World famous dancer Wayne Sleep stepped up to teach students a masterclass in Harrogate today.

Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, which offers three-week residential summer schools for dance students aged nine to 19, started 46 years ago in Ilkley and moved to York in 1999 but its new home is Harrogate’s Ashville College.

Wayne Sleep taught the very first seminar and went on to become a senior principal at the Royal Ballet and once famously danced with Princess Diana.

Today Mr Sleep returned to his roots to inspire the next generation of dancers. He not only passed on advice to students but also showed a few of his signature moves.

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The seminar is now under the directorship of Iain Mackay, who has guided the students through coronavirus and found them a new base in Harrogate. He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s been better than we could ever have dreamed of. The talent that comes is exceptional, there are some stars of the future in there.

“The year the students have had as well, they have had a lot of online training. So you can see that they are buzzing to be together, which is great.

“If Ashville College will have us we are going to be coming back for the foreseeable. This is a great venue for us and we love Harrogate.

“Wayne is a legend of the ballet world. The world has changed a lot, the art form has changed a lot but it’s really important that students get to work with the greats.”

The latest three-week course has ended now but it will be back in Harrogate next year. It costs £600 per week for a full residential and there are scholarships on offer as well.

A Harrogate man has died of a rare form of bone cancer at the age of just 24.

James Hindmarsh was diagnosed with  Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma last year and recently stopped receiving NHS treatment after several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

In his final weeks, James’ friends and colleagues worked together to raise over £60,000 to pay for private treatment.

Four friends pledged to complete a number of challenges to raise funds. But unfortunately, James died before treatment could begin.

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James lived in Harrogate all his life and attended Ashville College.

Today, Ian Brown, president of the Ashvillian Society, the college’s alumni organisation, said:

“We are always saddened to learn of the death of an Old Ashvillian, and our thoughts and prayers go out to James’ parents, family and friends.

“I was so impressed with the spirit James showed both before, and especially during, his illness, and it’s devastating he lost his fight against the disease.”

Ashville College in Harrogate has appointed Rhiannon Wilkinson as its first female headteacher in its 144-year history.

Ms Wilkinson, who was headmistress at Harrogate Ladies’ College from 2009 until 2013, will take up the position in September.

She will become the 11th headteacher in the history of the independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged three to 18.

Richard Marshall, the previous headteacher, died in November aged 48 of cancer.

Elspeth Fisher will remain as acting head until September 1 when she will revert to her former position as a deputy head.

Ms Wilkinson said:

“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Ashville College and returning to the Harrogate District which I always saw as my forever home.

“As a head over the last 12 years, I am confident that my versatility and commitment to serve young people and their families, whatever their background, need or ability, will enable me to succeed at Ashville College.

“Ashville is rich in heritage and remains true to its strong Methodist values, it is small enough to care but big enough to challenge both its day and boarding pupils.”

She added she hoped to “build on the successes of my predecessors, in particular the unfulfilled legacy of Richard Marshall”.

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Ms Wilkinson, who graduated in modern history at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, has taught in – and led – schools in the UK, Hong Kong and Brunei, and most recently was the founding head of Whittle School Shenzhen in China.

After leaving Harrogate Ladies College she became head at Wycombe Abbey independent school in Buckinghamshire.

A statement issued by the school today said Ms Wilkinson was the unanimous choice of the board of governors.

Jamie Search, chair of governors at Ashville, described Ms Wilkinson as “an exceptional educational leader”, adding:

“In her four years at Harrogate Ladies’ College, she did an exceptional job and is credited with transforming the fortunes of the school.

“We feel incredibly privileged to have someone of Rhiannon’s calibre and experience joining Ashville College.”

A man has been charged with the murder of former Ashville College student Anna Reed.

Ms Reed, 22, was found strangled in her bed in a Swiss hotel in April 2019.

The Sunday Times reported last weekend that Marc Schatzle, a German traveller, has been accused of murder, fraud and theft.

