on display. The point scores remained very close throughout the afternoon and the final result eventually rested on the last squad relay of the Gala, which certainly made for an exciting finale.

Four records were broken this year:

1. Ailsa Craig broke the Intermediate Girls Backstroke record (a record that had stood since 1994).
2. Jasmine Moroney set a new record in the Junior Girls Butterfly.
3. Indea Lucas smashed the Intermediate Girls Individual Medley record.
4. The junior Squad relay team broke a record that had stood since the first Gala held in the pool in 1993.

The individual Trophies were won by:

Jasmine Moroney (Junior Girl)

Jack Slingsby (Junior Boy)

Indea Lucas (Intermediate Girl)

George Michael (Intermediate Boy)

Helena Ring (Senior Girl)

Owen Seagar (Senior Boy)

After a nail biting finish, the house shield was lifted by the Scott captains, Scott having beaten Nansen by 171 Points to 170!!! A close finish indeed.

Thank you to everyone who took part and those that helped on the day

Rosie Bellinger

We are running an Old Scholar Art Exhibition from 30 March – 11 May in Sidcot’s Arts Centre, and require your input… are you an old Sidcot student who has pursued an interest in the arts? Do you have some pieces you would be willing to display in our fantastic Arts Centre?

 The exhibition will be on display during the Easter reunion as well as the May Day Open Morning. The art work can be either 2D or 3D and can be on any subject through any media. It will be installed the week of 26 March, so delivery of your work would be preferred before this date, however if this is a problem please let us know.

 All pieces need to be clearly marked with your contact details, your Sidcot attendance dates, instructions about how we should return the work to you, title and date of the work and how we need to display it. If all 2D work could have D rings or large screw eyes on the back this makes pictures easier to hang.

 For more information about the exhibition and to arrange delivery of your piece(s) please contact either me, Naomi Box, or Emma Davis

Monday 13^th - Badge Day – 9.30 – 3.30  £25.00

Tuesday 14^th – Hack – 10.30 – 12.30  £30.00

Wednesday 15^th – Own A Pony Day – 9.30 – 3.30  £45.00

Thursday 16^th – Pony Club Session – 11- 12.30  £19.00

Friday 17^th – Pony Club Session – 11- 12.30  £19.00

Please call Jane Keep, Equestrian Centre Manager on 07540 726205 to book your sessions.

The Year 8 Sidcot  Athletics team  represented North Somerset at the Avon Schools Indoor Athletics Tournament held at the University of the West of England on Monday, 30^th January. Considering the small size of our year group at Year 8 and the huge schools we were competing against, the boys did exceptionally well.  To be ranked in the top eight schools in the county is a splendid effort!

 The team comprised:

Will Corduroy

Jack Slingsby

Charlie Walford

Cameron Fisher

Sam White

Adam Elkins

Josh Ogborn

Gabs Roux Elms

On Saturday night the 8^th annual Catrine Basil Music Awards Evening took place in the Meeting House at Sidcot School. The music awards evening is held in memory of Sidcot student Catrine Basil who died whilst on holiday with her family in 2003. The evening is organised by Sidcot Music department’s Director, Bev King on behalf of Catrine’s family.

 There was a diverse range of categories in which students from The Mount, Saffron Walden and Sidcot schools performed, including woodwind, singing, ensemble and original compositions. The judges, Linda Hope, John Pitt and Deborah Stanley were impressed by the maturity of the performances and the confidence of the musicians. 

 The winner of the woodwind category, Verity Guest, who played the clarinet beautifully, was also the youngest competitor in the competition – she was the first performer and she walked onto the stage with poise and confidence.  In the brass section the prize was won by Tuba player James Fawcett who used a technique requiring him to sing and play simultaneously – something I had never heard before. Shirley Shen won the singing section after much deliberation by the judges – possibly one of the most difficult categories as all the contestants sang beautifully. The strings section was won by Ben Winfield on the Cello and late entrant Kaiva Gotham y took the award for the piano – the talent displayed by all the contestants in these sections was mind blowing. The ensemble category was won by Liberty and Mike who performed “All I ask of you” from Phantom of the Opera – again a hugely difficult category to judge with all the contestants performing beautifully and each very different from each other. The original composition category was won by Leila Fay who performed one of her own songs, who even after singing in the O2 said that performing in the meeting house was much scarier!  Adelise McDowell won the digital composition category with a fantastic piece based around the riots in London last year.

 ‘I was most impressed with the quality of music at the awards competition on Saturday: an excellent showcase for the musical talent at Sidcot’ said Iain Kilpatrick, Sidcot’s incoming Headteacher who flew down from Scotland to attend the evening.

 Come and meet the new Head this Friday when he is returning to Somerset to be part of the Sidcot Open Morning starting at 9.30am. Come and look round the school and our facilities as well as getting a taste of the music that went on here on Saturday. Cantare, the girls’ chamber choir will be singing various musical numbers.