Therfield School Magazine 1980

EDUCATION IN THE "EIGHTIES" A great deal has happened to secondary education in the "seventies". Comprehensive schooling became the normal type of provision throughout the country. Schools grew in size, partly because of the raising of the school-leaving age to sixteen. Entries for external examinations, particularly (0) level and C.S.E., more than doubled over the period. With the ending of 11+ selection examinations, the age of entry into secondary schools varied between eleven and thirteen years. What will happen during the "eighties"? Much will depend on policy decisions at local and national levels but there are still some interesting areas for speculation. The falling birth-rate is likely to affect the secondary schools in two years' time. Schools may become smaller or, alternatively, closures may require some pupils to travel increased distances to and from school. The traditional school dinner may soon become replaced with a choice of snacks at various prices, similar to outside cafes and restaurants. Computers are already appearing in secondary schools, the Government has recently announced its intention of spending nine million pounds in encouraging education for the age of the micro chip. Perhaps class registers, records of progress and the schools' finances could all be stored on magnetic tape or discs.

Sixth forms may become the largest sector in the school and perhaps have joint classes with adults re-training for new employment. Will you all be coming to school by bicycle or mini jetcopter? Despite all the scientific progress, I believe that the good school of 1990 will still be the one where there is friendship, trust and respect between student and teacher. Let's keep Therfield that way.

John D. Wooding

A sketch of the new Science block, the completion of
which, together with the new gym constituted one of
the highlights of the school year and gave Therfield
the most efficient and up-to-date of facilities.

AREERS GUIDANCE EVENING On Wednesday, 13th February, a successful evening was organised jointly by the "Friends of Therfield" and the school. Forty groups of careers (over 250 jobs) were covered by sixty advisors and general guidance was given by the Careers Service. As many representatives came straight from a normal day's work they were offered a meal before the evening session which ran from 6p.m. to 9.30p.m. A friendly atmosphere prevailed throughout the evening as between five and six hundred parents and pupils circulated in the three halls. Pupils from the 3rd Form to the 6th Form were invited and made good use of this chance to gain first hand information on career opportunities and the present employment situation.

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REVIEW OF FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Auditions for this difficult musical production began at the end of the summer term, and rehearsals got under way at the beginning of the new school year. The time flew by and with only 21 weeks before the dress rehearsal the production looked like being a failure. Rehearsals pressed on during lunchtimes and after school with such hard work being put in by many members of staff, notably Mr. Cox (Producer), Mr. Pratt (Musical Director), Mr. Hoggins (Stage Manager), Mr. Stewart (Lighting), Miss Hines (Choreographer), members of cast, chorus, orchestra, stage and lighting crew. "It'll be all right on the night" was the catch phrase repeated by many of those involved, after a difficult dress rehearsal which was described by a member of the audience as "not very promising". Fortunately, on the following evening (Thursday) the phrase proved itself and the production saw success, much to the relief of those involved. Friday's performance, which went almost as well was described by another member of the audience as "an excellent show of co-operative effort involving a great number of staff and pupils". Saturday, perhaps met even greater success following in the same footsteps as the previous evenings.

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Particular credit should be given to Mark Thomas (Tevye), Sarah Razzell (Golde), many other members of the cast and many members of the staff who were involved in the production, for the time and effort they put into this production. About 1,000 people saw this production on the three main nights although the dress rehearsal was opened to the public at a reduced rate and was also completely sold out. Despite only just covering costs I think this was a very well worthwhile production and hopefully the high standard of acting will be repeated next year. Keith Bradley

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It was with considerable interest that I read Keith Bradley's review of Fiddler on the Roof in the December edition of "School Daze".

Keith was a member of the Chorus and was therefore able to observe rehearsals at close quarters. Whilst I don't necessarily agree with Keith that the production ever looked like being a failure, there were many anxious moments and sleepless nights before we really believed that it would be "all right on the night".

In the Technical Rehearsal, Mr. Stewart managed to blow a fuse but he claimed he was only testing the new stage lighting system: At the Dress Rehearsal Mr. Hoggins' favourite tree fell down (some say it was pushed) and it nearly decapitated poor Chris Trotter (others say it was a pity it didn't!).

I agree with Keith when he says that the production grew in stature with each performance and I think we were all very pleased with the results of our efforts.

