Tenbury House

K1 World Kickboxing Championship Final

 

Tenbury House has sheltered your studious children for the past few weeks as they have been immersed in their revision timetables and sitting exams to reap the fruits of their labour this year.

 

Needless to say it has been a very quiet few weeks and I have been so proud of the dedication and determination shown by all, younger and older, boarders in the run to both external and internal exams.

 

It was probably a stroke of luck then that one of the biggest events of the year took place last weekend, in none other than Madrid, and we made sure that we were there to enjoy it. The boarders claim ‘it was the best excursion we have ever been on’ and ‘I’ll remember this for a long time…’

 

We managed to get tickets for a lucky few sixth formers to watch the K1 World Kickboxing Championship Final which was hosted in Madrid. I thought it best that you hear, or rather read, from the horse’s mouth, exactly what was felt and seen by the boarders as they enjoyed the experience of a lifetime!

 

Mira Alexandrova pens the blog this week as she takes us on Sunday’s exciting ride.   

 

 

 

 

K1 Kick-Boxing World Championship 2012

The world championship for kickboxing was a great experience both for me and the other Tenburians. It was an unforgettable night and all of us enjoyed it immensely.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the enormous queue of people waiting to get in. I had never seen so many people even at the Champion’s League Final I attended in the UK. As soon as we got to our seats I looked around in amazement, at the 5000 people in attendance! Everyone was excited at the battles about to commence, they cheered and the noise that was made was rousing.

However, once the fights began the spectators became silent. Each fight was started in a unique and impressive way, for instance, before each fighter entered the hall their country’s flag was flown as their national anthem played. The fighters were accompanied by their trainers and surrounded by beautiful dancers as flames surged from the ground to create a memorable and dramatic entrance. I was really impressed by how enthusiastically each fighter was welcomed and some of the fighters even started dancing which did not only make me laugh but it also made everyone in the hall laugh.

I have to admit that I found each fight super entertaining and so remarkable that I could not take off my eyes of the ring. Most fights were very moving and each second had to be followed in order not to miss something. I, once, turned around to check my phone and by the time I looked back one of the fighters had been knocked down. One of the most intriguing battles was between the Ukrainian fighter Arthur Kyshenko and the South Korean Su Hwan Lee; literally within some seconds the Ukrainian guy had KOed his opponent and the fight was over. Later on, however, the public was stirred by the entrance of the Spanish fighter Abraham Roqueni who was greeted by massive cheering and a standing ovation before he’d even entered the ring. He lost however and was booed upon his exit.

Overall, each game was remarkable and just like me just about everyone in the hall took hundreds of pictures and videos. My favorite part was the end of each battle as once the fighters left the ring they walked around the hall taking pictures with the public. I managed to take a photo with the English winner Reece!

Finally, the part I’m going to remember forever was the end, when the Moroccan fighter Badr Hari won the finale and little gold pieces of paper exploded and flew all around the hall. Loud music was also played which made this moment even more amazing. I had the most incredible time and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to attend the event with all my Tenburians! I will always remember that night and I wanted to give a special thank to Tenbury House and Mrs. Nazha especially for taking us to the event and providing us with one of the best moments of our lives. Thank you Mrs. Nazha once again from Mira and Tenbury House!

 

Niotta and Zoe enjoying the view!

The crowds were incredible!

Mira and Dorita with the Spanish Kickboxing Champion 

The queues were endless...

Two fighters circling one another...

Engaging in combat!

We learned of the tactics and intelligence involved...

Watch out Alonso!

Your children are back into the swing of things here at Tenbury Hoyuse, after the refreshing Easter break!

As you know, the summer term can be a stressful one, as we inch ever closer to the IGCSE and A Level examinations; and the boarders, well aware of this, have been studying as diligently as ever. As your children unpacked their cases they were very careful in ensuring I saw revision guides and exercise books fall out from amongst their clothes. I expected nothing less of course and they have returned ready as ever to start exam season in top form.

In fact, this week many boarders sat their French oral examinations and I'm very happy to report that smiling faces emerged from the examination rooms, after having studied all weekend.

