A 12-year-old from Ripon has solved a Rubik’s Cube in 10.72 seconds at the European Championships in Copenhagen.

Ripon Grammar School student Kris Lim is ranked among the top 100 in the country at solving the puzzle.

He was one of 550 competitors going head-to-head solving the 7×7 and the original 3×3 cube at the event in Denmark, which was organised by the Rubik’s World Cube Association.

Competing in Denmark

Kris’ 10.72 seconds time for the 3×3 was his best score in a competition.

He is currently ranked 96th in the UK in 3×3 one-handed with a time of 18.17 seconds. He’s also 98th in the UK in 2×2 with a single solve of 1.99 seconds.

He spends an hour a day cubing and solved his first cube when he was eight years old. He said:

“I started getting faster when I was 11 and people thought it was cool. I can solve a 3×3 blindfolded too, although I haven’t done this at a competition yet.

“The most enjoyable part at the competition was meeting other cubers, as cubing is a rare hobby. My ambition is to get a sub-10 3×3 average in a competition one day.”

The puzzle was was invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik.

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A Ripon Grammar School student with a talent for translation has won a first prize in a prestigious University of Oxford languages competition which attracted 14,000 entrants from all over the UK.

In addition to sixth form student Anna Cope scooping the national title for her skilful German translation in the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, Year 10 student Jack Wright won the regional award for his outstanding Italian translation.

Both entered the advanced level of the competition, aimed at A-level students.

Anna, 16, who is studying biology, chemistry and German at A-level and taking evening classes in Russian, said she was absolutely delighted to hear she’d initially won the regional competition.

She said:

“I’d have been happy getting a commendation. But to hear I’d actually won the national for the best German translation for level 4 was quite mind-blowing.”

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The gifted linguist, who aims to take a gap year after sixth form to learn a new language and experience a new culture before applying for universities abroad, including in Greece and Korea, to study psychology, law or modern languages, said she found the translation challenging.

She added:

“The hardest part was wording it in a way the writer would have spoken it. It’s hard to decide whether something is descriptive or analytical when it’s in another language and you may be struggling to understand the entirety of the text.

“I had to use synonyms to replace words that simply wouldn’t make sense in English such as switching ‘with stopped breath’ to ‘with bated breath’.”

Meanwhile, Year 10 pupil Jack, who was born in Italy but now lives outside Ripon, was delighted to receive the North-East regional prize: “I speak, read and write in Italian, and so when I saw the competition I thought, ‘Why not?’.

The 15-year-old, who plans to pursue a career as a 3D designer, had to translate an extract of an Italian novel.

He said:

“It was OK for the most of it but had a few metaphors which required some thinking to translate into English. I gained some confidence in my abilities from the competition, especially when I found out that I’d won the regional, it came as a surprise.”

Eight RGS students in total entered the competition, which is inspired by the life and work of Anthea Bell, one of the finest and most influential literary translators of the 20th and 21st centuries, and judged by a team of 36 undergraduates and professional translators.

A former Ripon Grammar School staff member who was dismissed after just seven months in post has lost an employment tribunal.

Barbara Sheills claimed she was unfairly sacked from the school after whistleblowing on a safeguarding issue she raised when a pupil took an overdose in September 2020.

However, a tribunal held in Leeds found against her. It said there were enough grounds for her dismissal over her conduct and professionalism.

Jonathan Webb, headteacher at the school, dismissed Ms Sheills’ claim on the grounds of “conduct, capability and concerns about a breakdown in her relationship with her line manager which could undermine the smooth operation of the boarding house”.

Safeguarding claim

Ms Sheills started at the school in the middle of the national covid lockdown in March 2020. She worked as a senior house parent and was contracted to North Yorkshire County Council.

The tribunal heard that concerns were first raised by Caroline Day, assistant headteacher of boarding, after Ms Sheills was described as “rude and abrasive” during a meeting to discuss the return of pupils.

She denied this, but the tribunal later found Ms Day’s evidence to be “clear and unequivocal”.

On the same day as pupils returned, staff were given a presentation from the school’s special needs co-ordinator, which included information on “Pupil A”’s welfare needs.

The tribunal heard how the pupil had returned to the school on September 20 after being home for the weekend and that her medication should have been collected by staff and put away in a medical safe.

Leeds Employment Tribunal at City Exchange in Leeds City Centre.

However, her medication was not collected and the following day Pupil A went to Ms Day and told her she had taken an overdose. She was taken to hospital with Ms Day.

Ms Sheills raised a complaint with Marita Murray, deputy headteacher and designated safeguarding lead, on September 22 over Ms Day not collecting the medication.