Keith mentioned that particular credit should be given to Mark and Sarah in their leading roles. Naturally I agree but I would also like to mention the supporting cast. Many of them, especially Janet, Anne, Veronica, Andrew, Peter, Alasdair and Chris had been involved in Oliver last year and we were all aware of their talents. Others emerged for the first time this year and I was particularly impressed with our 'debutants' Belinda Jones and Nick Trussler. Then there was "The Crowd" who were required to take on a lot more than was originally intended and I felt they rose to the occasion magnificently. I would also like to name one or two of the "unsung heroes" among the staff whose "behind the scenes" work made the whole show possible; in particular Mr. J. Widrig for building the sets and Mrs. W. Newstead and Mrs. P. Adams for spending hours painstakingly painting them! This year our front of house arrangements were much more sophisticated and I'm sure they were greatly appreciated by the audiences. Here particular credit must be given to Mr. P. Saddington, as Front of House Manager, ably assisted (and ordered around!) by Mesdames Hack, Hodgson, Brook and Co. Altogether there were over 150 pupils and 30 staff actively involved in Fiddler. I feel that, as producer, I can only echo Mr. Wooding's programme comments that "a musical production brings to a school such as ours the scope for staff and pupils to work and develop in an informal situation and to plan, argue, struggle, laugh and succeed together". D.J. Cox

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THERFIELD SAILING CLUB This year has been a very successful one for the Sailing Club, It is attended regularly by many members at 12.30 every Wednesday, and is organised by Mr. Stewart and Miss Griffiths. Boys and girls from each year attend. The main reason for the Wednesday meetings is to complete the theory sections of the R.Y.A. (Royal Yachting Association) certificates. The practical sections are also discussed but are actually put into practice at Thames Young Mariners (T.Y.M.) near Kingston. As well as sailing at T.Y.M. the Club enters S.S.S.A. regattas, (Surrey Schools Sailing Association) and Christopher Trotter has obtained a trophy, and generally some very good placings in recent regattas have been obtained. This year the School Sailing Holiday has a very large number of people going on it, compared to the previous years. It is organised at the Christian Sailing Centre on the Isle of Wight near Newport. We have now paid all the money for the Pacer, our 13ft racing dinghy (sail no. 205). It is called "Tudor Rose" and we now hope to buy another boat for the Sailing Club. A very successful parents' Open Evening was held in November with films and slides of the Sailing Holiday and other club activities. Helen Cox 5LS0 Nicholas Baker 3LWD

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Between 29th March and 4th April [1976], 94 Geography students and six members of staff journeyed into South Wales in order to carry out field work as part of their '0' level and C.S.E. examination courses in Geography.

The area was chosen because of its very varied nature, illustrating both Physical and Human branches of the subject. On the first day, one party went via the old iron, steel and tinplate works at Ebbw Vale and Dowlais to the impressive glacial corries of Llyn Fawr and Llyn Fach, high above the Valleys on Hirwaun Common.

They then travelled on down the Rhondda Valley and saw the results of the decline in the coal mining industry in that area. Having looked at one of the few working pits in the Rhondda, at Trehafod, they proceeded via the modern industrial estate at Treforest to see the recently developed Cwmbran new town.

On the second day the party travelled to Hereford and, having looked at the site of Hereford as a rural market city, they visited the Bulmer Cider factory for an interesting look at the production of the popular drink. Some time was then spent looking at Hereford as an example of a market city. Later on the party visited the College of Agriculture farm at Holme Lacy near the city.

On the third day the party started with a visit to a hill sheep farm near Abergavenny, particularly of interest since our arrival coincided with the height of the lambing season. We then journeyed on to the unexpected and dramatic carboniferous limestone scenery at Ystradfellte, looking at swallow holes, gorges, caverns, and waterfalls. The day was ended by looking at the spectacular show caves at Dan-yr-Ogof in the Upper Swansea Valley.

On the following day the party was dropped in the Forest of Dean and spent the whole day walking back to the Wye Valley across the land which has been so carefully rehabilitated from a derelict industrial site to a recreation and leisure amenity.

On the final day we proceeded down the Wye Valley to Wynd Cliff in order to see the fine view over the Wye, Chepstow and the Severn Estuary. We then travelled on to Cardiff in order to study the city centre. From there we returned to examine the site of the giant integrated iron and steelworks at Llanwern near Newport.

Pupils worked hard but enjoyed their free time sensibly as well. it is expected that this trip may become an annual event for fourth year Geography students and it will make a pleasant change from the classroom.

Know the Staff Quiz

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As this was our first year of competition in any league we did exceedingly well in winning the District league and in addition we were runners-up in the County. Congratulations to all team members and let us hope for such an enjoyable and successful season next year.

Squad
Peter Gee, Steve Eyre, Neil Beadle, Colin Wood,
Peter Hodges, Martin Willsher, Paul Drwal, Sean Salter.
Played 22. Won 19. Lost 3.
Peter Hodges 3NWA

The team have shown great spirit and character after losing key players through injury. The team was led by their Captain, Barrie Hempstead, whose great determination for the team to do well has brought them through many hard games. The goals came as fluently as ever from striker Steve Lunn who was well supported up front by Trevor Steer and Mark Patton. The school goalkeepers have had no real problems due to outstanding play by centre backs Roger Constable and Paul Rochester who between them have not had a bad game all season.

The Under 15 team hope to be back to full strength next season and so they will be once again back in on the hunt for league and cup success.

David Atkinson 4NBE

The 1979-80 season saw the entry of the school team in both the District and County leagues, the County league for the first time.

The season started well with several wins in the County league and County cup competition. However, since Christmas the team lost momentum with injuries to a couple of players which affected the team's style of play.

