A stunning display in the Chapel this week as part of the lead up to Remembrance Sunday. The four panelled artwork depicting the First World War, has been created by the ‘Big Art’ group, a co-curricular club with 25 students from Years 8-11 working collaboratively. The Chapel will be open on Remembrance Sunday so parents can see the installation.
Out in force across the country at Remembrance Service events, the Pipes and Drums, who in the past week have entertained City commuters at Canon Street Station as part of the London Poppy Day, raising money for the Royal British Legion. On Sunday they were playing at the Brookwood Military Cemetery at the Brookwood Last Post Association Remembrance Service (pictured above) and this weekend sees them leading out the school’s student body at our own Remembrance Service on the Parade Square. They are also returning to London on Saturday where they will join over 7,000 people, 250 horses and 50 decorated floats, performing in the Lord Mayor’s Show!
Harvest Festival donations have now been distributed to Woking Food Bank and Bisley and West End Foodbank. Thank you to all those who contributed items to these charities. Former Gordon’s parent Simon Moore of the Bisley and West End Foodbank is pictured with the Charity Prefects and the Reverend Graham Wright together with some of the items he was able to take to needy families in the area.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Michael Haxeltine, a Civilian Instructor (CI) with Gordon’s CCF for over 30 years.
Mr Haxeltine, a former member of the Special Air Service (Reserve), worked his magic with Cadets at the School in all three Sections (Navy, Army and Air Force ).
He was passionate about passing on his knowledge to the Cadets, on such subjects as Survival, Fieldcraft and Navigation. In his later years he discovered a talent for dowsing, which lead to many hilarious times with staff and cadets on the back field!
Staff and cadets will remember him for his sense of humour, kindness, creativity, humility and above all the enthusiasm. He will be greatly missed.
Unbeaten this season and top of their ACE League, the pinnacle of schoolboy rugby, three members of the school’s Harlequins Partnership Programme have now been selected to join the England U18 training camp over the half term. Congratulations Ben, Ollie and Zuko and the best of luck!
Some of the students have already completed half a marathon with Angus’ Army for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Now they have set themselves a new challenge, that of running 100 miles in one day on Saturday 11th November. The students, along with teachers will be running the South Downs – one group setting off from Winchester and the other from Eastbourne - to support Angus, a Sandringham student diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the Summer, who is currently undergoing treatment at the Royal Marsden. They have set themselves the target of £1,500 for the challenge for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. For further information and to donate, please click here.
Congratulations to Angus’ Army, who completed the Oxford Half Marathon and beat their fundraising target of £16,000 for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The 11 runners, made up of Sandringham House staff Tom Webb, Matt Boote and Max Roffey, together with students, took on the challenge after Angus, one of the students in the House was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the Summer. He is undergoing his chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and his parents also ran to raise awareness and funds for the charity.
The Justgiving page is still open. If you would like to sponsor them, please click this link.
Hats off to our new Year 7s, taking to the Parade Square for the first time today! The 11 year olds have practised marching for just a few short weeks and performed brilliantly, applauded by their peers as well as friends, family and school staff. Dressed in the ceremonial Blues uniform, the year group celebrated by throwing their hats in the air afterwards by the statue of General Gordon on the Front Field.
Harvest donations on display in the Chapel today for the Harvest Festival Services on Sunday before and after the Parade (9.45am and 11am) and 6pm for Evensong. The donations will be given to the West End and Bisley Food Bank as well as the Woking Foodbank. Thank you to all those who have supported these charities with your donations.
Double success for Owen Knight who has been shortlisted for both a national and international academic awards on engineering! The Year 11 student entered the Oxbright and the Immerse essay competitions, his parents only finding out about his intention to apply when they were asked to proof read his documents! For both, he researched and wrote 500 words. For Oxbright about plastics and global warning and how chemical engineers are coming up with solutions such as starch-based polymers, and for Immerse, why creativity is the most important aspect for engineers in the future. Now studying for GCSEs, Owen is hoping to continue his passion for engineering at university – “From a young age I have always wanted to know how things worked and this is the perfect field for it”.
He is a member of the school’s MUN, a Junior Prefect and Right Hand Marker for Parades, combining this with performing in lead roles in school drama productions, “I just find time for every single bit and just get it done”, he says.
More ammunition for Angus’ Army as boarding houses across the school put their creative talents to the test to produce banners to spur on the team running in the Oxford Half Marathon this weekend. Sandringham House staff Tom Webb, Max Roffey and Matt Boote, together with students Frank, Sam and Will, will be running in aid of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The charity is close to their hearts as Angus, one of the students in Sandringham House, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma over the Summer holidays and has been receiving his chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden in Sutton. Angus’s parents will also be taking on the challenge. Students across the school have pledged their support with brightly coloured banners and donations to the Justgiving page. Further donations can be made here - https://www.justgiving.com/page/1691765396285?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2F1691765396285&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share
Navy Cadets on their Field Day to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard today, while Army Cadets are closer to home at Hawley. As part of their Field Day, the Navy have also enjoyed the opportunity to tour the harbour. The Army Cadets have been building rafts and testing them out on the water.
