CCF: New Training Room for the Cadets

Decades of cadet history was finally archived and cleared away during the summer break, allowing space for the building of a self contained Skill At Arms training room.

The training room can accommodate twelve cadets for post-exercise weapon cleaning and Skill at Arms lessons. It's a great room and will be much needed when the winter weather draws in.

Days of freezing cold hands whilst weapon training are now over.

Third Form equestrian in GB gold medal winning eventing team

New Third Former Sam Ecroyd (Rt) was in the GB team winning a gold medal at the Pony Europeans during the summer holidays.  Competing against top Euuropean eventers under the age of 17, Sam came fifth individually, and was the only member of his team to finish on his dressage score, going clear in the time both in the cross country and in the show jumping.

Sam then went on to win the Pony Club Event at Burghley earlier this month, this time competing in the Under 21 age range.

D of E: The first-ever Gold assesment expedition by Salopian girls

During the last week of August, five girls from the Sixth Form - Alice Brett, Marianne Shawe-Taylor, Portia Hibbert, Elli Hill and Felicity Davies - took advantage of the good weather and completed their Gold DofE Assessment Expedition in the Peak District National Park.  This was the first all female group Shrewsbury has seen since girls joined the Sixth Form in 2008. 

The girls covered 88km in the four days, each carrying 15kg of food and equipment.  The expedition was completely unsupported, and passed over the moor in the Dark Peak area which is challenging in itself. 

The girls found it a challenging and emotional experience, but finished in fine form except for a few blisters and aches and pains. 

Well done to all.
 

Racing Demon receives tremendous reviews at Edinburgh Festival

The School Play 'Racing Demon' by David Hare was first performed, in school, in February 2010.  Then in August, after an intensive week of rehearsals and a one-off performance at The Ashton Theatre, the cast took the play to Edinburgh from 23rd to 28th August 2010.

The official review in Fringe Report enthused 'Tight production, beautifully played'. See www.fringereport.wordpress.com for the full review.

Alasdair Richardson was also fulsome in his praise for the production: 'The acting from this young cast is phenomenal ... student drama which puts the professionals to shame'.

Press coverage: School play 'Racing Demon' going to Edinburgh Fringe

Following on from the rapturous reviews of 'The Bubble' at The Fringe last year, 'Racing Demon' will be taken to Edinburgh after a one-night showing at our Ashton Theatre on Friday 20th August. The article also mentioned the Salopian jazz quartet 'The Quar4er', also performing at The Fringe, and two Old Salopians who are returning to The Fringe this year with their all male group 'All the King's Men' from King's College, London.

• Shropshire Star 7th August 2010: 'County pupils set to repeat success'

CCF: Summer Camp at Nesscliffe

This year's CCF Summer Camp, in the first week of the holidays, was more local than normal.  Nesscliffe was the venue for the 30 cadets in attendance.  It was a packed week with rock climbing, hill walking, orienteering, navigation, land management training, military skills, the obstacle course - to name just a few of the activities.

The week also included a range day where all the cadets were able to fire the new cadet rifle; however the highlight of the week was the two-day exercise package.  This started with a helicopter deployment to Long Mountain, followed by a tactical advance on foot, using bikes, canoes and more helicopters.  The exercise became fully tactical when the cadets reached their objective on the training area. 

It was a hugely successful and enjoyable week.
 

Old Salopians return to Edinburgh Fringe

Chris Jamieson (G 2009) and Henry Southern (G 2008), both now studying at King's College London, are now part of an all-male band there 'All the King's Men'. Having twice been to the Fringe during their time at the School with 'Harry!' and 'The Bubble', they are now returning with their new group from 16th-21st August.

In their own words:

A collaboration of 14 distinctive young men, infectious tunes, fun choreography and a tight rhythm section. With no instruments or backing track this wonderful performance is produced with voices only.

