Michaelmas Term 2007

If you have any comments about our web page I would be delighted to hear from you.  You can email me at KMackay@bromsgrove-school.co.uk .

Dates to Note
Tuesday 11^th December:
Christmas Disco 7.30pm to 10.30pm dining hall. TC PA Pizza for the girls 5.45pm until 7.15pm

Wednesday 12^th December:
Senior Indoor Hockey

Friday 14^th December:
Chapel Suits to be worn. Junior Carol service 3.15pm; Senior Carol service 4.30pm

TERM ENDS 5.45pm

Wednesday 13^th December

Debating

On Wednesday the Junior House debating final took place. The topic was: This House believes that the Olympic Games are a waste of money. TC girls Lucinda Hegarty and Jess Wolinski were up against WG and despite obviously knowing a lot more about the topic debated, we narrowly lost. Mr Bowen commented on their entertaining arguments and well devised speeches. Well done girls. Both receive House Commendations and were given a Chocolate Santa in House assembly (see the picture below)

Netball

On Wednesday 5^th Jenny Thomas and Lois Unitt represented the U16 team and Emily Deeley represented the 1^st team in netball. They played extremely well and congratulations as both teams won. The U16 team won 36-9. Well done to those who played from TC.

Senior House Outdoor Hockey

On a bitter Friday afternoon the Finals of the Senior House Hockey took place. TC was represented by Alice Walters, Joanne Smith, Lorren Edwards, Rachael Mack, Lois Unitt, Chelsea Callaghan, Daniella Irving, Sophie Sellers, Katie Budge, Amber Capewell, Unjulie Maumi and Jessica Viney. The first game was against rivals Hazeldene and the result was a 0:0 draw. TC then went on to play Mary Windsor who they beat 3:0. Hazeldene then played Mary Windsor and also won 3:0. It was then down to penalty flicks. Rachael Mack scored; Hazeldene missed. Jess Viney missed but so did her Hazeldene counterpart. Chelsea Callaghan scored. It was a TC victory the girls were ecstatic! Well done TC. We are now hoping for a repeat performance in the Senior Indoor Hockey to be played on Wednesday 12 December. This will be the last House Competition this term.

Christmas Concert

On Monday the annual Christmas Concert took place. Ellie Johns gave a beautiful rendition of “All I want for Christmas”; Sarah griffin played sax in the Big Band and gave a brilliant solo performance; Emma Henderson sang “Santa Baby” accompanied by Big Band and also “The first time I saw your Face” accompanied on the piano. Gina Lees played in the Orchestra.

Pizza and Disco

On Tuesday evening the girls were treated to Pizza, chocolates and fruit in the House before attending the Christmas Disco. The PA very generously provided the food and this was much appreciated by the girls. It is one of the highlights of the Christmas term.

End of term

This will be the final news for this term. I would like to thank Jenny Thomas, Kamila Rafiqi and Lucinda Hegarty for doing a fantastic job each week in writing up the news. All three receive House Commendations.

Have a very Happy Christmas and New Year. The news page will resume in January 2008.

Friday 30^th November 2007

Only two weeks to go until the end of term. The girls are in high spirits. We were really pleased to hear we had achieved the best grades across all year groups and enjoyed chocolate on Thursday.

Hockey

U14A

This week the U14A team sadly lost but the girls played brilliantly and worked really hard. Out of T.C there was Victoria Stokes, Emma Sellers and Daisy Perrey. Well done for taking part and representing the school.

U14B

On Saturday 24^th the U14B played against Repton School. From the house Holly Alsop, Alice Batham, Sarah Morris, Olivia Morris, Harriet Walker, Rosie Millns, Chloe McKee and Eppyar Hunt played brilliantly and represented the team well. Unfortunately they lost but well done to those who took part.

U15A

The U15A team also played against Repton School and Amy Armstrong, Danielle Finlay, Sam Smith, Rebecca Philips, Jennie Morris and Kate Marshall were in the team. However they played well but sadly they lost.

U15B

Harriet Alford, Charlie Gilbert, Jess James, Catherine Pitt, Katie Thomas, Sophie Doyle and Jess Wolinski represented the U15B team. They participated extremely well and their hard work paid off. The U15B team were the only team that won their match last weekend so congratulations to all the girls who played in the U15Bs.

3^rd X1

Last weekend several girls from T.C represented the 3^rd team in a hockey match against Repton. From T.C there was Katie Budge, Lorren Edwards, Lucy Barwell, Gina Lees and Unjulie Maumi. Sadly the 3^rd team lost but well done for representing the school

Inter house hockey

Junior house hockey was a great success, Amy Armstrong was captain and other players included Jessica Wolinski, Jessica James, Rebecca Philips, Daisy Perry, Emma Sellers, Jenny Morris, Rebecca Noon and Victoria Stokes. All players played excellently and did the house proud. However unfortunately we drew on points with Oakley, so the winning house was decided on goal difference and Oakley walked away with the cup. Well done to all the girls for a terrific effort.

Hockey

Rachael Mack has been selected for the U16 England training squad. This is a highly commendable achievement. Congratulations Rachael.

U14 Netball

Victoria Stokes represented T.C in the U14 netball team last Saturday. The team played excellently and their efforts were rewarded when they were named County champions. Congratulations!

