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Sports Day - 28th June 2010
This whole school event, staged in basking sunshine at the famous Iffley Road track, was enjoyed by parents, staff and pupils. All pupils in the Second, Third, Lower Fourth, Upper Fourth and Fifth Form had the chance to contribute to the House Standards trophy, which was won by Wilkinson House.
The main event saw an increased number of boys take part. A new school record was set by Freddy Campbell in the junior hurdles, whilst Chavasse House equalled the 1985 Senior 4 x 100 relay record with a time of 48.2 seconds.
All 1st, 2nd & 3rd place competitors received certificates.
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Art Success - June 2010
Artworks by George Townsend, Henry Anderson-Elliott, and Peter Allen were selected for the online A Level Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition which received 1,300 submissions. Roly Bagnall’s work was also shortlisted for the competition. The exhibition has been curated by Royal Academician Richard Wilson and RA curator Dr Adrian Locke.
For more information visit the Royal Academy website by clicking here.
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Clearly or Darkly - George Townsend |
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MCS WINS NATIONAL MATHS TEAM CHALLENGE - June 2010
Congratulations to Eddy Grogan, Freddie Illingworth, Alex Gunasekera and Stephen Jones who have triumphed at the National Maths Team Challenge and beaten 80 other schools to take the title.
The National Final took place on Monday in London and the MCS boys were in the top five at the end of each round. They were supervised throughout the day by a teacher from another school who commented on their speed and knowledge. Freddie solved one question, designed to take the team five minutes, in seconds. In the final round, the difficult cross number section, the time allocation had to be halved, but our team scored a staggering 59/60.
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Olympic Trip - June 2010
On Sunday 20th June 2010 third form winners of the Geographical Association's Worldwise Quiz (Arthur Bickersteth, Matti Darowski and Will Hardyman) went to London to claim their prize. They won a tour of the 2012 Olympic stadium - by bicycle! The weather was kind and the boys found that going by bike we could view the stadium, aquatics centre, velodrome, basketball stadium, Olympic village, and a fantastic aerial view where we could appreciate the sheer size of the site. The landscaping has yet to be done so at the moment the whole area still looks like a large building site. It will be very interesting for us to chart its progress in the countdown to the 2012 Olympics!
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Black Country Museum - June 2010
On Friday 11th June the 2nd form visited the Black Country Museum in Dudley. Costumed guides led the boys on a tour of industries, crafts and recreational activities from the early 20th century. Talks were heard from the chain-maker, the confectioner, the pharmacist and the baker before a barge trip through the amazing Dudley canal tunnel, a lesson in a late Victorian school and some fun in the fairground. Mr Spowart seems to have had a particularly fine time!
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1st XI Beat Rugby by 76 Runs - June 2010
This Saturday gone saw the second block fixture against Rugby School. In a very exciting declaration game the 1st XI were put into bat on a green looking wicket and were quite aggressive early on, scoring 52 off the first 12 overs. However, three wickets fell reasonably quickly putting MCS in a difficult position. Jai Patel and Charlie Beeson steadied the ship for a few overs, and with 55 overs gone and a declaration required soon for the state of the match, Patel and Henry Anderson-Elliott launched an assault on the Rugby attack, Patel the last out for 84, the total score 230 a very competitive total.
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Ringing the changes - May 2010
Magdalen College School advertised a very unusual lunch club last September, inviting pupils to try their hand at 'ringing in the bell-towers of Oxford'. Since then, a band of 10 boys have been learning the ancient and very English art of change-ringing: practising first with 'tied clappers', so as not to disturb the dreaming spires. But on July 3rd these 16 year olds have been granted permission by Magdalen College to ring open bells as their peers walk across the bridge for their annual Commemoration Service. The Chaplain, Rev'd Tess Kuin Lawton said, 'Magdalen tower has long been at the heart of Oxford tradition, but now we have a new generation of young people ready to take up the challenge of a very different traditional art in the 21st century. We are so grateful for this unique opportunity.' |
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MCS sailing team wins British Schools Southern Region Championships - for the fourth year in a row - May 2010
Saturday took two sailing teams to the Southern Region Championships hosted by Canford.
MCS 2 beat several strong sides in the silver league, but were prevented by the format from progressing into the final stages.
MCS 1 sailed with assurance until coming unstuck against Wellington, but progressed through to the finals where the Wellington threat was resisted with excellent, close racing.
MCS 1 came away with the top prize for the fourth successive year.
Well done to both teams. Helm Sam Jenkins is to collect the BSDRA Southerns Trophy. |
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Cricket Update - May 2010
This past weekend saw a very busy day of cricket against Abingdon. On the whole a very successful day for the boys, winning 7 from the 11 fixtures played.
The 1st XI lost a very good game, Abingdon scoring 247 and Magdalen finishing just 26 runs short, Charlie Beeson scoring 66.
The U12A had a crushing victory, bowling the opposition out for 39, Ed smith taking 5 wickets for 11 runs. They then knocked of the total with ease, not losing a wicket and look forward to playing in the County Cup on Wednesday. The U15A also had an excellent victory, winning by 7 wickets. Chris Nourse the man in form scoring 63, with excellent support from Josh Wade and Michael Forrest.
