12-year-old Emma Winder is our 2012 Stockport Grammar School Masterchef champion after her Thai green curry with sticky coconut rice followed by chocolate torte wowed judges from one of Cheshire’s top restaurants.

In a close final, chefs Ben and Adam from Alderley Edge’s Grill on the Edge spent almost an hour deliberating over which of our 8 finalists’ 2 course menus was the best.

The chefs judged the dishes on taste, presentation, skill and preparation, with Emma’s meal just beating second-placed Natasha Hurst’s coriander chicken skewers with mango salsa and spiced ricotta followed by champagne truffles, and Ellie Goldstein’s line-caught cod with lentils and tomato caviar main and île flottante dessert.

Having progressed through the competition’s earlier rounds, our finalists had just 60 minutes to cook their choice of menu, with the chefs from the Grill on the Edge keeping a close eye on our pupils’ preparation skills – as well as stopping to chat about the dishes and to offer advice.

Around a table of stunning food, exhausted pupils, their helpers and proud parents, Emma was announced as the winner of the Masterchef trophy, as well as a £75 voucher for the restaurant, where her winning dish will be featured on the specials board on the day she claims her prize.

Head of Food Technology Mrs Ruth Groves was full of praise for the chefs and our pupils:

We’d all like to thank the chefs from the Grill on the Edge for coming along to judge the final. Our pupils learned a lot from their advice and feedback, and the chefs commented that all of the dishes were of restaurant standard and said that some of the children were even using techniques that they themselves hadn’t used before!

The fact that they took 50 minutes to enjoy all the food and pick a winner just goes to show how close this year’s competition was, and all of our finalists did our school very proud.

Photos from the final are available to view on Flickr by following the links below.

The recipes from Emma’s winning menu will also be published in the coming days.

Photos

Flickr slideshow Flickr set

Olympic cycling legend and former world champion Rob Hayles was a very special guest of the Junior School this week when he came in to talk to our pupils about his career.

During assembly, the 3-time Olympic medalist spoke about his progression from getting into cycling at the age of 12 through to competing in the sport at the very highest level.

And as well as being captivated by his story, the children were amazed to see his bike and feel how light it was – but even more excited to see his silver and bronze medals.

Afterwards, Rob visited our Nursery and Infant classes before spending an hour with our Year 6 pupils, where a question and answer session gave them a unique insight into the life of an Olympic athlete.

Lauren Suddards in 5J came away inspired from Rob’s visit:

I thought it was great that he let us hold his medals and talked to us about all his equipment.  I enjoyed getting his autograph. 

As did 6T’s Shaun Zizinga-Jones:

I loved it and liked the fact that we could ask questions that you would never normally get the chance to ask. It was really interesting to hear how an Olympic athlete trains.

Although Rob retired from cycling last year, he has continued his career in coaching and broadcasting, and will be at this summer’s London Olympics to commentate on the sport for BBC Radio 5 Live.

Our under-13s have achieved the amazing honour of being ranked in the top 3 in England after finishing third in last week’s national schools mini hockey championships finals.

The girls had successfully progressed through the Greater Manchester, north-west and north rounds of the competition earlier in the year, and travelled to Cannock hockey club as the first ever Stockport Grammar hockey team to reach a national final in the under-13s age group.

But the tournament opener didn’t quite go to plan. In a tight match against Cranleigh Preparatory, our opponents took a 2 goal lead which our girls couldn’t quite claw back despite a goal from Lily Wolstenholme and a couple of other efforts coming close.

After tasting defeat in the opener, the squad had a pep talk and quickly turned things around. Despite going a goal down against Malvern, the girls simply didn’t panic and took control of the match with 2 goals from Lauren Hunt and another from Lily securing the win.

A 5-0 win against Queen’s College followed (with a hat-trick for Lauren and a brace for Lily) before the girls faced Felsted, who had fared well in the competition so far. They forced Rachel Fitzsimmons into making a couple of good saves, but as the game progressed Stockport Grammar piled on the pressure with Lauren and Lily scoring once again to seal a deserved win and a runners-up place in their section.

A third place playoff against Hymers College – who’d defeated the girls in the north finals – awaited, but revenge was sweet as Lauren, Lily and captain Francesca Bailey scored the goals to secure the hugely impressive top 3 finish.

Speaking after the girls were presented with their medals by Ali Wilson, who will play for Team GB in the London Olympics, Miss Sharon Withington, the teacher in charge of hockey, said:

It was a fitting end to a wonderful day.

My thanks go to Angie Jones and Lara Acott for their coaching and management of the team this season, to the parents who have attended every round, and to SilverFX for their kind sponsorship of the girls on the day.

With the under-13s ranked third nationally, the first XI twice just missing out on reaching national finals and our under-18s and under-15s both being Greater Manchester schools tournament champions, it has been another simply wonderful season for hockey at the school. Well done to the girls and thank you to everybody who has been involved.