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Week beginning Monday 17 March

1st XI footballers win the Chester and District Cup
The King's team claimed the cup after a convincing win over Catholic High School. There is a full match report with some photos on the football results page.

This match marks the end of an era since it was Mr Neeves' last match in joint charge of the 1st XI after 28 years. The team has enjoyed huge success under his leadership, winning many trophies. Mr Neeves estimates that he has jointly managed in excess of 900 1st XI matches during his time at King's, winning the National Independent Schools' FA Cup twice (at Craven Cottage, Fulham FC and The Walkers Stadium, Leicester City FC), the Cheshire Schools' FA Under 18 County Cup five times and the District Schools' Under 18 Cup on ten occasions. He has also managed the Cheshire Schools' FA County Under 18 squad for 28 years, having managed the Nottinghamshire Schools' FA Under 18 squad for four years before that. He deserves a rest! Mr Neeves retires at the end of the summer term.

Flintshire Young Musician of the Year
Selim Ungut (3JM) has distinguished himself by winning this title.

Year 7 Chester and District Swimming Gala
Our boys' team took first place overall. Our girls' team took fourth place overall with Alice Carr taking a first and second place in 50m butterfly and backstroke, respectively.

Cheshire Youth Orchestra, Brass Band and Choir
At a Cheshire Youth Orchestra concert in Nantwich Tatsuhiro Nomaguchi and Hiroshi Amako played brilliantly as soloists in Bach's Concerto in D minor for two violins, as did Simon Bate in Vivaldi's double trumpet concerto. Niall Gilding plays flute, and Michael Hutchinson plays trombone with the orchestra, whilst Emily Lee leads them; all played exceptionally well.

Simon also played cornet as a guest member of the Cheshire Youth Brass Band in another excellent concert in Crewe, and a former King's student, David Reid, sang with the Cheshire Youth Choir.

Week beginning Monday 10 March

Sponsored marathon runner
Rostam Osanlou (L6ML) completed the Liverpool Half Marathon raising over £120 through sponsorship. He has decided that he would like to give the money to the school's fund to help build a primary school in Africa.

Rostam ran his half marathon dressed as Rambo! He is pictured with his Liverpool Half Marathon medal.

Prestigious award for scientist
Alex White (U6DY) presented the work he undertook in the summer to an audience at the National Young Scientists and Engineering Fair which was held at Queen Mary's University of London. His research was carried out at the University of Liverpool as part of the Nuffield Science Bursary scheme.

In total there were 33 finalists (from over 30,000 applications for bursaries at the start of last year) presenting their projects and the judges commented that the overall standard of work was even higher than in previous years. During the day four pairs of judges, from the Royal Society of Chemistry and various university professors, assessed Alex's project and his understanding of the work.

At the end of the day there was an awards ceremony where Alex was awarded the most prestigious prize - the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Prize. ISEF is the world's largest pre-university science competition (dubbed the "Olympics of Science Fairs"), which this year is being held in Atlanta, USA from 11-16 May 2008. Approximately 1500 students from over 45 different countries present their work at ISEF each year and compete for a total of over $4 million of prizes.  Not only will he be presenting his project work in Atlanta but he will also be the only person representing the UK. Last year the judges at the ISEF included 6 Nobel Prize winners. More information about ISEF can be found at http://www.intelisef2008.org/Default.asp and http://sciserv.org/isef/index.asp

More success in debating
Upper sixth students Disha Gulati and Lawrence Gibson took part in the second round of the ESU Mace debating competition. They beat stiff opposition from MGS, Urmston Grammar School and Loreto Grammar. They debated on the topic of "The tabloid press do more harm than good". Both Disha and Lawrence were very impressive debaters. They spoke confidently and and eloquently, countering all the arguments from the opposition. The team now progresses to the northern regional final at Bradford Grammar School, and should they win they will take part in the national final.

Intermediate Maths Challenge
204 students from the 3rd, 4th and 5th forms sat this year's challenge. Of these 10 gained gold certificates, 38 gained silver, and 54 gained bronze. 7 students have qualified for the follow-on rounds.

Week beginning Monday 3 March

Rensburg-Sheppards U13 ISFA Cup Final
Brentwood School, Essex, won the match 3-0 but a fantastic day was had by all. Full match report and photos can be viewed on the football results page.

Success in debating
Upper Sixth students, Disha Gulati and Lawrence Gibson are now through to the Northern Regional final of the English Speaking Union's Mace Debate competition. They beat stiff opposition from Manchester Grammar School, Urmston Grammar and Loreto Grammar to progress into the third round of the competition. They debated on the topic of 'The tabloid press does more harm than good'. The Northern regional final will take place in Bradford on the 13th March. Should our team be our successful there they will progress to the National Final.

