What's new
Destination Morocco - Mission
Accomplished Fourteen young
people and five staff from
The expedition involved working in the village school of this rural village building a playground shelter and also refurbishing a classroom and converting into a soft play area and sports room. In addition the pupils took with them over fifty football shirts from various league clubs to distribute to the young people of Imlil who are very keen on the game. The shirts had been donated by pupils from New Eccles and local primary schools. Having completed the community project, the pupils and staff trekked up Mt. Toubkal for two days, reaching 3,800 metres - just 340 metres short of the summit. Before returning to school, the party enjoyed two days in Marrakech.
“This project just proves New Eccles Hall is more than just a school. These young people have had the experience of a lifetime in Morocco but, more than that, they have learnt so much over the last eighteen months which will help them in their future lives; travel planning, fundraising, logistics, presentations and fitness to name just a few areas they have been involved in.” remarked Headmaster Mr. Richard Allard. “We, the whole school and the parents, are rightly proud of all they have achieved and the positive impressions they left in Imlil and Morocco.” he added.
Prizegiving
Pupils, parents, staff and friends of
Year 7 Visit to London On Tuesday 6th July Year 7 went on a class outing to London. The coach trip took them to Westminster pier where they caught the riverboat to Greenwich Maritime Museum which took them past many of the sights of London including the London Eye, Festival Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Of London and Tower Bridge. There was an excellent commentary all the way. A picnic was taken on arrival at Greenwich. There was plenty of time to look around the Maritime Museum and then walk up to the Royal Observatory. It was a great day out in the capital enjoyed by pupils and staff alike.
Gigspanner at send off party for Destination
On 24th June folk group Gigspanner led by Peter Knight
of Steeleye Span provided the music for the party to wish Destination
11 pupils from years
8-11 volunteered to join this walking trip to the Brecon Beacons accompanied
by Deputy Head, Paul Beddoe and two staff, Mary Jack and Trish Newman.
On Thursday they travelled to the Youth Hostel at
Llandeussant near the On Friday in brilliant
hot sunshine and almost cloudless skies we started our 6 hour walk around
the central Brecon Beacons from the Neuadd reservoirs south of the range.
Lunch was eaten on the summit, Pen y Fan at 2907 feet in glorious sunshine
with dramatic views in all directions. A brilliant day was had by all in
marvellous scenery.
Saturday brought more excellent weather for our seven
hour walk around the
Sunday sadly brought the return journey back to
school, but an excellent weekend was had by all in the breathtaking
countryside of the
My Money Competition Pupils, mainly in Year 8 and Year 9, had an opportunity
to enter the following competition: ‘What money means to me’ was a
competition for secondary pupils linked Ramsey Featherstone achieved a Highly Commended. Will Utting was selected as a Finalist. Molly Doig was selected as a Finalist. Lucia Bounds
was selected as a Finalist Go to the My Money National Competition gallery, where you can find the crème de la crème of over 6,000 entries, including the 4 entries above. http://www.mymoneyonline.org/resources/competition/gallery
Eighteen months
ago, fourteen pupils and five staff commenced a project to raise £16,500 to
organise a community project in the village of Imlil located in the
foothills of the High Atlas Mountains, two hours’ drive south of Marrakech.
With hard work and plenty of imagination, the Destination Morocco Team have
not only raised the target figure but, by the time they depart in late June,
will have surpassed it by more than four thousand pounds. On Saturday 15th
May, the team organised a Family Fun Day in the grounds of the school.
Plenty of stalls were available for visitors; cakes, raffle, jumble in
addition to activities such as clay pigeon shooting, pistols and archery.
The climbing wall was open for visitors as was the low ropes course. The
event raised a total of £850 and was a fine example of teamwork with support
from parents, pupils and staff. Once in
May 2010 Duke of E The
first part of the Summer Term has been the expedition season for both Bronze
and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s award participants.
