STONAR NEWS S U M M E R 2 017
INSIDE THE SIXTH FORM Ready to take on the next challenge
NEW EQUESTRIAN CENTRE OPENS PLUS:
PREP SCHOOL’S VIBRANT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT INVESTING AND IMPROVING NEW BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES
FROM THE HEAD
STONAR SUMMER 2017
IN THIS ISSUE‌
Dear friends It has been a busy and productive year at Stonar. With new buildings opening and the successful transition to senior co-education, the school is full of energy and excitement. We’re delighted to see this reflected in applications for September, with another full Year 7 cohort coming through. As the academic year draws to a close, it is a pleasure to see the great offers our Year 13s have received from their chosen universities and destinations. Our pupils are ambitious, imaginative and focused in planning their futures and I wish them every success.
Boarding Highlights p16
It has been a very successful year in the Prep School, who have reaped the rewards of their new approach to the curriculum with a vibrant learning environment. Pupils are knowledgeable and excited about their work, and there is no doubt the curriculum is inspiring them as learners and embedding a culture of curiosity in this fundamental phase of schooling. The newsletter gives a flavour of a few of the highlights of the year. There is much to be proud of in the Stonar community and I hope you enjoy reading more. Dr Sally Divall Head
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Prep School p10 PLUS 3
Development
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Achievement & Challenge
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Exploration & Inspiration
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The Arts
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The Prep School
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Community
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Sixth Form
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Sport & Riding
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Boarding
6 September: Autumn Term Commences
6 October:
Prep School Harvest Festival
12 September: Academic Awards Evening
13 October:
15 September: Friends of Stonar Parent Drinks
Year 11 and Sixth Form Parents Open Evening
12 December: Pre-prep Nativity Play
23 September: Open Morning
15 December: Carol Service, Bath Abbey
23/24 September: ISODE
INVESTING & IMPROVING It’s been a big year at Stonar with major investment coming to fruition in our facilities.
SARUM Our new classroom block, Sarum, opened its doors in the Spring Term 2017 to house our humanities and languages departments, along with a brand new ICT suite.
NEW EQUESTRIAN CENTRE OPENS British Olympic Event rider, Kitty King cut the ribbon at the formal opening of Stonar’s Equestrian Centre, following a comprehensive rebuilding and renovation project. Extensive investment in the rebuild has seen the construction of new stables, new barns, a farrier box and tack rooms. The visitor and reception facilities have also had a comprehensive overhaul, with new changing and shower rooms, a new lecture room and a smart new viewing gallery overlooking the indoor school, offering a comfortable space for visitors to relax and spectate.
At a ceremony attended by pupils, parents, and friends of the school, Kitty King gave a warm and inspiring speech about what a powerful place horses can play in education, teaching the life skills of reliability, patience and perseverance.
The new cedar-clad building, Sarum, provides a modern and comfortable space for learning. It replaces an older building which has now been demolished with plans to construct recreation facilities for senior school pupils in its place. It is great to see the impact of all the investment that has been made in our facilities, ensuring the school continues to be well-equipped to deliver a modern and well-resourced education.
Following the ceremony, Stonar’s riders celebrated the opening with a show-jumping competition and gymkhana games for our younger riders. Congratulations to Kennet, overall winners of the inter-house showjumping.
A SUCCESSFUL START FOR CO-EDUCATION It’s been a successful start for co-education as our first senior boys have blazed a trail in the senior school. Numbers of Senior boys are set to treble in the Autumn term, with a new 40/60 Year 7 class– a fantastic achievement for what will only be our second year in senior co-education, as well as increased numbers of boys in Year 9 and the first boys in our Sixth Form.
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STONAR NEWS
ACHIEVEMENT & CHALLENGE Pupils stretch themselves with opportunities that enable them to reach beyond the curriculum, building a sense of achievement, reward and confidence.
ACADEMIC OLYMPICS A group of Year 9 and 10 pupils joined nine of our NACE partner schools at Agora Sant Cugat in Barcelona to compete in the annual NACE Academic Olympics.
solving. Icebreaker activities from the beginning had students interacting and finding common ground. A series of challenges included science, learning Catalan and multi-lingual spelling bees.
