Windlesham -      17 (0) 3 tries

Cardinal Newman -      17 (0) 2 tries

The long awaited County Cup Semi-Final produced another spectacular match in dreadful conditions on Tuesday 15th February, as Windlesham and Cardinal Newman from Brighton battled each other to a stand still – and ultimately an eerily similar conclusion to last months quarter-final.

Both teams tackled like men possessed. Forward progress proved difficult to come by on both sides of the ball, but such was the intimidatory nature of the home sides play in contact that it was difficult to see how Windlesham would get a foothold in the match.  However as the first half progressed, Windlesham’s tight knit forward group started to dominate at the breakdown, Jolly Reid once more leading a series of drives up field to give the visitors their best territory of the game.  A spell camped on the opposition line failed to produce points as strong Newman tackling and an over-reliance on using the blind-side kept Windlesham at bay.  With both teams completely in the zone defensively,   half-time saw a  score-line of 0-0.

The Windlesham warriors knew that better adjustment to the conditions, closer support and quicker arrival at the breakdown could see them to victory.  All those who were witness to what followed will remember it for a very long time.  In an outstanding season, it is not merely hyperbole to state that Windlesham’s opening 15 minute burst was there best rugby of the season and some of the best you ever likely to see at this age.  With the black and white pack rampant and precise, scrum-half de Klee was given a procession of clean ‘go-forward’ ball from which to attack.  Varying between his own-sniping runs, short balls to charging forwards and quick lateral passes to the backline, Cardinal Newman couldn’t cope with the precision and variety of the Windlesham attack.

Three very different tries soon followed, all finished by the excellent captain Martin, but all owing everything to a full squad effort.  Not for the first time this season, the opener came from slightly scrappy ball and a near turnover, seized upon by Martin before outstripping an otherwise flawless home defence to the line.  The second arrived on the back of a sustained and patient period of forward dominance, draining and sucking in the opposition before an incisive switch pass blind gave Martin just enough space to show the other side of his game, the sheer power of his head down charge taking him and a would-be tackler over in the corner.  The icing on the cake came in the form of a sublime set move straight from the training ground off the back of a solid Windlesham scrum.  McLay’s quick pass and loop held the defence in check before a perfectly timed, deftly executed off-load from Outhwaite back to McLay gave the fly-half just enough time and space to put the captain clear once more.

With Miller adding the conversion and only 10 minutes to go the 17-0 score-line should have seen Windlesham safely into the final.  However to their credit, the home side came roaring back from the kick-off.  A scrappy try from a lose ball got them on the scoreboard and gave them belief, before a well struck penalty narrowed the deficit to just one score.  With five minutes to play and Windlesham looking both nervous and fatigued, the big Newman number 15 finally managed to break through the Windlesham defensive line, shrugging off three tackles to crucially score under the posts.

The final two minutes were agonising, as the hosts piled on the pressure with some intelligent kicking to utilise both wind and slope, one such averted only at the last second by a brave de Winton boot into touch.  With the game on the line the Windlesham never-say-die spirit came to the fore to see out time, safe in the knowledge that as in the quarter-final, the most tries tie-breaker would see them through to their first ever rugby County Cup Final.   In a season of breath-taking rugby and tight games this was the pinnacle.  Every player on both sides deserves immense credit for the bravery and skills showed throughout.

Men-of-the-Match: Henry de Klee & Henry Martin

Squad:  Dongsung Kim, Henry Druce, Anthony Morris, Charlie Goldstone, Finn Clancy,

Will Heagerty, James Blomfield, Jolly Reid, Henry de Klee, Hamish McLay,

Ralph Outhwaite, Marcus Miller, Mark Smirnov, Henry Martin, Charlie Moir, James de Winton, Max Anderson, Harry Byatt.

NEXT MATCH:       Sat 16^th March vs. Hurst County Cup FINAL (Worthing RFC) MD

Transition had an awesome Egyptian Day on Thursday 17th February.

History Off The Page visited Windlesham  and brought Egypt to life!

We all dressed  in Egyptian clothes ( likened to pyjamas for  some) and  gathered in St. Ed’s for the day.

The scene was set and we found ourselves transported to the “Road of the Dead” where we became slaves.  There were various mistresses and masters running workshops, and we had a choice of 6 different activities to do.  We could make soap carvings, mummification, amulets, tomb paintings, ink or candle making.