Squash

Alice Walters and Rachael Mack represented the school in the squash team at Wolverhampton on Saturday. Unfortunately they lost narrowly, but they remain optimistic for their next match.

Swimming

Alice Walters has been awarded her lifeguard qualification. This is a tremendous achievement. Well done Alice.

Kathryn Perry

Kathryn Perry (former head girl and TCian) has just returned from a two month long trip to Ghana. She took part in community projects as well as teaching English. She described the trip as being ‘the best thing I have done in my life so far’, she now plans to spend the rest of her gap year in Australia. We hope that Kathryn enjoys the rest of her gap year.

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming, and so are Santa and his elves. Charlie Wesson secured a job as one of Santa’s elves in Barnett Hill Garden Centre after much interviewing, and intense uniform fittings. She will be looking highly glamorous in red tights, a green and red suit and a matching hat with bells, so you can’t miss her.

Monday 26^th November

Michaelmas Second Grades Commendations

Many T.C girls have received School Commendations and Houseparent Commendations. These are given to students who received an average Effort grade between 1 and 1.9. These are extremely hard to achieve and are only given to very hard working pupils.

The following received a School Commendation:

L4: Holly Alsop, Alice Batham, Olivia Morris, Sarah Morris, Rebecca Noon, Victoria Stokes, Harriet Walker

U4: Harriet Alford, Amy Armstrong, Danielle Finlay, Lucinda Hegarty, Jennifer Morris, Rebecca Phillips, Kamila Rafiqi, Jessica Wolinski

5^th: Lucy Barwell, Katie Budge, Chelsea Callaghan, Amber Capewell, Eleanor Johns, Anne Jones, Gina Lees, Rachael Mack, Unjulie Maumi, Elsa McKee, Jessica Viney

L6: Sarah Ballard, Sadie Chana, Dimple Divecha, Sarah Griffin, Jessica Kingston, Jodie Poole, Joanne Smith, Jenny Thomas, Elaina Williams, Emma Wormington

U6: Alex Avern, Sian Davies, Iona Davis, Verity Glass, Emma Johnson, Maria Marsden, Charlotte Wesson

The Following received a Houseparent Commendation:

U4: Hannah Thomas, Lydia Cotton

5^th: Rose Coffee, Georgie Walters

L6: Kate Radburn, Alice Walters

The following have been recommended for a Headmaster’s commendation:

Sian Davies, Verity Glass, Harriet Alford and Joanne Smith

Many missed a School Commendation by 0.1. The House is working really well and has certainly one of the highest sets of Effort Grades for both First and Second Grades. Well done TC!!

Accessories Evening
Last Wednesday T.C hosted an accessories evening for all pupils and parents in order to raise money for the T.C P.A which provides all of the houses luxury items and new furniture. This event consisted of many jewellery stands and other stalls such as Henna designs by Dimple Devetcha and raising money for Denemere Animal Rescue by Jenny Thomas. Also “Selfridges” make up artists and managers, put on demonstrations of Clinique make ups and facial products for the girls to be interested in. Jodie Poole, Daisy Perrey and Ellie Johns were willing models. This year’s Young Enterprise Company, Domin8 were also there selling beautifully wrapped Christmas baskets as presents. There was a flower stall, hand made chocolates (these are superb and Mrs Mackay has already been to the shop to make chocolate purchases for Christmas!) and Vintage sold handbags and jewellery. Louise Kingston brought Forever Living aloe Vera products; Sally Walters was selling swimming aids and there was the opportunity to have hands waxed ~ the height of indulgence! At the end of the evening the winners of the T.C raffle were decided and many people went home with a range of prizes such as future Christmas presents and jewellery of all sorts. Overall the evening was extremely successful and very enjoyable. All of T.C is looking forward to next year’s with great enthusiasm. We would like to thank Sue Smith and her Committee for organising such a superb evening.

Debating
Dimple Devetcha and Sarah Griffin competed in an outside school debating competition. They were in different teams but both teams were so good that they both won through to the Finals. Well done Sarah and Dimple.

Swimming
There have been many swimming galas in recent weeks but this week two were held at Bromsgrove School . These concerned the U16 and U18 teams.

U16
Kate Marshall, Victoria Stokes, Amber Capewell and Georgie Walters all competed extremely well on Tuesday and Thursday. They all managed to swim very fast and confidently won both of these galas. Congratulations.

U18
Alice Walters and Elaina Williams participated in the U18 gala held at the same time as the U16’s. This too was a very competetitive match but after much support from the sidelines, Bromsgrove again won with ease. Well done to all.

Hockey
U14 A
On Saturday Victoria Stokes, Emma Sellers, Rebecca Noon and Daisy Perry represented T.C in the U14 A team. It was a hard game, but we secured another victory. Well done girls!

U14 B
Holly Alsop, Alice Batham, Sarah Morris, Olivia Morris, Eppyar Hunt and Harriet Walker played excellently against Marlborough College . They fought hard but unfortunately lost.

U15 A
The under 15 A team including Amy Armstrong, Danielle Finlay, Sam Smith, Rebecca Phillips and Jennie Morris, played wonderfully on Saturday and their hard work paid off when they won yet another match. Congratulations!

U18 Midlands Tournament
Clare Dobson and Jo Smith represented T.C in the U18 Midlands tournament. They played at a very high standard but unfortunately lost when the opposition scored after half time.

