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W I R R A L G R A M M A R S C H O O LA B u s i n e s s & E n t e r p r i s e S c h o o l f o r B o y s

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‘Nuntius on-line’ Further articles can be found by accessing the ‘Nuntius On-Line’ link via the school website www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Outdoor Enterprise on AngleseyIn May, pupils in Year 9 visited the Conway Centre on Anglesey for their annual programme of Outdoor Enterprise activities. A wide range of opportunities were on offer: sailing, sea kayaking, sea-level traversing, mountain walking and climbing. For half a day all pupils were divided into teams for the ‘Outdoor Business’ activity; this involved working in groups on a variety of problem solving activities. The points earned were then used to ‘purchase’ items for the construction of rafts that were then sailed on to the Menai Straits.

Here is one students account of the Mountain Day:

On Sunday 5th May there were various choices I could have made while on the trip to the Conway Centre. I decided to choose ‘Mountain Day’ for a challenging activity that I had never done before. Although I thought that Mountain Day would be walking, not climbing, it was a brilliant experience.When we arrived at Tryfan We started the tough climb up the mountain and worked as a team to find the best route up. We took turns leading the way and helped each other throughout. Once we reached the top, I was completely exhausted but elated! The view was outstanding! The most important things that I learned during the activity were team building skills and to never give up! We had to encourage each other while climbing, especially considering one person felt ill and we all motivated him to reach the top. I also learned to never give up on a challenge, even if you feel like you cannot complete it. Although I had not climbed a mountain before I thoroughly enjoyed myself and learned lots of new skills.In the future I hope to go back to the Conway Centre to experience even more challenges.

Jack Devlin 9AJM

Summer Art ExhibitionA beautiful summer evening provided the backdrop for the opening of Wirral Grammar School’s Annual Art exhibition. The Private View took place on Monday 24th June and was attended by Governors, PA members, parents, pupils and Art Teachers from local schools. The Art work of Year 10, Year 11, L6th and U6th pupils was displayed in the school Atrium, Sixth Form Centre and the new Art Department and again featured work of high quality and variety.

Pupils in the lower and upper sixth were able to curate the exhibition themselves; deciding on work selection, framing and positioning, with all pupils including an ‘Artist Statement’ regarding the context of the artwork. Very positive feedback was received on the night, with a selection of comments included here.

“It was encouraging to see my son’s artwork in such a professional context. It was also helpful to see the standard of the work achieved by Yr 11 pupils so my son has something to aim at next year!” Yr 10 parent

“I am really impressed by the quality of the work by my son and his peers”, Yr 11 parent.

“It was great to see the artistic skills of the sixth form on show in the Sixth Form Centre” Alex Butler (U6)

“Congratulations to all the boys on an excellent exhibition”, Emma Rodgers – International Ceramic Artist

“It has been a delight to moderate work of such a high standard which is a credit to both the pupils and the school.” OCR Art Moderator

The evening itself was a great success, but the exhibition will remain on display until later in the summer term so that all pupils have the opportunity to view the artwork.

Keya Johnson (Head of Art)

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WelcomeDear All

Even a cursory glance through the pages of this issue of Nuntius will reveal the splendid range of activities that have taken place this term. Boys and their teachers are constantly ‘on the go’, making full use of each school day as well as most weekends and school holidays. Life at Wirral Grammar School rarely stops at the end of the timetabled day when the 3.40pm bell sounds.

You will read of the wide range of school trips and overseas visits: the Year 9’s visit to the Conway Centre on Anglesey; the Comenius exchange visit to the Netherlands; the History trip to Poland and Berlin. Still to come this term, we have the Languages visit to Spain for boys in Year 7, the Music Society Concert Tour to Malta and the Rugby and Hockey Tour to Australia. As these visits take place in the very last week of the term we will have to wait until the next issue of Nuntius to read the reports about them.

Musical events have again been an impressive feature of the Summer Term, culminating in the Music Society Summer Concert and the Music Society Annual Dinner. There has been no shortage of sporting achievements! It would be hard to find many schools that match the standards set by our boys in terms of achievement in so many areas of sport and at all levels: local, regional and national. Well done to those boys who have represented the school in so many ways and thank you to parents for the support that makes this possible.

As the term draws to a close we have a number of staffing changes. Mr Clive Cooper is retiring after 33 years of service as Teacher and previously Head of History and Politics; Mr Peter Snowdon is retiring after 19 years of service as Director of Music. We wish both of them a very happy retirement and hope that they will continue to keep in touch.

Mr Malcolm Kinnear is retiring from his position as Design & Technology Technician. Miss Ann Ryan is leaving after being with us as Temporary Teacher of Music. Mr Paul Ford is leaving us after his temporary period with us as Teacher of Science. Miss Kathryn Sephton and Miss Lynsey Steen are both leaving after their temporary periods as Teaching Assistants. We wish them all every success for the future and thank them for the wholehearted way in which they have supported the school over the last twelve months.

As we look to September, Mr Adam Walker joins the school as Teacher of History and English, Mr David Webb joins us as Teacher of Science and Mr Thomas Dickinson takes up his role as Head of Music.

Time seems to fly by at Wirral Boys. This Summer marks the end of my seventh year here as Headteacher and the moving on of the first cohort of students who I have seen through every year since the day we all first joined in September 2006. As I ‘stand back’ and reflect upon the totality of the experiences that the boys have had over the course of their seven year journey, I wish to express my gratitude to all members of our school community for the support given in both providing and encouraging participation in such a superb range of opportunities.

Finally, I extend my very best wishes to everyone for a relaxing summer break. As has been explained previously, the new term starts on a phased basis with boys in Years 7, 11, 12 and 13 starting on Wednesday 4th September and followed by Years 8, 9 and 10 on Thursday 5th. September when everyone will be back.

Best wishes

David HazeldineHeadteacher

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Head Boy Team 2013/2014It is with great honour I have been elected as Head Boy of Wirral Grammar School for Boys for the academic year 2013/2014. This prestigious student position dates back to the opening of the school in 1931, and I will be following in the footsteps of famous alumni, including Harold Wilson.

The next school year will see a greater shift towards house interactions with the introduction of House Groups. This is an excellent opportunity for us to hold more events to raise money for charity, and of course, more house competition in collecting house points to claim victory of the coveted Wilson Cup!

I am pleased to announce that the following students have also been elected to senior student roles:

DEPUTY HEAD BOY: OLIVER WEDGWOODDEPUTY HEAD BOY: JAWAD QURESHIHOUSE CAPTAIN: DANIEL KOWALSKIHOUSE CAPTAIN: BENCE BARTONHOUSE CAPTAIN: ISAAC BARNESHOUSE CAPTAIN: MATTHEW STEWART

The next school year is going to be a very exciting one, and with a very strong Head Boy Team, I am sure it will be a successful one too!

