Cundall musicians have once again secured an outstanding set of music exam results from Grades 1-6, including five distinctions awarded by the exam board. This was the first set of exams taken here at Cundall rather than visiting an exam centre, and being in the familiar surroundings of the school library certainly seems to have helped our pupils perform at their very best. Good luck to the next set of musicians who will take their exams on the last Saturday of term.

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Well done to all involved in the annual Staff v Thornton Hockey match. In a hard fought and fun game, the staff narrowly clinched a 1-0 victory.

Thank you to all who came along to watch and we hope you all enjoyed the game.

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Pupils embraced the magical theme with youngsters from Form 1 being inspired by Harry Potter, even transforming the cloak room into a version of Platform 9 ¾.

Elsewhere, a ‘drop everything and read’ event was held, giving pupils the opportunity to pick up their favourite book and read for ten minutes. Prizes were also given as part of a school wide best dressed competition.

Paul Swalwell, Marketing Manager at Cundall Manor School, said: “Our World Book Day celebrations are always a superb celebration of the power of reading. This year’s magical theme was certainly embraced by pupils from all across our year groups, capturing their imaginations and encouraging them all to become avid readers.”

World Book Day 2018 marks 21 years of the event and has seen thousands of children across the country join in the fun. To find out more about all the latest news and updates from World Book Day 2018, visit www.worldbookday.com.

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Henry Porter has secured his place at the Under 10s National Children’s Orchestra playing the trumpet following a successful audition. As part of the NCO Henry will join his fellow young musicians for a residential course in Dorset during the summer.

Henry hopes the experience of playing with the NCO will help him gain his Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Grade 5 in the next few months.

The invite to participate in the NCO will also see Henry rehearse with the Northerlies NCO at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester every month up to November when he will be playing in the Northerlies NCO concert under the direction of composer Verónica Urrego.

Jenny Porter, Henry’s mum, described how Henry first heard of the orchestra. She said: “Henry heard an advert for the National Children’s Orchestra on Classic FM on the drive in to school one morning and really wanted to audition for it.”

Adding: “Henry has only been playing the Trumpet for just under 3 years and for the audition he had to play a couple of contrasting pieces and compete sight reading which he got an excellent report back for and thankfully secured himself a place.”

Jenny said: “It is all big steps for him and lots of hard work ahead but he is really excited about it.”

The NCO was formed in 1978 and is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary this year. As part of the celebrations across the NCO, children will be celebrating the music of Debussy and Bernstein as both composers have centenaries in 2018.

The NCO is recognised as a leading training ground for professional classical musicians of the future with children as young as seven benefiting from the world class foundation in orchestral performance and musicianship. To find out more about the opportunities to see the NCO in action, visit their website at http://www.nco.org.uk/

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Flossie will now join the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain following a successful audition.

The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain offer talented youngsters from around the country the opportunity to perform in some of the world’s leading music venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Sage, Gateshead.

Flossie, who recently performed with other members of the Cundall Manor School Choir at Durham Cathedral as part of the Durham Vocal Festival, will attend two residential courses a year full of music, learning opportunities and social activities. The 13 year old will join together with 100 other talented young singers and will have the opportunity to sing in a range of performances across the year.

Director of Music at Cundall Manor School, Sarah Reece, said: “Flossie has always loved singing, and has taken part in a huge number of choral events, musical theatre productions and solo performances. This is on top of playing flute, piano, guitar, and recently attaining Grade 5 in Music Theory.”

“Getting a place in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain is a superb achievement, well done Flossie!”

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20 members of the Cundall Manor Choir recently joined Barnard Castle School Chapel Choir to sing choral evensong at Durham Cathedral, as part of the Durham Vocal Festival celebrations. After rehearsing all morning, the choirs travelled up to Durham Cathedral, one of the greatest buildings in Europe and a World Heritage Site. To sing in this amazing venue was an absolute privilege, and the choirs certainly rose to the occasion, singing with beauty and precision. A host of invited guests attended, including the Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, the Mayor of Durham, the head teachers from both schools and many proud parents.

Director of Music Sarah Reece said, “I am thrilled that choral singing at Cundall is going from strength to strength, and that we are able to share talent and experience through partnerships with other choirs. We are already looking forward to singing another choral evensong at Ripon Cathedral in June.”

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Recently Form 4 visited York – a trip designed to support the project work that the children are studying on ‘The History of York’. Our first visit was to the York Minster Education Centre where the children attended a workshop and were able to learn about how the Minster building has changed over the centuries. This was followed by an interesting tour of the Minster itself. After a quick lunch, we then ventured the short distance across the city to the Yorkshire Museum. Here the children were able to explore the various exhibits before meeting ‘Morca, the Earl of Northumbria’, who was our guide to the intense struggle for York between Anglo-Saxon and Viking invaders between 866AD and 1066AD. The workshop concluded with a sword and shield drill to determine which children would be suitable for recruitment into the Anglo-Saxon army! We await his decision!

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Pupils from Pre-Prep and Form 1 joined in some very important research from the European Space Agency (ESA) this week. Pupils enjoyed getting to grips with some materials and conducted a whole range of experiments on them to test their suitability for possible space exploration.

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