2^nd X1
Lois Unit, Danni Irving and Amber Capewell played in the 2^nd X1 team against Marlborough College on Saturday. They played outstandingly and were rewarded with a well earned victory. Well done girls!

1^st X1
Clare Dobson and Jo Smith participated in a very exciting match against Marlborough College . They played fantastically but unfortunately lost.

3^rd X1
Lorren Edwards, Lucy Barwell and Unjulie Maumi competed in a match against Marlborough . Regrettably they lost, but left with enthusiasm for their next game.

U18 Zonal Indoor Tournament
On Wednesday Clare Dobson represented the U18 team in the Zonal Indoor Tournament and won. Congratulations!

U16 Indoor Zonal Round
On Monday several members from T.C played in the U16 team. The team consisted of Jess Viney, Rachael Mack, Lois Unitt and Amber Capewell. They drew respectively, well done to those who took part.

Junior Indoor House Hockey
This took place on Monday 26^th November. The team consisted of Amy Armstrong (Captain), Danielle Finlay, Jennie Morris, Rebecca Phillips, Jessica James (Goalie), Emma Sellers, Daisy Perrey, Rebecca Noon and Victoria Stokes. Alice Walters and Lorren Edwards acted as the Team’s coaches. The matches were hard fought and there was a spectacular goal against Oakley which was set up by Daisy Perrey and executed by Becky Phillips! The team drew 0:0 against Mary Windsor ; won against Oakley 1:0 and then drew again in a fierce match against Hazeldene 1:1. This placed the team Second place overall. The winners were Oakley . Congratulations to all the girls who receive a House Commendation. The team photo is below.

England U16 Selection
The House is very proud of Rachael Mack who was selected to try out for the U16 England Hockey Team. We are all hoping that Rachael will be selected.

Friday 16^th November

Children in Need
This week T.C has been raising money for children in need in a number of ways.

On Friday the School held an “Own Clothes Day” where all the pupils and staff were allowed to come into school and wear non-uniform clothes providing they pay a pound. We have raised £67.00 so far and many other people are bringing in more money later on in the week to help with this.

Sweets and rice crispy cakes were also sold on Friday and managed to raise £19.95.

A “Guess Pudsey the bear’s middle name” competition has been held in the house for the past week and has managed to raise a satisfying £11.90

The last method of raising money for this charity was “The Penny Trail” which has been a tradition in T.C for many years. T.C pupils line 1p and 2p coins all up and along the winding T.C staircase and this year has managed to raise £23.65 also as a miscellaneous £3.50 was raised as well. Well done T.C. STOP PRESS: Money is still coming in and we have raised so far nearly £130!

Netball
On Wednesday the 1^st and 2^nd team played Hereford College in a friendly match. The 2nds included Jenny Thomas, Sophie Sellers, Lucy Barwell, Lois Unitt and Jodie Poole who unfortunately lost very narrowly. The 1^st team consisted of Emily Deeley from T.C who drew in a very competitive and close match.

The U14s
Vicky Stokes played on Wednesday in the U14’s county tournament and their team continue on to challenge the teams in the Midlands round. Congratulations and good luck when you compete later on this year.

Debating
In the junior house debating Lucinda Hegarty and Jess Wolinski got through to the finals and will compete for the title on 5thDecember. This is a great achievement and we wish them the best of luck.

Friday 9^th November
Welcome back everyone! The girls came back to the house filled with enthusiasm and ready to start work. All of the L4s are much more settled and have made new friends. The new timetable is popular with the girls and they have adjusted to it well. Only six weeks left to Christmas!

Christmas Charities:
Children in Need
There will be an own clothes day next Friday 16^th November. Girls are expected to bring £1 to wear own clothes. There will also be a “name Pudsey’s middle name” competition. Also there will be the annual penny trail. Please remind the girls to bring their pennies in! All money collected will be donated to Children in Need.

Operation Christmas Child
This year the house is supporting Operation Christmas Child as one of our Christmas charities. Lucinda Hegarty is running the campaign and leaflets are available from her. Please leave any shoeboxes outside the Reverend Hedworth’s office or give to Lucinda.

Geography Field Trip
On Friday 19^th October Jodie Poole, Alice Walters, Emma Wormington, Jo Smith, Sarah Ballard and Jessica Kingston went on the geography field trip to Llanwrst in Northern Wales . They stayed in a hostel and took part in several activities. They also went to the mouth of the River Conway. Miss Diver and Mr Barr also attended. A good time was had by all.

U16 County Hockey Tournament
On Wednesday several girls from T.C took part in the U16 county tournament. The girls played excellently in all their games but were unfortunately defeated in the semi-final. Amber Capewell, Jess Viney and Rachael Mack represented the U16 team very well.

U16 Netball District Tournament
On Thursday 8^th November Victoria Stokes took part in the U16 netball district tournament which was very impressive as she is in the L4. The team played extremely well, well done to the girls.

U18 Hockey County Indoor Tournament
The U18 hockey team went to Evesham School to play in the county indoor tournament. Clare Dobson represented T.C in the team and played excellently. Congratulations to everyone in the team.

Accessories Evening
Next week on Wednesday 21^st November T.C is hosting it’s annual Accessories Evening. Tickets are available until next Thursday, please make cheques payable to Thomas Cookes . We hope to see you there!

