The Ousel 2015 by Bedford-School

AUTUMN 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SUMMER 2015

VOLUME 987

OUSEL THE THE OUSEL

www.bedfordschool.org.uk

the ousel

THE

OUSEL

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

Focus on the Academic

Art and Drama

Theatre Opening

Music

House Reports

Boy Leavers

170

94 Sport

184

Ickwell Nature Reserve EDITOR E.E. Murray PHOTOGRAPHS Aidan Huxford, Rich Man, Alex Calverley, Linton Guise and Jared Sheridan Bedford School is part of The Harpur Trust

Old Bedfordians

THE COVER Front cover: Members of the Bedford School community enjoying a picnic in the sunshine after the presentation of the prizes on the inaugural Speech Day Back cover: ‘Ain’t no mountain high enough …’ Photograph from the rowing camp in Sarnen, Switzerland, provided by Jared Sheridan

BEDFORD SCHOOL • DE PARYS AVENUE • BEDFORD MK40 2TU Telephone: 01234 362200 • Facsimile: 01234 362283 • email: info@bedfordschool.org.uk • Website: http//www.bedfordschool.org.uk

The editor (centre) would like to thank the boys who helped her with the production of this magazine. They are (from left to right): Calvin Fang, Ben Slawinski, Conor Hilliard and Enoch Mukungu. Thanks also to Rachel Wainwright who assisted with the onerous task of proofreading

THE ROLE OF 21st CENTURY EDUCATION I recently heard a talk by a lady called Thana Faroq. Born in Yemen, at the age of 16 Thana was awarded a scholarship to study the IB Diploma in Canada. After completing the IB, Thana went to university in America, returning to Yemen to embark upon her career in street photography. When war broke out in her home country she felt that, despite her privileged education, she was no better prepared than anyone else to cope with it. However, after the initial shock wore off, she realised she was better prepared that those around her. Through her education, she had been taught to think on her feet, to look for causes and solutions and, most importantly, to articulate her fears and concerns. All of this enabled her not only to cope personally, but also to comfort those around her. As teachers, we have a responsibility to help students to succeed in life. Part of that responsibility (of course) involves helping them to secure the best possible grades. However, as Ms Faroq suggested, the role of educators goes far beyond teaching students to regurgitate the facts, figures and equations they need to pass exams. A current question that teachers are being encouraged to ask themselves is whether their lessons are ‘lifeworthy’. In other words, are the skills we teach our students preparing them for a world that is changing profoundly and rapidly? Peter Senge, founder of the Society for Organizational Learning, said that today’s students are ‘the first generation in history growing up in the world – they’re not growing up in London or California – they’re growing up in the world’. We can now get anywhere in the world in under a day and can communicate with anyone instantly, leaving our children facing a so-called ‘small world paradox’: as our collective world gets smaller, the worlds we individually engage in become more numerous and complex. Learning also needs to be cross-curricular. For example, geographers and scientists tell us that in around 20 years, the polar ice cap will have melted to such an extent that there will be a new shipping route between Europe and China; a fact which, according to economists, will have a profound impact on European trade. This also raises questions about our language skills as a nation: we may find that the rest of the world is less 2

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willing to learn English and instead Mandarin becomes the unofficial global language. Are British children – who generally rebuff languages as being too difficult or unnecessary – prepared for this change? According to the European Reference Framework’s ‘Key Competencies for Lifelong Learning’ document, the eight skills modern children need to master in order to face this changing world are: communication in their mother tongue; basic communication in at least one foreign language; mathematical and scientific competence; digital competence; ‘learning to learn’; social and civic competence; a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; and cultural awareness and expression. In other words we need to teach them to be true global citizens. If we were to rate Bedford School by how well we equip our students with these competencies, how would we fare? To answer this question, we may look to the most important group of people in the school: our students. Our boys acquire, because of the school’s international nature, a strong sense of cultural awareness and, in many cases, a working grasp of a foreign language. In the sixth form, the Extended Essay and BSIP enhance their communication skills and teach them to ‘learn to learn’ independently. Activities such as Young Enterprise give them a genuine taste of entrepreneurship and, given how well most of them can operate any Apple or Microsoft product, it is fair to assume that each of them has a level of digital competence that I can only dream of. However, what impresses me the most about our boys is the vast amount of charitable work they undertake. Not only does this demonstrate their kindness, generosity and humility, it also shows the development of the necessary ‘social and civic competence’. Thus, upon examining the list of eight skills, I believe that the school fares well, and can claim to be delivering ‘lifeworthy’ lessons both inside and outside the classroom. In partnership with the parents of our boys, we will succeed in our aim of producing global citizens, prepared for whatever the coming decades have in store. E.E. Murray

FROM THE HEAD MASTER’S STUDY I have at home a little collection of The Ousel equivalents from other schools I have worked in, but, selfishly, this one will take pride of place. I can claim no credit for it (that is Mrs Murray’s rightful prerogative and that of all of her contributors) nor for anything it reports (that is for my predecessors and the staff and boys involved); it is simply full of happy memories of a first year at a wonderful school, a year that started so inauspiciously with the very sad passing of Dr Richard Palmer, but which, time and again, displayed a sense of community which few places can generate. It is a community which is not simply interested, but one that cares; and I know that this magazine, uncommonly to schools, is pored over by many more people than just the boys. Indeed, we were asked by one eagle-eyed OB last year why The Ousel did not contain more articles about the academic side of school life. He was right, and we have endeavoured to shift emphasis a little this year. Yet maybe the truth is that sometimes the breadth of life here, and the joy of it, simply takes over and the obvious is almost taken for granted (a lesson for us all …). To demonstrate what I mean, my personal highlights of the year are as follows (in broadly chronological order): ● the U17 national cricket final win, with a century from Paddy McDuell (who, almost incidentally, also represented the England U16 rugby team and achieved straight A grades at Alevel to win a place at Durham University to read Philosophy and Politics); ● house singing (an institution – need I say more?); ● an extraordinary Mozart’s Requiem by the Choral Society and a wonderful Mozart cello concerto from Sean Davies (who won a place at the Trinity Conservatoire of Music); ● two particular Great Hall assembly talks by staff members: Mr Geall’s passionate eulogy of Labour Party policy to almost 700 Bedfordian Tories and Miss Garrett’s impassioned speech to a full school of boys on the importance of being a feminist (they were fabulous talks!); ● the introduction of a new, entirely pupil-led, school magazine (entitled MDLII ) and five entirely pupil-run charity concerts; ● Louis de Bernières presenting the English essay prizes; ● a dinner for 35 Old Bedfordians who had fought in Afghanistan and Iraq in this year of remembrance for the end of the Second World War; ● almost any art exhibition, but most notably the annual exhibition on the theme of ‘conflict’ which included an extraordinary sculpture of an archer by Asif Zair, who will read architecture at Manchester University;

● a two-and-a-half-hour play in Spanish; ● the German boys beating their English counterparts in their annual rugby challenge; ● the numerous wonderful performances by the Chapel Choir, whose subsequent tour of Spain was an acclaimed triumph; ● the new theatre opening (more on page 41); ● the solemn and moving anniversary Remembrance Sunday services; ● the new Bedford School Independent Project (BSIP) initiative for all lower sixth boys, culminating in a BSIP presentation evening where boys presented their projects on subjects as wide ranging as the history of the Judeao-Spanish language, the portrayal of Satan in literature and an exploration of Mahler’s first symphony; ● 70 per cent of our leavers departing for Russell Group universities; ● just under £30,000 raised for charity by an entirely pupil-led charities committee; ● current world champion and Olympic medallist Phelan Hill (OB) speaking at the annual Boat Club dinner; and ● Alastair Cook winning the Ashes. This is merely a list, but 800 words is a tight limit for a school which put on 21 concerts, hosted eight choral services and held over 200 rugby fixtures in the autumn term alone – a term which was also populated by cricket, swimming, water polo, futsal, squash, golf, basketball, fives, hockey and rowing. This year will stand out as the year of the opening of the Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s, named after one of its major supporters, Gareth Quarry, and his family. We were delighted to welcome the Lord Lieutenant, Helen Nellis, to address a packed house for a rousing school performance of Henry V (whose own brother was the 1st Duke of Bedford). Following that unforgettable evening in June, we hosted all 90 events of BedFringe in the space of ten days in July, attended by over 3,500 people – another indication of how our school makes a very significant contribution to the local town community. The theatre was partly funded by the major legacy from OB Brian Saville; therefore its opening coincided with the first of our Brian Saville awards and we look forward to receiving scholars in September across a range of fields from academia, music, drama and sport (including golf scholars to continue our link with Woburn Golf Club). It has therefore been a year, and an issue of The Ousel, to remember; and there’s a perfect spot for it, pride of place, just over there on the shelf … J.S. Hodgson

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

THE CHAPEL The school year began with the Revd Philip Parker, formerly Chaplain of Cranleigh School and now Vicar of Frimley Green, preaching. Later in the autumn term, Baron Mawhinney of Peterborough, the former Cabinet Minister and Chairman of the Conservative Party, returned to preach at Founders and Benefactors at less than 48 hours’ notice, after Judge Peter Wright had had to drop out. As ever, he was a master at holding an audience, speaking on Jesus’s question to the Pharisees with reference to a shekel (the coin used to pay the Temple Tax in Jerusalem): ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ said Baron Mawhinney as he showed us such a coin from the reign of Tiberius, who was the Roman Emperor at the time, which may have been the very same one that Jesus handled – one wonders what its value might be today if it could be proven to be! Later in the term, the Revd Vanessa Baron, Chaplain of St Paul’s Girls’ School in London, became the first woman priest to preach in the Chapel. For Remembrance Sunday, the Revd Ian Browne, formerly Chaplain at Bedford School and recently retired from Oundle School, preached memorably on the sacrifices made by Old Bedfordians during the Great War of 1914–18. Two staff workers from Lymington-Rushmore Holidays, the Revd Anthony Bewes and the Revd John Miller, also visited to preach during the autumn term. The latter is an Old Bedfordian and former head of school. Quite a number of boys from the school have attended Lymington-Rushmore Holidays and revision courses over the years, and last summer was no exception. The autumn term finished with our usual run of carol services, for both the Upper School and Prep School which, as ever, were packed out. During the spring term, I began a series of sermons on the sayings of Jesus in the ‘passion narrative’, the account of Jesus’s suffering and death from the Gospel according to John: ● ‘Whom do you seek?’ ● ‘Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?’ ● ‘If I speak the truth, why do you strike me?’ ● ‘Is that your own view, or did others speak to you about me?’

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● ‘You would have no power over me unless it were given to you from above.’ ● ‘Woman, behold your son … behold your mother.’ ● ‘It is finished.’ Ill health, however, prevented me from taking two of the services; the Revd Paula Vennells, a school parent, kindly stepped in, and we were extremely grateful to her for her help. She is the first woman priest to celebrate Holy Communion in the Chapel. At the start of the summer term, a new school hymnbook was introduced, containing an extra 53 hymns. This is now used both for Sunday services and for Chapel and Great Hall assemblies during the week, and every boy has his own copy. A special service was held by the Prep School to commemorate Arthur Tisdall, the first Old Bedfordian to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The School Confirmation was conducted by the Bishop of Bedford, the Rt Revd Richard Atkinson – the seven boys confirmed this year were Harry Beard (remove form), Christian Kitson (fourth form), Julian Kitson (upper sixth), Harry Lawson (remove form – the third of three brothers to be confirmed in the Chapel) – Jack Lewsley (upper sixth), Arthur Li (upper sixth) and Patrick O’Riordan (remove form). Later in the term, three local clergy visited to preach – the Revd James Reveley, Vicar of St Andrew’s Church, the Revd Kevin Goss, Vicar of St Paul’s Church, and the Revd Canon Richard Hibbert, Vicar of Christ Church and Rural Dean of Bedford. During the course of the year, the Chapel also held a number of weddings, including that of Joshua Mason, OB, to Hannah Baker, the daughter of the current Vice Master. Other significant occasions were the funeral, during the Easter break, of Martin Satchwill, OB, school parent and long-standing supporter of activities and events at the school, and during the summer holiday, that of Charles Massie, formerly assistant school staff instructor at the Combined Cadet Force. A happier event this summer was the baptism of the nephew of Simon Lincoln, housemaster of Eagle, the Prep School boarding house. Revd Shaun Atkins

FOCUS ON THE ACADEMIC THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

THE ACADEMIC VIEW When looking back over the past academic year, it is extraordinary just how many superb academic events have occurred at the school, and how many opportunities there are for boys to stretch their minds. Week by week, the duty monitor reads notices to the whole school in assemblies inviting boys to participate in forthcoming academic society meetings and lectures. From a Theology and Philosophy Society lecture entitled ‘The Covenant: God’s dealings with mankind in the Old Testament’ to the Pythagoreans’ meeting which involved ‘The World(s) according to Quantum Theory’; from the Adrian Boult Music Society discussing Mahler’s First Symphony to the Gilbert Lloyd Art Lecture delivered by Andrew Graham-Dixon on the artist Paul Nash; from the Mitre Club in conversation with Dr Charlton on the topic of ‘Playing in the Ivory Tower: what postgraduate research students do all day, every day’ to a STEM Society video Skype call direct to CERN to discuss particle accelerators and particle physics – the diversity and quality of these opportunities is wonderfully exciting! Moreover, some of these societies have been founded and run by boys themselves; the Economics Society was one such example recently. It is heartening to see boys taking the initiative and planning discussions and debates for themselves. Another welcome initiative from the past academic year has been the establishment of a termly boy-edited magazine MDLII. The title, chosen by the boys, reflects the year of the school’s foundation. This publication is an opportunity for boys in all year groups to demonstrate their journalistic flair, to comment on subjects of their own choosing, and to review lectures and events which have taken place at school. It has been wonderful to see so many boys contributing to the magazine and fascinating to see the topics they opt to write about. Titles have included, ‘Has Obama failed black America?’, ‘Living as a disabled teenager’, ‘Can Literature be taught?’ and ‘Can murder ever be justified?’ The final edition of the year also incorporated Mosaic, the school’s creative writing publication, showcasing some of the very best of our boys’ original work. You can find an online copy of the magazine via the publications page on the school website.

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We have celebrated the success of boys’ own writing in the Fowles and Archie Wellbelove Essay Competitions, together with art and music in the Detweiler Competition whose theme this year was ‘conflict’. It has also been great to see the levels of success achieved by our boys in the science, maths and language national challenges and Olympiads. Full details are given in the following pages. Particular congratulations to Aidan Swain (lower sixth) for his commendation in the Marlow Essay Competition run by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and to Jacob King for being the regional winner and a national finalist in the art public speaking competition, ARTiculation. Additionally, the school has welcomed some exceptional speakers to deliver lectures and seminars on a variety of topics including: ● Professor John Rees, Professor of Medical Education at King’s College, London, who spoke on the topic of ‘Challenges of healthcare provision in West Africa’; ● Professor James Booth of Hull University on ‘Larkin and Jazz’ in the Richard Palmer Memorial Lecture; ● writer Louis de Bernières who led a creative writing workshop; ● composer Paul Edwards who spoke on ‘British Music in the First World War’; and ● Dylan Sabulsky, Frederick Dieleman and Thomas Nutz, holders of the Marie Curie Fellowships at Imperial College London, who spoke on the practical uses of quantum physics. It is always a particular pleasure to welcome Old Bedfordians back to the school to give presentations to current boys and to share their experience with them. Among those who kindly came to talk to boys this year were: ● Ben Taylor, who spoke on wealth management; ● Richard Bollan, who spoke on the upstream oil industry; ● Sandy Gray, Professor Martin Snaith and Professor Richard Hills who together reflected on how engineering and physics have changed, or not, over the past 40 years; and ● David Wallace, Fairfax Professor of Physics and Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford, who gave a talk on quantum theory. There have also been trips out of school which have encouraged boys to broaden their experience of academia and enhance the study of their subjects at school. Among such events have been our linguists’ participation in the Hispanic Theatre Festival in London and a French debating competition in Cambridge; participation in a holocaust survivor conference; a study day at Wadham College, Oxford, on the invention of modern science; attendance at a production of Antigone at the Barbican; and a trip for fourth and

remove form boys to the ‘Defining Beauty’ exhibition at the British Museum. We also introduced a new initiative for our AS-level boys this year entitled the ‘Bedford School Independent Project’ (BSIP). This provides all boys studying A-level with an opportunity to undertake a piece of research on a topic of their own choosing, akin to what their IB counterparts do with the extended essay. The project culminated in a presentation evening in the summer term for the best work. As you might expect, the audience enjoyed fascinating insights into a whole range of ideas, including, ‘How Satan is portrayed in Literature’, ‘The History of the Judaeo-Spanish Language’, and ‘An Investigation into Sports Supplements’. Extracts from the winning presentations are printed in subsequent pages, and I am delighted that a significant number of boys are developing their project further and submitting it for the externally assessed EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). This gives boys a qualification in addition to their A-level subjects, and is increasingly well-respected by universities. We have also celebrated the academic achievements of boys through the introduction of a new award, Academic Stripes, which acknowledge the best exam performances in the fourth, remove and fifth forms. Boys now wear their stripes on their school blazer, complementing the established academic colours awarded to the top achieving upper sixth formers in their AS or IB1 exams. A full list of academic award recipients is published in the following pages. It is hard to justly represent the range and number of academic opportunities which boys have enjoyed this year in just a few paragraphs, in addition to the daily classwork which is at the heart of all we do. But the record is certainly an impressive one, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to the dedication of the teaching staff whose hard work ensures that academia is truly vibrant and inspiring here. Moreover, the record is testimony to our belief that education is about more than just exam results – important though they are. Indeed, we were delighted to be able to celebrate some impressive exam performances in the summer: four boys secured Oxbridge places, just under 50 per cent of our A2 results were graded A*-A, and 37 boys secured all A*/A grade profiles at GCSE. But our hope is that all boys will find ways of exploring and engaging with the exciting and endless possibilities that academic study brings. To this end, we are committed to offering boys the very best opportunities academically (as I hope this brief summary has demonstrated), and we look forward to sharing more discoveries with them, and celebrating more of their successes, in the future. A.G. Tighe

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

UNIVERSITY PLACES At Cambridge University Filip Kozera, Engineering, Queens’ College, Cambridge Arvindh Sekaran, Medicine, Churchill College, Cambridge At Oxford University Edward Arbe-Barnes, Medicine, Magdalen College, Oxford Kushal Kansagra, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Hertford College, Oxford Joseph Morgan, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, The Queen’s College, Oxford Places gained at other UK Universities Adam Abbott, Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University of Exeter Samuel Assim, Combined Honours in Arts, Durham University Joseph Ayling, Ancient History, University of Birmingham Thomas Banner, Geography, Kingston University Robert Barfoot, Geographic Information Science, Newcastle University Nurdaulet Bazylbekov, Banking and International Finance, City University London Matthew Beal, Economics, University College London George Bird, Quantity Surveying, University of Reading Stanisław Brami´ nski, English, University of York Ryan Brett-Williams, Law, Swansea University Cian Brittle, English, University of Leicester Thomas Bruce, Geography, University College London Aaron Buck, History, Roehampton University Charles Burt, Real Estate, Nottingham Trent University George Burton, Engineering Design with Study in Industry, University of Bristol Tyrone Byrne, Mathematics, University of Nottingham Thomas Caldon, English Literature (with a Foundation Year), University of East Anglia Zachary Carter, Geography, University of Nottingham Harry Cavill, Political Science, University of Birmingham Ka Yu Chan, Architecture, Architecture Association Arran Chand, Industrial Economics, University of Nottingham Nicholas Chapman, English Literature, Durham University Yau Ming Benson Chen, Mathematics with Statistics for Finance, Imperial College London Jiabao Chen, Foundation Built Environment, Sheffield International Tsang Fai Cheng, Information Management for Business, University College London Ho Lun Tony Cheung, Economics, University College London

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Ka Yu Chu, Computer Science and Multimedia, Queen Mary University of London Chin Kiu Justin Chung, Architecture, University of Manchester Alexander Ciuro, Management, University of Leeds Sebastien Clements, Economics, University of Birmingham Matthew Cloke, Economics with Industrial Experience, University of Exeter Morgan Colbeck, Natural Sciences, Durham University Marcus Cooper, History, University of Exeter George Cox, International Business, University of Birmingham Touwa Dunn, Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham Harry David, International Tourism Management, University of Surrey Guy Davis, Geography, University of Bristol Jack Diemer, Aerospace Engineering, Sheffield Hallam University Frederick Dixon, International Management and Business Administration with French, University of Reading Alexander Dorgham, Medicine, University College London Benjamin Dunlop, Sports Management, Bournemouth University Robert Evans, Architecture, University of Sheffield Steven Fahmy, Geography, University of Manchester Fayed Farrukh, Medicine, King's College London Ken Chee Foong, Chemical Engineering, Lancaster University Thomas Garratt, International Management, University of Manchester Patryk Gawlinski, Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London Mikhail Glik, Mathematics, University of Warwick Matthew Gouldesbrough, Acting, Rose Bruford College Mathieu Govoni, Multilingual Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London Dominic Hart, Economics, Loughborough University Nicholas Ho, Music, University of Southampton Cheuk Wei Hui, Business and Management with a Year in Industry, University of Kent Michael Jamieson, Geology, University of Birmingham Joshua Jenkins, Biochemistry and Genetics, University of Nottingham William Johnson, Physiological Sciences, Newcastle University Abhishek Karale, Medicine, University of Nottingham Yau Ching Billy Kong, Law, Keele University Grant Lawrence, Biomedical Engineering, King's College London Maximillian Lawson, Chemistry, University of Southampton Ho Ming Terence Lee, Biomedical Science, King's College London James Lee, Economics and Politics, University of Exeter

Yuri Lelikov, Banking and International Finance, City University London James Loewenthal, Mathematics with Applied Mathematics/Mathematical Physics, Imperial College London Callum Logan, Law, University College London Vincenzo Lombardo, American and Canadian Literature, History and Culture, University of Nottingham Oliver Lyons, Economics and Politics, University of Bath James MacTavish, Law, Durham University Daniil Malkin, Business Management, University of Edinburgh Thomas Marlow-Gilks, Product Design, University of Leeds Robert Martin, Civil Engineering, University of Liverpool Samson Mau, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath Rory McCracken, Philosophy and French, University of Exeter Matthew McGall, Aerospace Engineering, University of Leicester Aaron Merai, Microbiology, University of Leeds Fanshan Min, Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham Yin Hang Harry Mok, Actuarial Science, City University London Guy Monnington, Civil Engineering, University of Brighton Raahil Naidoo, Dentistry, King's College London Benjamin Nethersole, Sports Business Management, London Metropolitan University Felix Junbong Ng, Mathematics and Statistical Science, University College London Hoi Yau Nigel Ng, Economics, University of Warwick Connor O'Brien, Business Management with a Year in Industry, University of Liverpool Luca O'Cleirigh, French Studies, University of Nottingham Edward Parkin, Medical Sciences, University of Leeds Dylan Parmar, Medicine, University of Birmingham James Phillips, Law, Leeds Beckett University Jack Puddicombe, Chemistry, Sheffield Hallam University Peter Ramsbotham, Geography and Management, University of Leeds Charles Roberts, Geography, University of Nottingham Ivan Savelev, Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management, Imperial College London Zakk Scorer, Population and Geography, University of Southampton Yu Siow, Medicine, University of Liverpool Maxim Skavronskiy, Management, City University London James Skirrow, Accounting and Finance, University of Bristol Ho Ting So, Economics, University of Birmingham Vicram Sohal, Modern Languages, Durham University Benjamin Spencer, Product and Furniture Design, Kingston University Joshua Steel, Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey

Jacob Stephenson, Medical Biochemistry, University of Leeds Christopher Stokey, English Language and Literature, University of Essex Ryan Swallow, Environmental Geography, University of York Benjamin Thrasher, Spanish, University of St Andrews James Trustram Eve, Foundation Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University Phillip Zhao Jie Tsang, Architecture, Architectural Association Joseph Usher, Hispanic Studies (Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Latin American Studies), University of Liverpool Robertson Wade-Gery, Marketing, Nottingham Trent University Henry Walsh, Management, University of Southampton Richard Watson, Physics, University of Nottingham Oliver Wetton, Accounting and Finance, University of Bristol James White, English, University of Exeter Charles Wilson, French and Spanish, University of Bristol Luke Wilson, English, University of Bristol Nikolas Wittek, Materials Science and Engineering, Imperial College London Robb Wright, Architecture, Kingston University William Wright, Music, University of Bristol Places gained at Overseas Universities Mohammed Azher, University of Prague Shing Him Cho, University of Hong Kong Michal Dzitko, University of Chicago Leonard Dziwisch Christopher Falter Maximilian Forberg, National Service Sergey Gerasimov, New York University Ilya Gulko Karan Gupta, Stanford University Julien Gilles Leroy Benjamin Mazin, University of Michigan Benedikt Nesseler Thitikorn Ngampakdeepanich Wolfgang Pirlet, National Service Gian Zinngrebe Places gained on Art Foundation Courses Sam Barkes, University of Northampton Alistair Blake, Leeds College of Art Hadley Eames, Loughborough University Alex Garcha, University of the Arts London Daniel Holdsworth, University of Northampton

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

PRIZE GIVING This year, our traditional prize giving ceremony was moved to the last day of the school year; a day which, from now on, will be referred to as speech day. The Head Master was the first to address the audience on this bright but windy Saturday morning. He gave a speech about technology and change. He paid tribute to outgoing staff and had a particularly moving message for our leaving upper sixth: ‘There will be times when you are older when the world will seem to be moving more quickly than you feel you ever can – this is entirely inevitable. The pace of change on the surface is fast now; but will become quicker still. Yet what you have learnt here at Bedford, the core values of responsibility, integrity, curiosity and endeavour, the ability to get on with all types and characters, to play as part of a team, to give things a go, to stand up and be counted, to learn how to love life and all it throws at you and, crucially, to understand yourself – these things will never change. See this as a beginning and not as an end. Try not to look back in life too often. You are ready now for the next great adventure. You have made the most wonderful start and this school is proud of you.’ The head of school, Joshua Wellington, was next to speak. He paid tribute to the type of young man Bedford School produces: ‘There is something special about Bedford boys. And that doesn’t come from what we look like or how we dress. It comes from the drive we have. A drive to succeed in what we do collectively or as individuals – a raw determination. I believe this school is made great because here everyone champions that drive and, more importantly, inspires it in one another.’ The guest speaker for our inaugural speech day was Sir Curtis Price, Warden of New College, Oxford, a college with which the school has links dating back over 450 years. Sir Curtis was keen to recognise the affiliation of the two institutions, pointing out the New College coat-of-arms which hangs on the wall outside the Great Hall. He also informed the audience that New College used to appoint the school’s Head Master and Usher, and told us that ‘the elections (to become Head Master) … were hotly contested because it was well-paid and not very much work. I Joshua Wellington is presented with the Young Prize for the Head of School by the guest speaker, Sir Curtis Price

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wonder, Head Master, if things have changed?’ he asked! Sir Curtis went on to talk about the benefits of a Bedford School education. He said: ‘With the passing years, you will come fully to appreciate what this school and this country have given you, in return for the cultural enrichment you have brought to this community. I believe for a school or indeed a university to be truly excellent, it must also be fully international. Some of you from other European Union countries may well want to return someday and make Britain your home. And who knows, when the world is a less troubled place, those from further afield might also be encouraged to come back and build their careers here.’ Sir Curtis then touched upon what the next few years might hold for our leavers: ‘You young men going on to university in this country will be entering the best higher education system in the world (and I speak from some experience). Now, you might be thinking that university will be a bit of a let-down or perhaps just more of the same after the years you’ve spent here. I don’t doubt for a moment the excellence of this school, but be prepared: university will be utterly different. You’ll have more freedom to think, to learn for yourself and to live with increasing independence. In the next three or four years you’ll undergo rapid intellectual development. Your brains will soon be at their maximum capacity to absorb and process. And you’re about to enter the period of your life when you are most likely to have truly original ideas, even if they take many years to bear fruit.’ All three speakers kept their audience enrapt throughout and it was a pleasure for boys, staff and parents to listen to them. E.E. Murray

THE PRIZES

Talalay Science Prize – Manahara Ratnayake (upper sixth) For the boy who makes the best presentation of a scientific topic of their choice demonstrating originality, creativity and presentation skills. Head Master’s Arts Prize – Jacob King (upper sixth). For the boy deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the arts life of the school. Grevelink Memorial Exhibition for Science – James Smith (lower sixth). Awarded to the best senior student of biology. H.S. Aldred Memorial Prize for Science Projects – Saurav Karmakar (upper sixth). Awarded to a senior boy for their efforts to promote science. Physical Science A-level Prize – Harry Allen (upper sixth) Awarded to a senior boy for the most meritorious overall performance in chemistry and physics. K. Revis Prize for the best Physics Investigation – James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth). Awarded to a senior boy for the best physics Investigation. Tanner Memorial Prizes – Physics: Andrew Zhu (fifth form); Chemistry: Harjeet Sumal (fifth form). For the boys with the best IGCSE exam performance.

Eric Robinson Memorial Prize for Chemistry – William Reynolds (upper sixth). Awarded to the best senior chemist. Radclyffe Hall Prizes for Biology – Senior: Arthur Li (upper sixth). For the boy with the best A-level exam performance. Junior: Charles Gee (fifth form). For the boy with the best IGCSE exam performance. Henry Farrar Memorial Prize for Mathematics – James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth). Awarded to either a further mathematician or IB HL boy for excellence in maths at an Advanced level. W.H. Allen Engineering Exhibition – Heran Tom Zhang (upper sixth). Awarded to a senior boy demonstrating the best capability and interest in engineering. Fuller Memorial Prize for Mathematics – Harjeet Sumal (fifth form). Awarded to a junior boy for excellence in maths both in examinations and Maths Challenges. Malcolm Wilson Prize for Mathematics – James Winder (upper sixth). Awarded to either an A-level mathematician or IB SL boy for excellence in maths at Advanced level. Arthur Jones Prize for Computer Technology – Artem Skulimovskiy (upper sixth). Awarded to a senior boy for the best computing project. Phillpotts-Sargeaunt Prizes for Spoken English – Senior: Thomas Lousada (upper sixth). Junior: Thomas Dason-Barber (fifth form). Awarded to whomever has proved the most articulate and stylish speaker and/or reader in English classes. De-la-Noy Prize for Literary Analysis – Thomas Rainbow (fifth form). Awarded to whomever has shown the finest critical acumen over the year. F.P.D. Hurst Memorial Prize for English – Harry Marks (fifth form). Awarded to the boy who has made the most noticeable progress in English language. Stileman English Prize – Enoch Mukungu (fourth form).

Awarded to a junior boy for their creative writing. Fowles Prize for English Essay – Aidan Swain (lower sixth). For any sixth form boy who has produced the best creative writing piece or a discursive essay on a topic of their choice. Archie Wellbelove Prize – Christopher Lamb (fifth form). Awarded to a fourth, remove form or fifth form boy for the best discursive essay on at least one text not studied in class. New College Prizes for Classics – Senior: Thomas Edwards (upper sixth). Awarded to the best student of Latin. Junior: Edward Lamb (fifth form). Awarded to the best student of Latin and/or classical civilisation. J. Marsh Prize for Classics – Thomas Edwards (upper sixth). Awarded to the best senior student of classical civilisation. Harvey Goldsmith Prize for History – Andrew Zhu (fifth form). Awarded to the best junior student of history. William James Burr Memorial Prize for History – Hau Ching Howard Tang (upper sixth). Awarded to the best senior student of history. David Stanbridge History – Ifechukwukwu Emmanuel-Odiachi (fourth form). Awarded to the best student of history in the fourth form. Geoffrey Inskip Geography Prizes – Senior: George LilleyMoncrieff (upper sixth). Junior: Josiah Cooke (fifth form). Awarded to the boy who has added most to the Geography department through their enthusiasm for and attainment in the subject. School Prize for Economics – Alexei Shushu (upper sixth). Awarded for academic achievement, consistent performance and excellent attitude over the two-year course. School Prize for Business Studies – David Woods (upper sixth). Awarded for academic achievement, consistent performance and excellent attitude over the two-year course.

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School Prize for Politics – Alexei Shushu (upper sixth). Awarded to the best student of politics. Lower Sixth Modern Languages Essay – Maximilian Kiel (lower sixth). Awarded to a boy for the best demonstration of linguistic talent in their French essays over the year. Page Prize for French – Thomas Lousada (upper sixth). Awarded to an upper sixth boy for their effort, contribution and linguistic talent over more than one year. Lejeune Prize for French – Jordan Charter (remove form). Awarded to a remove form boy for their effort, contribution and linguistic talent over more than one year. Irving French Prize – Charles Gee (fifth form). Awarded to a fifth form boy for their effort, contribution and linguistic talent over more than one year. F.J. Harrison Prize for German – Felix von Bodelschwingh (upper sixth). Awarded to a boy in any year who has contributed most to the German department through his enthusiasm and attainment in the subject. Heald Prizes for German – Senior: Harry Jackson (lower sixth). Junior: Harjeet Sumal (fifth form). For the boy who has shown the most development and achievement in German, especially in the area of German composition. R. Baker Prize for German – Justus Paul Geldmacher (upper sixth). Awarded to a boy in any year who has fostered enthusiasm for German language and culture throughout the school. Argentine OB Prizes for Spanish – Senior: Thomas Lousada (upper sixth). Junior: Nathaniel Conte (fifth form). Awarded to the boy who has shown high commitment and all-round excellence. John Hext Prize for Mandarin Chinese – Sebastiano O’Grady (fourth form). Awarded to a boy who shows a genuine interest in studying the Chinese language and works hard inside and outside the classroom to contribute to any school activities related to Chinese culture and teaching. English as a Second Language Prize – Frank Liu (remove form). Awarded to the boy who, with outstanding endeavour, has most improved his reading, writing, listening and speaking fluency in English as a second language. James Ritchie Memorial Prize for the Performing Arts (Music and Drama) – Logan Jones (fifth form). Awarded to the boy who has achieved sustained excellence and enthusiasm in both curricular and extracurricular drama and music. Drama Prize for Acting – Jacob King (upper sixth) and Adam Selvey (upper sixth). Awarded to the boy who has achieved sustained excellence and enthusiasm in both curricular and extracurricular drama. Frank Wilson Technology Prizes – Senior: Julian Kitson (upper sixth). Awarded to the best senior student of Design & Technology. Junior: Rohan Sanghera (fifth form). Awarded to the best GCSE student of Design & Technology specialising in Resistant Materials. Milne Prize for Graphics – Yuk Hong Yip (upper sixth). Awarded to the best GCSE student of Design & Technology specialising in graphic products. William James Burr Memorial Prizes for Art – Senior: King Yuen Ching (upper sixth). Junior: Jack Dalton (fifth form). Awarded to a boy who has achieved sustained excellence and enthusiasm. Fanshawe Divinity Prize – Michael Holroyd (upper sixth). 12

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Awarded to the most deserving boy studying religious studies or philosophy from any year. School Prize for Religious Studies – Timothy Matthews (upper sixth). Awarded to the most deserving boy in religious studies from any year. Norris Prizes for Outstanding GCSE results – Christopher Junge (lower sixth), Robert Salvesen (lower sixth), James Smith (lower sixth), Thomas Smith (lower sixth), Alexander Stammers (lower sixth) and Aidan Swain (lower sixth). For boys with the top GCSE results of their fifth form year group. John H. Buck Prize for Consistent Effort – Elijah Cooke (fourth form). Awarded for consistent effort and improvement throughout the fourth form and to a boy who would otherwise not have been awarded a prize. IB Diploma Prize for CAS (Creativity, Action and Service) – Manahara Ratnayake (upper sixth). For the IB student who has been able to develop a greater awareness of himself, concern for others and the ability to work co-operatively with others. IB Diploma Prize for ToK – Manahara Ratnayake (upper sixth). For the IB student who has, in the school’s view, done the best work in the assessed parts of ToK. IB Diploma Prize for Extended Essay (Arts) – King Lin (upper sixth). For the writer of the extended essay which, in the school’s view, represents the most impressive piece of research in that format. Bedford School Independent Project Prize – James Smith (lower sixth). For the AS-level boy who researched, created and presented the best independent project on a topic of their own choice. Chalice Prize – Thomas Edwards (upper sixth). Awarded for service to the school community through the life of the School Chapel. Tristam Yarde Prize – Charles Seamark (upper sixth). Awarded for reading in Chapel. The Andrew Lucken Award for Personal Courage and for Supporting Others in Need – Philip Barnes (upper sixth). Awarded to a boy who shows or who has shown fortitude and personal strength in the face of adversity or, alternatively, helped others who have experienced such adversity in a notable way. Bill Sohal Prize for Aspiration – Oliver Maltby (upper sixth), For a sixth form boy who, while maintaining high academic standards, also pursues and achieves excellence in another discipline, showing character and leadership to inspire others. The School Prize for Services to Boarding – Sandor Pakozdi (upper sixth). For the boy who has not only gained from boarding but who has given wholeheartedly in a personal and broader capacity to his boarding house and the wider school community. MacCarthy Ray Memorial Prize for Good Work with the CCF – Oliver McLeod (upper sixth). For a sixth former demonstrating outstanding work in the CCF. P.K. Bourne Award for Best CCF Recruit – Sebastian Sogan (fourth form). For best recruit in the CCF. The School Prize for Services to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme – Harry Burden (upper sixth). Awarded to the boy who has contributed most to the D of E Award Scheme both within and beyond the confines of the Award syllabus. The C.A.P. Tarbutt Memorial Prizes – Thomas Bradbeer (upper sixth), Angus Gill (upper sixth), Tak Lam (upper sixth) and Dmitrii

Titov (upper sixth). For boys who by effort and example have encouraged others to develop sporting talents and enjoy sport. The Guy Fletcher Prize – Ajay Momi (upper sixth). Awarded to a sixth form boy who, by hard work and dedication, has made the most of his sporting abilities. It is specifically designed to reward those who through determination and perseverance have represented the school with distinction – at whatever level in whatever sports – and in the best traditions of Bedford School sportsmanship. Barlen Leaving Exhibition – Thomas Backhouse (upper sixth). For a boy who has studied history to a high level and been offered a place at Oxbridge or another top league university to continue the study of the subject. Elger Leaving Exhibitions – Thomas Lousada (upper sixth), Joshua Wellington (upper sixth), Manahara Ratnayake (upper sixth), James Winder (upper sixth) and Edward Arbe-Barnes (OB). For a boy (or boys) of outstanding academic ability, defined by receipt of an offer from Cambridge or Oxford Universities. Young Prize for the Head of School – Joshua Wellington (upper sixth). Awarded to the head of school.

ACADEMIC MERITS

The top merit earners in each year group were as follows: Fourth Form Silas Sanders (90), Sebastiano O’Grady (79), Charlie Hicks (77), Thomas Pelling (75) and Harry Ward (75). Remove Form Sachin Chambers (101), Lewis Cramp (94), Lennard Bornemann (67), Michael Davis (63) and Ardwin Li (63). Fifth Form Charlie Gee (63), Edward Lamb (54), Jasper Tsao (52), Andrew Zhu (51), Matthew Diemer (49) and Thomas Rainbow (49). Lower Sixth Bryan Ng (76), Darren Pang (63), Jason Chiu (53), David Hickey (52) and Tony Lin (42). Upper Sixth Shiv Patel (22), Philip Barnes (22), Alexei Shushu (20), Arandeep Malhi (18), George Cochrane-Davies (18) and Arthur Li (18).

ACADEMIC STRIPES

Awarded to boys for excellent exam performance, placing them in the top ten per cent of their year group. Post Fourth Form Exams: Arjun Ananth (remove form), Sam Barden (remove form), Evan Case (remove form), Sachin Chambers (remove form), Taran Chand (remove form), Jordan Charter (remove form), George Christian (remove form), Lewis Cramp (remove form), Michael Davis (remove form), Jason George (remove form), John Kendall (remove form) and Jaynil Patel (remove form). Post Remove Form Exams: Alexander Achba (fifth form), Han Cai (fifth form), Dylan Cox (fifth form), Jack Dalton (fifth form), Charles Gee (fifth form), Jack Hutchings (fifth form), Christopher Lamb (fifth form), Edward Lamb (fifth form), Rukudzo Msindo (fifth form), Wazidur Rahman (fifth form), Thomas Rainbow (fifth form), Conrad Staroscik (fifth form), Harjeet Sumal (fifth form),

Rohan Toor (fifth form), Oliver Winder (fifth form) and Andrew Zhu (fifth form). Post GCSE Trial Exams: Nathaniel Conte (fifth form), Ted Hicks (fifth form) and Rohan Sanghera (fifth form). Post GCSE Exams: Jim Cooper (lower sixth), Adam Dorgham (lower sixth), Wilfred Hamilton (lower sixth), David Hickey (lower sixth), Harry Jackson (lower sixth), Christopher Junge (lower sixth), Jonathan Konstantinidis (lower sixth), Benjamin Moule (lower sixth), George Neave (lower sixth), Robert Salvesen (lower sixth), Adit Shah (lower sixth), Benjamin Sharma (lower sixth), James Smith (lower sixth), Thomas Smith (lower sixth), Alexander Stammers (lower sixth), Aidan Swain (lower sixth) and Maximilian Williamson (lower sixth).

EXTERNAL ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS

Biology Olympiad A challenging paper designed to stretch top biologists Gold: Arthur Li (upper sixth). Silver: Daniel DiFilippo (upper sixth), Sandor Pakozdi (upper sixth), Manahara Ratnayake (upper sixth) and Joshua Wellington (upper sixth). Bronze: Robert Akerele-Miles (upper sixth), Thomas Lousada (upper sixth) and Milan Nakum (upper sixth). Biology Challenge An online challenge for remove form biologists which aims to encourage an interest in biology beyond the school curriculum and stimulate curiosity in the natural world. Gold: Evan Case (remove form), George Christian (remove form), Alexander Davies (remove form), David Holland (remove form), John Kendall (remove form) and Benjamin Wilshaw-Quinn (remove form). Silver: Sachin Chambers (remove form), Harry Donougher (remove form), Jason George (remove form), Conor Hilliard (remove form), Sam Perkins (remove form), Parampreet Thiara (remove form) and Oscar Tipper (remove form). Bronze: Sam Barden (remove form), Alexander Bird (remove form), Lennard Bornemann (remove form), Tom Christian (remove form), Michael Davis (remove form), Matthew Fordham (remove form), Felix Hill (remove form), Max Judge (remove form), Arseniy Nefedovskiy (remove form), Jaynil Patel (remove form), Jeevan Sandhu (remove form), George Seward (remove form), Joshua Spanoudakis (remove form), Ben Stephens (remove form), Alex Todd (remove form), Ethan Vernon (remove form), Felix Whelan (remove form) and Archie Young-Lee (remove form). Physics Olympiad This examination-based competition has a dual purpose: to challenge and reward the best physicists in British schools and to select the UK Physics team for competition at international level. Gold: Oliver McLeod (upper sixth). Silver: James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth). Bronze II: Heran Tom Zhang (upper sixth) and Harry Allen (upper sixth).

