News Michaelmas term: Week 4 28th September 2018 A note from the Deputy Head of School After a relaxing Exeat I am glad to see everyone continue to work hard and get involved. This week has seen the Year 9 boys go on a team building trip to Pembrokeshire and the commencement of auditions for the Senior Play. In sport there was a very successful trip for the rowers to Germany and a winning start to the cross country season as well as our regular block of rugby fixtures. We have also seen a promising outlook for the football season with regional representation on the cards. I would like to wish all students the best for the coming week! Top stories Adam Taylor, Deputy Head of School PEMBROKESHIRE TRIP A TRIUMPH FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF ALIKE Tuesday 18th September 2018 saw 77 Yr 9 boys and 7 staff embark on the journey to Pwll Caerog Farm in Pembrokeshire (near St David s) for three days of exciting activities and peer bonding. The boys got the chance to take part in some challenging activities such as coasteering and surfing together with walking a section of the wild Pembrokeshire coast and mud runs. The weather this year proved to be our biggest challenge with winds of 65mph and torrential rain on several occasions. Parts of our schedule had to be altered; sea-kayaking was cancelled due to the huge seas and coasteering was moved to The Blue Lagoon near Abereiddi which was deemed to be a bit more sheltered; though you wouldn t think so looking at the pictures! The wind throughout Wednesday and Thursday afternoon was too strong for board surfing, resulting in three groups learning how to body-surf. As usual, the food provided by the wonderful Celtic Camping staff was delicious and plentiful; very welcome after a day of energetic activities. The accommodation - dormitory bunkhouse style at the farm - gave the boys the chance to make new friends within their year group. The activities led by the TYF staff were mentally and physically challenging, promoted team work and were highly enjoyable. Overcoming fears, showing resilience, leading and motivating team mates were just some of the qualities that blossomed during this trip. A great time was had by all and memories of the experiences shared, amazing weather and beautiful scenery will stay with us forever. I would like to add my sincere thanks to Miss Fowler, the Reverend Swartz, Mrs Parr, Mrs Wynne-Lord, Callum Basset-Jones and Max Richards for all their help and support in making this trip so successful.
THE SENIOR PLAY - OUTSTANDING AUDITIONS LEAD TO DOUBLE THE ENTERTAINMENT! This year s Senior Play has turned into a double-bill of original drama, almost overnight! Mr Shakeshaft, Drama Teacher and Writer-in-Residence at Monmouth School for Boys, penned When the Good Guys Lost over the summer so that the Senior Play auditions and rehearsals could get underway this September. However the auditions proved to be even more popular than in previous years and Mr Shakeshaft quickly made the decision that he didn t want any of the students dramatic talent to go to waste; It s a terrible thing to have to say no to someone after they ve auditioned for a part, be it in the professional world or here at school, but this year it would have been almost criminal! The quality of the students auditions and their eagerness to be involved in the project left me with only one real option... write another play! Thus a brand new play, Not Gonna Lie... was written, in the space of a week, in order to allow for all of the 6th Form Students from Monmouth School for Boys and Monmouth School for Girls who auditioned, to take part. The two new plays entitled, When the Good Guys Lost and Not Gonna Lie... will have their World premieres during the summer term and students will begin rehearsals as soon as they receive their scripts this coming week. I ve always thought that the rehearsal process for these plays is the most exciting part, added Mr Shakeshaft, particularly when you are dealing with an entirely new text. We have so much freedom and the students get to make a part entirely their own, as there is no template to work from. This is the seventh year of The Senior Play and, from the sound of it, it s going from strength to strength! Good luck (or much leg-breaking ) to all of those students involved. CROSS COUNTRY REPORT - BRECON LEAGUE SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE The school travelled to Brecon High School on a stunning Tuesday afternoon to compete in the first round of the Brecon League. Our Junior section (Years 7-9) look particularly strong this year and did not disappoint. Will (Year 9) established himself in the front group of 3 that also contained Welsh Schools XC champion, Jack from Gwernyfed, closely followed by a pack of 5 containing 4 boys from Monmouth. On the second of the two one mile laps, Harry (Year 7) showed his class to break away from the second group and close on the leading three. In an exciting finish to the race, Harry, who undoubtedly produced the performance of the day for Monmouth, finished 2nd. A rejuvenated Will with a terrific finishing burst claimed 3rd, closely followed by the Year 8 duo of Henry in 5th and Oliver in 6th to give Monmouth an emphatic team win. With official results not yet to hand, our B team of Rhys, Gwyndaf, Arthur and Kit in 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th may well have finished 2nd, illustrating our tremendous strength in depth. In the Senior race (Years 10-13), the experience of our Sixth Formers shone through in a tough 3 lap race against some quality opposition. Robbie in 6th led the team home with a rare win over the gutsy George in 7th. Antony in 10th and Ieuan in 11th completed the scoring 4 with a special mention to Josh (Year 10) who ran a strong race to finish 12th. Archive photo from the first race of the season The next round takes place in Crickhowell on Tuesday, 1st October.