Over the weekend of 23-25 April both groups went out
on practice expeditions near the The silver groups have
to walk over a distance of 30 miles over three days with the Bronze groups
covering over 15 miles in two days. All came equipped with
rucksacks and all the gear they needed to be self-sufficient for the
weekend. Most of the participants showed good skills, but for some the
Practice Expedition provides an opportunity to check their skills and learn
from further training. Two weeks later the
assessment weekend took place in Suffolk over 7-9 May in the beautiful
countryside near Long Melford and Lavenham. The weather was cool throughout
with Saturday being a real struggle through continuous drizzle! Trying
conditions, but good experience nevertheless. The assessor, Mr. Paul
Chamberlain met all the groups to check their navigation, camping and
cooking skills and generally his report was very favourable. Participants returned
from both weekends tired, aching and some with blisters, but knowing that
they had all worked very hard and really satisfied with their achievements. Many thanks go to Mr.
Harris, Mr. Beddoe and all the staff volunteers who year by year ensure that
D of E remains a strong element of the curriculum at Eccles Hall.
Improvements to French Centre in St. Bonnet de Montauroux, France
The school centre in St. Bonnet de Montauroux, deep in the Auvergne region
of France, has undergone a facelift during the Easter holidays. The exterior
window frames, doors and shutters have all been decorated. In addition an
emergency lighting system has been installed on all floors, together with
new laundry equipment. If that was not enough the working party managed to
carry out some tree clearing in the back garden leading down to the river
and decorate two of the bedrooms. During the coming term, three form groups
will be visiting the centre and using it as a base to explore the region and
carry out field trips linked to the school curriculum.
Morocco Expedition Advance Party Four Students; David Addison, Alex Reed, Robert Spooner, James Thurston, ventured to Morocco along with two staff, Mr. Paul Chamberlain and Mr. Sean Simington to make final checks on for the Destination Morocco Community Project and Trek which will take place in late June 2010 with a much larger party of pupils and staff. This advance party visited Imlil a village which is the starting point for the climb up Mt Toubkal the highest mountain in the High Atlas Mountains in North Africa. In Imlil the pupils presented their plans for the community project to the Headmaster and Parents of the village school. They will be building a playground shelter and refurbishing a classroom and converting it into a soft play area for the younger children. In addition to the presentation the group walked on the route for the trekking and visited the sights of Marrakech. “This will be the trip of a lifetime for our young students” remarked Mr. Paul Chamberlain one of the team leaders. “They have been involved at all stages including raising the £20,000 to carry out the expedition.”
Year 8 French Trip,
17-24 March
The first of two Year 8 French Trips left school on 17th
March. The party led by Mr. Beddoe, accompanied by Mrs. Durrant and Mr.
Collar, flew into Next day we moved on north to the French House, but first
visiting the spectacular Pont du Gard. Arriving late, but in good heart and
relieved to find no snow we settled into the French house at St. Bonnet set
in the volcanic landscape of the A good week was had by all, accompanied by excellent weather. Academic work was carried out in good spirit in the House and visits were made to a working textile museum, a local farm, a bowling centre, to La Vierge et L’Enfant, which overlooks from a great height Le Puy en Velay, and to its thoroughly moving Cathedral. Helping in the kitchen, playing football in the local square, swimming in the river at Goudet and a lovely walk to Le Cascade de Beaumes, where a few dared themselves in the freezing waters, were amongst a whole range of activities in a fun packed week.
Le Nord de La
|
to My Money Week a financial
education initiative funded by the Dept for Children, Schools and families. The competitions aimed to get pupils engaged in personal finance education
in a new, wholly original and exciting way: by combining their knowledge of
personal finance with their opinions on the value and importance of money.
They then produced a piece of artwork to represent their knowledge and
opinions.
in the Independent Schools Association National Cross Country Championships
which were held at 
have just completed a project for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice at
Quidenham. This fund raising initiative involved presenting a case to
various organizations, including Norwich Union Aviva, to encourage their
employees to bring in their old mobile telephones which will then be
recycled with the proceeds, approx £4.00 each going towards the Quidenham
Children’s Hospice. The project involved the two students in formally
presenting their appeal to the Directors of Aviva and organizing the
collection bins and advertising information. The pupils managed to collect
over 100 handsets during their campaign. Not only will the charity benefit
from the efforts of these young people but Daniel and Patrick have also
gained much from the experience. 