Hats off to our new Year 7s, taking to the Parade Square for the first time today! The 11 year olds have practised marching for just a few short weeks and performed brilliantly, applauded by their peers as well as friends, family and school staff. Dressed in the ceremonial Blues uniform, the year group celebrated by throwing their hats in the air afterwards by the statue of General Gordon on the Front Field.
Harvest donations on display in the Chapel today for the Harvest Festival Services on Sunday before and after the Parade (9.45am and 11am) and 6pm for Evensong. The donations will be given to the West End and Bisley Food Bank as well as the Woking Foodbank. Thank you to all those who have supported these charities with your donations.
Double success for Owen Knight who has been shortlisted for both a national and international academic awards on engineering! The Year 11 student entered the Oxbright and the Immerse essay competitions, his parents only finding out about his intention to apply when they were asked to proof read his documents! For both, he researched and wrote 500 words. For Oxbright about plastics and global warning and how chemical engineers are coming up with solutions such as starch-based polymers, and for Immerse, why creativity is the most important aspect for engineers in the future. Now studying for GCSEs, Owen is hoping to continue his passion for engineering at university – “From a young age I have always wanted to know how things worked and this is the perfect field for it”.
He is a member of the school’s MUN, a Junior Prefect and Right Hand Marker for Parades, combining this with performing in lead roles in school drama productions, “I just find time for every single bit and just get it done”, he says.
More ammunition for Angus’ Army as boarding houses across the school put their creative talents to the test to produce banners to spur on the team running in the Oxford Half Marathon this weekend. Sandringham House staff Tom Webb, Max Roffey and Matt Boote, together with students Frank, Sam and Will, will be running in aid of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The charity is close to their hearts as Angus, one of the students in Sandringham House, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma over the Summer holidays and has been receiving his chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden in Sutton. Angus’s parents will also be taking on the challenge. Students across the school have pledged their support with brightly coloured banners and donations to the Justgiving page. Further donations can be made here - https://www.justgiving.com/page/1691765396285?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2F1691765396285&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share
Navy Cadets on their Field Day to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard today, while Army Cadets are closer to home at Hawley. As part of their Field Day, the Navy have also enjoyed the opportunity to tour the harbour. The Army Cadets have been building rafts and testing them out on the water.
Her sailing has taken her across Europe this Summer competing in international sailing competitions and more recently selector events, culminating in an Open Qualifier at Paignton. Now Sixth Form student Kaitlyn Wyatt has been selected for the ILCA 6 British Youth Sailing Performance Squad for 2023-4 – the highest level in ICLA Youth sailing. One of only eight to have made it, Kaitlyn was informed by the selection committee that she demonstrated potential through the process suggesting that with hard work, she could achieve success at the highest level in Youth and Olympic sailing. Congratulations Kaitlyn!
Two home wins for the First and Second VII netball teams, competing in the first rounds of national competitions. In the Independent Schools Netball Cup against Putney High the First Team scored 38-32. For the Second VII against Downe House in Sister n Sport, the score was 39-27. Congratulations both.
A clean sweep in four national golf events for Gordon’s golfers. The B Team won 3-0 in the first round of the national Independent School Golf Association (ISGA) Singles Knockout against Hurtwood House. In the National Schools Golf competition, competing against 70 golfers from across the South of England yesterday, four golfers were in the top ten of the scratch event with victories in the individual scratch and stableford competitions and the Team event. Congratulations all – a great start to the season!
For the third year in a row, Khartoum House has clinched the boys' cross country running. The event, the first of this year's Inter-House challenges, saw the boys in burgundy make the top three of every year group running with first places achieved by Year 8s, 9s and 11s. Tomorrow the girls take to the Back Field for their cross country event.
Her compelling story of a child experiencing the Ukrainian War, made it to the top 60 out of 600, in the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University. Kate Brazendale (pictured above in her role as Mary Poppins in the school production) said: “I chose the topic of the Ukrainian war because I wanted to put myself in the shoes of a child growing up in such a tragic situation. I wrote this in the mist of the war in March when the news was full of headlines about it and I thought it would be a great topic to research". To read her story, please click here.
Congratulations to the U14 cricket team, winners of the Surrey Schools’ Cricket Association Cup Final - for the second year in a row! Gordon’s scored 101/6 in the final against Kingsdale’s 99/7.
The importance Gordon’s places on oracy in the curriculum has led to a national award from the English Speaking Union. The School has been Highly Commended for the Oracy Culture Award. New Year 7 students are currently taking part in a Talk The Talk Workshop to develop their oracy skills and academic activities such as LAMDA, MUN (Model United Nations); debating and public speaking have grown in popularity and success.
