Head praises 'selfless acts' making sports hall a reality
THE place of Ripon Grammar School at the heart of the community was proved by people's efforts to raise funds for its sports hall, according to the school's headmaster.
Martin Pearman made the comments when speaking to parents, staff, governors and pupils of the lower school at the junior prizegiving ceremony, on Wednesday.
He said the year had seen lots of good news for the school with various projects in the offing which will deliver new and improved facilities – a joint 2m sixth form centre with Ripon College, 500,000 of local authority money for a new music department and securing 750,000 of donations from parents, local businesses and the community to build a new sports hall.
The headmaster quipped: "The school will resemble a building site for much of the year – perhaps we should seek sponsorship from Bovis or Wimpey and issue all the students with hard hats."
The school's Adding Sporting Excellence fundraising campaign for the sports hall has been so successful – all the money was raised by May – that the target has been raised to 1m so an astroturf pitch can be built too.
generous donation
One of the reasons the campaign was able to raise its money so quickly was a generous donation of 250,000 by multi-millionaire businessman Paul Sykes and his wife, Valerie.
"The donation took my breath away and I am very grateful to them both for their incredible generosity," said Mr Pearman, before moving on to a central theme of his speech – the importance of humility.
Describing Mr Sykes' rise to the top from being a schoolboy near Barnsley, Mr Pearman also spoke of figures from history – Sir Issac Newton and French post-impressionist painter Paul Cezanne – who had acknowledged their debt to their predecessors and displayed modesty over their ground-breaking achievements.
"What links these three people together is humility," said Mr Pearman, "None of us can achieve anything without the help and support of others. We rely on one another totally."
selfless acts
The headmaster said the fundraising for the sports hall only came about because of the selfless acts of people giving their time and acting as a team.
He said: "That is what life is like. The whole project has brought the community together and placed the school at the heart of the community."
After noting many other successes for the school and staffing changes as the academic year draws to a close, Mr Pearman invited principal guest Prof Simon Lee, vice chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University, to present prizes to the pupils.
Third form special awards:
Ex Libris librarian's prize – Hannah Bridgeman; Robert Atkinson prize for art – Alex Gath-Walker; Robert Atkinson prize for design technology – Christopher Ogden; Mearns prize for progress in French – Rebecca Price; Lodge Prize for Poetry – Owen Silver; Mrs Anderson's prize for food technology – Melisa Kenber; Mrs Bowdery's prize for progress in science – Melisa Kenber; Barbara Selby Cup for physical education – Natalie Clayton; Andrew Mawson cup for physical education – George Hobson; Junior Drama Trophy – Lewis Haggerty; John Benson Memorial Trophy for Integrity – Bronwen Steele; Barbara Holland Trophy for All-Round Achievement – Sadie Lee-Kirby.
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Weather for Ripon
Saturday 26 May 2012
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