We had a really enjoyable time at our Presentation Evening on Thursday 11 th November, when our ex-Year 11 pupils returned to collect their GCSE certificates. This year we were delighted that certificates and prizes were presented by Jodie Scheckter, the 1979 Formula One world Racing Champion, very successful business man, owner of Laverstoke Park, which he has turned into a high quality organic estate. He was able to give pupils the benefit of his own wide experience and excellent advice on the virtues of hard work and always aiming for the best. Special prizes were awarded to Chris Walker, Sophie Bliss and Roxanne Turner for outstanding GCSE results and to Vicky Pitchell for her excellent work at BCOT on the Work-Related Learning link course.
REMEMBRANCE ASSEMBLY
A group of Year 10 pupils took responsibility for our Remembrance Day Assembly this year. They had all recently visited the Belgian Battlefields with the History department and were able to read their own diaries from their trip alongside the diary entries of actual soldiers who had fought in the trenches. It was a poignant and thought-provoking assembly ~ made even more so by Tom Egan's playing of the Last Post. We were also represented at the Annual Remembrance Sunday Service and Parade at the War Memorial Park by our Head Boy and Head Girl, Tom Hodgson and Vicky Ferguson, who laid a wreath on behalf of the school.
SYNAGOGUE VISIT
All our pupils follow a short course GCSE RE in Years 10 and 11 ~ and more than 30 of them choose to stay after school in their own time each week so that they complete the full GCSE course. As part of their studies, the Year 10 group recently visited the Reading Synagogue. One of the pupils described the purpose of the trip as “so we could appreciate what Jewish people believe”. Pupils found it useful and interesting in helping them understand more at first hand about the practices and festivals of another world religion.
SHOE BOX APPEAL
Pupils have again shown their generosity by collecting 65 shoe boxes as part of the Operation Christmas Child Appeal. These boxes will be soon on their way to bring a little cheer to children in orphanages in Romania.
JOIN OUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
This year we will again be holding a Testbourne Carol Service in All Hallows Church. All members of the community are invited to join us at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 14 th December 2004.
A reminder that on Saturday, December 4 th , we plan to clear the second half of the boundary hedge. Volunteers are very welcome. We generally work from 10:30am until 1pm. Wear old clothes suitable for the time of year and boots and gloves. Tools are provided; if, however, you wish to bring your own, loppers, rakes and hand-saws are useful.
Paul Knipe tel: 720713
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OUR WEBSITE WINS TOP AWARD
The Longparish web team down in Forton has good reason to celebrate because www.longparish.org.uk was selected as Hampshire's top Town or Parish website in the Hantsweb Awards 2004 on 9 th November 2004. It was well deserved as the Longparish website perfectly fulfils the criteria of local community involvement and an up-to-date, helpful service.
Through the unstinting contributions of David Gould, webmaster, Fiona Gould website manager, and Jeremy Barber, Longparish Parish Council chairman in providing and inputting current information our website is a great source of information about our village. They are helped by other contributors and would welcome further additions to the site.
The Parish Plan survey showed that the website is the village's third most favoured means of communication, after the printed version of Hill & Valley and bumping into friends in the Acre Stores. It is also visited by friends, relatives and former residents - as far afield as the United States and Russia – who keep in touch through the web.
Cheryl Dowler
The Happiest Days of your Life
This vintage farce was a happy choice for the first production of the newly formed Longparish Players on November 12 th & 13th and was much enjoyed by Friday's audience. The cast created a convincing set for the masters' Common Room of Hilary Hall, which was thrown into confusion by having a girls' school, St.Swithins, evacuated to the same building.
Andrea Hulme, the director, elicited some fine performances from her cast of 13, which included both experienced players and novices. Chairman, Andrew Smith, and Jerry Flynn-Williams made a convincing pair of schoolmasters together with their headmaster, played by Paul Costelloe. Sandra Jones was a commanding presence as the headmistress, supported by Andrea Harris as the terrifyingly wholesome games mistress and Sandy Lelliott as an attractive, young teacher. Martin Hulme convulsed the audience as the respectful but put-upon caretaker. Katharine Graham and Nick Jolliffe made promising débuts as manipulative pupils and two sets of visiting parents played by Jeremy Barber & Christian Dryden and John Procter & Jo Pennefather-Neal were well contrasted.
We look forward to more entertaining productions from this new group. It is a treat to have local live entertainment in our own hall.. Mary Jo Darrah
Does anyone know a cottage called Chestant Trent in Longparish, pictured in Reading University archives? MJD