The quarter finals of the Surrey cup saw Therfield lose 28-68 to a strong Eastfields team, but at the time of writing Therfield are in second place in the County league having won five out of eight games and about fourth in the District league.

Leading scorers: Hinrichs 202, Trussler 201, Atkinson 60, Usher 96

Even when playing with the minimum of five players, the team has shown great character and determination. Well done to all involved and we look forward to an equally enjoyable and successful season next year.

The Team:
David Martin, Leon Smith, Alasdair Stewart, Kevin Stockwell, Christopher Trotter and Dean Higgs.

Results:

The tone of enthusiasm was set right from the start of the season, as over fifty keen and energetic players turned up for the pre-season trials. It has been a disappointment for those players, some very capable, who have been unable to get into the 'A' team, or who have been unable to command a regular place. Many of these have found a place for the display of their skills in the occasional 'B' team games, or in the highly competitive house matches.

Colin Short was appointed captain of -the 'A' team and this appointment was followed soon afterwards by his appointment as captain of the district team, for both of which congratulations are due.

The team went out and won its first eight league, cup and friendly matches by scores ranging from 8-3 to 1-0. Since some of the higher scoring games were against somewhat token opposition, the most impressive performances were the close-scoring matches in which effort, stamina and the higher skills of the game clinched the result.

The 4-1 win over Tomlinscote was achieved after some of the players had endured a double P.E. lesson and a full house-match, Tomlinscote appearing unexpectedly at about 5 p.m. Again Therfield trailed 1-0 until midway through the first half when Martin Skudder equalised. All looked set for a replay until Martin completed a remarkable hat-trick within the last five minutes of the match.

Having been defeated by Teddington, Therfield then bounced back to beat St. Andrews 4-1 in a controversial match. Perhaps unsettled by the events of the St. Andrews match, the team then gave its first truly poor performance of the season, crashing out of the County Cup to Fulbrook.

With the exception of the Ewell County result, matches since have gone well and the players are continuing to show dedication to school football. School football, indeed, seems to be the only football of genuine purity and true sportsmanship, in which players play for the correct sporting values of pride in and dedication to the team. It is to be hoped that this purity and enthusiasm will shine through, unpolluted by the cynical tactics, baser 'skills' and materialistic aims which exist in some areas of the game beyond the schools arena. Such lower values can only give the game a bad name and a limited future.

Although the team has seen many different players, it is possible to give an account of the main personalities. Alan Lovell has been able to command a regular place in goal. The defensive positions have been shared between Knut Ellingsen, Shaun Borer, Colin Short and Neil Rutland, although Steve Rodda and David Gilby have shown promise and may become regular players if they continue to perform to a high standard.

The midfield has many players to compete for places and has varied from three to four players. The principal performers have been Andy Brown, Keith Ranger, Steve Barker, Ged Weekes, Tony Richards and Colin Short.

There is no doubt that these are skilful players and that team can go on to reach a high standard of performance as long the enthusiasm and commitment remains. If players do not have the essential qualities of dedication and commitment to a particular team, that team cannot achieve high standards nor will the players enjoy playing for it. May the Under 13 school team continue to flourish and add success to the good name of Therfield.

U-13 SOCCER TEAM RESULTS

As well as competing in our own local (Central Surrey) league as usual, we have this season entered the North East Surrey 2nd XI league. Here the opposition has been mainly 6th form boys and our predominantly 5th form side has performed very creditably indeed and gained much experience.

Without doubt the season's greatest disappointment was our exit at the first hurdle from the County Cup. Having reached the last eight last season we hoped to go at least one better this year and make the semi-final. Unfortunately we gave our season's worst performance in losing at home to a very mediocre Bishop Reindorp side by 3-1.

Our best performance of the season was undoubtedly the game against Ewell whom we crushed 5-1 in a local league match, inflicting on them their only cup or league defeat of the season.

We have reached the League Cup Final for the second successive season (and third time in four years). St. Andrews were dispatched more easily than expected by 4-1 in the quarter final. The semi-final against Sondes Place proved tougher and despite having the greater number of chances, we were rather fortunate to scrape through 3-2. In the final we will meet Ewell.

In midfield the strength and experience of 6th formers like Mark Hardingham and Simon Cook has been a great boost to the side and they have been ably supported by Derek Thomson on the left flank. Up front, the "experiment" of playing Mike Chapman as central striker has proved an unqualified success. His height and speed have been invaluable assets. Mick Lawton has had his "off" moments, but his speed and shooting power have on occasion been decisive to the team. Gary Beadle has played mostly on the right wing, but has also played midfield and full back too. His attitude of play anywhere at any time against any team in any conditions perhaps make him the team's "Player of the Year". The word "defeat" is not in his vocabulary.

Last but not least, thanks are given to Mark Mills, Chris Flack, Leon Smith and Neil McLeod who have also played and given their all at various times during the season.

Record:- P17 W7 D2 L6 F54 A46