A dynamic a cappella group from London are making their Edinburgh Fringe Festival début in August with their compelling show 'Picking up the Pieces'. All the King's Men were only established in September last year by freshers at King's College London who wanted to have fun with music. But this is more than just a student group, as their varied yet accessible repertoire, seasoned with humour and mischief, promises a regal performance fit for any king!

The musical range of this energetic and hilarious all-male singing group stretches from the Bee Gees to the Black Eyed Peas, and they have recently released their début eponymous album.

Venue: theSpace@Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Grand Theatre, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW
Dates: 16-21 August Time: 3:30pm (45 minutes) Tickets: £6.50 (£5)
Bookings: The Space UK and Fringe Box Office
They have proved incredibly popular, impressing audiences ranging from teenagers to business groups and have already performed at high profile events and venues including the BT Tower and one of London’s biggest clubs, SEOne. Each performance has received amazing audience reactions, serving to fuel the group's passion and confidence. One thing is guaranteed: the audience will leave smiling and totally entertained.

Henry Southern, Founder of All the King's Men, says, "We are thoroughly looking forward to performing at the Edinburgh Festival for the first time. There is nothing like the Fringe for groups like us and we cannot wait to be involved!"

We would love to have you as our guests at one of our performances.

Kind Regards,

All the King's Men
Tel: 07722124349
Email: contact@all-the-kings-men.com
Website: www.all-the-kings-men.com

CCF: Looking back over the past year

Well it's been an exciting year for the CCF, The Field Day in June in particular had a very Adventurous edge.  The fourth form cadets were split into three groups, each group undertaking a different activity.  Cadets could choose which activity they wanted to participate in.

The choices included a Long Mynd hike,  A Mountain summit in Snowdonia, and finally an overnight camp on the Isle of Anglesey, followed by a day of Coasteering and Sea Kayaking in the sun.

The day started with a group trip to Morrisons in Holyhead, where we could get our pre-ordered breakfast, and fill up ready for an active day ahead.  The group were split into two, and each given an allowance to purchase a 'picnic' for the beach stop later.

A five minute drive away, and the cadets were soon dressing in wetsuits and trainers ready for some journeying on and along the sea.

Coasteering is the sport of using the rocky coastline to traverse.  It may involve scrambles, jumps off large rocks and even swims between bits of rocky coast.  The cadets particularly enjoyed this activity which challenged their love or fear of heights and swimming in the deep blue sea.  The photos speak for themselves.

Sea kayaking is another journeying sport.  The cadets were each given a paddle and a 'sit on top' kayak which is like a cross between a sea kayak and surf board. They were very stable which meant capsizing wasn't too much of an issue.

The whole day was a huge success, and certainly a day we hope to repeat in the future.

DofE Bronze Award Assessment Week 2010

With so many students signing up for the challenge of the Bronze DofE Award, it has become necessary to allocate a whole week to the expedition section and outdoor learning.  This year some 120 students from the third form were involved with what has become known as 'Outdoor Week'

The week is split into to parts.  The Bronze Expedition assessment part, involving a planning day and a two day expedition in open country, and the school based programme.

This year the school-based programme consisted of three extremely valuable, worthwhile and fun activities.  Firstly there was the Activity Day at Nesscliffe Army training camp.  The activities were wide ranging and kindly supported by members of the CCF and ACF.  Take a look at the photos to get a feel for the day.

The second part of this package was 'Leadership Day'.  Based on the school site the students were divided into smaller groups and were set problem solving activities to test their leadership, teamwork and planning.  For example, one such task involved building a tower using only jelly babies and dried spaghetti.  It may seem a little odd, but it proved too much for some groups who couldn't quite get to grips with the task in hand.

The final day of the package was the 'Conservation Day'.  Students were hosted by Shropshire Wildlife Trust and taught the dying art of dry stone walling, whittling a spoon from a branch, hedge laying and other traditional countryside skills.

The week was a huge success with some 75 students completing all parts of the Bronze Expedition Section (which included a project).