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AS Physics Challenge The AS Challenge is an exciting opportunity for students to stretch their lateral thinking skills and apply fundamental physical principles to novel situations. Silver: Tze Yan Chong (lower sixth), Bryan Ng (lower sixth), Ray Ren (lower sixth) and Yue-Gam Oswald Wong (lower sixth). Bronze I: Alex Stammers (lower sixth). Bronze II: Zory Davoyan (lower sixth), Jonathan Konstandinidis (lower sixth) and Benjamin Sharma (lower sixth). Physics Challenge This is a single, one-hour paper that is suitable for year 11 students (GCSE, Standard Grade or equivalent level). The paper includes multiple-choice and short-answer sections that aim to test students’ knowledge and understanding of basic physical principles. Silver: Han Cai (fifth form), Ui Jun Seo (fifth form), Ivan Simon (fifth form) and Andrew Zhu (fifth form). Bronze I: Christopher Lamb (fifth form) and Rohan Toor (fifth form). Bronze II: Jacques Bell (fifth form), Carsten Flicke (fifth form), Charlie Gee (fifth form), Edward Lamb (fifth form), Rukudzo Msindo (fifth form), Harry Sivills (fifth form), Bob Song (fifth form), Conrad Staroscik (fifth form) and Ben Whitelaw (fifth form). Chemistry Challenge A challenging written paper designed to stretch post-16 students and make them apply their knowledge to real-life applications of chemistry. Gold: Bryan Ng (lower sixth) and James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth). Silver: Harry Allen (upper sixth), Arthur Li (upper sixth), Oliver McLeod (upper sixth), William Reynolds (upper sixth), James Winder (upper sixth) and Heran Tom Zhang (upper sixth). Bronze: Zory Davoyan (lower sixth), Charles Dempsey (upper sixth), Daniel DiFilippo (upper sixth), James Herriott (upper sixth), Bryan Lung (upper sixth), Luke Riddell (upper sixth), James Siu (upper sixth), James Smith (lower sixth), Joshua Wellington (upper sixth) and Alan Wong (upper sixth). Languages Olympiad The Languages Olympiad requires students to be able to make inferences about new languages, manipulate them and solve problems based on minimal information. Silver: Jake Duxbury (lower sixth). Senior British Maths Olympiad The Olympiad exams are gruelling tests lasting at least three hours aimed at the very best mathematicians, as judged by the Maths Challenges. Distinction: Bryan Ng (lower sixth), Ray Ren (lower sixth) and James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth).

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Senior Maths Kangaroo The Kangaroo exams are aimed at high achievers who scored slightly below the boundary for the Olympiad exams Merit: Joshua Selvey (upper sixth). Intermediate Maths Kangaroo The Kangaroo exams are aimed at high achievers who scored slightly below the boundary for the Olympiad exams Merit: Adam Foat (fourth form) and Felix Mallalieu (fourth form). Intermediate Maths Challenge Sat by the 150 most able mathematicians in the fourth form, remove form and fifth form. Gold and accepted to next round: Han Cai (fifth form), Simon Cheung (fifth form), Darcy Clements (fifth form), Adam Foat (fourth form), Felix Mallalieu (fourth form), Henry Ngai (remove form), Krittamet Nganthavee (fifth form), Robert Seamark (fifth form), Ui Jun Seo (fifth form), Harry Sivills (fifth form), Bob Song (fifth form), Hoffer Tsang (remove form), Gabriel von der Heyde (fifth form), Oliver Winder (fifth form) and Andrew Zhu (fifth form). William Forsythe (fifth form) was classified as Best in School. Senior Maths Challenge Sat by the most able sixth form mathematicians. Gold and accepted to next round: Adlan Adi Radlan (lower sixth), Tze Yan Chong (upper sixth), Oliver McLeod (lower sixth), Bryan Ng (upper sixth), Shiv Patel (upper sixth), Ray Ren (lower sixth), Joshua Selvey (upper sixth), Ui Jun Seo (fifth form), Ajay Shah (lower sixth), Peter Whalley (lower sixth), Heran Tom Zhang (upper sixth) and James Junzhe Zhang (upper sixth). Corpus Christi College, Cambridge – Marlowe English Essay Competition Commended: Aidan Swain (lower sixth). Exceptional Individual Sporting Achievements England U17 Rugby Squad member: George Cave (lower sixth). Midlands U18 Rugby Squad member: Ben Clarke (upper sixth). England U18 Hockey Squad member: Thomas Crowson (lower sixth). Scotland U16 Rugby Squad member: Fraser Dingwall (fifth form). Signed with Northampton Saints Rugby: George Furbank (upper sixth). The Mike Carpenter Creativity Award A design award for school pupils in and around Bedford who have produced a design solution recognising the needs of the infirm in the local community as identified by healthcare specialists. Angus Gill (upper sixth) and Tom Booton (upper sixth).

IB EXTENDED ESSAYS For over a decade, Bedford School have offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma as an alternative to A-levels. As a part of their IB Diploma, the boys are required to write an extended essay of no more than 4,000 words on a topic of their choice. Below is an extract from one of the many outstanding essays written by our IB boys this year. King Lin’s essay, which was based on both theological and scientific study, was internally adjudged to best the best in the cohort. The introduction to his essay has been reproduced below.

‘Exploring the impact of F.J. Belinfante’s argument drawn from the consciousness-base theory in Quantum Mechanics on our belief in the existence of God’. Introduction In the famous two-slit experiment, a single sub-atomic particle (SAP) acts as if it is simultaneously passing through the two separate slits by producing an interference pattern. However, when detectors are placed in the slits to test whether it actually does so, it no longer interferes with itself. To explain this strange phenomenon, quantum mechanists have introduced various interpretations and one of them is the consciousness-base theory (CBT), which takes the view that the presence of a conscious observer plays a crucial role in causing the phenomenon. This interpretation seems to provide explanations for the results of the two-slits experiment but also leaves us with three main problems: the first is the problem of how particles are able to sense the presence of a conscious observer; the second is on what determines which particular state the particles would break down into; and the third is the concern over what the macroscopic physical world would be like when unobserved by humans. One wouldn’t expect this seemingly irrelevant scientific theory and its problems to affect our belief in the existence of God but the physicist and philosopher F.J. Belinfante argues that it does as he says: ‘If I get the impression that nature itself makes the decisive choice what possibility to realise, where quantum theory says that more than one outcome is possible, than I am ascribing personality to nature, that is to something that is always everywhere. Omnipresent eternal personality which is omnipotent in taking the decisions that are left undetermined by physical law is exactly what in the language of religion is called God.’ His argument can be easily understood if we take the analogy of us suddenly being able to move a ball by only staring at it (change the state of SAPs by observing). Knowing that the ball is not conscious, some external power must be observing us and moves the ball whenever we are staring at it for us. In reality, a similar situation has been faced by us whenever, wherever we carry out Quantum measurements like those of the two-slits experiment and this is what caused Belinfante to claim that an

external power must exist in the first place, a power that is an ‘omnipresent’ and ‘eternal’. Moving on, that power must also be ‘omnipotent’ because he is able to manipulate the states of SAPs, which are the constituents of our physical universe, through ways that are unexplainable by any of the physical laws we have devised so far. Thus, combining the information obtained about this external power from CBT, it seems to be the case that the external power is what ‘in the language of religion’ is called God. Thus, referring back to the problems CBT faces, God is responsible for detecting the presence of an observer, he is also the one who manipulates the states of SAPs whenever we observe them and because he observes all things, the physical world remains as it is even when no human is around. Some might wonder why we can’t simply say that humans possess some sort psychokinetic power and save ourselves from having to rely on an unknown external power as an explanation. We can. But if our mind is actually solely responsible for changing of the states of SAPs during quantum measurements, then it would suggest that the results will entirely rely on which consciousness is observing and its momentary state during each observation. However, these do not seem to be the variables affecting the probabilistic yet statistically predictable results. Therefore, we are left with the idea that there is only one consciousness observing and manipulating the SAPs, one that remains in a constant state – God. King goes on to explore the following questions: ● Does consciousness have a separate existence? ● Does God play dice? ● Is Belinfante’s argument useless? ● Should we think? Other essay titles explored by this year’s cohort of IB students included … THE MATHEMATICAL:

How well can π, e and other irrationals be approximated by rational numbers? (Adlan Adi Radlan) THE HISTORICAL:

Which movement had the greatest impact on America: nonviolent civil disobedience or the black power movement? (Robert Akerele-Miles) THE TECHNICAL:

How can electroluminescent wire be used to help improve bicycle safety and prevent road accidents? (Hustin Bhatt) THE ARTISTIC:

How can a cubist approach give us a richer understanding of pictorial space? (Arthur Edmonds) THE GEOGRAPHICAL:

How far have the Millennium Development Goals been successful in developing Sub-Saharan Africa? (Constantin Hafner) THE LITERARY:

Explore the connection between love and madness in Twelfth Night and A Streetcar Named Desire. (Joshua McNulty) And almost everything in between!

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

E.E. Murray |

THE BEDFORD SCHOOL INDEPENDENT PROJECT The Bedford School Independent Project (BSIP) was completed by all AS students for the first time this year and two students emerged from the cohort to claim the two inaugural prizes. Extended extracts from the work of James Smith, winner of the BSIP Presentation Prize, and Alex Stammers, winner of the overall BSIP Dissertation Prize, are below. James Smith’s winning presentation illuminated the arguments and analysis contained within his excellent dissertation on Karl Marx, discussing the statement ‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’. Prevented by the assessment criteria from writing on Russia as this overlapped with material covered at A-level, James nevertheless pursued his ambitious theme, focusing instead on the French Revolution and also considering the contemporary relevance of Marxist theories. He began by addressing some semantic issues in relation to the class system of late 18thcentury France: ‘Robin suggests that to interpret the revolution as the pinnacle of class struggle between the nobility and the bourgeois, which served to replace feudalism with capitalism, is a fallacy altogether. She interprets the issue from the alternative narrative, where to a greater extent the nobility and the bourgeois had become synonymous. Thus the capitalist system developed through a gradual process and was not a changing of the guard. Rather, it was an alternative system that served much of the same elites. Moreover, the argument can also be made that, despite the natural assumption, not all of the nobility were rich and hence they didn’t all act with hope to resist revolutionary force during the period. This was in large part due to the fact that the nobility was so vast that many faded into impecunious obscurity – to the extent where some were even unable to raise the modest sums needed for entry to military service. What we are left with is numerous nobility; many were noblesse de race and, therefore, sitting at the higher end of the aristocracy and, alternatively, many were anoblis and potentially from a bourgeois background. And some were, despite impressive lineage, struggling to make ends meet. From this narrative, the degree of conflict here appears questionable (at least in the conventional sense).’ Following a wide-ranging analysis moving beyond France to include the history of modern Cuba and reflections on the recent recession in the USA and Europe, James concluded that, while Marx remains relevant, the ‘class’ driver might not be all there is to it: ‘The mechanism of the revolution then, appears an amalgam of several different relationships of class struggle and power manipulation … In terms of the French Revolution, all things considered, the mechanism of the popular revolution itself can be seen to be an intricate web of several different class struggles, including the monarchy versus the commoners, the nobility versus the bourgeois and the bourgeois against the commoners (as well as everything in-between). The way that these examples of struggle were poised led to the popular revolution which put in place the new constitution. It cannot be emphasised enough how peculiar and intricate the combination of class relationships were that led to the revolution in France. This in essence sheds some 16

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light on the validity of Marx’s statement: if class struggle as a concept must reside in some ultra-rare “Goldilocks” state (“just right”) to actually achieve change, then surely the entirety of history cannot be based on it. Here lies the usefulness of the Cuban Revolution which demonstrates major change without the major player being class struggle. Overall, it boils down to the same factor that has been omnipresent over the duration of this essay: the manipulation of power. ‘As has been seen from the evolution of feudalism to capitalism, capitalism to socialism, contemporary examples and so on, the issues of class struggle and consciousness develop and change with great fluidity over time. With reference to the French Revolution, Cuban Revolution and GM bankruptcy different manifestations of class struggle were demonstrated and, to differing extents, had an influence on the outcome of these events. However, the underlying theme of the manipulation of power is exactly similar in nature throughout all of these events; despite the identity of the people manipulating and the people being manipulated having changed, the premise has not. This, to conclude, represents a more refined version of Marx’s statement and searches for a common denominator. Although class struggle, as a concept, often appears more accountable for certain events of history, in the vast majority of cases one of these two circumstances will have occurred: (i) The manipulation of power was the prime cause of the event outright, for example, the Cuban Revolution. (ii) The manipulation of power stimulates class struggle which acts as the prime cause of an event, for example, the French Revolution.’ Updating the economics theme, Alex Stammers won the BSIP Dissertation Prize for his 5000-word investigation of the following research question: ‘Was Quantitative Easing a viable economic policy for the UK following the 2008 Financial Crash? A macroeconomic study into the effects of Quantitative Easing on the UK economy after its implementation in March 2009.’ Several very high quality submissions were received but this was judged the best dissertation according to the three main criteria: a rigorous and reflective approach to research; critical analysis and evaluation of evidence and argument; and structure, communication and overall presentation. Alex began by setting out some historical context and explains how, following the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, central banks around the world looked for a radical solution. In the UK the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee implemented Quantitative Easing with the aim of increasing consumer spending and investment in order to expand aggregate demand, which in turn would help stabilise the country’s economy. Alex acknowledges the problems associated with such an approach and considers the causes of the ‘credit crunch’, when most consumers were hit with rapidly rising prices as their wage rates remained relatively constant. He also asks whether any alternatives would have been preferable: ‘One of the other key policies proposed was an expansion of government spending particularly into infrastructure projects which would be guaranteed by the Treasury. This would boost consumer confidence and give some job security back to workers who would be involved in such projects as well as

increasing investment and consumption indirectly via the workers involved. However, the issue with such a policy is that it would take years until the benefits of this action was felt by the economy and the time taken for this money to filter through the economy would take too long until the economy began to recover. Also spending on such a scale could dramatically increase government debt which could be problematic post crisis. ‘Other policies which fall under the category of “Helicopter Money” were also proposed. This is a term first coined by Milton Friedman in the 1960s and refers to the idea of “dropping money out of a helicopter” to distribute money to the whole population while avoiding complicated money-injection mechanisms for the economy. While the policies proposed by several economists in opposition to QE did not involve helicopters or anything of the like, they did involve ideas to distribute money to the general populous of the UK. This was primarily to be done by tax rebates. However, this policy was decided against by the MPC as they believed QE was more likely to stimulate large scale economic growth as it really encouraged people to being spending again whereas with tax rebates a significant proportion of the population may decide to save the money in order to be prepared against further financial hardship.’ The main focus of his analysis was to outline what he identified as the many positive aspects of the QE policy, which he argued had resulted in multiple beneficial effects for the UK economy in 2008–09. These included reduced unemployment, the recovery of GDP, and a reduced need for the kind of extreme austerity and budgetary control measures seen in other countries: ‘While the UK did experience some aspects of austerity such as public spending cuts and budget cuts for the military, the austerity measures could have been significantly worse if it were not for the implementation of QE. QE stimulates spending in the economy by depressing interest rates and incentivising spending as well as adding to the wealth effect of property. Such spending on its own reduces the need for austerity measures as the economy can spend itself out of the recession without the need for a reduction in spending. The UK economic recovery compared with that of Greece, for example, large tax increases, along with cuts on government salaries. This shows the stark difference in the austerity measures taken and ultimately QE was the mechanism that allowed the UK to avoid having to take such measures. A recession is not the time to reorganise the economy and try and reduce public debt. Economic growth and recovery should be paramount and then public debt can be reduced once the economy is back on track. Therefore we are able to see the importance of QE as a tool to reduce the need for austerity measures which could have severely worsened the economy in 2009. ‘For many, the most significant benefit of QE is its effect on economic growth and the beneficial effect it has on the market in general, in that it allows a falling market to continue to function. By pumping money into the economy QE allows banks to continue to trade and lend money to firms and consumers. These cornerstones of the economy (if there is such a thing) then have knock-on effects for all aspects of the economy, notably consumer spending, firms’ trading and investment. Firms

and consumers can then begin borrowing money again to re-finance, thus aiding economic growth. The ability of QE to stimulate all of these areas as well as contributing to economic growth and increasing real GDP is very beneficial for an economy. Real GDP in 2007 was at an all-time high for the UK at $2.8 trillion, however following the financial disaster through 2008 GDP fell a dramatic $700 billion to $2.1 trillion in 2009. This dramatic decrease can be directly linked to the financial crisis globally but more interestingly after 2009 and the implementation of QE in the UK real GDP began to grow again very rapidly indeed to a peak of 1.7 per cent growth in 2010 following a decrease in real GDP of –5.2 per cent the year before. Thus we can clearly see the effect QE has had on the economy following its start in 2009. Of course, it would be untrue to attribute this success purely to QE and indeed there will have been other factors involved in the economic recovery. However, the question still remains as to how well or quickly the economy would have recovered had it not been for the implementation of QE and due to the fact it aids and stimulates so many areas of the economy. It is likely that the UK economy would have had a much slower and less effective recovery post2008. As a result QE can be seen to be highly beneficial for the economy primarily because of its ability to aid economic growth and recovery.’ Upon assessing other effects and consequences, Alex concludes: ‘As with any economic policy, QE has both positive and negative effects for the economy. The extent to which QE is positive or negative is debatable. There is a strong argument over how effective QE can be and many economists still debate its effectiveness and whether the MPC’s monetary policy can actually be called QE. However, despite this fierce debate it is clear that the policy of QE had some real effects on the UK economy and particularly the economic recovery post-2008. Arguably QE acted like an emergency panic button for the MPC in 2008. Having cut the base interest rate to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent there was little else that they could do in relation to interest rates to stimulate the economy. The Bank of England had to turn to the unconventional strategy of QE in order to save the crashing economy. The decision to implement QE was crucial to prevent an even more severe long-term recession. The effect of QE was to introduce some liquidity back into the paralysed banking sector which enabled the economy to begin to trade again as the banks were able to lend money once more. The knock-on effects of this lending led to firms and consumers being able to continue to trade and spend, which was critical to the economic recovery of the country. The by-products of QE are undesirable, such as a degree of inflation which may harm the standard of living of a number of people through the constriction on savings returns. However, with regard to long-term economic stability and recovery QE is useful as it stimulates growth and tries to prevent a liquidity crisis for the integral financial sector. For these reasons Quantitative Easing has been an important and viable economic policy for the UK following the 2008 financial crash despite the problems it can present.’ Alex is also working towards completion of the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). He is part of a group of 20 students who have chosen to undertake further research work

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building on their experiences this year. Congratulations to Alex and James for winning the BSIP prizes against tough competition; I hope they, along with many of their peers, have found the process useful but, more importantly, have been inspired to continue to develop and extend their own personal research interests and wider reading beyond the syllabus. This

pursuit of a better knowledge and understanding of the outside world, of the contested past and the unpredictable future and, through reading for pleasure and discovery, of our own inner lives, is a process in which we are all engaged and is central to the aims of education itself. M.W. Graham

THE BSIP PRESENTATION PRIZE Wednesday 17th June 2015 This year all AS-level students took part in the BSIP programme. The Bedford School Independent Project is a body of work encompassing various forms of academic extension and, alongside submitting a dissertation or portfolio of work, all students were asked to prepare a formal presentation on their work. Of these, the best students were selected to present again to their classes and from this a group of nine students emerged to compete for the inaugural BSIP Presentation Prize. On Wednesday 17th June these students gathered in the Memorial Hall and A21 to deliver their presentations before an adjudication panel and an audience of parents, teachers and peers. The presentation topics are shown below:

MEMORIAL HALL – Arts and Humanities Mr Graham (chair), Revd Atkins and Mr Finch 7–7.15 pm Jim Cooper ‘A Symphony must be like the World’. An exploration of Mahler’s First Symphony. 7.15–7.30 pm Robert Salvesen ‘How is Satan Portrayed in Literature?’ 7.30–7.45 pm Alex Stammers ‘Is Quantitative Easing a Viable Economic Policy?’ 7.45–8 pm Frank Kupshik ‘On the History of the Judaeo-Spanish Language.’ 8–8.15 pm James Smith ‘Karl Marx and the Class System.’

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A21 – Sciences Mr Marsh (chair), Mr Bolton and Mr Beale 7–7.15 pm Ben Antis ‘Stem Cells.’ 7.15–7.30 pm Adam Johnston ‘Has nutrition finally been explained and how does it affect athletes?’ 7.30–7.45 pm Charlie Clarke ‘Sports Supplements.’ 7.45–8 pm Jesse Billington ‘Recent Developments in Veterinary Medicine and Their Effects on the Treatment of Animals.’ The overall quality of the presentations was judged to be excellent and the adjudicators commented on the ambition and range of the work, the level of engagement shown with the research process, the confident, informative and, at times, entertaining manner in which the material was delivered, and in overall terms the tremendous degree of intellectual curiosity, analytical focus and evaluative reflection shown. Opening the Arts and Humanities session, Jim Cooper used musical excerpts to guide us through Mahler’s First Symphony, analysing Mahler’s intentions and placing the work in a fascinating historical context, judging the piece alongside that of the composer’s contemporaries and antecedents. His use of the slides helped frame what was a very well-controlled, evenlypaced delivery and Jim’s arguments, drawn from an outstanding dissertation containing some wonderfully impressionistic writing, will have made the audience consider again the various stories and meanings, autobiographical or otherwise, that music might contain. Robert Salvesen made inventive use of the projection screen, structuring his presentation around an eclectic assortment of literary quotations and ranging in his work from

Rudyard Kipling to the Bible, via Milton, Shelley and Victor Hugo. He worried this might not be enough for the theology experts on the panel, but it was a brave effort under timed conditions. In presenting a controversial but stimulating thesis Robert returned to his opening quotation from Franz Kafka, on the power of reading as a means of eliciting feelingful, empathetic responses (‘A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us’), deepening our understanding of the human experience. Frank Kupshik was a pleasure to listen to on the Judaeo-Spanish language, opening in charismatic fashion with a focus on the more familiar Yiddish before delving into a detailed textual analysis of his chosen topic. Again, the historical context was illuminating here and Frank also responded well to questions about the power of language and the importance of language preservation. This was a treat for linguists and historians alike and accompanies an authoritative yet highly readable dissertation on the subject. Also demonstrating a great deal of personal engagement with his chosen question was Alex Stammers who, of all students, perhaps best reflected upon the nature of the research process and who was also most impressive in his response to a broad range of challenging questions. His topic was a complex one but he made it accessible through a clarity of delivery, a watertight structure, excellent exemplification and a real ability to define his terms and retain a keen sense of focus and argument. Alex was Highly Commended but the final candidate to speak, James Smith, was declared group winner for his original analysis of Marx and the class system. Mr Geall did ask, very reasonably, why James had left out Russia, which does have something of a revolutionary past. James explained he had done so in order not to overlap with his A-level work and to ensure his research took him into new areas; the range of his reading was most impressive and the confidence with which he spoke, first about Marxist theory and the dialectic, then in some detail on the extent to which Marxian analysis applied to the French and Cuban revolutions and also to the collapse of General Motors in 2009, was really a defining quality of his contribution. Making no reference to notes, James filled every minute of the allotted period with a passionate, informed and stimulating discussion of his research question before having the ambition to attempt an argument of his own, suggesting a more convincing basis upon which such historical events might be better understood. He then responded well to a series of questions and, Lindsey Lohan joke excepted, impressed all with the depth of his knowledge and understanding. Competition was equally fierce in the Science group. Ben Anstis opened with a well-structured account of the history, applications and importance of stem-cell research. Mobilising a substantial body of research and framing his ideas in an accessible manner, he provided much scope for further questions and was able to explore associated ethical issues in more depth in this phase of his presentation. Charlie Clarke impressed the adjudicators with his confident approach; the only candidate to leave the security of the A21 lectern and speak to the audience directly, he displayed excellent communication skills and spoke for the full allotted time period. This was a full exploration of the topic with an ambitious range of research behind it and Charlie was also able to evaluate some of the

arguments he encountered in the literature. Adam Johnston followed with his study of nutrition and its impact on athletes. A topic with huge contemporary relevance, Adam spoke with authority and dispelled many diet myths, also placing modern dietary issues in their political and cultural context. He referred to some impressive sources and had a great deal of information to hand, which prospective sportsmen in the audience will have taken note of. Adam was Highly Commended for his presentation but the Science winner was Jesse Billington, who displayed an excellent command of recent developments in veterinary medicine. There was some rigorous academic content here and Jesse spoke in detail about hydrotherapy, chemotherapy and keyhole surgery in animals, also demonstrating a real evaluative capacity. Clearly passionate about the subject, he presented his findings in a clear and organised manner, making only minimal reference to his index cards, and subsequently proceeded to the final round. A combined audience listened again to the presentations of James Smith and Jesse Billington. Much discussion then followed as the adjudication panel considered the criteria for the award: (i) the level of research, including the selection and evaluation of a wide range of relevant resources; (ii) the level of critical analysis versus mere fact delivery, showing an awareness of the wider literature/research base; and (iii) the level of effective communication to the audience. A final decision was taken and the inaugural winner was declared to be James Smith for his presentation on ‘Karl Marx and the Class System’. Many thanks to all the boys who took part and to the staff adjudication panel. BSIP Presentation Prize 2015: Summary of Results Overall Winner: James Smith Overall Runner-up: Jesse Billington Highly Commended: Adam Johnston Highly Commended: Alex Stammers M.W. Graham

Above: James Smith Below: Adam Johnston

Jesse Billington Alex Stammers

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WAS QUANTITATIVE EASING A VIABLE ECONOMIC POLICY FOR THE UK FOLLOWING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRASH? Alex Stammers’ prize-winning piece was a superb, 4,500-word essay on quantitative easing. Unfortunately, space does not permit us to publish the whole essay, but the abstract, introduction and conclusion are printed below. Abstract In the dark days of the global economic depression following the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, central banks around the world looked for a radical solution to stabilise their economies and stimulate shrinking aggregate demand. In the United Kingdom the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to implement the unconventional measure of Quantitative Easing (QE). The MPC is comprised of four members of the Treasury and four members of the Bank of England as well as a chairman from the Bank of England. The intention of this policy was to increase consumer spending and investment in order to expand aggregate demand which in turn would help stabilise the country’s economy. Starting in March 2009, this policy of Quantitative Easing has had profound effects on the UK economy and continues to influence the course of the country’s economic recovery to this day. I will analyse these effects in the context of the United Kingdom in order to conclude whether QE was a viable economic policy post-2008. Introduction Firstly, some context is needed to understand the situation in which the decision by the MPC to commence QE was made. Pre-2008 financial crisis there had been several factors which had paved the way towards the global recession. Many argue that the factor which catalysed the whole crash was the loss of confidence in the sub-prime mortgage sector by investors. This drying up of investment into risk heavy mortgage agreements caused a liquidity crisis which was particularly prevalent in the US in 2007. This liquidity crisis refers to the difficultly of home owners to convert their assets into a liquid medium (money) and sell their homes. House prices plummeted and many consumers cut their spending in order to prepare for what was to come. This loss of consumer spending only aggravated the situation even more as aggregate demand was shrinking quickly and economies around the world began to slide into recession. The next phase of the crisis was intensified by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. This was the fourth largest investment bank in the US and its bankruptcy almost led to the toppling of many other

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major banks globally, including the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) which was described by Sir Tom McKillop, the chairman of RBS, as ‘haemorrhaging cash’ in October 2008. It was in this economic climate of recession, insolvency and illiquidity that the MPC decided to implement their policy of QE in order to aid economic recovery and help reduce the recession in the UK. Conclusion As with any economic policy, QE has both positive and negative effects for the economy. The extent to which QE is positive or negative is debatable. There is a strong argument over how effective QE can actually be and many economists still debate its effectiveness and whether the MPC’s monetary policy can actually be called QE. However, despite this fierce debate it is clear that the policy of QE had some real effects on the UK economy and particularly the economic recovery post-2008. Arguably, QE acted like an emergency panic button for the MPC in 2008. Having cut the base interest rate to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent there was little else that they could do in relation to interest rates to stimulate the economy. The Bank of England had to turn to the unconventional strategy of QE in order to save the crashing economy. In my opinion the decision to implement QE was crucial to prevent an even more severe long-term recession. The effect of QE was to introduce some liquidity back into the paralysed banking sector which enabled the economy to begin to trade again as the banks were able to lend money once more. The knock-on effects of this lending led to firms and consumers being able to continue to trade and spend which, I think, were critical to the economic recovery of the country. Indeed, the by-products of QE are undesirable such as a degree of inflation which may harm the standard of living of a number of people through the constriction on savings returns, etc. However, with regard to long-term economic stability and recovery QE is arguably useful as it stimulates growth and tries to prevent a liquidity crisis for the integral financial sector. For these reasons I believe that Quantitative Easing has been important and viable economic policy for the UK following the 2008 financial crash despite the problems it can present. Alex Stammers

SPANISH DEPARTMENT TRIP TO SALAMANCA

A trip to Salamanca in February 2015 was a first for the Spanish department, more used to Madrid, Barcelona and Santander. Salamanca is the Oxford and Cambridge of Spain rolled into one and there is much that is architecturally beautiful to fill the camera frame â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or is that the selfie stick nowadays? It has a wonderful Plaza Mayor to rival the main square in Madrid and while we were there it was full of university students in their carnival finery, fun-loving splashes of colour against the sedate honey stone of a previous age. It was a trip that was based on the Isla language school and a format that was new to us. Our six fourth formers and four sixth formers spent three hours every morning doing lessons with Spanish teachers, had lunch with their host families and then went out in the afternoon and evening doing activities: a treasure hunt round the city, a salsa dancing lesson, guided tours, paintballing; all of which gave them a chance to let their hair down a bit and perhaps even use some of the language they had absorbed earlier. A trip out to the local sierra (hill country) gave us a chance for fresh air and exercise and gave the boys the opportunity to hide from me and make me at least consider sending out search parties. Ah, just our little joke, sir. Next February we do a similar trip but we shall be heading for the deep south and the magic that is Sevilla, land of oranges, flamenco and duende. Our group: Staff: Mr Huxford and Miss Rubio. Seniors: Aaron McNally, Freddie McLean, Aidan Swain and Adit Shah. Juniors: Harry Jennings, Harry Barrett, Joe Fordham, Barnie May, Toby May and Mark Neilson.. A.J.R. Huxford

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PYTHAGOREANS

The Pythagoreans had some excellent lectures this academic year on a diversity of topics. Alexander Watson gave a talk on Lagrangians, describing some more advanced ways of considering Newtonian mechanics with some new algebraic tools. Former members of staff Alan Eames-Jones and Philip Coggins spoke on the ‘Principle of Inclusion/Exclusion’ and on Ptolemy’s Theorem, respectively. The former gave inroads into some combinatorial ideas and the latter was an exploration into geometry demonstrating the equivalence of Ptolemy’s Theorem, Pythagoras’s Theorem and the Cosine Law; stimulating stuff on areas not covered extensively at A-level or IB. The last lecture of the winter term was given by Douglas Butler, the author of the widely used graphical software Autograph and also a former member of staff, on using the web to enhance mathematics. The final lecture of the year was a bit of a diversion into physics. David Wallace, OB, Fairfax Professor of Physics and Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford, kindly spoke on ‘The World(s) according to Quantum Theory’, a fascinating journey into modern ideas about the universe and the idea of the many worlds theory, or multiverse. It was given with the penetrating clarity and enthusiasm that I remembered in David as a pupil here several years ago. I would like to thank my officers, Shiv Patel and Josh Selvey, for their efforts this year. It was good to see large audiences, including many from Bedford Girls’ School. J.B. Watson [The editor would like to extend her thanks to Mr Watson who has arranged Pythagoreans’ lectures for many years. Jerome retires this year but we hope he will be back to give his own talks to future generations of mathematicians.]

SENIOR MATHS CLUB

This has been a good year for the Senior Maths Club. Using the results of the Senior Maths Challenge, which took place in October, four sixth form boys were chosen to represent the school in the regional final of the Senior Maths Competition. The boys were Ray Ren and me from the lower sixth, and Joshua Selvey and Tom Zhang from the upper sixth. The competition took place at Cambridge University. After two hours of competing, our team came eighth out of 28 schools. Even more promisingly, we scored full marks in the mathematical crossword puzzle. I look forward to the competition next year when, hopefully, we will improve on this year’s score. Bryan Ng

YEAR 10 MATHS FEAST

This year, a group of year 10 boys went to the Maths Feast Competition in Luton to compete against a number of teams representing different schools from all over Bedfordshire. At first I was unsure of what a ‘Maths Feast’ would entail, but Miss Owens explained to us that although the questions put forward would be relatively straightforward, the competition would test 22

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our ability to work as a team as well. So in the following weeks we worked through the preparation material, ensuring that we were prepared to work efficiently and accurately as a team. Eventually, after having finalised a team, the big day came. Pleased at the prospect of missing afternoon classes, we headed off to Luton. I had been informed that Miss Owens’s driving wasn’t amazing and that she had a habit of stalling the car, so we were pleasantly surprised when she got us there safely with plenty of time to spare! It was at this point that we learned what a ‘Maths Feast’ was. The competition was structured in the form of a feast. The ‘Feast’ was split up into different courses which consisted of different challenges and questions. Each course demanded different things of us as a team, and after coming a close second in the appetiser, we came joint first with BMS in the starter. This was a comparison round where we had to work out the answers to pairs of questions, and then write whether the answer was more than, less than or equal to the other answer. We raced through the next few rounds, hot on BMS’s tail and, going into the ‘Colombus’ round, we were right up there with BMS. Then came the Colombus Cubes. Despite the wealth of mathematical talent at our disposal, we made a bit of a meal out of this course of the Maths Feast. Managing to only construct three of the cubes that are made by carefully arranging lots of folded squared pieces of paper, our chances of first place were hurt. However, we caught up slightly in the dessert, a ‘Four in a Row’ round where we split up into pairs and worked through questions that gave answers which were needed to work out the next question. The idea was to get as many correct answers in a row, and therefore collect the bonus points for getting ‘Four in a Row’. In the end we ended up with a respectable third place and, looking back, we perhaps could have done better, but we worked well as a team and learnt some new things along the way. It was a privilege to represent the school in what was most definitely the best feast I’ve been to, and we would like to thank Miss Owens for giving us the opportunity to participate in this competition. The team: Evan Case, Taran Chand, Jaynil Patel and Leo Tse. Jaynil Patel

STEM SOCIETY Three Wise Men – OB Panel Discussion Three eminent Old Boys (Sandy Gray, Professor Martin Snaith and Professor Richard Hills) imparted over a hundred years of wisdom to students in the recital hall. Led by the audience’s questions, the discussion reflected upon how engineering and physics have changed (or not) over the past 40 years. The breadth in time and space of the visitors’ wisdom was extraordinary: we were led from the problems of major construction projects in the Far East, through to issues associated with providing chemical-based products to consumers, on to the challenge of creating and installing the equipment that will enable us to reach the furthest reaches of space. It was an evening that all of those students who were fortunate enough to attend will never forget. Leading Edge Quantum Technology – Imperial College London Talk To have world-class speakers before the society is impressive; to have three on one evening is extraordinary. Dylan Sabulsky, Frederick Dieleman and Thomas Nutz all hold prestigious Marie Curie Fellowships at Imperial College London. The three speakers’ areas of research involved the investigation of the practical uses of quantum physics. The state-of-the-art practical applications included navigation, battling cancer and quantum computing. The talks were fascinating and the speakers also brought hardware along that we were allowed to handle. Success in Bedford – CREST/STEM Fair The future of the STEM Society is in good hands. Bedford held a major STEM fair this year and this enabled Prep School students, who had been utilising the Upper School’s STEM Society facilities, to present what they had learnt throughout their bronze CREST award projects. The event attracted hundreds of students from around Bedfordshire as well as many exhibitors from the country’s best and most prestigious universities and STEMbased employers. The Prep School students walked away with

the lion’s share of the awards, including a first prize trophy in the 11–18 age group for ‘most innovative investigation’. A Sound Investment – Cambridge Communications Systems, Dr Daiqing Li We were very fortunate to have Dr Daiqing Li pay us a visit to explain the nature and plans for the technology of this major new start-up based in Cambridge. Dr Li showed us how the technology he is helping to create will take mobile communications to the next level. As the hardware he showed us and the technical innovations he described are currently secret, I’m not at liberty to say any more about the talk here. However, Dr Li was able to join us for lunch and was inundated with questions about the technology and his own personal path from China to Cambridge. Need help with your Physics? Link with the experts – CERN talk The STEM Society used Skype to link directly with CERN to discuss particle accelerators and particle physics, two key chapters in the upper sixth physics course. Dr Diego Termino chose the CERN auditorium as his background, the place where the great discoveries made at CERN (like the Higgs Boson) are announced to the world. The students jumped at the chance to quiz a senior staff member at CERN about the facilities, capabilities, discoveries and the future of this, one of mankind’s greatest engineering achievements. Brief Summary of Ongoing Activities The STEM Society continue to meet up to three times a week to share current articles, books, online courses and lectures along with organising events and trips. As well as sharing and planning, the meetings involve lectures, coding club and ‘Friday afternoon experiments’ (the pastime which has led to many Nobel Prizes). You never know where it may take you. G.J. Green

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STUDENT ROBOTICS COMPETITION We organised ourselves into separate groups: the programming group and the engineering group. In the first week, we established roles for each member of the club and delegated separate tasks to be completed by the end of the term. We met each week in the D&T department. The programming group started by learning the programming language Python and planning the basic code structure and skeleton functions for the basic robot. While they were doing this, the engineering group rebuilt last year’s robot using the new student robotics kit, which was different in places to the previous year, and also got to grips with the ‘capture the flag’ game mode, which had been announced during October half-term. The design team had to ensure that the prototype robot met all the requirements from the student robotics manual and also adhered to the rules and regulations regarding the dimensions, which were very strict. The engineering group also evaluated what went wrong with last year’s robot and tried to make sure it didn’t happen again and they analysed the problem with the robot’s design. In these opening weeks we encountered a number of problems with the student robotics kit that we had to overcome. The tablet which we were using to input the code into the robot from the programmers had a charging malfunction; it could only charge successfully to 1 per cent charge, which meant that we had to leave the tablet charging at all times if we wanted to use it. This limited the use of the tablet when trying to get it connected to the robot and editing the robot’s code. We also found difficulty in connecting the tablet to the robot through the wi-fi USB sticks provided. In addition, we struggled with actually activating the USB sticks to enable the wi-fi. After watching and following the steps from the student robotics YouTube channel and their video tutorials, we managed to get the wi-fi USB sticks working, but we still couldn’t connect the tablet to the robot using the wi-fi. During the spring term we managed to fix the tablet and also connect it to the robot via wi-fi. The robot was now able to read code and move basically. For the remainder of that term the programmers fine-tuned the code and we decided to use a suction device as the box-clasping design and worked on joining this to the robot so that the robot was able to pick up boxes. Although we did not get the robot working as we wanted for the first day of the competition, many of the other teams seemed to be in worse positions than us when we arrived. The first day of the competition entailed a number of qualifiying rounds of ‘capture the flag’ in which each team’s robot attempted to score points by moving as many of the five available flags into their quadrant as possible. The second day consisted of knockout stages, at the end of which an eventual winner was decided upon. Unfortunately, our robot did not win, but, despite a number of setbacks, our robot managed to progress to the quarter-finals of the knockout stages. Peter Whalley

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

THE FOWLES PRIZE THE LOTTERY

He was the type of man that smiled while chopping onions. Up above, on the sacrilegious platform of fate, a figure of solid physique and stolid face peered down, indifferent to the lunacy that would proceed. That was, of course, apart from the incestuous smile which his head took residence on. A smile teeming with an anticipatory knowledge forever beyond my grasp, beyond the grasp of the masses, for he knew something which we could not, and something we would not for another … four minutes, I made it – but at this rate who knew. I never thought such matters were ever decided around the specifications of a logical system, but simply revolved around the flapping of a bird’s wings, the ticking of an unbalanced pendulum, the speculation of the moon and other such nonsensical discourses which seemed to embody life in a sea of time. I believe the day’s affair consisted of 5,000 populace, with a selection degree of one-hundredth, but had not bothered to fully concern myself with the details; it made no matter to me, for whatever was decided, was ultimate. There was no point in labouring over the ‘what ifs’, only the ‘when’ existed, and regarding its entirety, there was no logic to be found. Friends and families around me were murmuring quietly, conversing with the ease of a flowing river of blood, never appreciating the stupidity of this quagmire which had engulfed life and ruined freedom. A bell rang. Its sonorous pitch hummed, flowing intrinsically throughout the recesses of the space, making my teeth vibrate. As the first was selected, the air suddenly became clammy, sodden with an inhospitable numbness which radiated outwards from the man who smiled. He was the decider of fate; a member of the secret organisation which had grown to rule; a crude symbol of the unknown. The first was sentenced to ten months in the eastern gaol. The second became incredibly wealthy. The third was to join the construction efforts of a road connecting this city to the next. The fourth lost their left hand. The fifth remained as before, except for a shaved head. And so it continued. There are no surprises anymore; it is not feasible in a situation where anything could happen, in a tomorrow where anyone could be selected. However, one could still sense the surging emotional imbalances of an audience enthralled with the possibility of infinite outcomes. When true infinity is achieved, I suppose, the element of surprise is subordinated, but anticipation is intensified – it’s all absurd. The man who smiled remained indifferent when he beheaded the sixth and seventh, despite the blood pooling around his bare feet, filling the cracks in his toes with a glowing maroon. The absurdity of compliance becomes more pertinent when the assessment of your future is

dictated by a man who smiles in the blood of others … always smiling. The eighth became a slave and was sent to the mines. The ninth was granted a partner of their choosing. The tenth was recruited into the organisation, perhaps to become another smiling lunatic. The eleventh was declared invisible for four months, through the loss of their right eyebrow. And so it continued. Lost in a wild tundra of thought, transfixed on that corrosive smile, I neglected to comprehend what the smile was projecting: ‘Ticket 2349, ticket 2349, ticket 2349 …’ I continued my inward musings, oblivious to my calling, instead visualising a vivid freedom and welcoming isolation. Only after some time had passed did I suddenly realise that hundreds of glossy eyes were staring at my furrowed brow, directly into my thoughts of another time and place. I was an imposter on the edge of certainty, a lone evergreen meeting the summit of a mountain. Slowly, I raised myself. Cautiously, I crossed the vibrating arena. Imperiously, my fate was rolled out before me. Twelve times now. Twelve times have the vicissitudes of my life been altered by the decisions of an unknown higher power; at any rate, this was certainly not a procedure which I had signed up for. Like everyone, I have lost and gained in equal amounts. I have both known the position of Lord, and slave. I have both lost a hand, and gained a wife. I have both been subject to heavy fines, and felt the glorifying satisfaction of immense wealth. I have lead a normal life, a common life, and the procedure is not at all new to me, however, approaching the podium I could not help but feel a startling anxiety and trepidation about what will become of me yet. When toying with infinity, one must always remember that the possibility of death is contained within those bounds, along with many other possibilities, which I became increasingly aware I was not ready to confront. The deep pits of the smiling man’s eyes injected my soul with a soiling disturbance, my mind muddied with a stare directing me to my destiny. I never overthrew the overriding coldness of absurdity crystallising the folds in my mental reasoning, like the crystalline smile of a man narrating the lives of chosen tickets, and just before the smiling judge read my fate I began to giggle uncontrollably like a child pre-empting a practical joke. Ignoring me, the smiling man declared, ‘Ticket 2349, you will be made a servant to the King of this land, and you shall do everything he commands,’ and then turned away in his pool of blood as if I was a figment of the imagination of a spectre. As soon as the first ‘T’ of ticket was uttered my laughter was swallowed by my molars and I fell into complete, unnerving silence. Utterly relieved, I descended the podium and fled from the arena as fast as a man could who had absurdly, confronted infinity, and perhaps even more absurdly, came away unscathed. The thirteenth was fed to the wolves of the Southern Sierra. The fourteenth was fined half of their life savings. The fifteenth was given a son. And so it continued. Aidan Swain

