New Chavagnes Photo book

Father Talbot's new table book, containing photos of life at Chavagnes, is now ready. Available for purchase from Amazon (link, left), proceeds go towards school funds.

Contains:

Photos of people in the College
Various activtites: lessons, sports, music and worship
Events such as the 'Boy Bishop', All Saints Party, etc ...

A fascinating and accesible introduction to life at Chavagnes, with a written commentary by Mr McDermott.

«Modernité, mythe et magie: les clefs pour comprendre l'univers de JRR Tolkien et de CS Lewis»

Le samedi 4 décembre 2010, conférence de Ferdi McDermott.


La Fondation pour l’école organise un cycle de conférences consacré cette année à une réflexion sur la modernité à la lumière des penseurs dits antimodernes.

La deuxième conférence sera donnée par Monsieur Ferdi McDermott, professeur de littérature, directeur et cofondateur d'une "public school" britannique catholique en France.

Elle aura lieu le samedi 4 décembre 2010 de 18h à 19h30 sur le thème :

«Modernité, mythe et magie: les clefs pour comprendre l'univers de JRR Tolkien et de CS Lewis»

CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien

Les enfants s'impatientent déjà: le 8 décembre, c'est la sortie en salles du prochain chapitre de la saga de Narnia: L'Odyssée du passeur d'aurore. Dans le sillage du Seigneur des Anneaux, cet univers magique où règnent Frodon, Aslan et compagnie a su complètement dominer l'imagination de nos enfants, et même d’un certain nombre d’adultes. Narnia, Terre du Milieu ou encore Poudlard, chacun des ces univers magiques témoigne de la remarquable fertilité de l'imagination britannique et du don anglais pour la Mythopoeia - la création de mythes.

Professeur et littéraire anglais de 39 ans, Ferdi McDermott a créé sa propre école anglaise - un internat catholique pour garçons - au cœur du bocage vendéen. C'est un îlot britannique, quelque peu gothique, excentrique, fidèle à Sa Majesté. Les Français, selon McDermott, ont parfois du mal à vraiment le comprendre, même s'ils sont de plus en plus nombreux à lui confier leurs enfants ... A nous-autres, pauvres cartésiens français, Ferdi McDermott propose une conférence imprégnée de l'esprit festif de la saison, centrée sur l'œuvre des amis Tolkien et Lewis, mais qui proposera des clefs magiques pour comprendre tous les univers parallèles littéraires que l'esprit anglais a générés comme talismans contre les horreurs de la modernité. Venez nombreux: il suffit de prendre le train spécial depuis le Quai 9 3/4 en gare du Nord, ou bien de fermer les yeux et d’entrer dans l'armoire de votre chambre à 6 o'clock PM, le samedi 4 décembre 2010.

L’entrée est libre sur inscription préalable par téléphone (01 42 62 76 94) ou par courriel (contact@fondationpourlecole.org).

Merci de bien prévenir de votre venue en raison du nombre limité des places encore libres dans l’amphithéâtre.
La conférence a lieu au 115-117 rue ND des Champs 75006 PARIS (métro Vavin, RER Port Royal).

Retrouvez les dernières chroniques de la Fondation sur le lien suivant.

FONDATION POUR L'ECOLE

Fondation reconnue d’utilité publique

Bureaux et adresse postale:

25, rue Sainte-Isaure ; 75018 Paris
Tel: 01 42 62 76 94
Siège : 43, rue du Colisée ; 75008 Paris

http://www.fondationpourlecole.org/

Play and Carol Service

On Saturday 11th December we are hosting a Medieval Mystery Play presentation, with four short plays on the Christmas story, plus a traditional Carol Service.

4pm: Mystery Plays
5pm: Tea
6pm: Carol Service

followed by 7.30p Buffet Dinner. All welcome, but advance reservation before 5th December, please.

Father Anthony Talbot's photographs will also be on display over the whole weekend. Check out his site for details: http://www.anthonytalbot.com/
(Left)Photo credit: Anthony Talbot.

Spanish site about Catholic boarding schools

Mr Lavilla has started a website dedicated to articles about Catholic boarding school issues, in Spanish. In particular, there will be articles on:

- The advantages of boarding
- The arguments for single-sex schooling
- Advice for parents and pupils on issues such as homesickness, examinations, careers, etc ...

If you understand Spanish, check out the site at: http://internados-catolicos.blogspot.com/

Shakespeare Week 2011

Plans for Chavagnes Shakespeare Week 2011 are underway. Check out updates at:

http://shakespeare.chavagnes.org/

When schoolboys get to punch their teachers ...

A fly-on-the-wall film about this evening at Chavagnes. Just an ordinary Tuesday evening, with boxing, chess, piano, detentions, tuck shop ... etc. With a sample of the choir singing Exultate Justi by Ludovico da Viadana.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFTfU567_fM

Father Talbot's photography

Our chaplain, Father Anthony Talbot, now has a website showing some of his photographic work. Please pay him a visit: http://www.anthonytalbot.com/

Scouts de Chavagnes online

Mr Crawford is starting to put some interesting material about our independent scout troop online at http://scouts.chavagnes.org/

Going to school in France - blast from the past

Here's a little documentary film made by BBC Kent about Chavagnes International College a few years ago. Enjoy ...



