The RP Weekly: 1 October 2021
The weekly digital newsletter from Rydal Penrhos School.
The RP Weekly
1 October 2021
Open Morning 2021
Event a huge success!
It was fantastic to see so many prospective pupils and their families descend on Rydal Penrhos for a special Open Morning event on Saturday 25 September.
Teaching and support staff worked tirelessly behind the scenes ahead of the occasion, which was a roaring success and showcased the exceptional professionalism across the school.
Upon arriving on-site, those in attendance were given a warm welcome by staff before being taken on a tour, which began by taking in some of the early rehearsals for the upcoming Dramatic Society production of Matilda the Musical.
There was a host of things for visitors to enjoy at the Open Morning, with pupils taking part in some exciting activities in Science, Art, Design Technology and English.
Exhibitions were set up in the Memorial Quad for anyone wishing to find out more about Rydal Penrhos’ Sailing, Combined Cadet Force or Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, with the newly refurbished Fitness Suite on display after being completely renovated throughout the summer.
Those interested in Pre-School-Year 6 were taken on tours featuring Year 7 pupils, with activities in areas such as Forest School, Art, Music, and Gymnastics in the School Hall.
Following the tours, there was a chance to speak with key staff including Executive Principal John Waszek, Deputy Principals Phil Sutton and Lucy Davies, as well as the school’s Admissions team on the next steps to becoming a member of the Rydal Penrhos family.
The event was documented on the school’s social media accounts and centred on two Rydal Penrhos Bears going for a tour of their own across the stunning campus.
Cricket
Rydal Penrhos to host Cricket Wales/Glamorgan CCC coaching event
Rydal Penrhos has a long-standing history of cricketing success, with many pupils going on to play professionally and gain international youth honours thanks to their outstanding development.
Not only this, but the school has also formed strong links with prestigious organisations such as Cricket Wales and Marylebone Cricket Club for good measure.
The school’s incredible sporting facilities have regularly hosted Welsh youth cricket internationals in recent years, and a special coaching event will take place at Rydal Penrhos on Saturday 13 November in partnership with Cricket Wales and Glamorgan County Cricket Club.
The Coaching CPD Day will run from 10.00am-5.00pm and is set to cover a number of topics from the disciplines of batting, bowling, fielding and wicket-keeping to athletic development and talent identification.
Whilst the coaching line-ups are still to be confirmed, attendees can look forward to seeing the likes of Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace, Western Storm and Welsh Fire Women’s head coach Mark O’Leary, Cricket Wales head of talent pathway Matt Thompson, Glamorgan’s head of women & girls’ Elite Pathway Aimee Rees and head of talent development Richard Almond.
ECB talent identification lead David Court is hoping to be available for one session also.
The aim of the days are simply to provide coaches up and down the country with a refresher of technical, tactical and practical coaching content that can be applied throughout the Welsh cricketing pathway, from club level, to regional cricket and County Age Group cricket.
Coaches do not need to be a certain level of qualification to attend, and places are free of charge at each venue.
Anyone wishing to book their place free of charge at the event can do so online here. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our wonderful school for what should be a very informative day.
Founders' Weekend
A reunion to remember!
Thomas Osborn, who founded Rydal School (as Rydal Mount School) in 1885, and Frederick Payne, the key benefactor to Penrhos College, were commemorated in a service in St John’s Methodist Church on Friday 10 September at Rydal Penrhos to kick-off this year’s Founders’ Weekend.
In the service, Reverend Dr Rob Beamish, the school’s Chaplain, spoke about the tripod of past, present, and future in upholding the school’s values. Head Girl Shruthi Ganapthi read from 7 Matthew, ‘a wise man who built his house on the rock’ and Head Boy Arthur Hind from an account of the history of Rydal Penrhos.
In the afternoon pupils, staff, and parents gathered together in the Memorial Hall for Speech Day.
Prizes were presented by Jo Marston, who also delivered an insightful and personal speech. Outgoing Heads of School Richard Wolfendale and Anna Parry-Williams spoke on the importance of embracing every moment, and Gwyn Davies gave an emotive rendition of the third movement of Klengel’s ‘Cello Concertino in C’.
Saturday saw Old Boys and Girls compete with current pupils for the Natalie Kate Moss trophies in hockey and netball. We were delighted by the number of alumni who joined us for these fixtures, either to play or to cheer the players on.
Results were as follows:
- Girls’ hockey: School
- Boys’ hockey: Rydal Dragons (Old Boys)
- Girls’ netball: Old Girls
The trophies were donated by the family of Natalie Kate Moss, a Rydal Penrhos pupil between 1996 and 2003.
