Congratulations to Emily James who was the winner in the Junior Sports Personality U18 category and to Ben Wigmore who came third in the U14 category and captained this year's winning team.

The Brecknockshire and Radnorshire District Sports Council Annual Sports Personality Awards (for achievements in 2007) took place at Theatr Brycheiniog Brecon and was organised by Powys County Council’s Development Unit.

Sports Development Officer, Helen Davies commented – “It is wonderful to see how much sporting talent there is out there, Powys should be proud that it has such talented individuals. The panel had a very difficult time in deciding the winners and the runners up, as the standard was the highest to date.”

Local sporting achievements were celebrated with 58 nominations received for awards. Christ College was also nominated for the 1^st VII Netball team in representing the County for the 9^th consecutive year (2006/2007 season) at the National Final Presidents Cup Championship.

Emily is currently in the Welsh U18 Hockey squad preparing for the Home Nations at Cardiff, July 2008. The tournament will take place at Welsh Institute of sport over 4 days, playing England, Ireland and Scotland. Emily has also been called up to train with the Welsh U21 squad this season.

Ben who won the U14 category in 2006 was selected for third place as an all rounder.  He has represented Powys in rugby, football, swimming and running but has achieved greater success to date in hockey playing regularly for South Wales and was selected for the Welsh U13 squad.

Megan Jones is about to embark on a sponsored bike ride with a difference. On the 25 April, Megan Jones (15) will begin a 125 miles cycle ride across Israel to raise money for the poorest families in that nation, and will be supporting Jewish and Palestinian families. The route which will be on a combination of tarmac roads, dirt tracks and desert terrain begins in Galilee, heads through the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea and onto Massada.  It finishes with a gruelling 3000 foot climb into Jerusalem.

Megan said: “I’ve been trying to put in the hours on the bike to prepare myself for the trip, and I’m really grateful to everyone at Christ College who have been so supportive, enabling me to take on this challenge.”

Megan, who will be accompanied by her father Chris, will be supporting the charity “Bridges For Peace” which is unique in that it works with both sides of the political divide in this troubled land, and seeks to bring help and reconciliation between Jews and Palestinians.

Next generation scientists and engineers are set to benefit from the development of a £1.5 million purpose-built science centre which is currently being constructed.

A new two-story building will be added to existing facilities, and will house a number of new hi-tech labs and teaching spaces.  The design will feature a number of sustainable measures and local materials, such as Welsh stone and local timber cladding. 

The centre will be built off-site by construction specialists, Yorkon, minimising the disruption to teaching, and guaranteeing the completion of the project on time and on budget.  Final on-site construction and fit-out will be completed by this August, in time for the 2008/09 academic year.

Head, Emma Taylor said: “I am thrilled to be bucking national trends by investing in a new science facility of this quality at a time when young scientists are becoming something of an endangered species. The sustainable design of the building is important not only environmentally but educationally too, as pupils will be able to see features such as re-use of water and solar heating at first hand. Yorkon have been wonderfully innovative partners in the process and we are also grateful for guidance from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.” 

Friday 14 March

Christ College Cultural Tour group arrived late afternoon in good spirits and blessed with great weather.

Our first visit was to the Trevi Fountain to take in the atmosphere and beauty of this extraordinary monumental baroque fountain which was finally completed in 1762. Legend has it you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the water – hence the group did throw their money away!

From the Trevi, we went on a little jaunt to the Spanish Steps for some singing.  Bearing in mind we were on the eve of a possible Grand Slam, Welsh songs were in favour and the group received special applause for their rendition of “Cwm Rhondda” and “Delilah”.

Saturday 15 March
After navigating the metro system we were greeted by our guide, Maria, who gave us a detailed tour of the Vatican Museums.  The Vatican Museums were founded under the patronage of two 18th century popes who were among the first to open collections of art to the general public for viewing, therefore promoting culture among the masses.

At the end of the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel where the party were given time for quiet reflection. The art is remarkable and it is the venue for the election of each successive Pope.

A tour of St Peter’s Basilica followed, which was until recently the largest church ever built and was said to be built on the spot where Peter, the apostle who is considered the first pope, was crucified and buried in 64 AD; his tomb is under the main altar.

Late afternoon was taken up with supporting Wales in the Grand Slam and Rome was full of Scots in kilts who lost to Italy...

Sunday 16 March

Revd Baker managed to acquire some tickets for Palm Sunday Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. A group of students and staff went to this very memorable and moving occasion which was the highlight of their tour.    