It is believed Mr Schatzle met Ms Reed when she was travelling around the world as a 21st birthday present from her father, Clive, a Harrogate racehorse breeder.

They are thought to have been dating for several months.

A spokesman for the Swiss prosecutors office said:

“He is accused of intentional homicide, theft, fraud and drug offences.

“Covid permitting, he will go on trial later this year.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said:

“Our consular staff are assisting the family of a British woman following her death in Switzerland, and are in contact with the Swiss and UK police.”

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A Harrogate sixth form pupil has raised almost £5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support after hosting and performing in her own virtual concert.

Niamh Boyle, 17, staged her first concert for the charity, which supported her aunt and uncle in their final days, in 2018.

That event raised £12,000 and now Niamh has generated another significant sum for Macmillan from her second concert, which was held online and included performances from current and former Ashville pupils.

Niamh editing the performances during her school holidays before broadcasting them on her Youtube channel in September.

She has far exceeded her £3,000 target.

Niamh said:

“It just goes to show that Macmillan is a charity close to so many hearts.

“I hope that we can do a live one again next time. I can’t wait to do more for this amazing charity.”

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The concert included 25 songs from musicals. Niamh performed in three solos and three duets.

Adele Burrough, fundraising manager for Macmillan, said Niamh’s efforts would help people living with cancer, adding:

“Niamh’s remarkable efforts have also made sure that cancer doesn’t become the ‘forgotten C’ during this pandemic.

“Right now, there are around 179,000 people living with cancer across Yorkshire. When coronavirus hit, thousands of vital cancer treatments and appointments were postponed or cancelled.”

Ashville College in Harrogate has reported an increase in this year’s grades with the number of A* to B grades going up to 64%.

A further 39% of grades were A* and A, including students studying art and music who all achieved those grades.

Further subjects seeing high grades were English literature, French and Latin. The school has congratulated all of its pupils on their dedication to their studies and work during the lockdown period.

Acting head of the school Elspeth Fisher said:

“We want to pay tribute to our most senior pupils who have lost out on many activities and privileges throughout their final year at school but have continued to actively engage with staff through online lessons until May half-term. Each individual deserves to be proud of their achievements.”

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Fourteen students from the college received A* to A grades across the board.

Among the high achievers were Mia Croft and Simon Floyd, who both gained A*s in all three of their A levels. Mia will now study geography at Durham, while Simon will go to Bath to study economics.

Pupils and staff from Ashville College in Harrogate have been joined by a number of sportsmen and women during an online Q&A sessions.

Director of Sport at Ashville College, Dominic Bradburne, organised talks with athletes from the world of cricket, hockey, netball and rugby. Pupils then had the opportunity to ask questions about their careers.

The live sessions began with Worcestershire County Cricket Club players Ed Barnard and Pat Brown. They were followed by Bath Rugby Union players Joe Cokanasiga and Zach Mercer.

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The students also had the opportunity to speak to England hockey players Ollie Payne and Nick Park as well as former England Netball international Anna Carter.

Nick Park currently plays hockey for England.

Director of Sport Dominic Bradburne said:

“I’d like to thank all of the sportsmen and sportswomen for participating in our question and answer sessions. The aim of the evenings is for the audience…to find out about the individuals, their careers, early influences, training programmes and future aspirations.”

He acknowledged that video conferencing is the new normal and hopes to carry on the sessions on a regular basis.

A smart performance by Ripon Grammar School singer and trumpet player Eva Scullion, has won her a coveted place at the Junior Royal College of Music in Manchester.

Because of the coronavirus crisis, Eva, who is 15 and a year 10 student at the school, had her audition filmed on a smartphone by her mother Beki.

The lockdown and social distancing restrictions, meant that auditions in Manchester could not go ahead and Eva was asked to submit a video featuring her performing and talking about why she wants to study at the college.

She has achieved Grade 8 in voice and grade 6 in trumpet and said she finds music a way of expressing her emotions,  especially when singing and added:

“I really enjoy exploring the different moods in songs and how you can be a completely different person than in real life.”

