breath-taking churches across the city.

Almost as soon as the summer term concluded, the Rossall students were whisked on a jet plane heading to the ‘eternal city’ for their five day trip.

Their first performance took place in Basilica Papale di S.Paolo Fuori Le Mura (St Paul’s Outside the Walls), a stunning Church building with a vast oblong hall and double colonnades. The students took part in the Celebration of Mass, singing beautifully under the splendid dome; they were even applauded at the end of the service.

The Chapel Choir’s Second Mass was held at Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore -a Papal major basilica and the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome. Under the high altar of the basilica is the Crypt of the Nativity, said to contain wood from the Holy Crib of the nativity of Jesus Christ.

Their final performance at St Paul’s within the Walls, an American Church in Rome, was a more relaxed performance for the students where they sang a number of joint songs and solos. The church, although not small, was a great deal smaller compared to the two basilicas, but the atmosphere and acoustics certainly enhanced the choir’s incredible vocals and song pieces.

Between performances, the students had time to relax around the hotel and explore its wonderful landmarks and attractions including the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum.

Nineteen year old Sam Pitcher who is leaving Rossall after six years and school leaver was thrilled to performing in Rome and commented, “I loved the architecture and

acoustics at the Basilica Papale di S.Paolo Fuori and the Colosseum and Forum had to be my favourite tourist attraction. This was a fantastic final trip with Rossall for me”.

Director of Music, Mrs Margaret Young commented, “The Choir 2017 Tours was a fabulous experience. The pupils excelled themselves not only in their singing but also with their polite manners and behaviour and they were an absolute credit to the School”.

be competing in the European Championships held in Glasgow in August 2018.

Seventeen-year-old Lauren competed in her first triathlon eight years ago and has been coached for the last two years by Mike Park, Director of Boarding and Teacher of PE at St James’ School, Grimsby.

In order to be selected for the team, Lauren had to be within the top 4 or 120% of the winner’s time, at the May 2017 Southport Triathlon, part of the British Triathlon Major Event Programme. Lauren came in third securing her place in the GBR team.

Lauren is very excited to be competing with nineteen fellow team members, in the Sprint Distance Triathlon, a 750m swim, 20 kilometre bike ride and 5 kilometre run and cites her coach and her mother as being her inspiration. Lauren’s mother, Mrs Christine Brooks, competed in the European Championships in Denmark last weekend in the Middle Distance Triathlon.

Lauren, whilst studying for A levels in Geography, Biology and PE, trains six days a week for at least two hours a day. Lauren commented, “Mike Park sends through my weekly training schedule and I do a combination of 1hr sessions of swimming, cycling and running, with a 50-60 mile cycle ride on a Sunday and I love it!

Lauren is looking forward to studying Geography at Leeds University in September, host to Leeds Triathlon Centre, an elite training centre for top triathletes in the UK.

fitting way to celebrate the pupils’ hard work and achievements over the past year.

The Infant and Junior School Prize Day, held annually on the last day of term, began in Chapel, where this year’s Infant and Junior School Captains gave thanks for their privileged year of responsibility. The choirs and pupils also performed a number of musical pieces and poetry recitals.

The Prize Giving Ceremony, was a mixture of inspiration and emotion, as Old Rossallian, Josh Landman, who attended Rossall for 11 years, took to the stage and recounted his story of being left paralysed from the neck down, following an accident whilst on holiday. Josh passionately talked about his rehabilitation, learning to walk again and his achievements along the way. Josh’s recent challenges, all for charity, have included a Tough Mudder, the Blackpool 10K and scaling the heights of Snowdon, all in his everyday wheelchair. Josh is now looking towards competing in a triathlon, the London Marathon and hopes to be picked to compete in the sit-ski at the Winter Paralympics 2022.

His speech received a standing ovation from the audience and the pupils were in awe when they received their prizes from him.

To conclude the ceremony, Mrs Katie Lee, Headmistress of Junior, Infant and Nursery School announced the new School Captains and left the Year 6 leavers with a fitting message:

“In life, we have gifts and we have choices, cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Cherish the gifts you have been given. Choices can be harder – spend time thinking through the possibilities before making your choice. Use and practice the skills we have taught you. Use the gifts you have been given well, and make wise choices.

We hope you cherish your time in Junior School, use the skills you have been taught, and continue to grow and flourish. Floreat Rossallia!” The day concluded with an amazing Mad Hatter’s Tea Party themed feast. Rossall’s catering team were dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland, adding that unforgettable touch to the lunch proceedings, whilst families enjoyed an array of sumptuous savouries and sweet treats.

