Long Distance Ride 2009

For the last four summers the school has organised a long distance bike ride through the school’s mountain bike club. We have completed two coast to coast trips, one from Workington to Sunderland and the other from Barrow in Furness back to Brompton. The other ride was from Boston in Lincolnshire back to school in Brompton. This summer our ride was a 175 mile tour around North and East Yorkshire which took place over five days on the penultimate week of the summer term.

Despite the changeable weather over the summer the mountain bike club had a lot of interest both for the shorter rides for beginners each Monday and for the full evening rides each Wednesday. These activities were led by Mr Steel and supported by Mr Mihkelson, Miss Stainthorpe and Mr Webb. All went for the week along with Mr Bristow and Mr Hunter who provided transport and looked after the meals. Mr Dale also joined the party for the ride on Friday. It was not a surprise to have a lot of takers for the mammoth ride – and in the end eleven boys (some keen riders were sadly unable to join the group for various reasons) set off from school on Monday 6th July.

The route was a 175 mile circuit starting and finishing at the school. The group were picked up at the end of each day, taken to our campsite at Hutton-le-Hole and then returned the following day to continue. Day one took us on a 37 mile route through the local forests of Wykeham and Broxa to Ravenscar where we all were drenched by a thunderstorm that included large hail stones that made us take cover under an old railway bridge. We continued from here up through Whitby to our finishing point at Sandsend. Back at the campsite after showers and a filling of special curry all went to their tents. The whole group were so tired they fell asleep without a murmur!

Day two was our hardest. It was another 37 miles but on much steeper ground. The first section was on fairly busy and steep roads before we found an old track across the moor. This linked with steep climbs and falls on small lanes before we came to Kildale where we had lunch. We then took one of the steepest farm tracks in the area up onto the moors before following the rigs and disused railway to Blakey Bank. The last 8 miles was fast, glorious downhill back to the camp that included dodging a few psychopathic sheep that bolted out of the verges in front of passing cyclists. That evening we were joined for a barbecue by Sinsal School from Lincoln who were camping in the area.

Day three was a flatter 43 miles to Pockington that included an off road section around Castle Howard. We met a pie van and bought every pie they had left! Day four took us all the way to Bridlington crossing some beautiful scenery north of Pocklington and following an old Roman Road near Sledmere. We all felt we deserved the ice cream on the seafront and the second barbecue of the week when we got back to camp.

The final day started with a great effort to break camp and tidy up before the final leg back to school. This was a fantastic effort from all involved. All the more remarkable because the boys came from a range of classes from year 10 down to year 7! School staff again showed the commitment required to make a trip like this possible – giving up a lot of their time to help Mr Steel organise and set up the trip. The work is still not over because we are hoping to raise money for Martin House through sponsorship and the sponsor money needs collecting. Any support for this will be very welcome.

Sports Awards

This year has seen the introduction of the first annual sports awards at Brompton to celebrate the achievements of the boys over the past year. Mr Dale and Mr Kirby spent hours of deliberation to decide which boy from each year group would be awarded sportsman of year and most improved pupil. The winners of the awards were as follows: Key stage 2 sportsman of the year: Kain Atkinson, most improved pupil: Callum Allen. Year 7 sportsman of the year: Liam Mcdonald, most improved pupil: Ross Waudby. Year 8 sportsman of the year: Nathan Habberley, most improved pupil: Daniel Zammit. Year 9 sportsman of the year: Thomas Spence, most improved pupil: Christopher Newton. Year 10 sportsman of the year: Liam Clarke, most improved pupil: Liam Dutton.

Cricket Trip

This year’s annual Cricket trip saw eight boys travel to watch the first days play of a three day test match between England and Bangladesh under 19’s at Scarborough. Prior to the start of the match the boys were made to feel very welcome by both teams and were given the opportunity to be pictured with the Bangladesh team as pictured below. Once the match got underway the boys were treated to a master class in batting by debutant opener James Cobb who scored a fantastic 220 runs helping England to 428 for the loss of eight wickets at the close of play. The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and during the 40 minute break for lunch got the chance to play on the outfield with some of the Bangladesh players and supporters which was an experience I am sure the boys will not forget in a hurry.

Sponsored Walk

On 1st and 2nd April a group of pupils and staff undertook an arduous 26 mile walk in aid of Martin House Children’s Hospice.  The event was organised by the boys entered for the Duke of Edinburgh, Bronze, award. The weather was kind as it was overcast but warm.  Everyone was well prepared, carrying their own pack up and water. The route took the party from Scalby Village Hall, through Scarborough and to the top of Oliver’s Mount where we were met by Mr & Mrs Roberts with very welcome cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate as well as tins of  cakes that the boys had made in Food Tech lessons.  Then on past the wireless station and down through Raincliffe Woods to be met at the end of the first day at the car park in Forge Valley.