George Anderson Head Boy 2013/2014

Visit by The Rt. Hon. Jane Kennedy, Merseyside’s first Police & Crime Commisioner.On 1st May 2013 Merseyside’s first Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy made her first visit to a school under her new role as PCC.

Jane spoke to a large group of students about her role and how she sees it developing over forthcoming years. Afterwards she took questions from students during a question and answer session. Jane said, “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the students and teachers at Wirral Grammar School for Boys and I would like to thank them for inviting me. It’s always interesting to get feedback on my role and listen to fresh perspectives on community safety issues to help shape my priorities moving forward.”

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The Move to House Tutoring - What does this Mean?You are no doubt well aware that a few changes are planned for the pastoral care of our students, commencing September 2013.

An extract from the Headteacher’s letter to parents (Spring 2013) explained the key features of this, namely:

...” after the second lesson of each day (at 11am) boys will spend time (20 minutes) with their “House Tutor” in their “House Group”. All boys in each “House Group” will be in the same House (Barber, Dodds, Hodgson or Lever). On some days, boys will not attend their “House Group” but will go directly to assembly either with other boys in their year or to a “House Assembly” which will be attended by boys of all ages across the school.” ...

The role of the House Tutor will include:• A crucial channel of communication • Holding conversations regarding the behaviour

of students and dealing with any low level concerns

• Assisting the Head of Year in monitoring students on report

• Raising the profile of the house events, by supporting boys in planning house / charity events and fundraising

• Allocating positions of leadership / responsibility in the house group eg representative on the school council, house council etc

• Providing a consistent level of support for students of all ages as well as helping them develop new skills within the cross-phase group

• Providing encouragement and support to students

• Providing advice and guidance and key times, for example GCSE option choices (Year 9 boys) and A Level course choices (Year 11 boys)

All House Commendations will be electronically stored by staff, with weekly updates being issued by the office so that students know how well they, and their house, are doing. There will also be a redesigned page in the student planner where students can record their weekly totals.

Alongside the work of 6th form House Captains, Staff House Chairs and Leaders, we hope that the changes planned for the new school year will make a significant difference to the support we are able to offer all our students.

Mrs L Ahern

Language Leaders’ AwardFollowing the completion of our GCSE course, Mr Hughes’ fast-track French group has done a number of awards in languages during Year 11.

Most recently, we completed the “Language Leaders Award” and received our certificates and accreditation this week. The aim is for those involved to take a leading role in spreading language skills in the community. To do this, our class was divided up into groups. Each group had to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a good leader, and formulate a plan to exploit these skills when promoting languages in the school.

Next, each group implemented their own plan to achieve this goal. Some groups pooled their resources to assist the language department in the Year 7 spelling bee for Spanish, while others set up promotional activities and educational clubs. My group ran a small group teaching basic French to Year 7 pupils so that they could be at an advantage next year when they begin to learn the language for real. Like all of the programmes, the club was a success when it came to educating the participants, and hopefully boosted their enthusiasm and will to learn for the future.

While a lot of teamwork was involved, each member of each group had the opportunity to lead an activity or session during the time spent achieving the aims set out at the start. This ensured that everyone could put into practice the qualities outlined much earlier on, and gained a useful life skill in the process.

All in all, not only have we all gained an award, but also exposed the younger years to the opportunities when it comes to languages and enterprise at Wirral Grammar Boys. Furthermore, as a result of this process, the class as a whole has gained an appreciation for the hard work that goes on when running events and leadership skills for the future.

James R Evans 11HS

Peer Support GroupThe Wirral Boys Peer Support Group (PSG) is a support scheme aimed primarily at lower school boys and other boys who are new to the school. We offer support and guidance to boys that may be having difficulty adjusting to secondary school life, having issues with their schoolwork, problems at home or with bullying.

The PSG’s commitment and dedication, in particular with our anti-bullying role, has recently been nationally recognised, having received the Princess Diana Award. This prestigious award was given for the work that we do to help our pupils feel safe, secure and happy at school.

The PSG is overseen by our current Learning Mentor, Mrs Bradshaw. She has selected 10 students, most of whom are about to join our Sixth Form, to continue the good work that has already been done. We hope to do even better.

We are there to assist, not only pupils who approach us with a problem, but also to identify others who may be lonely and do not feel confident about approaching anyone about it.

We intend to get involved with a lot of charity events which will include team based activities. Hopefully, the more shy amongst you may find new confidence and make some new friends, as well as having fun and raising money for good causes! We have plenty of ideas for this but are always open to suggestions. Ideas can be submitted to Mrs Bradshaw’s office.

The new group of PSG reps are shown below. From top left we are: Connor, Alex, Andrew, Ben and Daniel. From bottom left we are: George, James, Jamie, Nick and Tom.

We will be available mainly at lunchtimes to speak to anyone who has a problem or any questions. We hope that you remember that we are here to help. We know that it can be daunting for some people to discuss their issues and as a team we will work together to help to resolve these.

Alex Farrell, PSG Rep

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‘Nuntius on-line’ Further articles can be found by accessing the ‘Nuntius On-Line’ link via the school website www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Getting ready for UCASOn the 14th of June lower sixth scientists were privileged to welcome back former Wirral Grammar School student Dr Steve Edmondson, who is now a lecturer in Materials Science at Loughborough University.

Dr Edmondson kindly gave a talk to prospective science and engineering university students on choosing the right course, what to expect from

such a degree as well as the differences between campus university life and city universities. This talk was extremely useful because Dr Edmondson gave lots of helpful information about what it’s really like to go to these different universities based on his own personal experiences. He also helped to resolve the differences between following a pure science as opposed to an engineering/development type degree. We are all very grateful for his useful and enthusiastic advice, especially at such a critical point in our education. Dr Edmonson is the son of our Chair of Governors, Brian Edmonson. Mr Edmonson (Senior) sat through his son’s lecture and commented afterwards, “Very interesting that – I learnt something!”Luke Taher L6

RSC Bill Bryson CompetitionIn early February, a small group of Lower 6th Students (Isaac Barnes, Emma Green, Lianne Gahan and Daniel Kowalski) decided to enter a competition for the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Bill Bryson Prize for Science Communication. This prize is given to a group of students, aged 5-18 that comes up with the most imaginative and unique way of presenting a topic to a different age group. The winners are invited to a prize-giving ceremony in London, and receive £500 for their school. This year, the title was: ‘How does Science keep us Healthy?’ and after much deliberation (and a few heated debates), it was suggested that we present it in a musical form. It was then, that Isaac came up with the novel idea that we do it in a ‘12-bar Blues’ style; naming it the ‘Diagnostic Blues’, with the main theme being the diagnosis of diseases, using modern scientific techniques. Our first task was the writing of the song; its music and lyrics. Most of the issues came when writing lyrics; due to the need to fit all the necessary medical terminology in – setting the infuriatingly long names of diseases (pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis, for example) to the right rhythm proved to be one of the most difficult things we had to do. However we eventually overcame this problem, and could then proceed to the recording of the music itself. This process took immense patience, due to problems with software, instruments and an increasing irritability; however, the hard slog over several weekends was worth it in the end, as we had a full track set ready to be edited. This was finally edited by Isaac to be sent off shortly before the Easter break. We have since received the news that we have been short-listed for the award, and that a copy of our song has been sent to Bill Bryson and the Head of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The group was delighted by this news, and hope to hear more from the RSC very soon. We were immensely happy with what we have managed to achieve both personally and for the schools, and hope the song “Diagnosis Blues” can achieve some success in the competition. We are very thankful to Dr Bromley for allowing us to partake in this competition, offering help wherever it was needed, and for trusting us to manage and lead ourselves to produce what we hope is a successful outcome!

