Latest goings on at the school
A memorial service to commemorate the life of our former master Harry Stanley has taken place.
Mr Stanley began teaching with us in 1962 and retired in 1995, passed away on Tuesday, January 5,
A service was held in his honour at the school’s Memorial Hall on Saturday, May 7.
Originally from Oxford, Mr Stanley moved to the North Wales area after studying at Loughborough College and completing his National Service.
Rev’d Sissons, said: “He taught generations of students the skills of woodworking and also passed on the benefit of his talents to members of staff in the days before people popped out to IKEA to buy their bookcases.
“His workshop was not limited to wooden products and one former colleague recalls that when he arrived at the school he discovered that Harry had just completed a student project to build a working hovercraft the size of a car.”
In addition to staff and pupils at the school, alumni and ex-staff members are also welcome to attend.
Congratulations to our Catering staff, who have been praised after receiving a five star food hygiene rating.
Following an inspection by Conwy County Council’s Environment Health Officer, our catering facilities were given a five score, which is the highest available mark they can receive.
This is the same rating that the Preparatory School received from the local authority in January, meaning both our Prep and Senior schools are now operating under the maximum score for hygiene standards.
Julie Chmara, said: “I am delighted to announce that the Senior School has now equalled the maximum score of five awarded by the Conwy EHO to the Prep School for the ‘Scores on the Doors’ food hygiene rating system.
“A big thanks to Mark, Keith and all catering staff at both schools on this fantastic achievement, this type of rating involves a lot of hard and dedicated teamwork and I am proud of them all.”
Mr McDuff, added: “This news is absolutely fantastic and a testament to how hard our catering staff work to provide the best facilities possible to our pupils.
“Many thanks should go to Keith and Julie for their tireless efforts, which have been richly rewarded with this five rating from Conwy’s Environment Health Officer.”
A group of pupils visited a nearby lifeboat station ahead of a significant new development.
Our pupils and staff travelled to Llandudno Lifeboat Station, where they took a look at the old building before work on a new £2.6 million facility begins.
The facility at Craig-y- Don will provide a home for the station’s new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, which is expected to arrive at the station in 2017 and will replace the existing Mersey class lifeboat, Andy Pearce.
Mr Cashell, said: “On behalf of the pupils, may I offer my thanks to the team and crew of the Lifeboat station for a fascinating and very enjoyable evening looking around the old station and getting excited about the new one and the new class of boat that will come with it.
“We wish them every success as the building of the new station begins and they can be assured of our continued support through fundraising on behalf of the Colwyn Bay branch.”
A staff member inspired by a colleague completed a marathon cycle race recently.
Physics teacher, Mr Baxter, took part in the 172km Paris - Roubaix challenge after hearing the efforts of Miss Lloyd, who ran the London Marathon in aid of pupil Sara Owen, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2013.
The challenge included riding for 52km on the famous cobbled roads of the legendary Paris-Roubaix pro race, and the former mountaineering expert completed the course in just under nine hours.
Mr Baxter said: “Miss Lloyd did an assembly last year on her entry to the London Marathon and how it was a challenge for her. This inspired me to do something for myself where I was unsure of the outcome, rather like a big alpine ascent.
“Sure enough, it fitted the bill. The night before I’d checked and treble checked my gear, eaten properly, one eye on the weather, tons of self-doubt, anxiety; all the emotions I used to have about big, risky Alpine climbs in my youth.”
“My best memory was racing onto the Velodrome in Roubaix, the scene of so many epic finishes to the pro race. The cobbles were so erratic it was like cycling along a slippery stone wall turned on its edge.
“For people into cycling this event is a real ‘homage’ to the traditions of the sport, rather like playing at Wembley for a football fan or climbing the Matterhorn for a mountaineer.
“It was an incredible challenge for me and it was great fun.”
Year 10 pupil Isabel Demel gives her account on our International Baccalaureate group's trip to the Nowgen Biomedical centre in Manchester:
On Thursday, 14th April, the IB Biology Group visited the Nowgen Centre, a Biomedical Research Centre in Manchester. The aim of the trip was to develop the students' understanding on the subject of "Genetics" outside the classroom.
In this context, we had a closer look at different processes relevant to the IB syllabus including gel electrophoresis, a method to separate and analyse DNA based on their size and charge, as well as Polymerase Chain Reaction, the amplification and copying of specific DNA fragments.
All of us were allowed to actively participate in these processes making use of laboratory equipment. This was an alternative way of learning for us, which definitely contributed to our wider knowledge of the topic.
A special highlight of this excursion however, was marked by an analysis of each individuals DNA using the theoretical knowledge obtained before.
All in all, the group had an enjoyable day and the excursion was especially useful for all those interested in the Medical field.