The 3rd XI kept up there unbeaten season with a 6 wicket win, Andrew Willis scoring 53. The U15B are the other side that remains unbeaten, wining by 5 wickets after bowling Abingdon out for 84.
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Callendar wins Tug of War - May 2010
Friday lunchtimes this term have thus far brought not only sunshine and the opportunity for the mind to begin to wander to the potential joys that the weekend may bring but have also heralded the House Tug of War competition; an opportunity to show off brute force, team-work and (apparently for some) too much flesh. This keenly fought battle of will and might tugged at not only the sinews of the competitors themselves but also the heart strings of the audience who watched in awe as teams of 8 hand picked warriors from the upper echelons of the six houses took to the field and pulled for pride and glory.
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Tennis - 22nd May 2010
A good week for the U15A side saw them enjoy two very tight wins. They beat a good Radley side 5 - 4 and a tough Bradfield side also 5 - 4. This puts them undefeated so far for the year with four wins out of four.
The 1st team also recorded a tight victory over an evenly matched Bradfield side, winning 5 - 4.
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Cricket Latest - May 2010
We won 5 games out of 6 against KES Southampton.
The 1st XI recording solid victory by 4 wickets. Tom Hogan the star of the show, scoring his first hundred for the school with 106.
Another win for the U13A, who after struggling with the bat for the first couple of games have really come on strong, scoring 189 for 4, Ben Reid scoring 55 in their 99 run victory. |
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Winter Tennis Academy Training Pays Off For the 1st VI Tennis Team - May 2010
The senior 1st VI tennis team won their fifth match of the season on Saturday with a convincing win against Pangbourne College. Captain, Steven Piddock, who has now played for four years in the 1st VI is delighted with his young team's success so far. The team have also beaten Shrewsbury, Cheltenham College and The Oratory. A draw in sets away to Eton was another strong performance, narrowly losing on rubbers. The players have really benefitted from the winter tennis academy sessions at MCS. |
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MCS Juniors reach National Championship chess finals - May 2010
The MCS Junior School chess team enjoyed a victorious weekend at the EPSCA National Schools U11 Semi-Finals held in Somerset. This event, for teams which had qualified through the previous regional rounds, saw thirty schools competing for the top two places to reach the national finals in July. Only eight teams from the whole of the country reach this level.
The MCS boys were in great form, winning five of their six matches and drawing the other. They were semi-finals champions for the second year running, a great achievement.
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New Head of Development- May 2010
MCS has appointed a new Head of Development, Salima Hyde. Mrs Hyde says she is much looking forward to the new role.
I graduated from St John's College, Cambridge with a degree in Classics and Social and Political Sciences, and took up my first job in development in 2005, at the Perse School in Cambridge. I then moved into higher education, running the Annual Fund at Jesus College for two years, before then moving into major gifts fundraising at St John's College. After relocating to Oxford in April 2009, I spent a year as Associate Development Director at University College, Oxford.
MCS is an extraordinary school, buzzing with energy, ambition and purpose, and I am very much looking forward to working with OWs, staff, parents and pupils as the next phase of the School's development plans moves forward. I feel very privileged to be joining MCS at such an exciting time and I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know as many OWs and friends of the School as possible." |
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A leap forward for MCs showjumper Clark Glasgow - May 2010
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MCS City Schools� Athletics Champions - May 2010
MCS under 17 athletics team won the City Schools' Athletics Championships on Wednesday 12th May. The highlight was seeing the slick 4 x 100 relay team win the final event of the day. Eight schools competed, with Cherwell coming second and St Edward�s third.
MCS won a large number of the events. First places were:
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Magdalen College Choir rehearsing for the Newbury Spring Festival |
Sell-out concert success for College Choir - May 2010
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Tennis News - May 2010
Saturday 8th May the 1st VI beat The Oratory School 9 - 0 in a superb display of sound tactical doubles play. This gives them two wins in a row having beaten a good Cheltenham College side 5 - 4 last Saturday in what was a very close match. |
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Cricket News - May 2010
The U14A side remains unbeaten this season, with victories over: Wellingborough, Bromsgrove and The Oratory. Hal Stevenson has been the star of late, taking nine wickets in the last two matches. Hal has taken 4 for 10 against Bromsgrove School and 5 for 12 against The Oratory over the past two weekends.
The 3rd XI are also unbeaten, this weekend saw captain Tom Stevens scoring 58 to get past The Oratory�s total of 132,The team eventually winning by 4 wickets.
This week sees tough midweek fixtures against local rivals, St Edwards.
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Thames Valley Regatta - May 2010
Saturday took two sailing teams to the Thames Valley Championships hosted by Eton.
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Magdalen’s choir blossoms on May Day - May 2010
Choristers greeting May Day morning from Oxford’s Magdalen College Tower heralded an historic change for the choir as it was announced that women will now be able to join. Magdalen will be the first of the five Oxbridge College choirs to use female voices. The College’s Informator Choristarum, Daniel Hyde said, ‘This is an exciting opportunity… We will continue to maintain and develop our traditional men and boys choir whilst also giving women the opportunity to sing in the Chapel’. Master, Dr Tim Hands welcomed the change, ‘This will give one or two of our very best hand-picked Sixth Form girls an enviable opportunity to make music within the University as well as the School’.
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