Art Trip
On Wednesday Ellie Graves and Emma Bucknell will be attending a textiles art trip to the Rag Market in Birmingham . They will be finding out about different materials and they will also have the opportunity to use these materials in their work.

Junior House Debating
Jess Wolinski and Lucinda Hegarty took part in the first round of the Junior House Debating competition on Thursday this week. Despite School House also doing the proposition, the debate ran smoothly. However we won’t know if they got through until next Friday.

Friday 19^th October

This has been a very busy half term. I wish all the girls and their families a happy holiday with a balance between work and relaxation. When we come back to school in November it is only a matter of weeks before Christmas!!!

House Song
This year T.C house sang “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls and practised extremely hard towards the competition which was held this week on Wednesday. After a nervous opening, the girls really found their T.C spirit and proudly sang in Routh hall to the entire school. The judge commented very positively on our strong sound and said our middle range was “brilliant”. We achieved 12 points though unfortunately were narrowly beaten by our school rivals Hazeldene . All in all it was an enjoyable event and the girls can’t wait for next year’s practises.

Junior House Hockey
Earlier this week on Tuesday the inter house hockey competition was held for the junior members of the school. T.C participants were (for the A’s)Sam Smith, Amy Armstrong, Jennie Morris, Kate Marshall, Dani Finlay, Harriet Alford, Lucinda Hegarty, Rebecca Phillips, Daisy Perrey, Victoria Stokes and Emma Sellers. (for the B’s) Catherine Pitt, Jessica James, Holly Alsop, Harriet Walker, Rosie Millns, Rebecca Noon, Alice Batham, Eppyar Hunt, Chloe Mckee, Olivia Morris and Sarah Morris.

We won third place in the Cup Competition just behind Hazeldene and Oakley and managed to secure a solid second place in the Plate Competition. Well done to all and thank you to the many supporters on the sides.

Hockey
On Wednesday Jess Viney, Rachel Mack, Amber Capewell and Lois Unitt all played in the U16 Midland rounds for hockey. Everyone played with extreme precision and managed to win against all their competitors. Since they won the Midlands round they will now go on to participate in the Nationals. This is a great achievement and we wish them the best of luck in the following tournament.

Last Saturday our teams continued to play hockey against Uppingham school.

The 1^st drew 0-0 and this is very big achievement as Uppingham has a very strong team, and it’s very impressive that we didn’t concede any goals. This team consisted of Clare Dobson, Rachel Mack and Jo Smith from T.C. Well done.

The 2^nd team unfortunately lost 1-0. This team consisted of Alice Walters, Amber Capewell, Jess Viney, Lois Unitt and Lorren Edwards from T.C.

The 3^rd team also narrowly lost and from T.C Unjulie Maumi played extremely well.

Swimming
Elaina Williams broke a school record for her performance in the individual medley earlier this week on Thursday. Alice Walters also swam extremely well and helped the school secure a comfortable win against Cheltenham Spa. These two are extraordinary swimmers and T.C is proud to have them as members of the House.

Biology Trip and Geography Trip
The L6 students who take geography at A- level and the U6, who take Biology, have all taken a trip to Wales in order to further their experiences in these fields of work and also to plan events and experiment in different conditions and terrains. The members of T.C who have gone are Charlotte Wesson, Sian Davies, Maria Marsden, Sarah Ballard, Emma Wormington, Jessica Kingston, Jodie Poole, Alice Walters and Jo Smith. They return on Monday afternoon where they can rest and come back ready to analyse after half term.

L4 Cross Country
Thursday afternoon saw the L4 Cross Country competition. Spirits were high as the girls left the House and every TC in L4 took part…and yes TC was victorious!! Well done to all the girls especially those who were in the top 10 runners home. The girls spent Friday enjoying cookies and chocolate fingers as a result of their victory.

Llanwrtyd Wells
TC was represented in Llanwrtyd Wells at the weekend where celebrations began with a Concert in the Bethesda Chapel; the epitome of Wales . Our pupils performed to local townsfolk and a strong contingent of Old Bromsgrovians who attended School there, Staff, Governors and Parents. Big Band opened and ended the evening with great gusto and panache and Jessica Wolinkski gave a superb performance on the cello; whilst Ellie Johns enthralled the audience with a song. Jessica Kingston was in the Choir along with Mr Barr (TC Tutor). Gina Lees and Olivia Morris were also involved.

Michaelmas First Grades
Mr Ruben analysed the grades and sent this to the House: “overall TC got the best effort grades this time around (average of 2.17). You beat the next house by a whole 0.01 of an Effort grade per grade given. Within the house, the best effort grades were achieved by your U6th who averaged 2.0 - this was the joint best effort grades achieved by any year group in any house.” Well done TC ~ let’s see if we can do the same or even better next half term!!

Monday 15^th October

Breast Cancer Awareness Raffle
The Raffle raised £36. 30 and the winners are:

Ticket Numbers

23: Mrs Bateman, the brush set

8: Harriet Alford, the Hippo and mini cake

381: Sarah Morris, floral set

452: Amanda James (Reception), pink socks and tissues

360: Ellie Graves, pen and wallet

391: Laraine Chance, makeup bag and contents

434: Amy Armstrong, makeup bag and contents

Thank you to all who supported the raffle. Our next major charity raising will be for Children in Need.