Daniel Kowalski L6

Cambridge Lower VI Chemistry Challenge (C3L6)Every year the University of Cambridge creates a chemistry paper for Lower VI pupils, as a challenge to apply and advance Chemistry knowledge. This year’s paper revolved around phenylbutazone (or bute) which was found present in the recent horsemeat scandal. It is harmful to humans with effects such as the suppression of white blood cell production. The paper looked at how it is made, how to analyse it, and other questions around chemical detection. One question even brought up its associated compound, which, using American Scrabble tournament rules, can score the most

points in any game - a staggering 1780. An interesting question for a chemistry paper! The paper was incredibly hard, but a good challenge for many, and to close, here’s what some other people thought:

`Hard, but an interesting hard!`

`Chemistry is definitely something I want to carry on with in the future!`

`Never again!`

Mixed reactions, but what I am sure has been an informative experience by all!

George Anderson, L61

Why I Love ScienceScience is a fantastic subject, which, as well as giving knowledge to many, has been used to end wars, explore outer reaches of space, discover the wonders within the human body and create big bangs. Science is split into three categories which make it easier and more fun to teach. These three categories are: • Physics- personally my favourite out of the three. It explains forces, motions, the

complexity of electricity, and the wonders of the universe itself.• Chemistry- the elements, the compounds, the atoms, the acids and the experiments

in which one person always seem to spill something dangerous. • And finally Biology – a subject that consists of dissections, complex yet enjoyable

projects that allow you to examine life and the only subject that lets you wield a knife.

If you put all these three subjects into one, you get something too confusing to explain in one lesson. Science must be split into three sections, which is one of the reasons why I love science. Its complexity and ability to explore the world without becoming an archaeologist and digging in the dust/sand/savannah grass and so on is one of the things I find fascinating. By Philip Powell 9JMC

The Salter’s Chemistry Festival 2013On Tuesday 14th of May Wirral Grammar School sent a selection of Year Eight Chemists to embark on a journey to Liverpool’s John Moore’s University. On this day we took part in experiments (which were not easy!). The organisation, ‘Salters’, set out two experiments. In the morning we had the ‘Salters’ Challenge’. We had to find out who killed the Head Teacher. Our team approached this task by using different acids and compounds to create a series of reactions. The other side of the morning experiment, flame tests using the blazing Bunsen burners! Well suffices to say we had to consolidate our work and make a definite conclusion and suspect someone! Unfortunately we did not win any prizes in this session.

In the afternoon we had the ‘University Challenge’. The task was to slow down a reaction by using any materials available. Luckily we all worked as a team and out of the thirteen schools competing, we claimed first place!

For winning our team members collected small prizes and the School received Chemistry model kits for use in the department! What a great day of Chemistry!

By Robert Evans, Dan Wright, Jamie Taylor and Kevin Ren

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Music Department UpdateThe Dixie Ticklers offered a masterclass for a dozen of our up-and-coming Jazz musicians at Parr Street studios on Tuesday 21 May. A band that describes itself as performing a modern interpretation of Dixieland and New Orleans jazz, boys had the opportunity of performing on stage with the band as well as hearing about the birth of Jazz and improvisation as a musical art form. The school’s links to Parr Street Studios (where bands such as Genesis, Take That, the Spice Girls and Cold Play have recorded) is growing and this is fast becoming a regular excursion for the Music Department.

Continuing the Department’s visits to primary schools during the summer term, we were able to visit 5 schools on Thursday 20 June. The Junior Brass Group, String Group, Woodwind Group, Ukulele Group and Jazz Group, as well as a number of soloists performed at Dawpool, Ladymount, Irby, Heswall and Gayton primary schools throughout the day, and over 60 boys in years 7-10 were involved. 63 primary schools have now received performances in the last 13 years, and this is now one of the Department’s most important annual events.

All of these groups and more performed to the usual high standard at the Summer Concert on Wednesday 10 July, whilst the Music Society Dinner proved to be its normal gastronomic success on Friday 12 July. Many thanks to Mr Ben Cottrell, an ex-pupil of the school whose band ‘Beats and Pieces’ has won numerous awards and now regularly performs across Europe, for a most enjoyable speech, along with the other members of the Music Forum reporting on their ensembles.

A number of boys took music examinations this term, but with the results not yet with us, congratulations will have to wait for Autumn’s Nuntius. However, the results from some of last term’s exams did not make the Spring edition of Nuntius. Congratulations therefore to the following list of successful candidates, all of whom have passed with merit or distinction:

Name Form Instrument Grade ResultCallum Bennett U67 Piano 5 MeritAlfie Hardcastle 8NM Vocals 1 MeritZak Kirk 8JB Vocals 1 MeritDavid Noble 8GE Vocals 2 DistinctionOliver Ritchie 7JM Vocals 1 DistinctionSam Spencer 8GWG Vocals 1 DistinctionSam Thornley 8GE Vocals 2 DistinctionBen Turner 10MH Vocals 6 DistinctionAlex Wallis 9SMC Vocals 3 DistinctionZach Jones 9IPT Piano 3 MeritTom Rogers 8NM Piano 5 MeritWilliam Bracken 9AJM Piano 7 Distinction

As you are reading this, 58 boys and 8 staff will be on their way to Malta for 5 performances in churches and squares across the island. I’m sure that this trip will be as enjoyable and memorable as the 8 other foreign tours the Department has undertaken in the last 16 years. Watch out for comments, reactions and pictures in the Autumn term!

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention that this term marks the final chapter of the long and distinguished career of our Director of Music, Mr Peter Snowdon. It has been my great pleasure to work with someone who has inspired so many pupils to make the most of their musical ability. Under his leadership, the school’s Music Department has risen to play a very prominent role in the curricular and extra-curricular life of the school, which OFSTED famously described as the ‘Jewel in the School’s Crown’. I’m sure everyone will join with me in wishing him a very happy and prosperous retirement. The new Director of Music, Mr Tom Dickinson, will start in September and it will be up to all of us to maintain the high standards that have been set in recent years.

Finally - and as I always say - as the long summer months get under way with a vengeance, remember that 7 weeks without music lessons does not mean 7 weeks without practice!

