JANUARY 2014 FORMER PUPIL NEWS FROM BABLAKE SCHOOL
Old Wheatleyans Winter Newsletter
Welcome to the Winter edition of the former pupils’ newsletter... Dear Old Wheatleayan, On behalf of all of us at Bablake, I wish you a healthy and happy 2014! We all know that bad news sells papers, and there are always plenty of stories which assert the depravity of humankind, or which tell of the unthinkable hardship or calamities which befall people in various parts of the world. I was therefore heartened to read a columnist who urged readers to celebrate 2013: “We’re not going to hell in a handcart, Britons are thinner and safer – and the young are leading the way.” She went on to talk about: the nation’s “shrinking waistline”; the fact that we are now collectively drinking about a third less beer, wine and spirits than a decade ago; the decrease in drug-consumption; the drop in teenage pregnancy; and the “collapse” in crime, especially violent offences and burglary. Of course, there are several plausible reasons for this encouraging news: for example, technology has made it more difficult to steal things and we have less money to indulge in excess than a few years ago. She concluded with an optimistic interpretation: “The country binged for a while, felt rather ill and decided to cut back and take the dog for a walk more often.”
January 2014
Whatever your feelings on the matter, I hope you can embark on the new year with a sense of optimism. Our pupils certainly give us ample cause to celebrate the goodness and promise in all of us! With our parents, we aim to give our young people a moral compass for life: although they may make mistakes along the way – some of them painful - we hope that they are guided and equipped to make the right choices and to learn the values which will mould them as generous and responsible members of society. Certainly, I am always delighted and impressed to see them talking to our guests at our senior citizens’ parties – just one example of positive nature and nurture, as reflected in a thank-you note from one of our guests: “The children were a delight and a credit to the school. They all loved being at Bablake and said how lucky they were.” So, we celebrate our pupils’ enormous potential to lead fulfilled and enriching lives this year, and we hope that this newsletter not only brings back happy memories of Bablake days, but makes you proud to be an ongoing member of our vibrant community! Our annual record of achievements and successes in 2012-13, The Wheatleyan, can be accessed via this link: http://bablake.com/publications_item.php?item=1 Best wishes, John Watson Headmaster 1
Bablake Remembers……. During assembly on November 11th 2013, Bablake observed a short silence at 11am, mirroring the day’s national commemoration of Remembrance Sunday, where we, as always, recalled the bravery of those former pupils and all others who have given their lives in conflict for their country. This year we were very pleased that half a dozen former pupils joined us for the Remembrance assembly in our Main Hall, which included singing from our choir, readings, prayers and the Last Post. Bayley was one of the Houses whose assembly was devoted to the history behind Remembrance Sunday and its symbol, the poppy. A few former pupils returned for our Remembrance Day assembly.
Pictured with Alumni Relations Officer Sylvia O'Sullivan and Headmaster Mr John Watson are Peter Adams, John Greenhill, Geoff Eames, Peter Amery, Ken Ball and Peter Burden. Major Rana Blattner (ICT) reports that our CCF took part in the Remembrance Sunday at Coventry's Memorial Park, commenting: '51 cadets took part in the event, paying their respects. This was our largest ever parade since the instigation of the Bablake CCF and I am very proud of all of them.' Further north, Major Caroline Hall (now Connor), who taught Biology formerly at Bablake, led her new contingent at Barnard Castle School in their local parade. (Photo submitted by Major Blattner.)
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Former Pupil News ‌. Jonny Lawrence 2005 We congratulate Jonny Lawrence, a member of the Class of 2005, who has been awarded a double distinction in his Prelims at Oxford, where he is studying French and Arabic. Jonny recently contacted Bablake to express his gratitude to the French staff for their guidance. He wrote in an email to Headmaster Mr John Watson: 'My double distinction would have been completely unattainable without the care and support of Mrs Timothy, Mrs Field and Mrs Harris. These three teachers provided me, and the others in my class, with some of the best teaching on offer and I want them to know of my sincerest gratitude. On arriving at Oxford, I assumed the standard would be immense, that I would be bottom of the class, that I would almost certainly fail. This was most certainly not the case. In terms of language work, I was at the top of my class from the first day in terms of knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. This was a shock! However, it is only since leaving Bablake and seeing this that I can appreciate how fortunate I was to have such excellent teaching.' Jonny kindly continued to offer his thanks to our Language Assistants, saying that he spent more time conversing with them one to one in their native tongue at Bablake than on his university course. He continued: 'The importance of this in improving my speaking ability is impossible to state, not only in terms of accent but also fluency of conversation.' We are always delighted to hear that our teaching has been appreciated and set our former pupils ahead of rivals.