Well, in the midst of all the study, I deemed it necessary to allow a small break. A vote was taken and the boarders decided that a race was in order...to let off steam and return, full throttle, to their revision. So that's what we did.

We went Karting and it was a breathtakingly exhilarating experience! The photos illustrate just how much fun we all had; although there could only be one winner... Formula 1 Champion Fredrik Skippervold, clearly basking in the glory of his win below! http://intheres.typepad.com/

 

 

Tshering celebrates turning 19!

This week's blog has been taken over by Tshering Gyaltshen, our boarder from Bhutan, who celebrated his birthday last weekend.

 

It was a special birthday for him and in fact it was a lovely weekend for all those who celebrated with him as his fellow boarders invited him to Valencia as a congratulatory gift!

 

There is a real sense of camaraderie here at Tenbury House and special bonds have been built in such a short amount of time, that we really do hold dear our community of Tenburians; and Tshering's birthday, among other events, has been an indicator of just how strong those bonds are.

 

The following is a letter Tshering wrote to his fellow Tenburians about what his birthday celebrations meant to him:

 

To date, I think I have been unconsciously sticking so strongly with Charles Lamb’s sentence, “New Year’s Day is everyman`s birthday” that whenever my teachers used to ask my age at the start of the school year (in Bhutan school starts on the 15th of February) I always used to subtract the current year by the year I was born and never used to consider the month.

Of course, it wasn’t just I who did this but all of my friends did the same and I guess many still do. You see, in the context of Bhutanese this is not very surprising because our astrologers will count our age starting from conception. So naturally our age will be one year older than it really is. Meaning I am 20 years old!

So, naturally, I have never celebrated any of my eighteen birthdays.  Ironically I would never even remember my birthday on the exact day. Some of my friends wouldn’t even know when their birth day is although they know in which year they were born. This is the reason why you will see many Bhutanese celebrating their birthdays on the first of January-a convenient birthday because they don’t know on which date and in which month they were born. I guess a birthday is a yearly and personal special day when you receive gifts and so on, coinciding with a day where you are one year older than just yesterday.

Celebrating my nineteenth birthday last week, I felt the feeling of a one year old child. It was a completely a new experience and moreover, I have been renamed Sheringk by my friends; indicating New Man.

It was great pleasure and the day was welcomed warmly with a smile on my face, very early on the morning of Friday 2nd March 2012.

I guess Miss Nazha had done something special to my birthday cake which unwrapped the  happiness within me and my friends surprised me with their kind and lovely gifts. The day has marked the first birthday I have ever celebrated, but there is also a sadness which tinges it, as it had just marked the end of my teenage years.

Thank you Miss Nazha and everyone in fact, for your best wishes. Thank you to all.





          “As a child we always wanted to grow up but now we realise that broken toys and lost pencils     were much better than broken heart and lost friends.”

Unknown   

 

 

 

 

Delhi, Geneva and London....join us on our travels!

It has been a fantastic week here at Tenbury House with birthdays to celebrate and a Pop Concert where our boarders shined the brightest. Sanzhar and Alisa were phenomenal in their performances, dancing and singing respectively.

 

As promised last week, the blog has been updated with accounts from Niotta and Xixi on their trips to London and Delhi so please do read through them and enjoy the photos we've uploaded below.

 

The following is an account by Niotta Nillson about her travels to India with the art department:

 

Last week, for the Art trip, we went to India in which we were able to experience a completely different culture to ours. We ate food that was fiery hot one day and not a hint of spice another day. The funny thing was that when we arrived at our hotel room, Julia and I found a bucket and a kettle and so we started laughing because we knew what that meant. We had to boil our water and use the bucket in order to take our shower. During the whole week there was not a single minute where we didn’t have anything to do, we were up and running all the time. Now that I think of it I am very grateful that we all enjoyed our week in India and all wish that it could have been longer than just that one week. We even got the chance to see a Bollywood movie in filming mode and saw many animals roaming around in the streets. Let’s just say it was an incredible and unforgettable experience, but we could be here for days if we were to talk about everything that happened, so here are the photos instead!

 

The following is a description of the London trip by Xixi, who actually prefered Oxford!