Music and Words
On Thursday evening Music and Words was held in the Housman Room. It was a wonderful event, and there was quite a large audience. Several girls from T.C took part, performing a range of different acts. Ellie Johns sang Fields of Gold, Alex Avern read Poppies in July by Sylvia Plath, Emma Johnson read Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy, Verity Glass read Ode to Autumn by John Keats, Jess Kingston sang the Gibbs brothers First of May accompanied by her sister Francesca and Mum on piano ~ a real family affair! Jodie Poole, read October Dawn by Ted Hughes and Emma Henderson sang Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma. All contributed to the magnificent occasion. Very well done!

Netball
1^st team
On Thursday the 1^st team played in a county tournament at home, Emily Deeley played excellently and contributed to the team winning four matches, but they unfortunately lost in the final against South Bromsgrove . Regrettably Rachael Mack couldn’t play due to injury. Congratulations to the team, and we hope that Rachael makes a speedy recovery!

2^nd and 3^rd team
On Wednesday Jenny Thomas, Lois Unitt, Katie Budge, Jodie Poole, Jess Viney, Sophie Sellers and Ellie Johns played for the 2^nd and 3^rd teams. Both teams drew very respectively, well done.

Hockey
1^st team
Clare Dobson, Alice Walters, Georgie Walters, Amber Capewell and Jo Smith played against Kings Worcester on Wednesday. They all played extremely well and won. Congratulations.

U14
On Tuesday afternoon there was a U14 county tournament. Victoria Stokes, Emma Sellers, Rebecca Noon and Daisy Perrey all played brilliantly and still remain undefeated. This is a great success and congratulations to all.

Guiding
Once again some of the girls have volunteered to Guide on Saturday for the Prep School Open Morning: Jodie Poole, Jenny Thomas, Danielle Finlay and Lucinda Hegarty. They are great ambassadors for both TC and Bromsgrove School .

House Shirts and Hoodie
Mrs Mackay collected TC’s new House Shirts on Thursday. They are the same as the previous shirts but hopefully they will be a better fit. We are also changing the colour of the House Hoodie. We are now able to get a yellow hoodie which is almost the exact shade as the House shirts. Many of the girls love the colour and Dimple Divecha is taking names plus what the girls want printed on the back. The cost is £19 which is cheaper than the price for the current blue hoodies. We are hoping to slowly bring in the new colour over the next year or so.

Monday 8^th October

Quiz Night CANCELLED
Unfortunately the Quiz Night has had to be cancelled. We hope to see those of you who were going to attend at the Accessories Evening 21^st November in Routh Hall. Information will be sent out after Half Term

L4 Malvern field day
On Tuesday the L4s spent the day walking across the Malvern Hills . They participated in many activities including walking as a team, map reading, compass craft and orienteering. All of these activities contribute towards there Bromsgrove Badge. They were not blessed with the best weather and instead of blue skies they faced grey skies and light showers, however a good time was had by all even if they had aching muscles the next day.

History of Bromsgrove School Part 2
On Thursday several T.C girls were involved in Mr Bowen’s presentation of a history of Bromsgrove school part two. It was an evening of narrative, short readings and music. Many people went including the chairman of Governors. Sian Davies and Sarah Griffin represented T.C in the jazz band, and Ellie Johns, Gina Lees and Jess Kingston , Olivia Morris and Lucy Young sang in the Choir.

Swimming
This week many from T.C were involved in swimming matches. Alice Walters and Elaina Williams represented the U18 team and secured a victory for the school. Congratulations!

The U16 team were also successful. Congratulations to Kate Marshall , Victoria Stokes, Amber Capewell and Georgie Walters who took part from T.C.

Hockey
This week the U14A hockey team played in a county tournament on Tuesday afternoon. After spending the day in the Malverns Victoria Stokes, Emma Sellers, Rebecca Noon and Daisy Perrey represented the U14A team and drew. Very well done girls.

Chapel Week and Routh
This week it was T.C chapel week. Dimple Divecha, Emma Henderson, Sarah Griffin and Emma Wormington read beautifully on Wednesday morning. Lorren Edwards and Dimple Divecha also read on Thursday morning for Holy Communion and were supported by many willing volunteers across all year groups. Emma Johnson did a fabulous job this morning in Routh. Very well done to all! All receive a House Commendation.

House Song
All the girls have been working exceptionally hard on the house song. We are determined to beat Hazeldene ! So far we have had regular lunch time practices and we are improving by the day. We have high hopes that Sian Davies and the upper six will lead us to victory.

1^st Grades
Grades were published this week and many of the girls have been pleased with their overall results, especially considering the stringent application of effort grades. Well done to all. Parents please note these should be visible on EPortal.

