Rossall School News – Summer 2021 Week 4

From the Headmaster

THE HULL VIGIL So, Mark Selby is the new world champion! I have always enjoyed snooker although I could never understand why my grandmother was so absorbed in a game that she watched in black and white. She claimed to be able to distinguish between the different coloured balls but I remain somewhat sceptical. Often dismissed as a pub sport, snooker requires technical brilliance and strategic acumen. There is something epic about watching two players bare their souls and battle it out on the green baize. Each click of the cue hitting the ball is filled with opportunity, hope and, when luck is not on your side, the possibility of redemption. Snooker is perhaps a metaphor for life. I have a similar fascination with darts which was perhaps fueled by reading Martin Amis’ novel ‘London Fields’ when I was in my early twenties. The novel is great though the 2018 film is dreadful beyond belief. I have often thought that darts is an essentially noble sport that has lacked the excitement and unpredictability of Formula One racing ever since players were banned from drinking their way through matches. Whilst not associated with acts of great athleticism, its pure simplicity perhaps heightens its intensity.     It was the great Sid Waddell who first perceived that darts could be a mass entertainment sport. The son of a Northumberland miner, he won a scholarship to read history at St John’s College Cambridge. After a few years in academia, he started working in television and produced three series of a children’s adventure series called ‘The Flaxton Boys’ in the early seventies. He is remembered as ‘the voice of darts’ and though he branched out into wrestling and pool, it is for darts that he is remembered. Ultimately he saw something noble, exciting and engaging in something which was so often dismissed as trivial. His great genius was to discern the majestic in the mundane. Anyway, enough about darts. The real point why I was reflecting upon snooker was because the World Championship Final this week was played out in front of a full crowd in Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. After fourteen long months, spectators have been allowed back to an indoor sporting event. Last week, there was a rave in Liverpool hosted by Fatboy Slim and whilst that would not necessarily have been my personal cup of tea, I would certainly have loved to have been present to witness  Mark Selby lift the trophy aloft last night. These moments, whether a rave or a snooker match, are loaded with significance insomuch as they represent our first tentative steps back to a familiar world – one punctuated by sporting events, parties, concerts, travel and much more besides. With 65% of the adult population in the UK vaccinated, we can begin to dream of a life less bound by restrictions. Here at School, I hope that we will be able to bring back town leave and welcome day pupils back into boarding houses immediately following half term. Perhaps such measures lack the heady excitement of a world championship final but for us and for our children, it is desperately important that we have the courage to take these steps. Prize Day will happen this year and there will be a Leavers’ Ball. Life is gradually returning but who knew that this would be heralded by a snooker match in Sheffield or a rave in Liverpool?  Finally, I find myself drawn to a work of art in one of the UK’s most underrated cities; Hull. It is an empty box that has been placed on top of a building. Over the course of one year, 730 members of the public will be invited to spend a single hour alone in the box. The Vigil will run through the hours of sunrise and sunset.  It is perhaps a reminder, in these times, that all things will eventually pass.  Hull has a rich cultural heritage and its latest installation might seem something of an indulgence, yet sitting above the city, it is a reminder to all those living within the city that there is an intrinsic value in contemplation and reflection and that this is more important now than ever before. The sun will always rise in the morning and set in the evening. The knowledge that things will, ultimately, be alright and that we will recover from this global pandemic is perhaps embodied by silent figures staring out upon the horizon from a box balanced on top of a building in Hull; just as our hopes and fears might be embodied in the tip of a dart or the reassuring sight of a ball dropping quietly into a pocket.  For us as a School, we now need to define ourselves in a post-pandemic world and ensure that the future of this wonderful community is enriched by all that we have learned and accomplished during these past fourteen months. The challenge is for us to ensure that we continuously improve over time.  Have a fantastic weekend and I hope that you get an opportunity to enjoy the return of something you hold dear; whether it is the opportunity to meet loved ones or the prospect of attending a much-anticipated sporting event!  Mr Jeremy Quartermain Headmaster of Rossall School