Isabelle Moran 2001 We reported on the jubilation and relief of the vast majority of our U6th pupils who were receiving A2 grades and updates on offers from university. If you wonder what happens after this and how our pupils progress beyond Bablake, Isabelle Moran's excellent achievements at the University of Birmingham will interest you. Izzy, who was part of our excellent Class of 2001, recently graduated from Birmingham's Dentistry School with a 1st Class degree with honours and distinctions. She was also awarded the Carlton Gold medal for being the top student on her course. This is a fantastic achievement and has made her family and everyone at Bablake who remembers her feel extremely proud. We wish her well as she starts her first job in London in September and are convinced she will be a super addition to the dental profession.
Alex T Smith
2003
Over the last few years, we have proudly celebrated the developing career of author and illustrator Alex T Smith, who left Bablake in 2003, so it is with especial pride and excitement that we congratulate Alex on his most thoroughly deserved appointment as official illustrator for the 2014 World Book Day. Alex is still a regular visitor to Bablake, always happy to help our pupils looking to enter the creative industries and offer advice on how to create a powerful portfolio. He was pictured in our library last year when one of his designs was chosen to adorn a national book token. 3
Former Pupil News cont ‌. Sophie Tumber 2011 and Adam Simmonds 2010 A fantastic day at St James’ Palace seeing Sophie and Adam collecting their Gold Awards from the Duke of Edinburgh. Sophie is in her 3rd year at Aberystwyth University studying Human Geography with Economics and Adam is in his 4th year at UCL studying History and Russian.
Lorna Syson
1997 With the launch of the 2013 London Design Festival,a number of the broadsheets devoted space in their supplements to some of the up and coming young designers whose work has been highlighted as worth noting. We were incredibly proud to see that the Telegraph magazine featured Bablake's Lorna Syson (Class of 1997) in a spotlight feature. The textiles designer's progress was documented in the article and the interview with Lorna offered excellent insight into the competitive nature of the business she is making waves in. As part of the festival, she showed new products from her coast and countryside collection at 100% Design. Regular readers of our news on former pupils will know we have followed her progress closely since she finished her degree at Loughborough University. Lorna's work has been featured in significant magazines over the last few years and it is the second time she has been featured in the Telegraph.
Congratulations to Former Pupils
Luke Alderson-Fletcher and Hannah Sheard (2008/9) We send our congratulations to Luke Alderson-Fletcher (left 2009) and Hannah Sheard (left 2008) on their marriage at the end of August. For the romantics, this is a story that began way back when Hannah was in our Head of 4th Year Mrs Louise Alderson's tutor group, when she embarked upon her GCSE studies. The wedding, held in Kenilworth, was blessed with super weather and there were a number of other connections with Bablake. Not only did Luke and Hannah's respective siblings, Elise and Emily, act as bridesmaids, but a number of other former pupils, including Michael Goldfinch who was an usher, were on the guest list.We wish the bride and groom all the very best for their future together. 4
Former Pupil News cont ‌. Ben Duffy And Another Shout For Ben Duffy! We make no excuse either for jumping on the Andy Murray bandwagon or praising sports photographer and former pupil Ben Duffy! Since it was 1977 when a British tennis player last won a Wimbledon singles title, through Virginia Wade, and 77 years if we turn to the men's singles, we are jumping at the chance to highlight the most obvious Bablake connection to the Murray triumph, while not commenting on Assistant Head Mr Jim Burns' unwavering stance that he is a Scottish winner not a British one! We praise sports photographer and former pupil Ben Duffy for his expert photography for the Ashes series, but it is his cover shot for Time Out London that we refer to. While the Time Out editorial team will be congratulating itself on its prescient cover title, we note that Ben has photographed Andy Murray an increasing number of times over the last 5 years and is very proud of his client's recent Grand Slam successes and Olympic gold. (Photograph copyrighted to Ben Duffy and Time Out London.)
Josh Buggea & Ben Cooper
2005
Bablake Lions Receive Training Tips From Former Stars Former pupils Josh Buggea and Ben Cooper, both making excellent strides towards a professional rugby career, dropped into one of the last training sessions to work with the backs and forwards. Ben had just returned from a successful Junior World Cup where he played in Scotland's U20 side which enjoyed a dramatic last minute win versus Samoa and a clear victory against the USA. Josh, who was an important part of the England U18 side's tournament win in Madrid last year, had just signed another year's contract with Worcester Warriors and will be hoping to enjoy an injury-free season and make inroads at a higher level. Both Ben and Josh instilled the need for firm and legal aggression in the fixtures on tour and recalled the physical demands they faced when they toured the same country with Bablake in 2010.