Rossall Infant and Junior School pupils, their families and staff had a joyful day, before leaving School for their well-earned holidays.

a standing ovation for the impressive thirty-eight strong cast of students aged twelve to eighteen.

Following a ‘good luck’ video message from their West End equivalents, the Rossall cast embarked on their challenge with high spirits, and once on stage any sign of nerves that may have been present backstage disappeared.

Lead cast member and previous head boy at Hodgson Academy, Matthew Peill, age 17, shone as Jean Valjean in a performance worthy of the West End. Matthew, alongside rehearsing for one of the most challenging roles in musical theatre, is studying for his A levels, and appeared relaxed and confident on stage, showing no signs of any pressure. His vocal performance of the iconic Les Misérables songs, including ‘Bring Him Home’, had the audience captivated.

Head of Hodgson, Mr Derek Yarwood commented:
“Congratulations to the staff and students at Rossall for the fantastic Les Misérables production, my favourite musical! It was a truly wonderful and emotional performance by talented students.”

Kirsty Swarbrick, age 17, captured the beauty and emotion in Fantine’s ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. Despite knowing the fate of Fantine, one couldn’t help but be caught up in Kirsty’s performance and wish her a happiness that unfortunately would never be.

As the student revolutionaries took to the barricades, Felix Mistry, age 13 and one of the youngest actors to take to the stage, showed incredible promise as Gavroche.

Strong performances were also given by Sam Pellowe (age 16), Sam Pitcher (age 19) and Noni Purnell (age 16). Sam Pellowe’s ease at commanding a stage with his booming baritone instilled the authority of Inspector Javert perfectly. While Sam Pitcher and Noni Purnell formed the perfect double act as Monsieur and Madame Thénardier, their jovial performance filling Big School with laughter. Natalina Dell’Armi (age 15) played their daughter, Éponine, whose love was unrequited by the revolutionary Marius Pontmercy, played by 17-year-old Téo Beaumé. Marius had fallen head over heels in love with the beautiful Cosette, played so delicately by Lisa Pavshinskaia (age 18).

Les Misérables is considered one of the most difficult musicals to perform and produce, though the Rossall students and staff took this all in their stride. Talk still continues about the production; Head of Rossall Ms Elaine Purves stated:

“I am still basking in the glow created by the most superb production of Les Misérables; it was, without a doubt, one of the very best school productions I have ever seen.

“At many points throughout the performances, the students were indistinguishable from West End professionals. What an amazing experience they must have had working to such a high level and creating two evenings of entertainment that will be talked about for many years to come.”

Rossall School’s production of Les Misérables is sure to go down in School history as an awe-inspiring achievement.

your own chair. That is exactly what happened to the students of Rossall School, this week, when Google Expeditions dropped by.

Google Expeditions is a new app developed by Google which aims ‘to open up the classroom for an immersive learning experience’.

The app enables teachers to take their students on virtual field trips, using virtual reality headsets and a controlling tablet.

Teachers were able to select a destination from across the world and throughout history, and their students were immediately transported to a 360-degree, 3D view of the destination.

Classes enjoyed expeditions to the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef and even the American Moon Landing.

Mr Dan Hall, History Teacher at Rossall School, used Google Expeditions to transport his Year 8 class all the way back to the trenches of the First World War.

Students found themselves standing in a flooded trench, staring up at a soldier holding a pistol. As they turned around, they saw another soldier cooking bacon on a poorly constructed stove.

Mr Hall commented on the experience: “It can often be extremely difficult for our students to visualise different periods of history.

“Unfortunately, we are lacking flux-capacitors at Rossall, so time-travel is out of the question. Google Expeditions is certainly the next best thing – it allowed our students to truly gain a picture of how difficult life was like as a soldier during World War One.”

Over 300 Rossall School students experienced the virtual reality locations, travelling through time and space to many different locations and periods.

In Antarctica, enthusiastic geographers observed penguin colonies, leopard seals, and Ernest Shackleton’s explorations.

And it was not only history and geography that benefited from the expeditions, PE students used the Google devices to take a look at the Crow Fair, often referred to as the ‘Teepee Capital of the World’.

During the visit, students studied traditional tribal dancing and continued to celebrate Native culture and its history by taking part in a boys vs girls tribal dance off. Both teams were exceptional and were able to transport us back to Crow Fair without any need for virtual reality.