The second day was much the same, with climbs and descents until the party was met once again at Scalby Village, foot sore and weary but pleased with themselves and their efforts. The boys managed to raise just over £800 for the hospice which is an astonishing achievement for the size of the group involved.

Scarborough Rotary Club Champions

Under glorious sunshine at Woodlands school in Scarborough the boys acquitted themselves superbly to become joint rotary club 6 a-side soccer champions with Mowbray School.

Wykehem Lakes

Two groups of boys have again been kayaking, canoeing and sailing around the lake at Wykeham. The four week course was very popular with around 12 boys attending from the younger end of the school and around 8 from the older group.  The evenings were finished off with a BBQ or Lasagne at Mr and Mrs Farn’s house. I’m not sure which they enjoyed the most

Camping Club Camp.

This was our third year, staying at Rivendale in the Peak District, and yet again it rained most of the time. A five day camp, gave us 4 days of wet weather. The boys had their own tents as well as cooking stoves.. They learned how to cook for themselves and for others. They learned how to cope with damp and wet surroundings. Experienced what it was like to have a nearly flooded camp site.  Although none of the tents got flooded, we did have a time when we thought one of the tents might have floated away. We had 3 inches of water underneath Liam’s tent. Even with all the rain, spirits were not dampened. Walking took place over 3 days. With a total mileage in excess of 35 miles, the highlight for most of the boys was the climb to the top of Thorpe Cloud in Dovedale.  For once it wasn’t raining.

Mr Roberts Mr Webb & Mrs Roberts would like to thank Ross, Tom, Liam, Kyle and Zack for making the trip worthwhile. Their behaviour during trying times was excellent and their attitude was superb. They were a credit to the school and to themselves.

Lets hope Rivendale 2010 will be a bit drier

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme run by Mr Dale and Mr Kirby has proved to be a very successful addition to the evening activities . In order to attain the bronze award the boys have been busy taking part in activities since September covering four areas: services, skills, physical recreation and an overnight expedition. For the service section they rejuvenated an old seating area in the village clearing, weeding and putting down borders and plants. During the skills part the boys made planters and bird tables which they sold for a profit to raise money for Martin House hospice. For the physical recreation section the boys experienced a range of sports including Golf, Squash, Badminton and took part in two months of boxing training which they found particularly gruelling. Before the last and arguably most fun part of the award, the boys took part in an overnight expedition staying at Birch Hall. This included a 30 mile round walking trip, leaving school on the Monday morning and returning late afternoon on the Tuesday. Pictured right are the seven boys, staff and Harry the dog which managed to complete the walk and all four sections of the award

Tag Rugby Festival Huntington Stadium 2008

Nine Boys from years 7, 8, 9 and 10 performed excellently during their three matches against much older boys from Netherside, Mowbray and Harrogate in the annual Tag rugby tournament at Huntington stadium, York. Without doubt they played the best attacking rugby on display during the day showing some great handling and passing moves to come out with a record of two wins against Netherside and Mowbray. With only one defeat by the narrowest of margins against a Harrogate team whose average age was 17 compared to our boys of just under 13. Special praise must be given to Andrew Weatherill and Kyle Newsome who made the step up from primary to senior sport and never looked out of place.

Sports day 2008

Brompton hall held its annual sports day on Tuesday July 15th. All the boys competed within their year groups across 8 different sports/activities for the coveted title of superstar for the year. In order to decided the eventually winner the boys achieved ten points for winning an event down to one for last place. The events included were darts, pool, bowls, cricket bowling, high jump, long, jump, shot putt and the egg and spoon, sack and sprint combined event. All the boys performed excellently during the day showing a good competitive spirit and sportsmanship. Some notable performances came from Harry Vicars jumping 1.35 meters in the year 8 high jump, Tom Wright’s performance in coming first in the year 6 bowls and Ryan Bellerby’s excellent bowling in the year 9 Cricket. At the end of the day Mr Dalby hurriedly added all the boys points and Mr Dale presented the trophies to the following winners: Year 4+5 Superstar Kyle Goat, Year 6 Superstar Markus Donlan, Year 7 Superstar Aaron Childs, Year 8 Superstar Harry Vicars, Year 9 Superstar Liam Clarke and Year 10 Superstar Jamie Carroll.

