Each year, the Wrench Shield is awarded to the house with the best performance during the year. The shield is presented in memory of Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Mason Wrench, a keen educationalist who concluded his full and eventful life in Baslow, and who was a Governor of Lady Manners School. Dates on the shield go back to 1912, when the house system was instigated and there were only three houses: North, South and Town. The house events included in the competition include: badminton, basketball, chess, cricket, cross country (boys and girls), dance, enterprise, football (boys), hockey (boys and girls), house points, literacy quiz, netball, quiz, rounders, rugby, softball, sports day (boys, girls and overall) and tennis. This year, in an unbelievably close competition, we are delighted to announce that the winner is (by one point)...Barker. Final results were: Glossop: 54 points Cockerton: 68 points Taylor: 71 points Barker: 72 points Well done to everyone in Barker!.

Students and staff had an unexpected treat in the Music Department this lunchtime. A small group of music loving Year 9 students took it upon themselves to organise a recital for the whole school community. There was standing room only as the student organisers ran through their programme, which included items performed by students of all ages. The audience was treated to a full programme from classical pieces to songs from the movies and jazz. We'd like to thank the Year 9 organisers and performers for providing us with such a wonderful way to spend the penultimate lunch break of the school year.

Thank you to the Parents' Association of Lady Manners School for all the hard work they put into running last weekend's Car Boot Sale, which raised a wonderful £615 for the school. The profits from this have been added to Parents' Association funds from which they have now been able to donate a further £7,500 to the school for the Science Lab refurbishment. In total that brings the Parents' Association donations to £17,500 for this project. That's a lot of car boots, cake and raffle tickets! We are extremely grateful to the parents and friends who have made this possible. The next Car Boot Sale happens on Sunday 8 September, and further offers of assistance would be very much appreciated. There are many jobs available from staffing the gate or serving refreshments for a short time, to baking a cake to feed the hungry car booters, please let the Parents' Association know by emailing them at parentsassociationlms@gmail.com

There's so much talent amongst our students and it can be truly inspiring to witness the dedication and determination that some commit to achieving their goals. Asia Law is a Year 10 student at Lady Manners School who demonstrates these attributes in abundance. Asia plays water polo. She took up the sport when she was 10, quickly progressing to competition standard and is now ranked in the top 25 players in her age group in the country. She plays for three teams, training extensively to keep at the top of her game. This hard work is paying off as, over the last couple of years, she has won gold in her National Age Group Championships (U15 in 2018 and U17 in 2019) along with a host of inter-regional awards. Asia's most recent national title was won as part of the U17 City of Sheffield team but she also plays in the Wakefield & District and Northern League teams. The next steps on Asia's water polo journey will be international ones as she has been awarded a place at an England Water Polo training camp in Hungary during the summer. This will help her to prepare for the England team trials on which she has her sights set. These take place in September and, back here at Lady Manners School, we are all rooting for her. We wish her the best of luck in her next exciting step this summer.

Last week, 70 Year 8 and 9 languages students, together with six members of staff embarked on a much anticipated trip to the Rhineland. The group stayed in a quiet village called Moselkern from where it was very convenient to reach destinations like Boppard, Cochem and Koblenz. Daily outings included a trip to Deutsches Eck where the Mosel and Rhine meet, a visit to one of the most beautiful castles 'Burg Eltz', a trip to the Military Museum in Koblenz and Phantasialand, a theme park, which was a particular highlight. The sun shone and the trip to a local outdoor swimming pool helped to cool our students down. The staff at the hotel were most hospitable and the students enjoyed their typically German breakfast including scrambled eggs, cold sliced meat, doughnuts, cereal and fresh rolls. Packed lunches and three course evening meals were also much appreciated. The large lawn behind the hotel allowed for some more relaxation and some al fresco German lessons to finish the day. Our students, who were impeccably behaved, very much enjoyed their five day immersion in the German language, culture and history.