Cambridge & Oxford Offers - 2018 I am delighted to share with you the current situation with University Offers, including the list of Oxbridge offers. Congratulations to the following 8 students who have achieved an offer from Cambridge or Oxford this year: Brian - Engineering - Cambridge (Trinity College) Hank - Engineering - Cambridge (Queen's College) Selina - Engineering - Cambridge (Downing College) Mark - Mathematics - Cambridge (Corpus Christi College) Rooney - Mathematics - Cambridge (St John's College) Connie - Natural Sciences - Cambridge (Clare College) Violet - Natural Sciences - Cambridge (Churchill College) Rena - Materials Science - Oxford (St Anne's College) In our Upper Sixth we have 66 students applying to UK universities so over 12% achieving offers to enter Cambridge or Oxford is a fantastic achievement. Already we have had around 230 decisions for the 330 possible offers. The list of the current offers can be download here (http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk/?ddownload=8086) - where you can see that so many top universities are giving our students offers. I am very proud of all our students in Upper Sixth - they work incredibly hard to achieve this success. T J Belfield Principal

Reunion - 7th February 2018 - LONDON

Happy New Year from Ruthin School. It going to be an exciting year as in June, the Biology and Geography department will be running a trip to Costa Rica. This will be an exciting opportunity to visit one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and see first-hand some of the biological and geographical processes which are studied at both GCSE and A Level Biology and Geography. The trip will include visits to San Jose, Tortuguero National Park, Arenal Volcano and hanging bridges, Baldi Hot Springs, Trimbina Rainforest Centre and Monteverde. All locations fit in well with the topics of both Biology and Geography. Some of the topics included are Ecology, Conservation, Tectonics and Tourism which are important aspects of both these examination courses. For more information please speak with Mrs Peters in Biology

Hong Kong Dinner 2018 Every year, in January, I host a dinner in Hong Kong and I am delighted that later this month another dinner will take place. The invitation and menu can be downloaded here: http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk/?ddownload=8092 The dinner will take place at the Hong Kong Football Club on Wednesday 24th January 2018 at 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm. It is hoped that all Hong Kong and Macau parents will be able to make it - and any parents that happen to be in Hong Kong are also welcome to join us. Prospective parents, their children, and past parents/students are also welcome. I will be in Hong Kong from Monday 22nd January until Sunday 28th January - attending the British Council Hong Kong exhibition on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th (from 1pm to 7pm). Before arriving in Hong Kong, I will visit Bangkok and hope to meet all our Thai parents between Friday 19th and Sunday 21st January. As usual, it is a very good time for me to give updates on your child's academic performance - and if you would like to arrange a meeting with me, please email (principal@ruthinschool.co.uk). Places for the dinner are limited to 60 - so please email me as soon as possible if you wish to come (with names of guests), so that I can put together the final guest list. Last year we were oversubscribed - and, like last year, places will be offered on a "first come, first served" basis. Happy New Year to you all. Kind regards, Toby Belfield Principal

2018 University Offers Already, of the 330 applications, we have 168 offers! The full list is here: http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk/?ddownload=8086

As part of their Development topic, Form 2 have heard speakers from two different organisations talk about development issues in poorer countries. The first speaker was a representative from Fairtrade, Ann Gannon. She spoke to the children about the work Fairtrade does internationally, as well as the work she does locally to promote awareness of Fairtrade. The second speaker was a representative from Welsh Water. She spoke about the demands for fresh water and the difficulties in delivering fresh water to homes in poorer countries. The children conducted an experiment to supply a town with water, which they then had to cost. It was a difficult activity but one which they enjoyed.