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

THE ARCHIE WELLBELOVE PRIZE

‘It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature’ – Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude. London: Penguin Classics, 2000. Translated by Gregory Rabassa. Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, a prolific literary work in the ‘Latin Boom’, is a novel prized for its daring originality. The evolution of Macondo, the focal and constant location of the novel, through its disasters and miracles, is a microcosm of Colombian life, directly influenced by the author’s experiences through the 20th century. It is a reflection of Márquez’s childhood, from which the novel’s trademark magical realism originates, as well as an exploration into many themes which manifest themselves in the characters and symbolism of the novel. Its internal timeline is vast, spanning seven generations of the Buendías, which is integral to our perception of the novel. History shapes the town, people, and culture, and allows the reader to understand the most prominent concepts of the novel: the nature of time, the effects of modernisation, and the possibility of love in solitude. The evolution of Macondo, over its expansive history, is one of the distinct developments within One Hundred Years of Solitude. Macondo represents the passing of time and the inevitable progress which is coupled to it. Initially, the settlement is a primitive village of ‘twenty adobe houses’ in contrast to the ‘wired-in city’ it becomes. Márquez asserts this change through biblical allusion; many of his characters are allegorical of biblical figures. Critics have called One Hundred Years of Solitude ‘The Bible of Macondo’, commenting on the parallels between the texts. José Arcadio Buendía and his wife, Úrsula Iguarán, can be seen to represent Adam and Eve, Macondo being their Eden-like paradise with the magical images of ‘a flying carpet’ and ‘the discovery of ice’, experiencing a cleansing flood and an apocalyptic end. From this state of innocence and naïvety, Macondo undergoes great development and industrialisation and survives civil wars and tragedy, until it falls back into isolation and solitude, becoming a place in which few even remember its founders, the Buendías. History reforms Macondo and its inhabitants, creating the family and society upon which the novel is based. Márquez condenses human development into the life span of one family, allowing him to comment on humanity. The novel is, in this way, a metaphor for human history and a commentary on human nature. Though transition is prominent throughout Marquez’s narrative, it is the resistance to progression that is a recurring characteristic of the Buendía family. The town itself is 26

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called a ‘city of mirrors’, since everything seems to happen over and over again, presented in particular by characters’ isolation. It is this inward fate that is the ultimate cause of the family’s downfall, since ‘races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth’. ‘[The] history of the family,’ Márquez writes, ‘was a … turning wheel that would have gone on spinning into eternity were it not for the progressive and irremediable wearing of the axle.’ Repetition brings about Macondo’s end, and allows Márquez to remark on the destructive nature of stagnation and isolation. The ‘crushing weight of the past’ drives the present, which in turn forms a key moral of the text. History also powers the development of symbolism within the text. Macondo’s history of war and desperation hardens the emotions of many characters, in particular Colonel Aureliano Buendía, who has his poems burnt and creates and melts down 25 ‘little golden fishes’ over and over again. The symbolism of these fishes evolves over time, originally representing his and the family’s creativity, as well as his effect on the world, being given to each of his 17 sons. After the war, in which they are used to confirm the allegiance of the liberals, Aureliano realises they have become something he never intended, no longer representative of him as a person, but of what people want him to represent. Thus, he melts them down over and over again; a passive though powerful act showing his realisation that time moves in cycles. History reforms the depiction of these symbols, introducing a greater depth to the themes and images explored. From the recurring names, generation after generation, to the repetition of personalities and events, the novel never has a clear divide between past, present and future. In a sense, José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula are the only two characters in the story, and all their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are variations on their personalities. Márquez, like Melquídes, ‘had not put events in the order of a man’s conventional time, but had concentrated a century of daily episodes in such a way that they coexisted in one instant’. This overlapping time is best presented in the form of José Arcadio Buendía, for whom ‘It was an intricate stew of truths and mirages that convulsed [his] ghost … with impatience’. The continuation of his presence, after death, depicts how José Arcadio Buendía has a prolonged influence on future events. The novel also implies an ignorance of the past, as while time overlaps, for most of society it seems to bear no meaning. This is exemplified by Santa Sofía de la Piedad, who, after years in the Buendía household, simply ‘walks out of the house’, never to be heard from again. Márquez merges time to highlight its importance, though society ignores it. In making history something that the characters are unable to grasp, it is removed, allowing the author to show its significance, causing recurrence, and thus Macondo’s downfall. Márquez conveys the importance of history, and the memory of it, which is, perhaps, an original intention of the novel itself: a preservation of actual history. The narrative, when applied to the author’s own past, shows a clear attempt to recreate his experiences. His own town of Aracataca undergoed changes as Macondo does, including a decline into poverty and obscurity, and the massacre of workers to end a long-term strike. The novel’s famous magical realism

could also be a reflection of reality; with the happening of these horrific occurrences, the balance of reality is questioned and disturbed, or, rather, real-life begins to seem like fantasy. In this way, the author’s blending of magic and reality is a way of recreating his own perception of history. Márquez’s views are made clear, in particular, by the ‘banana massacre’ episode. The ‘innocent’ railroad is expected ‘to bring so many pleasant moments’ and ‘so many changes’, however evolves into a symbol of ‘something frightful’ and is a premonition of the ‘calamities’ and ‘unpleasant moments’ to come. The pinnacle being when the railroad with ‘a nocturnal and stealthy velocity’ is utilised to throw the victims of the massacre into the sea like ‘rejected bananas’. Márquez comments on the influence of western imperialism on the town: voracious and harmful towards its inhabitants. One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the history it reflects, carries with it the grief of a time in Latin America’s own history. At the end of the novel, Márquez adopts a distinctive, sincere tone, highlighting the significance of the moment. He describes the moment in which Aureliano Babilonia ‘anticipates the date and circumstances’ of both his and Macondo’s death, deciphering the parchments which Melquídes left at the beginning of the novel. The realisation that the entire history of Macondo and the Buendías was a fated and determined existence that could do nothing but run its course is a poignant final thought. There is certainly a sinister aspect to the idea, in which Macondo and its inhabitants were doomed to suffer and fall from the very beginning, having no influence over the power of time. However, there is a positive and underlying tone based on how the narrative is complete. The ending draws all together and makes it entire, giving closure to the grief and torment that Macondo has experienced. It suggests that this period of time, both in the narrative and reality, has ended. Society has passed through its 100 years, and will never experience it again; the time itself ‘exiled from the history of men’. Marquez takes a turbulent period of Latin American history and condenses it into a novel that serves as a reminder of its hardship. The novel is not just a reflection of the Latin American experience, but a preservation of it. The text is not created by history, but is history, in itself. The novel is, therefore, an expression of Márquez’s personal perceptions and is relatable to wider spheres of experience for Latin America: its decline and fall as a result of Western influence. Marquez focuses on the themes of family, love, alienation and solitude, recreating a time of both affluence and isolation by blending fantasy and fiction. One Hundred Years of Solitude is as much about specific historical circumstances as about the possibility, or impossibility, of love and sadness in solitude. It is clear that the novel, with its huge scope and exploration, is built upon history: from humanity, Latin America, Aracataca, and, in turn, the life of a child growing up in a small Colombian village. Márquez’s emotion is drawn from the past, to the core of human nature: ‘the oldest sobs in the history of man’. Christopher Lamb Bibliography Bloom, H. ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’: Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Modern Critical Interpretations). London: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Garcia, Marquez G. One Hundred Years of Solitude. London: Penguin Classics, 2000.

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

DETWEILER ESSAY PRIZE EMBRACE

This is my refuge. A passive environment, sheltered from the maddening and incomprehensible mayhem that one refers to as ‘la vie quoditienne’. The cold wind wraps its arms around my frailty, but I feel no embrace. I reminisce in vain of the last time; warmth and comfort were the opening arms of an embrace, as I watch couples walk by. Belonging, caressing, ‘amor’, their absence from my vocabulary was a fact I was all too aware of, replaced by words that’s true meanings have been lost admits our modern lexis. The physical discomfort of the cold ambiance is nothing compared to the psychological torture that resides within. Before I know it night will become day, and day will become night, as the cycle of the world continues. I will watch from afar, a facade etched to one’s persona, a spiritual sanctuary that brushes off the frost of the world, as it edges into one’s being. But no leaves will begin to curl as I wither inside. For to those who glance at one’s facade, spring blooms, however autumn yearns within. Afore the calls of the birds signal the spark of ‘la vie’, and while the sun still sits below the horizon, there is a pervasive sense of existence that penetrates one’s conscience. I savour this brief respite, a moment of calm introspection, for it is gospel that as soon as the sun emerges with the storm, the tears will begin to flow. The tears of the storm that infiltrate one’s existence, washing away what is built in these moments. For during my introspection my tools are weak, and my material sand. A meagre construction, disappearing among the waves, removing the traces of belonging that one begins to sculpt. In these moments, salvation is in vain. The impermanence of all that exists becomes blatantly apparent and one can’t help applying it to oneself. For I am an impermanent being, my existence forgotten as soon as I fall. I look over the edge. Crowds begin to accumulate on the streets below, glinting amid the morning light. The light reflects around the streets, precipitating a mirage of colour, from yellow to red, to black as the light reaches my darkened eyes. The shadows cast by the rising sun accumulating in the recesses of my facade, indicating the faux nature of this appearance. A concealed figure, I watch the emotions displayed on the faces of those I observe, the everchanging expressions. I longed to posess such flexibility in my emotions, I reluctantly admit to my sadness. Hopelessness, the emptiness and despondency. I feel the loneliness and isolation of the solitude, and although I yearn for such reclusive peace and privacy, it simultaneously feeds that of abandonment. For I watch them, yet no individual ever sets eyes upon the recluse. I reflect over years gone by, the sweet scent of nostalgia filling my conscience, a momentary lapse in darkness. I smell the salty darkness, the scent that catches one’s attention in the warm summer’s breeze. I feel the fibres of my existence relax, as I attempt to nurture my inner child. Provide the absent nurture of my childhood. However, soon I feel these memories escaping, like sand through one’s fingers. I am questioning the authenticity and validity of these memoirs, perhaps these are merely fabrications of my desires and dreams. Who am I to possess such ignorance to dream? All we dream of is never achieved, and perhaps these past reminisces are merely unachieved desires. ‘Watch me. Hear me. Acknowledge me’, a silent plea admits the cold wind. My voice is etched with desperation, a desire for

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acknowledgement from the oblivious audience that one perceives from above. I acknowledge the selfish nature of my pleas, for I am with all in my life. My upbringing has presented me with a stage, food and water, the props to my act, the stage directions written in my education, yet an audience eludes me. No response emerges from the labyrinth of streets, no message of acceptance, the silence broken by the shattering of a crystal, falling from my pale visage. I question the silence among the city of tongues below me. I breathe slowly, taking comfort in the familiarity of the movement of the stagnant air, as it enters the lungs, filling the body with a cold ambiance. Rays of light reflect, into the corner of my sleep-deprived eye, rousing my attention. I turn to see a single glass shard, protruding from the chimney post to the right of me. I walk over examining the red brickwork, a poem carved into it. It read: For you reading this, a fallen angel like me whose facade hangs loosely, your mistress. You are alone but with company, A cold embrace that this state provides, but human compassion eludes you. The fall interrupted by where we stand now, society mocking the broken. We try to hide our dishevelled wings, our broken plumage in vain. But the vanity of this society, does nothing but exclude the fallen angel. So now a fork in the road lies ahead, a decision that like me you will take. One can continue pretending admits the city of tongues, your audience oblivious to the play. Or follow my lead, complete your fall, and return to Heaven above. For the first time I felt my isolation decline, walking back to the edge, I looked down. The street lay below, I was seeing what my nameless companion would have witnessed, as his wings, dishevelled and broken, failed once more. However, I knew that in concluding my physical existence, mental rejuvenation would be gained, in which I would no longer be fallen. In times like this we have a choice. I knew that no one would catch me. No one had ever dropped back and told me everything would subside, the pain and suffering would awash the shores, and retreat back into the depths of my conscience. I had come to crossroads before, alone, and here I am again, however both appear to lead to bleakness. Is it better though to live in a facade or to die, broken but honest? Sometimes the curtain must fall, but the drama of life continues. I stand at the precipice of a decision, the world continues below, wearing away the masks of those who, like me, will escape to this sanctuary in the interval, but never see the curtain rise again. We all face these decisions, but what control do we have. In this moment I choose. I take down my sails, and kneel at the hull, head down, hand raised above, from where we fall. I fall. This is my refuge. A passive environment, sheltered from the maddening and incomprehensible mayhem that one refers to as ‘la vie quoditienne’. The cold wind wraps its arms around my frailty, as I fall and for once I feel an embrace. Robert Salvesen

Lunar eclipse, 28th September 2015

Saturn through observatory telescope

The Orion Nebula

THE PIAZZI SMYTH OBSERVATORY AND WOLFSON PLANETARIUM Bedford School has the largest school observatory in the southeast and is currently the only school in the UK to have its own observatory and planetarium. Sited on the Bedford School estate, the observatory and planetarium are operated by the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s astronomer, in conjunction with members of the Bedford Astronomical Society. The Piazzi Smyth Observatory was opened in October 2000 and provides an important resource in the teaching and public understanding of astronomy. The observatory was named in honour of Charles Piazzi Smyth (OB) who was Astronomer Royal for Scotland for many years and a pioneer of high altitude observing. The main five-metre dome houses a Meade LX 200 16 in computer-controlled telescope which gives stunning views

of the moon, planets and deep-sky objects. Several portable telescopes ranging from 6 in to 18 in diameter are also used from the outside observation deck. The adjacent Wolfson Planetarium, opened by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in May 2002, houses a four-metre dome and star projector. The planetarium acts as a valuable resource room and is available for use by schools and community groups for meetings, slide shows and projected views of the night sky. If you wish to arrange a visit to the observatory, or to attend one of our courses, please do not hesitate to get in touch: observatory@bedfordschool.org.uk or please go to the website: www.bedfordschool.org.uk/observatory L.J. Guise

BBC Sky at Night 2014, taken by Dr Alex Calverley

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

ENGLISH SOCIETY

Excitement and intrigue filled a classroom in the otherwise empty Rice Building every Wednesday lunchtime, such was the atmosphere of the English Society this year. With Miss Garrett spearheading the society, we sought to question everything and explore areas of literature that were more relatable to the student body than an assigned curriculum. A variety of structures laid the foundations for our meetings, ranging from student-led lectures to teachers leading discussions. By allowing the format to take this flexible approach, the sessions possessed a dynamic quality that stimulated thought and group participation, encouraging students to explore their favourite authors in a new light. This resulted in a wide range of discussions ranging from A Clockwork Orange and literature’s ability to be accurately portrayed in film, to rap and song lyrics and the extent to which they can be considered poetry. By allowing students the freedom to lead lectures on works of their choosing, it did not just encourage them to look at a singular piece of work differently, but I believe it also encouraged them to reconsider how they perceive all that they read. This new way of thinking that students were exposed to was encouraged and aided by various staff members in the English department, who brought in their own thoughts and questions on various works of literature. This resulted in lectures varying in subject matter from crime fiction such as The Talented Mr Ripley, to a new take on Keats’ Ode on Melancholy. Indeed, we were even exposed to interesting contemporary poets, allowing us to put our thumbs on the pulse of modern poetry. This rich range of subject matter, from established works to less wellknown writers, provided us with a framework which we could apply to our own approaches to literature. It was with this creative and imaginative spirit that the English Society was run this year, both challenging and reinforcing our understanding of literary conventions and literary works. And it is with this same spirit that I imagine the English Society will continue to be run, providing an outlet for the student body’s offcurriculum questions on literature. Robin Hampshire

DEBATING SOCIETY

The past year has been a successful one for the Debating Society – especially as regards the quality of debating. The improvements for all members involved since the start of the year has been marked, whether they had recently joined or if they had been debating for years. I’m sure that even Mr Adams was given something to think about at various points – especially with some of Arthur Li’s more interesting arguments. Through the enthusiasm and hard work of the students, as well as the dedication of the staff involved, the art of debating has been refined over the past year and we’re sure this will continue into the future. One of the clearest spectacles of the school’s debating was house debating, which took place towards the end of the spring term. Despite Ashburnham only being able to manage a hardfought second place (finishing as runners-up to St Peter’s), what was undisputed was the ability of the debaters who participated. 30

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Coming from a range of day and boarding houses, the clarity and presentation of arguments represented the evolution of the school’s debating over the years. Maybe more potently, the image of a group of boys – regardless of house, year group or set – coming together to discuss a topical issue, offer their own opinions, and weigh up the respective positives and negatives is one that is reflective of the Debating Society and, in fact, of the school as a whole. As we all know, there’s nothing we Bedford School boys do better than argue! However, the school’s debating extended past the school’s walls. During the past year, teams of two represented Bedford in both the Cambridge Union and Oxford Schools’ debating competitions. The pairs were able to achieve success in all, with Josh Carmichael and Josh Wellington performing well in the Oxford debating competition. Unfortunately, the pair were knocked out in the first round after fighting to second place in the face of strong competition, including Eton and Radley. In the Cambridge variant, Josh Wellington’s place was given to the somewhat smaller Manahara Ratnayake. Managing to progress to the regional round, Carmichael and Ratnayake also debated well, but ultimately were eliminated after managing a tightly contested second place in the second-round debates. I’m sure the feedback gained will be used to ensure an even better performance next year. In spite of such achievements both inside and outside of school, for many the greatest benefit has been the development of key skills. I know from experience that improved eloquence, concision and an ability to effectively evaluate different perspectives have been gained (or at least so says my personal statement!). That said, Mr Adams’ message that ‘you need to get to the heart of the issue’ is something that has been repeated so often that it might just be engrained into my brain! Overall, in spite of the competitive success and the benefits that we as students may have gained for the future, something stands out as more important. Dare we say it, debating has been an enjoyable experience – unsurprisingly, there’s something inherently satisfying in proving someone wrong. We’re extremely grateful for having been part of the society for the past five years, and we look forward to seeing it prosper even more in future years … … although something will always be missing now that Arthur has gone! Manahara Ratnayake, Josh Wellington and Arthur Li

THE ARCHER MARTIN SOCIETY

The Archer Martin Society was founded to provide a Mitre Club equivalent for boys in the fourth, fifth and remove forms. Open to all students, but particularly aimed at boys wishing to stretch themselves academically over a range of topics, the society is named after Archer Martin (OB), who died in 2002 aged 92 and won the 1952 Nobel Prize for Chemistry jointly with Richard Synge for his invention of partition chromatography, a technique for separating the constituent components of mixtures. The society has provided a useful forum for staff to speak to boys on a variety of subjects: Mr Graham spoke on life in a totalitarian regime, Mr Sanders talked about the Renaissance Man, Mr Grimshaw lectured on ‘Ace with One Eye: ‘Mick’

Mannock, VC, Great War Fighter Pilot’ and Mr O’Connor gave a fascinating talk on Victorian fossil hunters. The quality of questions from the boys and the subsequent discussions have been most impressive and hopefully the society will continue to flourish. A.D. Finch

CLASSICAL SOCIETY

This academic year has been another busy one for the Classical Society. The first meeting of the year comprised of a gripping talk delivered by Mrs Markham on Homer’s use of language in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The talk provided an intriguing insight into the use of language in ancient poetry and highlighted just how many of Homer’s narrative techniques have been imitated by poets since. The society’s main focus this year has been on outreach; working with other classical societies at neighbouring schools to help generate a wider interest in the ancient world. The first opportunity to try this was at the traditional Christmas quiz, hosted by Mr Melville. Tom Edwards triumphed in a keenly fought contest to take the coveted Hotel Cavour Trophy for the second year in a row. During the spring term, Mr Allen delivered a fascinating talk that showcased some of the finest Greek vase painting and conveyed his deep passion for ancient artwork. Just before the Easter holiday, the Classical Society also hosted a film night, watching and discussing the artistic merits of Pompeii, which again proved a resounding success. At the start of the summer term, Adam Selvey captivated the society by hosting a discussion on the dramatic power of Greek tragedy. Beyond the classroom, year 7 Latinists returned to the Lunt Fort, near Coventry; year 8 visited the ancient Roman settlement of Verulamium; and years 9 and 10 classicists, led by Mr Geal, visited the British Museum for the outstanding Defining Beauty exhibition. This trip was a wonderful way to round off a busy and exciting year; roll on 2015–16! A.D. Melville

MITRE CLUB

This year began with the, now traditional, mock interview ‘hotseating’ with upper sixth members of the Mitre Club being grilled by staff on their prospective university subject. The talks this year have been superb. We had Mrs Markham’s father, Dr Shaun Butler, from St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, talking to us about the foundation of law and offering us advice about our applications to Oxbridge during the post-meeting dinner. A loyal contributor to the Mitre Club, Mrs Markham, also gave a talk on classics in films just before she went off for her maternity leave. The talk by Dr Charlton about his academic research and postgraduate degrees in general helped us to think beyond our undergraduate courses and enabled us to consider what we might wish to achieve in academia. The joint lecture with the Pythagoreans about physics and philosophy was given by the OB and former Mitre Club member Professor David Wallace from Balliol College, Oxford. We were also fortunate to have his presence at the Mitre Club dinner. Among his many academic achievements Professor Wallace holds the accolade of being the brightest student Mr Watson has ever taught. The Mitre Club annual dinner menu demonstrated the club officials’ taste for fine dining. The school catering team excelled themselves with a menu of calamari, venison and black forest trifle. The secretary Tom Lousada’s more conservative tastes prevailed in the choices for the vegetarian menu but all present were in agreement about the high quality of food and conversation. The talk by Mr Timothy Gee, Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) at Baker & McKenzie, was the highlight of the year for me, because I invited him to speak! An OB and Mitre Club veteran, Mr Gee is also Henry and Charlie Gee’s father. His accessible and interactive talk allowed many of the students to get a sense of what M&A is like. Finally, Mr Finch gave a talk on the history of the singing voice in western music. Overall, another vintage year! Arthur Li

MITRE CLUB Tom Lousada (secretary), Mr A.D. Finch, Arthur Li (convenor) and Manu Ratnayake (president)

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

GILBERT LLOYD LECTURES With all year groups looking at ‘Conflict’ as their project theme to coincide with the national commemorations for the start of the First World War, the first two Gilbert Lloyd lectures in the autumn term focused on the artists and art being produced at that time. David Boyd Haycock, author of the book A Crisis of Brilliance, started his lecture by focusing on the period at the Slade, then the premier art school in the country, immediately prior to 1914. His focus was the artists and contemporaries Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, David Bomberg, Stanley Spencer and C.R.W. Nevinson. David started with an image of the students attending the annual Slade picnic at which they were all present and then took us through their individual artistic journeys. David argued that the work they produced is some of the most memorable and haunting of the 20th century and, by the end of his lecture, it was difficult to dispute this. We were guided through the experiences of each student during the war with some of them travelling to the frontline recording the devastating atrocities they witnessed. It was both fascinating and sad that such beautiful art could be created in response to the horror they experienced, particularly as many of the artists themselves died at such a young age. All in all, David provided an amazing start to the lecture series this year. The second lecture took place over Remembrance weekend in November and for this we were delighted to welcome back the art critic and television presenter Andrew Graham Dixon. Andrew talked about the artist Paul Nash whose work has arguably come to define the First World War more memorably than any other artist. Andrew talked eloquently and movingly about many of Nash’s iconic images, including We are Making a New World and The Menin Road, but he also followed Nash’s career through to the Second World War to show how brilliantly he depicted that conflict as well. Andrew made us look at the work in a new and refreshing way which is why I am sure he is so much in demand as a television presenter. I am certain anyone present for this lecture will remember it for some time to come. For the first lecture of the spring term we were delighted to also welcome back the architect Eric Parry, RA. Eric designed both the school library and the music school and is now an architect of international repute, lecturing in universities across the world, including Cambridge and Harvard. As a result, many of us, including myself, intending to study architecture at university were keen to hear what he had to say about the process 32

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involved in such projects as those here at school as well as his major works in London and Bath. Eric shared his experiences from his early student career at Newcastle University to his time at the Royal College of Art and the Architectural Association right up to the challenges of his recent projects, including the extension at the Holborne Museum of Art in Bath and the renovation of buildings in Piccadilly. Eric showed us the complexities and challenges of life as an architect, explaining how each building required the dedication and expertise of the engineers and artists working with him on a project. The fact that Eric had arrived with a colleague and was working on a current project right up to the start of his lecture illustrated to us just how demanding the life of an architect can be. We were all left with a clear idea of the commitment required to achieve the level of success Eric has and we were even more appreciative of the fact that he had found time to come and talk to us for this lecture. It is an indication of how busy Peter Osborne (OB) is as a gallery owner that he had to postpone his lecture because of work commitments in America, but we were delighted that he was able to come in the last week of term having literally just returned from his trip. Peter is co-founder of Osborne Samuels Gallery which is based in Mayfair and specialises in 20th century British art. Peter previously worked as Director of the Harlech Fine Art Group before opening a gallery of his own and then co-founded Osborne Samuels in 1988. Peter took us through his career, explaining how he ended up running his own gallery in a gripping and exciting lecture which was enjoyed by all who were fortunate to be there. Perhaps one of my favourite stories from his lecture was the discovery of a previously unseen Henry Moore piece which Peter discovered while researching the history of a sculpture owned by a quiet, elderly lady he met at an auction through a friend. It is this possibility of discovering new works and the process of researching the provenance of pieces that fascinated me most and it is this sense of excitement and element of exploration that makes me think of Peter as the Indiana Jones of the art world. The lecture provided a fascinating insight into the world of art from the perspective of an art dealer, emphasising the tough competition and the financial challenges they face. One thing I did think as a result of the lecture, however, is that compared to the big auction houses, smaller galleries like Osborne Samuel allow people to experience and enjoy the art rather than seeing it simply in terms of the price tag. On behalf of the entire art team, myself, James Robinson, Asif Za’ir and Arthur Edmonds, I would like to give special thanks to Mr Croker, Mr Chance and Mrs Whiteman for organising the lectures and exhibitions at school which have introduced all of us to many different aspects of the art world we previously knew very little about. Assan Amirov

Guy Johnson, Year 13

Kevin Ching, Year 13

Dan Lin, Year 13

James Robinson, Year 13

ART Josh Taylor, Year 12

Asif Zaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ir, Year 13

Arthur Edmonds, Year 13

Gordon Yip, Year 13

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Tom Smith, Year 12 Felix Lin, Year 13

Jack Dalton, Year 11

A R T

Rohan Toor, Year 11 Han Cai, Year 11

Dan Zhou, Year 12 Shay Boyd, Year 12

Riki Msindo, Year 11

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Assan Amirov, Year 13

Jim Hu, Year 11

ART

Zec Enson, Year 11

Navin Chodha, Year 13

Bob Song, Year 11

Will Tarbox, Year 13 Josh McNulty, Year 13

Max Foulkes, Year 12

Jack Ferrari, Year 11

Jacob King, Year 13

Michael Qu, Year 11

Gabriel von der Hyde, Year 11

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THE DETWEILER COMPETITION This year’s Detweiler theme of conflict was chosen to coincide with the national commemorations of the First World War. All year groups worked to this theme and, as part of this project, they looked at the work produced by both British and German artists of the period, including Otto Dix, C.R.W. Nevinson, Jacob Epstein, Mark Gertler and Paul Nash, among many others. Art by its very nature should be both challenging and thought provoking so, despite the harrowing subject matter of much of this work, all boys have been exposed to some of the greatest and most enduring art of the 20th century. The theme of conflict, sadly, has a contemporary relevance which many of the boys chose to explore. The English prize has been a long-standing part of this event but the addition of a standalone music prize is a welcome and fitting addition to proceedings, taking into account that the late Alan Detweiler, after whom this competition is named, was a composer himself. Mr Adams and Mr Sanders will be reviewing the submissions for the English and music competitions elsewhere in this magazine. We were delighted to welcome the artist Jeanette Barnes as our chief judge who visited Bedford School back in November to do a brilliant and inspiring artist masterclass with the boys. Jeanette is best known for her extraordinary and powerful drawings which regularly feature in the annual RA summer show. Her fellow judge was the artist Peter Moore who has been supporting this competition for a number of years as a friend of Alan Detweiler. Fortunately, there seemed to be consensus amongst the judges about the winners and as a result the shortlist was drawn up very quickly. What was particularly gratifying this year was the scale and

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ambition of much of the work. Two large and striking pieces by year 13 students meant that judges and visitors had to make a trip down to the sculpture studio to see the work. That these sculptures were produced speaks volumes about the encouragement and inspiration that Mr Chance has provided for his students in the past nine years during his time in the Upper School. As retirement looms for him this was his last Detweiler Competition so the added trip seemed fitting. Five highly commended prizes were awarded. Gordon Yip (upper sixth), who is intending to do architecture next year, produced a striking mod rock house big enough to contain a single figure which caught the judges’ eye. A sense of containment and restriction was also a feature of an assured and impressive painting by Daniel Lin (upper sixth), another architectural applicant. Two haunting and melancholic prints by Max Foulkes and Joseph Jacob (both lower sixth) ensured that printing was represented among the prizes. The final highly commended was awarded to Tom Smith (lower sixth) for his striking multiple image painting produced in response to the Charlie Hebdot attack in Paris. Much of Tom’s IB course work has thoughtfully explored the theme of political and satirical art. Asif Za’ir’s imposing wooden sculpture of an archer emerging from a cascading wave was a worthy winner of the 3D prize. The use of materials to match the form suggested real maturity. In a competition open to all year groups the fact that a fifth form pupil was the overall winner of the 2D prize was bound to be controversial but Jack Dalton’s ghostly depiction of his relative merging with a gas mask was both haunting and memorable. M.C. Croker

ARTiculation For the second year running, Bedford School took part in the national final of the ARTiculation art public speaking competition. The ARTiculation prize is an annual event for sixth form students, run by the Roche Court Educational Trust, designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of art. Jacob King, having won the Eastern regional final in January with his talk on The Three Trees by Rembrandt, went forward to the national final which formed part of the ARTiculation conference at Clare College, Cambridge. We made an early departure for Cambridge; experience told me that a prompt arrival at the college would enable us to calm the nerves with a coffee before the conference began in earnest. Jacob seemed remarkably cool, considering what he was about to experience. His mother and I were the ones with the nerves as we waited in line to register. The conference lasted the whole day, beginning with a lecture, tours of the university – we went to the chapel at King’s College – and lunch, followed by the competition final. For the first time, due to the increasing popularity of the competition, there were ten speakers instead of the usual eight, and the

competition was intense. As one would expect, the standard of presentation was extremely high. The speeches covered a wide range of art historical subjects, from Bernini’s Bust of the Medusa, to Jeff Koons’ sculpture, Celebration. The winning speech, on Cindy Sherman’s Untitled 153 was given by Eleanor Stephens of the Abbey School in Reading. Adjudicator Dr Penelope Curtis, director of Tate Britain, was full of praise for all of the students, commenting upon the confident, mature manner in which the speakers conducted themselves. Despite not being placed, Jacob received many complimentary words of encouragement from members of the audience; he can be proud of his achievement. As this is my final year at the school, it was my last ARTiculation competition after four years of taking part. I am delighted to say that participation in the competition will continue under the guidance of Mrs Whiteman. I am confident that she will continue to support and encourage our sixth form students to take part in what has become the premier art public speaking competition in the UK. J.S. Chance

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ART TRIP TO AMSTERDAM Amsterdam is a city of wonders with a wide range of attractions and a rich history that includes a ‘Golden Age’ roughly spanning the 17th century when Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. So as soon as the trip was announced I put my name down on the list as art study tours traditionally tend to fill up very quickly. Indeed, the annual art study tour has become one of the main events of the year for many students, ranging from those in the fifth form to the hopefully(!) more mature upper sixth. Among the many international trips the school offers the art trips are distinctive: while primarily focusing on the art to be seen it is also an opportunity for people to enjoy themselves with their friends and to see the world in a new manner. Following on from the trips to New York, Florence and Rome, this trip had a lot to live up to, but knowing the Art department, I was confident that I was signing up for an unforgettable experience. As with all previous art trips, everything started at 4 am on Burnaby Road (it now seems tradition that the earliest possible flight has to be booked when arranging the itinerary). Our departure from Bedford was immediately delayed as one of the boys was unable to find his passport in his boarding house. Arriving late at Gatwick we then had to run to catch our flight. Landing in Holland we were greeted with suspicious looks from the border control officers and, finally, after the coach driver experienced trouble finding our hotel, we arrived in the heart of Amsterdam.

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It is fascinating to see a city like Amsterdam for the first time. Cities like New York, Paris or Rome are all too familiar to us due to their exposure in the media (through films and television I probably know the streets of Manhattan better than those of my own town, and yet I have never been to the Big Apple). Amsterdam, on the other hand, feels like it has yet to be discovered, which created a sense of exploration as we walked down the tiny streets and over the wide canals, past vintage shops, theatres, galleries and cafes which define the soul of the city. The timing of our visit could not have been better. As it was autumn all of the trees had dramatic colours, emblazoning the city in different shades of red, yellow and green which, in combination with the lapping waters of the canals, made for stunning views. Indeed the city is one of a kind, with narrow baroque houses standing in rows, all unique but distinctively Dutch. No wonder it is called the Venice of the North. Four days are certainly not enough to experience the centuries of Dutch cultural and artistic innovation. From the Rijksmuseum to the Stedlijck Museum, one could travel back to the time of the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ of painting and then be exposed to the enormous collection of contemporary art that included the works of Marleen Dumas. Even a whole museum dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh is not enough to contain his work and, as one of the most popular places to visit in Amsterdam, it was certainly busy even though we arrived as it opened. Although Van Gogh’s work can be seen

in other museums in Amsterdam, nothing can diminish the power and impact of seeing his work en masse, which made this a particularly memorable experience. The visit to Rembrandt’s house, particularly for me, was very exciting as it allowed me to visualise the way he lived and worked. 17th century life was clearly not easy, but seeing the actual studios where he produced his prints and paintings was really insightful. So when I finally got to see the famous etching of The Three Trees which was on display in the gallery I saw so much more by being immersed in the atmosphere and sense of the time that it was produced. The trip outside the city to the Kroller Muller museum was a welcome contrast. Located in a stunning natural park spanning a few square kilometres, the museum includes huge installations of architecture and sculpture from greats such as Marini and Giacommetti, among many others. In fact the park was so vast that there were bicycles for each visitor and, somewhat surprisingly, only a few of us got lost. While we visited Amsterdam primarily to look at art, it was certainly impossible not to be inspired by the city, learning about its rich history while trying to get a flavour of its famous lifestyle. Our

visit to the Anne Frank Museum is one that I am sure none of us will ever forget: despite the late hour of the day when we visited the museum, tiredness soon disappeared as we were confronted by Anne’s harrowing story and the reality of man’s capacity for cruelty and brutality. It was a memorable experience, to say the least, making me understand the sorrow and misery of the Second World War like nothing else I have ever seen or read before. So did this trip live up to expectations? Be it the magnificence of Rembrandt’s Night Watch and the sheer emotions it creates for viewers in the vast space of the Rijksmuseums galleries, or the calming canals of the linear, yet surprisingly diverse, streets of Amsterdam, the trip was most definitely one of the greatest that the school has offered in my time. I leave with lots of happy memories not just from this art trip but of all the others I have experienced. Be it a calm afternoon drink with friends discussing the passing day and sharing ideas and stories, or gazing through centuries of art, or getting into bizarre adventures and mishaps, each one of us will have something to remember. Our thanks must go to all the art staff who made this trip possible – Mr Croker, Mr Chance and Mrs Whiteman. Assan Amirov

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SCHOOL COLOURS Awarded to sixth form boys for excellence in the indicated area of school life. Drama colours: Jacob King (upper sixth) and Adam Selvey (upper sixth). Art colours: Daniel Lin (upper sixth) and Asif Za’ir (upper sixth).

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THE OPENING OF THE QUARRY THEATRE The summer term saw the completion of the hugely exciting development of St Luke’s Church into a theatre and performing arts venue. St Luke’s sits on the edge of the school estate with its frontage on St Peter’s Street, making it an ideal location for a venue with the dual purpose of serving the school as well as the wider community. Prep and Upper School plays, concerts, talks, exhibitions of boys’ artwork and a wide variety of creative art events will be taking place in the Quarry Theatre as well as all curriculum drama lessons. There will also be a wide variety of professional shows happening throughout the year which will include theatre, music and dance and Bedford pupils will benefit from reduced price tickets to these shows. One of our main aims in developing this wonderful new facility is to involve the community of Bedford in events in the theatre, as well as to continue to encourage them to attend a whole range of concerts, exhibitions, literary events and lectures which are on offer to the general public throughout the year in various locations around the Bedford School campus. The Quarry Theatre will also be available for local groups as a venue for creative arts events when it’s not being used for school events. Our first full season of shows, internal and external, began in September 2015 but our preview summer season started at the end of April with a production of Lucy Kirkwood’s NSFW (Not Safe For Work) which featured boys from Bedford School and girls from Bedford Girls’ School. NSFW took place in the studio which provides a smaller, more intimate performance space as well as a rehearsal room and teaching space. NSFW premiered

at the Royal Court in 2012 and it focuses on issues in the field of print journalism, in particular attitudes towards how women are presented and how difficult it is to break into the fiercely competitive world of media, particularly for young graduates. Despite the serious subject matter it was a very humorous production and the cast and crew really enjoyed bringing to life the very contemporary characters and situations that Lucy Kirkwood has created. Audiences seemed to really enjoy the show as well as being the first people to see the brand new theatre being used dramatically. Since NSFW, the Quarry Theatre has also hosted the superb production of Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story which was on tour throughout the UK after originally being performed at the Greenwich Theatre. There have also been two excellent, and virtually sold out, Prep School plays (The Comedy of Errors and What the Ladybird Heard ) and the first in a series of concerts hosted by Jacqui Dankworth (which was completely sold out). For our ‘grand opening’ we put on a production of Henry V which is reviewed on the next page. J.E. Crossley

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‘HENRY V’ On Friday 26 June, the Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s was officially opened by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Bedfordshire, Mrs Helen Nellis. The opening production was a highly physical interpretation of what is probably Shakespeare’s most famous history play, Henry V. Our interpretation focused on Shakespeare’s portrayal of this iconic historical figure. At a time when nationalism is at the forefront of political and social debate, we looked at how it can affect the attitude and behaviour of the individual as well as the country as a whole. Hopefully, the production challenged some people’s expectations about how Shakespearian plays can be staged and why we continue to perform them. Shakespeare’s plays endure due to their universal relevance; this interpretation, for example, focused on Henry’s youth and inexperience and his efforts to prove himself. We charted his progress as he learnt to shoulder responsibility and began to understand the consequences of waging war. A scaffolding archway was erected between the two halves of the stage in the Quarry Theatre and the cast frequently climbed up, unfurled St George’s Cross and Union Jack flags, and charged out from under it towards a slightly nervous looking audience (when it served as the breach in the wall of Harfleur)! The cast of 14 boys, from the fourth form, remove and the lower sixth, all worked very hard to produce a piece of dynamic physical theatre and helped to make the opening of the Quarry Theatre a great success. Although this really was an ensemble production, special mention should go to Lachlan Sear who took on the demanding role of Henry V. J.E. Crossley

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‘INHERIT THE WIND’ Bedford School Theatre, 26th/27th/28th November A political courtroom drama is not the obvious choice for a student production but this was no typical school play. Inherit the Wind is a challenging work that explores big themes and places huge technical demands upon the actors: a brave choice. The fantastic success of the production is fitting tribute to the talent of the cast and the expertise of the retiring Director of Drama, Mrs Swidenbank. The production was masterly and the cast displayed levels of talent and maturity that got to the heart of this sophisticated play. Many of the Bedford School audience were familiar with the famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial upon which Inherit the Wind is based and were aware of the spread of McCarthyism and the erosion of constitutional rights in the 1950s that so worried the play’s authors, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. However, even those in the audience not so historically aware could appreciate the larger themes of truth vs ignorance, reason vs superstition and the fear of the loss of traditional values in the face of ‘progress’ and ‘modernity’. The scenery, sound and lighting by the school’s expert technical team were simply stunning: the timeless Miles Davis soundtrack, cleverly-linked atmospheric blue lighting and stark courtroom furniture heightened the tension and focused the drama. There are so many strong performances to praise in this outstanding production. Jacob King gave an informed, charismatic interpretation of the grandstanding, Bible-loving prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady, and skilfully showed the character’s journey from confident self-assurance to doubt and tragic demise. Rukudzo Msindo gave a knowingly demonic, chilling portrayal of the cynical journalist, E.K. Hornbeck, while Adam Selvey as Revd Jeremiah Brown was terrifying in his 44

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crazed denunciation of his daughter, Rachel, beautifully acted by Jessica Inchbald. In a controlled, measured performance, James Smith as Bertrand Cates effectively gained the audience’s sympathy as the school teacher trying to do the right thing but caught-up in the maelstrom of the trial and his love for Rachel. Very fine supporting acting came from Edward Jones as Mayor, Samuel Smith as Judge and Jasmine Bascombe as Mrs Brady. Three members of the Garratt family also excelled: Tess Garratt as Melinda, Josh Garratt as Sillers and India Garratt as Mrs Blair. Callum Bourne showed immense promise as Howard and James Herriott (Meeker) and Jasper Williamson as the devout Elijah were extremely effective. The play relied heavily upon the excellence of the chorus, many of whom took important smaller roles. The townspeople, who also become the jury in the trial, revealed the attitudes and emotions of the Hillsboro population towards the events in the drama. The actors’ responses to the dialogue were wholly convincing and clearly required huge levels of concentration and careful direction. Of all of the accolades in a triumphant production, the laurels must go to Logan Jones who, as Henry Drummond, the worldweary defence attorney, gave a performance of such skill, intelligence and maturity that make it hard to believe that he is still in year 11. Mrs Swidenbank whispered in a rare unguarded moment, ‘I really think he is the real deal’. This is the ultimate praise from such an astute judge. Mrs Swidenbank’s professionalism and modesty have made her the unsung hero for so many years in Bedford School drama. In her final production, Inherit the Wind, just like in the rest of her career, she enabled her students’ talents to shine. A.D. Finch

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SPANISH DEPARTMENT PLAY – ‘LA LLAVE EN EL DESVÁN’ Coming out of your comfort zone is never easy; coming out of it when the challenge is to perform a full-length play in a foreign language with the many challenges of learning endless lines and acting when you have no experience of such an activity – that is truly frightening! None of the five boys and four girls had acted before and yet sheer pluck, listening to advice and diligence won the day. The Key in the Attic by Alejandro Casona, written in 1951 but not performed in Spain till 1967, tells the dark story of Mario (Manahara Ratnayake) who is besieged by nightmares in which he murders his wife Susana (Sophie Alabaster) and a rabid dog. An old friend, Don Gabriel (Frank Kupshik) and Laura (Simran Deol) who lives with the family, seek to understand his dreams with the help of Freudian theory and also with the testimony of the old gardener Anselmo (Aidan Swain) who can remember every detail from years ago (as long as you remind him which particular tragedy occurred around that time). His wife, Sibila (Rachel Tisi), bustles around and organises everyone in her strident way. The Señores Sangil (Tom Smith and Ellen Lovell) visit with a view to buying the family home and are scared away by Sibila’s fantastic imaginings of a haunted house. This particular scene was performed at the North London Collegiate as part of a drama competition in October 2014 – another feather in our young actors’ hats! What happened to the wife and the rabid dog in the end, you may ask? Tom Lousada played the part of Alfredo, a family friend; however, he turned out to be the diseased canine for he was Susana’s lover. Don’t worry, Mario shot them both in the final scene. This was a play long on learned analysis of dreams; nevertheless, our tyros produced some great moments of drama: Sibila’s opening scene in which she rages against her absent mistress, Anselmo recounting how he had to put down the loyal family dog and the terrifying 15-rounder between Susana and Laura will live on in the memory. We came out of it older, wiser and proud that we had pulled it off. I salute all of the cast for their magnificent commitment and achievement. None of it could have been accomplished without the inestimable help of África Ferrero and Jo Hudson-Lett and to them I offer my sincerest, heartfelt gratitude. A.J.R. Huxford

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HOUSE DRAMA COMPETITION The eagerly awaited annual house drama competition took place on 19th March 2015. The theme of this year’s competition was conflict. As head of school, Josh Wellington did a superb job of introducing the acts and the guest speaker, Joel Dommett. Joel, a comedian who is best known for his television roles in Skins, Live in Chelsea and Impractical Jokers UK, delivered an extremely witty speech in which he praised the performances of all the houses, finally announcing that Crescent were the winners. Thanks must go to Ryan Bluffield, Harjeet Sumal and Kieran Duxbury who were in charge of sound and lighting. It was a superb evening of entertainment, and one which I am sure Sarah Swidenbank will be very proud of in her final year at the school.