Mr P Thomas

RSC Young Analyst’s CompetitionEarlier this year, Jawad, Tom and I were selected to attend the Chemistry Young Analyst competition held at the University of Liverpool. Here, we were given the opportunity to perform technical chemical analysis tests that we would be unable to do in school. The access to the university equipment, such as mass spectrometers, was really intriguing and it gave us all a fascinating insight as to what chemistry could be like at university level. Within the competition, there were set tasks that each of us was required to complete and the winners were determined based on their results. While we may not have won, we certainly had a great day and used some really great equipment and developed our chemical knowledge to think about chemistry and its application in the wider world!

Oliver Wedgwood

Heswall Arts Festival 2013Following on from last year’s successful participation in the Heswall Arts Festival the school will again be taking part in this year’s events.

The festival runs from 29th September to 12th October 2013. Like last year most of our GCSE and A Level visual work will be on display at Kitchen Design on Telegraph Road. Watch out for our musicians who will be performing in the cafes and the Samba Band taking part in the opening ceremony. Our poets will be reciting in Lingham’s Bookshop and Café and weather permitting, on the street. Further details about the festival can be found at:www.heswallfestival.com/

THE INTREPID TEAM IN ACTION.

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I left home on the morning of April 25th –my birthday - for just another school day. However the usual remarks of “Goodbye” and “See you later” were replaced by the rather strange remarks of, “I trust the execution will go well” and “I hope it’s quick and painless!” My parents were sending me off to my own death and seemed rather cheerful about it! Well... Not quite death… To be precise, death by plastic axe in a not so ordinary history lesson with Mr McKibbin.

We had been studying king Charles 1 and how after the English Civil war he had been executed. We were working away when Jack Marshall had the bright idea of looking on the bottom of the worksheet we had been given to find a role play activity. Immediately he asked Mr McKibbin if we could try this and to the class’ delight he said yes! Soon enough the parts had been assigned and everybody got to work excitedly on some drafts for the scripts. I was voted to play Charles.

Realisation dawned that the day I was to be “Executed” was my birthday, an interesting turn of events for sure… Finally the lesson – period 1 on Thursday

morning came. We arrived early to get everything set up with our directors Connor Johnston, Harry Pickard and Sam Spencer fussing over some final changes. Ben Jones was our patient camera man. At last the moment at 9.15 a.m. came – Lights, Camera, Action! The class of 8GWG had excelled themselves – there were great costumes and weaponry - I’m sure there had been some interesting bus journeys to school that day!

After 50 minutes of award-winning acting, endless calls of “CUT!!!” and a huge amount of teamwork came the moment of the execution. The directors’ fingers were crossed and I wondered whether my Quaker hat with orange plumage would survive. The tension grew, the axe came down and everybody gasped as Charles 1 King of England died at the hands of 13 year old Sam Gregory - A.K.A the executioner.

Thanks Mr McKibbin for trusting us to explore our heritage in this unique way.

Most of all thanks to my classmates in 8GWG for being so awesome and making sure that we could pull this off.Cameron Wedd 8GWG

Stalin Conference: Year 12 HistoriansThe History Department took Year Twelve History students on a trip to Manchester where we saw university life at first hand and gathered valuable information for our Unit Two AS course.

We sat in on lectures by Doctors and Professors of History which covered topics such as: Stalin’s struggle to succeed Lenin, his use of propaganda to control the Russian people, the reasons for the terror and different interpretations of it, along with lectures on the building of socialism. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the day; it really gave me a taste of university life. It was fascinating to sit in the lectures with hundreds of other students and listen to experts in their fields as they questioned existing views and suggested new interpretations of the past. It was also a valuable aid for our exam. Many thanks to the History Department for organising the event. Can we have more of the same please!

Jake Bayliff

History Trip 201345 Boys in Years 9 and 10 went on the 11th Annual History trip this year to Germany and Poland.

The trip covered sites of Historical interest in and around the German capital Berlin, and the site of the former concentration camp of Auschwitz near Krakow in Poland. The trip covered sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, The Soviet War Memorial, the remains of the Berlin Wall and the Wannsee Conference Hall where the planning for the Holocaust took place. The trip to Auschwitz was very moving and the boys and staff heard about what went on in the most notorious of Nazi Extermination Camps, where over a million Jews were killed by the SS. We also visited the extra ordinary Wilecka Salt mine which was interesting in allowing us to have an evening meal many hundred feet below the surface! The staff and I were impressed with the manner in which all boys conducted themselves on this trip and I am sure that they will have gained valuable cultural and historical memories for a very long time indeed.

The History trip for Easter 2014 will be to Belgium and the Netherlands and it will be the biggest trip I have organised with huge numbers in the current Years and 9 going.

For those currently in Years 7 and 8, the Easter 2014 trip is going to be Germany and those interested in going will get details, and an opportunity to get a place, early in the summer term 2014. Places will go quickly, so if parents want their son to go on this trip, they will have to get in early!

Mr McKibbin

King Charles 1 – a History through Role PlayOff with his head

Congratulation to all in Year 7 who took part in the £1 challenge!In total Year 7 raised an impressive £700 for enterprise and the Wirral Autistic Society.

James Moore & Daniel Langley Year 7

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Arctic Star RecipientsThe Ministry of Defence recently announced that those who served on the Arctic Convoys of WW2 will be awarded the Arctic Star.

The Arctic Convoys supplied Russia with vital military equipment to defeat the Nazi forces that were attacking and occupying their country. Many of the convoys sailed from Merseyside and included local sailors in both the Merchant Navy and the escorting Royal Navy.

Conditions were often terrible with freezing weather and constant attacks by the German Navy and Air Force. Family members of the recipients have contacted me regarding our former pupils who served on the convoys including Bernard Robinson who was recently awarded his medal and Stan Crombie whose late father survived the PQ17 convoy.

If you have surviving relatives or will receive the medals on behalf of the sailors who attended our school please contact me. Hopefully, we can get old-boys and family members to attend the school during the autumn term with their medals.

Study Day At Liverpool University.

On 20th June Year Twelve History students met outside the Department of History on Abercromby Square for a study day on Nuclear History. After a welcome of tea and biscuits we were introduced to the University team who had organised the day for us. We were then given a very thought provoking lecture by Doctor Hogg, an expert on Nuclear History. It covered the development of nuclear arms and showed how the first use of the atomic bomb by the USA led to an arms race. What was really interesting was the explanation of how Britain became a part of this arms race, and the effect this had on wider British society and culture. The workshop based on the lecture gave us an opportunity to share ideas and to discuss primary sources on the subject, such as Cabinet meeting minutes and newspaper articles.

During a tour of the spectacular Sydney Jones Library we were shown social areas, the History section and the scale of computer provision, and were introduced to the special collections – all were most impressive. We were given the chance to use the library for our own research on Russian History, which was very useful for the work we are doing in school. The whole day was a great taste of university life and thanks to Liverpool University for putting it on for us.