If your master or mistress believed your work was not up to standard you would be sent away and possibly face a beating!  After we had completed many of these workshops and offered our work to the Sun God Atun, we were split into groups to prepare for the afternoon’s festival to celebrate the flooding of the Nile!  There were Pharaohs, Queens, Slaves, Actors, Dancers, Criminals, … and everyone had a part to play.  Food was served and there was much joy!  A final story ended our day.

A brilliant Egyptian Day with a great deal of information learned.

Windlesham is well known for its many performances.

Heather Burrows from the Fours performed the World Premier of her own composition ‘Sine Nomine’ on the Chapel Organ at a recent Windlesham Lunchtime Concert.

Harry was delighted, as were we all at Windlesham in the Spring of 2010, when Harry learned he  had been offered the role of  Young Martius in Coriolanus.

Coriolanus is a 2011 film adaptation of  Shakespeare’s tragedy Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes.

The star studded cast include, Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox and James Nesbitt, to name but a few.

The film is about a banished hero of  Rome who allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Following last night’s premiere the film is now due to open at the forthcoming 2011 Belgrade Film Festival.

Full article about the film can be read on the BBC website.

Rebecca Nielsen has been awarded a Music Exhibition to Bedales.  It has been fantastic to welcome Rebecca back to Windlesham this year where she has made a huge impact with her beautiful voice and her beaming smile. She is a great example to the  other children, demonstrating that talent – coupled with hard work – can be hugely rewarding. Well done Rebecca.

On Saturday the 12^th of February 2011 the theatre was packed with an expectant crowd made up of students, parents, teachers and even ex-parents who had come back to seconds.  Mr Foster announced that the line-up included the 14 finalists at a strong field of 54 entries.  The judges, Mrs Foster, Mr Duncan and Mrs Jenkins arrived to applause and worked hard during the evening to praise, encourage and finally decide between the performance.

The trio of one’s girls, Lucy, Claudia and Abi, began the show singing about how they felt, and impressed all with their low notes and high harmonies.  Next came Rupert Dennis with his own composition on the piano and, no doubt, a bright musical future ahead.  Julie saying a wonderfully upbeat number complete with a dance routine around a chair – the fact that this song was in Russian made it all the more interesting and exotic.  Several Fours boys then presented a vignette of life on Clarkson Island and, although they were not always PC, their impressions of Jeremy Clarkson were very good and they looked the part wearing all the right gear.

Georgia miners gave a confident rendition of “let’s hear it for the boy” and she was followed by a contrast in duo of Theo Golden, perfectly pitched, and George Carmichael, who proved incredibly adept at wrapping among the stars.  Oliver bowed and raised many eyebrows with his fantastic rendition of the Cadbury’s commercial and was appreciated as much as the chocolate itself.

Hamish McLay, one of the three comperes, warned that the next act would even make angels listen, and he was right.  Lexi Spur sang “any dream Will do” in a voice of fine crystal.  She was followed by Yolanda Gump are who made herself ‘queen’ of a very soulful search for someone to love.  Hamish Griffiths-Lambeth made something out of nothing (with a lot of help from Joe Burnford behind the scenes) and turned everyone on to the idea of air guitar playing.

Eliza and Bea kept the melodies flowing in the next number and left the rhythmical rapping to Arthur and Earl Cave.  Then Emerald and Flo intertwined voices to bring us “Mama Do Uh-Oh” while fans waved banners in the audience.  Another duo, Ellie and Tishy, sang of broken heels in a combination which would fix any depression needing mending and finally, Jenny Mbu, sang about the left but held centre stage beautifully.

Will, Charlie and Mark gave us a witty interlude (even surviving blonde jokes), before Anthony Morris forced his accomplice, Marcus Miller, up for a ‘Happy Birthday’ chorus. The judges returned to announce the seven final acts and the crowd voted to make Oliver Bowden the ultimate Mr Talent of the night.  Oliver praised all the competitors and Mr Foster thanked everyone – especially Mr Hutchings, Mrs Mitchell and Mrs Clancy for all their support of the stars of the night.

The weekend of 12th and 13th February at Windlesham was amazing.

What a weekend!

Saturday afternoon saw a great many  Hockey and Netball matches taking part.  For those boarders not involved in matches a lovely walk in the sun was enjoyed, followed by cooking and Valentine card making.

Saturday night was busy with Windlesham’s Got Talent (see separate report)!

Sunday saw the first Grub hunt for some years and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!  Followed by some swimming, indoor Cricket, American Football and Art, and yet more cooking!