CRESCENT

‘Snort and Shappy’ by Logan Jones Directed by Rukudzo Msindo An obsessive compulsive, a Zimbabwean, an angry Scotsman and a mysterious drifter meet in a prison cell. What follows is a vicious indictment of the criminal justice system, as four very guilty men fight for their right to be free in the most compelling prison drama since The Shawshank Redemption. Cast: William Hargreaves, Jack Hutchings, Logan Jones, Jonathan Malindine, Rukudzo Msindo, Adam Selvey, Conrad Staroscik, Angus Watson, Jasper Williamson and Ed Zwetsloot

ST PETER’S

‘The Daily Hardships of a Public School Boy’ by Ed Jones and Michael Holroyd Directed by Ed Jones and Michael Holroyd Which ski resort should we go to next season? Do I want to learn to drive in a BMW or an Audi? Do I want a brioche? A day in the life of a public schoolboy is undoubtedly a struggle, and we shall give you a glimpse of that struggle. Cast: Aran Malhi, Benno Schulz, Charlie Hart, Chris Turner, Ed Jones, George Lilley-Moncrieff, Jake Barclay, James Herriott, Josh Nethersole, Justus Geldmacher, Michael Holroyd, Robin Hampshire, Rufus Ollerhead, Theo Butler, Sam Pudylyk and Sean Davies

BROMHAM

‘Schoolhouse of Cards’ by Ollie Charlton Directed by Ollie Charlton and Jack Harvey Children, chivalry and corruption. The boys of Lansbury School attempt to restore order to their once grand school after the head goes missing and leaves his incompetent deputies in charge. Cast: Ajay Momi, Ollie Charlton, Callum Fortune, Oliver McLeod, Chizu Chukwu, Ethan ChappellMason, Harry Burden, Jack Harvey, Jonathan Hosking, Jordan Legg and Lachlan Sear

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PAULO PONTINE

‘Blackadder Goes Forth-Er! Almost Fifth’ by Joshua Garrett, Conor Hilliard and Enoch Mukungu Directed by Joshua Garrett, with input from Marcus Phillips and Conor Hilliard In this homage to Blackadder, it is the eve of the Battle of the Somme, and trouble is afoot in both the British and German trenches. Cast: Alex Dennis, Conor Hilliard, Enoch Mukungu, Jakob Franke, Jasper Tsao, Joshua Garrett, Sami Younis and Ted Hicks

ASHBURNHAM

‘Totally Neighbears’ by James Smith, Tom Backhouse and Aaron McNally Directed by James Smith and Tom Backhouse Will the conflict between Mr Dover’s summer camp members and the ever encroaching sleuth of bears ever be settled? It’s going to be totally unbelievable! Cast: Alastair Ackroyd, Tom Backhouse, Cory Bloxham, Adam Dorgham, Tommy Hind, Jasper Lawson, Thomas Liggins, Oliver Maltby, Aaron McNally, Milan Nakum, Nic Reay, Alex Roese, Alex Shepherd and Aiden Swain

ST CUTHBERT’S

‘Mob Rule’ by Daniel Hickey Directed by Daniel Hickey The people have had enough of the king! And a mob of workers and peasants has formed to overthrow him. Two loyal men rush to save him and the general of his army must decide who to side with, while the true evil lurks in the king’s shadow… Cast: Alex Bowes, Andrew Zhu, Ben Whitelaw, Calvin Fang, Daniel Hickey, George Andrews, George Christian, George Neave, Ilya Razinkin, Jacob King, Jake Duxbrey, James Yin, Tom Smith and William Bowes

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CREATIVE ARTS FIRST WORLD WAR EVENT Thursday 6th November 2014

We hope that this will be the first of many events showcasing the collaboration between the creative arts at the school. In fact it involved four different departments: the music, art, drama and English departments. This was complicated to arrange but the outcome was definitely worth the effort! We planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War using a number of different art forms. There was an exhibition of artwork which responded to this year’s Detweiler Competition theme of ‘conflict’ on display in the lecture room and street of the music school. In the recital hall there were live performances of poetry and readings from the diaries of Denzil Heriz-Smith (OB) who died on the Western Front. There were drama tableaux of devised pieces focusing on conflict, and a number of solo songs reflecting varied responses to the devastation of the First World War. The Consort Choir performed at the beginning and the end of the evening, but for me the highlight of the evening was a live ensemble performance of some music to accompany some archive film footage of a bombed town in France, displayed on a big screen in the recital hall. It was a thought-provoking evening presented to a packed house. J.M. Sanders

BEDFORD SCHOOL OPEN MIC NIGHT Wednesday 12th November 2014 Wow! I have seldom heard such a talented, exciting and energetic ensemble of teenage musicians and singers performing. If you were at the Open Mic Night in the recital hall you will have been blown away! The range of instrumental and vocal talent was quite extraordinary. From jazz to hard rock, gentle ballads and country music, there was something for all tastes; no one could have been disappointed. As I sat at the back of the hall, I was reminded of similar occasions when I was at school, but this time I was a spectator, and several decades older! I was conscious that the student audience might find my presence off-putting; a fatherly teacher figure looking on judgmentally. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were smiles and waves and I, like the other adults present, was made to feel most welcome. It was a splendid evening. It would be unfair to single out any individuals; they were all fantastic. Look out for them on Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor in the coming years. Congratulations to all the music staff, but Mr Rooke in particular, for putting on such a fantastic event. It also raised invaluable funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK, a charity which funds research into this heart-breaking disease. C.H. Jones

MUSIC PRIZES AND COLOURS School Prizes for Music – Senior: Jim Cooper (lower sixth). Junior: Arjun Ananth (remove form). Awarded to the best student of music across all areas of the syllabus. Tagore Prize for Piano Playing – Benjamin Sharma (lower sixth). Awarded to the winner of the senior piano prize. Crossman Prize for Brass Playing – Jim Cooper (lower sixth). Awarded to the winner of the senior brass prize. Beatrice Langley Prize for String Playing – Shiv Patel (upper sixth). Awarded to the winner of the senior string prize. W.A.L. Osborn Memorial Prize for Singing – Oliver Bowes (upper sixth). Awarded to the winner of the senior singing prize. Godber Prize for Organ Playing – Nathaniel Conte (fifth form). Awarded to the winner of the senior organ prize. Barford Prize for Woodwind Playing – Thomas Edwards (upper sixth). Awarded to the winner of the senior woodwind prize.

Amos Prize for Solo Playing and Commitment to School Music – Sean Davies (upper sixth). Awarded to the boy who has achieved outstanding performance standards in music Music colours were awarded to James Cooper and Sean Davies. Junior music prizes were awarded to: Piano: Hoffer Tsang. Strings: Arjun Ananth. Woodwind: Jordan Charter. Brass: Silas Sanders. Vocal: William Hargreaves. Over the course of the year Alex Papp (fourth form) was awarded a Robin Levin Scholarship for Composition, as well as the runner-up prize for composition at the prestigious North London Music Festival.

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ST CECILIA’S DAY CONCERT Wednesday 19th November 2014 If, like me, you like a bit of classical music but lack the attention span to sit through a complete ballet, opera or symphony then this concert is perfect. An eclectic mix of genres and instrument groupings mean that not only is there something for all tastes but also that there is no danger of repetition dulling the senses. The concert started off with the ever-excellent brass ensemble performing Clarke’s very well-known Trumpet Voluntary before moving on to slightly less familiar ground with a piece called The Cenotaph (evoking echoes of recent Remembrance Day services). They finished with a rousing rendition of the Charleston which would have been immediately familiar to any student of GCSE 1920s American history. Next up was the second orchestra which took on two challenging pieces by Handel. The second work, See the Conquering Hero Comes, was very familiar (it is the tune for the hymn Thine be the Glory) and a clear favourite of the crowd. The

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orchestra was certainly able to put their backs into this one and it was very obvious how much work must have gone on behind the scenes to produce such a performance. The percussion ensemble was third up and had a great deal to live up to after their stunning performance the previous year. They opted for a very unusual (and highly entertaining) bit of table thumping that would have had the cast of Stomp! looking anxiously over their shoulders and attempting to climb off their laurels had they been watching. The percussion group really stands out as a visual as well as aural spectacle and I hope to see more of them at future concerts. The guitar ensemble made their St Cecilia’s debut next. I must confess a bit of personal bias here as I love the guitar but I thought that their rendition of Yesterday by the Beatles was fantastic and I wished that they had the time for another song. The melody was crystal clear throughout and the combination of steel, nylon and bass string accompaniment gave a lovely depth to the piece. The final slot before the interval was admirably filled by the

dance band. They kicked off with a very lively Louis Prima hit which was delivered faultlessly. The challenge with this sort of music will always be the rhythm section and this was absolutely nailed on tight throughout. Their second song was a tricky number by Horace Silver that really forced the band leader, George Lilley-Moncrieff, to show his stuff. The dance band finished off with a piece that was entirely unfamiliar to me and also absolutely amazing – Eli’s Coming by Laura Nyro. The school band was first up after the interval and their challenge was recapturing the mood of the first half after the audience had been laying into the free wine over the interval. They were able to immediately grab everyone’s attention with a piece called Fanfare and Flourishes before lowering the tempo somewhat with their second song – The Last Spring (incidentally the first of two pieces by Edvard Grieg in the concert which may be something of a record for this sort of concert, given that neither was from Peer Gynt ). The band finished off with another upbeat number by Rimsky-Korsakov (even the name sounds

difficult) which they delivered with style and panache. The penultimate slot was filled by the chamber orchestra who delivered some faultless Vivaldi (a favourite composer of mine and one with a particular gift for the string section). A mention here has to go to Mr Bantock who won the ‘Flamboyant Conductor of the Night’ award by a country mile thanks to his extraordinary energy and hair. The chamber orchestra finished off with the ‘Prelude’ from Grieg’s Holberg Suite which was played with technical precision and real flair. The first orchestra rounded off the evening with a virtuoso performance of Gershwin’s Cuban Overture. Pretty much everything that Gershwin has ever written is fiendishly difficult to play well (all sorts of strange tempos and key changes) but the first orchestra was more than up to the challenge and finished the evening on a real high. The real strength of an evening like this is the variety of music on offer and the way in which old familiars are mixed in with pieces you may never have heard before. If you were not there then you perhaps need to make a note of the date and clear your diary for this time next year. C.H. Fisher

WOODWIND PRIZES Tuesday 25th November 2014 The school woodwind prize recital took place in November and the adjudicator was Ross Cole (OB). Cole himself won the major wind prize (the Barford prize) in 2004 before going on to Oxford University to read music and then beginning his teaching career at Cambridge. The junior prize (for fourth and remove forms) was won by Jordan Charter (clarinet) for a musical performance of the Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite by Paul Reade, while the senior (fifth and sixth form) award went to Thomas Edwards (flute) for an excellent contrasting programme of Bach and Shostakovitch. M.C. Green

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STRING PRIZES Tuesday 2nd December 2014 The annual competition for string players in the Upper School was adjudicated by Mr Leandro Silvera, who is both Head of Strings at King’s College School, Wimbledon, and also Head of Chamber Music at the Junior Royal College of Music. In the junior section, Matthew Fordham and Thomas Chen were ‘commended’, Alex Papp was ‘highly commended’ and the overall winner was Arjun Ananth. Mr Silvera also spontaneously created a ‘Bedford School Viola Prize’ which was also awarded to Alex Papp. In the senior section, Christopher Junge and Daniel Zhou were ‘commended’, Gordon Yip was ‘highly commended’ and the overall senior prize (the Langley strings prize) was awarded to Shiv Patel. B.S. Bantock

CHORAL RECITAL Wednesday 4th February 2015 Lower sixth boys Ed Wilson and Aidan Swain gave a great concert for voice on 4th February in aid of the Street Child Crisis Appeal. Fellow singers Olly Bowes and Thomas Edwards were asked to sing a movement from Handel’s Samson, which they both did brilliantly. The evening was modelled around four arias from Samson, with more solo songs from Ed and Aidan. It was rounded off with a brilliant duet composed by Vaughan-Williams from Ed and Aidan. A very entertaining evening for an extremely worthy cause. J.A. Rouse

STRING QUARTET VISIT TO PILGRIMS Tuesday 10th February 2015 Bedford School’s premier string quartet paid an impromptu visit to Pilgrims School to share the musical delights of chamber

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music with the children. Artem Skulimovskiy, Bryan Lung, Peter Head and Derek Lam performed Mozart’s delightful and energetic Divertimenti in D to an enraptured and spellbound audience, followed by Mr Bantock who improvised a funky blues bass line on a giant double bass. B.S. Bantock

CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION Sunday 1st March 2015 Harrow School hosted the South-East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition. Bedford School was proud to send two chamber groups to this prestigious event. A piano trio and a string quartet made the journey to London and spent the day saturated with chamber music. Each group offered sterling performances and were given a masterclass by the distinguished Michael Dussek from the Royal Academy of Music, London. R.J Thompson

PIANO RECITAL BY BRYAN NG Tuesday 3rd March 2015 Lower sixth former Bryan Ng put on a superb piano concert in aid of Cancer Research. He organised the whole event himself, including writing the programme notes and advertising the event, so it was good to see a really large audience in the recital hall to appreciate his efforts. He also recruited fellow pianist Hoffer Tsang (remove form) to start off the evening: Hoffer rose to the challenge brilliantly and played some beautiful music. Bryan then played a wide-ranging programme from Bach to Debussy and followed it up by playing a jazz arrangement of Danny Boy (put together by our jazz piano teacher, Nikki Iles). Well done Bryan for taking the initiative and for hosting such a successful evening. R.J. Thompson

MUSIC COMPETITION PRIZE DAY Sunday 8th March 2015 This was a full day of music-making with four competitions (both junior and senior) and a prize-winners’ concert in the evening. The organ and piano prizes were judged by Jeremy Young (Head of Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music). The Godber organ prize was won by Nathaniel Conte, the junior piano prize was won by Hoffer Tsang and the Tagore (senior) piano prize by Ruben Sharma. Professional singer Ben Thapa came to judge the singers’ prizes. William Hargreaves won the junior singing prize and Olly Bowes won the Osborn (senior) singing prize. Mark Townend (The Perse School) judged the brass prizes. Silas Sanders won the junior brass prize and Jim Cooper won the Crossman (senior) brass prize. J.M. Sanders

WIND QUINTET PLAYS AT PUTNOE PRIMARY SCHOOL Tuesday 17th March 2015 Mr Green took the boys in the wind quintet to Putnoe Primary School for a ‘wind masterclass’. Afterwards, their teacher, Victoria Booth, wrote to the school to say the following: ‘Thank you so much for the fantastic performance and talk we had from Malcolm and the young gentlemen in the quintet this morning. Our children have been heard out in the playground choosing which quintet member they want to be! For many of our children it is the first opportunity they have had to see and hear a live ensemble performance and having your young men come along will undoubtedly have made an impact on our boys particularly. The class teachers, too, thoroughly enjoyed your playing and have commented on how professionally you played and dealt with our children’s queries.’ J.M. Sanders

CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT Sunday 22nd March 2015 The annual spring term Choral Society concert provided those present with a particularly enjoyable musical treat, and one which demonstrated the musical finesse and talent of three separate school ensembles. The concert opened with a performance by the Chapel Choir, who cut a striking sight robed in their red cassocks, and arranged in a semicircle around the small ensemble of violins (Derek Lam and Artem Skulimovskiy), cello (Nic Reay) and chamber organ (Jim Cooper). They gave a confident and energetic rendition of Monteverdi’s setting of Psalm 112, Beatus Vir. The vitality of the work and the enjoyment of the singers were communicated to the audience all the more readily thanks to the fact that the choir performed without music copies. There were some impressive and agile solos from Jude Sanders and William Hargreaves (trebles), Aidan Swain and Edward Wilson (tenors) and Olly Bowes (bass), while the overall clarity of diction from the choir was especially notable. The piece, conducted by director Mr Jeremy Rouse, proved to be a popular and impressive curtainraiser to the evening’s entertainment. The first half of the concert concluded with the Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s Horn Concerto No 3 in E flat major.

The soloist was Sean Davies, whose assured performance was apparent from the first notes of the French horn solo. Sean was very ably and sensitively accompanied by the chamber orchestra, under the direction of Mr Bjorn Bantock, but it was Sean’s wonderful phrasing and mellifluous tone which really stood out. His apparently effortless legato playing in the second movement (‘Romance’) was a particular highlight, but he also captured the high-spirited mood of the two framing ‘Allegros’ with aplomb, earning a very well-deserved sustained applause from those present. After the interval, the Choral Society gave a very polished performance of one of Mozart’s most enduring works, his Requiem in D minor. Made up of singers from Bedford School, Bedford Prep School, Bedford Girls’ School and Bedfordshire Youth Choir, alongside staff, parents and friends of the school, the choir tackled the challenges of the piece admirably, presenting with equal skill a stirring and angst-ridden ‘Dies Irae’ alongside a more measured and heartfelt ‘Lacrimosa’. The balance of the parts was very good, with each section making their entries confidently and clearly; particular mention should go to the tenor section for their impressive handling of some challenging passages! Hannah Sandison (soprano), Fiona Mackay (alto), Ben Thapa (tenor) and Robert Rice (bass) were excellent soloists, and the whole ensemble was calmly and clearly directed by the Director of Music, Mr Joss Sanders. All three works complemented each other brilliantly, and provided the large and appreciative audience with a hugely enjoyable variety of ensembles and genres, all of which were equally impressive and demonstrative of the talents of the players and singers involved. A real musical treat, and a true highlight of the musical year! A.G. Tighe

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VIOLIN RECITAL BY CRISTIAN GRAJNER DE SA Tuesday 24th March 2015 A concert visit to Bedford School by Cristian Grajner De Sa is an eagerly awaited event and on this occasion Cristian was partnered by the internationally renowned Georgian pianist Marina Nadiradze in an interesting mix of mainstream music for violin and piano. For those who do not know the history, Cristian is an OB and, while at Bedford School, became a junior Leverhulme scholar at the RAM Junior Department. He then won a scholarship to study at the Purcell School and was awarded the Arthur Lyons Scholarship to continue his undergraduate studies at the senior academy, studying throughout with the famous French violinist, Maurice Hasson, with whom he has remained until this year when M. Hasson announced his retirement. Cristian has achieved many outstanding things during the time of his study in London, has taken part with distinction in national and international violin and music competitions, has also made solo appearances at Wigmore Hall and Kings Place to name but a few, and was the recipient of an 1800 J. Gagliano violin from the Royal Academy’s renowned instrument collection. Cristian and Marina’s programme commenced with the Beethoven Spring Sonata op 24 in F major. After a slightly tentative opening the performance blossomed and the long phrases of the first movement were elegantly shaped. The slow movement’s expressive qualities were realised and the beautiful filigree work from both instruments was exquisitely played. The catchy scherzo was played in a carefree manner with the rushing scale passagework of the trio despatched with abandon. The finale’s sonata rondo movement returned to a mood of retrospection in the theme with each episode imaginatively characterised. This was a performance which matured as it progressed. The Brahms FAE Scherzo followed, a big-boned, impassioned performance with both players impressive in their respective parts, but a well thought out and cogent reading of a sometimes elusive piece. We were then treated to two miniatures, both originally piano works, but each transcribed for the violin and piano. La Plus que Lente by Debussy eased its way by and by into a waltz movement which is occasionally punctuated by angular outbursts. Colour was here deployed beautifully by both artists, as was the genuine understanding of rubato. Après un Rêve by Fauré was given much of the same treatment and was marked by an evocative and revelatory 56

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performance by Cristian and Marina. Finally, the fireworks! Cristian has played Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen for a few years now and in this incarnation it showed just what a terrific young violinist he is becoming. He was able to take risks with the advanced technical passagework in the certain knowledge that he had the confidence to bring the piece off, and the underlying gypsy theme had just the right amount of smoulder and swagger to convince the audience they were listening to a violinist of the future. Martin Hughes

SPRING TERM CONCERT Wednesday 25th March 2015 This was the first time we have held a large-scale concert at the end of the spring term. All of the larger ensembles took their turn to perform in the Great Hall. The brass ensemble started proceedings with a sprightly performance of Tchaikovsky’s Marche Militaire, followed by a good arrangement of Cole Porter’s Night and Day. The second orchestra were next and gave a very good performance of the theme from Thunderbirds, complete with the iconic countdown and the words ‘Thunderbirds are go!’, and the James Bond theme by Monty Norman. This bodes well for the future with a number of promising young musicians performing in this group. This was followed by some smaller ensembles showcasing a resurgence in chamber music at the school. One of the string quartets played a Mozart Divertimento followed by the senior guitar ensemble performing an arrangement of a Vivaldi Lute Concerto, featuring string prize winner Shiv Patel. The first half was completed by the jazz improvisation group, directed by Nikki Iles,

with new numbers by Pat Metheny and Frank Foster. This is a new group, too, benefiting hugely from Mrs Iles’s expertise as a leading jazz musician. The second half was started in style by the larger forces of the school band with two pieces: Fanfare by Dukas and A Monmouth Overture by Philip Sparke. Backed by a strong percussion department, the wind and brass players had their opportunity to shine. It was then the turn of the dance band who offered three well-crafted arrangements of popular tunes: California Girls (Wilson and Love), Hot Wire! (Higgins) and I Just Can’t Wait to be King (Elton John). The concert was concluded by the first orchestra with a performance of the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms. The piece is bubbling with enthusiasm within an academic context – what better way to celebrate all that is good about music at Bedford School! J.M. Sanders

COMPOSERS’ EVENING Tuesday 5th May 2015 A concert consisting solely of world premieres took place on this date in the recital hall. The evening served the dual purpose of providing a performance arena for boys’ compositions and getting them recorded for exam submission. As I said to the audience that evening, one of the attractions of such an event is that no one is quite sure what’s going to happen next! Indeed there were many surprises and a wonderful variety of work from fifth and sixth form boys. For those who wrote pieces it was a

special experience to hear them played by human hand instead of via music software through computer speakers. A river theme flowed through the lower sixth compositions, and Edward Elsmore’s Truth Behind a River made good use of the trio of clarinet, flute and piano. Theo Butler produced an ambitious work that very much held the audience’s interest despite being completely atonal, and Jim Cooper’s Journey to Eden had a definite folk music influence to it which made it go with a swing. In Journey Along the River Derwent Peter Wood had Mr Thompson and me working hard side by side at two pianos, a combination that allowed him to exploit many interesting textural possibilities. Among the upper sixth, Sean Davies successfully put the cat amongst the pigeons with his engaging Benidorm Timelapse, a music tech dance track that was inspired by timelapse photography of the Spanish resort. Tom Edwards’s wind quintet and Olly Bowes’s piano quintet were typically ambitious and densely written pieces from these two keen young composers. It was great to see the fifth form also well-represented at the evening, with piano duets, rondos, minimalist numbers and plenty of other material in evidence. Jack Hutching’s performance of his own Devil in I was particularly atmospheric and, with its lively multiple drum parts, Nathaniel Conte’s AfroCaribbean-inspired romp Worldwide was a fitting end to the evening. Special thanks to all staff and pupil performers who took part. J.A. Rouse

MUSIC EXAMINATION SUCCESSES Diploma Derek Lam Jeffrey Poon

Violin Violin

Diploma ABRSM Diploma TCM

Grade 8 Oliver Bowes Gordon Yip Jim Cooper Archie Rush Leonard Dziwisch Luke Wilson Justin Chung James MacTavish

Singing Violin Piano Cello Singing Singing Violin Piano

Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Pass Distinction Distinction Merit

Grade 7 Logan Jones Robert Akerele-Miles Jim Cooper Edward Elsmore Edward Wilson Peter Wood Aidan Swain Harry Guthrie

Singing Singing Organ Clarinet Singing Singing Singing Singing

Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Pass Distinction Merit

Grade 6 Nathaniel Conte Jason George Karan Gupta Alex Papp Theodore Butler Wolfgang Pirlet Gian Zinngrebe Toby King Kamran Awan Felix Asare Robert Salvesen Matthew Szeto Oliver Winder Thomas Liggins Toby King Jacques Bell Jack Hutchings

Piano Piano Guitar Violin Violin Trombone Saxophone Oboe Singing Guitar Violin Flute Clarinet Singing Singing Double bass Piano

Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Merit Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Pass Pass Distinction Merit Pass Merit Merit

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CHAMBER MUSIC DAY Sunday 10th May 2015 Amid all the exams and studying we welcomed the Benyounes Quartet, a professional ensemble, who came for the day to work with some of our students. The day opened with a fascinating concert given by the quartet which presented music from 1650 through to the present day, with interesting anecdotes along the way. The boys then broke off into groups and each group received coaching from the members of the quartet. After lunch we had a string orchestra rehearsal and the day ended with an excellent concert given by the boys, the Benyounes Quartet and the string orchestra. A brilliant day all round. R.J. Thompson

CHAPEL CHOIR The Chapel Choir toured southern Spain at the end of July. The tour location was absolutely spectacular, being in the heart of the Alpujarras mountains, a couple of hours from Granada. Travel sickness was a bit of an issue as we spent many hours zigzagging our way up and down the sides of mountains, often with precipitous drops on one side! The mountain villages were really beautiful, and the cooler temperatures, slower pace of life and isolation make for a very different feel from the sea-level cities. We were warmly welcomed everywhere we went, and performed in a variety of venues, including local churches, a threshing circle surrounded by high peaks, and Granada Cathedral. We also did some busking in villages and sent the youngest Prep School boy around with his hat to collect coins. I managed (after considerable persuasion) to get everyone to sing a couple of things on the easyJet flight home â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps the first ever performance of Rachmaninov Vespers at 36,000 ft?

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I was really heartened to see the older boys making music together in their spare time, whether performing close-harmony arrangements or their own compositions; in fact, sometimes it was hard to get them to stop and rest. It was a great thing for the younger boys to see. The boys' conduct throughout the week was exemplary and they were great company, which made it very enjoyable for us staff. I was joined by Joss Sanders, Eleanor Wilson and the Chaplain, to whom I'm very grateful. J.A. Rouse

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ROCK NIGHT Monday 23rd March 2015 Rock Night was the final public performance in the ‘old’ theatre on Monday 23rd March. Mostly cleared out and looking suitably grungy, the old theatre space had its concluding transformation into a rock venue with the installation of a ginormous sound system, a series of moving light arrays and smoke machines. The Bedford boys joined the girls from BGS on the stage and entertained a packed audience which completely filled the floor. The acts began with Ffion Lucas, Connor Sheridan and Oliver Graham who really got the crowd moving with an upbeat cover of Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis. Rachel Tsisi and Rachel Chilcraft mesmerised the audience with that acoustic folk sound that we all enjoyed so much at the Open Mic Night in the autumn term. A real highlight was the set from the band ‘& Then’ with Emily Carter, Jasper Williamson, Rukudzo Msindo, Zech Enson and Tom Rainbow who played their own song Shell of Ignorance. Jasper ended their set with an outrageously ambitious piano/vocal cover of Bohemian Rhapsody which really demonstrated his vocal and performance ability. Peter Barrington, a year 8 boy from the Prep School, took to the stage with great confidence and played a wonderful cover of Counting Stars by OneRepublic and ended his set with a beautifully crafted original song I’m Sorry. Peter’s musical talent is certainly worth monitoring carefully as he now approaches life

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in the Upper School. Similarly, Antonia Illingsworth performed her own song with her guitar as her only accompaniment and her unique vocal style was a real pleasure to listen to. The Basilisk took to the stage through the smoke in darkness; if you have not yet heard these boys perform, it is highly recommended. They have recently recorded an EP, which is now available on iTunes and other online music retailers, and they can also be found performing regularly at local music venues. They performed original songs from their EP as well as an unforgettable metal cover of Let it Go from the Disney film Frozen. Their heavy rock sound pushed the sound system to its limit and the boys’ energy on stage was absolutely electric. The evening finished off with a DJ mix by the duo OX2 of Oliver Walker and Oliver Graham, which gave the audience a chance to dance to some current club classics. We look forward to hearing this duo perform again with other DJs in the Club Night in the new theatre next year. This rounded off a superb evening of entertainment. Very well done to all of those involved. T.P. Rooke

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HOUSE SINGING The annual spectacle of house singing once again graced the Great Hall on Thursday 16th October 2014. With superb performances from each and every house, this year's adjudicator, Mr Nicholas Wilks, Master of Music at Winchester College, faced an extremely difficult task in selecting the winners. After much deliberation, St Peter’s were awarded the top honours for their unison song: I'm on Top of the World, Imagine Dragons; Best Day of My Life, American Authors; and I Need a Dollar, Aloe Blacc. Ashburnham had a superb evening, scooping both the part-song prize with their rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight as well as the overall prize. The support for the boys was, as ever, wonderful from students, staff and guests alike, although the boys were certainly the most vocal! The results: Unison song Part-song

St Peter's (Talbot’s) Ashburnham (Sanderson’s)

Overall winners Ashburnham (Sanderson’s)

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House Relays Fourth form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Paulo Pontine Bromham St Peter’s Crescent Ashburnham St Cuthbert’s

Fifth form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Paulo Pontine Ashburnham St Cuthbert’s Bromham St Peter’s Crescent

Remove form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Crescent St Peter’s Paulo Pontine Bromham Ashburnham St Cuthbert’s

Year 12 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

St Cuthbert’s Ashburnham Crescent Paulo Pontine Bromham St Peter’s

Year 13 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Bromham Crescent Paulo Pontine Ashburnham St Peter’s St Cuthbert’s

Overall 1st 2nd= 4th 5th 6th

Paulo Pontine Bromham and Crescent Ashburnham St Peter’s St Cuthbert’s

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ASHBURNHAM THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: S.P. Everitt Head of house: Tom Backhouse As another year in Ashburnham begins, we think back with fond memories of the highs and lows of the 2014–15 year. As always, Ashburnham started the year fit and ready for more success. During the first major event (sports day) the house stuck together with some fine individual performances and an exceptional, winning set of results for the new fourth form; sadly, not quite matched by the senior years. The highly anticipated house singing was next and, with a disappointing previous year, we were determined to win. After hours of hard work and training, the boys stood strong, sang to perfection and blew away the competition. With such an outstanding victory, we were off to a flyer. Although not excelling in house rugby, we stuck to our motto ‘right place, right time, right kit’, and managed to gain numerous points to aid our hopes of winning the house cup. During the spring term a few more major house events were participated in and we remained expectant. House drama is one of the most joyous events for all, creating some shocking and some hysterical displays of acting. After winning for the past two years, tensions were high, and all actors involved were feeling the pressure. However, with the script expertly written and completed hours before the final performance, we mixed our acting ability, singing prowess and comedic aptitude to create one of our best plays yet; we came home with a well-deserved second place. Next came the blood, sweat and tears of house relays, a challenge for us all as, again, the teachers tried to rival the students in vain. Each year group put out their strongest runners, proudly representing the house. Immediately after house relays we began our annual charity run. This year we had decided to raise money for the honourable charity UNICEF, giving us all the incentive to run that extra lap, united as a house. To increase the proceeds, we also ran cake sales and set up our internal table tennis event which raised hundreds of pounds. This was a massive effort from Ashburnham staff and boys alike, setting the bar high for the coming year. As the year drew to a close, our hopes of winning the overall cup dwindled, but the Ashburnham spirit remained strong; we stuck together to finish the year as resolutely as we had started it. Overall, Ashburnham had a very successful year on which we will build with the same ‘mud and blood’ spirit in the months ahead. Cory Bloxham

SANDERSON’S BOARDING HOUSE

Housemaster: J.C. Law Head of house: Sandor Pakozdi Despite being the smallest of all the boarding houses in Bedford School, last year Sanderson’s showed its worth by coming joint first place in house football and the full boarders secured us a joint first place in the new Segway polo competition as well as dominating house basketball. Above all, the greatest achievement of the year for Sanderson’s was winning the main cup (as well as the part song) in the house singing competition,

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one of the most popular and competitive competitions of the school year. For this we have our outstanding head of house, Sandor Pakozdi, to thank. Although he had little experience in conducting, he stepped up to the role with a great passion and we are all grateful to him for leading us to victory. We would also like to thank Mr Tighe for his never-ending patience in rehearsals; our unison was strong but the part-song was nailed by a group of dayboys and boarders, with Matt Calthorpe and Thomas Liggins doing us proud. As well as being an exceptional conductor, Sandor was a huge help around the house and made both Ms Law’s and Mr Irving’s second year as houseparents a lot easier and he was the rightful winner of the services to boarding achievement at Prize Giving. He is a hard act to follow! Sanderson’s house enjoyed its fair share of outings throughout the year, including ice skating, indoor ‘Flow Rider’ surfing, watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on stage in London, our annual trip to the Milton Keynes Snowzone (which has become increasingly popular in the house) and a go-karting trip for the remove form. On Sundays the full boarders also went laser clay pigeon shooting and bird-of-prey handling – this was really one to sort the men from the boys when it came to handling American eagles, although we think the eagle was a little scared of Sandor’s Movember facial hair! In all, the boys of Sanderson’s house have had a thoroughly enjoyable time throughout the year. We wish everyone who left every success in the future and, in particular, we would like to thank Mr Herring for everything he did for his tutees and the house: we wish him happiness as he moves down a league to Pemberley! Jasper Lawson

BROMHAM THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: A.J.R. Huxford Head of house: Jack Harvey As is always the case with Bromham, 2015 was one of trials and tribulations, victories and losses and ups and downs. One of the sorest of all was our second place in the house cup once again this year despite a rousing effort from the whole house in the final summer months to maintain our points lead. Looking back, however, this past year seems to be highlighted by various events which really reflected the spirit of Bromham as a house. We had determination, resilience, teamwork and by far the best supporters of any house! One of the major fixtures of the new academic year was sports day, an overall third place finish was an unfair reflection on the effort put in by all boys across the house. Particular congratulations must go to the fifth form who won their category and bolstered the house’s position in the rankings. The house collected further sporting accolades across the rest of the early part of the year; a second place in the house water polo showed there is no limit to Bromham’s sporting prowess. Senior and intermediate house rugby victories were other highlights for many of the boys who pulled together despite being marred by injuries leading up to the competition. As always, Bromham were not limited to the sports fields. After many weeks of rehearsals the house put on a fantastic performance for house singing: both the part-song and unison groups performed admirably and, although the adjudicator’s decision did not go our way, the support from up in the galleries was undeterred. An equally well supported event this year for the house was the annual house dinner, the largest ever this year with guest numbers surpassing all expectations. With Mr Grimshaw guest speaking and Mr Huxford’s dubious jokes flowing all night, an enjoyable evening was had by all. Hopefully next year’s dinner will be just as popular. As the year continued Bromham kept collecting house points from across the school. Burnaby, our boarding house partner, was sturdy in its support of the house throughout the year. Burnaby boys were often involved in house events, lending their invaluable support: victories in house table tennis, fencing and basketball as well as a strong performance in house singing would not have been possible without Burnaby. House drama yet again demonstrated the originality and flair of the creative side of Bromham boys: writing by key members of the upper sixth made for an entertaining night. Those same boys put on an impressive performance in the house relays which, in recent years, has become another much-loved event. An overall second for the house was highlighted by a first place for the upper sixth who, in their final year, were desperate to win – and did! As the year draws to a close it is all too easy to look back in hindsight and wish we had done better, so maybe it would be our name on the house cup. Yet I would like to congratulate all boys from both Burnaby and Bromham, on another year of hard work, determination and Bromham spirit. And maybe, just maybe, 2016 will be our year. Alex Stammers

BURNABY BOARDING HOUSE

Housemaster: R.E. Heale Heads of house: Jonathan Cheung and Felix von Bodelswingh Burnaby is a unique house as there are only sixth formers and a few select fifth formers, and this makes it a more relaxed and somewhat mature environment. As boarding houses face the challenging task of replacing homes, this helps a lot. Burnaby has turned into my home: living with about 30 boys of a similar age, as well as wonderful matrons and a welcoming housemaster, makes the stay that much more enjoyable. Burnabians leave the school as well-rounded and open-minded young individuals. This is partly due to the various house events and trips where everyone gets involved, but also because sixth form life creates a very academic setting in which high levels of achievement are encouraged. This year we enjoyed trips including go-karting, paintballing, a trip to an amusement park and fun events such as house barbecues. Burnaby and Bromham also took second place in the house cup last year, which was a great success. Akshar, with an outstanding performance in rugby, Oreayo with his effectiveness in football, and Victor, Justin, Tony and Matthew’s achievements in basketball (to name just a few) helped us to achieve this position. The new house Segway polo was also an area of great achievement for Burnaby. The main event of the year for the boarding community, however, was (as always) house singing. For the first seven weeks of school, we practiced our two songs every day, hoping to rank higher than the sixth place we are renowned for – a direct result of our lack of high-pitched singers and our smaller numbers. As always we lost but it was an unforgettable evening nonetheless. Later that term we enjoyed a Christmas dinner, including all the tutors, which was a lively experience as well. An unofficial victory we enjoyed early the next term was in an intense hour-long snowball fight against Talbot’s (to redeem ourselves after they took first place in house singing). After the long three-week Easter break the real stress began. The few fifth formers did their GCSEs, the lower sixth did their summer exams and the upper sixth prepared for the biggest exams of their lives to date: the IB or A-level exams. The school year 2014 to 2015 was an extraordinary one for me and I hope that this year will be even more exciting. Max Kiel

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

CRESCENT THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: C.H. Fisher Head of house: James Winder Crescent enjoyed another successful year across the board, whether it be in drama (house drama being our personal favourite competition), sport, music or academic excellence. In what turned out to be Mr Fisher’s final year as housemaster, the boys gave him a fitting send-off by winning many different events in many different areas. Speaking of leavers, the upper sixth leavers of 2015 set a fantastic example for the younger years. With an impressive number of monitors amongst them, including Josh Wellington as head of school and, of course, James Winder as head of house, Crescent’s upper sixth certainly represented what the school looks to produce in terms of maturity and readiness for the next step. Our house has a history of consistent academic performances and this year was no exception. Lewis Cramp and Jack Hutchings put in an incredible display of academic endeavour with an enormous merit haul between them: ‘endeavour’ being the important word here (one of the Head Master’s favourites)! GCSE results from the outgoing fifth form were also strong with an admirable number of top grades from the boys. We also had great successes in the sporting arena. House squash saw an extremely dominant performance from both junior and senior squash teams led by George Allen; both teams secured first place. Senior indoor rowing witnessed a nail-biting finish, resulting in a well-earned second place; better still, the junior single boat brought home the trophy! As usual, Crescent put up a strong performance in house fives, achieving first place in senior fives, ultimately placing us third overall. Finally, senior rugby was also a success, securing a second-place finish. In arts and humanities, the house also demonstrated its capability and versatility. Logan Jones co-wrote and directed a tremendous play with Adam Selvey for house drama which went down a storm and gained the house a well-deserved first place. In the school year beginning September 2015, we welcome Miss Swallow as our new housemaster, bringing great enthusiasm and optimism to the role. I hope that these qualities will translate into further success for the house in the coming year. Max Foulkes and Max Thakara

PEMBERLEY BOARDING HOUSE

Housemasters: P. Sherwin (until January 2015), followed by H.C. Taylor Head of house: Tom Humphreys The boys of Pemberley have enjoyed another fine year. We bore witness to the seamless transition of housemasters; this was mainly due to the calm and collected way in which Mr Taylor runs the house. He has already put his mark on the house and wasted no time in getting involved. Before Mr Taylor joined we enjoyed the remarkable house singing performance led by Tim Matthews. With his unconventional conducting style he led us to perform a set of

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

inspirational songs, including our house song, requested by Mr Sherwin, our departing housemaster. Unfortunately, the judge didn’t agree with the Pemberley contingent and awarded the prize to Talbot’s. Our part-song, however, came very close to winning but they were beaten into second with their rendition of a pitch-perfect number. House trips throughout the year included shopping excursions into Cambridge, theatre trips and Go Karting, all of which were fantastic opportunities for us to come together as a house and have a bit of fun. Thorpe Park was also a destination for our house and many of the boys had great fun and managed to wind down and finish off the summer term with some speed! Pemberley boys love to get involved and this was demonstrated in all manner of ways. We had multiple boys gain places in the Saracens rugby academy, as well as one boy getting into the regional finals of the BBC’s young musician of the year award. The summer barbeque was a real success. With a monstrous hog roast and enough rolls to feed the house for a month, we took advantage of the nice weather and enjoyed our time in the fresh air celebrating the achievements of the year. We look forward to the year coming and hopefully it can be as good as the last. Ben Anstis

PAULO PONTINE THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: A.J. Braithwaite Head of house: Angus Gill This year has seen some spectacular displays of sportsmanship, along with great teamwork and effort provided by every Paulo boy so that we could strive to win the house cup again. Our successes this year have been due to the hard work that every student in this house has provided, whether academic, athletic or extracurricular. A special thanks must be extended to the staff of Paulo who help out with all these events, including our housemaster, tutors, matron and others that work in the background to make our day house more and more enjoyable. The autumn term saw a couple of great and memorable moments, namely victories in house swimming and house indoor rowing. All boys participating worked hard to achieve these. To celebrate they joined in with the cheering and chanting that was house singing, a very memorable moment for anyone who attended. Although we had a crushing defeat in house rugby, a very large and fiercely contested event, it must be noted that our senior team was the smallest team participating due to injuries to our star players. Thanks must go to the four people that showed up to attempt to lead the house to victory where, instead of rugby, a rather interesting variant of sevens was played in order to gain the best from our small and heroic team. Spring and summer were just as glorious for Paulo; we enjoyed victories in house relays and hockey, where both senior and junior teams placed first. These were also the best terms for our house, bringing many second and third places in a range of events, including coming second in the merit totals. Overall this led to our house being placed third in the running for the house cup, which is a great achievement as we have faced many challenges and have strived in many competitive events. We, as a house, have thoroughly enjoyed the year, and we all hope to make the house cup ours in 2016! Oliver Armstrong

