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Old Girl Sian ‘Wins her Wish List’

Old girl Sian Stephens (nee Evans) 1980-87 was sitting at her desk one Monday morning opening emails to the busy careers enquiries mailboxes she managed as the national Recruitment Manager for a UK luxury boutique hotel chain when an email from a TV Company caught her eye. Looking for lively couples to apply for a TV quiz show to win their dream wish list by answering general knowledge questions on a range of topics against the clock and is hosted by Shane Ritchie on the BBC Lottery show on Saturday night. Sian saw this as an excellent opportunity to try and win their dream holiday to visit their best friends who had moved to Perth in Australia and as both her and her husband enjoy quizzes and know their general knowledge and trivia so Sian applied. A few weeks later Sian had forgotten all about the show until she got a phone call from one of the show’s producers who invited her to audition there and then over the phone. Sian’s husband Phil also received a phone call which was somewhat of a surprise as Sian had forgotten to tell him! However they both passed the initial audition and were then invited to a live audition with 6 other couples in Manchester. We were very nervous and I made a few comical errors Sian recalls, but managed to win over the producers who selected them for the show.

In August 2015 the couple along with 5 of their friends who were invited to come and watch for support, travelled up to the BBC studios in Glasgow to film the show in front of a live studio audience.  It was very nerve racking but Shane Ritchie was lovely and really made us feel at ease Sian remembers and we overcame our nerves to win an amazing 6 out of our 7 prizes which totalled £35,000 including our dream holiday to Thailand and Australia, a festival in our garden with live band, DJ and Hogroast, room makeover, a man cave for Phil and a spa weekend by answering all our questions correctly beating the clock to even get some as an instant win. Sian’s topics included nature and popular culture and has credited her Merchants education as helping to give her the thirst for knowledge and keeping up to date with current affairs – I knew my General Studies A Level would come in useful one day she states!

The couple had become somewhat celebrities after appearing in the local paper twice so decided to organise an evening for friends and family at a local tennis club when the show was aired to help raise money by holding a raffle for their friends charity Believe Organ donation (believe-ods-org.uk) started by the widow of local boy Stuart Bates who was tragically killed with his young son by a speeding driver last Christmas as they walked home from a family party. They continued their fundraising by collecting donations for the charity at their recent festival in their garden.  Sian is a keen athlete and charity fundraiser and with her previous company Lloyd’s Register EMEA (marine surveyors) was chosen by the CEO as one of the runners in an international team from offices around the world to compete in the gruelling 250,000 anniversary Athens marathon in 2010 raising over 40k for various marine charities. In 2010 Sian also started a charity project called the Breakfast Club for local homeless shelter the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool which involved volunteers from her office serving breakfasts to the Homeless on a weekly basis which launched the volunteer programme still going today.

After Sian left school she attended Surrey University achieving a Joint Honours in English and Sociology then continued living and working in London in Health Club Management for over 13 years. She then moved back to Crosby in 2002 and married childhood sweetheart Phil Stephens whose sister Elizabeth was deputy Head Girl in 1986/7 and eventually buying her childhood home which she shares with Phil and their 3 children.

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We are proud of our U12 Cricket team for their har We are proud of our U12 Cricket team for their hard work and determination in the Lancashire Cup Cricket Final yesterday against Manchester Grammar. 

The boys fought to the very end on a tricky pitch, but eventually came out second best to a strong side 🏏

We offer our congratulations to 
@mgs_1515 and wish them the best of luck as they move on to the national finals 👏

#cricket #lancashirecup #schoolcricket #education #merchanttaylors #merchanttaylorsschool
Due to phenomenal demand we have added extra time Due to phenomenal demand we have added extra time slots for our Open Morning taking place on Saturday 7 October! 🙌

Book your place via the link in our bio ⤴️

#openmorning #startheregoanywhere #entranceassessment #visitus #joinus
Well done to all Stanfield pupils who took part in Well done to all Stanfield pupils who took part in the competitions to celebrate the European Day of Languages earlier this week 🇪🇺
 
There were some excellent entries in the foreign tongue twister, design a poster and create the Eiffel Tower competitions and the winners will be announced next week!

#europeandayoflanguages #languagelearning #stanfield #merchanttaylors
The U14s and U12s squads both had a positive start The U14s and U12s squads both had a positive start to the girls' football season earlier this week. The U14s emerged triumphant in a hard-fought game, and the U12s played out a draw in a fiercely contested match, both against The Queen's School Chester. ⚽
Last week, Year 1 had an incredible time when they Last week, Year 1 had an incredible time when they visited @thestorybarn at Calderstones Park. 

During their visit, pupils were able to learn all about the area's past by listening to tales and engaging in outdoor drama activities. 

To top it off, they then ventured into the Storybarn itself during the second part of their trip; a magical library complete with props and costumes! 

#thestorybarn #thestorybarnliverpool #schooltrip #year1 #merchanttaylors #stanfieldprep
We are looking forward to the Merchants’ Winter We are looking forward to the Merchants’ Winter Gala on Friday 10 November.

Tickets will cost £75 and include a drink on arrival, 3 course meal and drinks with dinner. The venue is the Rum Warehouse at the Titanic, and it promises to be fantastic evening, for parents, staff, and members of the wider Merchants’ community. You can book online using the link our bio.

Tables are for 10 people and you will be asked to specify who you want to sit with if you have a group in mind.

We look forward to seeing you there!
Scottish Rugby has chosen Merchant Taylors’ Scho Scottish Rugby has chosen Merchant Taylors’ School as the North West hub for its Scotland Qualified Pathway Programme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉 

The UK-wide programme aims to identify and develop young players who live outside Scotland but are eligible to play for its national teams because they, their parents or grandparents were born north of the border.

From Sunday 24 September, boys and girls aged between 14 and 17 can take part in training and assessment sessions led by SRU coaches, with a selected group of players going on to take part in further training camps and play in a regional game series in January and each session will be at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School.

 Find out more via the link in our bio.
Excellence takes many forms 🙌 Join us for our Excellence takes many forms 🙌 

Join us for our Sixth Form Open Evening on Tuesday 10 October 2023 between 4.30pm and 7.30pm.

The evening will be an opportunity to find out more about our new co-educational Sixth Form, meet subject specialist teachers and understand what makes Sixth Form at Merchant Taylors’ so special. 

In 2023 an impressive 32% of all A Level grades were recorded at A*-A, while nearly two-thirds of all grades attained fell within the A*-B range. 

Click the link in our bio for more information ⤴️
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