The afternoon saw 43 children go off (in the light rain) for some Ice Skating down at Steyne Gardens, all coming back in one piece if not a bit damp!  A Spit Tournament (the card game) organised by Hermoine and Esther was a popular choice for some of the 2s during the afternoon, won by Belan!  Whilst the vaulting horse proved far too tempting for some of the seniors during the afternoon!  A busy and enjoyable weekend for all!

Windlesham was delighted to host a Youth Conference, on Friday 11th February, which launched a new United Nations initiative for schools.

Minister for Children and Families, Mr Timothy Loughton, opened the event and Mr Steve Chalke, Special Advisor to the United Nations gave details of the ground-breaking initiative.

The response to the conference, which was the first of its kind for schools in the UK, was overwhelming, the event was fully booked with over 250 school representatives from 30 schools across the South East attending.

The unique conference aimed to raise awareness of the issues surrounding people trafficking; the world’s fastest growing crime.

Schools were provided with information to help educate pupils about people trafficking and the conference explored a variety of ways schools can do this:

•           Setting up a STOP THE TRAFFIK ‘ACT Group’: Enabling pupils to learn about the issue raise awareness among peers and generate practical support;

•           Start Freedom: An innovative resource that can be used as part of Citizenship, PSHE and RS teaching and learning;

•           The Fair Trade Chocolate Campaign (which can also involve exploring the possibility of becoming a Fair Trade Chocolate School);

•           Freedom Ticket For Life Sponsored Run;

•           Global Freedom Summit April 11th 2011: Schools can take advantage of this exciting opportunity by sending school representatives.

Schools who attended are now being given the opportunity to take part in the STOP THE TRAFFIK Global Freedom Summit for schools with world leaders, in partnership with the United Nations, on 11th April 2011 in London. The summit will provide a platform for professional agencies to work with schools and communities to tackle child trafficking.

Justin Blake, teacher at Windlesham House School who organised the event said: ‘I couldn’t be happier with the way the conference went.  Everyone who attended was completely  engaged during the 2 ½ hour conference, it was a very special afternoon and incredibly encouraging to have so many schools coming together to learn and understand about people trafficking and what schools can do to be involved with the work  STOP THE TRAFFIK is doing.

STOP THE TRAFFIK is a growing global movement of individuals, communities and organisations fighting to PREVENT the sale of people, PROTECT the trafficked and PROSECUTE the traffickers.”

On 1^st February, the Library was decorated with musical bunting, and music books and magazines covered the tables as Windlesham prepared to celebrate Music in the Library with a programme of musical events!

First off was Try an Instrument Day, where children flocked into the Library to try lots of different instruments including flute, violin, trumpet, saxophone, French horn and guitar.  Mr Bright was delighted to find some budding musicians amongst the younger children and I am sure that these trials will lead to some pupils taking up instruments they would never even have considered before.  We also had an energetic open woodwind rehearsal in Reading Period and it was lovely to see the range of children playing.

On Wednesday Miss Eels and Mrs Rudkin came and sang some very beautiful arias from well-known operas and an enthusiastic group of children watched spellbound.  It was very special to hear this amazing singing in such an informal setting.

We were then entertained by the children of Garden Cottage Nursery, who overcame their initial trepidation at the large crowd of ‘big’ children, to give an enchanting performance.

At Thursday break, Mr Bright ran a really fun Listening Competition which included music as diverse as Vivaldi and the Black-Eyed Peas.  It was so popular it had to be repeated to allow the large number of children to take part.  The winners (on their tie-breaker answers to the question ‘I like listening to music because…’) were Mark Smirnov (‘it makes your hips move’) and Rory Law with Florence Bristow and Olivia Owen a close second.

Music in the Library ended on a triumphant note with the Library packed out with performers and audience for a concert which included 15 soloists and the children of Little Windlesham, who sang with great gusto under the direction of Mrs Hutchings.

Many thanks to the Music Department and to Mr Bright for his huge enthusiasm which made Music in the Library 2011 such a rambunctious success!

Aly Thornton, Librarian

Earth-shattering news!

Mr Hallam judged the JRG Form ‘Alien Tectonics’ pamphlets and announced the results to the class.

He praised all who entered the competition and highlighted Oisin’s use of humorous pictures to illustrate tsunami causes.

Mr Hallam told the competitors he was looking for good information on tectonic hazards like volcanoes and earthquakes, but also good advice for any visitor from another planet on how to stay safe and survive.

The ones chosen for prizes were Minna (4^th),  Oliver (3^rd), Grace (2^nd) and in 1st place, with a pamphlet which showed great pride in her work, Laura.  She was the first recipient of the new Alien Tectonics Trophy and a giant alien egg.