 

The London trip was fantastic. We visited many museums, saw many famous places, we went on a River Thames Cruise and the London Eye. But of all the trips, my favourite experience in the UK was the visit to Oxford. As we travelled from London city to Oxford, the sight outside of the bus windows changed dramatically from a dark city into sunny countryside. Small villages started to appear on both sides of the road. Trees, green fields and a clear blue sky were all we could see. After a long journey we arrived to Oxford. We didn’t see the big Oxford University building but we visited some Oxford University colleges. Balliol College was one of the most beautiful colleges we saw, it had a lovely chapel and a few lively gardens inside. Oxford somehow had a cultural atmosphere and made me feel very calm. There was a small market selling food, souvenirs and most interestingly: books. A man was selling all his books for one or two pounds, so I bought many classics and interesting novels. Oxford made me feel spiritually fulfilled and free; the natural surroundings were so enjoyable. I loved that experience and I hope someday I may study there.

 

 

Trips Week in Madrid

This week has been an exhilarating week for those boarders who stayed on at Tenbury house.

 

Whilst many of our boarders travelled to Rajasthan, Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Berlin and London amongst other amazing locations and which you'll hear all about in next week's blog; this week is all about Madrid and a side of it the boarders rarely get to see.

 

We have had makeovers, cooking classes, taster sessions of all the different cuisines Spain has to offer as well as the opportunity to view the latest art exhibitions showing in Madrid.

 

Boarders got to experience a concentrated 5 days of living in one of the most exciting cities in Europe. It really has been an educational week for your children with the opportunity to relax and recharge their batteries for the remaining 6 weeks of term.

 

We also took the opportunity to eat as much cake as we could, celebrating the birthdays of both Nuvola and Sanzhar; as you can see from the photos below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revision, revision, revision and little relaxation in between...

The Year 12 mocks are upon us and as expected all the Year 12 boarders have been busy revising, day in day out, in the run up to these important exams. They are well supported both at school and in the boarding house of course, with classes running as per usual. This means that pupils have been able to take full advantage of teacher support outside of their exam timetable.

 

The weekly excursion had a slightly historical twist yesterday with a trip to see the new film, J Edgar; leaving a tranquil boarding house for the Year 12s to take full advantage of. The film was enjoyed by all and was followed by a pizza night for all, which was thoroughly appreciated by all, as it comes by so rarely!

 

I have posted photos below of the baorders enjoying their wekly excurson:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course the excitement here at Tenbury House is running high for other reasons; Trips week isquite literally a week away and as boarders pack their bags, ready for an awe inspiring week in India, London or Paris, to mention just a few, timetables and agendas are being published, revealing the exciting activities they have to look forward to.

 

Next week’s trip is something we have all been looking forward to with Madrid hosting its annual Flamenco festival, Last year we were able to see El Niño, a young man in his twenties who has achieved fame at such a young age for his passionate guitar playing. This year we are lucky enough to have secured tickets to see India Martinez and the Carrasco family who are aristocracy on the Flamenco scene. Please scroll down on the blog to see a video of El Niño playing last year and read the blog written by our Head Boy Alex Murphy who was so inspired by the flamenco artist that he decided to learn Spanish guitar. You can also have a preview of what’s in store for us this week by following this link:      http://promohits.blogspot.com/2011/03/diego-carrasco-miguel-poveda-arcangel.html

Official Inauguration of Tenbury House

We are almost a month into term and what a term it has been!

 

The Year 7-10 reports were published with many boarders achieving excellent grades. There were also weak spots identified for some boarders and extra support has been arranged for those who require it.

 

Of course our most exciting moment to date was our official inauguration day on Tuesday 17^th January by the President of Madrid, Doña Esperanza Aguirre.

 

It was a proud moment for Tenbury House because your children made it so. They were as hospitable and well-mannered as usual, but this time they were being scrutinized by the national press, and they certainly rose to the challenge! The boarders were proud of themselves in fact, and moreover, proud to represent their boarding house as Tenburians.

 

Please follow this link to see photos and a video of the inaugural day :

 

http://www.madrid.org/esperanzaaguirre/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5439:esperanza-aguirre-inaugura-la-tembury-house-del-colegio-kings-college-en-tres-cantos-&catid=3:noticias-generales&Itemid=50

 

On another note, the Prado Museum is just one of the excursions we have been on this month, with many great others to follow.  We got to see and experience the Hermitage exhibition. It was glorious and we were all left in awe of the beautiful works of art.