Message from the Junior Headmaster

Dear Parents, Over the past week, I have taken some time to reflect on my time at Rossall. In some ways, it feels as though I have been here much longer than 20 months, yet I am experiencing my first ‘normal’ Summer Term offering at school. This time last year, we were immersed in our first lockdown and the thought of fixtures, excursions, sports day and Prize Day, were a long way from reality.  Fast forward one year and I am immensely proud to be moving through our Rossall Roadmap, cautiously removing measures that have helped to keep us safe during a most difficult period. Children are enjoying sports, we are planning our events for the rest of the term, and today we announced the resurrection of our trips, with Years 3 to 6 all due to benefit from days at YMCA Stoller on the banks of Lake Windermere. The Pre-Prep trips will be announced next week. In my assembly this week, we spoke of reflection and how this helps to develop skills and decide if things are working, rather than just carry on doing things as you have always done them. It is about questioning, in a positive way, what you do and why you do it and then deciding whether there is a better way of doing it in the future; exceptionally important skills to develop for the children. I am not sure anything could have prepared us for the past year but I do know that all of us will have learnt huge amounts during this time and, rather than banish the experiences, we should most definitely reflect and refine our approaches to challenges in the future, based on what we have learnt. This week, it was the turn of our Year 3 and 4 girls to travel to Poolfoot for the local school’s competition. Our girls performed wonderfully well, finishing in 3rd after a nail-biting penalty shoot out. Congratulations to all our footballers. The Year 4s had an out of this world experience this week, using their Drama lesson to develop their imaginations through the creation of aliens, using nothing more than their own bodies. They thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor classroom too! You can read more about what the children across all year groups have been doing this week in our extended news section. You can also follow us on Twitter @RossallPrep. Have a lovely weekend. Mr Turner Headmaster of Rossall Nursery and Preparatory School

DUKE OF EDINBURGH BRONZE AWARD 12 students have just completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Well done to: Anabelle Anderton Yasmine Ajiteru Oscar Mistry Gabriel Bateson Leonie Beswick Grace Brindle Christopher Buckley Georgia Dugdale Sienna Gilbert-Sweeney James O’Toole Maisie Rattray Sophie Garstang The students completed a comprehensive programme onsite, where their navigation, leadership, teamwork, camp craft and so much more was able to be seen and improved upon.  The students formed three groups,  they called themselves; “Team Colin”, “Team Green” and “Team Bandits”… no particular reason, just plucked out of thin air! As teams they performed better than expected, they really pulled together to improve their interpersonal relationships and sharing of responsibilities. On the evening of day one, the participants went for a walk to the Star Wars set that is only 500 metres from the edge of the school grounds. Coincidently, it was May the 4th and we couldn’t resist paying a visit to see if we could catch a glimpse of any set props or characters. At one point I was sure we were being followed by the legendary Wookiee warrior Chewbacca, on closer inspection, it was a local dog walker!  On the way back along the beach and promenade, we saw a flurry of what looked like storm troopers running towards us… as they got closer we could see the Hi-Vis vests, it turned out to be security trying to stop us, the Rossall Rebels, from restoring freedom to the galaxy! (May the 4th be with you!) In total, individually they walked over 15 km on their navigation exercise, cycled over 16 miles and covered an additional 4 km moving from point to point.  They even went for a swim in the sea during an additional session of beach fitness at the end of day two. This was a brilliant group to work with and all passed the award easily. This group of 12 will be the first group to enrol on the DofE Silver award being reintroduced to Rossall. As the first group to conduct an award expedition since the Duke of Edinburgh passed away, I reflected upon what the Duke’s original intent was and how it has developed over the years. The scheme is an amazing opportunity for young people and should be embraced by not only students but everyone under the age of 25 in or out of education.  I am extremely proud of this group and I’m sure the late Duke would have been too! – Major Lee Magowan

MR SHARPE’S MATHS CHALLENGE LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE Jess and the Cloud Squirrel Jess often daydreams of the year she lived amongst the Red Squirrels of Scotland. She only left after discovering she had an acorn allergy. One day Jess was scampering about the school grounds, thinking of the good old days when she looked up in the sky and saw a cloud, a Squirrel cloud! This, as you can imagine, stopped Jess in her tracks. Now Jess knows that a Squirrel is about 20cm tall and at that point, Jess saw a Boeing 747 fly out of the cloud Squirrel’s nose and she was then able to use the fact that as a Boeing 747 is 76m long, she could work out that the cloud Squirrel was roughly 1.5km tall. A true Cloud Squirrel-zilla! If the Cloud Squirrel was a full 3D squirrel from every orientation Jess could then estimate how many real Red Squirrels could fit inside the cloud Squirrel. So, how many? (Give your answer to 2 significant figures) ANSWER: (CLICK ON THE VIDEO BELOW)