Leeds Football Festival

Boys from years 7, 8 and 9 took part for the first time in the Yorkshire 6-aside football competition held at the John Charles centre at Leeds. The boys played 8 games against some very strong teams from Leeds and Barnsley of which many of them were older from years 10 and 11.  During the competition the boys acquitted themselves excellently and far exceed staff expectation in winning 5 of their 8 games to finish 3rd in the league. For Brompton all the boys played with great effort and controlled aggression, although special mention must go to Ashley Watson (pictured right) playing his first game for the school in goal as Brompton’s player of the tournament for his outstanding saves and bravery. Despite missing out on winning the league the boys were awarded at the presentation with the fair play award voted for by the rest of the teams receiving 6 out of 7 votes possible.

Mutli Skills Festival

The boys from Key stage 2 recently took part in the annual mutli-skills festival this time held in York. During the day the boys took part in 12 challenges testing them on their balance, agility and coordination and were rewarded for each successful task with a sticker to go on their chart. All the boys had a very rewarding day completing at least 11 out of the 12 tasks to a good standard.

Tag Rugby Success

On Tuesday March the 18th 2008, boys from keystage 3 and 4  took part in the annual North Yorkshire special needs tag rugby festival at York. In the competition the boys were grouped with teams from Mowbray, Netherside and Bailol and comfortably won all three group games 11-8, 17-10 and 11-5 respectively. This meant that the boys faced Mowbray in the final who’s only defeat during the group stages came against Brompton. During the final match the boys played their best rugby of the tournament easily outclassing Mowbray, displaying some stunning free flowing passing moves before eventually running out winners by 15 tries to 6. Once again the boys enhanced their reputation within the sports partnership for been a tough team to beat whilst playing with great sportsmanship. In addition to what was a very successful the day the boys also met and talked to special guest Sebastian Coe who won Olympic gold in the 1500m and silver in the 800m at both Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984.

Brompton Hall Hits the Slopes Again

For the fourth year running boys from Brompton have visited Bulgaria and enjoyed a skiing experience that I am sure they will remember for a long time. The weather was absolutely glorious with crisp mornings and very sunny days. Twice during the week we had a BBQ in the garden with staff and boys in shorts and T shirts. Mr Shannon accompanied us this year for the first time and was a little nervous initially about leaving home for such a long time and coping on the slopes. He managed very well all week but it must be said that his best fall of the week had nothing to do with skiing but actually took place in a restaurant in Sofia.  As usual we started the week with a day of sledging and generally getting over the flight. On day 3 we picked up our ski gear and had 6 days of intense skiing. Our instructor Svet had all 6 boys skiing 8km. green runs after the first day and everyone’s confidence grew as the week progressed. After 6 days of skiing we could relax and visit Sofia for shopping, sightseeing and to experience this unique capital  city. We visited the Alexander Levski Church, a local market, and watched a cavalcade of cars leaving the president’s building as well as having a very good lunch in the ‘Happy Grill’. After lunch we walked to another larger market before returning to bus station Yuk to get the service bus back to Samokov Town. We had no problem at all encouraging the boys to go to bed at night as they were all very tired at the end of the day, (as were we). Some of the parents were surprised when they telephoned when they were told that the boys were already in bed at 8.30pm. The final day saw us up and in a minibus at 4.00 in the morning to begin the journey back to school. All flights however were on time, all luggage arrived with us, and everyone had a great time.  

Fishing Club

The School Fishing Club continues to thrive and runs twice weekly coarse fishing trips to the Rosedale Fishery at Humanby.  The lake is stocked with a range of freshwater fish, including carp, tench and perch, some of which put up a real fight and make the boys work hard to get them onto the bank.  We have been able to replace a lot of our equipment this year and the new rods, reels and landing nets have really made a difference.  This year we were invited to join the Brompton Village Fly Fishing Club, fishing the village pond which is stocked with trout.  Although they are complete beginners, under the tuition of Mr.Scarth, many of the lads are showing real promise and thoroughly enjoy the sessions.  At the moment until stocks build up, the club enforces a strict catch and release policy but we are all eagerly awaiting the time when we can eat what we catch!

Mountain Biking

Mountain biking is a popular activity at school. The boys have to pass a basic safety test first, and then they can go on rides varying in length and difficulty. The longest we have done is the “coast to coast”. Good use is made of the local area and we like to cater for all abilities and encourage personal fitness.

 We have a great range of modern mountain bikes and the boys also help to maintain them. The correct equipment is also provided, for their safety and they go out twice a week.

Motorcycles Trails

Motorbike club has now been running for 3 years. Initially the activity which is run by Mr Bristow and Mr Bannister started with one bike a Montesa. The activity quickly began to develop and soon became a firm favourite amongst all the boys. Three times a week up to 15 boys on a blue pass or above were accompanying staff up to Low North Camp (a local bike club). It soon became apparent that the activity needed to expand in order for it to continue to succeed. A further two bikes where purchased both 2005 and 125cc’s, a Sherco and Beta to complement the Gas Gas 125 and 250 cc which we already have.