K. Morgan

History Professor VisitOn Wednesday, 17th April the Wirral Grammar Boys History Department received a visit from Professor Chris Read from Warwick University.

Professor Read, a widely respected expert on the history of the Soviet Union, delivered a highly informative and engaging talk to 26 Year 12 students. He spoke on the rise of Communism prior to the Russian Revolution, Stalin’s ruthless ascendance to power following Lenin’s death and his domestic policies pre-WWII, namely collectivisation, industrialisation and the Great Terror. Professor Read provided students with an opportunity to ask and answer questions. The whole event was most informative and enjoyable and a great way to revise for Unit Two of AS History.

The History Department hopes the visit can become a regular institution in the school calendar as it was such a success. Thanks to Mr McKibbin and Mr Edwards for organising the event and to Professor Read for coming into school.

Jamie Duff

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‘Nuntius on-line’ Further articles can be found by accessing the ‘Nuntius On-Line’ link via the school website www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Enterprise Education at Wirral Grammar School for Boys‘The desire to keep moving, to be trying to accomplish new things for our own benefit or that of others.’ John Stuart Mill

At Wirral Grammar school we encourage boys to engage in ‘enterprise’ in a wide variety of ways whether through activities in lessons or through the extensive range of extra curricular activities.

Enterprise in education is about taking an enterprising approach to teaching and learning. Enterprise encourages all young people to learn and develop in a way that meets their needs and develops skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work.

Young people need to be prepared for a world which is changing rapidly. Many of the jobs they will do when they leave school do not yet exist and they will probably have several jobs during their lifetime. They need to have the skills and attitudes to cope with an unpredictable future, to be able to deal with setbacks and disappointments in a positive way, and to continue to learn for the rest of their lives.

The UK needs people who are enterprising and entrepreneurial whatever their chosen career path - young people who are prepared and ready for the world of work, including self-employment - equipped to make an effective transition from education to work and making a contribution to UK’s economy. From the earliest age, children have a natural ability to be enterprising and it is important for that ability to be nurtured throughout their education.

Taking an enterprising approachGood enterprising teaching and learning should:

• provide opportunities for learners to think and act in enterprising ways

• provide a clear focus on core and employability skills, and the ability to transfer these to different contexts, in particular the world of work

• provide opportunities for work-related experiences, both in and out with the classroom

• adopt an enterprising approach to learning and teaching

• promote positive attitudes

• provide opportunities for learners to develop skills such as problem solving, decision making and evaluating risks

• provide entrepreneurial experiences.

Raft Building at Conway 2013The contribution enterprise in education makes to the personal growth of children and young people can enhance their life chances and choices. It can help them to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society and at work, with a clear understanding of their roles in the world.

So, if you have an appropriate business or ‘enterprising’ background and would like to help us deliver an even more effective enterprise/work related learning (WRL) curriculum, there are various ways you may be able to help out, for example by: giving talks, facilitating work place visits, facilitating work experience, being a judge on our version of Dragon’s Den, sponsoring our Shares4school’s team, helping to mentor our Young Enterprise students or by attending our Careers Fair. I would encourage you to do so and register your interest with Mr Paul Ronayne (Community Manager – pronayne@wirralgrammarboys.com ) at your earliest convenience and become one of our Business partners.

Mr P Harrison, Deputy Headteacher (Business & Enterprise)

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Jon Finds Himself!A recent visitor to the school was old-boy Jonathan Barber who left in 1978.

This was Jon’s first visit back to Wirral Grammar since leaving to study at Cambridge and becoming an accomplished economist. Jon kindly brought a leaving day picture of the boys who went on to study at Oxford and Cambridge that year.

Jon is last on the right, back row. Later, he was delighted to find his name on the honours board in the school hall.

Reading Reward SchemeCongratulations to the following pupils for being the lucky recipients of book cards in the spring term’s ‘Reading Reward’ draw.

Year Seven winners were- Bradley Millarwarke, Dylan Owen and Ciaran Stott; Year Eight, Owen Gunning

Staff Tug o’ War

On Tuesday 18th June, over 30 staff from all houses took to the field to compete in a Charity Tug o’ War. It was an intense battle for victory but Barber house came out victorious, winning both the Women’s and Mixed competition, coming in first overall. Dodds’ came in second overall, also scooping up a win in the Men’s competition. Hodgson and Lever also fought valiantly coming in 3rd and 4th overall. Thank you to the boys for supporting the event, and for raising over £80 for this year’s school charities!

George Anderson, Head Boy

World Book DayStaff at Wirral Boys’ celebrated this annual event by coming to school dressed as a character from a book. Costumes included ‘Dracula’ and ’The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’. Pupils in Year Seven all had a session with local storyteller Tom Goodale; years Eight and Nine worked on performance poetry with poets Dominic Berry and Curtis Watt.

Internet Safety and Social Networking SitesSergeant McKenzie came into school to be interviewed by 7RB about the legal implications of using ‘Facebook’ and other Internet sites. Pupils asked an impressive range of questions on both this issue and policing in general.

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Rainforest Road ShowA few months ago in Geography, the whole of Year 9 were visited by the Rainforest road show. It was a really interesting and educational talk by a man called Dave Shaw who had been to the Amazon many times and experienced the cultures and exotic wildlife that flourished there. He presented different artefacts weapons used by the native tribesmen of the Amazon which included a blow-pipe which he shot a bottle with. He also showed us his snake, Charlie, a scorpion and a tarantula which crawled up the wall!

We learned about the culture of the rainforest and the challenges they face by having little contact with the outside world and also too much contact in the form of people cutting down too much forest and damaging their environment.

We spent a memorable afternoon with Dave Shaw and want to thank him for the unique time we spent learning about the wildlife and people of the rainforest.

Freddie Tedstone 9AJM

Geologists in CastletonDespite the long journey through Stockport and the areas around it, we eventually reached a barren and desolate area carved out by nature over millions of years.

Firstly we visited Treak Cliff cavern, in which we found the mineral, Blue John which is a fluorite mineral which can vary in colour, from purple to white. It was used to make jewellery, expensive bowls and other high quality goods, but now less of it is being mined and the caverns are opened up for tourists.

After lunch the group then proceeded to Odin’s Rake which is an old adit mine for extraction of lead ore. There were still some veins in the walls but mining them would be a waste of time, but they still provided us with a good look at precipitated hydrothermal minerals.

After a short walk up the road from Odin’s Rake, we observed the effect of moving land on an A road at the base of Mam Tor. The road has become disfigured after a landslide in the 1970’s. Whilst this was unfortunate for people trying to get from Manchester to Sheffield, it provided us with a very good cross-section of a road. The mass movement of the road caused faults which we had the opportunity to explore.

After a long walk down the road and a short coach journey, we arrived at Cave Dale which is separated into several main parts. Firstly we visited the entrance where we observed an angular brecciated limestone. We then proceeded into an ancient barrier reef where there were lots of fossils of marine organisms.