Pupils were split into teams working with their international counterparts to compete in a series of challenges with an emphasis on teamwork and problem
Pupils all enthusiastically embraced this opportunity to step out of their comfort zones to make friends with people from different backgrounds. The social
side added a fantastic dimension to the trip; as well as enjoying time with host families, girls also had the opportunity to see the sights of Barcelona. It was great to see friendships developing over the week as pupils enjoyed the lighter side of school life, joining in with games and fun in the playground.
UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS The Upper Sixth have had great success in their university applications with good offers from a variety of institutions; many of them part of the elite Russell Group of universities, including Manchester for International Business Management, Queen’s Belfast for Geography, Bristol for Mechanical Engineering and Exeter for Modern Foreign Languages.
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As usual, Stonar’s leavers have applied for a diverse range of courses, with Equine Performance, Midwifery and Drama also among student ambitions. We wish them all luck in their exams and look forward to hearing about their final choices. in Year 10.
SALTER’S FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY Four Year 7 students took part in the Salters’ Institute Festival of Chemistry at the University of Bristol along with 14 other schools from the South West.
PHYSICS MASTERCLASS FOR SIXTH FORM Sixth form physics students enjoyed a Particle Physics Masterclass at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. The day was run by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy.
The busy day included inspirational talks on the Standard Model of the Universe. Pupils also undertook some simulated research into the Higg’s Boson, and toured one of the largest particle accelerators in the UK. The visit provoked much debate on the merits of centrally-funded research and the place of blue-skies academic research in modern society.
The main focus of the morning was “The Salters’ Challenge”, which involved solving a murder using qualitative wet tests, chromatography and code breaking. After a break for lunch the students tackled “The University Challenge”, a practical investigation designed by the University of Bristol involving quantitative analysis and graph drawing skills. The day concluded with a fun lecture with lots of pops and bangs from chemist, Tim Harrison. Both challenges were competitive and our team did extremely well by winning the University Challenge section against stiff competition.
LANGUAGES DAY A group of Year 9 pupils visited Bath Spa University for a French speaking day. Despite some initial nerves, the girls came out buzzing at break time as they realised that they actually did know quite a lot of French!
A GREAT DEBATING YEAR Our teams have debated on subjects ranging from biscuits to women’s rights, in a series of debating challenges, which has seen them competing against schools from across the region, and holding their own. Congratulations to the team who took first place in the Business and Professional Women’s Public Speaking Competition for Young
People in Schools. Emmi Cook spoke about women’s rights, ably supported by Nicole Amez Droz and Josephine Goerk to pick up the first prize in the competition. Sophie Bazan spoke with poise on the topic of how sports and show business stars deserve their high rates of pay, supported by Ysobel Andrews and Abbie Short.
Their task was to create a video about the planets in small groups completely in the target language. Interpretations of the task varied from quiz show themes to school lessons and news reports. The day proved to be a fantastic, confidenceboosting experience for all involved – on s’est bien amusées!
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STONAR NEWS
EXPLORATION & INSPIRATION A programme of trips and visitors enhances pupils’ understanding and experience, stimulating their curiosity. EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY
CHOCOLATE, CHEDDAR AND CAVE SYSTEMS!
Stonar welcomed STEM Ambassador and Exxon Mobil Chemical Engineer, Eddie Henbury, to a STEM seminar for all students in Years 6, 7 and 8.
Year 8 geographers took a trip to Cadbury World to discover more about industry at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Learning was much enhanced by tasting experiences and free chocolate and a 4D cinema experience!
The session was an interactive and informative demonstration to illustrate the importance and omnipresence of chemistry in our daily lives and was designed to encourage more students to consider a career in the field and understand the breadth of opportunities available in science. Buckle Hall played host to flames, bangs and a chemistry-created rocket, as Mr Henbury showed students some of the practical effects of science and how all the sciences, including maths, play an
important part in making our world a better place. The talk certainly provided new facts and insights and encouraged our pupils to actively consider STEM careers.
