For over 20 years, the Life Sciences department at Canterbury Christ Church University has been loaning Dane Court Biology department the necessary hardware to enable the students to be able to carry out gene technology practicals in school science labs, which otherwise would be completely unaffordable.
Dane Court Grammar School had two excellent groups of year 10 students who qualified for the final of this year's Business of Enterprise competition and one of those returned from London with the top prize. Last Friday (5 July 2019), the two groups travelled in hope to NatWest's HQ in Bishopsgate with their well thought out and rehearsed business propositions and both performed with commendable skill.
Year 9 student Edward Thompson has visited the Somme battlefields, after being invited to lay a wreath at the annual service at the Lochnagar Crater by the site's owner Richard Dunning MBE. The service focuses on themes of peace and reconciliation.
It is the third time Edward has visited the crater, which was caused by mines blown by the British under the German lines as the opening act of the Battle of the Somme. The mines were blown at 7:28am on the 1 July 1916, and the act is remembered at the same time every 1 July, in a service that starts with trench whistles being blown around the crater, which is 30 metres deep and 100 metres wide. Edward has previously had the honour of being allowed inside the crater bowl, which - as a war grave - is closed to the public.
After laying a wreath for the Grimsby Chums, who signed up together and died together at the Somme, Edward visited the British Cemetery at Hailly Station, the site of a major field hospital. The cemetery contains over 3000 bodies, including those of German soldiers.
Edward also visited the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's newly opened visitor centre at Beaurains, to see new gravestones being carved and the sword from a Cross of Remembrance being repaired, and visited a vast underground V2 rocket base from the Second World War.
Edward has chosen to study history at GCSE.
Dane Court Grammar School’s sporting girls came so close to a National final when both their year 9 and year 10 Rugby League teams lost hard fought semi-finals in Warrington last Tuesday (21 May). For a few years now, Dane Court has entered the Rugby League Champion Schools competition with increasing success.
Initially doing well in the county tournament they often qualified for the South East regionals and the, last year, one team gained entrance to the National Finals tournament finishing 5th - outside the semi-final qualifications. However, this season years 8, 9 and 10 all won county titles and then reached the National tournament following success at the Regionals in Roehampton. This meant a trip to either Leeds (year 9) or Warrington (year 8 and 10), both hotbeds of Rugby league competition in the country. Fantastically, both the older year groups gained entry to the semi-finals playing against vastly more experienced and bigger schools. They did this with skilful, determined and courageous play to surprise their northern opponents.
At the semi-finals, again in Warrington, the stakes were higher and the teams tougher as you would expect. Although Dane Court were ultimately defeated every girl gave everything they had for the team and caused their opponents more than a little anxiety.
In the end experience of regular competition told as Dane Court succumbed to quality play by Castleford Academy year 9 and St Peters school Manchester year 10. The year 9 game in particular was a on a knife edge until the final 2 mins when Castleford, unbeaten for 2 years in the competition, scored the winning try. Their coach a former professional Premiership player, gave lavish praise to the Dane Court girls for their unrelenting efforts.
Also, in both semi-finals a Dane Court student was awarded player of the match, albeit in a losing cause, those being Keira Hulks for year 9 and Holly Enright for year 10.
All the staff and helpers who aided the preparation and travelled with the students can, and do, feel proud of all the girls who lived up to Dane Court’s never-get-up, everything is possible attitude.
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