County hockey player
Abigail Geary (ShML) has recently represented Shropshire at U13 Hockey in matches against the West Midlands, scoring in a 2-0 victory, and against Nottighamshire.

Model United Nations Conference at Bath - view photos
Eleven of our lower sixth students represented Jordan and Guyana. There were fifty other schools taking part. The students spent the first day debating in their committees; they were discussing, amending and voting on resolutions. The standard of the debating was very high but all of our students managed to contribute. Both Edward Longinotti and Charles Barry spoke at the General Assembly on the second day, addressing about five hundred people in putting forward an amendment of the resolution being debated. Edward went on to receive a "highly commended delegate" award for the quality of his debating in the second committee.

Full member of the ISFA Under-16 squad
Tom Pearson-Jones (5MP) has been selected for the Independent Schools' FA Under 16 squad that will undertake a tour of Italy during the Easter holidays. Tom has been an outstanding player for the 1st XI this season, and has also represented the ISFA North Under 16 squad.  As a result of his performances for ISFA North he was selected for the full ISFA Under 16 squad and for the forthcoming tour.  We wish him every success in all his matches and hope that he will enjoy all aspects of his first taste of international football. 

Week beginning Monday 25 February

Visit of a distinguished scientist - more detailed report in Word format
Professor Sir John Houghton addressed the school in Wednesday assembly, followed by some time talking to pupils in lesson time. Since 1988 he has been a member of the IPCC, the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change.  This is a body of distinguished scientists from around the world who advise governments on issues relating to climate change. In 2007 this Body was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with former US vice- president Al Gore

As well as the depth and breadth of his scientific knowledge, Sir John is also a person with strong religious beliefs. During his talk to the whole school Sir John suggested that the precision with which the universe came into being needed design and that modern scientific knowledge did not disprove the existence of God.  He then went on to talk about the problems of climate change.  He mentioned particularly the problem of rising temperatures which would lead to rising sea levels, resulting in some parts of the world becoming uninhabitable.

Following the assembly, Sir John spent some time with a set of Upper Sixth Geography students followed by a Fifth Form Group.  He then spent a short time with a Lower Sixth Physics class.

A second Cambridge hockey blue for former pupil
Former pupil Ben Crooks has been selected to represent Cambridge University Men's Hockey 1st XI in the forthcoming 108th Varsity match. Hockey is an extremely competitive sport at Cambridge with "full blues" being awarded to up to thirteen members of the squad. To be selected for the Varsity squad for the second year running is a testament to Ben's ability as a player and his ongoing commitment to the Cambridge University Hockey Club. This year's Varsity match will be held at Southgate Hockey Centre in London on Tuesday 4 March.

KSRC successes at the Reading Head of the River
All three King's crews won their events. Apart from Oxford University the school's was the most successful club of the day. Details on the rowing club page.

King's girls represent Cheshire in hockey tournaments
Cheshire Schoolgirls Hockey was well represented at U15 level by Annabelle Church (4JH) and Katie Saunders (4SR), at U16 level by Siobhan Barnard (4SR) and at U18 level by Sarah Underhill (L6RP) at the County Ground, Upton, in the last of the Northern County round robin tournaments for this hockey season, .

The U15s and U16s played Cumbria, Humberside and South Yorkshire; U18s played Cumbria and South Yorkshire. It could be said that it was an excellent day at the office for all Cheshire sides winning every match. All three outfield players scored goals whilst Annabelle kept a clean sheet.

Week beginning Monday 18 February

Official naming of The Tim Turvey Music School
The official naming was performed by Mr Turvey and was accompanied by a woodwind masterclass by Andrew Marriner. Read a full report with photos on the music reviews page.

Rensburg-Sheppards U13 ISFA Cup Final - Thursday 6 March 2008
Kick-off 1.30pm at The Pirelli Stadium, Burton Albion FC
The King’s School, Chester v Brentwood School, Essex
All support from parents and friends of the school is welcome.

For directions to the Pirelli Stadium, please click here.
For location map, please click here.

Under no circumstances must anyone contact Burton Albion FC direct about the Final. All other enquiries about the Final must be made through the school. Tel: 01244 689500

More success in cross-country
James Ellis (4DL) finished third overall in the Manchester & District League series in his age group. He was fifth Cheshire counter in the last schools inter-county event, which means he has been selected to run in a couple of weeks' time at the English National Schools, which is at Sefton Park this year. He is training hard, but thoroughly enjoying the challenge.

Week beginning Monday 4 February

Another success in girls' indoor hockey
The U13 team have become Chester and District Girls' Indoor Hockey champions. Read match reports on the hockey results page.

Cricket selection
Peter Boothroyd (see the item below) has also recently been selected for the North East Wales U12 cricket squad.