Mark Best U19 Cricketers Return To Warwickshire Final U19 Warwickshire county cricketer and captain of our 1st XI Mark Best ended the summer as he had begun it by leading our cricket team to victory, this time in the semifinal of the Warwickshire Cup, which we also won last year. Bablake's 1st XI beat Solihull's 6th Form College by 28 runs in an exciting, high-scoring T20 match. Mark Best led the way with his 62 runs but some super fielding, including a stunning boundary catch by Dominic Rae, helped us reach the final for the second year running. For details of the final and, indeed, all our sports fixtures, please refer to a new website Bablake Sport. 5
Former Pupil News cont …. Marc Day 1989 Former Bablake pupil and Shell LiveWIRE winner Marc Day, founder of Kujali, learnt about the devastating effects malaria has on childrens' lives in Africa after visiting the continent with his wife and watching the BBC documentary ‘Mary and Martha’ earlier this year. Wanting to help, Marc designed a stylish protective iPad mini cover and with every purchase of this item his company gives a mosquito net or a life-saving treatment to protect a child in Africa from malaria. Marc commented: 'I recently became a Dad for the first time and seeing children die every minute from malaria really moved me to do something to help. Simply providing a mosquito net for a child to sleep under can prevent them from contracting malaria and help save their life.' As an introductory offer, Kujali is offering Bablake pupils and staff an exclusive 10% discount off its protective iPad mini cover by using the coupon code BABLAKE10 at the end of the checkout.
Award-winning Author Returns……. Mark Walden (1984 - 1991) Author of H.I.V.E. And Earthfall Series Following the return visit from author Julia Golding in the last week of the Summer term, we were also delighted to invite successful author Mark Walden to Bablake. For Mark this was a particularly poignant moment since it was his first official return visit to Bablake, where he had enjoyed time as a pupil in the late 80s and early 90s. Mark had been invited to talk to our 2nd years, in a session arranged, in association with Waterstone's, by our Librarians Mrs Julie Needham and Mrs Lucy Ryan. He was able to talk to the year group about life as an author, his highly rated H.I.V.E. series and the second novel 'The Battle Starts Here' in his exciting new Earthfall series. As well as completing a signing session, Mark spoke fondly of teachers that had influenced his time at Bablake. Pupils and parents and staff gathered in the Methodist Central Hall to celebrate the excellent and wide-ranging achievements from 2012-13. We were delighted to welcome Mark back again as guest of honour. Mark's love of literature was always evident in his time at Bablake but he spent 10 years as a video games designer and producer before following his heart to make a career as a full-time author. An award-winner (Richard and Judy's 'Best Kids' Ever' 9+ category), Mark is the author of the 'H.I.V.E.' series and 'Earthfall' (recently launched). After an opening address from Chair of the Governors Richard Atkins QC, a summary of the year delivered by Headmaster Mr John Watson and the presentation of the prizes (compered by Deputy Head Mr Chris Seeley), Mr Walden spoke with passion and good humour about his hopes and fears for the 'internet age', a time that future historians may reflect on being as dramatic as the industrial revolution. Governors, staff and parents were relieved to hear that H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute for Villainous Education) was not modelled on Bablake, although there were hints that one or two of our retired staff had contributed a few character traits. Mr Walden offered excellent advice for our pupils, challenging them to seize opportunities and make something, question everything with an open mind and be accepting of change. ils
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Let’s hear from the Archives…….. What is there to report since the last Newsletter? More of the same, essentially. I have managed to survive without plunging down the challenging stairs of the tower, though I have cut myself both on paper and on broken glass from a framed photograph. I have even tidied up a little, both in the archive office and in the tower, though both are works in progress. I have also, I am delighted to say, pleased a number of people by putting my finger on information they were after. Sylvia O’Sullivan and I have found and contacted a lot of people for the Reunion lunch in May, which this time is for the 1993 (and 1992) intakes. The Headmaster has kindly agreed that the School should subsidise this event, so that we will only be asking ten pounds per adult, children coming free. Initial reaction seems most encouraging in its enthusiasm and news seems to be spreading fast. The second edition of “The Lion and the Stars” is still progressing. I have partly overcome my stalemate on the chapter on the Watson years, helped by my promising Mr Watson himself that I would let him see a draft of it early next term. A further interview with him proved a rich source of material. I now need to get it all into some sort of shape! Completion is within sight, though how the publication is to be funded is another matter. In more mundane activities I have made suggestions for the Where Are They Now? Folder on former pupils to be kept in our reception and proofread some of their responses. I have met former pupils on several occasions, including our guests on Remembrance Day. I have organised and manned an Archives stall for Open Morning. I have met with two Sixth Form historians interested in including material on Bablake former pupils in their presentations on the First World War, and pointed them in the direction of the real expert on these things, Mr Trevor Harkin. I have suggested that we invite Bablake’s first cohort of girls to a gathering in 2015 to mark the fortieth anniversary of their arrival. I have helped one man find out more of his father’s younger days and one woman produce photographs from her father’s youth at his surprise birthday party. I have enjoyed spending considerable time helping Rod Dunnett, formerly on the Staff at Henry’s, find former Bablake players from the glory days of Coventry School hockey. And all of this in between telling pupils in the Sixth Form library, which my office adjoins, that I am not paid to remind them that it is a quiet working area!