COLOUR AND COMPOSITION We were delighted to welcome Jackie Harding, our visiting artist for an interactive workshop with our Sixth Form art students. Jackie began her visit with a discussion about her work alongside an exhibition of some of her pieces. She discussed the essential elements of colour, composition and structure to the finished work. Jackie also stressed the importance of drawing and keeping it interesting by changing
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drawing method and technique. Pupils then moved to the Sixth Form art studio, where Jackie spent focussed time with each student, talking to them about their work, what they are looking to achieve and giving advice and suggestions on elements they can explore to improve their technique and quality of their output.
An unexpected highlight was the opportunity to meet Malala Yousafzai who was also visiting the attraction. Pupils recognised her after learning more about her in RS, and were thrilled to introduce themselves and tell her how she had inspired them. Year 9’s field trip took them to Cheddar Gorge and Caves to study limestone landscapes and the impact of tourism on a honeypot site. The group was grateful for the fact that limestone has a “below ground” scenery as it was a thoroughly wet day! Pupils explored the caverns, stalactites and stalagmites and collected primary data about the area to present and analyse in lessons.
Party politics: Local MP, Michelle Donelan visited and spoke to Years 9 and 10 about parliament & democracy, followed by a lively Q & A.
CAREERS IN MEDIA AND JOURNALISM Year 10-13 pupils heard from three excellent speakers at the Careers in Media and Journalism event, learning much about this exciting and rapidly changing field. After the event, Olivia in Year 12 said, “this was an extremely eye opening careers event, especially as journalism is one of my possible future career paths. It has inspired me to take initiative to find related work. All three speakers were highly influential and gave engaging talks which allowed me to develop a glimpse into the reality of journalism.”
The speakers included Katrina Fleet, a communications officer with Wiltshire Police, Paul Deal an extremely experienced journalist with a wealth of stories and insights from his years working with BBC television and national news media and Ian Waller, whose 34 years of journalistic experience began on the local Melksham News. Evie commented “I thought the speakers were very inspirational. I had no idea how many skills went into journalism and I really enjoyed talking to them to find out more afterwards.”
Year 6 enjoyed an IT workshop with students from Bath University, creating circuits with fruit!
YEAR 7 TAP IN TO SCIENCE A group of our able and talented Year 7 scientists went to Bath University to run a stall at the annual Bath Taps into Science fair. Pupils ran a stand on the theme of ‘bubbles’, explaining and demonstrating the science behind bubbles to visitors from primary schools around the region. Because of the mess involved, we were demonstrating on an outside stall, which added an extra challenge when the awning blew away! Pupils also had the opportunity to look round the event and participate in other science activities.
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STONAR NEWS
THE ARTS
Dynamic duo Twin Swing gave pupils a masterclass in the Lindy Hop
SPRING CONCERT V NACE MUSIC FESTIVAL A group of pupils flew out to Mallorca to join pupils from around the NACE network of schools for a week of music making.
performed the Skye Boat Song and three Hungarian folk songs, accompanied by Jessica Fone on the violin – a spinetingling performance.
The theme for the week was ‘Music from Around the World’ and each school was invited to perform their own short programme. Stonar’s contribution was from our Chamber Choir, who
As well as rehearsing in school and taking part in musical activities, pupils had a lot of time to socialise with their host families and also spent a day out in Palma.
Friends and family flocked to Wiltshire Music Centre for fantastic evening of musical fun. With pupils from across the school involved, the orchestra, chamber choir and prep choir put in some great performances with a great variety of music and genres covered. Our soloists never fail to impress and this year was no exception with some accomplished performances.
FROM THE ART DEPARTMENT
Left: Hanyi Feng Above: Celeste Crouch
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Above: Hanyi Feng Middle: India Drew Right: Paula Vesting
IT’S LIFE JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT Year 9 took to the stage to perform the play, Captain Murky’s Space Adventures. A Star Trek spoof, the girls had great fun creating a number of oddly familiar characters. The premise was based around a group of girls heading into space to get a
date. Unfortunately, the one planet they landed on was entirely populated by females. With robot saboteurs and monsters that enjoy doing Elvis impressions there was something for everyone in this evening of light speed entertainment.