The Google Expeditions catalogue also includes a vast collection of other interesting destinations, ranging from Mars to the Moon to Gettysburg, the Anne Frank House and the Great Wall of China.

Head of Rossall School, Ms Elaine Purves stated, “Whilst we have a broad range of enrichment opportunities – dashing for a fleeting visit to the Great Barrier Reef is not quite feasible.

“At Rossall, we are always looking for new opportunities to inspire our students’ learning, and this was a great way to get them excited about their subjects!

“Thank you to the Google team for giving our students and teachers a truly unforgettable day.”

West End’s stand-out shows, The Lion King seemed sure to be an ambitious challenge. The cast, of pupils aged six to eleven appeared unfazed by the enormity of the task ahead as they took to the stage for two sold out performances.

The pupils performed all the well-known Lion King songs such as Circle of Life, complete with Zulu lyrics. The group performances, from cast and chorus, set the atmosphere for the show perfectly.

The first act saw Junior School Captain Emerson Porter (age 11) lead the cast as Mufasa, with fellow Year 6 pupil, Oscar Mistry as his young lion cub son, Simba. Oscar brought an enthusiasm to the role, which beautifully opposed the sneering cruelty of his uncle, Scar. 11 year-old Henry Singleton shone as Scar, capturing the deception and cruelty of his character and instilling the needed fear that surrounds the lion.

Steffan van Blerk (age 11) took over the mantle of Simba in the second act, with Rosie Lupton (age 9) and Daniel Eaves (age 11) by his side as the lion’s unlikely friends Timon and Pumbaa. The pair mastered the comedic timings of their duo to deliver the light relief the Lion King needs surrounding its emotional story.

Grace Brindle, who is only 10 years old, delivered an inspiring performance as the mandrill shaman, Rafiki. Grace subtly portrayed the mystical energy and all-knowing ways of Rafiki with an ease telling of her talent.

Thanks to kind donations from KRS Rigging Services, and Indivisual Media Group the Infant and Junior School production included an impressive digital backdrop, allowing the cast to fully immerse themselves in the Pride Rock setting.
Rossall School teachers, pupils and parents excelled themselves with impressive set and costume design, the lion headdresses in particular made a lasting impression on the audience.

Directed by drama teacher Seren Mistry, The Lion King Jr is notably one of the most impressive productions the Infant and Junior School has staged.
Rossall has seen many budding stage talents nurtured at the school, and it seems possible that The Lion King Jr showcased some of tomorrow’s bright young stars.

Of the production Rossall’s Nursery, Infant and Junior Headmistress, Mrs Katie Lee, said: “Rossall Junior School were amazing, the acting and singing fantastic. Congratulations to Mrs Seren Mistry (producer), the teachers and all the parent helpers who made tonight a tremendous success.”

pence. The money was raised in December from Rossall’s annual Reindeer Run and other various Christmas activities.

Junior School Captain’s, Emerson Porter and Yasmine Ajiteru and the Infant School Captain’s, Woody-Lee Wilson and Lake Porter were joined by the Headmistress of Junior, Infant and Nursery, Mrs Katie Lee to present the cheque, at Rossall School, to Community Fundraiser at Brian House Children’s Hospice, Emma Padgett.

Photo – Back row from left to right: Emma Padgett, Emmerson Porter, Yasmine Ajiteru, Katie Lee. Front row from left to right: Woody-lee Wilson and Lake Porter.

interested in politics, had the opportunity to have a question and answer session with Ms Smith about current issues, the big Brexit debacle and the views of the labour party.

Cat recounted tales of her political endeavours and described her journey of how she became a politician, from school to the Houses of Parliament, despite not studying politics at university.

Year 12 student, Amber brown commented, “I thoroughly enjoyed Cat Smith’s visit to the school, as I’m inspired by her feminist views and strong opinions.

“She told us not to be afraid or intimidated by the predominantly male atmosphere in Parliament which is inspirational to all young girls who are thinking of a career in politics.”

Ms Smith joined the students for lunch where she reiterated how important it is for young people to get their voices heard. Year 12 student, Rebecca Heyes said, “Ms Smith really made me think about how politics affects everyone individually.

“She was also very interested in hearing about our own views on subjects such as Brexit – it was nice to be listened to.”

Later, Cat sat down with Rossall School’s first female Head, Ms Elaine Purves who said, “It was wonderful to welcome Ms Smith to Rossall to speak to our students.