The rest of the group navigated a very busy metro (due to the Rome Marathon and Palm Sunday Mass) to visit Castel St Angelo, which was started in 135AD as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian.  It holds some very impressive art, costumes and artefacts and the views over Rome were magnificent.

In the afternoon the tour visited the Colosseum where our guide explained why such a structure was built to witness bloody contests of might and the slaughter of wild beasts. The stadium was an elliptical stadium, 188 metres along its longest axis and 40 metres high and is truly an impressive site, inside and out. An optional tour of the Roman Forum followed.  

Christ College achieved the double this season by winning both U18 and U16 County Competitions to qualify for the Ann Smart National Competition at U16 and the Presidents Cup National Competition at U18. Each County in Wales organizes a qualifying area competition and the winning team goes on to represent their County at the National Finals, held in March every year. For more information click here to go to the netball page.

Plans were announced this week to put 467 years of history on display at Christ College, thanks to a £44,600 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Historical artefacts and records which have until now been in storage, will soon take pride of place in a museum-standard archive within the school's library.

The work, which will begin in the summer, will result in many more historical materials, photographs and artefacts relating to Christ College's long history coming into public display.

Pupils from local primary schools, as well as pupils from Christ College will be involved throughout the development of the archive.

Christ College Librarian and Archivist Anna Lang (pictured back right) said:  "The archive will be established on, and will work to, Museum Documentation Association standards, using professionally recognised cataloguing systems and high quality conservation methods for records and materials.  With the help of this award and the involvement of the local community, we hope we will soon establish a centre of excellence, and be a learning centre and reference point to all of those interested in local history."
 

Fifteen members of the Christ College Alway House Book Club, which meets every Wednesday afternoon in the library, took part in a sponsored ‘Readathon’ to raise money for their House charity, the Noah’s Ark Appeal.  

Their aim was to raise money for the charity through an activity which the very children they wanted to help could also enjoy. 

Librarian, Anna Lang said: “Reading is one of the few escapes from illness, and can be accessed anywhere at any time. In addition to raising money for this worthwhile cause, we hope to raise awareness with our young pupils the role that books and reading can play as relaxation tool, as well as drawing attention to the huge investment in new books which Christ College has made in recent years.” 

Soprano songstress, Sarah-Jane Davies set the tempo for the month when she returned to her old school to deliver a singing master class to pupils. The English National Opera star put some of Christ College’s senior pupils through their paces in front of an audience of pupils and invited guests. (Pupils who took part were Billy Mason-Watts, Joshua Games, Rachel Williams, Alex Davies and Jordan Williams).

A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Sarah-Jane represented Wales in last year’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.  Pupil Alex Davies said: “It was an amazing experience to sing with Sarah-Jane and I think we all learned a great deal from the class.”  

On Friday 22 February, the Lloyds TSB Young Musician of the Year Competition took place. Adjudicators Mark Duthie, Master of the Music at Brecon Cathedral and Helen Porter, Director of Music at Dean Close School in Cheltenham heaped praise on all of the competitors for their outstanding performances.  The prize for best performance of a contemporary work was awarded to saxophonist Steffan Raw-Rees, but for his varied repertoire and communication with the audience, the Lloyds TSB Young Musician of the Year was awarded to soloist Joshua Games.

For information on the evening click here.

Rounding off the month’s activities will be a visit from classical guitarist and former Christ College pupil Adam Khan. Adam was awarded a Global Music Award in recognition of his most recent album ‘A Day In November’ and was also nominated as one of the ‘Top Achievers of Asian Origin’ for his 2006 concert schedule which took him to Asia, Europe and South America. 

This year will find Adam issuing a new recording of the complete works of Luys de Narvaez, giving recitals in Holland, Malaysia, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and the USA, and undertaking an extensive tour of the UK with Luis Orias Diz as the Welsh-Argentine Guitar Duo.

Adam performed in a recital at Christ College for the local community on 29 February.  

Congratulations to Steffan Raw-Rees (Senior Boys) and Ben Wigmore (Lower Junior Boys) who both secured 1st place and County Champions for 2008.  

Congratulations also to Will Burton who gained silver (Middle Boys) and Holly Rees who gained bronze (Senior Girls).

On Wednesday 6^th February, we welcomed Ms Rebecca Fong from the University of the West of England, Bristol, to lead our Japanese Language Day alongside three of our own Japanese pupils, Ayako Kato, Shiori Ishida and Tomoya Kubota.

All our Form 3 pupils enjoyed participating in a range of cultural activities including Origami and Sudoku, as well as a fascinating taster session in this exciting language.

Pupils also experienced a Green Tea Ceremony, and tasted some typical Japanese dishes in the school dining hall, complete with chopsticks!