30^th March 2001

Dear Parents, Friends and Oldboys

The daffodils are just opening and Shrewsbury is beginning to look at its spring best. The boys are on their way home and the staff heaving a huge sigh of relief. There have been the usual

The annual education reviews are well under way with some very pleasing reports from both the academic and social programmes. Mr John Crozier Shropshire Specialist Careers Officer has again helped with the career planning of older boys and his knowledge and expertise is invaluable at such meetings. The leavers are all getting het up with examination and coursework nerves but still making sensible decisions regarding their futures. I hope to report some exciting achievements and placements from them in future newsletters.

Mr Kevin Davies has left us this term to go self-employed working as a boat builder. We have quite a list of new staff to offer cover for leaving staff, the new extension and residential facilities. Mr McEntee will be our new ICT teacher from next term. Mr Gruffudd, Mr Luff, Mr Wildman, Miss Hetherton, Ms Middleton and Ms Roberts will all be joining the Care team. We also have Consultant Child Psychiatrist

Dr Alistair Neale working at the school on a sessional basis once each month.

We have seven new boys starting next term: Thomas Crowe from Suffolk, Rowan Crump from South Gloucester, Joseph Warner, Liam Morris and Aaron Lee from Coventry, Gareth Smallman from Shropshire and Marc Weaver from Stoke.

We all enjoyed a lovely day in February at the formal opening of Ivy House. Sir William Francis spent most of the day with us and officially opened the block along with our Chief Executive Mr Trevor Price. The block had been in use since November and is providing an excellent facility for our post 16 group and some of this year’s leavers. Mrs Kynaston and Mr Clark have created a happy relaxed atmosphere where ten senior boys can live and work productively.

The boys and staff have remained reasonably fit and healthy throughout the term. We mainly avoided the virus epidemic through good luck and a stalwart staff. One boy did contract Chicken Pox and fearing the worst we contacted the parents of boys at home that weekend but with careful isolation no one else was infected. Suzanne Floyd visited the school in January and February to carry out a full sight test on all the boys due for a check. All optical and dental work is now underway where necessary.

The extension between the school house back door and the laundry block has been completed by Mr Alan Jones of A&M Builders. It has been named Callow View by the staff and boys as the six new bedroom windows overlook that famous landmark of the Shropshire hills. The boys soon personalised their new bedrooms and according to the staff the rooms work well with slumbering incumbents having no further requirements after lights out. We hope to be opening the Barn next term for four boys. This will primarily be for boys who stay throughout the year but may be used in the interim for us to try another different type of family setting. We are still refining the perfect residential model in line with our social skills training programme. I do not think a set model is the answer due to the wide rage of different personalities that our boys are developing but that is for a wider debate.

Health & Safety remains a high profile as everywhere today. Mr Corbett continues his NVQ level 4 Safety Officer’s course. Mr Randell, Ms Lynne Brown, Mr Barrett and Mr P Davies successfully passed the PRICE trainers course. They will amend our behaviour management policy, oversee and organise half termly training sessions for all the staff, where we are all assessed regarding competency and draw up individual risk assessments for each boy. Ten staff passed their Health and Hygiene for Food course this term and the remainder have completed the Child Protection Training with Pam Bickley.

Mr Brown and his team are due for an even busier Easter now that the Barn is due to open and he is vacating his present workshop area in the stables. Mr King has joined the staff and along with Mr Clark and Mr Croucher they are opening up new premises along the wall between the Barn and Elizabeth house. They have an unenviable schedule of work to keep all of the Cruckton site and Belvidere running let alone the regular maintenance work to keep the estate looking in top order. Thank goodness Mr Croucher can get out now the ground is drying to work his horticultural magic

Comic Relief day was a much bigger success than anticipated mainly thanks to Mrs Hodnett and Mr Marshall who spent the day on Sainsbury’s car park cleaning windscreens, number plates and even cars. At school the remainder of the staff and boys contributed by participating in a ‘Bad Hair’ day. The total monies raised during the day were £550

Staff news: Mr Clem McBride has left to spend his Easter in Morroco. He has left as quietly as possible, requesting no publicity for the ‘Marathon des Sables’ (Marathon of the Sands) to compete in the 150 mile run across the Sahara Desert. If any of you would like to sponsor him in aid of the Hospital LINAC appeal please contact the school. If you would like to follow the race further details are on the Internet at www.sandmarathon.com he is competitor number 512. Miss Bonnett is now planning her adventure of a lifetime. In September she intends to trek the ancient Inca trail to Machupiccu in Peru. You will hear more of this next term as she tries to raise sponsorship and funds in aid of Cancer Research. Mrs Dixon has been invited to give an exhibition of her photography at the Lighthouse Media Centre in Wolverhampton in the summer. She is hoping to set up a school darkroom and photography club during the summer term.