SCHOOL COMMENDATIONS

The following receive School Commendations for achieving an average Effort grade between 1 and 1.9

L4: Alice Batham

U4: Harriet Alford, Danielle Finlay, Jessica Wolinski

5^th: Katie Budge, Chelsea Callaghan, Amber Capewell, Eleanor Johns, Anne Jones, Rachael Mack

L6: Dimple Divecha, Sarah Griffin, Jessica Kingston, Joanne Smith

U6: Alex Avern, Sian Davies, Iona Davis, Verity Glass, Emma Johnson, Maria Marsden, Charlotte Wesson

HOUSEPARENT COMMENDATION

The following have been awarded a Houseparent Commendation for effort:

L4: Rebecca Noon, Harriet Walker

U4: Kamila Rafiqi

5^th : Gina Lees, Elsa McKee

L6: Elaina Williams, Emma Wormington

HEADMASTER’S COMMENDATION

Eleanor Johns, Amber Capewell, Anne Jones and Sian Davies have been recommended for a Headmaster’s Commendation

Mr Bowen’s Visit
Mr Bowen visited the house on Tuesday during tutor time. He was very pleased with the recent improvements made to the house, and congratulated the girls on keeping it in such good condition. We look forward to his next visit.

Senior house Hockey
On Friday T.C’s hockey team played absolutely amazingly. The team-mates were Amber Capewell, Jo Smith, Lucinda Gear, Lois Unit, Lucy Barwell, Rachel Mack, Georgie Walters, Alice Walters, Jess Viney, Dani Irving, Sophie Sellers and Clare Dobson as the captain. In the tournament against the other school houses we played extremely well and won all of their matches here are the final scores; Oakley 5-0, Houseman Hall 3-0, Hazeldene 1-0 and Mary Windsor 1-0. This gave the house the overall score of 12 points with Hazeldene and Mary Windsor joint second with just 7. This was a fantastic performance by all team members but special mention must go to Jo Smith who scored all 5 goals against Oakley and gave us a head start and Amber Capewell who stopped countless goals as the goalie. This gave us had a fighting chance this year against Hazeldene our old house rivals. The team played incredible and on Friday December 7^th be fighting for T.C’s chance at the house cup. Well done to all the girls and good luck in the finals.

Monday 1^st October

REMINDER: Quiz Night
The Quiz Night is to be on Friday 12^th October in Routh. ALL parents should have received an invitation through the post. Please support. If you can’t make a team up we will be happy to help set up teams on the night. This is going to be a FUN evening!! Come and enjoy. Replies to Mrs Mackay as soon as possible; but no later than Tuesday 9^th October.

Hockey
Many T.C girls participated in hockey teams on Saturday 22^nd September. We have congratulated them all on their sporting triumphs and there are many more matches to come as the year progresses. Our rivals were Cheltenham Ladies College who were very strong oppositions and played valiantly against our Bromsgrovian teams.

U14A
The squad consisted of Victoria Stokes, Emma Sellers, Rebecca Noon and Daisy Perry who all played well and made a great effort to acquire a solid victory over their opponents. They have yet to lose any of their matches and hopefully next week won’t put any dents in their winning streak.

U14B
Unfortunately this team lost narrowly but played very well, they were simply out of luck but competed with great spirit and fought as hard as they could. They were Holly Alsop, Alice Batham, Sarah Morris, Olivia Morris, Eppyar Hunt and Harriet Walker.

U15A
The members of this team were Amy Armstrong, Danielle Finlay, Jennie Morris, Sam Smith, Rebecca Phillips and Kate Marshall. All of these girls played hard and fast and didn’t let Cheltenham concede any goals. The girls well deserved their draw.

U15B
Katie Thomas, Harriet Alford, Hannah Thomas, Charlie Gilbert, Jessica Wolinski and Jessica James They didn’t have as much luck as the U15As but still competed with great sportsmanship.

1^st Team
This team consisted of Clare Dobson, Jo Smith, Jessica Viney, Rachael Mack and Chelsea Callaghan. Representing the schools most prestigious and highly ranked team has obviously put good pressure onto the team as they scored the final goal with only ten minutes left and secured a 2-1 victory.

2^nd Team
Although they narrowly lost the team enjoyed the time on the pitch and were happy to compete in the sunny but cold weather. All of this team from T.C are in the 5^th form apart from Alice Walters, which is a great achievement even to be considered for such a superior team. The team members were Lois Unitt, Georgie Walters and Amber Capewell.

3^rd Team
They also scarcely lost their match and were very unlucky as the final goal scored by Cheltenham gave the 3^rds no time to recover but in saying that the team still congratulated their rivals with genuine satisfaction and showed the true meaning of being a Bromsgrovian. Well done to all the teams and next matches will be against Wrekin.

CCF
Last Sunday and Monday recruits for the CCF and the RAF all participated on an overnight exercise. This included many miles walked on the Sunday afternoon, as well as several different events and military exercises which took up all of Monday. After having Camo face paint smeared all across their faces and the enjoyable but tiring training they had to endure, it was no wonder that recruits and NCOs all felt relieved when getting into their cars to go home. T.C girls from U4, 5^th form and many 6^th form pupils participated in very wet conditions. Well done girls!

4^th Form Reps
Sophie Doyle and Olivia Morris have now been given the tasks of becoming the new 4^th form representatives for T.C House. This means that they will be able to give valuable input into the discussions of house changes and put forth any ideas which would benefit the house directly to Mr Bowen. Congratulations and good luck throughout the year.

Cake Sale
This Friday T.C hosted a cake sale for Breast Cancer Research and the Macmillan Cancer Support. Many of the 6^th form helped organise it and we raised £65.85 for Macmillan Cancer Support! It was a delicious event and a huge success! Well done T.C! There was also a raffle in aid of Breast Cancer and we have so far raised £29.80 and it will be drawn next week. We would like to especially thank Sue Smith, TC’s PA Chair, for her support and superb decorating skills ~ pink paper on the tables and a foil Breast Cancer balloon. See the photos below.