“We are always looking for opportunities to inspire our students and it is extremely important to us to convey the message to them, that they can be anything they want to be, irrespective of their gender.”

Emily Rose, Jack Sangha and Rebecca Heyes entered the UK’s Premier Investment Competition with over 400,000 students from 2,500 schools.

The competition involves the teams investing virtual money into the London Stock Exchange.
There are two elements to the competition: an Active Investor Portfolio and a Strategic Investor Portfolio. In both elements, the students invest a hypothetical £100,000 with the aim of trying to maximise their portfolios, however, in the latter their ability to manipulate is very limited.

In the heats, the Rossall Roadmen were one of the best performing teams, resulting in their progression to the semi-finals, where they will attempt to accurately predict the value of a company’s share at the end of the week.
16 year old Jack, who studies Maths, Business, Economics and Computer Science A levels at Rossall commented: “I have absolutely loved the challenge so far. To be given the chance to experience life in the stock exchange is simply incredible.

“It is certainly a great way for aspiring investors to gain experience in a safe environment, with no risk of any actual money being lost!”

Photo Left to Right – Annabel Counsell, Jack Sangha and Emily Rose

15 and 19 years can join the Elite Football Academy Programme, delivered by Fleetwood Town Academy’s leading coaching staff.

A bespoke education curriculum will be tailored to the needs of the individual and delivered by Rossall School.

Rossall School and Fleetwood Town FC have had a long-standing relationship, providing coaching and team building sessions for students and the mutual use of the School and Fleetwood Town grounds and facilities. This collaboration further cements this relationship creating a unique experience for young aspirational players.

The programme is open to players who are already playing in a Professional Academy or who simply wish to develop their footballing ability.

Students will not only participate in coaching, training and competing for the School and Fleetwood Town, but will also have access to excellent physiotherapy, be provided with a strength and conditioning programme and learn how a professional football club operates.

Elaine Purves, Head of Rossall School commented: “We are delighted to be working with Fleetwood Town, a club on the rise and part of the English Football league.

“This partnership will benefit both the school and the club, combining both our skills and facilities, creating an exceptional package for students nationally and internationally.”

Fleetwood Town Head Coach, Uwe Rösler, said: “We are delighted to link-up with Rossall School for this project.

“I recently toured their grounds and was hugely impressed by the facilities on offer and hope we can together produce stars for Fleetwood Town Football Club.

“The partnership will create a perfect environment for players to develop and grow in a dynamic and encouraging atmosphere.

“Rossall’s superb facilities and educational package, along with our professional coaching will hopefully prove the perfect combination.”

were fortunate enough to see this award-winning show by the National Theatre as it toured from London to the Lowry Theatre, Manchester. As a set text on the A Level examination, the students were keen to see exactly how this celebrated story would translate to the stage. They were not disappointed, with many agreeing that this was the best play they have ever seen.

Year 12 Student, Becca Heyes said:

“The staging for this production was phenomenal! The set, lights and sound were incredible. As an audience we felt transported into Christopher’s mind, learning how to see the world from his point of view. The actors were fully committed to their roles delivering powerful performances and kept an impressive pace throughout. Although it seems that this play contains a serious subject matter, the comedic elements led to a heart-warming production. I would give this show 10/10 and would recommend to anyone to go and see this whilst it is still on in Manchester.”

with inspiring his love of music and for teaching him two very important life skills: discipline and not to panic, whatever the circumstances.

Jump ahead sixty-four years, and we welcome from Markham College, Peru, Matias Vildoso, our first Round Square exchange student. Markham College was PPK’s school prior to Rossall.

Rossall is a member of the Round Square international community of schools, a worldwide network of 150 schools in 40 countries and the exchange programme is one of five activities we have access to participate in.

Matias, who has joined Year 12 to follow the International Baccalaureate Diploma Course, specifically pursued an exchange to Rossall when he learnt of President Kuczynski`s connection.

Sixteen year old, Matias is very interested in politics and actively campaigned for the President in his recent election campaign. When Matias had the opportunity to meet PPK, he secured the President`s autograph on his cover of the recent `Old Rossallian` magazine – a prized memento which is now framed and displayed on the walls of Maltese Cross, his former boarding house.

Matias commented on his time so far at Rossall: “I am really enjoying boarding life. I am very impressed with the level of independence I get as a sixth form student, which is so important to the development of a future adult. The relationships and support I receive from the teachers and tutors here, I could never have experienced in my day school back in Peru.”

