13 March 2026<\/p>\n
Dear Parents\/Carers<\/p>\n
Secondary Schools Friday Chess Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n The 2026 Secondary Schools Chess Competition is an inter-school competition played during Term 2.\u00a0 Your son is invited to represent the College by joining a team. The competition operates Friday afternoons after school during Term 2 beginning on Friday 1 May<\/strong> (Week 2).\u00a0 Finals are played on Fridays in Term 3.\u00a0 There are three separate grades: Junior (7 and 8), Intermediate (9 and 10) and Senior (11 and 12).\u00a0 Boys will be in teams of four players and will play one game only each week.\u00a0 About half the matches are played at MCE with the remainder away at other schools.<\/p>\n Games are due to begin at 4.00pm although they may start as late as 5.00pm.\u00a0 Games can take from 20 minutes to up to 2 hours depending upon the ability of the players although they generally go no more than 40 minutes.\u00a0 Note that boys may return to school late after away games.\u00a0 This could be as late at 6.30pm if traffic is heavy.<\/p>\n Direct adult supervision of the boys is needed for all away Year 7 and Year 8 matches.\u00a0 We need a parent<\/strong> (Unfortunately only parents are permissible) to drive your son\u2019s team (4 students including your son) to the away venue, be present during the games and drive the boys back to school.\u00a0 Each parent would hopefully need only to be available once or twice for the season.<\/p>\n If adult supervision of Year 9, 10, 11 or 12 boys cannot be arranged for away games they will be allowed to travel unescorted on public transport.\u00a0 Students will require their own Child\/Youth Opal card with an adequate balance to pay for any public transport costs.\u00a0 The College will provide maps, timetables and directions if required.<\/p>\n