17 Dec 2004 - Bryngwyn Matters 33 (Dec 2004)
Summer of Success!
Year 11 Bryngwyn pupils produced another set of results to be proud of when their GCSE results arrived in August. They matched the National average with 51% achieving 5 At-C grades or above. The top ten pupils produced a staggering 100 A* and A grades between them, with over 20% achieving 10 A* - C grades or better with some truly outstanding individual performances. Christopher Cottingham achieved 12 A* grades, matching the best ever result, Sabrina Thomas 10 A* and 1 A grade, Bronwen Ellis 7A* and 3 A grades, Liam Ellis 6A* and 5 A grades and Hannah Staphnill 6A* and 4 A grades.
This year, as last, has justifiably been a cause for celebration.
Prize Evening
The annual Prize Evening on 7th October provided the opportunity for the school to celebrate its success in a number of fields, ranging from the academic to the sporting; from the cultural to community linked achievements. Kevin Johns of Swansea Sound was our guest speaker delivering an entertaining and amusing address while at the same time encouraging and congratulating our prize winners.
Drama Workshop
Mrs Sharon Ellis conducted a day of workshop activities for Year 5 and 6 Swiss Valley pupils at the School. The activities were based on the dramatisation of Homer's 'Odyssey' and for those of you in the know, included such items as 'Mime', 'Tableaux' and 'Hot Seating'.
Drama Trips
This term the drama department has visited the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff on two occasions. Year 7 went to watch Roald Dahl's 'Danny the Champion of the World' and a full bus of supporters went to watch the final show of the National Youth Theatre of Wales' tour with 'Whispers in the Wood'. Four of the students were ex-Bryngwyn. Sophie Nurse and Katrina Harris -backstage crew, Luisa Painter- cast member and Cerith Jones played one of the show's lead roles.
Giant Tetrahedron
Year 7 pupils along with Year 6 pupils from four of our feeder schools, Furnace, Old Road, Pentip and Swiss Valley recently took part in a challenging problem solving exercise. The task was to construct one giant tetrahedron reaching 4 metres in height. All four teams rose to the challenge in successfully constructing their own 4 metre giant. Guy Antoniazzi of Anton Developers was so impressed with what he saw that he intends recommending the awarding of a Bronze Construction Curriculum Award to all participants.
Building Bridges
Dave Smith from the Construction Industry Training Board recently visited Bryngwyn to promote Engineering as a career to Year 8 pupils. He presented the pupils with the interesting challenge of designing and building a bridge, which when completed would withstand the weight of as many household bricks as possible. All the participants and budding engineers thoroughly enjoyed the activity and who knows perhaps some of them will go onto become the civil engineers of the future.
Sports Digest
Cricket
The U'14's became Dyfed champions in September when they beat Sir Thomas Picton in the final.
Football
County Finalists
The Year 9 football team got through to the county final after winning their pool which included Amman Valley, Tregib, Bro Myrddin and Glan Y Môr. Unfortunately they lost in the final against St. John Lloyd 4-1, with Michael Lewis scoring a consolation goal. (look under news for match reports)
County Champions
Our Year 7 team went one better. Against the same schools as their Year 9 counterparts, they were convincing winners of their pool. In the county final against Dyffryn Taf on 9th December they won 10-1 with goals coming from Ben Williams 7-1 (4), Chad Tinnuche (3), Ben Williams 7-2 (2) and Joshua Thomas (1).
Representing Carmarthenshire in the Dyfed finals on 14th December they qualified for the quarter finals of the Welsh Cup which will take place next term.
Welsh Trialist
Terri Key, Year 9, has been selected for an U'16 Welsh trial. We wish her well in her quest to gain a cap.
Swimming
At the East Carmarthenshire Urdd swimming gala held at Ammanford this term Rhys Jones, Year 9, Carwyn Jones, Tom Simms and Chris Smith, Year 10 won both the free style and medley relays and now go on to the National finals in Bangor on 29th January 2005.
At the Welsh Schools' trials in Brecon, Rhys Jones acquitted himself very well and is now eagerly awaiting confirmation of his selection as part of the Welsh relay team after finishing second in the 50m freestyle event.
Athletics
Swansea Bay Success
Bryngwyn entered a junior team for the Swansea Bay 3 km race in September. James Stephens, Richard Williams, Rohan and Michael Nangalia, Matthew Thompson and Daniel Thomas all successfufly completed the course with Daniel picking up first place.
