Prize-giving and Commemoration Day

The Royal Hospital School Prize-giving and Commemoration Day was an emotional occasion, not just for the 96 Upper Sixth form leavers, but also for the Headmaster, Howard Blackett, who leaves after eight years at the School and 15 years of continuous headship.

The special day was on Saturday 30 June and Mr Blackett gave a moving final address to the School, Governors, VIP guests and parents. His full speech can be read in his blog but he left the audience with the following final thought, “Arnold, the great Victorian Headmaster of Rugby School set out his ideals in a definitive order: first, religious and moral principle; second, gentlemanly conduct and thirdly intellectual pursuit. This was exactly how the parents of boys who sent their children to Rugby viewed education. Tom Brown’s father reflected on what he hoped for as he sent his son off to school, “Shall I send him to mind his work and say he’s sent to school to make himself a good scholar? Well he isn’t sent to school for that, at any rate not mainly for that. I don’t care a straw about trigonometry or past participles; if only he’ll turn out a brave, helpful, truth-telling Christian man, that’s all I want.” That sentiment is no less important today than it was then; an education which is not based upon principle and a core set of values is almost worthless. It is who you are not what you know that carries you through life; that is what determines whether or not you find true happiness and self-fulfilment and that is what defines what an education should be about. Nowhere else is this more the case than in schools like RHS where our next generation of movers and shakers, of leaders and decision makers spend their most formative years”.

The School was honoured to welcome Guest speaker, Mr Jim Gamble QPM, whose distinguished career has included work in counter-terrorism, crime prevention and child protection. He was the founding Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre; the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on child protection and child trafficking and the founding Chair of the Virtual Global Task Force, an international collaboration for making children safer online. Mr Gamble is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the iNEQE group which provides a wide range of services within the whole spectrum of the risk environment. This was Mr Gamble’s second visit to the School and he gave an entertaining speech that appealed to every age group; his words celebrated the School’s 300-year history but he also talked about the benefits and risks of modern-day life and communications. He went on to congratulate the pupils on their conduct and attitude, emphasising how important the values uniquely taught at the Royal Hospital School will be in later life and wishing the leavers well as they go onto University and life beyond School.

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

Olympic Theme to RHS Oputa Games 2012

The RHS Optua Games for people with disabilities will be held on Thursday 28 June at the Royal Hospital School and this year’s event has an offical London 2012 Inspire Mark.

Around 160 disabled people will be taking part in the 10^th RHS Optua Games along with hundreds of pupils from the school who will be supporting them to enjoy the games. The RHS Optua Games is organised every year by Suffolk-based disability charity Optua together with the Royal Hospital School’s Community Action Team.

This year’s event has a Olympic and Paralympic theme and has been awarded an official London 2012 Inspire Mark. This is the third of Optua’s 2012 events to receive an Inspire Mark and it is the only organisation in the country to receive more than one disability sport related Inspire Mark.

16 teams of people with physical, sensory and learning disabilities will compete in a series of fun outdoor events, such as throwing and ball games. Most of the teams represent special schools or community resource units and the winning team will be awarded with a trophy.

As well as giving people with disabilities a great day out and a chance to work as a team, the School’s pupils also gain a great deal from helping out on the day and get experience of volunteering and working with people with disabilities. Optua always provides disability awareness training to the pupils who will be involved before the event itself.

This year’s RHS Optua Games has been funded by the Suffolk Foundation Port Community Fund, PJK Charitable Trust, Blakemore Foundation, Seckford Foundation, Yorkshire Building Society and Avenues Sport and Lifestyles Fund.

Graham Watson, director of The Seckford Foundation, said: “The Seckford Foundation is committed to assisting with local community projects such the RHS Optua Games, which is a great example of how projects like this can help empower more members of our community and help them to achieve their goals.”

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh

Pupils in Year 9 recently completed the expedition section of their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. All 110 pupils took part in a challenging self-sufficient two-day walk through tracks, footpaths and lanes of north east of Norfolk. Groups of between four and seven pupils navigated their way through a series of checkpoints and proved they could work as a team camping overnight, cooking their own food and getting themselves up at 5.30am to be packed up and ready to walk at 7am on the second day.

