Month: February 2023
On 15 February, work officially began on two new synthetic pitches on ‘New field’ next to our state-of-the-art Sports Centre, the Hirst Centre.
A key element of the Sedberghian educational experience is the opportunity to participate in a growing range of sports and teams.
With only one small artificial surface available for Hockey, the School has a greater need for further all weather pitches. We employ world-class sports coaches and Hockey is an increasingly popular and successful sport at Sedbergh. We want to off er our pupils the ability to practice and play Hockey and other sports on pitches which do justice to their ability and allow them to develop their talent further.
Sedbergh School Headmaster, Mr Harrison, has said; “As we move towards 500 years of Sedbergh School, this is a significant move forwards on behalf of the school and we hope for it to be finished by early July.”
Once the second new pitch is completed, we will be able to host multiple matches on New Field, offer training facilities to regional and national teams and also provide the local community with a space to develop a Hockey team of its own.
The second pitch will have a surface which is suitable for a broader range of sports, enabling the School and local community to benefit from a facility capable of hosting training and matches for a number of activities.
Since the war began in Ukraine Siobhan’s Trust, a Scotland based, small, family-run charity has been tireless, with a team of volunteers, working under the slogan “Make pizza not War!”. They now operate six pizza vans and, guided by local police and officials, are able to meet, feed and support the most vulnerable women, children and elderly across the country. The pizza vans feed approximately 5,000 people every day reaching as far as Lviv, Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa.
In November 2022 the Headmaster of Sedbergh School, Dan Harrison and Housemaster, Stuart Oliver, approached Joe Mycielski, Casterton Sedbergh Prep School parent and member of the Siobhan’s Trust team, asking to travel to Ukraine and see for themselves the impact of the charity’s work. Within days they were manning the pizza ovens in and around Lviv, helping the displaced, shell-shocked, hungry and scared. The experience was impactful; life changing.
Dan Harrison says, “At the end of our emotional visit it was clear that another pizza van would make a huge difference to operations in Ukraine. We therefore decided to commission a 7.5 tonne truck, kit her out with 6 pizza ovens, storage and even accommodation for the driver and name her The Wolf – after the Sedbergh Schools’ emblem. In a matter of weeks, the Sedbergh School community raised over £65,000 and The Wolf became reality. We were able to introduce her to the Sedbergh community and test her pizza making skills at our annual Morgan Run before she made her way east to Ukraine.”
David Fox-Pitt, founder of Siobhan’s Trust, says, “A huge thank you to the amazing Sedbergh School community for their extraordinary generosity and support. It was an honour hosting Dan and Stuart last year where they witnessed first-hand the situation on the ground. The Wolf will be an amazing addition to our fleet. Thank you so much for this.”
In addition to supporting Siobhan’s Trust’s food, hot drink and morale mission the Sedbergh schools and local communities have collected over 600 boxes of aid including more food, warm clothes, cuddly toys, sanitary and medical items. This aid has gone directly to where it is needed most and is often distributed by the pizza vans themselves.
Joe Mycielski says, “The war rages on, Ukrainians continue to die, winter is still biting very hard but knowing that The Wolf is on the road and making such a difference is heart-warming. It is a humbling initiative to be part of; amazing what can be achieved amongst a small northern community with a big heart; little by little, little becomes a lot.”
Following their applications and interviews, we’re delighted to learn that two current Upper Sixth pupils and an Old Sedberghian have been offered places to study at Cambridge and Oxford University.
Isabella (Robertson House) shared her wonderful news, following her offer to read Classics at Merton College, Oxford. At the start of the year, Isabella was part of a select group of pupils who was awarded an academic booth on the top floor of our Library. This prestigious accolade, provides a personal space for our selected pupils to carry out their independent learning outside of classroom teaching. Outside of the classroom, Isabella is an integral member of the Girls’ 1st XI hockey side and she was also part of the team who completed the Three Peaks Yacht Race this summer, raising over £4000 for Young Lives vs Cancer
Archie (Powell House) was also delighted to share his news that he has been offered a place to read Music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge next year. Archie has been ever-present within our Performing Arts, regularly performing in recitals, as part of our Chapel Choir or on stage in our Drama performances. As well as being named a School Prefect this year, Archie was also awarded his Drama colours after this year’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar. An accolade that recognises the tremendous service Archie (and other recipients) has given to Performing Arts throughout his time at Sedbergh School.
As well as our current pupils, we also support our Old Sedberghian community with their UCAS applications, for those pupils who want to apply for University in their time after leaving Sedbergh. OS Olivia Shaw (Lupton House 2018-2020), who is currently studying at Durham University, has been offered a place at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge for her master’s degree in Real Estate Finance. Olivia joined us for Sixth Form and made an immediate impact in her Boarding House, and especially on the Netball Court, as she was part of our 1st VII unbeaten season, marking one of the most impressive seasons in our School’s history.