However, the tribunal heard that the responsibility to collect the medication was a systemic failure rather than that of any individual.

Dismissal backed by evidence

The tribunal heard how repeated concerns were raised by Ms Day over Ms Sheills claiming overtime for tasks which could be done during working hours and using pupils’ numbers instead of names at registration.

It also heard how Mr Webb took advice from the council’s human resources department over Ms Sheill’s sanctioning pupils with an early morning run after they had been talking during the night.

During a meeting with Ms Sheills and her union representative on September 29, Mr Webb described the sanction as “outdated”, “draconian” and against school behavioural policy.

Mr Webb added that another reason for the dismissal was that Ms Sheills had “behaved inappropriately” after she had a conversation about Pupil A’s overdose with a member of the school’s ground staff in September 2020.

There were also allegations that she had edited boarding house logs relating to incident and had also “ignored instructions from Mrs Day and Mr Webb” to maintain an “appropriate boundary” between the school and home while off sick.

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The tribunal found that Mr Webb’s dismissal of Ms Sheills in October 2020 was backed by a “significant amount of evidence”.

Ms Sheills denied wrongdoing and claimed she was sacked because she made an allegation against another staff member.

But, Employment Judge Cox ruled in a report published last week:

“In the light of the clear and convincing nature of Mr Webb’s evidence and the fact that it was supported by a substantial number of emails and meeting notes to which the tribunal was referred, it accepts that Mr Webb had a significant amount of evidence before him to support all these conclusions.

“The tribunal accepts Mr Webb’s evidence that it was unprecedented in his experience that so many concerns about an employee’s behaviour, attitude, professionalism and ability should be raised by a number of staff so early in the employee’s employment.

“There were a number of ways in which the claimant had fallen far below the standards of conduct and capability the school required.”

It added:

“In summary, the tribunal finds that not only were the claimant’s protected disclosures not the principal reason for the claimant’s dismissal, they formed no part of Mr Webb’s decision-making.

“The claimant’s claim that she was unfairly dismissed therefore fails.”

The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Global role at finance giant Allianz for former Ripon student

Former Ripon Grammar School student Christian Mackintosh (pictured above), who was born and bred in the city, has been appointed by Allianz Global Investors as its global head of finance operations, based in Frankfurt.

Mr Mackintosh, who is 32, graduated from Durham University with a BA in Modern Languages (German, Russian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin) where he was the founding vice-president and secretary of Entrepreneurs Durham.

A former technology innovation leader in the UK wealth and asset management team at business consultancy EY, Mr Mackintosh left the firm after nine years to join KPMG, where he was a director in the wealth and asset management division.

The nature lover is a trustee of the countryside charity the Council for Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) in North Yorkshire.

Mr Mackintosh was a pupil of Ripon’s Holy Trinity Primary School before going to Ripon Grammar.

Double award success for Harrogate psychology practice

A psychology practice based in Harrogate has won two awards in the space of just a few weeks.

Evolve Psychology Services was named Independent Business of the Year at the Yorkshire Choice Awards, and Most Trusted Clinical and Forensic Psychology Clinic in Yorkshire and the Global Health and Pharma Mental Health Awards.

Founded by Dr Laura Powling eight years ago, the company offers neurodevelopmental, expert witness and wider psychological assessments and therapies.

Through its 28-strong team in Harrogate and Huddersfield, it works with individuals and families as well as courts, parole boards and immigration tribunals.

Dr Powling said:

“In 2021 we were awarded an NHS contract to support the NHS in significantly reducing their waiting times for neurodevelopmental (autism and ADHD) assessments in Yorkshire for children aged 0-19 which again have been impacted by COVID-19.

“This will make a significant difference to the children and young people, as well as their families. It’s fantastic that both the GHP and the Yorkshire Choice Awards have recognised this success and also the wider work we do within our communities in Harrogate and also Huddersfield.

“Awards like this help to raise the profile of the work we do and also the impact it can have.”

Ripon Grammar School is making its sports pool available to local primary school children for swimming lessons.

The importance of children learning to swim is paramount, particularly in a city that has the rivers Ure, Skell and Laver, a canal, and a lake near the racecourse.

Pupils from St Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School are saving money on coach hire costs by using the grammar school’s pool.

The primary school’s headteacher Jill Allen said:

She said:

“We are very grateful to have use of the pool. It is a walk across the field rather than a long trudge to the new baths or coach which we can’t afford. The children all love it!

“We are now on track to ensure all Year 6 children can swim 25 metres before leaving primary school, despite the disruption of the past few years,” she said.

