The Trustees are pleased to advise that Ben Ardagh from Christ’s College is the successful candidate for The James Meikle Shrewsbury Scholarship as a Tutor to Shrewsbury School in 2010.Ben is Deputy Head Boy and has made a considerable contribution to the school in his leadership roles. As well as being a First XV member and Captain of Rowing Ben’s academic record is outstanding and he is assured of excellent results this year.
In Ben’s letter of acceptance and thanks to the Trustees he says ….”I am excited to be given the chance to coach rowing because it is a sport I love myself and I have dedicated a large part of my school life to it. I have heard of Shrewsbury’s great reputation for rowing and I aim to be an asset to the coaching staff. I would love to travel with the school to regattas, such as Henley, where I can experience first hand…..aside from rowing I will try to live up to the James Meikle Scholar’s name ….”
The photos here are of Christ’s College competing in the Maadi Cup this year.Ben is the first student from Christ’s College following Matt Brown (2007) and Dean van Deventer (2009) from Rathkeale College.
Ben's Year at Shrewsbury School
On January the 3rd 2010 I left for the trip of a lifetime. This would be my first year out of school, my first year away from home and my first year away from New Zealand. Needless to say it was a year of many firsts.
Arriving in Shrewsbury with no idea of what to expect, a history teacher from the school, Chris Cook our mentor for the year and soon enough to turn into a great mate, greeted us. We were quickly introduced to a few of the staff in the great English fashion of having a few pints down at the pub. Everyone was extremely welcoming and the two lads I had been landed with couldn’t have turned out to be better mates. William Mills, I had gone to school with, and so had already known and then there was the third member of the trio, Jack Miller, from Australia. Together we became the Boar, Wolf and Shark and definitely made sure that each other made the most of every opportunity the gap year offered.
Our job at the school had many different dimensions ensuring we always had something to do and making us feel as much a part of the school as possible. Our main job was to coach, as sport was our main area of expertise. This was also my favourite part of the job as we got to see the teams and crews we coached improve and start to enjoy the sport more, due to our work with them. In the first term of my year I coached the 14A’s rugby team who came out with a nearly perfect season, save one game. In the next two terms of my being there, I was a part of the J14 rowing coaching staff. In that I was thrown into the deep end coaching complete novies so I got to see the vast improvements of people learning to row. This was probably the most rewarding aspect of coaching, especially as they went on to win at their national level. Apart from our coaching responsibilities we also were allocated into P.E. classes and other periods throughout the day. Personally I helped out with Physics and English even having to take a few classes myself. It was definitely difficult coming from being a student and going straight into the staff role but the staff at Shrewsbury School made it a comfortable transition.
Through all of this work we made great friends with staff and in the third term we joined the local rugby club making more mates in Shrewsbury, which made it more of a home town rather than a temporary place of work. Through this network of friends we organized trips to Cardiff and London with people from the club. I definitely recommend joining a sports club for all those who are coming on a gap year. The network of friends as well as being a part of something other than the school is a great thing. Also the addition of having your own sport to focus on really adds to your year, as well as your coaching.Shrewsbury School was also amazing in the time off they gave us to broaden our horizons. We all took full advantage of these holidays seeing as this could be our only chance to travel Europe. In our first holiday I went to Morocco with a few friends; this was definitely an eye opener for our first trip away. From then on in we had the traveling bug, in the Easter making our way through Prague, Bratislava and Vienna making new friends at each hostel to show us the best of every city. Then hitch hiking through the South of France making our way to a villa with a few girls we had met in England. The next half term break brought on a week of surfing in Portugal with a new bunch of adventures. Then came the big summer break stretching over two months. We filled the first month with a Contiki Tour around the western side of Europe, which was amazing, traveling with 40 like minded gappies with tour guides knowing all of the European best kept secrets. After the organized Contiki, four of us organized our own trip to the spots we still needed to see, including Milan, Ibiza and finishing of with the great tomato fight in Valencia.
The last half term break brought an end to our travels and we couldn’t finish our year without visiting Ireland, so a Paddy Wagon it was, a Guinness filled trip to say good bye to a good year of travels.
Before we knew it, the year at Shrewsbury was all over and all that was left was packing up our residence and saying goodbye to all our new mates. We traveled home all the better for the experience and I have to give a massive thank you to all those who supported and helped to enrich my year, especially to those in charge of us at Shrewsbury School; Chris Cook our mentor, Paul Grethem Head of the P.E. Department, Rob Wilson J14 Head Coach and Peter Fanning Deputy Headmaster of the School. In all, the year could not have been possible if it were not for the Meikles; not only did they provide the scholarship but they also gave me continual support and interest throughout the year and I cannot thank them enough for their effort.For all those who are thinking of taking a year away before starting uni, I strongly recommend that you do, the experience and opportunities are irreplaceable and really put you in good stead before you start the rest of your life, as I well know going into my studies at Otago this year.