KAYAKING TRIUMPHS FOR ARCHIE AND WILL Huge congratulations to Will & Archie who have had a very successful Summer kayaking. Both boys were selected for the Pan Celtic Championships at Holme Pierre Pont, & unexpectedly the Welsh teams won both the Junior 14 & Junior 12 events. This was particularly pleasing as they were competing against English teams composed of boys who were older, with more experience & much further up the National rankings than the Welsh teams. To follow this up; Will has been selected for the Welsh Talent squad, which will offer more intensive training in a squad of 12 paddlers ranging in age from 13 to 17 and Archie won the Junior (12 & 13 year olds) Welsh Championships at Bala. Archie s next stop is the British Championships where he is hoping to defend his age group title. Well done boys, and good luck in future events! CHARITY 5K RAISES A GRAND FOR TY HAFAN Well done to Nick, Rudy and Alistair who travelled to Paris last week to take part in a 5K run in aid of Ty Hafan Childrens Hospice. The three boys did exceptionally well, stuck together and looked out for each other all the way round the course. To date they have raised an amazing 1,090.00 for their charity. Well done boys! KREFELD REGATTA REPORT - AMAZING WIN FOR THE COXED FOURS IN GERMANY A group of five sixth formers travelled to Germany last weekend to race in the Crefelder Ruderclub Reibekuche Regatta. They raced against some very tough competition from some of Germany s top clubs and came away with a win in Senior Coxed Fours. Thanks to the rowing club for the loan of boats and especially to the Pfennig family for their extraordinary hospitality and kindness in looking after all of us for three days at their home in Dusseldorf.
RUGBY NEWS - IMPROVEMENT AGAINST ST PETERS AND THE 1ST XV TIE With it being an exeat weekend, many teams were without games for this weekend. However many teams were lucky enough to get a game either on the Wednesday, Thursday or the Friday. The U13 A and B teams played on the Wednesday afternoon. The A team were unlucky losers to powerful opposition, with a score line of 25-10. The B team put in a good performance and out played their opponents with a 40-0 win. The U15 A team played at home on the Thursday against a very strong looking St Peters side. Monmouth played some good rugby and completely dominated their opponents with a huge 41-22 victory over their opponents. The Friday night was a big night for both schools, as the 1st XV and the U12 s travelled to Cinderford rugby club to play the St Peters side. With some good games in the U12 years, the A team unfortunately lost 45-10 to strong opposition, however the B team won a close game 40-30. The 1st XV played an enjoyable game under the lights at Cinderford. Both teams started the game well with 2 penalties for each team leaving the score at 6-6. Sloppy defence from Monmouth meant that St. Peter s were able to score from close in and convert, to make the game 13-6. Then came an outstanding solo try from Will as he picked up the ball on their half way line, and ran through four St Peters defenders to go over in the corner. A good conversion from Gethin put us level. The game then became much tighter with both teams looking to get the win. St Peters were piling on the pressure and were able to break through for a second try, this time without conversion. It was then the turn of Gethin to score a good solo try, with kicks through allowing him to ground the ball over the line but the difficult conversion was then missed. The game became level at 18-18. This is how the game finished. An improved performance from Monmouth gave plenty to be positive about for our cup game against Bryanstone next week.