Music has continued as a very popular recreation. Miss Dodd gives Flute lessons to Paul Hook and Goronwy Jones, Paul is making excellent progress but Gron needs to make more use of his practise time. Guitar strummers have continued apace with both Mr Clark and Mr Butterworth giving lessons to Terry Scaife, Chris Tedds, Rob O’Connell, Richard Lees, Matthew Mertens and Steve Connolly. Mrs Dixon has Aaron Adamson, Zak Powell, Nathan Williams, Thomas Hilton and Tom Higginson taking their ABRSM Prep test in June with a further six boys taking theirs in November. Matthew S, Matt Joyce, Nick Pitt and Ashly Latham took the Grade 1 Music theory exam and we eagerly await high pass marks! Matt S, Paul Hook and Nick Pitt took Grade 1 Piano last week and all passed with flying colours. Finally I have been asked to make a plea to you all from Mrs Dixon for more Pianos. If any of you know of or anyone wanting a warm kind home for a piano in reasonable condition please let me know.

Mrs Doyle took Year 9’s on a science trip to visit Ironbridge Power Station. They were studying electricity and the visit demonstrated both the production and uses. Mr Thomas and Miss Senior assisted her with: Lloyd Davies. James Fairbanks, Jamie Fletcher, Tom Higginson, James Hocknull, Paul Hughes, Goronwy Jones,

Richard Lees, Matthew Mertens, Jon Mills, Terry Scaife and Ashley Smith.

Mrs Rayner’s classes has been working hard on poetry this term and they will be displaying some of their work in the front hall next term. She has requested favourite poems from staff to add to the display if any of you feel you would like to contribute please do not hesitate to send in your efforts. Mr Barrett should be congratulated here as he had one of his own poems published this term. Class one spent many hours painstakingly completing the cross-stitch patterns for their Mother’s day cards. I hope you enjoyed them.

Mr Chris Speake, Miss Jo Lee, Mr Mick Kenny and Mr Andy Jones from Belvidere House took Tony Roberts and Richard Gough to Barmouth for half term week. They have all enjoyed a productive term with the vote of ‘Golden Boy’ going to Tony Roberts for his improvement in behaviour and attitude. They intend constructing a small workshop at Belvidere for the boys to use, if any of you have any useful tools a bench, box of screws that you no longer need please bring them in or telephone and we might be able to arrange collection.

Boys news: Chris Crabtree left school and joined the Green Jackets after half term and is still in basic training. Chris Rowe has passed the first stage of entrance into the Army; he hopes to join up in August. Adam Cooke has recently shot smallbore rifle for the Army cadets and narrowly missed being selected to shoot at Bisley in the national championships. Swimming badges were passed by James Hocknull, Alastair Horton, Ross Oyston and Taha Nasr 20m; Anthony Biggs 50m; Henry Brittain and Tom Odlin 200m; Zak Powell, Michael Walker, Paul Hook, Paul Hughes, Lloyd Davies and Ashley Smith 400m; Stefan Gordon and Michael Knight 800m; finally the coveted 1000m badge to Bryan Chermulas.

Out of school the Ju-Jitsu club held another grading: Miss Atkinson, Mrs Parker, Mr P Davies, Chris Rowe and Matthew S gained Green Belt while Mr Campion, James Fairbanks and Mark Westwood gained their yellow belt. The club continues to maintain its popularity and still has a hardcore of the original members. Zak Powell has joined the local scout troop. Sunday evenings Mrs Thomas and Mrs Hodnett have taken a group to a local service at church or chapel. Gregory Taylor, Matthew S, Ashley Smith, Terry Scaife, Paul Hook, Anthony Biggs and Jon Mills have all swelled congregations and received some wonderful comments (including sweets) from both other worshippers and preachers.

Mr Southall and Miss Jo Miller have worked with the horse-riding group. Anthony Biggs, Matthew Bodey, Henry Brittain, Tom Higginson and Nathan Williams were making excellent progress until the Foot & Mouth outbreak. A two day hacking trip in Llandrindod Wells early next term has also had to be postponed due to F&M. Miss Paul and Mr Bower took Terry Scaife, Richard Lees, Steve Connolly, Paul Hook and Aaron Adamson on a trip to Trawsfyndd Day Ski Centre where they stayed in the log cabins. Everyone had two or three lessons each day and by the end all of the boys could ski exceptionally well and were praised by the instructor. Miss P and Mr B however found the skill more difficult to grasp, Eddie the Eagle can rest safely in his bed! Mrs Large and Miss Davies took: Chris Tedds, Ben Bradley, Rob O’Connell, Jamie Hocknull, Tom Higginson and Paul Hook to Wexford in Southern Ireland for a few days. The stormy weather delayed the ferry crossing but they managed to land after an epic 18 hour journey which Miss Davies particularly enjoyed. However with this behind them they all had a lovely time and are all vowing to return to the Emerald Isle for future holidays. There is no truth in the rumour that Mrs Large was working for the Irish Tourist Agency; she just gets a bit homesick!

I hope you all have a happy and peaceful Easter holiday. Remember the summer term begins on Monday 23^rd April 2001.

Yours sincerely

Paul Mayhew

Headmaster