This was like walking through the Great Barrier Reef which was 300 Million Years old. This tells us

that this part of the UK must have been on the east coast of an equatorial continent.Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and provided us with valuable case study information and a glimpse into the ancient past. We now look forward to our next field visit to Anglesey in July.

Written by: Alex Kaye and Sean White

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Year 8 Geography visit to White Scar Caves in Yorkshire On the 18th of March, the whole of Year 8 went on a geography fieldtrip to White Scar Caves in Ingleton, North Yorkshire, one of the longest show caves in the whole country. The journey was a long coach trip and took around two and a half hours but eventually we arrived at the caves.

Our first activity was the cave walk. When we arrived at the entrance we were given some hard hats that were to be worn because of the low cave ceilings. Our tour guide led us in, it was almost pitch black! Only the lights that were fitted above us allowed us see in the dark properly. We were standing on some metal grids to keep us dry from the fast flowing stream underneath us, which source was the rain and melting snow seeping into the rock. Then our tour guide told us the some of the cave’s history and how miners from Cornwall were hired to help extend the limestone caves further.

As we ventured on, we got to see some of the more impressive features such as a waterfall and the ‘Devil’s Tongue’. The first waterfall was when we entered the cave, and we became aware of a faint sound that got louder as we walked further in. Suddenly we turned a corner and find the first waterfall, which after wet weather literally thundered into a rocky pool. Next, was the ‘Devil’s Tongue’, this was a large piece of flowstone shaped like a tongue, with water cascading down onto the metal grids that we were walking on. Most of us got very wet as we walked pass it.

Further on, we got to ‘Battlefield Cavern’ which was given it’s name because of the large boulders that give the impression that giants fought in the cavern. Hanging down from the roof were lots of stalactite straws. Long thin stalactites that were almost completely transparent in colour. After this we started to head back to the café and picnic area for lunch. Along the way, we encountered the low parts of the cave, only around a metre high.

The next activity was a walk on the some of the hills that were near the caves. Here we saw a limestone quarry. Next we got to a wide but shallow stream, where we had to get across carefully by stepping stones. We talked about some of the conflicts that would arise over the tourists visiting the area. We then walked past a small farm and near by were some sheep in the fields. After that, we got to the part where there were lots of waterfalls and streams, and because it snowed heavily the night before; the stream was fast flowing and there were some white water. We also got a chance to take some photographs of the scenery and landscape. Around five minutes later, we got back to the car park where the coaches where waiting and we headed back to school. We arrived at around 6 o’clock.

It was a great experience for us to expand our knowledge of limestone and geography. Our thanks go to all the teachers involved in organising this trip.By WenHao Li 8GWG

Year 10 Trip to Amsterdam On the 14th of March Miss Burns, Mr McKinney, 9 other students and myself arrived at Liverpool airport for our flight to Schiphol airport. Once we arrived we had planned a visit to Amsterdam for the day. We were able to see the different culture and diversity in comparison to our own country. Once we had enjoyed the sites of Amsterdam it was time to leave to go to meet our exchange partners at Emelwerda College in Emmeloord. That is when our real trip began. During our stay not only did we learn lots about the culture of the Dutch and even tasted regional delicacies at the cultural evening with our host families, but also how to help the environment. We planted over 1000 trees for a better and cleaner environment.

We also taught our other partner schools from Romania, Turkey, Melilla and Norway the culture of Britain. Most importantly the experience taught us about the consequences of our actions with regards to the environment and how we should all strive for a better future.

All in all I thought the trip was eventful, one not to be forgotten and I look forward to more trips to come.

Tom Abel 10AB

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The £1 Challenge:

Start with only £1 and try to raise as much

money as possible for ‘The Wirral Autistic

Society’

I raised £40 - how much could

you raise?

You’re hired: The £1 ChallengeLike the hopeful candidates on the popular TV series, ‘The Apprentice’, the thought of making money was exciting; even if the money was for charity.When I first heard about the £1 Challenge, I was a bit nervous, because I didn’t think I could earn much money.

In school, I spoke to my friends and they had loads of good ideas; from quizzes to trading. This was going to take some thinking about if I was going to make any dosh!

After a bit of ‘head scratching’, inspiration struck and I decided to offer my services to as a ‘garden tidy’ service.

Now, I know that I am no Alan Titchmarsh, but even I could pick up leaves and give the garden a bit of a tidy up...there would be no big start up costs - just hard work. So I prepared a price list and a flyer and printed copies which cost a £1.

Having spent my £1, seed money, I had to start by picking up the leaves by hand. Soon I had earned a fiver, which meant I was able to buy some petrol for the leaf blower and that meant I could speed up; do more jobs and earn more money!

In total, I earned £45 and spent £4 on fuel for the leaf blower and £1 on the advertising. It was hard work but worth it; who knows, I might even carry on for a bit of extra pocket money.

by Daniel Langley

West Side Story - 2014 School ProductionWe are pleased to announce the next Drama Production will be the award-winning musical, West Side Story, taking place in early 2014.

Set in the mid-1950s, in the Upper West Side neighbourhood of New York, the production explores the rivalry between two teenage gangs in the city - the Puerto Rican Sharks and the Polish-American Jets. Their hatred for each other escalates to such a point that neither can coexist with any form of understanding.

There is an unexpected twist, however, when two rival gang members fall in love, helpless to prevent it, but having to shroud it in secrecy for their own safety. Soon though, the gangs make other plans to gain control of the streets, and they are torn apart in an attempt to end the violence. However, it is not long before tragedy strikes, rearing its ugly head until the climatic and heart-breaking ending.

It proves to be another unmissable production. The production will take place 1st - 5th April 2014. Auditions for both schools will take place in September.

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Year 7 Onesie RunOn Tuesday 16th April, Year 7 students visited the Oval Sports Centre in Bebington to participate in a sponsored ‘Onesie Run’.

The aim was to raise as much money as possible for this year’s school charities, Wirral Autistic Society and the Iwele project. The boys had the option to run 3 or 5 kilometres, dressed in either a onesie or their school PE kit. It was greatly enjoyed by all involved, and managed to raise a staggering £1462.93. Students would like to extend their greatest thanks to the staff and generous sponsors who made the event possible.

By Sam Tempest and John Fleetwood 7AD

‘Most outstanding British Airways Language Flag Award School 2012’

We are pleased to announce that we have been recognised by British Airways as ‘Most outstanding British Airways Language Flag Award School 2012’: Highly Commended. This is awarded to the school, whose testers have produced the second highest number of passes in the UK.

In recognition of this the school was awarded a glass trophy and £100 voucher for linguascope (the language website we use).

This highlights our commitment as a school to enterprise and language learning in the context of current business needs.

Well done, boys!

ISV SUCCESSISV (Inter subject Variation) group has been running for 2 years and offers pupils a chance to enhance the teaching and learning in our school. The pupils and staff involved give their time and energy meeting every few weeks for a breakfast meeting to discuss key issues in a particular subject.