Ripon Grammar School director of music, Michael Barker, said he was proud that Eva and pointed out:

“She is an excellent all-round musician in theory, performance and composition and a stalwart member of our RGS music groups. She has a promising musical future.”

In Harrogate, Ellie Schaiper, a sixth former from Ashville College has won a coveted place at the National Youth Theatre.

The NYT has a long list of  A-lister alumni that includes Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Rosamund Pike, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Ellie Schaiper said:

“Normally those accepted would take this course in London, however, once again due to the virus, this year’s intake course will be done via ‘Zoom’. After the summer intake course, I should have the opportunity to audition for productions within the company as well as their Rep Company, in addition to masterclasses and talks with industry professionals.”

Ashville Drama student Ellie Schaiper

Karl Boyd, Ashville College’s Head of Drama, said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled for Ellie. Being selected to join the National Youth Theatre is a wonderful achievement, and one that will hopefully open many doors for her as she explores a career in the world of acting.

“She worked incredibly hard for the audition and this, combined with her natural talent, has paid off.”

 

Staff from Ashville College in Harrogate have been busy making scrubs and other PPE for two of the town’s care homes.

The volunteer group makes the items for Heath Lodge, on Pannal Ash Road, and Berwick Grange, on Wetherby Road.

It comes after the college donated around 200 pairs of safety glasses from its science department to frontline hospital staff treating patients with coronavirus.

The volunteers are led by Caroline Beer, Annie Wilcockson, Sarah Mansfield, Helen Thompson, Elizabeth Pennington, and Lynn Conway.

Collectively, the team has made scrubs, scrub bags, face masks, and headbands, to keep health workers’ ears comfortable from hours of mask wearing.

They have also produced artwork of fictional characters to support children’s storytelling at Harrogate District Hospital.

Caroline Beer said: “We all bring different skills to the mix and our pooled talents are benefitting employees and residents at Heath Lodge and Berwick Grange, and young patients at Harrogate District Hospital. We have set up a ‘gofundme’ page to help pay for materials.”

The materials produced so far have been created using donated fabrics and now the team has also set up a gofundme page to raise money for more materials. The Busy Bees plan to continue production for as long as possible to provide vital PPE items to local care homes in need.

Following a donation this week of items to staff at Berwick Grange, Administration Manager, Phoebe Rahtmell said:

“I would like to say a huge thank you for the uniform bags and head bands that were very kindly made and donated to Berwick Grange Care Home. This was a very thoughtful gesture and I would like to pass on our gratitude to everybody involved as I imagine a vast amount of time went into making them all.”

More than 400 protective visors and 200 pairs of safety goggles have been delivered to key workers thanks to schools in Harrogate.

Harrogate Grammar School’s design department has created the visors in less than a week, delivering first to Mowbray Square Medical Centre and then to Harrogate District Hospital.

Meanwhile, Ashville College has raided the store cupboard in its science department and handed over goggles to be used on the front line.

Richard Marshall, Headmaster of Ashville College, said: “I’d much sooner they were being used, now, by staff in our local hospital, rather than being sat in a cupboard for the foreseeable future.

“Whilst Ashville may be physically closed, it doesn’t stop us from supporting the community that we have been proud to be a part of for over 140 years.”

At Harrogate Grammar School, production on the visors will continue at a rate of 200 per day for as long as they are needed. It has received requests from Yorkshire Ambulance Service, care homes and a consultant in Leeds.

To increase production, the school has now shared the 2D cutting file with Leeds-based schools in the Red Kite Learning Trust. Support has also been offered by the fire service to get as many visors out to where they are needed as possible, while staff at Harrogate District Hospital have sent a message of appreciation, pictured.

A spokesman for Harrogate Grammar School said: “The added benefit of these visors is that they are 100% plastic so can be cleaned and reused whereas others are disposable. They are also fully adjustable, allowing for no gaps around the head therefore heightening safety.

“Harrogate Grammar School are delighted to be able to support local critical workers and help save lives.”