Eric Baildham was a student at QEGS around 1910; he managed to falsify his age to enlist with the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1916. He was only just 18 when he was seriously wounded in May 1918 and he returned to Horncastle. He opened a hardware shop on East Street, later moving it onto High Street.
At about the same time that the British Legion was being formed, Eric Baildham took the decision to move to Stratford on Avon. He made a success of this venture eventually becoming Mayor of Stratford in 1946. He continued to support his community through the Home Guard and the Local Defence Volunteers, the St John’s Ambulance as well as a host of local civil duties in Stratford. Later in his life he was an active member of the Disabled Persons Advisory Panel. He never returned to Horncastle; he died in his adopted town of Stratford on Avon in 1976. Eric Baildham had a longstanding connection with the British Legion, presenting a trophy to them in the 1920s. Local members of the British Legion, Roy Oswell and Dennis Bull, have brought this beautiful old trophy back to life and restored it to its former glory. It is fitting that the Eric Baildham Trophy is returning to Horncastle to be shared between Banovallum and QEGS in recognition of Eric’s connection with the town. More poignant, is that the trophy is to be awarded to a student who demonstrates exemplary service to their community;something which Eric Baildham did throughout his life.
If you know of a young person who gives of their time in the service of others within their local community, please can you nominate them?

If you know of a young person (student must be at QEGS.) who gives their time in the service of others within their local community, please complete the form below and email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or drop it in to the school office.

 Eric Baildham Trophy - Nominations.doc

Nominations need to be received by Monday February 20th, 4.00pm.

“Alles wird anders” was performed by the Onatti Theatre Company at QEGS on 17th January 2012.  It is a short story about a girl, Melissa, and her father as they move into a small, unpleasant flat.  When Melissa first sees her room, she meets a boy, Marc, entering her room through the window.  After a lot of arguing, they find that they are good friends and that Marc has a passion for singing, which only Melissa knows about.  Melissa then convinces Marc to go for an audition for a music school, and he is accepted.
I enjoyed the play because the mixture of audience participation and the story line was very entertaining.
Rosie Conners 9H

A successful week for Adult Education as six Language classes had sufficient students to begin.  There are still a few places left for you though ....
 
Tuesday evenings:  German Beginners 6.35-8.05 pm    French Improvers 7.30-8.30   and
                             Spanish Improvers 6-7pm  and Spanish Beginners 7-8pm
 
Wednesday evenings:  German Improvers 6.35-8.05pm  and French Beginners 7.30-8.30pm
 
Just come along to the covered entrance a few minutes before class is due to start.  We will meet you and introduce you to your future colleagues. If you want to book your place beforehand (classes are usually kept to 12 or 13 students) just phone Marianne at school or on 01526 352153 at all other times or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

French Exchange
Saturday-Tuesday
By Fiona Sanderson

The French exchange was so good I enjoyed every minute of it! There were times I got upset and homesick but it was totally worthwhile!
The bus trip was extremely long and quite tiring but we had a long chance to have a talk to one another and maybe chat with people we never usually talk to. We made the most of the time we had as we had the weekend with our French families straight after we arrived!
 
On the Saturday I had a little lie in then we had a few hours in the house getting to know each other. After this we headed out for a day on the road! We visited lots of beautiful castles and tourist attractions and this is when I started to speak more and more French and really came out of my shell. We walked round a little French town at night and went in the shops where the family taught me to ask for certain items. My partner and I took lots of lovely pictures here which I now have printed out at home! Afterwards, we went to a really nice restaurant and we had fluent conversations in French about my family and what they do for a living. This day was amazing and I learnt so much about French culture and lots of new words.

On the Sunday we had yet another fun day out on the road looking at lots of sights! We went to the famous Mont St Michel in Normandy. This was yet another amazing day with the family and we had a lovely lunch out tasting lots of French food. Afterwards we looked around the beautiful shops for souvenirs and I bought my partner and I a friendship bracelet – we both wear them all the time! It was a very long and tiring day but it was so worthwhile!

 
On Monday it was a very early start as we set out to go to Paris! I have always longed to go to Paris so I was ready to make the most of my time there. It was a fairly long bus journey but we had lots of adventures and stories to tell from the weekend which was great. When we arrived in Paris we drove around some main attractions for example – Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Cleopatra’s needle and the list goes on! Then we went down some designer streets which of course Madame Rigby and all the girls on the trip loved! We had some free time to shop and explore in the afternoon so this is when we had portraits drawn by street artists and bought souvenirs for our French and English families. We then headed to the Eiffel tower where we walked up and took lots of pictures and yet again did more shopping! The views were amazing and everyone loved the scenery and bird’s eye view of Paris! Some people even climbed right to the top.  We arrived home quite late but my French family had all waited to have their tea with me –which was so nice of them!

 
On Tuesday we had a later start which was a change. When we eventually got on the coach we headed to the nearby town of Le Mans and visited a family run chocolate factory. We had a lesson on how chocolate comes from cocoa then we went into the factory with our protective wear on: aprons, masks, hats! We watched demonstrations of different elements then it was time for tasting and shopping. Afterwards, we set off to the central part of Le Mans where we had a guided tour by Madame Rigby which was really interesting and gave us all a great insight into French History and Tradition. We then had some free time in the large shopping area where some pupils brought clothes, sweets and souvenirs.