ISV includes members from Key Stage 3, 4 and 5. I would like to thank all the boys and staff involved for their continued hard work.

Mrs H Davies

Jack Templeton, Kieran Schingler, Alfie Hardcastle, Callum Hesslop, George Hardcastle,

Joseph Houghton, Ben Turner, Druvi Edirisinghe

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SPORTS HONOURS 2012/13RUGBY1ST XV National Daily Mail Cup last 16 Cheshire Sevens Runners Up Manchester Sevens Runners Up North of England Sevens Plate Runners Up

U16s Merchant Taylors School U16 Sevens Winners Cheshire Sevens Plate Winners Manchester Sevens Plate Winners

Bantams (U14s) Cheshire Cup Winners Manchester Sevens Runners Up

Junior Bantams (U13s) Cheshire Cup Runners Up KEQM Arnold School Sevens Winners

CHESHIRE U18 Group Danny Adkins, Chris Crowley, Alex Griffiths, Luke Harris (Capt)

CHESHIRE U17 Group Ben Brooks, Josh Edgar, Tom Parry, Matty Stewart

CHESHIRE U15 Group Will Hardy HOCKEYU18s Wirral Schools’ Runners UP U18 NW Semi Finalists North Indoor Hockey Champions National Indoor Hockey Finalists

U17 JRPC – NW Selection Andrew Heath, Sam Bilton

CROSS COUNTRYMerseyside U16s Rob RogersMerseyside U14s Alex McBain

BASKETBALLU16s (Year 11) Wirral Schools’ Championship WinnersU15s (Year 10) Wirral Schools’ Championship Runners UpU13s (Year 8) Wirral Schools’ Championship Winners

HANDBALLENGLAND U17s Ben BrooksENGLAND U16s Jordan Price

SWIMMINGHayden Ward Nationally ranked at 50m Breast StrokeJack Boniface Regional Champion in 9 events

ATHLETICSJuniors (Year 7/8) National Track and Field Cup NW ‘A’ FinalistsIntermediates (Year 9/10) National Track and Field Cup NW ‘B’ Finalists

MERSEYSIDE CHAMPIONSHIPSMatt Callanan 1st Inter Boys Triple Jump (11.44m) 2nd Inter Boys Long Jump (4.99m)Rob Rogers 3rd Inter Boys 1500m (4.40.9)Tom James 1st Junior Boys High Jump (1.72m) 2nd Junior Boys 300m (39.7)Alex McBain 3rd Junior Boys 1500m (4.35.3)Dan Carrol 1st Year 7 Boys Shot (7.37m)Tom Lockwood 2nd Year 7 Boys Discus (18.20m)Matthew Munnerley 2nd Year 7 Boys High Jump (1.35m) 3rd Year 7 Boys 100m (14.4)Tom Palin 3rd Year 7 Boys 800m (2.32.9)Jacob Ainscough 3rd Year 7 Boys Javelin (18.25m)

Tom James Selected to represent Merseyside at the English Schools’ Track and Field Championships

Dan Carrol, Tom Lockwood, Matthew Munnerley, Tom Palin and Jacob Ainscough – all selected to represent Merseyside v Cheshire

CRICKETJonathan Crick U18 CheshireLouis Botes U12 CheshireCallum Williams U15 West Cheshire

SAILINGRYA National Sailing Squad Alex Jardine

Year 9 CricketThis term has seen the Year 9 boys play just three games due to the bad weather once again this summer! The first game against St Anselms saw Wirral bowl and field well, but came up against some powerful hitters in the visitors team. Wirral managed 79 all out in reply to St Anselms getting 134 for 4. In the second game against Calday, Wirral bowled first and got an early break through. However, a chance to get one of Calday’s openers out was missed by a dropped catch and he went on to get a 50! Calday scored 123 for 6. Wirral in reply never got going and despite Joe Totty clubbing a few runs, Wirral fell sort at 65 for 8.

The third game saw Wirral play in the Cheshire cup against Wade Deacon from Widnes. Batting first, Wade Deacon had some useful hitters who scored quickly. Wirral stuck at it though and gradually wickets tumbled with Josh Metcalf taking 5 wickets in a great spell. Wade Deacon were 88 for 8.

Wirral replied steadily but lost wickets unnecessarily until skipper Joe Demetrios steadied the ship. Wirral closed in Wade Deacon’s score but it got all tense in the last over, with Wirral ending up on 88 but had only lost 6 wickets, so went through to the next round on less wickets lost.

Wirral also played HIlbre in the Wirral “big bash” tournament, with 8 players a side. Batting first, Wirral scored heavily to reach 82 for 4 off 8 overs. In reply, Hilbre made a fight of it until Josh Hall came on to take vital wickets for Wirral to win by 8 runs.

In the House matches played up to the time of writing this report, Barber played Dodds. Dodds batted first and scored 76 for 9 with Miles Cook-Scowen top scoring with 13, with Stephen Williams taking 3 for 13 for Barber. Barber’s reply was dominated by Nahan McKinney’s 38 which included 5 boundaries. Barber won by 4 wickets, despite Oliver Looyd taking 4 for 14 for Dodds. In the other game, Hodgson batted first against Lever and made 66 with Felix Benson-Eason scoring 16. Cameron Edge and Joe Demetrios each took 3 wickets for Lever. In reply, Tom McCormick (13) and Daniel Eames (12) saw their team home by 3 wickets, despite James Hayes taking 3 for 12 for Hodgson.

In the second round, Barber beat Hodgson and Dodds beat Lever. Hodgson had Anthony Knott top scoring with 12 but the unlikely hero was Jack Price who took 3 wickets and 2 catches. Barber made mince meat of the Hodgson bowlers with Joe Totty scoring 30 and Nathan McKinney hitting a 4 and a 6 to end the match in style! In the other match, Lever plundered the Dodds bowling by scoring 120, with Oliver Kerr scoring 60 and Dan Eames 36. In reply, Lever couldn’t get going against the bowling of Joe Demetrios (4 wickets) and Scott Southwell with two wickets. The final game was to be played after this report was written!

I wish all boys who have played cricket at this age group go on to develop their techniques and their patience when playing this game in future years.

Mr McKibbin

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RUGBY & HOCKEY TOUR TO AUSTRALIA 2013On Sunday 14 July, a group of 81 senior rugby and hockey players, accompanied by 7 members of staff, will be travelling to Australia to begin their summer tour.

The trip begins in the magnificent city of Sydney before moving north to Grafton via Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay, a beautiful spot and the most easterly point of Australia. We then move up to Brisbane in Queensland, north again to Currimundi on the Sunshine Coast, before driving back south to the final leg of our tour in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

It will be, I’m sure, be a wonderful experience and leave memories which will last a lifetime! A full report will appear in the next edition of Nuntius.