More than one million children in the UK are believed to have missed out on swimming lessons during the pandemic, and there are fears this could lead to a ‘lost generation’ of swimmers, with many leaving primary school unable to meet the minimum national curriculum standards.

Mrs Allen thanked RGS’s ‘tremendous’ sixth form students for supporting Year 5 and 6 pupils, including those in the water helping youngsters who were unable to swim.

“At the other end of the scale one child achieved her gold award and others silver and bronze.”

RGS director of sport Adam Milner said he was delighted the local community was able to access the RGS pool. He said:

“As a state school, we are lucky to have it and are pleased it’s helping more children to learn to swim, a vital life skill every child should have.

“We hope it will also help those primary school pupils who go on to attend Ripon Grammar School with their transition to secondary school. Hopefully there will be opportunities for other schools to join us in the pool in future.”

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Ripon Grammar School‘s boarding school has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

A report published on Saturday said children “enjoy boarding at this school”, safeguarding arrangements are “effective” and “the school is very well supported by a skilled, experienced governing body”.

Government inspectors rated the boarding provision ‘good’ in all areas assessed. It was rated ‘outstanding’ at its previous Ofsted inspection in 2017.

Ripon Grammar has 929 boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years, of which 94 are boarders. Yearly fees for years seven to 11 are £11,719.

Accommodation is provided in two houses: School House for boys and Johnson House for girls.

School House

The latest Ofsted visit took place from February 8 to 18 this year.

The report said:

“Children enjoy boarding at this school. They make new friends and enjoy socialising with children of all ages. Older children help the younger children, or those new to boarding, to feel at home.

“Children feel they are fortunate to board at this school. They believe that the experience helps
their overall development.

“Children are helped to settle as boarders. There is a well-established routine of visits
to the school before children begin boarding.”

Headteacher Jonathan Webb

Boarders told inspectors their boarding houses were like ‘big families’. The report said:

“Everyone has someone they can talk to, which means that children feel reassured
about being away from family members.”

Areas to improve

Ofsted recommended improvements in three areas. It described the arrangements for auditing medication as “mixed”, adding:

“This reduces the effectiveness of the oversight of medication that is stored in the boarding houses. The head of boarding accepts this shortfall and plans to improve these processes.”

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Inspectors also said that although most areas are well maintained “the physical condition of the boarding houses varies” and that “some bathrooms need improving and one of the houses lacks homely touches” .

“Given that some children stay in the boarding houses for long periods, this is detrimental to their experiences.”

Ofsted also said there was a potential risk to children, recognised by leaders, due to the siting of the artificial playing field and their were plans “to improve screening to enhance the protection afforded to children”.

Headteacher ‘extremely pleased’

Mr Webb said:

“Overall we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this report given the increased rigour, now evident from Ofsted, which is being applied to the inspection framework.

“Since our last inspection in 2017, boarding at RGS has most definitely moved on with some essential, possibly less eye-catching, initiatives such as the considerable amount of investment we have made to site and fire security in both houses, extensive upgrades to staff accommodation to ensure we recruit and retain highly qualified and committed staff, and improvements in some of the social spaces such as communal kitchens and common rooms.

“Last year we also added a further 10 new bedrooms in School House to accommodate boarders. In addition, a huge amount of work has been done to standardise routines across both houses and promote boarders’ independence.”

A Harrogate district private school receives over £8m a year from the government to pay the school fees of children whose parents serve in the British Army.

Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is an independent boarding school for boys and girls at Thorpe Underwood, close to Little Ouseburn.

The school has a capacity of 1,600 pupils and around 400 are children of people serving in the armed forces. It’s situated about 30 miles from ITC Catterick and 17 miles from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College.

Members of the military are entitled to use the Continuity of Education Allowance grant, which is a state payment that covers 90% of the cost to send a child to private boarding school.

The grant is paid so children do not have their education disrupted when their parents’ army jobs require them to move around the world.

However, it can also be used by troops serving in the UK and many of the families using it are well-paid officers.

One critic of the CEA grant told the Stray Ferret the payments to Queen Ethelburga’s were effectively a “state subsidy of a very large private school” and an obstacle to social mobility.

Long-standing relationship

The Stray Ferret sent a freedom of information request to the Ministry of Defence to ask which private schools in the district have been in receipt of the CEA grant over the past three years.

Other private schools, such as Harrogate’s Ashville College, also receive the grant but not on the scale of QE, whose relationship with the armed forces goes back over 100 years.

The figures show that in 2020/21, QE had 427 children receiving the grant, worth a total of £8.5m.