Harvest
The Harvest festival will take place on Monday morning; many girls have brought in produce. Many thanks to the U6 who decorated the window in chapel. We hope this should be a great event and look forward to parents attending.

Athletics
Jo Smith and Rebecca Philips took part in the 1.2 road relays on Sunday. Both girls finish respectively with Jo gaining a silver medal and Rebecca coming 6^th. Congratulations to you both!

World Challenge 2007
In July/August Claire Batham, Charlie Wesson, Sarah Ballard, Emily Deeley and Jodie Poole took part in World Challenge 2007 and on Friday evening they gave a presentation to parents of their wonderful experiences. It was clear that for many it has been a life changing experience and it was interesting to hear of their exploits on their treks and see photos of their time in Africa .

Web page news 2007-2008
This year Jenny Thomas (L6), Lucinda Hegarty (U4) and Kamila Rafiqi (U4) are to be responsible for writing the weekly news page for TC’s webpage. I have been very impressed with their efforts so far. Well done girls! Keep this up!

Monday 24^th September

Athletics

Last weekend Rebecca Phillips took part in the inter-counties athletics competition. She ran in the 1500m and successfully came 3^rd place, this was a tremendous achievement. Congratulations to Rebecca.

House Photo
We had our T.C House photo on Tuesday last week. We were very fortunate with the weather and it picked up the red ivy in the background beautifully. We began shakily as many people were excited and organising the lines wasn’t easy. Mr Langlands did an excellent job in arranging the girls and we hope the result comes out as well as we thought it would.

U16 Hockey
The U16A hockey team was very successful in the County rounds this Wednesday. The team captain was Jess Viney, and other team members included Rachael Mack who scored 5 goals out of 7, Chelsea Callaghan, Lois Unit, Georgie Walters and Amber Capewell. Congratulations on getting through to the next round and T.C wishes them the best of luck in the next tournament.

Swimming
On Thursday some girls from T.C took part in a swimming match against Cheltenham Ladies College . Alice Walters and Elaina Williams both swam for the U18 team and Kate Marshall and Victoria Stokes swam for the U16 team. Both teams were successful and defeated our rivals.

School Trips
D.T – This Friday there was a school trip held by the D.T department. Elaina Williams, Sadie Chana, Jess Kingston and Jodie Poole all participated in this and greatly improved their drawing skills as well as collecting enough information to complete the first part of their coursework.

Drama – Also on Friday Mrs James took her Drama pupils on a trip outside of school in which Emma Henderson took part and thoroughly enjoyed. The trip was held at Warwick School and both sets of drama pupils showed off their skills and learnt new techniques that will be useful in their upcoming exams.

Art Trip to botanical gardens - On Thursday several members of Upper Fourth departed on a trip to the botanical gardens to study and draw different plants to improve their technique. They did this as part of their G.C.S.E coursework and at the same time had a thrilling day.

Netball
On Wednesday the 1^st and 2^nd netball teams were in a match against Worcester School . Emily Deeley and Rachael Mack played for the 1^st team and Jenny Thomas in the 2^nd team. All three played extremely well but unfortunately the 1^st team lost narrowly, however the 2^nd team won with a score of 20-7. Well done to those who took part.

Harvest Festival
This takes place on Monday 1^st October and TC have a window in Chapel to decorate with Harvest produce. All girls are encourages to bring in items for this by Thursday morning.

Macmillan Coffee Morning/Breast Cancer
TC is holding a Coffee and Squash morning on Friday 28^th September to raise funds for Cancer Research. Maria Marsden TC’s Charity Rep is co-ordinating this and has asked the girls to bring in cakes which can be sold to raise funds. In addition a Raffle is to be held with pink items to raise money6 for Breast Cancer. Please support! Raffle tickets can be bought in House 50p a ticket. Prizes so far: Soft Hippo sporting Breast Cancer ribbon; make up bags patterned with pink ribbons; socks patterned with pink ribbons and a pink 5 piece hairbrush set. All would cost in excess of 50p to buy! So please support us.

Monday 17^th September

Music
With the start of the new academic year, already there have been many achievements with which the House can pride itself on. TC girls never fail to impress when flaunting their musical talents, and none better than Harriet Alford who, although only being back a short time has gained her Grade 6 flute certificate. She seemed pleased to collect her prize from Routh stage on Friday and many congratulations were made by the House.

School Monitors
In Routh Hall on Friday, Emma Johnson was given her School Monitor status from the Headmaster. She signed her name in a historical book of previous monitors, and in doing so is continuing TC’s association of highly positioned girls within the school. She well deserved this prestigious prize and we wish her well throughout the year.

Hockey
Many congratulation to Jess Viney, Rachael Mack, Chelsea Callaghan, Lois Unitt, Georgie Walters and Amber Capewell who all on Wednesday, participated in and won the U16’s county tournament. They’re now through to the next round of the competition and have trained very hard in order to get this far. Best of luck in the next stages and TC hopes they will bring home another trophy.

Guiding
Jodie Poole, Sarah Griffin, Dimple Divecha and Lucinda Hegarty have all participated last week in guiding potential students and their parents around the school; on Saturday Jodie and Lucinda continued their guiding and showed around parents of lower school pupils interested in continuing their Bromsgrovian careers.