Natalie tragically died at the age of 26 of a brain haemorrhage and in her memory, her family set up the Natalie Kate Moss (NKM) Trust, which partners with the University of Manchester, where Natalie studied, to fund groundbreaking research into the prevention and treatment of brain haemorrhages, as well as supporting those who suffer brain injuries through their studies.
Please do consider making a donation to the Natalie Kate Moss Trust. You can donate here.
Competing for Natalie’s trophy was a particularly special moment for the Old Girls who had played netball with Natalie when she was a pupil. The President of the Rydal Penrhos Society, Guy Watson, presented the trophies.
Players and supporters then ate lunch together in the Dining Room, and in the evening festivities continued at the Rydal Penrhos Society Dinner, held on school premises for the first time in its history.
One common lesson united the activities – to honour the school’s past while looking to its future.
Alumni
Rob completes gruelling charity marathon
It proved to be an amazing occasion featuring former Rydal Penrhos pupil Rob Lloyd, who returned to the school on Friday 24 September for the latest in a series of daunting charity challenges.
Rob attended Rydal School from 1976 to 1981 and the 26-mile marathon along the North Wales coast forms part of a year-long fundraising enterprise to raise funds for Sense – a national disability charity that supports people living with complex disabilities, including the deafblind, empowering them to experience the world in ways that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Plenty of staff and pupils were in attendance as Rob began his marathon at the Haley Memorial Pavilion on New Field. He ran the first mile with pupils young and old before setting off along Colwyn Bay, up the Great Orme in Llandudno before returning to Rydal Penrhos later in the afternoon.
For the final part of Rob’s marathon, he was joined by pupils in Years 3-6 and was given a hero’s reception by the school’s staff upon completing another impressive feat.
Representatives from Sense were in attendance to hand medals to the pupils following the marathon, with Ella and Harrison also getting the opportunity to be interviewed by Rob Shelley from ITV Wales News for a feature on their 6pm broadcast.
In 2019, shortly after having run the London Marathon, Rob was diagnosed with lymphoma and was admitted to Glan Clwyd Hospital, where he received nine months of chemotherapy treatment.
Since then, Rob has helped to set up 20 charity shops in Wales and began this fundraising drive last March with a non-stop, six-hour stationary bike ride outside the Llandudno Sense shop.
Other challenges have included a James Bond-style skydiving stunt and an SAS boot camp in the Brecon Beacons – and Rob has raised more than £50,000 so far.
This was a wonderful occasion for an exceptionally worthy cause. We were proud to play a small part in it and everyone at Rydal Penrhos would like to congratulate Rob and a phenomenal accomplishment.
Anyone wishing to sponsor Rob and his ongoing fundraising efforts can do so here.
Music
Amber writes and performs first song!
We are fortunate to have a wealth of talented musicians and performing artists across every year group at Rydal Penrhos.
This freedom to flourish outside of a typical classroom environment is something the school’s teaching staff actively encourage, which has seen our pupils go on to achieve great things as they progress through their education and in later life.
Our pupils benefit enormously from the tutelage they receive from Pete Williams, the school’s Director of Music and an immensely gifted performer himself with a deep passion for educating and allowing each pupil to find their voice.
Another fine example of this was shared by the department recently. Amber England-Bryant, who is a Year 9 pupil at Rydal Penrhos, has been working exceptionally hard with Mr Williams to write, perform and put together a special song entitled “Forgotten“.
The first stage for Amber was to put the words together before recording the vocals. She then instructed Mr Williams as to what sorts of sounds she wanted in her arrangement.
The staff member then mixed the finished product, which has now been released for the wider school community and beyond to enjoy.
Mr Williams, said: “It’s lovely to share the fact that we have such wonderful talent within the school. Amber has already started to record a second song and has many more written.
“She is deeply passionate about performing and this is something we always look to nurture at Rydal Penrhos. Amber deserves all the credit in the world for his incredible musical efforts and I look forward to seeing her grow throughout the remainder of her education.”
As you can hear for yourself, this is fantastic and we cannot wait to hear what Amber comes up with next!
Skiing
Skiers shine at North Wales Regional Schools Event
It’s been great to see our young sporting stars at Rydal Penrhos taking part in fixtures and competitions again.
This comes after a difficult and disruptive 18 months prior to the new academic year thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, which prevented our pupils from gaining success at events across the region and around the country.
Thankfully, with measures implemented by the Welsh Government easing, pupils are getting back to doing what they love. This has been especially evident within the school’s skiing provision, which has wasted no time in achieving a significant amount in their immediate return to competitive action.
A strong Rydal Penrhos contingent made the short trip to Llandudno’s Snowsports Centre for the North Wales Regional Schools Event, which was rescheduled after the original date was postponed due to COVID-19.