Over the last three years, Ashville College has received around £300,000 a year for between 18 and 20 children. Ripon Grammar School and Harrogate Ladies’ College also received the grant for a small number of children.

‘State subsidy’

Robert Verkaik is a journalist and author who wrote a book on the public school system called Posh Boys. He is also the former home affairs editor at the Independent newspaper.

Mr Verkaik told the Stray Ferret he was troubled by the amount of money received by QE, which he called “morally and economically wrong”.

Social mobility charity the Sutton Trust has said people at the top of the armed forces were seven times more likely to go to private schools — a situation that Mr Verkaik believes is reinforced by the CEA grant.

Robert Verkaik

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The journalist submitted an FOI request of his own to the MOD in 2015 that revealed, across the UK, the majority of troops using the grant are ranked officer or above.

These include lieutenant colonels, colonels, brigadiers and generals, who are paid between £75,000 and £123,000.

Mr Verkaik said:

“Taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund privileged and wealthy families.

“The grant is an obstacle to social mobility. What happens with the CEA is that officer families receive the bulk of the subsidy. So all you’re doing is promoting the education of already very privileged children”.

State boarding schools

Whilst the CEA grant covers most of the cost for children to attend private boarding schools like Queen Ethelburga’s, 10% of the fees are expected to be paid for by the family.

But with boarding fees of between £11,214 and £14,012 per term at QE, Mr Verkaik says a lance corporal earning under £30,000 would not be able to afford the 10% termly contribution, which still equates to thousands of pounds a year for one child.

He believes children of people serving in the forces should go to state boarding schools instead and save the taxpayer millions.

“The children of non-officer ranks don’t benefit to the same extent. It’s exacerbating the hold a narrow group of families have over the education of children.”

QE response

Queen Ethelburga’s said the college provided a “secure and supportive home from home for students whose parents may need to travel or live abroad for work”.

The school did not respond to our questions that asked what rank the armed forces personnel who send their children to the school hold, and how many are based in the UK.

Dan Machin, Queen Ethelburga’s principal said:

“Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate (QE) has a long-standing relationship with the British forces, welcoming students from forces military families for over 100 years.  QE is CEA-accredited, which means that forces families can use the Continuity of Education Allowance offered by the Ministry of Defence to assist with the funding of a boarding place for their child, at any school of their choice. The aim of the grant is to provide continuity of education for forces children.

“Across the collegiate there is an understanding of the importance of providing a secure and supportive home from home for students whose parents may need to travel or live abroad for work. Staff strive to create the right learning and living environment in which every one of the students at QE can thrive.  QE also has two specialist forces liaison officers, a keeping in touch club for students, and support clinics.

“In these sessions, staff help students to contact parents who may be deployed abroad, chat about issues that are important to them and anything else that they might need help and support with. Our forces children contribute significantly to our QE community with their approach to their education, boarding and activities. They are a valuable part of our QE family.

“In addition to being CEA-accredited, QE is signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant to further our commitment to families, particularly by offering the possibility of employment opportunities to veterans from all branches of the armed forces, to whom we all owe a great debt.  QE also has its own Combined Cadet Force, bringing together an army section (Yorkshire Regiment) and an RAF section. The CCF offers students the chance to develop real life skills that will help them achieve success in life and in the workplace.

“This holistic approach to supporting forces families makes QE a very popular choice.”

Dan Machin

A British Army spokesman said:

“The Ministry of Defence provides support to eligible service personnel with school age children in order to help them provide the continuity in their child’s education that can be difficult to achieve within the state education system, due to the inherent mobility of service life.”

“Continuity of Education Allowance is one of a range of measures for service personnel of all ranks and their families to allow greater parental choice in providing a stable education for their children.”

Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has told the Stray Ferret that ambulances in Ukraine are being attacked by Russian forces.

This is among the latest in a growing list of breaches of the Geneva Convention committed by the invading troops, as the situation for civilians trapped in towns and cities under siege becomes more horrific and desperate by the hour.

The targeting of the emergency vehicles follows a weekend in which fleeing refugees came under attack during a supposed ceasefire in Mariupol.

Lewis Edwards and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska pictured at Christmas in Kyiv

Speaking from Slovakia yesterday afternoon, Mr Edwards said:

“I got a phone call from an organisation in Ukraine saying they wanted me to try and source armoured ambulances, because the Russians have started shooting at the normal ambulances used to take injured people hospital.

“Through contacts, I’ve managed to find two already and I’ve been phoning around asking if there is anybody who might know where we can get some more.

“The whole situation is chaotic and insane, as the aid agencies that we are working alongside seem to be relying on us – 10 refugees – to provide logistical support, because we appear to be able to get things done that they can’t.”