Ian Williams of Anglia Adventures, who with their team of ex-military staff provide safety supervision on the ground, said, “navigational errors are part of the learning process and a number of teams completed much more than the necessary 36km over two days carrying full camping equipment. One team was still walking at 9.45pm after a lunchtime start and despite being offered a pick-up, they chose to go on in order to pass the assessment. The weather was good and the lead expedition organiser, Ms Rouse, ensured that the necessary training, equipment, transport and other arrangements were in place for this successful large-scale expedition.”

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

Royal Navy CCF visit HMS Collingwood

Twelve RHS pupils aged 14 – 18 years and 3 staff members visited HMS Collingwood in Fareham to find out more about life in the Royal Navy.

They had the opportunity to visit the Marlborough Building which encompassed a MiniGun & GPMG Simulator, Phalanx, 30mm Gun and 4.5” Gun and also the Bridge Simulator which gave them an insight into basic Ship handling and an opportunity to witness the navigational capabilities of the modern Royal Navy.

They gained some hands on experience with small arms, swords, cutlasses and gun carriages with the Ceremonial and Naval Military Training Sections and they had some fun on the Low Ropes Course where they were exposed to the leadership training given to members of the Royal Navy.

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

Rosy now Eastern Region Diving Champion

On Sunday 27 May, on  her 14th birthday, Rosy Trewin-Marshall won a hat-trick of gold medals at the Eastern Region Diving Championships.  She is now the East Region Champion for 1m springboard, 3 m springboard and the platform for girls Group B (13/14 year olds).

This is a remarkable achievement since she is unable to do anything like the training that is really necessary to be in the top class for this sport.

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

Great East Swim 2012

Despite a last minute date change due to poor weather, the Great East Swim at neighbouring Alton Water, was a great success with 3000 swimmers taking part in races throughout the day.

There were three distances to choose from – one mile, half mile and 2 miles making it suitable for all abilities. The conditions were windy and the water quite choppy and 13.5C which made it particularly challenging for competitors.

On the Friday before the event, 2008 Team GB Olympian Kris Gilchrist came the Royal Hospital School to give a ‘master-class’ and share long distance swimming tips with the 55 pupils and staff taking part.

All 55 pupils, staff and parents did exceptionally well but there were some notable performances by the following pupils:

Race		Name	Year	Time
Half Mile		Jamie Fosker	Year 8	14.09 mins
		Charlie Tedora	Year 9	12.43 mins
		Bella Murrison	Year 10	13.39 mins
One Mile		Rosie Warwick-Brown	Year 11	27.50 mins
		Georgia Moore	Year 12	28.42 mins
		Alex Mannion	Year 11	27.23 mins
		Cameron Cullen	Year 12	26.16 mins
		James Francis	Year 13	25.48 mins
Two Miles		Rhys Evans	Year 13	57.14 miles

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/

RHS at Thames Jubilee Pageant

Thirteen RHS pupils have been selected to crew the Suffolk Sailing Barge SB Victor on her journey to and from the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on Sunday 3 June. SB Victor will be representing Suffolk as part of the Avenue of Sails carrying the County Standard on behalf of the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, Lord Tollemarche.

The pupils, aged 13 to 18 years, have been chosen based on their sailing experience as well as their ability and enthusiasm to be involved in the event. The crew of the outward journey will depart Ipswich on 30 May and sail up the Thames to London to arrive in position next to London Bridge City Pier on the South Bank between London Bridge and HMS Belfast by midday on 1 June. On the day of the Pageant the RHS pupils be in their full naval ‘number one’s” uniform to salute Her Majesty The Queen as she passes SB Victor in the Avenue of Sails, watched by more than 2.4billion people worldwide.

Look out for the RHS banners and follow the link to the Pageant Map to find our exact location.  We are located at “240 Victor” next to London Bridge.

SB Victor will depart London with her return journey crew on 4 June.

 

The Royal Hospital School is a coeducational Independent boarding and day school for 11 to 18 year olds set in 200 acres of Suffolk Countryside. http://www.royalhospitalschool.org/