A walk down memory lane…. This photograph was kindly sent into us by former pupil Col I Hughes (1971—1976). Do you recognise anyone? The form master, as we would have called him then, is unmistakably the late Mr Roger Mann.
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Bablake & KVIII Hockey Reunion‌... The reunion of Coventry School Hockey Club members in September, saw a get together of a large number of ex players from K.H.VIII, Bablake and the Coventry schools teams, a number of the "Founding Parents" and almost all of the original staff and coaches. The day began with wonderful receptions at both schools, tours of the schools and splendid buffet lunches afterwards. Both receptions were supported by the current Heads and Senior Staff members, which was very much appreciated. The afternoon saw a mini hockey tournament at the famous double astroturf pitch - still managed by Terry Patchett, one of the founding fathers of the Club! The tournament was run by Symon Whitehouse, who along with Mike Smith umpired all the games. The teams consisted of old players from all the international tour teams, and a number of their offspring, who thoroughly enjoyed the chance to show their developing skills against former internationals. The event was wonderfully well attended by a large number of former staff, former pupils and parents who played such a major role in the development of the Coventry school Hockey Association. The highlight of the day, eclipsing even the hockey tournament was the Reunion Dinner held in the Bablake dining room. 104 guests attended and included three hugely influential hockey figures from English Hockey - Tony Billson, John Law and Mike Hamilton. Their attendance and their indications that they would relish an invitation to any future "do" speaks volumes as to the reputation of Coventry School Hockey, and the enormous success of the night. Tony Billson's Key note speech highlighted the importance of the King Henry VIII/Bablake influence on English Hockey. Speaking as a Midlands and English Schools Administrator, he pointed out how both Midlands Schoolboy Hockey, and in turn English Schools hockey, grew from the model established by Rod Dunnett and Graham Burgess. They developed a team with "all the skills" - administrators and planners, ideas men and completer/finishers, supportive beginners coaches, elitist coaches, those who could motivate and bring out the best as well as those who could man-manage the also-rans and make them feel equally important squad members. In particular Rod and Graham looked for support from outside - old boys like myself, parents such as John Green and Chad Smith, a formidable Mum's committee who set a new standard in opposition hospitality, and established figures in the local hockey world to further boost the quality of coaching. If Tony Billson's speech reminded us how important we had been to English Hockey - Nigel Cubbage, one of KHVIII's first hockey internationals reminded us how important a part the inter school rivalry between Bablake and KHVIII was. In a short, charming and highly entertaining speech he brought the house down, which provoked a rousing and spontaneous rendition of the Coventry School Hockey Song, leaving half the room in tears of nostalgia and fellowship.
Cutting from Coventry Evening Telegraph 8
All Change in the school reception area.‌. Every summer, there is always a tremendous flurry of activity on our campus as the maintenance, housekeeping and student painting teams, alongside external contractors, embark upon a full and exhaustive programme of work, arranged and overseen by our Clerk of Works Mr Neil Kimber. Our ICT technicians and Audio Visual engineer have also completed a major programme of updates. As well as new roofs for our Main Hall and the EDM, Main Reception has been revamped, two of our science laboratories have been updated, the floor in the Main Hall has been superbly sanded and the boys' lavatories have been refurbished. We have also recently replaced the Sports Hall floor and there are plans to recarpet the Astro next Summer. We thank everyone involved in making our site look fantastic!