(If it doesn't work, you can also watch at http://gloria.tv/?media=89445)

The boy featured in this clip was with us for five years (2002-2007) and left us with some great GCSE grades (A*s in French, German and Spanish, B in Latin and As in most of his other subjects, plus a B at AS-level Spanish taken early.) He was one of our founder pupils, so we are especially proud of him.

A truly bilingunal and bicultural education

At Chavagnes we are really beginning to experience now the originality and creativity that spring from the meeting of two cultures. This year three of our pupils (and this is the fifth year we have been doing this) sat for their French 'brevet' exams, validating the end of their Year 10 studies. We are pleased to tell you that all three passed the exams, one with a commendation : "Mention bien". Two of these boys also sat a number of GCSE subjects and will sit a few more next year.

Two of our young Frenchmen going rather early into our Lower VIth, one at 15 and one at 14 (!) this coming September are both looking into applying for Cambridge, but will hedge their bets by sitting the French Bac as well as the UK A-levels ... A visitor recently described one of these two as 'a perfect English gentleman'.

Meanwhile, of our English pupils, a number of them sat French GCSE early this year (boys from Year 9 or 10) and we expect some good results from them soon.

Another one of those bicultural moments was when our scouts ('Les Scouts de Chavagnes' as they call themselves) distinguished themselves by their gusty singing of "Rule, Britannia" on the Pentecost Chartres Pilgrimage ...

Floreat Chavagnes !

Confirmations at Chavagnes

On the Feast of St John the Baptist, 24th June 2010, Monseigneur Alain Castet, Bishop of Lucon celebrated confirmations at Chavagnes. Laurent Gibelin, Alexander Dakin-Wilson, Mathieu de Suzannet, Gonzague de Suzannet, Benjamin Bellec, Gerardo Nunez Alarcon and Augustin Ponroy received the sacrament at a Solemn Pontifical Mass celebrated in the College chapel.

Rugby Chavagnes vs. Esperance

In an exciting Rugby 7s away game against Esperance (Thursday 17th June), our 11-14-year olds acquitted themselves well, losing 60-40, but with a particularly valiant second half. Well done, boys.

St Patrick's Night film

A few scenes from our St Patrick's Night party on 17th March 2010.

For more news and information, visit our official website at www.chavagnes.org

Visit to aquarium

Today the GCSE photography went on a location shoot at the aquarium of Les Sables d'Olonnes.

Here are some of the photos:

Mathematics success and Baroque music in March ...

In this year’s Intermediate Maths Challenge, aimed at the 13-16 age group, Paul de Guibert (13) achieved a Gold certificate and was invited to participate in the prestigious Pink Kangaroo Challenge, Benjamin Bellec (14) and David Mobbeerley attained silver cerrificates. Maximillian Micallef-Eynaud (13) achieved a bronze certificate.

The Intermediate Challenge is aimed at the top third of pupils in Year 11 or below in England and Wales, Year 12 or below in Northern Ireland and S4 or below in Scotland. The top 40% of students nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3 and each institution receives a Best in School certificate. Visit the official website for more information on the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge.

Meanwhile other pupils of all ages enthusiastically participated in World Maths Day on 3rd March against schools from around the globe. In WMD 2010 a total 1,133,246 students and 56,082 schools from 235 countries united to set a new world record by correctly answering 479,732,613 questions online. Chavagnes belongs to the international Mathletics project, which enables pupils to compete online at solving mathematical problems, challenging other young people from English-speaking schools all over the world.

Baroque evening

On 4th March the boys enjoyed an excursion to the local chateau of ‘La Chabotterie’ for an evening of baroque musique provided by Hugo Reyne (leader of the Symphonie du Marais) on the recorder and Yannick Varlet on the haprshichord.

Chavagnes on French TV

http://www.tmc.tv/programmes-tv-tmc/magazines-tele/90-enquetes/videos/pensionnat-le-retour-des-methodes-strictes/3687521.html
For a documentary about the rise in popularity of boarding schools, featuring Chavagnes ...

Burns Night Pictures

Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming to the college friends and old students to celebrate Burns Night. The photographic GCSE class, in an effort to share the evening's festivities, has taken the following photographs.

http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B_ttSASknUO2MzM4ZGExNTktZjkwYy00MWVjLWJlYjgtZGYzZTQ3ODcxYTBh&hl=en

Chavagnes Maths news

Further to our last post, we just heard that Dominic made such an impression in his new school (Year 10) that they put him in for Maths GCSE, almost 2 years early, just a few weeks after arriving, back in October/November. He walked away with an A, for which our congratulations. And thanks also to his teacher last year, Brother Moylan.

Brother is organising this year's UK Junior and Intermediate Maths Challenge at Chavagnes and we are hoping to follow last year's excellent performance with a few more Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates among our pupils. Watch this space ...