Very pleased with The Sunday Times and Daily Post today. Ruthin School ranked: 1. Best School in North Wales; 2. 2nd Best School in Wales for A Levels; 3. 3rd Best School in Wales for combined A Levels & GCSEs. This uses the Sunday Times "Parent Power" data. The Daily Post wrote a nice article: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/top-north-wales-school-private-13956024 The only School to achieve "better" A Level results in our local area (ie in the North of the UK) is Concord College. Well done to them for a fantastic year - both at A Level and GCSE. Here is the raw data (and some charts of Ruthin's performance against all local Independent Schools): A Level Rankings: (http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk/?ddownload=8061) Overall Rankings: (http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk/?ddownload=8060) Spreadsheet of Data: (http://www.ruthinschool.co.uk?ddownload=8062)

Ruthin U18 1 – 1 Kings Chester Ruthin bounced back from a heavy defeat last week to produce their best performance of the season. Against a very good Kings Chester side Ruthin devised a plan that was carried out by every player, this made Kings play out of their normal pattern and resulted in a very intriguing game. Kings had a lot of possession but were limited to clear cut chances and when they did get through on goal Henry made numerous excellent saves. The confidence grew in the team and after half time a flowing move involving Osian and Taewoo ended with Josh putting the ball in the net. Ruthin then defended admirably repelling all Kings threw at them but eventually with a minute to go a corner resulted in a goal for Kings. The team should be proud of their performance with all earning Men of the match.

Pupils at Ruthin School have been involved in English Speaking Board Examinations for over twenty years now. Our performance continues to improve year upon year with a consistent 100% pass rate, and an ever increasing percentage at ‘Distinction’ (36% this year) and ‘Merit Plus’ (39% this year). Each year the English Speaking Board examiners nominate a number of entrants in the ‘Young Speaker of the Year’ award. This award is to celebrate the talent and progress that learners have shown in their assessments from the past year. Last year there were over 56,000 entries and so we are delighted to announce that Morgan Robson, a Form 5 pupil, was one of the nine winners. Morgan is indeed a captivating speaker, and he demonstrated this in his examination earlier in the year where he received full marks for all sections. He was required to give a presentation on an aspect of Technology, recite a poem and offer a critical review of an aspect of media. Morgan’s presentation on ‘The Exoskeleton’ was knowledgeable and fascinating, his poetry recital (‘Go Home’ by George Mpanga) was performed with a high level of understanding and his critical review on ‘Arrival’ (a Denis Villeneuve film) was exceptional. He was also required to handle a question and answer section which he conducted with great ease and confidence. It was this critical review that Morgan showcased at the awards ceremony on Saturday 11th November. This took place at The Crown Plaza in Liverpool and Mr Belfield and I were delighted to attend along with Morgan’s parents. It was a marvellous occasion. We are very proud of Morgan and this outstanding achievement; he has worked exceptionally hard and has been justly rewarded.

Twenty students and three staff set out to Goodison Park hoping for an Everton win and an exciting game. The obligatory MacDonalds was eaten and the walk up to the grand old stadium built up the match day feeling. The Sunday game was against Watford under flood lights, which always produces an electric atmosphere. The game lived up to the billing and after 5 goals two penalties, one of which was missed and 12 minutes of extra time the students walked to the bus buzzing and chatting on what they had just witnessed during the game.

Form 5 Rivers Fieldwork On Thursday 2nd November, Form 5 geography students visited the River Clwyd in Ruthin and the River Alyn in Loggerheads Country Park, to investigate how channel characteristics such as the discharge and velocity vary in different parts of the river. This is a required part of the IGCSE Geography course which the students will be examined on in their exam next summer. The students worked impressively in their various groups but there were still some soggy feet by the end of the afternoon!

Ruthin School's Mathematics Team are through (for the 8th consecutive year) to the UK Mathematics Trust Senior Mathematics Team Challenge final in London next February, having achieved the top score in our regional round this afternoon. We've come 1st in the National Final for the past 2 years (and, therefore, for the past 2 years we have travelled to Italy to represent the UK in the challenge there.) I hope we can have success again!! Well done to our team!! http://furthermaths.org.uk/stmc-winners