House Song
TC girls have made an early start this year with house song. On quickly deciding which song to do from the topic of “weather”, the entertaining song “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls was put forward and is now being practised at regular intervals. The new U6 are making good progress although there still needs a lot of work done, especially with reaching certain high notes. With all the practising and enthusiasm from all years, TC are sure to win this years competition. Good Luck!

Quiz Night and PA AGM
Letters have been sent out to all parents informing you of TC’s PA Quiz Night and AGM to be held in Routh Hall on Friday 12^th October; you should receive them this week. Please note the venue is Routh Hall and NOT the Marquee as listed in the White Book Calendar. This is a great evening for all and I hope that there will be teams of parents and teams of students playing against each other. Don’t worry if you can’t muster a team; on the night you will be able to join a team. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Quiz.

Monday 10^th September

The first week has flown by. The girls arrived last Monday morning full of holiday news and excited by the changes in the House. Most of them seem pleased with the changes and feel that the House is a much more pleasant environment. Of course we still have some studies tidier than others and I am thinking of implementing a Study of the Week Award for the tidiest and perhaps a wooden spoon for the least tidy! So far the L6 study 10 is the tidiest. Well done girls!

Lockers seem to be working fairly well, although we have had one or two students who need to remember to bring keys with them and who need to lock lockers on an evening. For security reasons I would ask you to encourage your daughters not to bring valuable items into school or excessive amounts of money and ask you to reinforce that any valuables should be locked away.

The L6 and U6 lockers have now arrived in House and have been installed in studies which should enable them to now store their kit and books. Some are claiming that they do not have enough space; however, it is expected that girls do not keep every item in school and that kit goes home regularly for washing and books/files are sometimes left at home when not needed. This is a culture shock at the moment.

The new School week seems to have operated well. Changes in how Roll Call is conducted at the start of the afternoon and at the end of school has caused a few blips ~ not least among the tutor team ~ but all of us are adjusting and I must congratulate all the girls and thank them for the way in which they have supported both me and the tutors and been in the right place at the right time. In particular the L4 have been superb.

School Services was held on Friday afternoon. Again this is a new feature of the School week. The girls were superb, especially given the extreme heat in a very full Chapel. The Headmaster’s address was witty and thought provoking and much appreciated by the girls.

Saturday Activities have got underway and all the girls in TC who have chosen to participate have enjoyed the change to the format of the morning. The later start has also been well received.

TC Parents’ Association
On Thursday the PA met and I presented items on the girls’ Wish List. The PA have agreed to fund the following: The Times will be delivered to the House on a daily basis as well as The Telegraph from Monday; a magazine subscription will be set up for Elle and Marie Claire; new House shirts for sport will be ordered and mirrors and clocks for studies will be purchased. I thank the PA on behalf of all the girls for the support they give and than you as parents for supporting PA events which raises funds for the House.

Bursar’s Visit
On Friday the Bursar visited the House to see the refurbishment. Four girls accompanied him to lunch and told him what they liked, disliked and what still needed to be done to improve the House both internally and externally. I thank Jess Kingston , Jodie Poole, Dani Irving and Unjulie Maumi for being excellent representatives and spokespeople for TC.

WELCOME BACK!
As the new academic year starts I would like to welcome back all the girls in TC.  During the summer the House has undergone further refurbishment and I hope that parents will take the opportunity to come and see the changes which have occurred.  The environment is much more conducive to both work and recreation.

New L4 and L6
On Sunday the PA hosted a tea to welcome the girls and their parents who join the Housethis term  in the L6 and L4.  This was an excellent opportunity for both the girls and their parents to meet the tutors and for Sue Smith to explain about the active role that TC’s PA plays under her leadership as Chair.  Heads of House Alex Avern and Emma Johnson along with House Monitors Maria Marsden, Verity Glass and Charlotte Wesson greeted the girls and our 5th Form Buddies, Sophie Sellers and Lucy Barwell, “buddied” the new L4. Jodie Poole and Jessica Kingston took care of the girls joining the L6. I hope all the girls will soon feel at home as members of TC. Below is a picture of the girls who are joining the L4 and L6.

Exam Results
August was a busy month as A, AS and GCSE results were published.  17 girls left the U6 in July and I was delighted that so many of them achieved the A2 grades to go to their first choice university.  Congratulations girls!  Keep in touch and let the House know how you are progressing.

AS results were generally pleasing and the girls have now confirmed their A2 choices and move into their final year at Bromsgrove School.  Mrs Bateman made the analogy of a new academic year as being a Groundhog Day.  For those of you who know the film it is perhaps apt that as last year’s U6 close the door on TC the next group assume their mantle whilst we start the education process again with a new group of students.

GCSE results were excellent and there were cheers of delight from TC girls as they opened results envelopes.  The number of A* and A grades was staggering.  This bodes well for AS.  Congratulations to all!  Keep up the academic tradition associated with TC.

World Challenge 2007
Claire Batham, Charlotte Wesson, Jodie Poole, Sarah Ballard and Emily Deeley took part in this summer’s World Challenge to Zambia and Botswana.  I look forward to hearing about their adventures and hopefully persuading them to contribute to this web page an account and photos.

News from Summer Term 2007

News from Lent Term 2007