Welsh Vests
Running for Llanelli Athletic Club in the Welsh Clubs Cross Country Championships, both Amy Westcott and Daniel Thomas did enough to finish in the first twelve and gain selection for the U'15 team to represent Wales in the British Championships at Loughborough in February.
Netball
Lia Roberts, Year 10, has been selected to represent Dyfed at U'16 and is hopeful of a Welsh trial in the new year.
Rugby
Three pupils have been an integral part of the successful U'15 Llanelli Schoolboys team this season. To date they have won 8 of their 11 outings. Thomas Jones captains the side and Mathew Simon and Luke Lewis (Year 9) are regular members of the side.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Sally Davies, Year 9, has recently returned home from Australia after competing in the Junior Commonwealth Games. Representing Wales as part of a very young team she and her coach were very pleased with her performance which helped the team to a fifth position overall. In the British Championships last week Sally was once again amongst the medals finishing third.
Olympic Gymnastics
Imogen Richards (Year 8) became Dyfed Champion at the 12-13 age group in September and gained third place in the Welsh Championships in October.
Disco Dancing
Melissa James (Year 8) as a member of the 'Footloose Dance Group' won a gold medal in the U.K. Disco Dancing Championships in Blackpool in early December.
Formula 1 in Schools
Four Year 10 pupils, represented Llanelli in the South Wales regional final of the Formula 1 in Schools challenge as the 'Dafen Dragsters'.
Under the guidance of Mr Adrian Davies, they entered their model car to race against the best in South Wales at the Sony factory in Bridgend in early December. They used computer aided design to help design and manufacture their CO2 powered car and the judges were so impressed that the team were awarded the 'best engineered car' in South Wales. They also came within a tenth of a second of being the fastest car of the day.
The team would like to thank their sponsors, Manhattan Marketing and Motormend for their support.
(check out the Technology pages to see the trophy and the team)
Carnival Celebration
The people of Felinfoel turned out in force to enjoy the village's first Christmas Carnival.
Bryngwyn and Felinfoel Junior School musicians and choir provided the musical entertainment.
Year 11 Bryngwyn pupils produced another set of results to be proud of when their GCSE results arrived in August. They matched the National average with 51% achieving 5 At-C grades or above. The top ten pupils produced a staggering 100 A* and A grades between them, with over 20% achieving 10 A* - C grades or better with some truly outstanding individual performances. Christopher Cottingham achieved 12 A* grades, matching the best ever result, Sabrina Thomas 10 A* and 1 A grade, Bronwen Ellis 7A* and 3 A grades, Liam Ellis 6A* and 5 A grades and Hannah Staphnill 6A* and 4 A grades.
This year, as last, has justifiably been a cause for celebration.
Prize Evening
The annual Prize Evening on 7th October provided the opportunity for the school to celebrate its success in a number of fields, ranging from the academic to the sporting; from the cultural to community linked achievements. Kevin Johns of Swansea Sound was our guest speaker delivering an entertaining and amusing address while at the same time encouraging and congratulating our prize winners.
Drama Workshop
Mrs Sharon Ellis conducted a day of workshop activities for Year 5 and 6 Swiss Valley pupils at the School. The activities were based on the dramatisation of Homer's 'Odyssey' and for those of you in the know, included such items as 'Mime', 'Tableaux' and 'Hot Seating'.
Drama Trips
This term the drama department has visited the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff on two occasions. Year 7 went to watch Roald Dahl's 'Danny the Champion of the World' and a full bus of supporters went to watch the final show of the National Youth Theatre of Wales' tour with 'Whispers in the Wood'. Four of the students were ex-Bryngwyn. Sophie Nurse and Katrina Harris -backstage crew, Luisa Painter- cast member and Cerith Jones played one of the show's lead roles.
Giant Tetrahedron
Year 7 pupils along with Year 6 pupils from four of our feeder schools, Furnace, Old Road, Pentip and Swiss Valley recently took part in a challenging problem solving exercise. The task was to construct one giant tetrahedron reaching 4 metres in height. All four teams rose to the challenge in successfully constructing their own 4 metre giant. Guy Antoniazzi of Anton Developers was so impressed with what he saw that he intends recommending the awarding of a Bronze Construction Curriculum Award to all participants.