Competing against some of the best young skiers anywhere in the area, Rydal Penrhos representatives rose to the occasion incredibly well in the face of stern competition, coming away with a wealth of medals in various age categories as a result of their outstanding efforts.
Pupils in Years 2-6 turned on the style with a series of impressive runs. As you can see from the results below, they speak for themselves!
- Ella C -1st
- Beatrice B-F – 1st
- Ella F-W – 2nd
- Connie R – 2nd
- Margot G – 1st
- Jack B-F – 1st
- Freddie G – 1st
- Wilfred J – 2nd
- William O – 3rd
- Ethan P – 1st
- Ashton C – 2nd
There was also plenty of cause for celebration within Years 7-13, with plenty of skiers coming away with deserved recognition to round off an exceptional competition for Rydal Penrhos.
- Chay Bonnington – 1st
- Cameron Pye – 1st
- Louis Hollingsworth – 1st
- Jack Dougherty – 1st
- Tom Sinfield – 2nd
- Oakley Calvert – 3rd
This is a remarkable collection of results for the school – we also came away with the team award. We would like to congratulate every pupil that took part and represented Rydal Penrhos in a positive fashion, continuing our rich and proud history of success in skiing competitions across the region and beyond.
Matilda the Musical
Rehearsals underway!
Rydal Penrhos has thrilled audiences in recent years with some Dramatic Society plays and musicals that have enhanced the school's incredible Performing Arts provision.
These productions are always hugely anticipated dates on the calendar each academic year, with the likes of Cabaret and Les Miserables among the notable highlights.
This year's Penrhos Dramatic Society (Years 7-13) production is sure to continue this exceptional trend, with pupils taking on the fantastic Matilda the Musical from 1-3 December.
Matilda is being held a little earlier than usual performances, with the change giving pupils more time to focus on examinations during the spring term and also allowing every year group an opportunity to participate.
Rehearsals for the production are now firmly underway, with the cast now formed by Head of Drama Rachel Jones and other staff following a fantastic showcase of acting prowess during auditions.
Prospective pupils and their families got the chance to see these rehearsals for themselves during the school's recent Open Morning event on Saturday 25 September, with pupils taking to the Memorial Hall stage for the start of their preparations.
Matilda was originally a book created by legendary children’s author Roald Dahl in 1988 before becoming a feature film in 1996 and transformed into a stage musical in 2010.
The story itself centres on Matilda, who shares a home with her parents and brother, who do not appreciate her. When the Principal tortures her and her kind-hearted teacher, she uses her telekinetic powers to settle scores.
This is something everyone associated with Rydal Penrhos is looking forward to. An occasion that was sorely missed on the calendar last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
We would like to wish the best of luck to the pupils and staff involved throughout their rehearsal process.
Alumni
Will begins work with Financial Conduct Authority
We are always delighted to hear about what our former pupils go on to accomplish upon leaving Rydal Penrhos.
Whether it be in the business world, within a sporting environment or whatever career path they choose to go down, the school's staff take a great deal of pride in laying the foundations for their futures.
Events like the recent Founders' Weekend ensure our alumni maintain a close association with the school long after they depart, something they hold close to their hearts after being part of our thriving community for so long.
This is much more than the exceptional examination results and extra-curricular opportunities.
It's a sense of belonging from Pre-School right up to Year 13.
Will Marston, who attended Rydal Penrhos from 2010-17, recently shared some good news with us about his successful time at university and the next stage of his journey in the working world.
The former pupil graduated from Durham University with an Upper Second-Class Honours BA in Philosophy, Politics, Economics with Study Abroad.
This also included time studying at Radboud University while living in the Netherlands on an Erasmus+ Exchange - an experience that Will stated he'll "always cherish".
Not only this, but Will's exciting new challenge began earlier this month when he joined the Financial Conduct Authority’s Strategy and Competition Graduate Development Programme after a fantastic internship last summer.
Will played a huge part throughout Rydal Penrhos life during his time at the school. He was an exceptional academic, a prominent member of the school's Senior Prefect Team as Deputy Head Boy and managed to attain his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award thanks to his exemplary dedication to the school's outdoor education provision.
Everyone at Rydal Penrhos could not be prouder of what Will has gone on to achieve since leaving the school. We wish him the very best of luck throughout his working life.
Open Morning 2021
Did you miss it?
Did you miss our recent Open Morning event?
Anyone that was unable to attend can book a private tour by using the methods below.
Phone: 01492 530155
admissions@rydalpenrhos.com
Book Online
Stars of the Week
Congratulations to all!