MID SOMERSET FESTIVAL The Mid Somerset Festival was a triumph for Stonar, with lots of awards and places for Senior and Prep pupils alike. In the Senior classes, Olly Anniss Year 13, won the Solo Shakespeare award, (17/18 year olds) retaining the Sylvia Atkinson-Fleming Award which she also won last year.
Our Prep pupils also starred, bringing home a terrific number of ‘Commended’ and ‘Distinction’ certificates. Well done to Oscar Davies, Jada Lorigiola, Bonnie Davies and Ivy Palmer who all took 2nd places and Polly McHardy with a 3rd.
Rosie Paines put in a fantastic performance to win the highly competitive Solo Acting class, with Olly Anniss and Alice Sheppard taking joint 2nd. Reli HarrisJohnstone was winner of the Memorised Prose & Solo Drama class achieving an outstanding mark of 90 and came 2nd in Solo Shakespeare (13/14 year olds).
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STONAR NEWS
IN FOCUS
THE PREP SCHOOL It is our aim to develop children both academically and personally. Alongside the core subjects of English and Maths, children study the foundation subjects within a theme. This allows them to make purposeful links and connections throughout their learning - and adds up to an exciting, dynamic learning environment. We define learning as ‘acquiring
knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so that you can understand future problems and challenges.’ We believe that, in order to truly embed learning, children need to be actively involved. Here we look at a few of the exciting and diverse topics covered this year that have enabled high quality learning to take place.
Year 1 and 2 spent a fantastic day stepping back in time at Sevington Victorian School. Collaboration and cooperation for Year 6 creating a Picasso mural for their ‘Time Tunnel’ topic.
Year 4’s ‘Let’s Plant It’ concluded with them sharing their learning with Year 3.
A visit to Lacock to study first-hand physical and human geography and the relationship between the two.
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Year 3’s ‘On Tap’ project had them learning all about the water cycle.
Year 5 built this impressive totem pole while studying Myths and Legends.
Year 6 explored the world of glass blowing as part of their ‘Materials’ topic.
Year 3 turned their classroom into a rainforest to create an inspirational learning environment.
NURSERY’S COUNTRY PARK VISIT A great trip to trip to Southwick Country Park for Nursery who saw lots of animals including donkeys, chipmunks, sheep, pigs, owls, rabbits and guinea pigs. Children had lots of time to play in the playground and woodlands where they went on a gruffalo hunt.
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STONAR NEWS
COMMUNITY
ROMANIA CHALLENGE The new Romania team are now embarking on their fundraising and preparation ready for their trip in October 2018, where they will continue Stonar’s work in an impoverished community. Welcome aboard, all!
ABBEY CELEBRATION The whole school came together for a wonderful celebration of the school year in Bath Abbey on 12th May, reviving a Stonar tradition that lasted from the 1960s to late 1990s. We looked back on a year of real
achievement and development for Stonar, with Head Girl Isabella Collins giving a moving account of how Stonar has been the foundation for all the Year 13 leavers’ future adventures.
EXPLORER SCOUTS It’s been a great start for our newest extra-curricular activity, Explorer Scouts. Pupils have enjoyed a broad range of activities, including camping, night hikes and campfire cookery, climbing and outdoor skills. They’ve also cleared their own area in the old goat paddock to use as a base.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD Two teams successfully completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh qualifying expedition on the Marlborough Downs. Their positive attitude and strong team ethos helped both groups make their way around their routes efficiently. All of the pupils have decided to go for their Silver Award and we look forward to the challenges and opportunities that expedition will bring. 12
GOOD LUCK TO YEARS 13 AND 11 We sent off our Year 13s in style with a champagne and strawberry breakfast on their last day with parents and staff, and a night out in Bath with black tie dinner at the Function Rooms, followed by dancing into the small hours. A memorable end to their time at Stonar. A formal dinner on a lovely warm summer evening concluded a chapter for Year 11 and their parents as they finished for exam leave, celebrating their many contributions to the school over the years. We wish everyone all the very best in their exams and for whatever the future may bring.
