Hill & Valley
February 2003
Parish Magazine serving Hurstbourne Priors, Longparish, St Mary Bourne & Woodcott
In the last update in September we spoke of the bid application from the ‘Target Capital Fund’ for the project at the school having to be submitted in December and we were waiting for new guidelines from the Department for Education and Science. These were eventually received late in October and thanks to a joint effort by governors; the architect, John Alexander; the Diocesan Surveyor, Carol Finch and the headteacher, Ros Hobrough, we were able to submit on time. The new guidelines support the concept of multi-use of facilities. This enabled us to make some useful additions to the original plan and to include in the application funding for the playgroup. We should know the outcome by March. We keep our fingers crossed!
John Ellicock
NEWS FROM TESTBOURNE SCHOOL
Testbourne has proved a popular choice for pupils who will be starting secondary school in September. We have received nearly 170 applications for our 140 places in Year 7. In order to be able to offer place to who all those who made Testbourne their first preference, the Governors have agreed to increase the numbers being accepted this year and to make six rather than five tutor groups. This still means that we have had to refuse applications from some families. We regret having to do this but in doing so have borne in mind our wish to maintain reasonable class sizes. The Governors will be meeting to discuss if we should seek to continue this increased number on roll and if so what the numbers should be and how we can comfortably accommodate them. We could be in for some interesting meetings ahead!
Our Science facilities have definitely seen better times so we were delighted to hear from the LEA that two of our labs stand a good chance of complete refurbishment in the new financial year. They have been included in a county bid for New Deals for Schools funding. Initial plans have already been drawn up and we hope to have the final go ahead in March. If decisions go our way we should have two state of the art labs for pupils to work in from September.
For the first time we have taken the plunge and entered the Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition. This is a national competition, organised by the Citizenship Foundation, which aims to introduce young people to the workings of the legal system. Our team of 12 pupils, from Years Eight and Nine, will be playing a full range of roles, including prosecution and defence lawyers, witnesses and magistrates. We have already begun preparation and will be competing against other local schools in the first heat, in Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, on Saturday March 15th. It is proving quite an intense, but fun, learning curve for all of us. We’ll let you know how we get on!
PLAYGROUP VANDALISED
Longparish Playgroup were very disappointed to discover that vandals had broken a window in the portacabin. This occurred over the Christmas holidays, and it is sad that destruction of a facility for small children could occur at such a time. This means that staff have had to work extremely hard to ensure that there is no glass remaining in the building to harm the 3 and 4 year olds that attend, taking time out from their own Christmas break to do so. In addition the Playgroup have had to spend in excess of £70 to repair the damage, money it cannot afford and will ensure that extra fundraising will have to take place to replace it. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Andover Glass for their prompt and helpful assistance. If you have any information on the above incident please contact Maggie Barber 720459 or Crimestoppers.
Major Lanoe Hawker V.C.
Those who are interested in Longparish Church will probably have noticed the window dedicated to Hawker V.C. While watching a programme called “Dogfight – The Mystery of the Red Baron” on Channel 4 on Sunday, 22nd December, I was surprised to see on film the last dogfight between von Richthofen and Major Hawker.
Major Lanoe Hawker was born in Longparish on 31st December 1890 at Homecroft, which is the house behind the Old Curacy. His grandparents owned Longparish House estate. He took out 24 Squadron RFC to France in February 1916 as Squadron Commander.
Von Richthofen’s combat report reads as follows:
“1500 hours, south of Bapaume
Vickers one-seater plane lying near Bapaume
Occupant – Major Hawker – dead
I attacked, together with two other planes, a Vickers one-seater at 3000 metres altitude. After a long curved flight of 3 to 5 minutes, I had forced down my adversary to 500 metres. He now tried to escape flying to the Front. I pursued and brought him down after 900 shots.”
Lanoe Hawker was already a well known figure, not only to the British but also to the Germans. To have conquered him would have given any German flyer more than a moment of acclamation.
Gillian Goddard