PROMISING FOOTBALLER PICKED FOR REGIONAL SQUAD A promising teenager has been selected for the Independent Schools Football Association s (ISFA) South Under-16s representative squad. Monmouth School for Boys student, Seb, will feature against Essex Schools at Chigwell School on Sunday 14th October after impressing in trials at Eton College. Seb was selected for Newport County Under 15s Academy last season and enjoyed a successful tour in the Czech Republic. The attacking player was also part of Monmouth School for Boys Under-15 team which was unbeaten during the last campaign and finished third in the National Schools Football Performance League for independent schools. I am extremely proud of Seb s footballing progress, said Master in Charge of Football at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Mark Tamplin. If Seb continues to work hard and puts in a performance of which he is capable, I am sure that he will push for a place in the full ISFA national team.
Live Theatre on Stage: Monday 1st October The Trench 7pm COMING UP AT THE BLAKE THEATRE Olivier Award nominated Les Enfants Terribles bring their signature style of visual storytelling to the stage with their First World War epic, The Trench; blending live music, puppetry and physical performance for this special centenary production. The Trench is inspired by the true story of a miner who became entombed underground in a collapsed tunnel during World War One. As the horror threatens to engulf him, he finds that not everything in the darkness is what it seems. From the creators of The Terrible Infants, Alice s Adventures Underground and The Vaudevillains. SHOW DETAILS: Recommendation- Suitable for ages 10+ Running Time 75 minutes (no interval) Front Of House Warning the show involves special effects, including strobe lighting and haze. Tickets Adults 18, Concessions 15 Click here to see all of our news stories on the website. Calendar Dates: Fri 28 September Sat 29 September Sun 30 September Mon 1 October Tue 2 October Wed 3 October Thur 4 October Year 8 Geography field trip. Depart 8.45am, return 4pm CCF Final Qualification and Welsh Championships (Sennybridge) Depart 9am (to 30 September, 5.30pm) Deadline for Oxbridge Aptitude Tests (MAT, HAT, BMAT, PAT, TSA etc.) applications. 12pm Deadline for Year 12 applications for Monmouth Enterprise Initiative to Head of Sixth Form 2pm Year 9 Inter-House Ergos: Monmouth and Severn (Boathouse) 4.15pm - 5.15pm William Jones Society (Drama Studio) Boarders Activity: 6.30pm Cinema (Newport) Rugby: v. Bristol Grammar School: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, U13A, B & C XVs (A) Lunch 12.30pm, Depart 12.45pm KO 2.30pm U16A & B, U15A & B, U14A & B XVs (H) KO 2.30pm U12A, B & C XVs (H) KO 1.30pm Canoe Club: Cardiff International White Water trip. Depart 9.20am, return 3.20pm 10.15am Chapel: MB Boarders Boarders Activity: 12noon Juniors: @Bristol 12noon Seniors: Chinese Supermarket 5pm Chapel: MG Service Year 7 Monnow Valley Medieval History trip (Longtown Castle, Belmont Abbey, White Castle) Depart 8.45am, return 3.45pm 7pm Year 9 English and Years 10-13 Drama students: The Trench (Blake Theatre) 6.30pm 7.30pm Year 7 Parents Social Evening (Dean and Wye Houses) 8pm Boarders Joint Social: Year 9 (Weirhead House) Cross-country: Brecon League #2 (Crickhowell) Rugby: v. Abberley Hall Preparatory School: U13A & U12C (H) KO 2.30pm Rugby: v. Millfield Preparatory School: U12A & B (H) KO 2.30pm 1.30pm ALIS Test: Year 12 Group 1 (COM1 and COM2) 4.15pm Sedgwick Society: Joint Sixth Form Discussion and Dinner (MG Chapel) 7.30pm - 9.15pm Boarders Pool Inflatable Session (Sports Complex) Swimming: MB/MG v. Bristol Grammar School: U18, U15, U13 (H) 4.15pm