REDBURN BOARDING HOUSE

Housemaster: C.J. Bury Head of house: Alexei Shushu As ever, the autumn term seemed to go by so quickly and yet lasted so long. Redburn had a successful term on all fronts. The boys were busy and we had notable successes in both the house swimming and indoor rowing competitions. I was particularly pleased that Redburn came top out of all 12 houses on the merit front – it’s always nice when the cajoling pays off. Many Redburn boys were also involved in CCF, debating, the St Cecilia’s concert, the school production of Inherit the Wind, music exams, rugby and indoor hockey The spring term was full of mock exams. Alisher led the way with academic merits this term and gained an impressive 31, so well done to him, but many boys also picked up a good number. Just after half-term the whole house went to see War Horse in the West End. In addition the juniors chose to go to Bounce in

Milton Keynes and I enjoyed taking the senior years for a meal in town followed by a movie at the cinema. On the sporting front, Tristan gained major colours for hockey, Derek was captain of the Badminton Club, and Jack captained the Colts A team to an unbeaten season in football, ably assisted by Ken and Luis. Musically, we had many lads who remained busy in the music school. We were well represented in the lunchtime concerts, Ed organised his own singing concert for charity, and boys performed very well in the end of term Choral Society concert and the spring concert that followed a few days later. There were many house events in this middle term and the highlight was winning the house relay on the final Thursday of term; a great effort and unexpected after finishing last in sports day at the start of the year – what a turnaround. We were also victorious in the house hockey and performed well in house drama and debating. In the summer term, I was really pleased to see Conor perform so well at the official opening of the Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s. The concerts at the end of term were, again, top class. Derek, Bryan, Daniel, Ardwin, Thomas, Ramius, Leo and Georgiy were all involved over a couple of nights and I was fortunate enough to see the orchestral concert, which was superb. Also in this term, Leo and Alisher spent time away on their Bronze D of E Award, Toby and Euan ran a Prep School disco for their Young Enterprise company, Rich went to Henley, Finley performed in the creative arts evening (and has become heavily involved in the recording of events). I also enjoyed spending some time wandering around the Art Department in the end-of-term art exhibition, and managed to secure some work from Euan and Daniel which we will display in the house. This term Ardwin led the way for the house in the merit competition. In the house competition we finished third this year – disappointing, but I suppose we can’t win it every year! We did very well in the house rowing competition, and in house tennis, so it was a strong end to the year for us. Inevitably, this term is one of goodbyes, and we said a fond farewell to Luis, Joaquin and Jakob from the fifth form, and Alexei, Jake, Bryan, Derek, Tristan, Curtis and Dmitrii from the upper sixth. I wish them all the very best in their future endeavours and really look forward to hearing about their successes over the coming years. Alexei did a marvellous job as head of house and he hands over those reins to Euan, who I am sure will do an equally good job. C.J. Bury

Winners Junior House Hockey 2015

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

ST CUTHBERT’S THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: L.M. Holt Heads of house: Alex Benzie and Jacob King Yet another year passes in St Cuthbert’s and it shall be remembered as an action-packed one where the boys had a great time. During the autumn term we had a house trip to Bounce, a place where all walls and floors are made almost entirely of trampolines! The day boys had a fantastic time on the trip with lots of pizza being eaten quickly afterwards. Moreover, our annual house dinner, having been very well organised by Tom Booton, with its James Bond theme, certainly went down well. It even featured a mock Bond nerf gun-fight scene between Mr Holt and Mr Grimshaw: a hilarious spectacle to behold! How we fared on the house competition front is something that will not go down too well in our house history. Every year there has to be a sixth place in the standings and, sadly, this year it was the turn of the mighty St Cuthbert’s. However, we did not wholly move away from our winning reputation, coming first in events such as the new house volleyball tournament and also the long-standing house badminton event. Plus the house earned the highest merit-to-pupil ratio and, therefore, picked up maximum points there. The year ended with our school-renowned house barbeque in which George Seward served as our head chef, grilling us all up burgers and hotdogs galore! Lots of boys turned up to have a chat and something to eat, leading to a great afternoon to round off the year in style for the house. Overall, it was another great year for St Cuthbert’s. The house competition may not have gone our way but the boys all had a brilliant time throughout the year thanks to the hard work of our housemaster, Mr Holt, and heads of house, Jacob King and Alex Benzie. Thanks must also go to Mr Grimshaw who has headed our sister boarding house Phillpotts with excellence over the years and all of us on the day side would like to extend our thanks to him for all the work he has done for us, and we welcome Mr Fisher into the St Cuthbert’s fold. Everyone can be proud to be a part of St Cuthbert’s and we look forward to what comes next year and to the St Cuthbert’s campaign for the house cup! George Neave

PHILLPOTTS BOARDING HOUSE

Housemaster: A.W. Grimshaw Heads of house: Felix Lin, Gordon Yip and Domenik Kharzaliya Last year, Phillpotts showed how well it could work together as a house (often in conjunction with St Cuthbert’s) through the many successful house events and competitions we participated in. Our house singing performance was an incredible feat, with Robert Akerele-Miles leading our medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Hoping for a win in Mr Grimshaw’s final year, everyone did their bit. Despite a fantastic performance and strong chants from the day house, we were awarded an unsatisfactory second place. The musical talent of the house did not end with house singing. Our very own Gordon Yip led the school first orchestra through a series of fantastic performances,

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

supported by many other members of the house. The house Christmas play, directed by Jay Bang and Charlie Gee, was a funny story about some ‘friends’ on a desert island trying to get along. The quality of acting, combined with some fresh new ideas from the directors and Mr Adams (who was in his first year as assistant housemaster) led to the play being a great success with praise going to the entire cast of castaways. Also, the house welcomed Mr Allen as a tutor and he instantly began to integrate himself into the house and school community. The house also did well on the sporting front with a victory in house volleyball and senior singles sculling, a second place (only on goal difference) in house football and a strong performance in house rugby and at sports day. The end of the spring term saw a seemingly impregnable intellectual barrier broken; the staff quiz team was defeated by a team of boys for the first time since Dr Calverley’s arrival to the house four years ago. Our summer term was filled with activities, including a great and (surprisingly) unrained-upon barbecue. It was fantastic to see several OBs return for the event. This was an important year for Phillpotts house because it saw us lose an icon of the boarding community: Mr Grimshaw. He will be missed by all in the house, but I’m sure that he will still remind us to do up our top buttons on a daily basis. We must also thank Mrs Grimshaw for all the help and support she gave us during her years in the house. On a happier note, for the next school year we welcome Mr Fisher to the house as the new housemaster and wish him and his family well. We also wish the best of luck to Felix, Gordon, Howard, Jesse, Robert, Arthur, Henry and Tristan as they leave the school. Charlie Gee

ST PETER’S THE DAY HOUSE Housemaster: E.E. Murray Heads of house: Arandeep Malhi and James Herriott The word ‘successful’ would be a drastic understatement when reflecting upon the St Peter’s title-winning campaign. A house that usually thrives on musical competitions, such as house singing, expanded its horizons this year, rallying behind the younger years and their sporting successes. Junior house fives was won by the emphatic combination of Harry Beard and Will Jewers. The junior cricket was won thanks to a stellar all-round performance by the cool and collected Ross Denton and his team. Sports day was a major victory for St Peter’s: it witnessed the unison of the ever-so-determined seniors as well the undeniably talented juniors to eradicate all opposition. Sports day laid down the marker for the rest of the year. Several other sporting victories followed in rowing and football as well as high place finishes in competitions such as senior house tennis: all of these performances reinforced the claim that St Peter’s was becoming a well-rounded house. However, this resurgence of sporting prowess did not halt our long-lasting accomplishment in house singing which witnessed Talbot’s winning the unison and a strong performance in the part song also from Tom Edwards and co. All of these victories culminated in us winning the overall house cup! Mr Beale reported that it was the first time St Peter’s had won the house cup in his 12 years of service to the house! This immense victory would not have been possible if our house mirrored the nonchalant support displayed by the other houses. The enthusiastic attitude exhibited on the night of house singing is ever-present in the fort that is St Peter’s: our success stems from our brotherhood and solidarity. While we say farewell to our devoted housemaster, Mrs Murray, we look forward to continuing to achieve under Mr Cassell. Sam Pudylyk

set the tone for the rest of the year as we took part in all the house matches with a full bench of Talbot’s support at every venue. My favourite thing about the house was the amazing way in which everyone fitted in so well almost immediately, despite us being from different nations and of differing ages. It was a very good and enjoyable year for the house in which we won many of the major competitions and, of course, won the house cup. Alex Sporton

TALBOT’S BOARDING HOUSE

Housemaster: M.R. Gracie Head of house: Michael Holroyd The year really started in full when we had our first competition at sports day. This was the first time that the whole house had properly joined together, whether taking part or supporting. The fact that we won highlighted the strength of the house’s sport and support. Weekly competitions in the boarding house such as tidiness and number of merits helped give the house a competitive atmosphere, despite Darren Pang inevitably winning and accepting everyone’s cheering graciously. Within the house there were many trips, including paintballing, go-karting and bowling as well as visits to Alton Towers theme park and wakeboarding at Box End. At the end of the first half-term we had our hardest challenge as a house as we prepared for house singing. This involved consistently practising every week for a month. However, we were ready to put everything into it and we won the unison cup. This was one of the highlights of the year and

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

WHOLE SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPH, 2014

On Wednesday 24th September 2014, all staff and pupils at Bedford School gathered in front of the main building for a whole school photograph, a feat of gigantic proportions which is only undertaken once every four years. Thankfully, the rain stayed away – in fact there was even a glimmer of sunshine – and the whole operation was run with military precision. While the ‘professional’ photograph was a resounding success, some of the lighter moments were captured beautifully by Mr Huxford’s lens …

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

THE MONITORS Left to right: Andrew Lakin, Sandor Pakozdi, George Lilley-Moncrieff, Daniel Frossell, Manu Ratnayake, Edward Jones, Tom Lousada, John Hunt, Joshua Wellington, Harry Allen, Tom Bradbeer, Charles Seamark, Oliver Maltby, William Reynolds, Tim Matthews, Shiv Patel and Michael Morris

THE 2015 BOY LEAVERS

THE SURVIVORS Back row (left to right): Ollie Charlton, James Lamond, Tom Booton, John Fahmy, Mikail Awan, Adam Olphin, Thomas Edwards, Joseph Holt, Edward Jones and Shiv Patel Middle row (l to r): Daniel Viscusi, Jack Harvey, Sue Keane (staff), Charlie Ballard, Sam Smith, Paddy McDuell, Oliver Maltby, Ben Garrett, Louise Thomas (staff), Charlie Dempsey, Oliver McLeod and Sebastian Trounson On the slide (in descending order): Aran Malhi, George Lilley-Moncrieff and William Reynolds Front row: Sean Davies

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

ALASTAIR ACKROYD (Ash) Christian Union (chairman), STEM Society, CCF, Rifle Club shooting team, Choral Society, 4th XV rugby

JACOB BARCLAY (StP)

TOM BOOTON (StC) House events organiser, 1st and 2nd XV rugby (colours), 1st and 2nd VIII rowing (colours)

JESSE CHEUNG (Phi) 1st team basketball, STEM Society

ADLAN ADI RADLAN (Bur) Academic colours, house committee, Young Enterprise, Charities Committee, STEM Society, canoeing, badminton, volleyball

PHILIP BARNES (Cre) House sports captain, house colours, 1st VI badminton (captain, colours), 3rd XI hockey, public speaking

OLIVER BOWES (StC) Music Society (president), New Music Society, Mitre Club, Consort Choir, Chapel Choir, 3rd XV rugby

JONATHAN CHEUNG (Bur) Head of house, badminton (colours), Tours Team, Young Enterprise,Charities Committee, Fencing Club, STEM Society, tennis

ROBERT AKERELE-MILES (Phi) Chapel Choir (soloist), Consort Choir (soloist), 1st/2nd team tennis, 1st team basketball, drama society, house colours

JAKE BARRACLOUGH (Red) Athletics (school 1,500 m record), cross-country (county champion), Talented Athlete Group, Tours Team

THOMAS BRADBEER (Pem) Monitor, deputy head of house, 1st XI cricket (vice-captain, colours), 1st XI football (captain, colours), Young Enterprise

KEVIN CHING (Tal) Art Appreciation Society, STEM Society, tennis team, badminton team, table tennis team

HARRY ALLEN (Cre) Monitor, academic colours, Talalay Science Prize (runnerup), Harpur Science Forum (vice-chairman), brass ensemble, 2nd XI football, STEM Society, Mitre Club, gold DofE

MAXIM BAYDUZHIY (Pem) Model United Nations (ambassador), Current Affairs Society (chairman), deputy head of house, house colours, 1st XI football (colours), Young Enterprise (MD), TEDx Bedford School (organiser)

TRISTAN BROWN (Pau) CCF (head of training), house colours, 4th XI hockey, Young Enterprise, Harpur Science Forum, Debating Society

NAVIN CHODHA (Bro) 1st XI cricket (colours), 1st team squash, Art Appreciation Society

ASSANKHAN AMIROV (Tal) Charities Committee (head), art (head), house option, TED, water polo team, robotics team (engineer), Young Enterprise (head of design), guitar ensemble, house colours, STEM Society

ALEX BENZIE (StC) Head of house, 2nd XV rugby (colours), rugby sevens, 1st IV volleyball, Boys’ Meals Committee

HARRY BURDEN (Bro) Deputy head of house, house colours, 1st team basketball, Film Society, Politics Society, MDLII (current affairs co-editor)

BEN CLARKE (Pem) 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI hockey (colours), 2nd XI cricket (colours)

MIKAIL AWAN (Cre) Charities Committee, Swimathon, BSMA, Harpur Science Forum, Prep School science enrichment teacher, 3rd XI cricket, 4th XI hockey

HUSTIN BHATT (StP) RYAN CALLANAN (Pau) Deputy head of house, house 1st XI football (colours), 3rd XV colours, 2nd team fives rugby, Young Enterprise (colours), Robotics Society and Competition (head), guitar ensemble, Young Enterprise

GEORGE COCHRANE-DAVIES (Pau) 1st XI football (colours, vicecaptain) , 1st XI cricket, 2nd XI cricket (colours), house colours , Geography Club (chairman) , 2nd XV rugby , Tours Team , MDLII (geography editor)

TOM BACKHOUSE (Ash) Head of house (Ashburnham), History Society (chairman), squash (2nd team), Tours Team

THOMAS BLAKEMORE (Ash) House sports captain, 1st and 2nd XV rugby (colours), rowing 1st and 2nd VIII (vice-captain of boats, colours)

TOM CHAPMAN (StC) 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI hockey (colours), house sports captain

SEAN DAVIES (StP) Arts colours (music), head of band, Music Society (vicepresident)

CHARLIE BALLARD (Pau) 1st XI hockey, 1st team golf (captain)

RYAN BLUFFIELD (Bro)

OLLIE CHARLTON (Bro) Deputy head of house, 3rd XI football (vice-captain), Debating Society, BSGS

CHARLES DEMPSEY (StC) 2nd VIII rowing (colours), 4th XV rugby, CCF, BSMA, Tours Team

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

DANIEL DIFILIPPO (Cre) 3rd XI football, 3rd XI cricket, BSMA, Harpur Science Forum

DANIEL GARDNER (Pau) 4th XI hockey, Harpur Science Forum, STEM Society, DofE, Young Enterprise

ROBIN HAMPSHIRE (StP) English Society (president), Harpur Trust English Society (president), MDLII (editor for the arts), Mitre Club, French Society, 2nd XI cricket, house colours, drama (Don Juan), 5th XV rugby

JOHN HUNT (Pem) Monitor, 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st V III rowing, Mitre Club, house colours, French play

ARTHUR EDMONDS (Bro) Art Appreciation Society (editor), 1st fives reserve

BEN GARRETT (Bro) 2nd XV rugby (colours), weights, golf, RE Society, History Society, Tour Teams, Young Enterprise

JACK HARVEY (Bro) Head of house, house colours, 2nd XV rugby (colours), drama (Inherit the Wind, Grease), basketball

GUY JOHNSON (Pau) 1st team golf (colours), History Society

THOMAS EDWARDS (StP) Chapel Choir (head), Adrian Boult Society (secretary), rowing (colours), first orchestra (first flute), band (first flute), wind quintet, Consort Choir, Classics Society, Choral Society, Corpus Cantus Choir (organiser), house part-song (leader 2014), classics enrichment (leader)

PHILIP GEBING (Tal) House option, house colours, house committee secretary, 1st team water polo (vicecaptain, minor sports colours), swimming squad, Health and Lifestyle Society (vice-chairman)

JAMES HERRIOTT (StP) Head of house, Tours Team (head), 1st XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI football (captain), Grease, BSMA (publicity officer), Debating Society

EDWARD JONES (StP) Monitor, house colours, drama (The Arsonists, DNA, Inherit the Wind, house drama), 3rd XV rugby, athletics squad, Pythagoreans, Philosophy and Theology Society, Film Society

HENRY GEE (Phi) 2nd VI tennis, 3rd XI football, 5th XV rugby, Theology and Philosophy Society (cochairman), Law Society (chairman), French Society (deputy head), Mitre Club

TSZ KIU HO (Pem) House prefect, 5th XV rugby (player of the year), Mitre Club, Pythagoreans, Young Enterprise (financial director), Current Affairs Society

SAURAV KARMAKAR (StP) STEM Society (chairman), house committee (chairman), Harpur Science Forum, Bedford Astronomical Society, Mitre Club, MDLII (maths and science editor), 3rd XI cricket, Rifle Club, Young Enterprise, swimming squad

JOHN FAHMY (Cre) 2nd XI football, 2nd V squash, BSMA, Harpur Science Forum, Young Enterprise, gold DofE (mentor)

JUSTUS GELDMACHER (Tal) German Society (head), TEDx Society, Young Enterprise, house option (house colours), 3rd XV rugby (colours), 3rd XI football, German rugby (captain), German football

MICHAEL HOLROYD (Tal) Head of house, house colours, 3rd XV rugby (captain), 1st IV fives (colours), 3rd XI cricket, Philosophy and Theology Society, New Music Society

DANIEL FROSSELL (StC) Monitor, 1st XI hockey (colours), 2nd XV rugby (colours), Mitre Club, History Society, French Society, jazz trio

ANGUS GILL (Pau) Head of house, 1st XV rugby (colours, honours), hockey 2nd XI, 1st IV volleyball (co-captain)

JOE HOLT (StP) 3rd XV rugby (captain), 4th XI cricket

JULIAN KITSON (StC) 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI football (colours), house colours, Charities Committee (secretary)

CURTIS FUNG (Red) House colours, badminton team

CONSTANTIN HAFNER (Bur) 1st team golf (colours), German Society, 3rd XI football, Young Enterprise

BEN HOWARD (StC) Harpur Science Forum (committee), shooting team, CCF (NCO), 3rd VIII rowing (colours)

ANDREW LAKIN (Cre) Monitor, 2nd XV rugby (colours), Debating Society, 2nd XI hockey (captain), History Society, CCF (RAF)

GEORGE FURBANK (Cre) Monitor, 1st XV rugby (vicecaptain, honours), 1st XI cricket (colours), sevens rugby (captain), Geography Society

TOM HALL (Pau) 2nd XV rugby (colours), 4th XI hockey (vice-captain), Harpur Science Forum

TOM HUMPHREYS (Pem) Head of house, 2nd VIII rowing (colours), 3rd XV rugby, 3rd XI football, Tours Team, Geography Society (deputy head), Young Enterprise

DEREK LAM (Red) Badminton team (captain, colours), first orchestra (coleader), chamber orchestra (leader), violin (ABRSM Diploma), Music Society

TRISTAN EHLERT (Red) 1st XI hockey (captain, colours), German Society, German rugby, 4th XV rugby, volleyball

JACOB KING (StC)

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

JAMES LAMOND (Ash) 1st XI hockey (colours), Young Enterprise (assistant managing director), gold DofE, house colours

BRYAN LUNG (Red) First orchestra (cello), chamber orchestra (cello), 1st V basketball

OLIVER McLEOD (Bro) Monitor, CCF (head of corps), 2nd XV rugby (colours), 3rd XI hockey (colours), 2nd XI cricket (colours), STEM Society, Mitre Club

RUFUS OLLERHEAD (Tal) 1st XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI football, house colours, house option, Tours Team, German Society (vicepresident), German rugby and football, athletics, English Society, silver DofE, house drama

AIMERY LEROY (Pem) House colours, Current Affairs Society, 5th XV rugby, weights

LEONARD MAIER (Tal) Current Affairs Society (committee), 1st XI football, 1st tennis team, house colours, house option, German football (vicecaptain), Young Enterprise, Tours Team

AARON McNALLY (Ash) 1st XI football, Classics Society, house badminton, house drama, house football

ADAM OLPHIN (Ash) 2nd XI hockey, first orchestra, chamber orchestra

JACK LEWSLEY (Tal) 2nd XV rugby (colours), deputy head of house, 3rd XI hockey (colours), house colours, Young Enterprise, Geography Society

JOSHUA McNULTY (Cre) ARAN MALHI (StP) Head of house, 4th XI football swimming squad, life drawing, squash, athletics (captain), 5th XV rugby, Theology and Philosophy Society (committee), Tours Team, Film Society, Charities Committee, Geography Club, English Society

ARTHUR LI (Phi) Mitre Club (Convenor), Debating Society (secretary), Harpur Science Forum, BSMA, Young Enterprise, Christian Union, volleyball

MATT MALINDINE (Cre) 1st VIII rowing (cox, colours), CCF (senior NCO), gold DofE, house colours, house events organiser, Public Speaking Club (prizewinner), drama (The Arsonists, A Christmas Carol)

AJAY SINGH MOMI (Bro) 1st XI cricket (colours), 1st XV rugby (colours, honours), 1st VII rugby, 1st XI hockey (colours), Tours Team

SHIV PATEL (Pau) 1st XI cricket (vice-captain, colours), 1st V squash (captain, colours), 2nd XI hockey, Pythagoreans (president), guitar ensemble (lead guitar), Mitre Club

GEORGE LILLEY-MONCRIEFF (StP) Senior monitor, Head Master’s scarf, dance band (head), swimming team (colours), first orchestra, chamber orchestra

OLIVER MALTBY (Ash) Monitor, swimming (captain, colours), rowing (colours), water polo, house colours

ALEX MONAGHAN (StC) 3rd XV rugby (colours), Tours Team, 2nd XV football, PPE public speaking prizewinner, gold DofE, Harpur Science

TRISTAN PERKINS (Phi) Sailing, 3rd XI hockey, house drama, head of house

DANIEL LIN (Tal) Arts colours, silver DofE, STEM Society, percussion ensemble, personal band (drummer), 2nd basketball team, Tai Chi, Astronomical Society, life drawing

TIM MATTHEWS (Pem) Monitor, house prefect, 2nd XV rugby (captain, colours), 2nd XI football (vice-captain), Young Enterprise (assistant MD), Music Society, Public Speaking

MICHAEL MORRIS (Cre) 1st XV rugby (colours, honours), monitor, 1st VI volleyball (cocaptain), Philosophy and Theology Society

MARCUS PHILLIPS (Pau) Meals Committee (head), deputy head of house, 4th XI hockey (captain), house colours

FELIX LIN (Phi) Head of house, basketball, tennis, weights, first orchestra, chamber orchestra, Mitre Club, STEM Society, Young Enterprise

LUKE MURGATROYD (StP) PADDY McDUELL (Pau) Senior monitor, 1st XV rugby Young Enterprise, Harper Science Forum (captain, honours cap, colours), 1st XI cricket (captain, colours), rugby sevens, Philosophy and Theology Society (organising committee), Games Committee (chairman), weights

TOM LOUSADA (Ash) Deputy head of school, monitor, rowing (vice-captain, colours), Mitre Club (secretary), water polo (colours), house colours, academic colours

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FRED McLEAN (Bro) Spanish Society (chairman), Poetry Society, 1st XV rugby, 2nd V squash

MILAN NAKUM (Ash) Deputy head of house, 2nd XI cricket, 2nd XI football, BSMA, Harpur Science Forum, Tours Team, Meals Committee, weights

SANDOR PAKOZDI (San) Monitor, head of house, Law Society (chairman), 2nd XI football

HANS-CHRISTIAN PREYER (Bur) 1st XI hockey (colours), indoor hockey (captain), 2nd XV rugby (colours), German rugby (captain), assistant head of house, Young Enterprise MANU RATNAYAKE (Ash) Monitor, Head Master’s scarf, academic colours, 1st team shooting (minor sports colours), 2nd/3rd XI hockey (3rd team colours), 1st IV fives, 2nd V squash, 3rd XI cricket, BSMA (president), Debating Society (copresident), Mitre Club (president), CCF (head of RAF), gold DofE, Spanish play

DMITRII TITOV (Red) Water polo (colours, captain), swimming (vicecaptain), 1st XI football

JOSHUA WELLINGTON (Cre) Head of school, BSMA (chairman), Debating Society (chairman), Harpur Science Forum (chairman), 1st XV rugby (honours), 1st XI football (colours), 2nd VIII rowing (colours), gold DofE

WILL REYNOLDS (StP) Monitor, 1st VIII rowing (colours), BSMA (vicechairman), brass ensemble, school band

ALEXEI SHUSHU (Red) Head of house, Politics Society (chairman), Current Affairs Society (chairman), Quiz Club (chairman), Mitre Club, Economics and Business Studies Society, house colours, swimming

LUKE RIDDELL (Bro) 1st XI hockey, 3rd XV rugby, Alpine Ski Club (colours), Youth Olympics

PASCAL TORESSE (Cre) JAMES SIU (Tal) 1st team basketball, 5th XV 3rd XV rugby (colours), French Society rugby, weights, house colours, STEM Society, TEDx

JAMES WINDER (Cre) Head of house, rowing colours

JAMES ROBINSON (Pau) CCF (head of Army), Art Appreciation Society (deputy head), Architectural Drawing Society (secretary), 4th XI hockey, house colours

ARTEM SKULIMOVSKIY (Cre) Chamber orchestra, first orchestra, second orchestra, Beethoven quartet, guitar ensemble, house colours

SEBASTIAN TROUNSON (Bro) 1st team basketball, 2nd XI hockey, 2nd team tennis, drama (French play), French Society (chairman), Economics and Business Society

CHAK YAN ALAN WONG (Bur)

SAMUEL ROBINSON (Ash) House colours, Classics Society, 3rd XV rugby (colours), house events organiser

BEN SMITH (StC) 3rd XV rugby (colours), Young Enterprise, Tours Team, ski team (vicecaptain), house colours, gold DofE, Harpur Science Forum

HEI JING TSANG (Bur) First orchestra (double bass), chamber orchestra (double bass), table tennis (captain), STEM Society

DAVID WOODS (Cre) Deputy head of house, 1st/2nd IV fives (colours), Classics Society, house competitions

RIO ROSANO (Tal) Monitor, Charities Committee (chairman), STEM Society (head), 1st XI football, TEDx , Robotics Club, Young Enterprise (MD), Grease, guitar and percussion ensembles, Model UN (founder)

SAM SMITH (Bro) Drama (Inherit the Wind), Ski Race team, Investors Society, Young Enterprise, 4th XV rugby

NOAH VAN MIERLO (Ash) 1st team basketball, MDLII (current affairs editor), International Relations Society (founder), rowing, Debating Society

GORDON YIP (Phi) First orchestra (leader), chamber orchestra, Young Enterprise

CHARLES SEAMARK (Cre) Monitor, 1st VIII rowing (captain of boats, colours), public speaking

RAJVIR SUNNER (Paulo) 1st XI cricket (colours), 2nd team squash, weights

DANIEL VISCUSI (Bro) Deputy head of house, house colours, 2nd XI football, Economics Society

ASIF ZAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;IR (Pau) Arts colours, Art Appreciation Society (secretary), CCF (NCO), Charities Committee, swimming, sailing

ADAM SELVEY (Cre) Arts colours (drama), house colours, drama (The Arsonists, A Christmas Carol, Grease, DNA, Inherit the Wind, house drama), MDLII (language editor), Classics Society

HOWARD TANG (Phi) Canoeing Club (vice-head), History Society, Theology and Philosophy Society, guitar

FELIX VON BODELSCHWINGH (Bur) Joint head of house, 1st team basketball (captain, colours), German Society (joint chairman), German rugby team, Young Enterprise

JOSHUA SELVEY (Cre) 1st XI cricket, 2nd XI cricket (colours), 1st V squash (colours), Pythagoreans (secretary)

WILLIAM TARBOX (Cre)

SAM WARDELL (Bro) 3rd XV rugby, volleyball, Religious Studies Society

HERAN TOM ZHANG (Pem) 1st team basketball (minor sports colours, captain), robotics team, senior maths team, Fencing Club, academic colours, STEM Society, Mitre Club, Young Enterprise, Physics Challenge (bronze), Physics Olympiad (bronze), Chemistry Challenge (gold), Senior Maths Challenge (gold) JAMES JUNZHE ZHANG (Ash) Senior member of STEM Society, Mitre Club, badminton 1st team (colours), academic colours

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

Farewell ...

SEBASTIAN CHANCE

EDWARD CHARLTON

MIKE GUNN

OLIVE HEFFILL

MICHAEL HUTCHINSON

COLIN MARSH

GERRY MCGARRY

JOSIE MCGREEVY

SANDRA SALSBURY

MATT STRACHAN

SARAH SWIDENBANK

THERESA TRIPPOLT

JEROME WATSON

DEBBIE WILKINSON

THE OUSEL 2014â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2015

ACADEMIC STAFF

SEBASTIAN CHANCE

The Art department has a long-standing belief that their staff should preferably be practising artists as well as teachers as it ensures the creativity we want the boys to aspire to and develop and, we would argue, it helps them to see their teachers as artists who produce work as well. This is something that Sebastian as a sculptor and teacher himself has wholeheartedly subscribed to in his time in the department. When the late and much missed Neville Ferry decided to retire back in 2007 it was he who suggested to Sebastian that he really ought to think about applying for his post. It was the Upper School’s good fortune and the Prep School’s loss that Sebastian followed up the suggestion and, in a strong field of applicants, Sebastian was the stand-out candidate. Where Neville was exuberant, colourful and a passionate Mediterranean in character, Sebastian is quietly spoken, modest and aristocratic in bearing. As he decides to retire after 22 years at Bedford School he will be much missed by the department and staff as a whole. Educated at Dartington Hall, Sebastian recalls his time there with great fondness and as a hugely formative experience. It was a place that allowed the individual to flourish and was both exciting and creative. A particularly prescient memory in light of his future career was climbing over the Henry Moore sculpture which the school was lucky enough to have in their grounds. Sebastian went on to Stourbridge College of Art in 1973 to do a fine art degree where he specialised in sculpture. A fellow student at the time (but studying glassmaking and ceramics) was Vicky McClean whom he was later to marry and who also now teaches in the Prep School and is the Upper School art technician. In 1977 he went on to St Martin’s College of Art to do what was then called a Certificate of Advanced Studies, the equivalent of an MA today. St Martin’s reflected the divisions happening in sculpture at that time with the hands-on ‘metal bashers’ and conceptual artists set up in direct conflict with one group assuming creative supremacy over the other. In such a hostile environment Sebastian found support in the lecturer and artist Philip King, now a member and former President of the RA, who he felt was totally honest and genuine but, disheartened by the atmosphere, he left before completing the qualification. It was as a technician at Kidderminster College that Sebastian got his first chance to teach and, having enjoyed the experience, he went on to do his PGCE at Birmingham Polytechnic in 1980. After a short spell of teaching at Bakewell Prep School from 1981–84 Sebastian considered an alternative career by running his own framing shop in Bristol but complications with the shop lease led to a short six-month spell working for the ‘Badger Line’ bus company doing market research. He returned to teaching in 1986 at Winchester House in Brackley. This was a busy and enjoyable experience but, ready for a new challenge, a job in Bedford caught his eye. Sebastian arrived in 1993 as the ‘Inky’ morphed into the Prep School to become its first Head of Art. Prior to his arrival staff in the Upper School had been responsible for teaching in both the Inky and the Upper School which must have been a hugely demanding and exhausting experience. Sebastian was the only full-time member of department leading a team of temporary art staff but this in no way deterred his ambition. Keen to ensure that all boys got involved regardless of their relative talents or abilities and, supported by Jeanette Crizzle in the English department, he introduced an Arts Festival, a two-day event when everybody would do art, music or drama.

With outside visitors to lead workshops this proved to be hugely successful and popular and something that he is justifiably proud of. This achievement says much about Sebastian’s passionate belief that every pupil should be involved and feel included. After 14 years in the Prep School Neville Ferry’s retirement came at just the right time as Sebastian felt ready for a new challenge. As the sculpture teacher in the Upper School Sebastian has brought his enthusiasm and versatility and made a significant contribution to the variety of what is on offer to the boys. Anyone who has visited the students’ end-of-year exhibitions will know just how varied the sculpture work is and this is testimony to Sebastian’s extensive knowledge and skills. It has also generated some amusing scenes in the sculpture studio as Sebastian darts from one student working in clay, to another working with wood to another casting in plaster but inevitably this, and the subsequent tidying, has been immensely demanding and exhausting for him as a teacher. This does, however, speak volumes about Sebastian in that he is very keen for the boys to be ambitious and to fulfil their creative ideas whatever the materials or approach they come up with. In the last few years it has not been unusual to spot Sebastian’s features emerging as a plaster cast, often quite disturbingly, from a boy’s sculpture. His willingness to be cast in the first place, which is quite a claustrophobic and unpleasant experience, again says much of the lengths he will go to help the boys out. One further example of this which sticks in my mind was a long day trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park to see some work by the sculptor David Nash just because Nick Crizzle, one of the sixth form boys at that time, was looking at his work as part of his coursework. Another major contribution Sebastian has made to the department has been the school’s involvement with the national competition ARTiculation which he came across on an ISADA trip to Roche Court in Wiltshire. In the past four years Sebastian has organised all the internal school heats and subsequently taken the boys to the regional heats at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was immensely gratifying that both Stan Brami´ nski and Jacob King progressed on to the finals with Stan coming second overall in the 2014 competition. This has been quite a commitment but one Sebastian has followed through to the huge benefit to the boys and to the department. Sebastian is extremely affable and very approachable: qualities that have endeared him to many boarders in Talbot’s who have benefited from having him as their tutor. He is immensely caring and considerate of the boys’ welfare and I know he has thoroughly enjoyed his duties in the boarding house as an opportunity to really get to know the boys. It is these sociable and caring qualities that made him an excellent candidate for chairman of the common room, a post that became vacant in 2012 at a time when very few people were keen to take on the responsibility. Following his election to the role Sebastian wanted to do something different, aiming primarily to get people involved and to feel part of a community, so he expanded the range of social events on offer to the common room with lectures and tennis socials, in addition to the quizzes and the re-introduction of Christmas parties. These additional events have proved to be immensely popular and a chance for staff to socialise outside of the demanding day job. The job has also involved regular meetings with the Head Master where Sebastian has voiced the concerns and opinions of staff and, in an attempt to enhance this dialogue, he introduced the opportunity for staff to quiz and discuss things with the Head Master at regular formal meetings. Sebastian has been keen to

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

make a difference. There is no doubting his huge contribution to the Art department but I think it is safe to say he has certainly made a mark on the whole school community as well. With retirement beckoning he is looking forward to more time in the studio and the opportunity to offer his services for grandparenting duties as and when required. I am pleased to say that the school will be hosting an exhibition of his work in the summer of 2016, so we will look forward to seeing the fruits of his labours in the first year of a well-deserved retirement. M.H. Croker

EDWARD CHARLTON

Dr Charlton joined the English department in September 2014, fresh from completing his PhD in contemporary South African film and theatre at the University of Cambridge. Although Ed has only been with us for a short while, I know I speak for the rest of my department when I say that he has been a wonderful addition to the Rice Building. When my common room colleagues initially asked me about the latest member of the English department in September of last year, my response would often be ‘Well, he is very tall’. At 6 ft 4 in, the sloping ceilings of the Rice Building’s upper reaches may have proved tricky for Ed to navigate. All other aspects of the job, however, he seems to have taken in his (far-reaching) stride. He has been incredibly popular with the boys from the get-go as he educated them in Milton, Blake, Coetzee and Borges, to name but a few. His teaching style was quietly academic with a kind and wise approach that engaged both fourth formers and the upper sixth formers alike. As he made the subtle transition from Mr Charlton to Dr Charlton in April 2015, it become quite obvious that he commanded respect and regard from all who happened to find themselves seated in R1. Ed’s support for events and initiatives held by the English department has been matched by his commitment to Bedford School’s sporting activities. Whether it was the Detweiler prize giving, a theatre trip to Cambridge or simply attending English Society on a Wednesday lunchtime, Ed proved himself to be a fundamental member of the department. Likewise, he spent many a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon standing on the side of the hockey pitches, coaching the U14 Bs through an ‘extremely successful season’ (words from the coach himself). There is no doubt that Ed will be missed. He has shown a great dedication to the department and the pupils who study here, maintaining his wickedly sharp sense of humour, outlandish choice in socks and sincere care for the subject throughout. He leaves Bedford for the bright lights of London to become a research fellow at LSE. We wish him the very best of luck. A.M. Garrett

PETER GEALL

It was two primary school teachers who showed me by example just how influential and important a job teaching can be. The first (my reception teacher, Miss Hattersley) just cared like crazy, and, like the best parents, set firm boundaries, consistently applied. Mr Nutt showed me what real education is, ‘differentiating’ to my advantage aeons before people started building careers promoting this as a new idea. Brass-rubbing never grabbed me (he and his wife drove me and another pupil to a country church one Saturday afternoon – just imagine what Operation Yewtree would make of that now!), but the project analysing the size of Labour and Conservative majorities in the 1966 election sparked

THE OUSEL 2014–2015

an interest in electoral statistics, and then in politics itself, that has never abated. He, with colleagues, took me to a classical concert at Lewisham Concert Hall and quipped that many people say the orchestral tuning-up at the start is often the best bit; he responded to my inherited belief in original sin and eternal damnation for most of humanity with the observation ‘I just don’t believe that God creates rubbish’. And he was probably influential in that school, recommending that I apply to enter the alien world of private education under the ILEA free place scheme; my response to being offered a place at St Dunstan’s College, Catford, was exactly that of Billy Elliott when the Royal Ballet School beckoned. (No wonder I cried at that scene the first five times I watched the film; on the sixth occasion it was dubbed into German, which ‘cured’ me.) So at age 11 began my love affair with languages, which has dominated my life ever since – French, German, Latin for A-level, a gap year in Belgium and France, and now 35 years of teaching, interrupted in 1994–95 by a second gap year, partly spent in the Oxford of Germany – Tuebingen. Languages, European travel, classical music, the seductive voice of Kate Adie, Lakeland fells and teashops, the poetry of Catullus (the non-rude ones obviously), the novels of Alexander McCall Smith, the company of sparky teenagers, and chilled Rose d’Anjou on a warm summer’s evening – all of these I’d struggle to do without; which is why I’m delighted that a year at BMS starting this September will take me well past my 60th birthday. If that proves to be half as pleasant as my brief sojourn here at Bedford School – where the whole community has shown me a quite extraordinary warmth – I shall be fortunate indeed. P. Geall

MIKE GUNN

It’s early on a bright Friday morning as I step into to the science building. As usual, I’ve forgotten it’s mufti day, so I turn to go home to get changed and meet Mike Gunn on his way in. Too late, I try to shield my eyes from the shimmering blaze of colour, as his latest Hawaiian shirt bursts into sight. It will be several hours before my retina recovers and the floating psychedelic blobs fade from view. Of course, Mike does not limit such sartorial crises to Dress Down Fridays, for his wardrobe boasts more ties than there are days in a year. My least favourite (and that’s at the end of a long list) is his furry tie, perhaps because of his slightly disturbing habit of gently stroking it when he’s talking to you. Admittedly, I made that last bit up, but it’s what I’d do if I wore his tie, so I keep imagining he does it ... Mike’s socks – upon which he has a distinct preference for cartoons – are also worthy of a mention in dispatches. I have a sneaking suspicion that, if he wears underpants (and I prefer to assume that he does) they, too, would give good cause for comment. Mike’s clothing reflects his love of the ridiculous and he will laugh until he’s puce and crying when something catches his funny bone, which is often. Yet the casual reader of such a description might be left with a sense that Mike is some sort of jolly clown. Far from it. He is a man of great intellect and sensitivity and is well known as the goto person if you need a common-sense answer to a tricky problem. His extraordinary eye for detail can spot errors with ease and great speed; he is a very good person to have at your back, but he is also a very depressing person to sit next to when marking exam papers, for he will have finished four papers by the time mere mortals have completed one. Of course, there are many benefits in having staff with such skills in our school; yet there is a price to pay by those of us who have published an

incorrect date or written a document containing logical contradictions, only to be corrected by one of Mike’s uncompromising emails. However, I would argue that all institutions need colleagues who are fearless and who are willing to declare that an emperor is indeed naked; neutrality or even sycophancy are the easy routes which Mike chooses not to tread and our school is a better place for his insistence on precision (or is that accuracy, reliability or validity? It has always been reassuring to know that ‘Mike Will Know’ when the rest of us, and me in particular, have got them confused again). In his time here, Mike has been chairman of the common room, a member of the education and pastoral committees for many years, run the RAF section of the CCF, coached the 1st VIII to two wins at the Nationals and been in charge of all new staff induction and training, while in his spare time he worked as an OCR examiner and as a state school governor for 18 years. Mike’s departure will see us lose a visiting boarding house tutor of 29 years, who cares deeply for his tutees and has always gone the extra mile to ensure their welfare comes first. We also lose an exceptional biology teacher, who has inspired generations of students and contributed hugely to the success of the department. He has been the archetypal ‘public school master’. He retires to spend more time with Debbie and their cats aboard their canal boat, Aquaholix, his captain’s hat perched at a jaunty angle as they chug gently through the beautiful waterways of England, employing his encyclopaedic knowledge of his beloved wildlife to spot moles, toads, badgers and weasels creeping through the lush undergrowth. We wish him well and hope that he might come back to see us and tell us his tales from the riverbank. M.A. Beale

