Burns Night















The Ramsays model both 'Ramsay' tartans.

With tartan or plaid, candles burning bright, whisky poured, thistles arranged and the bag pipes drowning in the Boys’ Hall the scene was set for our second annual Burns Night. Tickets were sold out and the tables filled quickly for our traditional meal of leak and tatty soup, Haggis nips and tatties (or sausages and mash for the faint hearted English men and boys) and Cranachan. Staff and parents had practised their Scottish accents and attempted the Burns poetry and toasts to the lads and lassies with gusto.















Mr Wall toasts Robbie Burns.

Our sincere thanks go to Mr Macdonald, Mr Hunter, Mr Wall, Mr James and Mrs Whitehead for their very accomplished performances before a rowdy crowd and to Hamish Rowe a student at Malvern College for his impressive bag piping all of which contributed towards an amazing night where a significant amount of money was raised on the bar. The evening came to a respectable end with adults and children alike dancing the Ceilidh in the Memo Hall.







Everyone joins in the ceiledh.

A Cricket Pavilion to be Proud Of!

The Friends of the Downs committee decided in March this year, to renovate the cricket pavilion, their biggest project to date.  The pavilion is located in the most beautiful site; sitting outside on a summer’s afternoon watching our children playing cricket with a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich, what could be better? We wanted the pavilion to be renovated to enable our children to enjoy for many years the facilities and also to allow the pavilion to be used by the local community and for many other activities e.g. summer evening parties.
I was tasked in the meeting to investigate a link between ladies cricket and our school, somewhere in someone’s memory banks there seemed to be a connection!  Quite a daunting task, but readily accepted.
Using the wizardry of the internet, old copies of the ‘Badger’ and items from the Archive room, I found a major connection between ladies cricket and our pavilion and pitch.








Lady Cricketers in 1926 at The Downs









Derick our groundsman welcomes some of the players back to The Downs.

In 1926 a group of lady cricketers, on their summer holiday, came to Colwall and played cricket at various sites, ours being one of them.  When they returned home they formed the Women’s Cricket Association and then in turn formed the Colwall Cricket Week held in August and still going today.
I contacted the Head of Women’s Cricket at Lords, Gill McConway, who was very supportive of what we were trying to do and put me in touch with the editor of the Women’s Cricket Associates newsletter, various Great Britain players and a lady who runs the Colwall Cricket Week.  I spoke to many ladies and they all had fond memories of our pavilion and pitch, speaking very highly of the toilet facilities!!
The pavilion has now been restored and renovated to the same standards as when it was first built in 1934, donated by the ‘Old Downians’.







The inside of the pavillion is fully restored.

We have raised a good percentage of the renovation costs through donations and fund raising.  This is a fantastic achievement for the committee and parents of the school.







This year's lady cricketers






..and the very serious dads' game!

I believe we all had a fantastic day on the 17th June, it was great to see so many children, parents, local community and even some Great Britain ladies team players, enjoying a sunny afternoon watching cricket.  It was such a success that it was decided at the last committee meeting that it should be an annual event!

Bonfire Night!












What a perfect night for a Bonfire party. It was cold  but dry and the huge bonfire kept everyone warm - along with the mulled wine.
Even more families came along and an extended display kindly organised by Chris Johnson and Mark Eveleigh was perfectly pitched. The hot dogs and hot chocolate were appreciated as were the free toffee apples, not to mention the beer tent for the parents! The evening was lit up by the Boarder’s pumpkins, glow in the dark toys and the flames from the bonfire.
















Thanks must go to the Railway team who provided us with steam train rides which are even more exciting in the dark and to the FOD team who put it all together.
The Downs, Malvern College Prep, Brockhill Road, Colwall
MALVERN Worcestershire WR13 6EY
Tel: 01684 540277 Fax: 01684 540094
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