County cross-country runners
Peter Boothroyd (RmCC) represented Cheshire Schools in an inter-county Cross-Country match on Saturday. He came 8th in the Minors race and was the 6th Cheshire runner to count.

James Ellis (4DL) also competed for Cheshire in the Intermediate race and was placed a creditable 12th. He is a year under age and can compete at the same age level next year.

Week beginning Monday 28 January

Hockey champions
The girls have won two tournaments this week: U15 Chester and District Indoor Hockey Tournament and U16 Cheshire County Indoor Championship. Read the match reports on the hockey results page.

Rensburg-Sheppards U13 ISFA Cup Semi-final
King's won through to the final with a 2-1 victory against Leeds Grammar School. Ben Leaman put King's into the lead mid-way through the first half. Leeds equalised in the second half but the lead was regained after Ben Leaman scored from the penalty spot. Read the full match report (with a link to some photos) on the football results page.

The Final will be played on Thursday, 6 March at The Pirelli Stadium, home of Burton Albion FC, kicking off at 1.30pm.  Travel and match admission  arrangements will be available on our website shortly.  Under no circumstances must anyone contact Burton Albion FC direct about the Final.  All enquiries must be made through the school.

County Cross-Country Championships
King's students competed with distinction in various age-group races: Sara Ashworth and Alice Carr in Minor Girls; Jessie Lee, Ellie Ormrod, Lara Goodwin and Kate Koppack in Junior Girls; Peter Boothroyd and Cameron Thompson in Minor Boys; Harry Ashworth and James Barnard in Junior Boys; and James Ellis in Intermediate Boys.

Young Enterprise
Two companies run by King's students have won awards in a competition against other YE teams in the Chester area. ICE, with managing directors Simon Younger and Max Ankers, was placed second in both the Best Marketing and Best Product competitions. Bloque, with managing directors Chris Wayne and Tom Chappell, won both the Best Product and Best Trade Stand competitions. The competition is on-going and the two teams will eventually be presenting their commercial ideas to the YE board of directors.

County Hockey Development Squad
Lexi Garnett, Eleanor Barnard, Susan Gorman, Phillipa Higgins, Sara Ashworth and Jessica Guest have all had a successful selection process for the U13 squad and will train with the group this year.

Success in chess championship
Susan Gorman (RmMT) took part in the Northern Region Girls Under-12 Chess Championships during the weekend. She came in second place and has now qualified for the national championships.

Week beginning Monday 21 January

ISFA Cup semi-final
Ater a very competitively- fought match Charterhouse emerged as the winners. The only goal of the match was scored in the middle period of the first half. The King's team all played with huge commitment but were unable to get back on terms. Both teams conducted themselves in exemplary fashion and were a real credit to their schools in every way. Full match report to follow. View match photos.

Cricket selection
Following trials before Christmas Henry Makings (RmNB) has been selected to play cricket for North East Wales U12 XI.

Drawing for Surgeons
Mr Downey, Head of Art and Design, has been involved in teaching an innovative two-day course aimed at improving the observational and recording skills of surgeons at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London. The idea for the course arose from a chance meeting between Mr Downey and Rowan Pritchard-Jones, a former pupil at King's and the youngest surgeon to be awarded the Hunterian professorship by the Royal College. He is now practising as a plastic surgeon in Liverpool. View an article about the course in the BMA News, or visit the website of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

More hockey successes
Katie Saunders (4SR) and Annabelle Church (4JH) represented Cheshire the U15 team in league matches against Merseyside and North Yorkshire. In the match against Merseyside Katie scored the goal of the match and Annabelle made a number of spectacular saves to help team to a 3-0 win. Annabelle also pulled off several superb saves in the 1-1 draw against North Yorkshire.

Our U16 and U14 boys' teams are now both north west champions after finals during the past week.

Week beginning Monday 14 January

ISFA England selection
Thomas Pearson-Jones (5MP) has been selected to represent the England ISFA squad. The team's first fixture, in December, was a 2-1 win against Shropshire. The next fixture, in February, is against Birmingham City Academy. In April there is to be a tour of Lake Garda, Italy.

County Hockey Champions
The U14 and U16 boys' teams both won their county championship finals at the Belle Vue Hockey Centre in Manchester at the weekend. (View an album of photos.) The teams now go on to play in the north west semi finals.

The u16 girls team came third in their north finals. The squad are through to the both the County Indoor and Outdoor tournaments finals.

Nestlé National U19 Tennis Tournament
Our team of Sean Boyd, Ian Britton, Simon Bate and Patrick Fletcher proceed to the next round after beating Ellesmere College.

If for any reason you can't find what you are looking for have a look in our alphabetical list, or contact us on the following email: info@kingschester.co.uk