OLIVE HEFFILL

Olive arrived at BSSC as its doors opened in September 1996 as the full-time English teacher. She relished the opportunity to be in at the start of a whole new venture, and as the landscape of international study centres has changed and developed, she has become something of a landmark in the centre that has stayed small and friendly. Taking over from Jonathan McKeown as director in September 2000, she brought in innovations such as the Saturday morning programme of enrichment activities. Over the years, BSSC students have had a go at Indian dancing, samba drumming, Warhol-style self-portraits and many other challenges. Some have become fixtures in the calendar, such as ponddipping in Harrold Country Park, high ropes in Kempston Outdoor Centre and the cooking of a big celebratory lunch for Chinese New Year. She introduced a technique for teaching and learning vocabulary using money-box tins which is not to be found anywhere but in BSSC and among its alumni. Marketing trips have taken her to 29 different countries, taking the name of Bedford School and the Study Centre to families and agents from Kazakhstan to Chile, and from Myanmar to the Ivory Coast. She has greatly enjoyed building a network of friends, contacts and especially alumni around the world. Working at the Study Centre has allowed her to develop a new set of skills in party planning. There have been some memorable events under her watch – reunion parties in Bedford and in Chinatown, a hen night, a desert island party (‘come as you were when the ship went down’) and a leaving do in St Pancras Station. BSSC was a founding member of the British Association of International Study Centres, BAISC, and Olive served for some

years as its secretary and then chair, and as part of the inspection team. BAISC worked with the British Council to add the ISC category to Accreditation UK, and BSSC was one of the first centres to be inspected and accredited in this way, in October 2002. The most recent inspection, in October 2014, identified strengths in staff management, quality assurance, learning resources, course design, teaching, care of students, accommodation, leisure opportunities and care of under-18s: a legacy to be really proud of. Olive leaves us to head back to her native roots in Scotland; while she claims to be heading into retirement, it is clear that she will be called upon from many sectors for her knowledge and expertise within the world of international education. We sincerely hope that she stays in touch and visits us whenever she finds herself south of the border. R.J. Midgley

MICHAEL HUTCHINSON

Michael joined Bedford School in September 2008, direct from Cambridge University, and was pleased to remain the youngest member of staff for several years. He joined Redburn as assistant housemaster, quickly took on responsibility for table tennis and the Junior Maths Olympiad, completed a PGCE and gained NQT status before switching to more theological pursuits for further postgraduate study. Meanwhile, he revolutionised staff football, discovered choral singing, broke his hand and foot in mysterious and apparently unconnected domestic incidents, rented Jayne Beard properties twice and survived, underwent reconstructive surgery and met his future wife, although not in that order. Along the way he has made many friends and we hope he will keep in touch as he moves on to married life and a new teaching position in Blackburn, Lancashire. It is sad to see him go but he is probably right to leave now, before Bedford School takes what is left of his twenties. Michael is a talented sportsman. An international table-tennis player and county athlete in his youth, he plays badminton for one of Britain’s top clubs, is an accomplished middle-distance runner and also took a fair number of pre-wedding dance lessons in order to meet the higher aesthetic standard expected of men on the continent. Most notable at Bedford has been his leading role in school football. In 2014, his first year as master in charge, the 1st XI enjoyed an unbeaten season and were a penalty shoot-out away from a regional cup final. Michael’s first training session did much to establish a successful formula. The boys emerged expectant from the changing rooms, new boots shining in an array of lurid colours, an inverted rainbow rippling towards us as they sashayed across the lightly-frosted tarmac. Some wore bandanas, snoods, leggings and, worst of all, replica shirts, the righteous banning of which followed soon after. Told to form a circle, they were subjected to an intense physical training drill rarely seen outside of GI Jane, dodgeball and the Rocky franchise. Apart from Zakk Scorer and Tom Garrett, who seemed to enjoy it, they were mostly shattered, spent and re-evaluating their relationship with hockey before the half-hour mark was up, but the philosophy for the year had been established and it dovetailed perfectly over the season with a tactical preference for the ‘position of maximal opportunity’, updated to reflect Jose Mourinho’s mantra that possession is dangerous. Multiple highscoring victories followed as opponents were driven into the waterlogged turf, opposition defences turned more times than the Cambridge Five on a waltzer. Michael’s colleagues will remember him most fondly, however, for his tireless dedication to staff football. Appointed captain of The Ousels, he has for

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several years been the organisational force behind weekly five-aside sessions in the ‘Thunderdome’ and, more recently, our participation in the North Bedfordshire Teachers’ League, in which he was our highest scorer by a mile and drove us (all of our games were away) to a respectable third-place finish. Aside from extreme fitness, apparent from his debut back in September 2008 when he was the only member of staff to warm-up (it took us a while to interpret his running laps around the hall), Michael exhibits an unorthodox playing style which makes him almost impossible to tackle and which incorporates an unerring, occasionally infuriating ability to score from the tightest of angles. Alongside living legends Huddlestone, Gearing and Bury, Michael is widely acknowledged as one of the best players to have donned the blue-and-white hoops; for my money he is the complete indoor footballer, which is meant as a compliment. Still, perhaps his finest moments were seen in the annual staff v boys game, which we rarely lost under his leadership. In his final appearance earlier this year he tucked a penalty away into the bottom corner, having won it putting his head in the way of Leo Maier’s flying boot, later commenting he knew he’d score. Michael is, of course, not English, hence he gets to feel this way about penalties. His favourite goal is the now infamous late winner scored past Haraj Soor; applying the law of averages, Michael struck the ball directly at Haraj three times in succession, the third attempt ricocheting into the net. Actually my personal favourite was his thunderous uprooting of Juan Soriano; each to their own. Soon to be a married man, his days of watching every minute of every international tournament are probably over but a third and in some ways equally heroic aspect of Michael’s football journey while at Bedford and worthy of commemoration here has been his determination to facilitate the communal viewing of televised sport during working hours. Back in 2010, he decided to convert the old common-room annexe into a World Cup match centre. He festooned the room with flags, positioned chairs around the screen and stocked the fridge with items requisitioned from the assistant housemasters’ barbecue. Andrew Morris didn’t like us; we didn’t care. Continuing with the football theme, which I hope he will appreciate, I take some credit for having introduced Michael to non-league. We’ve done our best over the years to take in as much of it as possible, visiting Rushden, Kettering, Luton, Wootton Blue Cross, St Neots (where Michael was interviewed by Radio 4, whose ethnographic curiosity clearly knows no bounds), Biggleswade and, more regularly, the Eyrie, where Bedford Town usually flattered to deceive; but much pleasure was nevertheless derived from the tea hut, clubhouse and, of course, the murmurings and mutterings of the hard core of elderly fans in the small covered terrace behind the dug-outs. These immaculately-dressed gentlemen would applaud politely at the scoring of a goal then explode in animated fury whenever a throw-in went the wrong way. Our most-visited ground has been Cambridge United’s atmospheric Abbey Stadium, complete with handsome floodlights, pensioner-filled terracing and a close proximity to the pitch that presented regular opportunities to knock the ball back into play. As Michael had mainly been into snooker and hanging about the college dining halls while at university, we both made a first trip down Newmarket Road on 23rd January 2010, York City winning 1–0 in a game most notable for the fearful abuse meted out to Geordie striker Richard Broadie; we became semi-regular fans, even joining the ‘Yellow and Black Army’ behind the goal on one occasion (both goals in a 2–0 win came in the first half, at the other end), 80

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although we were more interested in the game itself than in any particular degree of success on the field and we have not yet seen them play in League Two. We did also take in some league football, although it was never as enjoyable. Fulham v Newcastle was memorable only for the outrageous aggression of the away contingent; Newcastle put in a better performance at home to Southampton, which we took in on my stag weekend alongside a Girls Aloud concert, the second event perhaps being Michael’s highlight, particularly when Cheryl Cole strapped herself to a platform and rose high above our heads, a Lara Croft mannequin as reimagined by the writers of Criminal Minds. QPR v Coventry saw us briefly interviewed by Sky Sports, although we didn’t make the final edit as we couldn’t pronounce ‘Adel Tarrabt’; Michael did buy himself a lovely QPR shirt, though, with which he confused people for years to come. Most dispiriting were trips to corporate obscenities like the Emirates and the especially upsetting Stadium MK, although some cheer was at least wrought from the witticisms of the travelling Cambridge City contingent (they lost 1–6; there is no romance in Milton Keynes). Peterborough’s London Road (play-offs) and Leicester’s Walker Stadium (FA Cup) were better but surely nothing will have compared to the experience of following Blyth Spartans to such places as Eastwood, birthplace of D.H. Lawrence, Hinckley, forever in Nuneaton’s shadow but proud cradle of the hosiery industry, Solihull, home of Land Rover, and Corby, known as ‘Little Scotland’ due to the large-scale settlement of steel workers from north of the border and, in spite of the architecture and layout, apparently untouched by the Luftwaffe. It’s an education, football. We managed two visits to Wembley, the first with our good friend Chris Walker to see Northern League Whitley Bay win the FA Trophy and the second to witness one of the great FA Cup Final upsets as a last-minute goal from Wigan’s Ben Watson sparked wild celebrations in the stands. Michael also absorbed some blows while watching Blyth score twice at Hartlepool in last season’s FA Cup; I think he understood. Aside from the beautiful game, Michael has a great love of food in general and the dining halls in particular; he once turned down a job in Coleraine having eaten a disappointing canteen lunch. I recall a fellow-teacher approaching me wide-eyed in amazement one day, having seen how many carrots he had lovingly assembled in classical pyramid formation on his plate. Dark were the days when a wholesale refurbishment saw us subsisting on sandwiches and jacket potatoes in the sports hall; Michael made his meals at home and ferried them in each day via an assortment of Tupperware containers. He remained a regular fixture at tea even when no longer in boarding, mostly for culinary reasons but also just a little bit because it upset the Bursary. Having served four years as an assistant housemaster, Michael had moved with Jonny Sheldon and me into an 11thfloor flat in Riverside Towers in the summer of 2012. Although the overwhelmingly brutalist building is regarded by locals as a terrible error of post-war planning, the rooms we inhabited did offer (via a rather fecund rooftop terrace and a precarious, windwhipped balcony) a panoramic view of the town and surrounding area. Michael’s industrial-size TV made for excellent Match of the Day viewing and the overspill of books, shoes and assorted detritus from Jonny Sheldon’s criminally undersized accommodation lent the place a certain homely quality. On the other hand there was no central heating, the shower had a radio but often no water and turning on the kitchen tap produced a flow akin to that observable from a redundant garden hose coiled up on its hook. Still, we got on well and enjoyed the year and Michael was an excellent housemate. Having never found cause

to visit the library as an undergraduate, Michael has now become something of an expert compiler of essays, complete with footnotes and bibliographies. He has always been a great reader and friends have enjoyed passing around and discussing many titles with him over the years; I am grateful for his introduction to the disparate talents of Louis MacNeice and Colin Bateman and will one day read Harry Potter. His recent postgraduate endeavours, though, have brought him more closely into contact with the administrative side of academic life, doing little to shake his powerful aversion to bureaucracy. John Oliver recently argued against the banning of the Confederate flag as it helps identify the very worst people. Michael would probably hold school inspectors and course assessors in similar esteem and to date has refused to acknowledge their existence even when they have driven all the way from Gloucester. Michael is an exceptional maths teacher because he is an exceptional mathematician; he will complete a lesson plan only on pain of death and has a rewarding, idiosyncratic and highly successful style all of his own, although he has also been grateful for the expert mentorship of Jeanette Beale, who has really aided his development. Those who love the subject hang on his every word and many have competed in national competitions under his tutelage but he has an excellent rapport with most of the boys he teaches; the others he keeps in fearful dread through his rigorous application of the discipline system. Maths may not be for everyone but by helping boys achieve even beyond their own expectations he does those he teaches a great service. Michael will tell you he isn’t Irish – he is, of course, from Northern Ireland – but some of the generic stereotypes appear in his friendliness, warmth and hospitality. He will be missed by the Maths department and the staff footballers, of course, but also more widely by members of a common room that has been enriched by his presence over the years, through his service as a committee member but also more generally as someone always willing to take the time to listen to others. Michael enjoys discussion and though he knows his own mind he does not seek out argument, nor does he try to sway the beliefs of others; instead he has spent many a lunch hour chatting to colleagues about any subject that has caught his or their attention, making new arrivals feel at ease and doing much to sustain what we like to think of here as quite a unique and welcoming staff community. Michael moves on now to a new stage in his life when he takes up his second teaching post in Blackburn this September (apparently the day after returning from his honeymoon – but then he is unlikely to be hanging on every word during INSET) and sets up home with his wife, Elise, who joins the Linguistics and English Language Department at Lancaster University. Michael, who enjoys puzzling over jokes, and Elise, with a professional interest in such matters, might enjoy the following Lancastrian joke: ‘A family from Lancashire go on holiday to Benidorm and order some food. The father, thinking his pie is lacking in gravy, calls the waiter over saying, “ast tha Bisto fort pah?” and the waiter says in a southern English accent, “I’m sorry, mate, I don’t speak Spanish”.’ Other gravy products are available. Michael will love it ‘up north’ and will no doubt enjoy patrolling the touchline at weekends as he takes charge of the school football team, hopefully unencumbered by the oversized planted umbrellas so beloved of the opposition coaches that pop up from time to time down here; at least Oundle are not on the Lancashire circuit. It rains a lot in Blackburn but surely not more than back home, the curries are unsurpassed and he will be living in a real footballing heartland, close not only to his beloved

Anfield but also to perhaps the highest concentration of nonleague teams anywhere in the world. Lancaster City’s Giant Axe ground might become a regular haunt, if only for the wonder of its name. Having first encountered him on the walk back to our respective boarding houses, when the conversation most probably revolved around Russian peasant customs, ancient Chinese board games and the folly of short goal-kicks, I have hugely valued Michael’s friendship. He has been a great source of humour, sanity and comradeship to many and is one of the finest people I know. The Bedford community wishes Michael and Elise all the very best as they begin their new lives together. M.W. Graham

COLIN MARSH

How to sum up 35 years of professional life in a few short paragraphs? This will merely be a pencil outline in the hope that all of you will be able to add your own colour brushstroke to the final oil painting of Mr Marsh. So where to begin? To misquote Monty Python: ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’ What has Mr Marsh ever done for us and for me in particular? It all began on 1st September 1980. I had been married for three days. It was INSET day, the first session had been the normal boring, tedious dull, uninspiring presentation about inspirational teaching. At the 11.30 am coffee break, I bumped into Mr Marsh. An in-depth discussion about liquid refreshment, local hostelries and the quantitative aspects of specific gravity ensued and so began a 35-year friendship. So what has Mr Marsh done for me? I was 22; I can put my hand on my heart and say my education had hardly begun. I was not an avid reader of fine literature, I had no real appreciation of art and I certainly hadn’t listened to very much classical music. I was a boy from the Black Country, for goodness sake. My cultural education began shortly after we met, on a football tour to Rome. Having just gone past the Coliseum, St Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon, Colin asked the bus driver to stop the coach outside the Chapel of Santa Maria Del Popolo. We went in to view the Crucifixion of St Peter and the Conversion of St Paul, both by Caravaggio. No one else got off the coach; Colin had a harder job to do with recalcitrant schoolboys. That single moment started an odyssey for myself, my wife and family of visiting art galleries. On a trip to Rouen with Colin, I was introduced to the works of Monet; we went to his house in Giverny to see where he had the inspiration for the many pictures of water lilies, walked along the banks of the Seine where he composed many of his landscapes and the following year, went to Paris and visited the Musée Marmottan, the single largest collection of Monet paintings in the world. While there, we also went to the Musée d’Orsay and visited a quite exquisite Manet exhibition. On another trip abroad, we had a few days away in Ghent and visited the Ghent altarpiece, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by van Eyck. On another trip to Cologne, to an institute celebrating the works of Käthe Kollwitz; and if you ever feel downtrodden, look up her work on the ploughman. Another of her work with children begging for food will bring tears to anybody’s eyes. Colin does not do easy art. It is not just art but also literature. Colin has introduced me to John Banville with his novel The Book of Evidence, Cormack McCarthy’s The Road and we still continue to argue over Ian McEwan’s Saturday and Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong, the latter described by Mr Marsh as a work by Mills and Boon. He is Radio 3 to my Classic FM. We have visited so many places over

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the years – Monaco, Sorrento, Capri, Paris twice, Cologne twice, Honfleur, Dinan, Southwold – Tally Ho, bracing walks in Malvern, Rouen, Bayeux, the utter sadness of the Heysal Stadium, Riga, Etretat, the last post at the Menin Gate, a stroll and a coffee on the Grabon, Vienna and a study of neo-classical architecture and rococo interior design of the Lamp Tavern, in Dudley! It was on one of these trips that Colin introduced me to classical music: the Goldberg Variations by Bach, piano sonatas by Beethoven and an introduction to the Estonian musician Arvo Pärt, the work of Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble and, perhaps more importantly, Mahler’s 2nd and 5th symphonies. It was on a trip to Vienna that we visited Grinzing. This is where Mahler is buried. Colin and I have visited several cemeteries: Montmartre, Père Lachaise and Montparnasse. We did not find the Grinzing cemetery for reasons I cannot go into here but through all this some wonderful conversation. Whether we were arguing over the finer points of Liverpool’s diamond formation or degenerate art; whether Balzac, Molière, Camus or Stendhal was the better goalkeeper and who scored the fourth goal in the 1974 FA cup. All normally accompanied by a very fine Malbec. If he has done all this for me (in his spare time), can you imagine the impact on the boys’ education when he is actually trying to impart knowledge and understanding? It was another colleague (Ben O’Donohoe – former Head of Modern Foreign Languages) who said ‘Colin’s intellectual abilities are prodigious yet he wears them with a gentle and humorous self-deprecation which owes nothing to mock humility and everything to the sincere modesty of the learned man – que saisje?’ One did not need to know that he held degrees from Cambridge and Oxford in order to be impressed by the astuteness and alacrity of his mental perceptions, the acuity and depth of his analysis and the wisdom and justness of his judgments. He radiates intelligence as a flame radiates heat and light; automatically and unselfconsciously. As one might expect of such an accomplished linguist, Colin’s cerebral strength expresses itself pre-eminently in his command of language. His spoken discourse is always witty, precise and economical: he says what he means (and vice versa). And his writing is of a truly enviable range and calibre. His school reports are models of cogency and clarity: one searches in vain for a self-absolving ‘satisfactory work and progress’. Being a great teacher is only possible with the support of one’s wife. Usually (as in every household?) the wife is the power behind the scenes. Certainly Anne-Marie, lovely, loyal and as spirited as her husband, has been a vital contributor to Colin’s remarkable career at Bedford. Colin was very close to his mother who sadly passed away last year. Mrs Marsh was a major influence in Colin’s life; a word of encouragement, two soulmates in harmony, loyalty and decency. She was so proud of all his achievements. As will be evident, Colin’s retirement would not entirely be a matter for celebration, since the profession is losing an unambiguously top-class teacher, an outstanding ex-Head of Modern Foreign Languages and sometime Director of IB. That said, behind all this, is a man of charm and good humour, infinite patience and integrity and devotion in his teaching. A gentle man. We regret that retirement should have lured Colin and AnneMarie away from us, but we send our very warmest wishes to them with a suspicion (and a hope) that we have not heard the last of him. C. Baker

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JOE O’NEILL

‘How would you say in French: ...?’ – and there would follow some apparently innocuous sentence which, when you began to think about it, contained what I once heard described as a thorn – une épine. How would you say in French: ‘What I am thinking about is interesting’? How would you say: ‘I have received more letters than I have written’? If a linguistic question seemed to contain a hidden difficulty, or to yield up some form of ambiguity or uncertainty, Joe would shake his head in mock resignation and say: ‘I sense another sleepless night coming on’. I was never fooled: he knew perfectly well how to cope with such matters. Subtle in his perception of nuance, he takes great pleasure in thinking about language. His curiosity about its quirks and anomalies is as unbounded as his knowledge is encyclopaedic. (He would relish translating that last sentence into French.) Elida recalls mulling over some obscure vocabulary matter in Spanish with an especially able boy. When neither could quite come up with the word, the boy said: ‘Mr O’Neill would know, wouldn’t he, Miss?’ She agreed that he would. Any insomnia on his part had little to do with lack of knowledge. There are different models of scholarship. Some wear their learning like a suit of lights and display it as if it were a performance art, holding court and basking in the admiration of their acolytes; others reveal it obliquely, as if in parenthesis, with humility. The O’Neill mode is the latter. Joe never appears to regard himself as a man of formidable intellect, but that is nevertheless what he is: he is well informed in many areas – another of these is Irish history – and in discussion he penetrates astutely to the crux of the matter, undeflected by cant or obfuscation. If he enjoys exploring language, for example what a particular intonation might signify in Turkish or Portuguese, he shares the idea not ostentatiously but in the spirit of amused discovery. He presents an appealing alliance between curiosity and understatement. He first came here to teach modern languages in 1995. I remember a conversation on the phone with him at the time of his application in the course of which I asked him what kind of job he was interested in: ‘I just want to teach languages to a high level’, he said. In his time here he has taught French and Spanish to all imaginable levels, some not, perhaps, quite as elevated as he might have hoped. No matter: whether he was giving the ablest the benefit of his insights or coaxing competent work from those less endowed with linguistic talent, what he brought to the task was rigour. He got the best out of all he taught because he had a feel for the boys’ individual capacities, and he showed them how to reach it. No gimmicks; no nonsense: he just taught them with ferocious dedication and lucidity, as some have freely acknowledged. He presents the paradox of the man of sharp, often dry wit and a chuckling sense of the outrageous who does his job with deadly serious intent. His pupils respect this integrity, as do his colleagues. It is a quality which was also evident in other areas. Over the years he took responsibility for some activities – French Society; French exchange – that were natural extensions of his work as a teacher. Others, such as his role as master-in-charge of fencing, a position he held for many years, belonged less obviously to this domain. I have never known him to fence, although I have wondered idly whether he was lured into it by the Gallic origins of some of its terminology: en garde, prêt, allez. This may be a somewhat fanciful theory, but what is beyond doubt is the commitment he showed to it to enable our boys to take part in competitions here and elsewhere, and the admiration he had for

their talent. Fencing also provides another example of his way of doing things: quietly, low key, always reliably. Joe is an entertaining raconteur, whether recalling his time as a teacher in Scotland or moments from his childhood in Northern Ireland. He sometimes mentions his days as a young pupil at the Rainey School in Magherafelt: for a time he had, by his own account, drifted a bit aimlessly in French, but, guided by a particular teacher, he had started to make progress. When it all made sense to him, his teacher said: ‘I see, O’Neill, that you are beginning to pull away from the herd.’ The reason he told that story was to pay tribute to his teacher, who had discerned talent in him and made a crucial difference. Joe has done exactly that for those he has taught here. He teaches with clarity and precision; he has humour and sympathy, but he is tough and means business: it is no surprise that he commands the affection of the boys in recognition of this mastery of his craft. He leaves us after 20 distinguished years with our gratitude and best wishes. His spirit is at home in Spain and France – he is a passionate advocate of the culture of both countries – and I wish him many happy visits in his retirement from Bedford School. C.L. Marsh

PETE SHERWIN

Maths teacher Pete Sherwin left us in January 2015 for his native Australia after eight years at Bedford School. During his time here he was assistant housemaster of Talbot’s and then became housemaster of Pemberley, where he stayed for five years. He also had a hugely successful tenure as master-incharge of cricket, overseeing the introduction of the T20 format of the game and leading some superb 1st XI teams. Something that very few people know is that our current Head Master, James Hodgson, wrote Pete’s reference for Bedford School having taught with him in Sydney in the 1990s. Pete was offered a place to teach either at Bedford or at Harrow and, unsure about which to choose, Pete deferred to James for advice – advice which was heeded! We wish Pete and his family all the best in their new lives down under. E.E. Murray

MATT STRACHAN

Matt joined Bedford School in September 2010 from Newhall School, Essex. After teaching girls for four years, a single-sex boys’ school was a welcome relief. From day one Matt embraced what the school is all about through his involvement with sport, boarding and much more. He clearly cares for the education of the whole child and not just their academics. He has unfailingly continued to do this over the five years he has been at the school and this is very much recognised and appreciated by the boys. I know that he is very much looking forward to the change and challenge that a day school will deliver and I am sure will quickly make his mark in Churcher’s College’s geography department and the wider school. The Geography department is an excellent team and Matt has been an important part of this. He has an ability to deliver engaging, well-resourced lessons, often giving a lot of time for the boys beyond the requirements of lessons. His enthusiasm for the fourth form Geography Club will be a hard act to follow and his creative ideas have inspired a few of our youngest geographers to have what will hopefully be a lasting interest in the subject. I always enjoy hearing of Matt’s jet-setting lifestyle after every

school holiday. Currently his record is having visited five separate countries in a matter of weeks. The number of stamps in his passport are testament to what an appalling carbon footprint he has, but also what a well-travelled and interesting geographer he is. Pemberley House has been Matt’s home for the past five years and he has given an incredible amount to the role of assistant housemaster, delivering a high level of pastoral care to both his tutees and all other boys in the house. The view from his flat is one I think he will struggle to trump as he moves on from Bedford, although I am sure rural Hampshire will provide a more appealing backdrop than Bedford. His presence will be missed in the house by all and I know his experience and reliability are qualities that every housemaster would desire in an assistant. Matt is a gifted sportsman and not many people remain in Bedford School that haven’t heard of his tennis success against Andy Murray and reaching the semi-finals in Wimbledon U16s. Although he would play down his talents with a hockey stick, it is a blessing to have someone involved with all three major sports and someone who is able to give so much of their time to coaching boys, developing teams and taking matches. Matt has been incredibly generous with his time and has dedicated himself to games sessions and Saturday fixtures throughout the academic year for five years. He has an ability to bring a group of boys together as a team and make training enjoyable and valuable. Matt took on the school’s Christian Union in 2011. It is amazing how far this has come on under his leadership: numbers are buoyant and good links with BGS have been formed. I am always impressed by the sheer number of external speakers Matt manages to bring in to talk on Thursday evenings throughout the year; he is a very well connected individual and has influenced the lives of many young Christian members of our community. We wish Matt good luck with his move to Churcher’s College, Hampshire. He is a kind-hearted, sociable gentleman who will be missed; yet because of this I know that he will settle with ease into a new common room. T.W. Rees

SARAH SWIDENBANK

Sarah Swidenbank came to Bedford School in 2001 as temporary cover but was soon appointed as Director of Drama starting in September of the same year. Over the past 14 years she has driven the school’s drama programme with energy, enthusiasm and passion but, above all, everything she has done has been in the interests of the boys first and foremost. There is with Sarah no self-seeking actor living life vicariously through her charges but rather someone driven solely to bring the best out of the boys. Her choice of productions over the years reflects this, always assessing the talents at her disposal and then making the best choice of play or musical to suit them. During her time at the school, Sarah has also been a tutor in Ashburnham, a role she has always undertaken with the same energy and care as her Director of Drama position. A quick look back over her career at Bedford School shows diversity and great taste in her choice of productions. These include Macbeth (2002), West Side Story (2003), Oklahoma (2005), Forty Years On (2008), The History Boys (2009), Fiddler on the Roof (2009), The Tempest (2011), A Christmas Carol (2012), Grease (2013) and Inherit the Wind (2015.)

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So, looking back, is there a favourite? It is probably fair to say that The History Boys in 2009 was one of Sarah’s favourites not just because it was by her favourite playwright, Alan Bennett, but because that year she had an extraordinary group of talented actors who made her job as director so enjoyable. Typically, Sarah praises the boys and will not take any credit for the highclass performances that were given by the cast. And there is also her final production, Inherit the Wind, which was a marvellous production in collaboration with Bedford Girls’ School. When not masterminding the next school theatre production Sarah enjoys, among other things, antiques. She readily confesses to spending many hours watching Cash in the Attic and Flog It! but only because, she assures me, she is undertaking important research for life after Bedford School when she will buy and sell antiques on eBay. Aside from Sarah’s passion for the theatre she is also passionate about Arsenal which has been the topic of conversation over breakfast on many a Monday morning in the dining hall – apparently Arsene Wenger can do no wrong! And if you want to find Sarah in her retirement you are just as likely to find her at a Foo Fighter’s concert as at the theatre. Just the mention of the name Dave Grohl sends her into a swoon and her eyes light up! So in saying farewell to Sarah Swidenbank the school loses a charming, thoughtful, caring and ever so slightly quirky member of staff. She has always steadfastly refused to take any credit for what she has achieved and is the first to say that it was down to the boys; but the boys will say that it was down to Mrs Swidenbank. A.J. Braithwaite

THERESA TRIPPOLT

Theresa Trippolt has been at Bedford School for three-and-a-half years, though it only seems like yesterday that she arrived for a mid-term replacement role as German assistant in March 2012. She instantly became a hit with boys and staff alike, so much so that she was asked to renew her contract for a full academic year the following September … then, quite uniquely, once again for the academic year 2013–14! She must have grown fond of the place because from September 2014 she became a fullyfledged member of the teaching staff. It is because of a fantastic opportunity arising in Hong Kong that she has chosen to leave us this year. So Theresa the language assistant became Miss Trippolt the German teacher, swim coach and assistant house parent in the Study Centre. Her cipher TST could coincidentally also refer to the tourist hub Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong, the land calling her away from the German department. Since joining BSSC in the summer of 2014, Theresa was an integral part of the pastoral team. Her interest and enthusiasm in what the students were doing was evident daily as well as her understanding of how difficult life can be so far from home. She also took an active role in extracurricular activities, helping with water polo. She will be missed by everyone and we wish her well in her new adventure. E. Rubio

JEROME WATSON

Jerome Watson arrived at Bedford School in September 1982 to add to C.I.M. Jones’s growing collection of hockey players and to join the Mathematics department. It was a singularly difficult start with a diagnosis of lymphatic cancer that December. Heavy abdominal surgery and deep X-ray treatment followed and, despite interesting statistics, remission was declared later in 1983. Fortunately, the cancer never returned and Jerome was 84

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able to return to school. His earlier hockey career had seen him play for England at every level, the high point being winning a bronze medal in the 1978 European Nations Cup. Other highlights were becoming an Oxford Blue, playing in the European Club Championship with the Hounslow Club and representing British Universities. A very skilful and technical player with an aggressive edge, he was a feared and effective forward in those years. He was a very significant appointment to the school, particularly when combined with his exceptional mathematical abilities. At that time Jerome had discovered Africa: his passion was blossoming for the continent, its peoples and its wildlife. Soon he was discussing the possibilities of a school hockey tour that would be so much more than just a sporting trip. In 1986, with the school producing a string of fine hockey players, several gaining age-group international honours, Jerome and Nic Cox led the U16s to victory in the National Indoor Championship and here was the basis of players for a tour to Kenya in 1988 which combined challenging hockey and Jerome’s intimate knowledge of the people and wildlife. Few will forget the forays into Tsavo and up the Great Rift Valley. Promotion to running the U18 indoor squad ensued and in five seasons four national indoor championship titles followed. Jerome will say that the quality of players, with English and German junior internationals, was the crucial factor and anything less would have been a failure. At this juncture he became the coach to the Eastern Region U14 hockey team. With his own (rather different) ideas about talent identification and how to approach player development, he proceeded to win six national titles from ten attempts: an extraordinary haul. Several Bedford boys benefited and some went on to junior England honours along with increasing numbers of others from the East. Recognition came when Jerome was declared the 1999 ‘Sport England Coach of the Year for the Eastern Counties’, an award across all sports and presented by Kate Hoey, the then Minister for Sport. The most successful of the Bedford boys benefiting from Jerome’s care was James Stedman who would go on to represent England at full international level. When Jerome went to watch James play against Belgium he found that, at times, six of the 11 players on the field were old charges of his! Overall 13 have gained full international honours, collecting over 1,000 caps between them, and including five Olympians. Jerome’s influence is tangible. At school he has, at various points, coached the U14 A, U15 A and 1st XI sides, with some unbeaten seasons. More tours to Africa had followed, twice in combination with the German club Uhlenhorst Mulheim and once with just the school. The Zimbabweans were wonderful hosts and there were extensions to South Africa and Namibia. Wherever he went he developed an interest in the wildlife with his extensive knowledge and his sharp eyesight enabling the groups to see far more than they would have done normally. A mention of the ground-scraper thrush will always bring a smile to his face! These were wonderful times. In the classroom Jerome taught mathematics. He was a mainstay of further maths teaching in mechanics as well as the more congenial pure maths. A talented mathematician (not just a teacher) this was evidenced by his contribution of questions used in the British Mathematical Olympiad or the problem pages of the Mathematical Gazette, as well as his readiness to discuss more challenging mathematics with colleagues. He aimed to give his pupils understanding and not just methods as a foundation for further progress. He emphasised the need for rigour and proof, not just pattern spotting, enjoying the counter-intuitive and

the elegant solution. A regular lecturer to the Pythagoreans, he spoke with passion on wide range of topics, from proofs of Pythagoras’s theorem to topology, inequalities, transcendental numbers, the pitfalls of infinity and plumbing! Jerome was also a tutor in Burnaby for 31 years. He ran the Photographic Club in pre-digital darkroom days, an activity that many boys enjoyed and an outlet for Jerome’s creativity. His photos have adorned many front covers of The Ousel, employing a variety of genres. For 25 years he lectured to the sixth form on the wildlife of the Rift Valley and its photography, illustrated by his ever-increasing collection of slides, and with it hoped to promote an interest in the necessity of conservation. The lecture was always hugely rated by the boys and many will remember the superb leopard portrait that also adorned The Ousel and the successful exhibition that followed a sabbatical term in Africa. Photography and his wanderlust led him to become involved with many sixth form geography field trips to Iceland and Morocco. He brought his inquisitive mind with him on these trips, and could often be found turning over desert stones in Morocco to try to find scorpions (causing considerable health and safety concerns to the organiser)! He had a genuine interest in the environments studied and so often saw the site for the team photo (while at the same time looking to find that photo for the front page of The Ousel )! He also provided a constant supply of corny jokes that kept the boys amused. Behind the scenes, he very generously made financial contributions to the trips to enable the group to do activities beyond just the geography. This led to opportunities such as riding camels in the Sahara, white water rafting and a boat trip on the Jokulsarlon (famous for the ice palace in a Bond film) which were very much appreciated by boys and staff. He will be greatly missed in the common room. He was often to be seen completing The Times crossword with a small group around him chatting through the clues. His sense of humour and his ability to see the funny side of situations will also be missed as well as his comments about boys’ names! Possibly as a result of long-term damage from radiotherapy, Jerome needed considerable heart surgery a few years ago. The effects have not always been comfortable to deal with and now that retirement has arrived, he can look forward to enjoying his travel and hobbies. We wish him a long and happy retirement. Richard Walker

DEBBIE WILKINSON

Debbie’s dynamic approach to boys’ learning and pastoral care will be sorely missed by both students and colleagues. After hearing about Bedford School while teaching in Spain in 2006, Debbie contacted me with her details. She returned to the UK and was working for NHS youth mental health services when a job came up and Miss Gillan, as she was then, joined the ESOL department in February 2007. Bedford’s international students have benefited hugely from Debbie’s support of their academic progress and well-being and those who have left the school remember her fondly. My first memory of Debbie was meeting to discuss potential posts and being presented with an amazing portfolio of lessons and schemes of work. I should have known then that Debbie would quickly become central to ESOL teaching and learning, acting as second in department, even though that position was never formalised. Her natural leadership style and humour, alongside an ability to organise socials for our nine-strong team, helped us to provide the very best environment for our students.

Debbie is exceptional in the classroom: always learning, sharing new ideas, spicing up the most mundane syllabus, but most of all, being indefatigable about getting boys to reach their potential. Her students’ iGCSE ESL and IELTS results are testament to her inability to let her boys do anything less than their best. Debbie has built strong relationships with all of her students and passing by room E5 (under the eaves in Brown’s) you’d hear lively discussions on wide-ranging topics, not just the many uses of the present perfect or how to structure an IB essay but also advice on balancing prep with rowing and orchestra commitments and supportive pointers about improving a friendship that’s hit a rough patch. It is Debbie’s ability to be a firm but fair advocate for her students, as well as an inspiring teacher, which led boys to request her as their ESOL teacher each year, even into the upper sixth when they didn’t necessarily need language support. As Mrs Wilkinson, Debbie became Bedford School’s first female boarding housemaster, a fact that she shrugs off with Glaswegian nonchalance. BSSC’s girls and boys have been cared for expertly by Debbie and Ivan, becoming more confident socially and linguistically and even picking up a few Scottish and Geordie sayings. The Wilkinsons care deeply about every individual’s interests and worries in the house and go out of their way to support them. Above all, Debbie has been an ambassador for international understanding at Bedford School, from new staff inset on cultural (mis)understandings to leading debating trips to the Houses of Parliament with a multinational team. If there were an equation for DEW or Sergeant Wilko (a nickname arising from her stridence) it might read: compassion + professionalism + humour + tenacity = superb colleague I wish Debbie all the very best in her next role as Head of Girls’ Boarding at St Edmund’s; they are very lucky to have her. Fiona McEwan-Cox

SUPPORT STAFF

KEITH BASS

Keith had an interesting career prior to joining Bedford school as a physics technician. He trained and worked as an engineer, including a stint for a motor-scooter shop where he worked on the lights and mirrors of Sting’s iconic moped for the film Quadrophenia! He also spent 22 years as an RAF engineer which involved work on construction and design for outside advertising events. He left the RAF and, after spending a couple of years working for a graphics and sign company in Letchworth, he joined the Physics department of the school in 1999. As a technician Keith was always a helpful and friendly face who was willing to give his time and considerable expertise to ensure that students and staff could get the equipment they needed for practical work. He devised some ingenious and fun demonstrations and has left some excellent display work around all of the science corridors. In particular, his skill at producing three-dimensional carpet portraits has impressed many parents and students as they have visited the building over the past decade and a half. Keith retired at the end of August 2015, and we wish him all the best as he takes a well-earned rest. M.A.R. Crisp

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YASO DHAHARAJ

Yaso was with the IT Services department for 18 months and during that time he made a significant contribution to improving the reliability of our classroom virtual infrastructure. Yaso's decision to leave was a great loss to IT Services but was made out of a desire to emigrate to Australia with his family; the company he moved to will enable him to do that. We wish him and his family all the best for his future life down under. P. Drage

GERRY MCGARRY

Gerry started working at Bedford School in the spring of 2006 as deputy head porter. I distinctly remember him telling me that he felt that this position would allow him to wind down and end his working days in a rather more relaxed and less frenetic environment than he’d previously been used to: hardly prophetic! I started temping at school in July 2006 and at that point Gerry was still deputy head porter. Shortly after, and due to unforeseen circumstances, Gerry was appointed head porter and I became deputy head porter; the rest, as they say, is history. We muddled through and learned together, supported one another and, over the years, became something of a double act. A mutual love of real ale, live music and a good curry probably helped! We were probably thrown in at the deep end to a certain extent, but we kept each other afloat and, over the coming years, formed a strong and abiding friendship which lasts to this day. Knowing Gerry as I do it’s easy to understand why he was such a well-respected and popular member of the entire school community. He was always prepared to go that extra mile to ensure that the job got done while retaining his sense of humour and integrity at all times: excellent personal traits indeed. I’m sure that everyone who had dealings with Gerry was sad on the day that he announced his impending retirement. I can assure you that Gerry was equally crestfallen to be leaving what he considered to be the best job he’d ever had. He loved the school, the staff and the surroundings. That said, he’s enjoying his retirement, spending his days studying local history, watching his two grandchildren growing up while still managing to find time for the occasional pint. R.I. Wood

JOSIE MCGREEVY

Josie McGreevy was a member of the medical centre team from 2006 to 2015. She was a valued and vibrant nurse who enjoyed her role immensely. She was an extremely popular figure among staff and boys alike. She enjoyed being a member of the school community and supported many events in school. We wish Josie good luck and best wishes as she moves on to be a hospital nurse. J. Powell

CAROLINE PENGELLEY

Caroline was an active member of the school medical centre nursing team. She enjoyed all aspects of her role and was a valued member of our team. She has taken up a post at Kimbolton School which allows her a much shorter journey to work. She will be missed but we wish her all the very best. J. Powell

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SANDRA SALSBURY

Sandra joined the school in January 2003 and soon made her mark in the Bell Room as the face of Bedford School. She took to her role with gusto and never shied away from tackling the tricky issues which often come with the territory of working as a receptionist in any organisation. Sandra was a great all-rounder: always welcoming with a ready smile, she would greet all comers warmly, whether familiar to the school or not. Sandra was blessed with good humour and compassion. A worried parent or a tearful new boy would always know they could head to the Bell Room and be met with help and guidance from Sandra. Visiting OBs enjoyed telling her their tales of naughtiness when at school which Sandra loved to hear. She learnt a great deal about the school from these many encounters and duly passed these stories on. Recent leavers love to return to their alma mater and Sandra would always remember them, give them a warm welcome and want to know how they were getting along. She once said to me, ‘Never ask me to type a letter as I can’t type and I’d have to do it one-fingered!’ Suffice to say I didn’t, but Sandra coped admirably with computers and the multitude of work that came through the Bell Room on a daily basis. However, the word ‘registrations’ was always a sore subject and I’m sure there are many academic staff, old and new, who would testify to a ticking off from Sandra when they didn’t complete their registrations on time! Sandra loved her time at Bedford School but decided to hand over the reins so she could enjoy the next phase of her life with Paul. I know she misses the place and we her, but she’s embracing her new-found retirement safe in the knowledge that Yolanda is doing a sterling job! R. Blake

ROS TFIFHA

Ros joined the Bursary in February 1996. She undertook a variety of administrative duties during her time with us until she decided to retire in February 2015 to spend more time with her family. Ros is an enthusiastic gardener and a loyal supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. We hope she will be able to indulge both passions and spend time with her five grandchildren as she begins her retirement. We would like to thank Ros for her service to the school and wish her a long, happy and healthy retirement. K. Rockall

... and welcome

BRIGITTE BOUSQUET

MAITE BUERGO

RICHARD CAMPBELL

KATI DONLON

ZOE GARBOULD

IRENE HILLS-JONES

JACQUIE HUTT

RICHARD JONES

ANTOINETTE KEYLOCK

SIMON LAVASH

SARAH MANNING

ALLEN MIDWINTER

KATIE NICHOLSON

LORE RESTA

RACHEL SMITH

ERIC SQUIRES

JESSICA STARKEY

CHLOE TILFORD

RACHEL WAINWRIGHT

PHILLIP WATERHOUSE

PHILLIP WHATLING

JAMES WILLS

PAUL WRIGHT

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ACADEMIC STAFF BRIGITTE BOUSQUET

Madame Bousquet is the new Head of Modern Foreign Languages. She was born in La Reunion but moved to mainland France for her secondary education. She studied at the University of Toulouse, before completing her teacher training in Rouen. She taught in France for a few years, but abandoned her teaching profession for a while when she moved to the UK, instead working for a consultancy. She was reunited with teaching when she took up a post in the state sector for about five years. She arrived at Bedford some years ago and taught Spanish and French here for ten years, before leaving to have her first child. She then took up a post at the Churchill College of Cambridge University Language Centre, before moving to The Perse. She returned to Bedford this September to be Head of MFL and teach French. Conor Hilliard

MAITE BUERGO

Mrs Buergo studied modern foreign languages at Malaga University before getting a masters’ degree in technical translation from Valladolid University in 2004. She then acquired a degree in education at Complutense University in Madrid. She was inspired to take up teaching as a career after giving private tuition to her classmates at university. She previously taught French, English and Spanish in Spain, before dropping the English after she moved to England. She currently teaches Spanish to the fourth, remove and fifth forms. She is part of the Spanish Society, and is thoroughly enjoying her time at Bedford School so far. We hope that this continues. Enoch Mukungu

