The Dining Hall beginning to fill up with donations this afternoon, which will be taken to the Polish School in Woking and on to Ukraine. Thank you to all those who have so generously supported this cause by bringing in items today and making monetary donations to the school's appeal.
Great start to the schools golf invitational season at Tandridge Golf Club this week, with Gordon’s winning the Team Stableford event by 16 points and with first and third places in the individual medal event. Overall six of the Gordon’s golfers were in the top ten medal finishes. Congratulations all!
Celebrating learning through the World Scholar's Cup, Gordon’s hosted the London round, and entered four teams of scholars over the weekend. The competition featured a number of elements including the solving of multimedia challenges and analytic questions; collaborative writing; multiple choice; team debates and alpaca balancing! With a first place in the scholars round; debating and collaborative writing Gordon's students earned places in the Global Round in Dubai for at least three out of four of the school’s teams. Thank you to Holyport College, Queen Anne's School and Charters School for joining us and making it such an enjoyable event!
Representing Russia and Sweden at Polar Aspect's NORMAC (Norwich Model Arctic Council), a three day conference in Norwich, Gordon's students brought some great ideas to the declarations, with two being presented with a special commendation for their outstanding efforts in collaborating with other delegates. The conference, at Norwich School allows students to play the roles of diplomatics from Arctic states and indigenous people. Throughout the process, they benefit from the advice and guidance from an Arctic expert and educator.
Gordon’s Caleb Ashworth has been selected for the England U18 side to take on France tomorrow.
Prop forward Ashworth, one of the first cohort of DiSE (Diploma in Sporting Excellence) students to study on the Harlequins/Gordon’s programme was selected after a half term training camp at Bisham Abbey.
The A Level student will travel in the 23 man squad named by Head Coach Jonathan Pendlebury, to the game at the Stade Eugene Ross in Saint-Raphael.
His coach, Chris Davies, who heads up the partnership programme at Gordon’s and is a former Fiji National Men’s 7s Skills Coach and Analyst said: “All at Gordon’s are rooting for Caleb in this, his first international. His selection is just reward for his hard work and ability to balance his sporting aspirations and academics. Caleb is certainly a product of what our partnership with Harlequins can achieve and we are all ever so proud of him”
The game will be the first overseas international for England since the onset of the pandemic.
Speaking in a statement ahead of the game, Jonathan Pendlebury said: “We’ve got a wide squad that has worked together through development camps this season with the focus of exploring boundaries they may perceive individually, positionally and as a team. They have been regularly playing age group rugby for school, college, club, and academy this season and I know they are all relishing the chance to represent England.”
Already a familiar figure leading the Gordon's Pipes Drums, Drum Major Rose Roberts now has a new challenge as she takes on the role of Ambassador for Fight for Sight. Rose and her family have been fundraising for over ten years for the charity dedicated to stopping sight loss through research, and when she joined China House at Gordon’s it became the House charity. To date thousands of pounds have been raised for the charity by Rose, her family and House. The Sixth Form student will be involved in community outreach work for the charity, particularly for young people. With just a few months before she leaves Gordon’s, Rose has promised a grand finale to her fundraising at the school!
Fast, furious and fun, the Inter-House Maths Challenge saw Gravesend House clinch first place with an outstanding Sudoku round, followed by China House and Augusta House. Congratulations all!
The Global Citizen Awards are now open! The awards offer students the chance to tackle one of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and win fantastic prizes! The KS4/5 Wynter Bee Global Citizen Award is an all-expenses paid trip to Costa Rica to take part in a conservation and development project. For KS3 the Headmaster's Global Citizen Award winner will receive a Red Letter Day experience of their choice. Also included is the sponsorship of a Costa Rican child's education on an ongoing basis. Click here for further details.
Best of luck to netball scholars Jayda and Pippa as they represent England in the England Invitational Squad in the forthcoming Europe Netball Competition in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Jayda, who will captain the side has previously represented the Roses for the Under 21 European Netball Championship in the Isle of Man while Pippa who was part of the squad now features in the team line up.
After almost eight years at Gordon’s, Rob and Heather Pavis are swapping the leafy surrounds of Surrey Heath for the surf on the North Devon coastline where Mr Pavis will take up the Headship at Kingsley School in Devon.
Mr Pavis, Deputy Head (Pastoral) and Mrs Pavis, who heads up China House, moved to Gordon’s in 2014 from Steyning Grammar School in Sussex where Mr Pavis was Assistant Head and Director of Boarding.
While his time at Gordon’s involved leading a five year digital strategy and developing the sport and curricular at the school, it was through the pandemic that his prowess really came to the fore. Who could forget the cartoons, online assemblies, the ‘disappearing’ Japanese cooking lesson? All were enthusiastically devised and implemented by him.
Reflecting on his years as Deputy Head, Mr Pavis highlighted the Year 7 boarding house, Woolwich as his biggest achievement: “I conceived it, was involved in the design and the building and it has completely transformed boarding here. Whenever you go down to Woolwich it is just packed full of happy kids. It is light and fun, exciting and everything that boarding in Year 7 should be. It’s just magical there”.
And the most rewarding aspect of his job? “The greatest satisfaction from my work and the biggest joy that I have here is seeing the children happy. I secretly stand by and just look at happy children and I get such a warm glow from knowing that I am part of making that happen. That is the most fulfilling role”.
For her part, Mrs Pavis confesses to having become really competitive since taking over the helm of China House and supporting her 90 or so charges on pitches, netball courts and other Inter-House competitions. The journey of the girls from nervous arrival in oversized blazers and skirts to their confident departure post A Levels is what she has cherished most about her role at Gordon’s. She said: “I love the job, have always loved it. I have never had a day when I’ve woken up and thought ‘I don’t want to go to work today’.”
“This has just been the most amazing place to work. When you get into the bones of what Gordon’s is about it’s how much the staff care about each child, I think it is just second to none. It’s something I haven’t experienced in the same depth at other schools. You know every child, what makes them tick - and blow up! You just know them. It’s been an absolute pleasure and privilege”.
Mr and Mrs Pavis are shown with the picture presented to them today from the recent Whitehall Parade.
It’s Gold for Gordon’s Shooting Team competing in the British Shooting Schools Rifle Championships yesterday. James West also achieved an individual Gold in the Intermediate Section while Zoe Chedd, in the Junior Section, notched up a personal best and sixth place with Henry Chedd in the Senior Section shooting a personal best and securing the sharpshooters a Gold place finish in the overall team competition. Congratulations all!
Their decisive 45-23 win against Millfield in the Quarter Finals of the Sisters n Sport competition has earned the First VII a place in the Semi Finals in the Under 19 National Cup. Congratulations!