We hope that one or more of the our students will take up the challenge of a reciprocal Round Square exchange to Markham College, our partner school in Peru, or indeed, to one of the 150 Round Square schools around the world.

call up for the Lancashire U-17 cricket team.

Dan, a boarding student of Rossall School, Fleetwood, has already represented Lancashire County Cricket Club’s U-15 side and prior to that, the youngster from Cockermouth had also represented his home county of Cumbria at U-13 and U-14 level: for several seasons topping the County’s bowling averages.   In 2012 he was also awarded Rossall’s ‘Dick Richard’s Trophy’, in recognition of his exceptional talent with bat and ball

Prior to playing his first games for Lancashire at U-15 level, Dan’s signature was sought by both Worcester and Durham county sides but his decision to sign for Lancashire seems to have paid off, as he edges closer to a career in the top-flight.  Joining Rossall in 2010 on a sports scholarship, he has continued to impress school coaches and, unsurprisingly, is a mainstay of the school’s first eleven through his ability to swing the ball with pace and accuracy.  He has also proven that he is no slouch with a bat – chipping-in with valuable runs throughout last season.

Rossall’s cricket coach and Master in Charge of Cricket, Nick James is confident that Dan can go all the way into professional cricket and believes he could represent England one day.  He commented:  “Dan is a natural all-rounder and made his debut for our first eleven at the tender age of 14, playing against much older boys and taking plenty of wickets, so I think he’s destined for great things in the game.  His succession to the Lancashire U-17 side is certainly a major step towards achievement of his goals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing at Old Trafford in the coming years.”

way back up the international rankings, claims one of the North of England’s leading independent head teachers.

Elaine Purves, the new head of Lancashire’s prestigious Rossall School on the County’s Fylde Coast,  claims that adoption of globally recognized study systems such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma and more importantly, its IB Primary Years Programme, are the quickest way to effect radical improvements in outcomes for the next generation of students as they attempt to compete in a global market against students from the Tiger Economies of the Far East, which all topped the new OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) international league tables.

Ms Purves, whose own co-educational boarding and day school attracts home-grown and international pupils, claims results on her coastal campus suggest that children fare better when inspired to develop enquiring minds. And, statistics for her younger pupils in Rossall Junior School bear out her claims, with most pupils between the ages of 7 and 11 attending the school achieving a reading proficiency two years above their age group.  The Primary Years Programme was introduced to Rossall in 2008 and the school is still one of only a handful in the UK (state or independent) to have embraced its principles.  However, its pupils are now reaping the rewards, because the holistic approach to education is providing pupils moving up into senior school with not only advanced numeracy and literacy but also the skills of knowledge acquisition that will allow them to transition seamlessly into university study in later years.  With a rich curriculum, the PYP is also providing younger children with a world perspective and the teaching of Mandarin in language classes, rather than the traditional European languages of French and German, is an example of how younger pupils are being provided with the tools to thrive as adults in the global marketplace.

Ms Purves said: “It isn’t just independent schools that can benefit from adoption of the IB’s PYP and Baccalaureate Diploma and if the state system had been less prescriptive in recent years, under both Labour and Tory governments, more schools would have been allowed to opt out of the National Curriculum and standards would most likely have improved across the board.

“Now of course, Michael Gove’s Free Schools programme allows greater flexibility but early signs show that these could be simply a vanity project for the Education Secretary and there are so few of them that their results would make little difference to the UK’s overall performance levels. The answer really is simple and it is in our hands if the Government is brave enough to invest in a different way of teaching children.”  Ms Purves also went on to suggest that UK education still has respect around the world, a point illustrated by the number of students from the Far East studying at Independent schools in Britain.  She added: “Britain has excellent teachers and given the right platform they could get significantly better outcomes for their pupils.  That platform could be the IB/PYP and its introduction could be achieved easily across the country if only those in Whitehall have the vision to allow it to happen.”

campaign.

Pupils and teachers donned a pair of antlers and galloped around the grounds, led by Assistant Headteacher, Mr Condon, who was nicknamed ‘Prancer’ for his reindeer attributes. A brilliant afternoon was had and the students managed to raise a fantastic £1105.00! They were also lucky enough to be visited by ‘Hospuss’ the Trinity Hospice cat, to thank them for all of their efforts.

Katie Lee, Headteacher at Rossall Junior School, said: “The children thought it was absolutely wonderful. They ran in their antlers and when they completed the race they were awarded a red nose. It’s important that children at Christmas time know that not all children are going to have a super-duper time like them.”