RICHARD CAMPBELL

Mr Campbell joined the school as the newest member of the Geography department in September 2015. Having been educated at the University of Auckland in New Zealand where he studied geography and economics, he has moved on to a career in teaching that started in 1994. He has taught all over the world in countries such as Botswanan, Portugal, New Zealand and now the UK. When contacting him, I asked what he liked the most about Bedford so far: rugby was a key feature, in particular his coaching of the U14 A and B sides, along with what he called ‘a vibrant Geography department’. Away from the classroom, he underlined his passion for experiencing new opportunities that the school could offer, in particular house events as part of the St Cuthbert’s team. We wish him a successful time over the coming years at Bedford School. Ben Slawinski

JULES CROSSLEY

Jules Crossley came to us in January from Bradfield College where she was Head of Drama for seven years. Prior to that she taught at St George’s in Ascot (an all-girls’ school), so Bedford has come as a welcome change. Bradfield is particularly known for its open-air amphitheatre which was modelled on the Ancient 88

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Greek theatre at Epidaurus. In the summer of 2014 Jules directed Antigone in Ancient Greek to mark the re-opening of ‘Greeker’ after ten years of closure while it was being refurbished. She really enjoyed the experience, which included a tour to Greece where the play was also performed at Epidaurus; an incredible (as well as hugely challenging) experience. Jules was lured to Bedford by the opportunity to work in such a fantastic new theatre and she has hasn’t stopped since! Anyone who looks on the Quarry Theatre website will be able to see how varied and full the programme is, with both external touring shows and internal events and productions. Since joining Bedford School Jules has particularly enjoyed the chance to combine her passion for theatre and her love of teaching in such a wonderful new facility. Jules is particularly enjoying working in a boys’ school for the first time as it means she is able to focus more on physical theatre. There are also several plays she has wanted to direct for some time with all-male casts. By the time this magazine is published she will have directed Journey’s End which is opening on Armistice Day and will involve a cast of boys and teachers. The older officers are being played by teachers in order to highlight the youth of many of the officers sent over straight after leaving schools like Bedford, and the resulting age difference between those in command and many of the ‘regular’ soldiers in the First World War. We wish her the best of luck during her time at Bedford School. K. Donlon

KATI DONLON

For those of you who have been over to the new theatre recently, you may have met Kati Donlon, the new theatre assistant who started working at the Quarry Theatre in September 2015. One of her many duties is running the box office, which she obviously does with a great deal of charm and pleasantry (if she’s had a coffee!) and she may have already sold you a ticket for a show. If you haven’t met her you need to get over to the Quarry ASAP and see a show or visit the exhibition in the foyer and introduce yourself. Kati came to Bedford School from King’s College London where she studied international politics. She has produced plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and worked at the Hampstead Theatre as well as being involved in lots of plays when she was at school and university, both acting and stage-managing. Kati will be with us for the next year so that she can learn as much as possible about the mechanics of running a theatre. She’ll also be managing the bar, establishing a ‘Friends of the Quarry’ scheme and getting to grips with marketing and publicity (as well as generally providing an extra pair of hands). She has already been tasked with the job of hanging a very valuable art exhibition – something she had no previous experience of and had no idea she might have to do! When I asked her for her thoughts on her new role at the end of her first month Kati said, ‘There’s been a lot to learn! There’s been highs (successfully hanging the impossible to hang BAFTA portraits) and lows (being referred to as the ‘new receptionist’ by one of the boys!) but overall I’m really enjoying it and looking forward to all the challenges the next year will bring’. J.E. Crossley

IRENE HILLS-JONES

Mrs Hills-Jones joined Bedford School in January 2015 so did not quite make it into the previous volume of the magazine. By the time Mrs Hills-Jones spoke with The Ousel, she was already fully acquainted with the values and traditions of the school. She has said that she is impressed by how ambitious and motivated Bedford boys are. With a management science degree from Warwick, Mrs HillsJones never imagined herself working in the field of education. She was involved in risk assessment for most of her career, working as an auditor at Deloitte then HFEA and the Health Protection Agency, where she dealt with many health-related issues. Eventually, due to family reasons, she decided to change career path and taught at Stratton Upper School as a maths teacher before joining Bedford School. As well as teaching maths, Mrs Hills-Jones is currently coaching table tennis. She has also been involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. As a visiting tutor in Talbot’s, Mrs HillsJones is looking forward to sports day and house singing. She is particularly proud of Talbot’s boys for being so mature and responsible in the boarding house. Mrs Hills-Jones has said that this has been the best environment she has worked in and thinks that it is good to see the whole school working for the same purpose. Outside school, she watches rugby and enjoys running and swimming. We wish her all the best at Bedford School. Calvin Fang

JACQUIE HUTT

Jacquie joins Bedford School in the Learning Support department. She has until recently been a special educational needs co-ordinator in a large academic school in Herts. Her other past roles have included being an advisory teacher for pupils with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia) and learning and behavioural issues. She recently moved to Oakley after getting married. She has three grown-up children and stepchildren. We wish her every success and happiness at Bedford School. J.L. Spir

RICHARD JONES

Richard Jones is an Uppingham alumnus, who enjoyed playing rugby up until the sixth form, and left with high qualifications in maths and chemistry. He studied chemical engineering at the University of Newcastle, saying that just chemistry was ‘a bit boring.’ While at Newcastle he learned to love a spot of rowing, but decided that he would be better suited to coxing and coaching. Bedford’s Chemistry department is his first full-time teaching post, although he taught part-time at a girls’ school in north London for several years. In the future, once he has settled himself into Bedford, he might take up the coaching reins again for one of the rowing squads. Conor Hilliard

ANTOINETTE KEYLOCK

Ms Keylock started ‘teaching’ at the age of 13 at her local drama school in Cambridge. After working with Theatre de Complicite and Trestle Theatre Company as a student she realised how theatre can not only educate, but communicate important

themes and empower audience members. She knew from a very early age that she wanted to watch students learn to be successful collaborators and communicators. At university she studied English and drama, and spent some time working with the National Youth Theatre. She left university with a BA (Hons), an MA, a LLAM, and an ALAM in theatre. She is Head of Academic Drama, and has found the experience wonderful, loving working in the professional theatre space with young, creative minds. She has created a fourth form ‘Theatre Company’ on Monday lunchtimes, and hopes to direct a few plays in the future. We hope her time at Bedford School only gets better. Enoch Mukungu

SARAH MANNING

Sarah joins us as our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) coordinator. Given Bedford School’s internationally diverse community, Sarah is going to be a very busy lady! She has plenty of experience to guide her in her new post: she was formerly an ESOL teacher in the Prep School and has worked in EAL (English as an Additional Language) departments in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Taipei. Alongside her wonderful career, she has also found the time to bring up four children: Jack (who is 23 and a music graduate); Lawrie (who is 21 and a history graduate) and her 20-year-old twins, Tom and Anna (both currently studying geography at university). In her spare time (where she finds any of that, I’m not sure), she enjoys horse-riding, reading, cooking, walking, travelling and experiencing new cultures. She is also a Brown Owl for a Girl Guides group. We wish her every success in her new role. E.E. Murray

ALLEN MIDWINTER

The surname Midwinter might ring a bell to some cricketers in the school; perhaps because Mr Midwinter’s great-grandfather, Billy Midwinter, was the only person in history to play for and against both Australia and England in test match cricket. Indeed, this sporting talent did pass on to Mr Midwinter, who enjoys tennis and played against Dick Norman and Frederico Gil over the summer. He was the champion in Wiltshire when he was young. Mr Midwinter’s sporting talent isn’t just limited to tennis; he is currently coaching the Colts C and D team for rugby: a team which triumphed in its first match against Stowe. Mr Midwinter also enjoys playing football. Despite his sporting talents, Mr Midwinter said that he never wanted to be a professional in sports and so decided to teach maths, a subject he enjoys. After a lengthy conversation with Mr Midwinter, I found out two reasons why might he have chosen this career path: firstly, he said that he likes working with young people; and secondly (a more genetic rationale), he might have been influenced by his father who is also a teacher! After working as a teaching assistant in the South-West, Mr Midwinter decided to pursue this career further and so came to Bedford School with a degree in maths and PGCE from Bristol. Mr Midwinter says that he feels extremely welcomed by the whole school community and thinks that members of staff are extremely professional. In his spare time, Mr Midwinter enjoys

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reading. He informed The Ousel that his favourite books are The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones; so if you are in one of Mr Midwinter’s maths lessons, you better behave before he tells you which character is going to die next (thankfully, he did not reveal it in our conversation). We hope he continues to lead the Colts rugby team into more successful battles and wish him all the best for his time here at Bedford! Calvin Fang

KATIE NICHOLSON

Mrs Nicholson is a new sculpture teacher in the Art department. She has a masters’ degree in fine art sculpture from the Slade School of Art, UCL, and a BA in fine art painting from the University of Brighton. She completed an art foundation course at Central Saint Martin’s College, University of the Arts, London. She was inspired to teach after university when she had an opportunity to tutor A-level and GCSE students. She found that teaching was a wonderful chance to talk, discuss and enthuse a new generation of creative thinkers. This led to her training as a teacher. As an artist she worked with UCL to design two separate installation prints, one for the UCL Roberts Building stairwell and the other resides in the biochemical engineering department. She has worked with a variety of different museums and galleries, curating and exhibiting her own art work. She has taught in two secondary schools in the St Albans and Harpenden area. Prior to this she worked at an independent girls’ school in Potters Bar. Outside the classroom she is involved with swimming and water polo, and is looking forward to the Art department’s trip to Venice to see the Bienalle. She is really happy to work at Bedford School, and is particularly enjoying the effort the dinner staff make at lunch every day. We wish her every success. Enoch Mukungu

ERIC SQUIRES

Eric joins us as the new Director of BSSC (the Bedford School Study Centre). He has come directly from Bishopstrow College where he was Interim Principal for eight months. Prior to that he spent three years in Abu Dhabi training teachers and senior leadership teams in government schools. He has also worked in international schools in the UK and Egypt and was Director of Studies at Sherborne International. What he has enjoyed most so far (with the BSSC term being old two days old at the time of writing!) is meeting the new students and their families and talking to them about their plans for the future (since most BSSC students stay at the Study Centre for only a year before moving on to Bedford School or to other schools). Outside work he has three children and one grandson. His home is Shaftesbury in Dorset – anyone who remembers the famous Hovis advertisement will know Gold Hill which is half a mile from their house! We wish Eric success and happiness as he embarks upon his crucial role in this thriving institution. E.E. Murray

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JESSICA STARKEY

Miss Starkey joined Bedford School in September 2015 as a German teacher. Her passion for languages began when her parents bought a house in France and the only way for her to socialise was by learning the language. She then decided to take up German and subsequently Chinese. Miss Starkey decided to use her outstanding linguistic ability to her advantage and completed a degree in French and German at Southampton University. At university, Miss Starkey played a variety of sports: she enjoyed handball, netball and hockey. She has also completed the 2012 London Marathon (what an achievement). Miss Starkey will be coaching fives, a sport that she has never played before. During her time at university, she taught at a primary school in France for a year. After graduating, she decided to get a sense of the business world and worked as a trainee auditor, but teaching was always in the back of her mind. She decided to pursue her passion for teaching and completed her PGCE at Cambridge, subsequently taking up her first teaching job at All Saints Academy, Dunstable. Miss Starkey has told The Ousel that she enjoys teaching as she finds it inspiring to work with young people. In her leisure time, she enjoys cross-stitching as she says that, much like in languages, she likes to follow patterns. She also plays the piano and is a fan of Toploader (a band that is way before my time!). Miss Starkey currently has a tutor group with Mr Bolton and she looks forward to seeing St Cuthbert’s winning many house competitions this year. She will also be involved in the German Society. We wish her a very pleasant time at Bedford School! Calvin Fang

RACHEL WAINWRIGHT

Ms Wainwright joined the school as the newest member of the English department in September 2015. Educated at King’s College, Cambridge, where she read English literature, she swiftly followed this with a master of arts in literature, culture and modernity at Queen Mary College, University of London. With this springboard she propelled herself into teaching, beginning at Sharnbrook Upper in 2002. After completing two years there from 2002–04, Biddenham Upper was next, from where she joined us. Rachel will be teaching boys from the fourth, remove and sixth forms, stating ‘the energy and enthusiasm’ of her groups and ‘their willingness to discuss, debate and engage’ with all manner of texts has been the main enjoyment of her time at Bedford thus far. Aside from the English department, she is greatly looking forward to the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, and is thoroughly looking forward to house singing and its ‘legendary’ lore (a choice that won’t disappoint!). We hope she enjoys the English, the singing and the many other experiences during her time at Bedford school. Ben Slawinski

PHILLIP WATERHOUSE

Raised in Bedfordshire, Mr Waterhouse has joined the school as the new Head of Economics and Business Studies. After studying economics and business economics at the University of Hull and completing his PGCE in Nottingham, he has been

teaching for the past 18 years (apart from a sabbatical in 2001 to travel the world). He has spent the past 11 years as head of department at Balcarras School, Cheltenham. In addition to his teaching, he also is a senior examiner for AQA as well as the joint editor of the Business Review magazine. He also finds the time to publish revision guides for A-level students. Outside of school, Mr Waterhouse enjoys golf, basketball and, like many boys in the school, football. He has informed The Ousel that he is a fan of Luton Town, which suggests that he does not know much about football! He is also set to take on coaching responsibilities for one of the football teams in the spring term and hopes to bring more success to the school in this area than is currently being experienced by Luton Town! Mr Waterhouse will also be assisting Mr Green in both basketball and the Young Enterprise programme. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling and has just travelled to Thailand with his ten-year-old daughter over the summer holidays. He is planning on spending Christmas in Australia and is keen to develop an economics and business trip in the coming years to Dubai. One of the things that has struck Mr Waterhouse is how polite and motivated Bedford School boys are. He is also pleasantly surprised by how often boys have to sing in school; and, as a visiting tutor in Sanderson’s, he is looking forward towards the house singing competition and Sanderson’s regaining their crown in this area (certainly something I, as a Phillpotts’ boy, do not wish to see). We wish him all the best for his time at the school. Calvin Fang

PHILLIP WHATLING

Mr Whatling joined Bedford School in September 2015. Having studied biology, maths, further maths and chemistry at Thurston Upper School in Suffolk, he moved on to read biology at Nottingham University. The Bedford Biology department is his fourth teaching post; he taught in Mexico for a year before returning to the UK to take up a post at DLD College in Westminster. He then taught at Abbey College in Cambridge for three years, before deciding to settle in Bedford. Outside of the classroom, he has a passion for football, and looks forward to the opportunity to coach, although at the moment he has his hands full with the U14 A rugby team! Conor Hilliard

JAMES WILLS

James Wills studied physics and philosophy at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated after four years with his undergraduate masters degree. From this he moved straight to Bedford to begin his career in teaching, joining as the newest member of Pemberley boarding house and the Mathematics department in September 2015. James will be teaching the fourth and sixth forms, and says he is hugely impressed by the attitude and application of all students and the fact that ‘they all love maths’. Alongside this he has been captivated by the Chapel Choir and sporting culture of the school, particularly on Saturdays where he is a keen sporting spectator. When I asked him what he’s looking forward to the most at Bedford, astronomy was the main feature, with particular attention to the observatory,

something that has been his passion since his time at university. In conjunction with this, he has begun learning how to play the organ. We wish him the best of luck as he embarks on his voyage at Bedford. Ben Slawinski

SUPPORT STAFF ZOE GARBOULD

Zoe joins us as part of the nursing team. Zoe is married with two children, Thomas aged 14 and Ellie aged 12, and a golden labrador, Sammy. She trained at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge as a children’s nurse in 1993 and worked there for 20 years. She has also worked as a children’s community nurse in Bedford. She specialised in paediatric oncology nursing and then went on to train nurses on the ward. She loved her job but decided to become a school nurse at Bedford in the hope that it would provide her with more of a work/life balance. She is very glad she made the change and is really enjoying the variety of nursing at Bedford School. Each day is interesting, she says, as you never know who is going to walk through the door! She is on a sports therapy course and is quickly brushing up on her skills for nursing sports injuries (which is especially important now the new rugby season has started!) She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of sports injuries and becoming a useful member of the already excellent medical team. Senior Nurse Johanne Powell has extensive knowledge and experience from which she hopes to learn. When not at work Zoe enjoys socialising, baking, walking the dog, aerobics and jogging. She is excited about taking part in her first half-marathon in November. We wish her luck in her run and, more importantly, in her career at Bedford School. E.E. Murray

SIMON LAVASH

Simon joins us as an MIS (Management Information Systems) support engineer. His work includes supporting staff in using iSAMS (the school database), in particular the production of school reports. Before joining Bedford School, Simon spent 15 years working with data and databases in one form or another, both in the private and public sector, including working in local government, the NHS, banking and a university college. He is thoroughly enjoying his time at Bedford School. In particular he has enjoyed meeting new people, the variety of the work and the shorter commute (he was formerly part of the commuter rat-race to London)! He is looking forward to developing lots of new projects that are currently in the pipeline. Outside work his interests include comedy and travelling. He is also musical, playing the trumpet and cornet in a couple of local bands. We wish him every happiness in his time at Bedford School. E.E. Murray

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LORE RESTA

Lore has been working in the Bursary since March and has thoroughly enjoyed her time here so far. She commented that there is a real sense of community which makes the school such a wonderful place to work. Her predecessor had been working in the Bursary for almost 20 years and was highly respected, so Lore admitted to being anxious at first as she had big shoes to fill. She has managed to get involved with many different tasks, from settling insurance claims and helping out with HR, to organising whole school fire drills and booking transport for school trips. She has learnt quickly that the Bursary is a very busy and diverse place but that all the members of the team are fantastic and she feels she is fitting in well. Before starting her role here she completed an intermediate apprenticeship in business and administration alongside a Level 2 NVQ with Bedford College. She thoroughly enjoyed these experiences, both of which have boosted her skills and confidence. She previously worked as a sales and marketing administrator for a small distribution company in Bedford while juggling her apprenticeship, NVQ and college work. Outside work she enjoys cooking and baking. She is also part of an integrated theatre company directed by her grandmother called Sound Investment which Lore has been part of since a young age. The company allows people with learning difficulties as well as amateur performers to participate in theatre productions. We wish her every success in her role here. E.E. Murray

RACHEL SMITH

Rachel arrived at Bedford School in April 2015 as a school nurse. She also continues to work part time at Bedoc, the out-of-hours GP service at Bedford Hospital. Rachel has been nursing for 14 years, eight of which were spent in A&E. She has also worked in police custody nursing and hospital site management. She tells me that, after so long working in a hospital setting, she was a little apprehensive about moving into school nursing. However, she quickly realised that her A&E and minor-illness training will be particularly useful in her new career at Bedford School! She also commented on how lovely it is to work in such pleasant surroundings (a slight change from her time with the police, your editor suspects). Yet, Rachel told me, the very best part about her new role is getting to know the boys: she says that it has been a pleasure supporting them, helping them to achieve their optimal health and encouraging them to take responsibility for their own wellbeing. Rachel is excited about the challenges that the winter season will inevitably bring. We wish her the best of luck with the rugby season and look forward to seeing her around school. E.E. Murray

CHLOE TILFORD

Chloe joins Bedford School as the events and enterprises officer. She coordinates all events that occur outside normal school hours or involve visitors, such as concerts, prize givings, open mornings, Parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guild events, lectures and some sports fixtures. She also organises external events such as wedding ceremonies and receptions, holiday courses, room hire, charity balls and public benefit functions. 92

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Prior to working at Bedford School, she attended the University of Brighton where she studied editorial photography. She then worked as a PA to a property investor in Mayfair, and followed that up by being a team leader for Apple. She also did a short stint at Audi. For the past seven years she has also worked as an accounts assistant for a London-based art charity. In April 2014 she started an MSc in events management at Leeds Beckett University which she is halfway through completing via distance learning. Chloe says that she loves being busy so she enjoys the demanding nature of her job and the wide variety of events she has the opportunity to be involved with. Outside work her main passion is cats and next October she will take part in a sponsored canoeing challenge down the Zambezi River to raise money for the Cats Protection League. While there she will also help with a lion conservation project. We hope that she continues to enjoy her time here at Bedford School. E.E. Murray

PAUL WRIGHT

Paul started working as a porter at Bedford School in March 2015 and has since become a highly valued member of the team. Paul started his career in the police in 1973 and took on a variety of roles until his eventual retirement from the Force in 2005. After this Paul did two stints working for the ambulance service as an ambulance care assistant. Immediately prior to joining Bedford School Paul worked for Bedford Borough Council in the social services department as a driver and carer. In his spare time Paul is an avid fan of Luton Town Football Club and also enjoys spending as much time as he can with his two grandchildren. Please note that the photograph printed herein is one of only a handful ever taken of Paul â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he has a phobia of having his photograph taken! We feel privileged that he allowed us to display this one within our magazine! We thank him for his generosity and wish him an enjoyable career at Bedford School. R.I. Wood

THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

BEDFORD SCHOOL SPORT THE LANGHAM GRID

RUGBY Won 8 4 2 5 2 11 14 8 1 12 9 6 4 3 4 6 1 100

1st XV 2nd XV 3rd XV 4th XV 5th XV Colts A Colts B Colts C Colts D U15 A U15 B U15 C U15 D U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

CRICKET Drawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lost 4 8 9 8 5 1 1 4 5 8 3 4 6 7 7 5 7 92

HOCKEY Won 2 1 4 2 3 7 0 1 3 6 5 3 2 39

1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B U15 A U15 B U15 C U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

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Drawn 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 8

Lost 5 4 4 4 3 1 8 5 3 2 2 2 0 43

1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B U15 A U15 B U15 C U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

Won 16 4 0 0 1 1 7 4 0 7 3 1 1 45

Drawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lost 3 2 2 1 1 1 5 3 7 2 4 7 2 40

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL 1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B U15 A U15 B Totals

Won 2 2 2 2 6 3 3 1 21

Drawn 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 5

Lost 5 6 3 2 0 3 4 3 26

At the suggestion of John Langham (OB), we have introduced a summary of results for the three major sports (rugby, hockey and cricket) and association football. In his honour, it has been named the Langham Grid.

RUGBY THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

The FirsT FiFTeen The 2014 XV can be certain that they enhanced the reputation of the ‘red jersey’ during the campaign this year. They can be extremely proud of the way they worked hard to improve individually and collectively during the term and the commitment and team spirit shown throughout. They played some of the best attacking rugby I have seen from a schoolboy side and a final record of played 13, won eight, lost five (for, 298; against, 173) is arguably not a fair reflection of the strength of the team, nor does it tell the story of a season of lengthy injuries to key players, extremely hard fought and high quality encounters and games often won or lost by less than a score. An encouraging pre-season week and victory in Germany during the last week of August was followed by an unmitigated disaster in terms of the number of injuries sustained at the St Albans Festival, prior to the term. Six days later a depleted but well organised and confident XV took to the field at Oundle – only to get undone 13–15 (tries from Ajay Momi and Julian Kitson, and a penalty from Paddy McDuell) by a late opportunist try and conversion in a very scrappy and disappointing affair. Throughout their first home game the team played with pace and width to produce a quite outstanding performance against a ‘shell-shocked’ Uppingham and ultimately a 51–0 victory was secured (tries from Tunde Adewale (two), George Furbank (two), Oliver Burgess, Tom Chapman, Jake Carter and McDuell who also scored four conversions and a penalty). A mid-week trip to Wakefield followed for the first round of the inaugural Champions’ Trophy (national cup for one-term rugby playing schools) and, after a poor start, a 17–6 win (tries from Carter, McDuell and Simon Beal and a conversion from Burgess) was ultimately no less than the boys deserved. An impressive start on the immaculate surface at Harrow provided a decent early buffer, before the home side were allowed to come back into the match, as the Bedford defence offered an alarming number of gaps. However, the XV capitalised on their superior attacking skills and shape to take enough

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opportunities to eventually record a somewhat flattering 42–15 win (tries from Jack Harvey, Adewale (three) and McDuell who also scored three conversions and three penalties). A tenacious but very limited Stamford side were very difficult to break down. Although the XV played some superb rugby (once again) to take a slender lead into the final quarter, they leaked a somewhat controversial ten points to find themselves on the end of a bitterly disappointing 25–16 reverse – a defeat that was very hard to take. The team totally dominated the first half against Oakham to take a 21–0 lead, but fell away during a scrappy second period to close with a 28–20 win (with tries from Aidan Swain, Carter, Kitson and Burgess who also scored four conversions). An inability to deal with a well-organised driving maul against a resolute Dulwich side was the Achilles’ heel in a 8–26 loss (one try from Kitson and a penalty from Burgess). Skipper McDuell continued his impressive form, as he initiated wave after wave of attack, but only one chance could be taken from a multitude of opportunities. Although the side had lost a couple of games ‘on the bounce’, as well as sustaining more than their fair share of injuries, confidence remained high as the St Joseph’s Festival approached. QEGS Wakefield (for the second time in the season), Solihull and John Fisher were routinely and deservedly dispatched on day one, to put the side into the main competition for day two. Then, in a group which contained Merchiston (Edinburgh), RGS High Wycombe and Millfield, the squad gave a superb showing and arguably played the best attacking rugby of the tournament, but just missed out on qualification for the final. For the visit of Warwick, in monsoon-like conditions, the XV produced a monumental physical effort to keep themselves in the game. However, a ‘creaking’ home line-out and an extremely dubious first-half try was enough to ensure a 3–10 (penalty by Burgess) win for the visitors, in what was always going to be a low-scoring affair. A trip to Radley followed, and in conditions far more conducive to our style of play the boys raced into a strong lead and looked as though they were going to ‘blow the home

side away’. To their immense credit (and thanks to a slice of fortune for the first try) Radley kept plugging away and I think we were all relieved when the final whistle blew on a 21–14 victory (tries from Andrew Bywater (two) and Angus Gill and three conversions from Burgess). Mid-week matches struggle to have the same feel as a big Saturday block fixture and the start made at Culford indicated that mentally we were still on the bus! However, a dominant set piece and outstanding accuracy in attack proved too much for the home team as eight tries were scored in a comprehensive 54–10 win (three tries for Gill and one each for John Hunt, Michael Morris, Carter, Nick Cowen and Burgess, who also scored seven conversions), on as pleasant a November afternoon as you could wish for. The final matches, against two excellent (and much talked about) sides in Abingdon and Stowe, were representative of the rest of the season. The boys produced their fair share of possession, attacked with great width and ambition and showed great desire and physicality in defence. Two outstanding victories, 7–0 (try from Hunt, conversion from Burgess) and 18–16 (tries from Rufus Ollerhead and Gill, one conversion and two penalties from Burgess) brought the curtain down on a highly entertaining and enjoyable season. The performances in these last two games emphasised the team’s development, commitment to the cause and team spirit. A solid front five – made up of a combination of George Cave, Swain, Angus Gill, Beal, Tom Blakemore, Philip Cooper, Momi, Josh Wellington and James Herriott – deserve a special mention. Significantly outweighed by most opponents, they never gave an inch. Technically they had to be excellent, and they showed immense spirit to produce a decent amount of set-piece ball. Flankers Bywater and Charlie Clarke worked tirelessly to ensure continuity and were a constant ‘thorn in the side’ of the opposition attack. Carter at No 8 carried the ball superbly and was nothing short of a ‘machine’ in relation to involvement and

work rate. Morris at scrum-half was consistent in every game and deservedly was named player of the season and Ben Slawinski showed his array of skills at ‘10’ following the unfortunate injury to McDuell. Cowen and Chapman proved to be an attacking threat in every game and were equally impressive in defence and every time Furbank took to the field he showed us all what a class act he is. They were supplemented by a back three ‘squad’ of Tunde Adewale, Hunt, Ben Clarke, Kitson, Ollerhead and Burgess, who performed exceptionally well individually and as a unit. The XV can be extremely satisfied with a season in which several very good sides were beaten and the level of performance was exceptional at times. The way the boys responded to the disappointments either side of half–term was a testament to the character of the squad and desire to improve individually and collectively. The Abingdon and (particularly the) Stowe games were the highlights for me, as we played a style of rugby that was combative and physical in contact and defence, as well as being quite simply ‘a joy to watch’ in attack – this against some exceptionally strong individuals and well-organised sides collectively. Fly-half McDuell was an outstanding captain on and off the field. He produced some of the best individual displays that I have had the pleasure to witness and his injury was such a cruel blow for him, as all parts of his game were falling into place at the right time. It was a pleasure to coach such an increasingly receptive and committed group as these, and I thank them for an enjoyable term. The desire to win was astounding, and the pride felt by all the boys in pulling on the ‘red shirt’, was there for all to witness. My thanks also go to Paul Larkin for his all-round expertise and humour and to Steve Halsey who did a superb job with the forwards. Also thanks to Alistair Braithwaite for his sterling efforts with the 2nd XV. Honours Caps: P.R.J. McDuell (captain), G.A. Furbank, A.J. Gill, A.S. Momi, M.G. Morris and J.J. Wellington.

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1st XV Colours: A.J. Adewale, S.E. Beal, O.E. Burgess, A.R. Bywater, J. Carter, G.A.V. Cave, T.P Chapman, B.G. Clarke, C.R. Clarke, N.J. Cowen, J.S.P. Herriott, J.F. Hunt, J.A. Kitson, R.H.G. Ollerhead, B. Slawinski and A.L. Swain. The following also played: Blakemore T., Cooper P. and Harvey J. B.J. Burgess

The second FiFTeen It was an interesting season for the 2nd XV. We started the season against Oundle, which was a great game in which we narrowly lost by 16 points (a scoreline which did not reflect the game). Oundle put out a strong forward pack with big ball carriers who dominated the midfield. Tunde Adewale was the clear man of the match with two excellent break-away tries, exhibiting great raw pace. My personal highlight of the season was beating Oakham 43–29. This game truly showed the grit that the squad had, putting in an exceptional level of intensity and focus within our defence. Equally, our win over King’s Ely (38–7) was a great moment for the team: we showed pace and precision in this game with some exceptional scores. This victory set us up for a gruelling last game of the season in which we narrowly lost to Stowe. Despite the defeat, this was the best game of rugby most of us have ever played in. Overall, our win record was small, losing more games than we won (33 per cent win rate). However, I felt that in many of the games the scoreline didn’t do us justice and we competed strongly throughout the season. Exceptional players included Jack Lewsley who vastly improved throughout the season and Alex Benzie who showed great athleticism in the last few matches. The rest of the team and I would like to thank the coaching staff and, in particular, Mr Braithwaite for all their advice and support this season. Squad: Matthews T. (captain), Adewale T., Benzie A., Blakemore T., Booton T., Boyd S., Chander J., Chapman T., Clarke B., Clarke T., Cooper P., Frossell D., Garrett B., Hall T., Harvey J., Hunt J., Kharzaliya D., Lakin A., Lewsley J., Matthews J., McLeod O., Preyer H.-C., Riddell L., Stammers A., Tarbox W. and Weed E. Tim Matthews

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The Third FiFTeen The season began with tough fixtures against Oundle, Uppingham and Harrow. We slowly grew as a team and the highlight of these games was undoubtedly the first half against Harrow, in which the boys played arguably their best rugby of the season. Unfortunately, we struggled to keep the momentum up and fell away in the second half. Tough matches followed against Stamford, Oakham and Dulwich. We didn’t play as well as we could have, and there was certainly an air of frustration after each match; everyone felt as though we had a point to prove, and so hard work went in to improve as a side. After the Dulwich away fixture we decided to give it our all for the remaining games; the result of this was a 12–17 defeat in the pouring rain against Warwick and a 14–19 defeat by Radley. However, while these were defeats, they were narrow defeats and they showed that the tide was turning slowly in our favour. Then came the trip to Thomas Deacon Academy; a hat-trick for Peter Strain, a couple of tries for John Holroyd and even an athletic, side-stepping run by Justus Geldmacher resulted in a try. We won the game 73–17 and the bus ride home was thoroughly enjoyable for the first time this season. Momentum was finally with us. The next game was a home game against Abingdon and, personally, this game was a highlight, not just of the season, but of my entire playing career at the school. Notable tries for Charlie Hart, who began the scoring, and Sam Robinson, who finished the scoring, have stuck in my memory, and carried us through to a 28–17 victory against a good Abingdon side. The last game was away to a strong Stowe side who, unfortunately, got the better of us. However, the boys did themselves proud. In the end, despite results largely going against us, there was a good spirit within the team and the season was an enjoyable one. Squad: Holroyd M. and Holt J. (captains), Anstis B., Bowes O., Bracewell C., Callanan R., Dorgham A., Geldemacher J., Foulkes M., Glenn H., Hart C., Holroyd J., Humphreys T., Johnston D., Kharzaliya D., Monaghan A., Robinson S., Smith B., Smith M., Staddon J., Strain P., Toresse P., Williams A. and Wilson E. Michael Holroyd

The FourTh FiFTeen The Bedford 4th XV had a year of mixed fortune, winning five and losing eight of their fixtures. However, these statistics are slightly misleading as the team lost a couple of nail-biting games that could easily have gone in our favour. It’s always tough for the 4th XV to gel as a unit because the teams above often recruit 4th XV players at late notice to fill their squads on match days, leading to disruption and uncertainty. However, all the boys who played in the 4th XV gave it everything, week in week out, and they can be proud of their season. The boys started their season at home to Oundle. They put up a great fight, only losing by three points. We felt a mixture of happiness in the way they had played but also disappointment at falling just short on the opening day of the rugby season. The second fixture of the year told a similar story with Bedford losing by one point against Uppingham in a thrilling away game. The team were working hard in training and they knew the first win was not far around the corner. After a further two frustrating defeats to Harrow and Stamford the tide turned and the hard work paid off. The team travelled to Oakham with a confident and positive mindset and produced a great team performance to win 28–7. It was a great feeling to witness the boys get their first win, which they thoroughly deserved. We then travelled to Dulwich College for the next fixture on a coach journey that seemed like it was never going to end! We were conscious of this, so we made sure we completed a long and focused warm-up. The boys knew it was going to be a tough game as Dulwich are well known for their strength in depth. The Bedford boys got off to a fantastic start, scoring two tries in the

first seven minutes, but, unfortunately, the long journey had taken too much out of the legs and we ended up losing 26–47. However, I was very pleased with how the boys dealt with some decisions that went against them, showing maturity beyond their years and taking the positives from this fixture into the next game. The team bounced back brilliantly with two victories. The first was against The Perse School who they beat 30–0, and the second against Warwick School (34–10). The latter was probably the best performance and result of the season considering Warwick can boast huge strength in depth. Unable to emulate the heights of the Warwick victory, two consecutive defeats were to follow against Radley and Oundle who both fielded extremely strong sides. The boys were bitterly disappointed, but their efforts in training did not diminish and they were rewarded with a hard-fought 10–5 victory over a strong Uppingham team. This close contest on the back of two defeats tested Bedford’s resolve and I was pleased that they passed with flying colours. The penultimate game of the season brought a close 25–19 defeat by Abingdon. So it was to the final game of the season and for many, the last game of their school career. Stowe are always tough opposition but the boys were desperate for a victory, which would be just reward for a season of commitment and determination. They duly delivered and in some style with an edgy but ‘never in doubt’ 35–21 victory. This was an immensely satisfying way to finish the season and a long lasting memory for all involved. On a personal note, the boys were a pleasure to work with and I cannot thank them enough for their committed attitudes throughout the season.

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Squad: Ackroyd A., Akerele-Miles R., Anstis B. Bornemann P., Bowes O., Bracewell C., Callanan R., Dempsey C., Dorgham A., Duxbury J., Ehlert T., Foulkes M., Garrad O., Glenn H., Hart C., Holroyd J., Holroyd M., Holt J., Johnston D., Jones E., Junge C., Kharzaliya D., Konstantinidis J., Lawson J., Monaghan A., Orchard R., Robinson S., Smith B., Smith J., Smith M., Smith S., Staddon J., Strain P., Toresse P., Turner C., Wardell S., Williams A., Wilson E. and Yin J. T. Brett

The FiFTh FiFTeen ‘Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat’ – from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The workhorses of the 5th XV once again showed their humanity throughout a difficult season. To say that the overriding characteristic of the squad this year was one of bellicose enthusiasm for the fray would be, perhaps, misleading. Neither would it be entirely true to say that their mature and disciplined approach to training allowed them to flourish and develop as sportsmen. Perhaps it could even be argued that for some the glorious prospect of representing their alma mater on a cold Saturday afternoon did not completely atone for the loss of free time. Yet, they persevered. A school should take pride in the resilience of its students, and the boys of the 5th XV shook off heavy defeats and shortage of numbers as mere trifles. Despite early heavy losses to Oundle and Harrow the team made some progress, running out comfortable victors against Uppingham. The second half of the season was more disjointed, with several fixtures cancelled; however, the squad responded to these calamities with an equanimity bordering on insouciance. Though they did not drink deep of the fountain of sporting immortality their spirit was never quenched. Squad: Trudgill T. (captain), Achba V., Armstrong O., Birro A., Bloxham C., Calthorpe M., Gee H., Georgiou A., Hamilton W., Hampshire R., Ho T., Holland S., Johnston A., Kaul A., Malhi A., Reay N., Rey Benito N., Siu J., Smith T., Stokey M. and Tune D. M.A.R. Crisp

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senior rugby sevens Following the success of the 15-a-side season, expectation was high for the sevens campaign. The players worked extremely hard on their fitness during the first part of the term and, given the ability and pace shown in the 15-a-side game, the boys knew they had a really good shot at winning all the tournaments we were to enter. The four tournaments played are summarised below: Towards the end of the first half of term, the squad paid their first visit to the Shiplake event. The team comfortably beat Abingdon and Shiplake to progress to a semi-final against Denstone College. A superb 28–14 victory was no less than the players deserved and put them through to the final to play Wellington. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions, but ultimately ended in a very tight 17–28 defeat (against a team who went on to have an unbeaten sevens campaign). As holders of the Oakham event, the 1st VII continued their preparation for the national tournament with another (plate) final appearance. A narrow 10–14 defeat to Stamford was a tough one to take as the players gave their all to break down a physical defence. The final tournament prior to the national competition meant a trip to Worth School in Sussex. Following two good showings and a strengthened squad, hopes were high. Group wins against Eastbourne, Oratory and Hurstpierpoint were tempered by a somewhat disappointing and heavy loss to Seaford. This brought about a cup quarter-final against the hosts, which ended in a ‘final play’ 21–24 defeat. However, spirits were high, as preparations continued towards the main event of the term gathered pace: the Rosslyn Park National Sevens Festival. Having performed well in the lead-up to the ‘big’ event, and even though we had moved to the open competition (as a consequence of the 2014 festival win), we all thought we had a great chance of reaching the latter stages and winning the event. The squad was further strengthened with more injury returnees. Two very strong group wins against Henley College and Campion School brought about a group decider against Coleg Sir Gar (Llanelli Scarlets Academy College). The boys played their best sevens of the term and deserved more than a very narrow 7–10 defeat. This meant that, similar to 2014, we had to

beat the final opponents by a big score to go through as best runner-up (on points difference). However, a 66–7 victory was still not enough and disappointment prevailed. Losing to a team of that quality was no disgrace. Squad: Furbank G. (captain), Beal S., Benzie A., Boyd S., Burgess O., Carter J., Clarke B., Clarke C., Cowen N., Hickey D., Gill A., Kitson J., Kharzaliya D., McDuell P., Momi A., Morris M., Smith M., Swain A. and Weed E. B.J. Burgess

u16 rugby sevens Following a successful and enjoyable season in the 15-a-side game, the boys were equally motivated and excited for a promising sevens season. Physically, the squad had a great blend of speed, size, strength and stamina. Every player was an attacking threat from anywhere on the pitch. Mentally, the boys had worked hard on their decision-making and game understanding in the winter term, which paid dividends as they tweaked their game understanding for the subtle differences of playing sevens. The boys got off to a great start as outright winners at the Cambridge and Oakham Sevens. They fell short at the All England Sevens, losing narrowly to a physical Eton side in the quarter-finals. A great deal was learnt from all three tournaments and proved crucial preparation for the National Sevens Festival at Rosslyn Park. A nervy start in the first group game of day one against St Joseph’s College almost proved costly but the team managed to scrape the win. Following this, the team settled into their groove and went on to become clear winners of the group, beating City of London Freemen’s School, Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr School and Stockport Grammar School along the way. The final game of day one was a must-win game against Whitgift School, a physical side with plenty of speed out wide. The boys controlled the game from the outset with outstanding ball retention to leave the opposition dead on their feet and win 29–7. They progressed to day two where they faced Bromsgrove School in the last 16. In a similar vein to the day before, the boys got off to a nervy start on the tournament’s ‘show pitch’, going down 0–17 at half-time. A few calming words

from the leaders of the squad and they managed to turn the game around to win emphatically 24–17. In the business end of the tournament, Bedford came up against a physical and fast Stowe in the quarter-finals. The game was incredibly close with both sides trading scores throughout but Stowe stole the game in the final minute to win 14–19. The boys loved every minute of the Rosslyn Park experience and I wish them every success next year in the U18 tournament. Squad: Bowes W., Cooke J., Dalton J., Dingwall F., Ekweremadu K., Finch C., Hicks T., Kerr W., Kight B., Ollerhead B., Rogers J., Seward G., van de Walt J. and Williamson J. J.R. Ingle

colTs A It has been an honour and a privilege to work with the Colts 1st squad this year. They are not only a great bunch of rugby players, but also a great bunch of people. The boys are highly coachable and highly motivated. They have applied everything that Mr Heale and I have brought to training to their own performances with great success. The players have driven high standards of training every week and they reaped the rewards on the pitch. They have most definitely followed the concept of ‘training how you play’ and I believe this has helped our low injury count this season. In terms of match-day performances, it has been a joy to watch some of the rugby that these boys have produced this season. At times, the rugby has been simply outstanding. Parents, staff and boys have regularly commented after matches about how much they enjoy watching our brand of rugby. The fact that both the Colts A and B only lost one game each is a testament to their hard work in training together as a squad. For the Colts A, it would have been nice to go unbeaten, but they learnt more from their defeats than their victories. I have never seen a more spirited performance from an U16 team than that against Abingdon. They defended almost the entire game, with their hearts on their sleeves and held unbelievably strong for the most part. The Colts A learnt a lot about themselves that day against Abingdon. The squad’s greatest strength this season has been their character and their determination. In the game against Abingdon, you could not question it.