Building Bridges
Dave Smith from the Construction Industry Training Board recently visited Bryngwyn to promote Engineering as a career to Year 8 pupils. He presented the pupils with the interesting challenge of designing and building a bridge, which when completed would withstand the weight of as many household bricks as possible. All the participants and budding engineers thoroughly enjoyed the activity and who knows perhaps some of them will go onto become the civil engineers of the future.
Sports Digest
Cricket
The U'14's became Dyfed champions in September when they beat Sir Thomas Picton in the final.
Football
County Finalists
The Year 9 football team got through to the county final after winning their pool which included Amman Valley, Tregib, Bro Myrddin and Glan Y Môr. Unfortunately they lost in the final against St. John Lloyd 4-1, with Michael Lewis scoring a consolation goal. (look under news for match reports)
County Champions
Our Year 7 team went one better. Against the same schools as their Year 9 counterparts, they were convincing winners of their pool. In the county final against Dyffryn Taf on 9th December they won 10-1 with goals coming from Ben Williams 7-1 (4), Chad Tinnuche (3), Ben Williams 7-2 (2) and Joshua Thomas (1).
Representing Carmarthenshire in the Dyfed finals on 14th December they qualified for the quarter finals of the Welsh Cup which will take place next term.
Welsh Trialist
Terri Key, Year 9, has been selected for an U'16 Welsh trial. We wish her well in her quest to gain a cap.
Swimming
At the East Carmarthenshire Urdd swimming gala held at Ammanford this term Rhys Jones, Year 9, Carwyn Jones, Tom Simms and Chris Smith, Year 10 won both the free style and medley relays and now go on to the National finals in Bangor on 29th January 2005.
At the Welsh Schools' trials in Brecon, Rhys Jones acquitted himself very well and is now eagerly awaiting confirmation of his selection as part of the Welsh relay team after finishing second in the 50m freestyle event.
Athletics
Swansea Bay Success
Bryngwyn entered a junior team for the Swansea Bay 3 km race in September. James Stephens, Richard Williams, Rohan and Michael Nangalia, Matthew Thompson and Daniel Thomas all successfufly completed the course with Daniel picking up first place.
Welsh Vests
Running for Llanelli Athletic Club in the Welsh Clubs Cross Country Championships, both Amy Westcott and Daniel Thomas did enough to finish in the first twelve and gain selection for the U'15 team to represent Wales in the British Championships at Loughborough in February.
Netball
Lia Roberts, Year 10, has been selected to represent Dyfed at U'16 and is hopeful of a Welsh trial in the new year.
Rugby
Three pupils have been an integral part of the successful U'15 Llanelli Schoolboys team this season. To date they have won 8 of their 11 outings. Thomas Jones captains the side and Mathew Simon and Luke Lewis (Year 9) are regular members of the side.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Sally Davies, Year 9, has recently returned home from Australia after competing in the Junior Commonwealth Games. Representing Wales as part of a very young team she and her coach were very pleased with her performance which helped the team to a fifth position overall. In the British Championships last week Sally was once again amongst the medals finishing third.
Olympic Gymnastics
Imogen Richards (Year 8) became Dyfed Champion at the 12-13 age group in September and gained third place in the Welsh Championships in October.
Disco Dancing
Melissa James (Year 8) as a member of the 'Footloose Dance Group' won a gold medal in the U.K. Disco Dancing Championships in Blackpool in early December.
Formula 1 in Schools
Four Year 10 pupils, represented Llanelli in the South Wales regional final of the Formula 1 in Schools challenge as the 'Dafen Dragsters'.
Under the guidance of Mr Adrian Davies, they entered their model car to race against the best in South Wales at the Sony factory in Bridgend in early December. They used computer aided design to help design and manufacture their CO2 powered car and the judges were so impressed that the team were awarded the 'best engineered car' in South Wales. They also came within a tenth of a second of being the fastest car of the day.
The team would like to thank their sponsors, Manhattan Marketing and Motormend for their support.
(check out the Technology pages to see the trophy and the team)
Carnival Celebration
The people of Felinfoel turned out in force to enjoy the village's first Christmas Carnival.
Bryngwyn and Felinfoel Junior School musicians and choir provided the musical entertainment.