Mr P Crowley, Head of Physical Education

Y9 Rugby reportThe Cheshire Cup Winning Wirral GS Y9 Rugby teamFollowing my last report, Year 9 Rugby the Bantams rugby team went on to play 4 more matches in the Spring term. After a hard fought win against St Anselms, the boys set about to defend their Cheshire Cup win of the previous years. The draw was tough, with the quarter final against Altrincham at home. The visitors were a big side, but Wirral’s defence was superb on this day. Clever tactical play saw Wirral home by 24 points to nil. A semi final against Bishop Heber was going to be hard, as some of their players had played in the Daily Mail tournament for Year 10. Wirral started really well and held out many attacks from the visitors. The final score line of 41-17 to Wirral was perhaps not quite a reflection of the game but Wirral took their chances well when they came. The Final against Lymm was yet another tough nut to crack. Lymm began well and the Wirral lads seemed to be suffering from nerves! Lymm went 10-0 up and did not look the part. Then a lucky break in play saw Charlie Norman break free to score. This seemed to galvanise the team and from the second half of the first half to the end, Wirral dominated the game, eventually winning 38-10. Wirral retained their trophy!

Wirral only had one 7s tournament in Manchester and once again showed how talented they are by winning their pool and into the semi finals. There they met St Ambrose and beat them convincingly. A final was then set up against Ysgol Glantaf, from Cardiff. Wirral had beaten them in the pool stage but only just and the final proved equally tough. Wirral went ahead and had a great chance to win this game but unfortunately they did not take their chances and the Welsh side did. So even though they lost this final against a fine team, they could have won this tournament!

Overall the A team won 13 games, lost 0 with 516 point for and only 66 against. It was disappointing that the B team only played one game, but many schools are struggling to put out similar teams at this age level.

I can only say how much of a pleasure it has been to coach this team this year. It is not only about the successes they had enjoyed, but it is the spirit and determination that they have shown in training and on match days. I want to thank them for their attitude and commitment, and hope they go on to even greater triumphs in the future and wish them all well.

The boys that represented the squad were…Will Titerington (Captain) John Baird, Chris Bathe, Ben Cadman, Matthew Dalton, Max Derbyshire, James Duke, Scott Ebbs, Cameron Edge, Ben Elliott, Michael Golding, George Hardcastle, Tom James, Louis Kenton, Oliver Kerr, Oliver Lloyd, Nathan McKinney, Joshua Metcalf, James Murphy, Chris Murphy, Robert Murphy, Charlie Norman, Alex Owen, Ben Remmington, James Richards, Tommy Rushton-McElroy, Scott Southwell,Douglas Tharme,Joseph Totty, James Whittlestone and Sam Wood. Report by Mr McKibbin

11th Annual Primary Schools’ Tag Rugby CompetitionIN April we hosted 16 local primary schools in our Annual Primary Schools’ Tag Rugby Competition. After having to twice cancel last year’s event because of incessant rain, this year we were blessed with good weather and perfect playing conditions. As usual, the event went very smoothly with all schools enjoying a very pleasant afternoon.

The semi finals were tightly fought affairs with Ss Peter & Paul’s defeating Redcourt 5-2 and Poulton Lancelyn edging out St Peter’s C of E 3-2.

The final was even more hotly contested and after two periods of extra time, with no winner emerging, the trophy was shared between Ss Peter & Paul’s and Poulton Lancelyn Primary School.

Many thanks to all the sixth formers who refereed the games so efficiently, the Year 7 rugby players who acted as school liaison, staff for preparing their teams so well and most of all to the boys and girls who took part in the competition and entertained us all afternoon.

Mr P CrowleyHead of Physical Education

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Admissions Enquiries: enquiries relating to admissions should be directed to Mrs Tanya Fry in

school on 0151 644 0908 or by visiting the school website: www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Cashless Purchasing

Accounts are available for ‘top up’ at the relevant paying stations but parents are also able to ‘top up’ their son’s canteen allowance through our on-line +Pay System. Using our on-line facility means that boys do not need to queue up at the payment point in school.

ATHLETICSThe Schools’ Athletics Programme is becoming increasingly affected by summer examinations, work experience, a certain apathy amongst some establishments and our unpredictable climate! As a result, opportunities for boys to participate in track and field athletics are diminishing. However, we do our best and this year especially, there have certainly been some highlights.

Our Junior and Inter teams were both runners up in their respective English Schools’ Track and Field Cup Competitions. The Juniors earning an ‘A’ final spot at the North West Regional Finals in Blackpool, where they came a very creditable sixth out of twelve teams in a very tightly fought Competition in which only a handful of points separated the top teams. The Inters progressed to the ‘B’ final, being placed fourth out of twelve teams in another very close Competition, again very few points separating the best schools.

A large number of our athletes competed very successfully in the Wirral Schools’ Trials and were selected to represent Wirral Schools’ at the Merseyside Championships in June. At the Merseysides, nine of our boys achieved medal positions! (See separate report on Sports Honours in this edition of Nuntius) In addition, Tom James was selected to represent Merseyside at the English Schools’ Track and Field Championships, achieving a qualifying height of 1.72m in the Junior Boys high jump. Dan Carroll (shot), Tom Lockwood (discus), Matthew Munnerley (high jump), Tom Palin (800m) and Jacob Ainscough (javelin) were all selected to represent Merseyside in a Year 7 County match v Cheshire.

At the time of writing, our Year 7 and Year 8 teams are both preparing to defend their titles at the Wirral Schools’ Year 7 & 8 Track and Field Championships, and from what we have seen so far this season, they must stand a very good chance of retaining the trophies.

All in all, not a bad year again, for Wirral Grammar School Track and Field Athletics!

Mr P CrowleyHead of Physical Education

Ways to Keep In TouchWirral Grammar School for Boys has a Twitter feed and we can

be followed @WGSBThose with Facebook can be kept up-to-date with achievements, developments and events through our secure, school managed Facebook page: Wirral Grammar School for Boys (Education)

To have our up-dates in your Newsfeed, simply ‘like’ this page.

Visited our website recently?Over the last two terms, our website has grown into a very important source of information about the school: news, forthcoming events, guidance materials, sporting achievements etc are all to be found on the website www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Are you on Linkedin? Then follow Wirral Grammar Boys Alumni Group Mr P Ronayne, Community Partnerships Manager

Football Tournament Before half term a year 8 charity football tournament took place in order to raise money for Wirral Autistic Society. Thanks to teachers and the participation of over 100 pupils we managed to raise over £150. In the end there were three intense finals and two of which went to penalties. In the end 11 members of 8ge won the gold tournament and 10 members of 8gwg won the silver tournament, while 8JB were victors of the bronze. Overall the tournament was a huge success and I know that with the money we raised it will go to good use. This tournament wouldn’t be as successful without the heavy involvement of Mrs Hynes, Ben Thomas and Kamal Ahmed and our sixth form referee’s.

by Joe Irvine