Challenging Chemists

Challenging Chemists

In the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, eleven Grammar School students took part in Cambridge University's prestigious new Chemistry Challenge, producing very impressive results. Particularly outstanding was James Zhang's score which put him the top 1% of the country, gaining him a Roentgenium Award and a place at a Chemistry Summer School at Cambridge. Oscar Chak, Gary Gong, Devsaagar Thanki and Curtis Wong were awarded Silver Awards; and Ben Chang, Anthony Cheung, Steven Fan, Karan Kapur, Hercules Pang and John Timerick all gained Copper Awards.

Sir the desk is on fire!

Crash Bang Wallop!

LGS Chemistry students were joined by girls from the High School to see a demonstration lecture by Dr. Steven Rossington, from The University of Salford's Centre for Molecular Drug Design. The talk focused on the elements which make up living things and included exploration of the properties of solid Carbon Dioxide and liquid nitrogen and oxygen as cold as -196 degrees Celsius! Demonstrations also included biscuits bursting into flames, the oxidation reactions taking place in fireworks, some loud bangs as balloons full of hydrogen gas were ignited and plastic fizzy drinks bottles were fired into the audience.

Debating Society

Klopf, klopf

Once again the English Department, aka the Debating Society, travelled to Germany at half term to take on the might of the Berlin British School's debaters whilst at the same time enjoying the delights of this exciting capital city. The trip was its usual success and international relations were certainly enhanced by the visit. A more detailed account of our boys' exploits can be found in the Read More.

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Berlin Trip

Hello to Berlin

The now annual pre-Christmas trip to Berlin involving students from both LHS and LGS proved, yet again, to be a resounding success. The boys and girls discovered the cultural delights of this vibrant and ever changing city and experienced the now almost forgotten hardships of pre-unification Germany, whilst at the same time improving their grasp of the German language and, it seems, the edible delights on offer.

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A Hearty Performance

"Cinderella" is a Ball

The last Monday and Tuesday nights of term saw Year 7 engaged in their traditional Christmas Show in which they performed a version of "Cinderella" with astonishing aplomb and stage presence for ones so young. The usual mix of execrable puns and obligatory audience participation was delivered by a confident cast with strong singing voices and excellent enunciation, not to mention dance moves which might have challenged Bruno Tonioli's colourful vocabulary and flamboyance. With appearances of Dick Whittington and Snow White and the compulsory rendering of "YMCA", it was a show filled with exuberance and enthusiasm and a joy to behold. Oh yes – it was!

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

The Chinese New Year was celebrated in fine style as the Refectory pulled out all the stops to provide the school with a sumptuous, themed banquet for the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, with paper dragons overlooking the scene as the suitably-dressed kitchen ladies served the eager throng with an un-numbered menu of delights. Amongst the delicacies on offer were: Crispy Duck Pancakes with Hoi Sin and Plum Sauce; Beef and Black Bean Stir Fry; Battered Sechuan Chicken; Sesame Tofu with Pak Choi; Vegetable Chow Mein; Banana and Pineapple Fritters; Mango, Lychees and Peaches. Chopsticks were optional! Roll on the Year of the Snake!

Winging his way to Singapore

Winging his way to Singapore

Cadet Warrant Officer Alex Samson is congratulated by Wing Commander Sergeant on being awarded one of only 10 places available to the CCF RAF on the International Air Cadet Exchange programme for 2012. This extremely prestigious award is the highest accolade available to members of the Air Cadet Organisation and means that Alex will be spending 15 days in the summer experiencing what life is like in the Singapore National Cadet Corps (Air). The International Air Cadet Exchange was first introduced in 1947, between the UK and the Canadian Air Cadets, and now comprises more than 20 nations and some 600 cadets or volunteer staff exchanging annually. To be selected for this programme is a great honour and a considerable tribute to what Alex has achieved during his time in the CCF RAF Section: in effect, he will be an outstanding ambassador for the Royal Air Force's Air Cadets as well as being a splendid representative of the school.

Sent Packing

Sent Packing

On behalf of the 50+ strong party, representatives of the Sri Lanka Rugby Tour presented Mrs Clare Allen of Rebuilding Sri Lanka with a cheque for £1363-89. This staggering amount of money was raised in just six hours when the lads helped Tesco shoppers with their packing before Christmas. The money will be well spent to serve the needs of our children at Batukanaththa School: the tour party plan to visit the school when they are on the island in July and to take the children on an outing to the beach. This is just one of the many events planned for this year to enable us to raise enough money to expand Batukanaththa School. Such has been the success of the project that we now have 146 children being educated: we started with 47 in 2006!

Charity Bonanza

Charity bonanza – a whopping £12816

It's hats off to everyone for a quite fantastic fund raising effort last term. On own clothes day, where we were all encouraged to wear a hat, there were some weird and wonderful creations on display, see picture. This was just one of many events which contributed to a phenomenal and unprecedented £11,783 being raised in one term for a wide range of extremely worthy causes. Details of the beneficiaries can be found in the "Read more" below. A huge vote of thanks goes to Mr Gidley and Miss Mir for all their hard work in co-ordinating all the fund-raising efforts.

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Outside the new entrance

Biology the One Show in Town

Television presenter and zoologist, Miranda Krestovnikoff, formally opened the John Millward Extension to the Murray Building on Thursday 24th November, following a talk to Years 8 and 9 about her career in television which she said had begun by having to look after frogs for a TV programme about Surinam toads! After unveiling the commemorative plaque in the presence, amongst many others, of Tom McGivern, grandson of former Headmaster, John Millward, Miranda joined members of the Bug Club for their weekly meeting where she heard how to look after giant millipedes while fielding numerous questions about biology and television presenting.

New Directors

Studio showcases new directors

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the 30th November, 1st & 2nd December, LGS played host to a group of very talented young thespians by showcasing two completely original plays written and directed by students. Jamie Herring and Adam Spencer (year 11) produced a thought- provoking piece entitled 'Back to Life'. This was followed by a black comedy from Adam Stead, 'Russell the Hindsight Bear'. This was part of New Directors Season and was a resounding success for all involved.

On the Ball

On the Ball

After the disappointment of losing the first fixtures of the season to frozen pitches, the senior sides got their season off to a flying start with away victories for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd XIs against local rivals Defence Sixth Form College, otherwise known as Welbeck. Their victory secured the 1st XI 3 points in the North Section of the LB Cup, a competition we won in 2010 and one very much in our sights this year. Saturday brings our first outing in the Mercian League and Combination for the 1st and 2nd XIs at Denstone College and we hope for an equally successful outcome.

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Stoical in defeat

Stoical in defeat

The impressive string of victories secured by the U15 XV in the National Daily Mail Cup came to end on Thursday 8 December in a howling gale and sweeping rain at Quorn.Sadly, after beating King Henry VIII, Princethorpe College, Rugby School and Old Swinford Hospital, Stowe School proved just too strong in dreadful conditions which turned the match into something of a lottery. Two early unconverted tries by the visitors left LGS playing "catch-up" which, in the circumstances, asked a little too much of them. A late try engineered by the LGS forwards did eventually halve the deficit but a converted try by Stowe's talented outside-half in the closing stages of the match sealed their victory, the final score being 5 – 17. Nevertheless, despite losing on this occasion, the U15 XV is a very talented side which will surely go on to greater success. They are to be congratulated on their achievement to date.