NO OBSTACLE TO PREP FUNDRAISING! Stonar Prep School took over the front field, with children completing over 1,000 sponsored laps between them of an obstacle course in support of Help for Heroes. All children, from the youngest in Reception through to our Year 6, showed great resilience and determination and raised well over £1,200 for the charity in sponsorship. Congratulations to our top lappers, Flynn in Year 5 who completed 18 laps and Barnaby in Year 1 who completed 17. “Learning in Stonar Prep embeds personal goals, and an event like this, as well as raising funds for a great charity, supports two of these goals – thoughtfulness and resilience,” said Mark Brain, Head of Prep. “It’s always a delight to see the children throwing themselves into these events – their enthusiasm for the event is matched by the maturity with which they reflect on the cause they are supporting.” Thank you to all the parents who supported the event. It was a great day!
INSIDE THE SIXTH FORM We chat to Charlotte Bennett, Head of Sixth Form about life for our Sixth Form pupils. Stonar’s Sixth Form is an exciting and vibrant place to be where pupils benefit from dedicated facilities, staff and cocurricular programmes.
A busy social life includes trips to the theatre, wine and cheese evenings and trips such as introductions to caving and climbing.
Head of Sixth Form, Charlotte Bennett has worked at Stonar for 17 years.
As the school continues preparations for co-ed, opening the sixth form to its first boys in September, the sixth form continues to evolve, ensuring it offers the very best experience to our pupils.
She explains, “What makes Stonar’s sixth form really stand out is the small, close knit community here. There are exceptional relationships between pupils and staff and students flourish as they make the transition to young adults. The informal atmosphere builds confidence, but it is rigorously backed by a culture of care to the individual, which means every pupil thrives, and does the best they possibly can.” With A Level class sizes of up to eight, staff have the time and space to work closely with pupils on academics and challenge them on their strengths and weaknesses alike. Trips, activities and co-curricular programmes enhance education programmes. Diverse extensions include a visit to the Houses of Parliament for the lower sixth, where they learn about democracy and government. Medicallyminded pupils spend three days at the RUH on a work experience programme.
York House, the sixth form boarding house, is undergoing changes to improve the spaces available to pupils. A new common area will include a cinema room and bar to enhance the social aspect of sixth form life. Day sixth formers will also be able to join boarders here for special events and relaxed, informal evenings. Our sixth formers throw themselves into school life, and the opportunities open to them. Take-up in our additional courses, such as the Leiths Toolkit and D of E as well as drama and musical opportunities is strong. The Head Pupil and Prefect team take on responsibilities throughout the school and lead our house competitions as well as other challenges. Charlotte concludes, “it is a great pleasure to see the transformation our pupils go through in their two years in the sixth form. We are proud to say that the vast majority move on to places at their first choice of university. But they also leave as well-rounded, mature individuals with a positive outlook and ready to take on the next challenge.” We can’t put it better than Dr Joss Anstey-Watkins, a former head girl and now Oxford graduate who achieved her PhD earlier this year.
Café Curnow opened earlier this year, bringing staff and pupils together in a coffee shop environment. Pupils run the café, having been trained up in barista skills, dispensing coffee, hot drinks and snacks to staff and sixth form with other year groups welcome by invitation.
“I feel I owe a lot to the education and freedom to be me at Stonar that set me on the path I am on today.” Dr Joss Anstey-Watkins
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STONAR NEWS
SPORT & RIDING STONAR WARRIORS Excellent work by our Prep pupils in their recent grading assessment. Congratulations to all on their new belts!
LAURA CURTIS: COUNTY GIRLS CHAMPION Congratulations to Year 8 Laura Curtis! As well as winning the title of Wiltshire County Girls Champion, after 3 days of 36 hole golf she finished runner up in the Ladies County Championship. And if that wasn’t enough, she took the Cumberwell Park Junior open girls section best gross and net. She is now playing off of a handicap of 7 - a fantastic achievement.