 

Please follow this link for a  virtual tour of your own: http://www.museodelprado.es/exposiciones/info/en-el-museo/tesoros-del-hermitage/el-hermitage-en-el-prado-video-online-interactivo/

 

Finally, I'd like to congratulate Victor Abrashev for his phenomenal academic achievements in Economics this term. I have been inundated with praise from his teacher and it's a very proud moment for me, the staff and his fellow boarders, when one of ours shines the brightest.

 

Happy New Year! 2011 was great as you can see below! 2012 will be even better!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas and a wonderful New Year with your children back home.

 

Messages have been flooding in from all the boarders throughout the holiday; wishing one another well and counting down the days to a new term, which is always a good sign!

 

The end of term was as busy as usual and we ended on a high note, after all of the exams. I have attached the link to the Tenbury House blog so that you can have a look at the Tenbury House Christmas 2011video. It was such great fun and all credit goes to the boarders who played their respective roles and in particular, our Head Boy, Alex Murphy who directed and produced the video.

 

Last term was a magnificent start to the academic year and the growth of Tenbury House has been a real triumph. I am incredibly proud to lead such an impressive group of young people through their educational career. In fact, all of us here at Tenbury House are very proud of our Tenburians, your children, and we look forward to the new term and new year with much enthusiasm.

Make sure you scroll down all the way to the end to watch the Christmas video!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Almost Christmas....!

Christmas season is officially upon us and we have decorated the boarding house and have a beautiful tree that the boarders decorated this weekend. Do have a look at the photos on the blog, which also include photos and videos of birthdays we have celebrated as well. There are also photos of our very own Niotta Nilson who won Prom Queen at a Christmas ball which all international and British curriculum pupils were invited to here in Madrid.

Talking of parties, the boarders are all looking forward to the annual Tenbury House Christmas Dinner, which will be held at the Hilton Hotel this year! We are all very excited about this black tie event where teachers at the day school are also invited to celebrate this festivity with their pupils and I shall be posting photos of this, sure to be glamorous, event in the coming weeks!

Of course, along with Christmas season, comes exam season, and while Year 11 will complete their exams this week, Years 7 to 10 have yet to sit theirs, and will start next week. The sixth form will sit theirs after the holiday. Having said that, all boarders are studying religiously; eager to illustrate the fruits of their hard work this term. They are being helped along with the study sessions here at Tenbury House which are led by teachers on different nights so that our boarders are able to take full advantage of living in a boarding house.

Please be sure to take a look at photos and videos on the blog this week! http://intheres.typepad.com/

¡Santi's Quincena!

 

Emeline and Nuvola standing by our glorious tree! Emeline tells us that all those years of decorating the tree with her father have come in handy...

Christian enjoyed his chocolate birthday cake!

Tshering and Fatima getting ready for the Christmas Ball.

Our debutantes with prom Queen Niotta in the middle!

Academic Prowess at Tenbury House

Over the past few weeks the boarders have made me very proud to be Head of Boarding at Tenbury House.

 A couple of weeks ago we hosted high tea for the school council. The boarders were confident, articulate and above all hospitable.

We were honoured to host the gathering which included Dr Fry and Mrs Blaus among others who were also very impressed by our Tenburians.

On another proud note, Tenbury House is garnering quite the reputation for the academic prowess of its boarders! In fact, just this week Marcel Hoffman and Fredrik Skippervold were awarded certificates for the highest achievement in A level Physics and Economics respectively. Emeline de Gabriac achieved an A* for Biology and Nuvola Ladi and Santiago McGorty both achieved As for Biology. Also, Magdalena Pehlivanova has earned house points for her work in Maths while Christian Owondo has been praised for his work across all subjects.

To illustrate the breadth of talent we have here at Tenbury house, this week I decided to post videos on the Tenbury House blog of the boarders during their free time, please be sure to have a look below, as I think you'll be very impressed

Diego playing the piano so beautifully!

 

Sanzhar amazing us with his break dancing skills!