As part of our World Book Day celebrations a literary quiz was held in the Junior Hall on Friday 4th March. Eight teams took part- each with a boy from Year 3, 4, 5 and 6. There were six rounds of tough questions on books for kids and the boys all enjoyed the competition hugely. After a close contest, Powerful Parker emerged as winners with 33 points. The winning boys, who all received a Dan Smith novel, were:
Thomas C Y6
Joseph C Y5
William C Y4
Joseph W Y3 
Some ‘novel’ outfits were on display yesterday when the children dressed up as their favourite book characters for World Book Day. We think they look fantastic.
Hot off the press is a report by Year 6 Junior Reporter, William B, on the recent visit of Dan Smith:
On Tuesday 1st March we were visited by Dan Smith, a famous author of a variety of books both for children and adults. He answered many questions asked by boys from different years and told us about his life and love for books.
The children’s books Dan spoke about were: Boy X, Big Game, My Brothers Secret and My friend the enemy.
Boy X has just come out and it is highly recommended that you read it. It is about a boy called Ash who wakes up drugged on a tropical island and his mother, a genetic scientist, was forced to create a deadly virus and is now trapped and infected with the virus. Ash goes out into the jungle realising he is faster and sharper than before. But why are all the animals watching him and how can he use the jungle to his advantage?
I can’t wait to read these fantastic books and really enjoyed meeting Dan Smith.
William B
Junior Reporter
Dan Smith with School Librarian Mrs Rea
Congratulations to Max and Rhys Davies who both picked up medals in the Merseyside Schools Table Tennis Championships! Max was runner up in the U/13s losing by the smallest possible margin, 11-9 in the deciding 5th set. Younger brother Rhys went one better winning the U/11s for the second year in a row without losing a single set. He will now represent Merseyside in the National Schools Finals at the end of April in Wolverhampton with a real chance of success! Well done to both boys on their achievements!
We are pleased to announce that MTPS Stanfield now has a new library. We would like to thank the PTA for their generous donation, which has enabled us to buy some specialist library furniture. The children are all looking forward to using the new library and we are hoping to start Infant Story Club after the Easter break.
S.Garforth and S.Taylor.
Congratulations to Chloe Ellen Jones in year 10 who performed in The British Flute Society 2016 International Competition in London. Chloe won First Prize in her class which was the Class B School Performer 14-18 years. This was an extremely competitive class with 27 performers competing this year coming from as far as Poland and Russia! This is fantastic news for Chloe who is truly delighted with the outcome after all her hard work and commitment. Chloe is now officially the top UK Flautist within this age bracket which is a superb achievement!
For the full article please click here
World Book Day event
Visit by Dan Smith
Tuesday 1st March 2016
Dan, now a successful writer for both children and adults, was inspired by his early love of stories. His favourite film, Star Wars, which he saw when he was seven, made him want to be his hero Han Solo. He loved everything about the film, and the action figures. His childhood was spent travelling the world, as his family lived in many exotic locations following the jobs of his father, a chemical engineer. For a long time Dan was home schooled, and enjoyed the freedom of living in places like Brazil, Indonesia and Russia. However when he was sent to boarding school in England to continue his education, stories became his comfort and escapism when he was feeling homesick. He started to make up stories as well as reading them, and when he was in his late teens he wrote them down.
The boys were enthralled by Dan’s tales of sitting in the crater of an active volcano, fishing for piranhas, contending with the most poisonous spider in the world in one of his childhood homes, and encountering snakes, scorpions, ants, armadillos and jaguars. They were also intrigued by his description of the lawlessness of Brazil. His family lived in a remote part of the country where the only policeman was usually drunk or asleep, and where guns were commonly kept by most of the workers his father employed. He has used this landscape as the background to some of his novels.
His advice to budding writers was to practice constantly and let your imagination have free rein. It is also crucial to read widely. Dan’s favourite books include The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and anything by J K Rowling who he thinks is a wonderful writer. He loves the freedom of being an author, and enjoys events in schools as children are so enthusiastic. In the afternoon Dan inspired some creative writers with advice and fun activities, based on film clips from The Thing, and Children of Men, and extracts from the graphic novel Walking Dead.
His latest book Boy X, is set in a high tech research facility on a remote tropical island. Ash must travel through the jungle to save his Mum and her colleagues who have been infected with a deadly virus. The plot of Big Game was not his own idea, but was first a film script that he was asked to turn into a novel. The film, which stars Samuel L Jackson, is about a plot to kidnap the American president after his plane Air Force One is shot down. My Friend the Enemy was inspired by the wartime coastal defences. His next book, which should be published early next year, is about a boy who goes to a training centre in the Antarctic.
The RAF cadets have shown tremendous commitment to the section this year and entered the Air Squadron Trophy at RAF Cosford (near Wolverhampton), getting up at a really unearthly hour to make the two hour trip down to RAF Cosford to put their skills against other schools from the West TEST Area of the CCF. Activities on the day included: drill and turnout test, aircraft recognition, RAF Knowledge, Fitness Test, Command Task and the DCCT Shoot. Our cadets were ably led in the Command Task element by Cpl Apel who led the team magnificently to first place and securing the Command Task Trophy for the section.
Following on from the success at RAF Cosford, the RAF Section entered into the Crosby Combined Cup, which followed a similar format to that of the Air Squadron Trophy. The Cup was held at Merchant Taylors in February organised by RSMI Simon Brett. The RAF Section used the experience of Cosford to win three shields and the overall Cup.
The Crosby Cup Winners 2016
Back in February, our very own James Bamber, was announced as the winner of the Atheneaum Writing Prize. As well as winning £1000 for himself, he also won £100 for the school library and the picture below is of James himself presenting Mrs Rea with the £100 cheque. Well done James.
For the full story please click the link.
On Thursday 4th February, year 4 and 5 visited Rossall School to compete in a biathlon. Firstly, the year 4s went to the swimming pool to do their swim. They did very well considering there were very good teams competing. Over 15 schools took part which involved 230 children! Then the year 5’s did their swim, they achieved very good times as well. Then the Y4s went for their run; Monty ran like the wind and came first in his heat and second overall! Amazing! The year Y5’s completed their run and Ollie Raw came 3rd overall. The results concluded in both teams coming 2nd overall! We were all so happy and had a great day!