ATHLETICS Our Year 7s participated in the West Wilts Area Athletics Championships hosted at St Laurence School. All who took part had a fantastic experience with notable results from Spencer Dymond Hall who finished 3rd in the Long jump with a personal best jump of 3.96m, Natalie Grimes who finished 2nd in the 100m and Joe Wills for finishing first in the boys 1200m. Further congratulations to Joe and Natalie for being selected to represent West Wiltshire at the County Athletics Championships in Tidworth.
BOYS CRICKET The boys have had a positive first year of senior school cricket and have made good progress. After narrowly losing their first two games against Bristol
Grammar School and Cardiff Cathedral School they recorded an excellent victory over St Laurence, winning by a comfortable margin.
NETBALL This year our girls have been lucky enough to be coached by Team Bath and England U21 player Jess Shaw. Jess worked primarily with the 1st team and did additional sessions with the U14 and U15 teams. Jess’s coaching contributed to a year of success for these teams. The 1st team recorded some excellent wins, with notable victories against Bruton School for Girls 40-26, Sidcot School 22-8 and Milton Abbey 37-10. The U14s grew throughout the season and after losing their first two games of the season they recorded three victories in a row. The U12s worked hard all season and despite recording several narrow loses they persevered and won the final 2 matches of the season against Downside School and Sexey’s School, putting them in a promising position for next season. 14
RIDING ROUND-UP ISODE It was another successful ISODE for Stonar riders with individual and team placings. Congratulations to Poppy Richardson, Individual Winner of the 90cms class and awarded Best Dressage for the whole weekend. Poppy and her team mates, Hattie Blokland and Olivia Hayward took team third in the class, with Hattie placed second individually.
Well done too, to our 80cms team of Emily Singleton, Issy Down and Francesca Frost who came 5th in the class with Francesca placed third. Overall it was a fantastic day and our thanks as ever go to our wonderful team of volunteers who do so much to make it happen.
NSEA QUALIFIERS MILLFIELD NSEA DRESSAGE QUALIFIER Stonar pupils had a successful day at Millfield and all came away with rosettes: Prelim / Novice Team - 3rd Sophia Beermann and Sergeant Georgie Howe and Crannard Dun Sophia Trise and Rascalina Paula Vesting and Jasper Sophia Trise came 2nd individually with a fantastic score of 72.83% in the Novice class. Elementary Individual - 4th: Hattie Blokland and Pims de Bellefond.
ST MARY’S CALNE NSEA JUMPING WITH STYLE QUALIFER
DEVON DAYS A group of pupils enjoyed a fabulous weekend in Devon with the Equestrian Centre. We covered 28 miles, a total of ten hours in the saddle through glorious Devon countryside. The weekend was finished off with a trip to a local
Racing Yard gallops—the winner, Bella Harris-Johnstone and Chino. We came home tired and happy, although some of us were a little sore on Monday morning! A big thank you to a great bunch of pupils who behaved impeccably all weekend.
HARTPURY NSEA DRESSAGE QUALIFIER Novice Team – 3rd Paula Vesting & Georgie Howe in the Prelim Sophia Trise & Sophia Beermann in the Novice class came 3rd
CHELSEA PEARCE Congratulations to Chelsea & Albert on a 4th place finish at the Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International Horse Trials in the CCIYR**.
95cm team - 5th Olivia Hayward, Poppy Richardson, Eva Stenner & Tippy Pullin Tippy was also placed 8th as an individual.
Chelsea and Albert are now longlisted for the 2017 Young Rider FEI European Championship, where Chelsea was placed 8th in 2016.
Individual placings Sophia Trise – 4th Paula Vesting – 4th Sophia Beerman - 5th Georgia Howe - 6th
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STONAR NEWS
BOARDING The dream combination of horses and shopping at Badminton
Crazy Golf
An evening of crepes and mocktails Celebrating Chinese New Year
Team Stonar at the Lacock Relish Running 5K.
Shopping at Cabot Circus in Bristol
STONAR
Cottles Park, Atworth, Wiltshire, SN12 8NT T: +44 (0) 1225 701740 F: +44 (0) 1225 790830 E: office@stonarschool.com www.stonarschool.com
Hitting new heights with a mobile climbing experience A summer night waterfight!