Social Networking Gold Winner For Twitter Feed We are proud to announce that Bablake has won its third '#FabSchool' award from eTreble9, the Flintshire company behind the 'Social Media Police' Twitter feed. Every Friday, schools across the state and private sectors are encouraged to tweet with the 'FabSchool' hashtag about the week's achievements. Last week our comments on Twitter about our fundraising for Macmillan and overall charity total (ÂŁ24,100) for 2012-13 impressed the Social Media Police team enough to give us one of the weekly awards for the third time in 2013. Mr Mark Woodward, Head of Careers, who operates Bablake's official Twitter feed, commented: 'The '#FabSchool' initiative is a great way for schools to share good practice and celebrate the many achievements of their pupils. We have made some excellent new contacts with schools across the UK through this initiative and it is a great way to finish every week. We are always one of the first into the e-school every Friday and because of our brilliant pupils, always have plenty to talk about, so we are usually one of the last to leave too! Twitter is a great resource when used appropriately and we would like to think we are one of the leading schools in the country showing best practice.' Earlier this summer, Bablake came top of the Interactive Schools Independent Schools Alternative League for social scoring, a rating that was also based on our Twitter feed.
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Forthcoming events…... Charity concert 24 January 2014 One of the best charity events of the 2012-13 academic year was the concert arranged, by pupils Aron Sood and Becky Williamson, in aid of T.E.A.C.H.. We are delighted to announce that next term there will be two shows that will aim to recapture the same magic on stage in the EDM Theatre. The first of these evenings, 'Love Africa Live', arranged by Becky Williamson, will take place on Friday 24th January and will concentrate on contemporary music with guest artists Reece Bahia and Ed Morris amongst those involved. A number of Bablake pupils will be involved in the concert, either performing as a solo artist, like Emily Robinson, or in a band, such as The Contra (which includes Jake Burgess and Erin Taylor), or The False Endeavour (with Matt Clamp and Ryan Cornall). Tickets are already on sale, direct from new Wheatleyan editor Becky Williamson.
Careers Convention Mr Woodward (Head of Careers) is desperately seeking delegates (esp. leavers from 20052010) for the 2014 Careers Convention on Thursday 6th February from 6- 9pm. To sign up, nominate others or find out more, please or email mgaw@bablake.coventry.sch.uk. All professions welcome!’ Would be fantastic if you could attend, spread the word about the invitation or ask your current employer if it wanted to attend etc., etc. and apologies for pestering!
Reunion Calling all Pupils at Bablake 1960 - 1964 We are very keen to contact all former pupils who started at the school between 1960 and 1964; if you started here between those dates or know of anyone who did, please let Sylvia O’Sullivan (sosullivan@bablake.coventry.sch.uk) have your contact details asap.
Coffee Morning We plan to hold a ‘Coffee morning’ on Friday 23rd May 2014 at school, for all those who attended our 1930s and 1950s reunions during the past couple of years. This will be an opportunity to see the school again and renew acquaintances. Further information will be sent out soon.
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Other School Publications You can now read Bablake publications online. Visit the publications section of the school website using the following link: http://bablake.com/publications_item.php?item=1 and simply click on the cover to view in an interactive PDF viewer. Published annually, the Wheatleyan is Bablake's official school magazine. Each issue celebrates the best of the preceding academic year.
Stretch appears once a year and is edited by a small group of L6th students in their work experience week. We believe it is student journalism at its best!
As well as highlighting forthcoming events, our termly newsletter is an instant record of Bablake’s pupils’ most recent tremendous achievements.
Other News….
Diary Dates Careers Convention 6 February 2014 mgaw@bablake.coventry.sch.uk ………………………………………. Reunion for all former pupils who started at Bablake between 1960 & 1964: Saturday June 21 2014 sosullivan@bablake.coventry.sch.uk ……………………………………… Reunion for 1993 intake with invitation extended to 1992 year group also. Saturday 17 May 2014 pfb@bablake.coventry.sch.uk ………………………………………
Book Publication Max Field 1961 - 1968 The long awaited launch of “Sacred Connections of the Holy blood” is finally here. The unsolved mysteries of centuries-old enigmas from Shugborough and Rennes-le-Château giving connected solutions. To find out more about this exciting publication by former pupil Max Field, please follow the following link: www.facebook.com/sacredconnectionsoftheholyblood
Contact: Email: Telephone: Website: Facebook: Twitter:
Coffee morning An opportunity to meet up with former class mates whom you met at recent reunions Friday 23 May 2014 sosullivan@bablake.coventry.sch.uk
Sylvia O’Sullivan Alumni Relations Officer sosullivan@bablake.coventry.sch.uk 024 76271259 www.bablake.com/former pupils www.facebook.com/Old Wheatleyans www.twitter.com/bablakeschool 11