The iconic Gordon’s School gates closed for the last time today. The entrance is now being fitted with new accessed controlled gates which will be shut between 8.15am and 5.45pm Monday to Friday. Visitors to the school are advised to park in the north side car park and walk across the bridge.
While the statue of General Gordon looks out over the Front Field, a mural dedicated to him and painted by a band of Gordon’s artistic students is keeping watch over the Parade Square. The fabulous mural lists General Gordon’s many attributes and words associated with him.
They scaled an eight foot wall; scrambled over 20 feet of an A-frame covered in ropes; crawled through a concrete tube and then tackled the water obstacles. Gordon’s students were taking part in a team building exercise Royal Navy style at HMS Collingwood near Fareham. Some overcame their fear of heights, others claustrophobia but all completed the challenges with help and encouragement from the Collingwood instructors and their fellow team-mates.
Photo courtesy of Keith Woodland, Crown Copyright
Braving high winds and challenging terrain, the Gordon’s Cycling Tour managed some 270 miles over their six days in Lanzarote. This was the third tour of the Spanish island and a welcome respite from the heat in England!
War Horse is coming to Gordon’s School on Saturday 1st September. The special evening, hosted by the Armed Forces Charity SSAFA, will see an open-air screening of the film in the magnificent grounds of the school. The event is being held to mark the centenary of the First World War. Tickets are available through Eventbrite (please click here)with all proceeds going towards SSAFA’s current work helping today’s generation of servicemen and women, veterans and their families across Surrey.
Members of the Gordon’s Pipes and Drums Band today became the first non-military band to take part in a Parade at the Army Training Regiment, Pirbright when they played at the Passing Out Parade this morning. They joined the band of the Royal Logistic Corps for the passing out of Troops from Morley and Dalton.
Their impassioned, informative presentation together with their imaginative fundraising earned them £1,000 for their charity Woking and Sam Beare Hospices. Now Harriet Duffin, who led her Gordon’s School team of Tilly Phillips, Livvy Garner and Nathan Butler to victory, has been nominated for the First Give Student of the Year. She and the team have been invited to Cardiff for the awards ceremony with other shortlisted nominees across Greater London and South Wales. First Give encourages young people to give their time and talent to improve their community. Students from Year 9 identified social issues and engaged with local charities set up to tackle them. Then they set about fundraising and increasing awareness. All were competing for a cheque for £1,000 from First Give for their chosen charity. Harriet’s team appealed to staff and students to bring in their good quality secondhand clothes for stock in charity shops, raising £857 for the hospice charity.
Gordon's News Summer Term 2018 is available on the website now. Please click here to view. Hard copies can be picked up from Day and Residential Boarding Houses in the Autumn Term.
Wishing you all a very happy, restful Summer. See you in September!
A symbol of remembrance the world over, the poppies made today by Year 7s at Gordon's have an extra special meaning for those at the school. For each one of the 700 plus has been inscribed with the name of a Gordonian that was killed in the First World War. This year marks the centenary of the end of the First World War. The Gordon's poppies will be ‘planted’ next to General Gordon’s statue on the Front Field in the lead up to Remembrance Day and the Parade, which takes place in November.
The thrilling behind-the-scenes tour of the oldest West End theatre included live action from current actors, and it was as intriguing as it was enlightening. But I have to say my favourite part of the event was viewing the West End show 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', starring the incredibly talented and sensational actor John McCrea, who plays the main lead, Jamie New. We even got to meet him, his actor mother and his teacher in the play after the show, and also the mother of the real Jamie, who this play is based on, was there too. A 'Q and A' session took place, where both students and teaches alike eagerly raised their hands, and I learnt a lot about the theatre, the actor's lives and their successes through hard work. I would definitely recommend all parts of the trip to everyone, and I thank all the teachers involved for providing such an amazing opportunity. By Darcy Watson
MAD Day (Make a Difference) - the packed programme of events include washing cars; making poppies; litter-picking; volunteering at a nursery school sports day; helping the homeless - and that's just this morning's activities!