Oksana Pron (left) and Kristina Simalova are part of the team sending items such as medical supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.

Mr Edwards, 33, and his 30-year-old Ukrainian partner Tanya Bogdanovska — both teachers who had been working at a private school in Kyiv — fled the Ukraine capital on February 25.

After crossing the border into Slovakia a week ago, they teamed up with eight other volunteers to help people seeking sanctuary in countries including the UK.

As well as helping refugees — mostly women and children who are arriving in Slovakia each day — they are continuing to do all that they can for Ukraine people, including friends and family, who have been unable to escape.

In addition to sourcing ambulances, they have supplied a generator for an area without electricity and have assembled a shipment of essential medical supplies that will be setting off to Ukraine tomorrow.

As rockets and mortar fire rained down on Kyiv and Russian tanks moved menacingly on the capital’s streets, a former Ripon Grammar School student and his partner, hatched a plan to flee Ukraine and help others seeking sanctuary abroad.

Teachers Lewis Edwards, 33, and Tanya Bogdanovska, 30, arrived in Uzhhorod in the early hours of yesterday morning, after leaving Kyiv on Friday to drive 500 kilometres to the border with Slovakia.

Today they face a long wait to cross into the neighbouring country, where their plans for a shelter that will provide assistance to fellow refugees from Ukraine are starting to take shape.

They have growing support from a team of people that includes doctors and other professionals.

Fundraising and advice

Back home in Ripon, Lewis’s family launched a Go Fund Me page yesterday, which aims to raise an initial £10,000 to get their humanitarian venture off the ground.

At the time of publication, more than £3,000 had been raised.

Advice is being provided by Nicola David, chair of Ripon City of Sanctuary, who has expertise in resettlement programmes from her work with organisations that have assisted Syrian refugees.

She said:

“I was in contact with Lewis yesterday to offer advice on the structures that need to be put into place, both here and in Slovakia, to support the shelter in its work.”

Lewis Edwards, with his mother, Ali. Picture: the Edwards family

His mother, Ali, said:

“We have been worrying, as we have witnessed hour by hour coverage of Russia’s invasion and attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, while praying that Lewis and Tanya will get out safely.

“I’m very proud of them for the way that they always think about others and hope that people in Ripon and further afield will give their financial support at this desperate time for the people of Ukraine.”

The horror in Ukraine

Last night, Lewis told the Stray Ferret about the horror of seeing his adopted country invaded by Russia.

He said:

“A week ago, Tanya and I were teaching children at a private secondary school in Kyiv and on Thursday, our lives were turned upside down as the first rockets and mortars were fired at Ukraine and the invasion began.

“We sought safety in the shelter of an underground metro station, but could hear explosions above and when we emerged we discovered that residential blocks, schools, hospitals and nurseries in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine had been indiscriminately attacked by the Russians.

“Then came a terrifying moment as we walked along the street and heard the sound of a gun being cocked. We didn’t know if we were the target, all we could do was hope and fortunately we survived.”

An audit of litter bins is being conducted in Ripon to ensure they are more evenly spread out.

Once the audit is complete, Harrogate Borough Council will be asked to relocate some of the city’s bins to areas of greater footfall.

Councillors at last week’s full Ripon City Council meeting said that while some areas are well served with bins for rubbish and dog waste, there is a dearth of them in other parts of Ripon.

Councillor Stephen Craggs, who is carrying out the city-wide audit to pinpoint the location of bins, said:

“If you look at Spa Park for example, there are six bins within close proximity to each other, but if you walk down to Clotherholme Road on the route that many Outwood and Ripon Grammar students use to go to school, they are in short supply.”

Clotherholme Road, one of the principal walking routes for students going to Outwood Academy and Ripon Grammar, has a shortage of litter bins

He added:

“At a time when we are encouraging children to walk to school, it makes sense to have litter bins that they can use along the way to avoid discarded rubbish ending up in hedgerows.

“It’s not a case of asking for new bins to be installed, but for a better distribution of them on the routes that are used by pedestrians and dog walkers.”

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Council leader Andrew Williams, who has received complaints about the lack of litter bins from residents in his ward, agrees with Cllr Craggs.

He said:

“If you add the six bins at Spa Park to the nine at Spa Gardens and the one outside Spa Baths, we have a concentration of 16 in a relatively compact area and these need to be spread out, so that they are serving more people.”

Councillors have been asked to come forward with details of any lack of litter and dog waste bins in the areas of the city that they represent, so that recommendations for relocation of existing bins can be put forward to Harrogate Borough Council.