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Alex Shepherd, also known as ‘the worm’ for his amazing ability to worm his way out of trouble, is one of the most unassuming talents I have come across. Similar to Ben Foden in attacking ability, Shepherd’s vision, combined with his acceleration, has made him a constant threat in attack. Shepherd always returns a kick with interest and got us out of jail on several occasions. Tom Stewart is an intelligent player who reads the game well and pounces at any opportunity to bag a try. Stewart has linked well with Shepherd in the back three and has been on the end of some sublime team scores. Stewart’s relentless work-rate and offloading makes him stand out from other wingers he faced. Georgy Kharzaliya, also known as ‘the big Russian’, has been immense on the wing, both in attack and defence. Kharzaliya has made some incredible dominant hits in defence. Being new to the game, what Kharzaliya lacks in game understanding he more than makes up for in commitment and desire. I liken Kharzaliya to Bruce Reihana in that you never know what he will do: run around you, put footwork in, or simply run over you! For me, the centre partnership of Ben Kight and Fraser Dingwall has been outstanding. The so-called ‘Big Timers’ (for their mentions in assemblies) have been a pleasure to work with this season. They have literally torn teams apart with their scintillating attacking play and dominant defensive displays. Their leadership skills in training and matches have been the driving force of a hard-working culture that has fed through the squad. Unfortunately, we lost Ed Johnson to injury in pre-season, so it was down to Jack Dalton to fill his shoes at fly-half. Dalton has done a phenomenal job in what is a big jump in game understanding and management from the U15 game. Dalton’s decision-making has come on leaps and bounds as well as his ability to play in the right areas of the pitch. His kicking skills have become a real territorial weapon. Josiah Cooke plays a similar game to Mike Philips. Cooke has the build of a back-rower and the pace of a full back and uses both to good effect. Cooke has worked incredibly hard at his passing game and it has improved hugely since the start of the season. In previous seasons, Cooke has played where necessary in a utility back role, but I see Cooke very much as a scrum-half now, due to his dedication to that position this season. My

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personal highlight was scrum-half passing in the dark after school with Freddie Elston. In terms of handling skills, Joe Rogers has been the most improved player of the season. Rogers is now a real handful in attack for the opposition. He carries, he offloads, he passes. He attacks from anywhere: the base of the scrum, inside and outside of 10, even at centre. Rogers is another of those who likes a dominant tackle or two. Another personal highlight for me was against Harrow B where he put in one such ‘crowd pleaser’ against one of the second rowers. It was a positive tackle that set the tone for the match and lifted the team. Jasper Williamson was our openside flanker with the pace of a winger and the endurance of a marathon runner. In attack, Williamson’s support play and offloading has been something special. In defence, as the 1st XV will testify, Williamson is somewhat of a nuisance. Williamson has a lot of potential still to be reached and complements the squad’s exciting brand of rugby. Unfortunately, we lost Jack Ciuro to injury. However, I really liked what I saw of him. Big, strong carries and physical in the tackle, I am sure Ciuro will thrive at blindside flanker when he returns to rugby. Ciuro took the physicality in training to a new level that the whole squad aspired to afterwards. Oli Hind was another blindside who has improved hugely this season. Hind has a high game involvement as well as the skillset of a back. However, what I like most about Hind is his relentless positivity. No matter what the score, the weather, the length of training session, Hind would be there, doing everything he could for his teammates. Alex Dennis joined us towards the end of the season to add more focused aggression and physicality to the forward pack. Dennis’s attitude and work rate in training led him to force his way into the A team and put in some fine performances. Without a shadow of a doubt, Colston Kane wins the award for the SPDS (stuff people don’t see). Only looking back at the videos did I realise the huge amounts of work that Kane gets through in a game – the amount of rucks he hits, the number of jackals he does, the tough yards that he makes carrying the ball into heavy traffic. Kane is a dogged player and puts his body on the line for the team every time he sets foot on the field. Line-out captain Teddy Hicks did a great job leading the

forward pack. Hicks is a mature player who was always motivating and encouraging the boys in line-outs. Hicks was another vibrant and positive player that the other players energised off, while punching well above his weight in games (when he remembered to eat his lunch). The squad is lucky to have some quality props in Markus Schofield-Bezer, Andrew Zhu and newly appointed Will Entwistle. These boys are immensely strong and have scrummed the majority of other teams off the pitch having only done one scrummaging session all year! In between those three physical specimens we had a pacey Will Kerr at hooker. Kerr is another player who punches well above his weight in defence and does a lot of the SPDS. Kerr is a great rugby player; you could put him anywhere on the pitch and he would do a great job for the team. As we trained all season with the Colts A and B together, special thanks must go to the regular Colts B players who trained and played with the focus and desire of an A team. On behalf of the Colts A players, thank you for pushing them this season. I want to also thank the season-long injured players who played very little or no rugby this term. I know it was tough to watch from the sidelines. To those who came to help out with the match-day duties, the players hugely appreciated it. Thanks must also go to Mr Heale who has helped me hugely with managing the players, assisting in the training sessions, and taking care of the admin tasks to allow me to focus on my coaching. I am looking forward to working with him in the future. For all Colts A and B players, I look forward to seeing how you progress next year. It promises to be an exciting season for you all and I hope you continue from where you left off this season. Squad: Kight B. (captain), Cooke J., Dalton J., Dennis A., Dingwall F., Entwistle W., Hicks T., Hind O., Kane C., Kerr W., Kharzaliya G., Rogers J., Schofield-Bezer M., Shepherd A., Stewart T., Williamson J. and Zhu A. J.R. Ingle

colTs b One of the standout features of this season was the strength in depth of the year group. We were able to move boys from team to team when needed with the knowledge that team quality would be maintained. Also, we were less affected (though not

completely unaffected) by injuries and loss of key players to East Midlands fixtures than in previous years. All this helped to put out a powerful B team week-in week-out and end the term with 13 wins from 14 games (including four against other schools’ A teams). In the balmy days of September, Oundle and Harrow were tough opponents but comfortable victories were eventually earned. Uppingham continue to struggle to compete with us at this level, although I suspect it might be different next year. Stamford, too, were rather weak so it wasn’t really until the Oakham fixture that we came across really formidable opposition. Their pack was strong, committed and well drilled. It needed all the hard work on defensive organisation and the breakdown that had been done on the training pitch to maintain parity and, eventually, it was only a conversion that got us through. Dulwich, too, were as physical and well organised as ever. This brought the season’s best team performance with backs and forwards combining to score three excellent tries, and to produce a huge defensive effort to protect that lead. Local opponents Samuel Whitbread and Rushmoor were outclassed just before half-term and we went into the break unbeaten. In wet and windy November, Warwick were rather poor and an undisciplined Radley team only competed in the second half when they were already well down. We played King’s Ely A and expected life to be tougher, especially after they started robustly. Again, defence frustrated the opposition and, once we got hold of a reasonable amount of possession and field position, the attack looked effective. Anyone who witnessed the Abingdon game would have assumed that these were two good A teams hammering out a close and physical encounter. There were no complaints at the end, with errors at key moments gifting them points and territory. We bounced back on a freezing, windswept afternoon at Wootton and edged a close game against strong A team opponents. In the final match, Stowe had lost the will to compete and succumbed to a strong, direct and aggressive performance. Every year, however, one remembers the characters and group dynamics rather more than the results. This group were a particularly enjoyable one to work with; a strong work ethic prevailed and there was no signs of arrogance or complacency as the victories were notched up. There was also a

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good sense of fun, sensible judgement on when to increase intensity and, most of all, a love of the game and a desire to understand more about it. Jason Van der Walt was, without any doubt, the best B team full back I’ve ever seen and, with more confidence playing at a higher level, could be a 1st XV contender in a year or two. Alex Sporton and Ken Ekweremadu were big, strong George North type wingers; Darcy Clements was an intelligent footballer and outstanding defender. Oliver McCormack earned promotion from the Cs with aggressive counter-attacks; Will Forsythe’s outside line and Will Comfort’s hard, straight ball caused problems for opponents all season and Elliot Wingfield added A-team standard skills at any position in the backs. The half-backs ran the show with Will Bowes imperious all term. Freddie Elston harried Josiah Cooke all season for the A-team berth and it is to the credit of the latter that he only got two chances in the As. In the pack, Andrew Zhu is really an Ateam prop, with his King’s Ely performance being one of the season’s highlights. The intelligent Peter Jamieson got better and better through the term and was ably deputised by Toby King. Jae Bang, Bob Song, Harry Sivills and Chizu Chukwu (who earned some A-team game time) were versatile forwards with good strength and improving skills at set pieces. Daniel Lewis, David Lewes (an excellent promotion from the Cs), Nihat Aslanoba, Ed Cazzoli and Josh Dallas got through huge amounts of work at the breakdown in addition to jumping, lifting and pushing. The sadly injured Alex Dennis returned with a vengeance at the end of the season. Shaylan Tomlinson-Patel and George Andrews were outstanding throughout, not just as players but as leaders on the field and true gents off it. Overall, a memorable season by any standards and particularly heartening that such a strong group will go through and enhance our senior teams in the next two years. My particular thanks to Mr Ingle who taught us all so much about the way the game is played today, and who brought a professional approach to all our preparation and match-day performance. I know that all the boys recognise how much hard work he put in to every session and in managing the squad generally. Squad: Andrews G. (captain), Aslanoba N., Bang J., Bowes W., Cazzoli E., Chukwu C., Clements D., Comfort W., Dallas J., Ekweremadu K., Elston F., Forsythe W., Jamieson P., King T., Lewes D., Lewis D., McCormack O., Sivills H., Song B., Sporton A., Tomlinson-Patel S., Van der Walt J., Wingfield E. and Zhu A. J.R. Ingle

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colTs c The Colts C team started the season with many players from the from last year’s successful U15 C squad (who only lost two games). So this was a season of high expectations and it proved to be a big step up for us physically. Our first game got off to a somewhat nervous start; none of us had played all summer and having had only one training session, it proved a rusty, physical and scrappy first half with Oundle holding us to a 10-point lead. Returning in the second half, we started to find our feet and gel as a team, eventually winning the game 64–8. Our next game, against Uppingham, proved to be an easier test with set play from the forwards starting to feed the backs, resulting in a 52–12 win, including three sensational tries from Adam Kilby-Smith. We knew Harrow was around the corner. As U15s we had only just beaten them in what proved to be a very physical game. This year we threw everything at it, and there were a number of close runs from Hugh Parfitt and me, but we couldn’t break through their defence. The score stayed frustratingly at 0–0 for most of the first half until Jamie Barnes scored a beautiful chip try from Harrow’s 22 making the score 5–0 heading into halftime. Unfortunately, a string of unfortunate penalties and lack of fitness resulted in the game slipping away from us and we eventually lost 5–17. The next three games were comfortable wins, 29–7 against Stamford, 53–24 against Oakham and what some might say a disappointingly one-sided 79–0 win against Merchant Taylors’. However, the next game, at Dulwich, carried painful memories from previous seasons and was always going to be a closely fought contest. The first half did not go our way but an inspirational speech from our coach meant we came back fighting in the second half with tries from Duncan Keyworth, me and yet another chip try from Barnes (his third this season). However, it was not quite enough and a late try from Dulwich robbed us of victory 31–34. We suffered some significant injuries mid-season, losing Kilby-Smith, Toby King and Keyworth. These were serious setbacks and served to break our rhythm. We subsequently lost our next two games to Radley College (14–22) and Abingdon (5–43), but we regained our form to beat Warwick (62–0) and King’s Ely (10–5). The latter was won with only 13 men: Alex Achba scored in the last minute to give us one of the most

enjoyable victories of the season. The final game of the season was against Stowe. The nerves were high and the pressure was on, but we were regaining our earlier confidence and were highly motivated to finish on a win. We came up against tough opposition and a well organised squad, but the strength and skill of our team won us the game without conceding a try. The forwards and backs linked well through scrum-half Max Humphreys. The forwards were brilliantly led by King (who also captained the first few games) who had now returned from injury. We also saw some amazing kicking from Oliver Thrasher. All of this and the combined determination of the team lead us to a 34–0 win, ending the season on a real high. Squad: Marks H. (captain), Achba A., Barnes J., Chapman J., Ferrari J., Guthrie H., Haywood G., Humphreys M., Keyworth D., Kilby-Smith A., King T., Lamb C., Malindine J., Molloy H., Msindo R., Nevett T., Parfitt H., Seamark R., Smith J., Stevens R. and Thrasher O. Harry Marks

colTs d When we started our season, it was obvious that there was a wide variety of skill levels in the squad. Some had been playing for years and some had never seen a rugby ball before. Nevertheless, we were ready to go in our first game against Oundle. Mr Waite’s tactics were clear: get the ball out to our talented wingers. From the kick-off, Bedford played well, putting ten points on the board very early. Then with the help of a solid defensive performance and a classy kicking display from Tom Frost, Bedford ran out 92–0 winners in Oundle’s own backyard. This gave us confidence going into our second game against the class outfit of Haileybury C team, where we continued to show class with our clinical wingers complementing our composed half-backs. A great start gave Bedford a 10–0 lead with great tries from Will Barrett and Michael Qu. However, our inexperience showed as we narrowly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. A disappointing yet encouraging result. Bedford were clearly still devastated about the loss a week later and a very efficient Harrow outfit hammered a loose Bedford team 17–61. Given that we were already 0–50 down at half time, the second half, at least, proved encouraging. This point in the season saw positives and negatives. Sadly, due to injuries across the C/D squad, we lost players to the C team

which did not help. However, more positively, we were joined by Bedford Blues back-row player, Joe Vandermolen, to help us in training. The D team were visibly excited for their next fixture against a strong Dulwich team. After a powerful display, Bedford ran out narrow losers by 17–30, with Bedford going down to 14 men after an unfortunate sin bin. The next Saturday, on a wet and cold day, a confident Radley side made the journey to Bedford’s hostile Beverley Crescent. Unfortunately, Radley were too good and gave Bedford a clinic in how to score tries by using their pace to their advantage. Before we knew it, the last game of the season was upon us. We made the journey up to Oundle again, hoping to win with the same conviction as we had done just two months ago. However, they were a much changed side with a strong and well-drilled pack and a fly-half who had clearly played the game once or twice. After a reasonable first half, which included a great solo try from the Bedford scrum-half, we were a couple of points behind at the half-time whistle. Bedford then played the worst half of rugby of the season which included the most comical try yet: Frost tackled a player without the ball, Will Smith’s clearance found the head of Barrett and finally Qu managed to nutmeg himself. A loss was a disappointing way to end the campaign, yet everyone enjoyed the season as a whole. Thanks go to Mr Waite, Joe Vandermolen and Mr Holt for coaching us and a special mention goes to Chris Lamb and George Hayward for leading from the front. Squad: Hayward G. and Lamb C. (captains), Barrett W., Cheung S., Fenton C., Frost T., Msindo R., McCormack O., Nevett T., Parfitt H., Qu M., Seamark R., Smith W., Stevens R., Storey H., Szeto M., Talsania B., Thrasher O., Tsao J., Walker H., Webber C. and Zwetsloot E. Oliver Thrasher

u15 A I am very proud of the team we have built up this season, both on a personal level and on behalf of Bedford School. We got the season off to a good start, but were then faced with constant and extensive injury issues – a dislocated pelvis, broken thumb, broken ankle, concussion … I could go on! At one point in the season we had as many as eight of our starting lineup out injured for a string of five matches. Despite these injuries, we showed great commitment and determination; the top-game squad as a whole really pulled together and many B

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team players stepped up and contributed hugely. The U15 age group is now much stronger as a result and we now have genuine strength, depth and competition for A team places. One of the highlights of the season was the fifth round Nat West Cup match against Berkhamsted, not just because we won 15–13 in what was a very physical match, but because we won through our much improved mental attitude. While our opposition were getting angry and complaining about each other and refereeing decisions, Bedford stayed calm, focused and relaxed under pressure. This allowed us to play better strategic rugby as a cohesive team and ultimately led to us winning the game. This match felt like a turning point in our season. The Stowe match was another great game; we showed tremendous resilience with some excellent defence, holding out for over 30 phases in our own 22. We capitalised on the opportunities that we were given and were the eventual winners. I am also very proud of how we performed in the Nat West Cup. We were down to the last 32 out of over 1,000 schools in the entire country. Although we were beaten fairly by a strong Langley side I can still say that we played excellent rugby and did ourselves proud.

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I would like to make special mention of Barnie Ollerhead who, following Aflie Orchard and Victor Hardwicke’s injuries, stepped in from his usual outside-centre position to play at fly-half, which he did with great skill and physicality. He demonstrated these skills extremely well in the Oakham match where, with five minutes remaining and 21–22 down, Bedford went on to win the game by scoring two further times; both of which were created by outstanding play from our fly-half! Overall despite injuries and constant positional changes, throughout the season our forward pack remained dominant at the set piece, setting a good platform for the backs. In terms of knowledge and skill level, our squad have improved dramatically from the first session of the year to the final match. We won 12 out of 20 games – a very fine achievement. Squad: Seward G. (captain), Asare F., Batten T., Borland A., Cave H., Chambers S., Churchill A., Donougher H., Finch C., Fordham M., Hardwicke V., Hearnshaw F., Iles F., Kendall J., Lister M., Mitchell O., Ogunyiluka A., Ollerhead B., Omotomilola R., Orchard A., Shiels E., Tovey S. and Willocks W. George Seward

u15 b We started the season as 15 rugby players, and finished as an almost unstoppable unit. It was not an easy journey. Due to multiple injuries in the A squad at the start of the season, we lost many key players, most of whom we thought were vital to our success as a team. However, with a few men from the Cs, many of whom turned out to be some of the most hard-working members of the team, we were back to full strength very soon. We had two high points in our season. First was our match against Dulwich. This is always a huge match for anyone who calls themselves a Bedfordian and one of the oldest matches in school rugby history, so the pressure was on. The result was a big win for our team, 29–10. The second was against Warwick, a notoriously tough side in any year group. You know it’s going to be a hard match when you step onto their pitches. By the end of the first half we had made no headway, the ground was sloppy, and it was very windy: we were losing 0–19. Mistakes were being made left, right and centre. However, in the second half we started to show our fighting spirit. Not once when the ball was lost did our heads go down, we kept fighting and it was probably the best game I have ever played. The final score was, sadly, 17–19 to Warwick. However, we were immensely proud of our second-half performance which meant that they only won by one conversion. In fact, we only lost three times during the entire season: in the block fixtures we lost this match and the match against Harrow, and we also lost a training match against Oundle. I think, along with our incredible sense of teamwork, the thing that made us win 75 per cent of our games was that we had a team of athletes. The speed of our backs was unbelievable. The

forwards were also quick, and some even had surprisingly good hands! Overall, we had a phenomenal season, with too many highlights to count. I think I will always remember this season as one of the best. As a team, we would like to thank Mr Strachan for all his hard work and for believing in us and teaching us to play as a team. Squad: Ackroyd T., Blundell O., Burgoine H., Chapman A., Davies A., Deane F., Hill F., Ikura T., Lawson H., Mahwendepi T., Midder D., Ogunyiluka A., Plyushchenko A., Tovey S., WilshawQuinn B. and Young-Lee A. Felix Hill

u15 c The U15 C team had a very successful season, coming 11th in the schools’ league tables. We got off to a terrific start against Uppingham with a very comfortable 67–0 win. This game gave us the confidence to progress and improve as a team. In our second game we came out on top again with a 27–19 win over Quinton House. These first two games showed us that, when we got it right, we could be a powerful force. In our next game we came up against a very strong and physical Harrow side, where we sadly lost 5–19; we were all disappointed with the result, but we knew how to improve. The following game was another tough fixture against Stamford, which we won 7–0 with the winning try being scored by the lightning-quick Takeshi Ikura. Unfortunately, the excellent Tom Parry got a serious injury, meaning that he would miss the rest of the season. The boys were growing in confidence with every game we played. The games were coming thick and fast with a

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17–17 draw against Oakham and a 34–31 win against a very strong Dulwich side. In the latter the team showed great courage and determination after going behind in the first half, but finally coming out on top with a great team performance. We had a fierce game against a very strong Radley side, resulting in a rarely seen 0–0 draw; a testament to the gritty defending by both sides. We finished on an extremely high note with a 59–5 win against Stowe. Our two coaches, Mr Beale and Mr Peters, spent the season trying to get us to believe we were capable of great things; they both helped us improve and progress throughout the season, for which we thank them sincerely. Squad: Clayton S. (captain), Bornemann L., Chan W., Christian G., Christian T., Cleary J., Fomin K., George J., Guliev A., Ikura T., Ksnetsova E., Lawson H., Nefedovskiy A., Parry T., Todd A., Vargus-Pritchard S. and Yin M. Sam Clayton

u15 d A mixed season for the U15 D team, this one. At various stages we looked a team capable of competing with the All Blacks, whereas at others … An absolute thumping by Oundle in a ‘training’ match did not bode well but, following a week of intensive rucking and mauling, we arrived at Uppingham in excellent spirits and hopeful of a good result. We were not to be disappointed: a 31–10 victory was no more than we deserved following a display

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of viscous forward play that provided a platform for Felix Whelan and James Brakenbury to manage the game superbly. At this point, the pace of our back line had the coach dreaming of opentop bus parades and ticker tape. Our strategy of ‘big men give the ball to very fast men’ seemed set to pay dividends. In retrospect, Harrow was both a magnificent result and a tremendous disappointment. A draw against them is not be sniffed at, and the game was a magnificent spectacle (at least for those who like their rugby ferocious, fast-paced and error strewn), but we really should have won this one. Really, that proved to be the high point of the season. From then on, we beat the teams we were clearly better than (Merchant Taylor’s, Northampton Grammar School and Quinton House) and lost to generally superior sides (Dulwich, Rugby, Warwick and Abingdon). At times we threatened an upset, not least for a period against Abingdon when the coach again dared to dream of sweet success. Our tackling, though, tended to let us down and once we lost the incisive pace that our back line had started with (as promotions to the C team took their toll), we could never quite score enough points to make up for our defensive inadequacies. The team, though, always played in good spirits. They were ably led by Evan Case throughout; he showed genuine leadership qualities and was a dynamo around the field. Tiger Feng and Thomas Liu were the proverbial immovable objects and Sam Perkins and Frank Liu improved dramatically as the season went

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on (both should be capable of playing in higher teams in the future). Adrian Ho, when the mood took him, could be a dervish in open play. In the back row Max Deacon, Alex Guliev and Zac Rogers were never short of nous and enthusiasm but perhaps never quite mobile enough to win enough breakdowns. Rogers, too, made some genuinely terrifying hits. Behind the pack, Whelan wore his heart on his sleeve and marshalled the troops well. We were never quite settled at 10 but Will Trudgill was always competent and his droll commentary (even while playing) always drew a smile and Emilio Gay showed his obvious talent. In the centres, Mason Keane was the most improved player of the season: he seemed to realise over the course of half-term that he was a fearsome runner who could worry any defence. He was ably supported by the tough-tackling Alex Bird. Our wingers, Ivan Golosov, Justin Lo, Ardwin Li and Ryan Lam, were always threatening and Golosov, in particular, made some fearsome defensive hits. Brakenbury was simply immense throughout the season. As I say, a mixed season in terms of results but the boys were consistently a pleasure to spend time with: they listened, trained well and always played with passion and with a spirit in keeping with the best traditions of Bedford School rugby. Squad: Case E. (captain)., Bird A., Brakenbury J., Cleary J., Deacon M., Feng T., Ho A., Gay E., Golosov I., Guliev A., Keane M., Lam R., Li A., Liu F., Liu T., Lo J., Perkins S., Rogers Z., Trudgill W. and Whelan F. M.T. Herring

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u14 A The U14 A team had a tough season but undoubtedly one that we will have all learnt a lot from and can build on next season. We started well with a very solid performance against Oakham, winning 40–17, and looked poised for a successful season. We immediately met our match the very next week against a very strong Harrow side, followed up the week after by a Bromsgrove team that produced a very strong set of results throughout the rest of their season. In an Oakham rematch, this time at home, a slightly smaller pitch prevented us using the pace of Timmy Pong and Ben Lucas out wide and the scoreline was tight but Bedford just clinched a much-needed win. A trip to Dulwich for the last match of the half-term was marred by a serious injury to Harry Homan and, although we fought back well in the second half with a brilliant individual try by Leon Williamson, it wasn’t enough to stave off defeat. The second half of term brought tough fixtures against Warwick and Radley and, although we started well in both games, we couldn’t quite hold on and ended up losing to both teams. Northampton School for Boys were up next in a hard-fought game under the floodlights, a new experience for most. This game reminded us of how important it is to be up for both the physical and mental challenge as a very strong NSB team came out on top. We then played Abingdon in the penultimate game of the season, a tight contest in which we started well with a good team try finished off well by Ross Denton but we couldn’t quite hold the lead. Another missed opportunity. St George’s was our final game and all were raring for a great finish to the season. The game

started well and Bedford offered good attacking threat but St George’s came back strongly and we had to defend for a majority of the first half. Our chance through Pong, whose electrifying pace took him clear down the wing, put us ahead though. The remainder of the first half was spent defending our own line and we managed to keep them out. In a tight second half they scored a late try and the scores were tied with around five minutes remaining. We then went straight back down the other end to score to win the game and end the season on a high! Squad: Barnes W. (captain), Bowes A., Dalton S., Davison S., Denton R., Garrett T., Hicks C., Homan H., Kalyan S., Kirkup W., Lucas B., Mallalieu F., Pong T., Rennie A., Swainson A., Whitehurst J., Williamson L. and Zhang J. Will Barnes

u14 c The season started well with a convincing home win (52–12) against Warwick. Good communication between the players, combined with a positive team spirit, led to Bedford playing the better rugby. Our tackling was, however, a little weak in the first half but some stronger individual performances in the second half produced a very encouraging start to the season. Our next match was away against Harrow. Strong positive team spirit in the second half led to Bedford breaking through the Harrow defence on a number of occasions. Sadly, the match ended with a defeat (28–53) with the team’s tackling and shape leaving plenty of room for improvement. Overall, the boys were outplayed by a stronger Harrow side. Next came another away fixture, this time against Bromsgrove. The boys struggled to contain a series of strong attacks by Bromsgrove in the first half. Our tackling skills once again needed more work. The boys warmed up to ‘win’ the second half, two tries to one, following an inspiring talk by their coach! We lost the match 17–45. A big win was to follow, against Oakham, with a pleasing allround team performance contributing to the boys winning 50–0. To their credit, Oakham battled hard in the first half but could not break through our strong defence. In the second half, strong attacking play quickly secured the win with the referee blowing his whistle early at 50 points. Oakham never looked like scoring and our boys produced a very strong performance.

Next came an away match against Dulwich. Frustratingly, very little appeared to go right for us on the day. After many dropped balls in both attack and defence we lost 5–24. Regrettably, another defeat was to follow this time at the hands of a very strong Radley side. Frustratingly again, this proved a match that our boys really should have won. Our discipline, passing, rucking and decision-making all let us down. Courage and determination were not enough to beat a well drilled and more skilful Radley side, their handling and rucking being much stronger. Radley played better as a team than we did and, although we tackled well, silly errors when we did win the ball cost us the match (19-27). Away again to Abingdon, under the watchful eye of Mr Bantock, the boys played well against much stronger opposition. Following a shaky start they came back strongly after half-time to score and convert. They lost 14–29 but played with determination, defending well in the second half. Fittingly the season ended with a superb and well-fought match in a return fixture against Warwick. We won the match 43–25. It was a great performance by the whole team and one that was thoroughly enjoyed by both players and supporters alike. My thanks to all the squad who played and trained so hard throughout the season. Thank you also to parents and family for their unstinting support and encouragement on the touchline. Charlie Clare from Bedford Blues deserves thanks also for providing the boys with some excellent skills sessions. Finally, I would like to wish all the players good luck in their rugby next year. Squad: Fishwick B. (captain), Corner T., Destro J., Dulgeru D., Elston A., Emmanuel-Odiachi I., Fashola T., Hendry M., Humphreys F., May B., May T., Neilson M., Pearson I., Rea B., Roese L., Singer O., Stirling D., Ward H. and Wegener A. M.H. Cassell

u14 d The season began with a trip to Harrow, something of a baptism of fire for the boys who battled bravely in defeat. Sadly, the match featured a bad injury for fly-half Adam Foyt as he made a try-saving tackle at the end of the game; Foyt did return to the side later in the term and contributed well in our final games. Next up was an inaugural fixture at Bromsgrove. Bedford

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worked hard to maintain a strong defensive line in difficult conditions against an attack-minded home side, with Harry Barrett, Amun Bhamra and the always excellent Sareer Safi excelling in the tackle. The backs did make some exciting breaks and tireless running by Angel Jani was eventually rewarded as he crossed the line for the team’s first try. Further tries were scored at Merchant Taylor’s, Harvey Thompson, Jani, Oliver Perkins and Romeo Chryssaphes leading the charge. Captain Josh Nethersole marshalled his troops in the pack and for a while Bedford threatened to take the lead, but our opponents pulled away towards the end and finished 17–34 up following some ruthless goal-kicking. Rapidly becoming veteran travellers, Bedford boarded the bus again for the longest trip of the season, to Dulwich. Popular philosopher Alain de Botton, in The Art of Travel, emphasises that it’s really all about the journey, not the destination, adding further consolation with the observation that ‘journeys are the midwives of thought’. Whether any of the boys experienced a great spiritual awakening as a result of this forced introspection is unclear, but they certainly covered some miles. At Dulwich they again remained in contention for much of the game before going down 10–27; Chryssaphes scored again and special mention must go to Ben Herbert, whose spectacular black eye came to symbolise the commitment shown by the boys on the pitch.

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The team had been growing in confidence and a real highlight arrived in the following fixture, at home to Warwick; the home crowd was rewarded with a festival of open, expansive rugby as the boys swept to a famous 42–12 victory. Chryssaphes starred with four tries but not before Nethersole had opened his account, breaking through a number of tackles before crashing over to set the team on their way. Radley and Abingdon claimed victories in subsequent fixtures before Bedford headed to Warwick for their final game of the season. Nishanth Ponnaganti, Rahul Sheemar, Haydn O’Neill and Matthew Hirst came into the side and Bedford competed well in the first half, scoring twice; Warwick did eventually gain the ascendancy and with it revenge for their reverse at Bedford a few weeks earlier but regulars Nethersole, Safi, Bhamra, Thompson, Matthew Fahmy and Jani kept the team going until the final whistle and the boys finished with several attempts at the Warwick line. In overall terms this was certainly a challenging season but the boys acquitted themselves with great credit against some of the country’s strongest rugby schools. For some the season represented their first real experience of playing competitive rugby and I hope they took much from their involvement with the team and go on to represent the school in similar fashion in future years. Mention should also go to Sami Younis at scrumhalf, Ryan Tame, Anand Sahota and Michael Stevens in the backs, Teddy Hartigan, Herbert and top-tackler John Hopcroft in the pack, and Perkins who, having joined us from Mr Adams’s third game squad, became one of our key players before injury curtailed his season. Mr Adams also introduced Chryssaphes to the game so really he deserves credit for our best moments. Well done to Nethersole for leading from the front (or from the back of the scrum!) and keeping the referees on their toes, and to Barrett, who deservedly won the ‘player of the season’ award. Squad: Nethersole J. (captain), Barrett H., Bhamra A., Chryssaphes R., Fahmy M., Foyt A., Hartigan T., Herbert B., Hirst M., Hopcroft J., Jani A., Jenkins H., O’Neill H., Perkins O., Ponnaganti N., Safi S., Sahota A., Sheemar R., Stevens M., Tame R., Thompson H. and Younis S. M.W. Graham

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SEASON OVERVIEW It is extremely pleasing to see that all of the hard work and enthusiasm from both boys and staff is starting to pay dividends. The new sand-dressed surface at Gordon Field not only looks well but is having a great effect on the boys’ technical skills. The autumn term focused again on the indoor format of the game. The Colts age group was mainly made up of U15 and U14 boys. They found it tough to compete with some good opposition, though they will hopefully have learnt a great deal from their experience. The U18s narrowly missed out on national finals, finishing third in the east region, which in itself is no mean feat: year by year we are gradually getting better in this competition. The Midlands Schools’ League gets ever more competitive and it’s great that, across the board at Bedford School, we are able to compete. With previous placings of seventh we have now achieved two fourth place finishes, a position that we all feel is warranted, but one we want to keep improving upon. Although no Bedford School team won their league, there were more teams competing at the top than in the previous years which is very pleasing. With more and more boys playing hockey at the school and now also outside at local clubs we are hoping to continue to improve. The 1st XI set the tone from week one with a brilliant performance against an extremely strong Oakham side, only to narrowly go down 2–3. With two wins, two draws and two defeats the XI continue to hold their own in a very tough league. We continue to have success at county level with both the

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U14 and Colts age group winning their tournaments but with the east regional tournament still proving to be just a bridge too far at the moment. We are also seeing a lot more boys starting to progress in England hockey’s regional set-up, with boys involved in the junior regional performance centres. Special mention goes to Tom Crowson who again has competed internationally at junior level, playing for the England U18s (a year young) in the European Championships over the summer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the boys who put in so much effort during the term. I would also like to commend them on their on-field behaviour which was exemplary all season. Thanks must also go to all the coaches who have made this a very enjoyable year and who have worked tirelessly to improve hockey at the school. Lastly, thank you to all of our loyal supporters who braved the weather and put in the mileage for the away journeys: it is very much appreciated by the staff and especially the boys. A.E. Meredith

THE FIRST ELEVEN The squad again consisted of a mixture of upper and lower sixth formers, so we had a good mix of experience and enthusiasm. First up was a tough start to the season against a very strong Oakham side who had beaten us extremely comfortably the previous year. The boys were very keen to put that game behind them and were competitive in every area from the outset. With

the score at 1–1, we thought we had taken the lead, only for the umpire to disallow it for a previous foul. Oakham themselves then got a goal where we felt the whistle should have been blown. With the game finely in the balance, Oakham’s star player scored a wonder goal that would be good enough to win any game and, with that, our chances of coming away with a result that the boys deserved were dashed. Building on the Oakham performance, we went into the fixture with Oundle with confidence high. Another tight game saw us come away with a draw: having been 1–3 down with ten minutes to go, this was a great effort by the squad. Our first win of the season came at home against Rugby. We have always had close encounters with them, and this was no different. A last-minute winner saw the team take all three points this time with a 4–3 victory. Four points from our first three games was not a bad return, especially in this league. Our next two games were not quite as close, unfortunately. Faced with the strongest Repton side I have seen and an always talented Trent School, results did not go our way. However, we competed for periods and we were taught a lesson on clinical finishing in both games. A midweek defeat to Bishop’s Stortford College and a cancelled game against Hitchin Boys’ School saw the season draw to a close with a final home fixture versus Uppingham. A good crowd gathered and even the sun made an appearance, so we were in for another close fixture against local rivals. The game ebbed and flowed one way and another and at 3–3 the match could have gone either way. Thankfully, we managed to get the winner and end our season on a high, winning 4–3.

Overall it was a positive season for the 1st XI who at times played some wonderful hockey and always battled right till the end. The 2015 XI: Captain and colours: T. Elhert. Colours: T. Chapman, B. Clarke, T. Crowson, D. Frossell, J. Lamond, A. Momi and H.C. Preyer. Squad: Ballard C., Burgess O., Gill A., Orchard R., Patel S., Riddell L., Slawinski B. and Swain A. A.E. Meredith

THE SECOND ELEVEN The 2nd XI hockey team had a tough season with a number of fixtures against some extremely strong hockey schools. The team was very much a new outfit, with the majority of places being filled by players from the lower sixth. As a result, it was always going to take time to gel as a team and this is reflected in the two defeats to Oakham and Oundle at the start of the season. By February, the team had come on hugely and we were able to take an extremely positive 4–1 win against a Rugby side at home. However, one of the most gratifying performances came after the team were able to grind out a 1–1 draw against an extremely strong Bishop’s Stortford side, who, it could be argued, had the better of us for the majority of the game. The end of February brought a 2–6 defeat to top of the table Repton. They were easily the most talented side we played all season and there were a huge number of positives to take from the match: our counter-attack had them scrambling back to defend a

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number of times and only a few unlucky late goals made the scoreline flatter Repton. March also saw another draw against Trent, a side that sat well above us in the league, showing just how far the team had come since the start of the season. Unfortunately, the season ended with a 2–4 defeat to Uppingham at home. While it was a tough way to end a tough season, it was clear to see just how much the 2nd XI had come along. Throughout the season every player has shown a remarkable degree of persistence and determination and there was a real desire to improve week in, week out. I am sure that the experience that the lower sixth will bring to the team next season will stand them in good stead to do extremely well in the league next year. Squad: Lakin A. (captain), Adewale T., Carter J., Chander J., Garrad O., Johnston D., Olphin A., Patel S., Ratnayake M., Riddell L., Strain P., Trounson S., Turner C., Twigden J. and Wilson E. Andrew Lakin

THE THIRD ELEVEN This was another excellent year for the 3rd XI with huge amounts of teamwork and endeavour shown from the very first whistle to the last. The season started well with home victories against Oakham (3–1) and Oundle (2–0) where the new lower sixth players quickly established themselves. After some freak snowstorms the team enjoyed a bus ride to Oundle only for the match to be cancelled. Our next home fixture, against Rugby, led to our third successive home victory, winning 3–0. At this point in the season our stronger players were called up to the 2nd XI, and so our initial squad of 16 started to shrink. Towards the middle of February our fixtures got harder and the

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visit of the Biddenham Sports College team was the first challenging match. Certainly it was a game of two halves with the first belonging to Bedford and the second to Biddenham after some of their players seemed to turn into 1st XI players during the half-time team talk. It resulted in a disappointing 3–6 defeat. Then came our series of away fixtures. The Repton match was a particularly close fixture with a narrow Repton win (in the last ten seconds), 1–2; a bitter pill to swallow after what was a tremendous effort from all our players. The Bishop’s Stortford fixture saw the 3rd XI galvanise themselves and they bounced back to a 3–1 win, this time with some interesting ‘banter’ from the opposition coach. The match at Trent was a windswept affair with a slim squad to pick from; two mistakes at the back led to a disappointing 1–2 defeat. The final game of the season was at home to Uppingham where, despite all the players’ endeavours, we lost 0–1. Overall, this was a brilliant season with more players than ever getting an opportunity to play for the 1st or 2nd XI. Special mention must be made of Oliver McLeod who, as well as captaining the 3rd XI, also deputised in goal for the 1st XI against Trent. He was never quite the same again! My thanks must go to every single player who gave their all on the pitch, whether in training or matches. I enjoyed every moment and I look forward to seeing most of you again in January 2016 for another epic season. Bring on the ‘square’! Squad: McLeod O. (captain), Barnes P., Birro A., Cooper P., Dorgham A., Foulkes M., Hart C., Lawson J., Lewsley J., Matthews J., Olphin A., Orbell C., Perkins T., Ratnayake M., Shah A., Stammers A. and Wilson E. S.A. Adams

THE FOURTH ELEVEN This season was a turbulent one for the 4th XI hockey team. There is no easy way to describe the vast chasm which separates the highs from the lows. I feel that the best way to summarise this campaign is by looking toward the hit 1997 number one album by the Spice Girls entitled, Spiceworld. The fifth song on this musical tidal wave of talent is named Never Give Up on the Good Times; the chorus sings, ‘I said hey now look around, pick yourself up off the ground’. This is exactly what the boys needed to do and in fact did after the first few games of the season. We fell into the depressing habit of losing. It is not easy for a captain to admit that his side were not technically good enough, therefore I wouldn’t and I won’t: I put our losses down to a lack of connection. In the beginning of the season our team simply were not gelling as the 4th XI has in previous years. At this point I knew that we had to ‘look around’ at our teammates and ‘pick ourselves up off the ground’. This vision came to me during what had been a fairly mundane training session. I concluded that in order to do this the senior boys in the side must be more welcoming to the lower sixth boys. So the other senior boys and I began to compliment the younger boys when they did well, apologise when we fouled up and not give them a hard time when they did the same. Quickly the entire team took on this positive mind set: everyone was getting behind one another. To complement this, Mr Gracie suggested that we upped our aggression levels to ensure that we were hungrier to win the ball and ultimately hungrier to win the games. We exploited Lachlan Welsh and Theo Butler’s natural

determination and aggression to steal the ball from the opposition in the heart of defence. Thomas Hall, this year’s ‘players’ player of the season’ then took the ball and distributed it out to a wing in a Paul Scholes-like manner. James Robinson would then make a blistering run up the flank and dink the ball into the D. Within seconds the ball usually found itself firmly nestled in a still shaking net or furiously ricocheting from the firm back board of the goal. It is at this moment that I refer you back to the 1997 Spice Girl’s hit. A line in the song goes ‘never give up on the good times, living it up is a state of mind’. From here on in the boys only enjoyed every success, most notably in the form of retaining the 4th v 4th trophy. For those of you (of which there are few) who do not know of this trophy, the contesting of it is one of the largest events in the Bedford School calendar. It if fought between the 4th XI hockey and 4th XI football teams, one half hockey and the other football. This year the hockey team went up 7-0 in the first half, showing our dominance in our own sport. The football team sought a comeback but did not have enough, only achieving a 3-0 win in the second half. Overall the score was a 7–3 win to the hockey side. I am confident that next year the boys can retain the title for the third year on the bounce due to the fantastic ability shown by the younger boys this year. I trust that they will lead next year’s new lower sixth boys while still basking in this year’s glory. Some lessons that I have learnt during my time in the 4th team are that ‘you can only control the controllables’, ‘if you can’t change your surroundings, change yourself’ and ‘never give up on the good times, living it up is a state of mind’.

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Squad: Philips M. (captain)., Bornemann P., Brown T., Butler T., Carmichael J., Gardner D., Hall T., Robinson J., Smith T., Thackara M., Welch L. and Yin J. Marcus Phillips

COLTS A The Colts A team had a promising season as U15s so great things were expected as we set out to achieve that elusive unbeaten season. The year group had just come off the back of a great rugby season so it was always going to be a tough act to follow. The season started with a tightly fought contest against a strong Oakham side. Bedford were strong and composed at the back as the onslaught began. The famous Oakham front three mounted attack after attack on the centre-back partnership of Tom Stewart and Ollie Hind. Bedford were never going to hold them off forever: it was just whether our forwards could score more than Oakham’s. Unfortunately, they couldn’t as Bedford

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lost an encouraging first game 2–3. With a few games cancelled the mighty Colts were feeling fresh as they went into battle with Rugby. Bedford were brilliant and electric as they thrashed a rather lackluster Rugby side 3–1. Things were looking promising for the new-look Bedford side under the influence of our new coach, Mr Peters, who encouraged tiki-taka play and counterattacking hockey. Bedford then went on to beat Thomas Deacon Academy: good practice for the biggest game of the season against Repton, away. Repton were known as the Barcelona of schoolboy hockey: they rarely lost the ball and controlled the pace of play, choosing when to pass to their Messi-esque striker. Unfortunately, the worst happened and the Colts were humbled 0–11. Salt was rubbed into the wound as Ted Hicks was sent off for an off-the-ball incident which was a controversial talking point on the bus trip back. With the sound of that sickening thud of the ball hitting the backboard time and time again still ringing in our ears, a rather shaken Bedford went into combat with local rivals Oundle. Bedford were big favorites going into the game and, unfortunately, their ref knew that as well. So he kindly took it upon himself to make the game as ‘fair’ as possible by giving fouls against Bedford at every possible moment. After being 1–2 down at half-time, Mr Peters had a quiet word with the Oundle referee, and suddenly Bedford flourished, getting a goal back immediately after the break. Unfortunately, however, Oundle scored a goal from a short corner straight after and decided to ‘park the bus’. Bedford were not able to break the bus down, so Oundle ran out 2–3 winners in the end. Hoping to redeem ourselves, we hosted a powerful Trent side whose centre-midfielder was a

pressure, converting just one penalty as the hockey team took home the win. Thanks go to Mr Peters for coaching us this season and bestowing his wealth of hockey knowledge upon us. Squad: Johnson E. (captain), Andrews G., Bowes O., Brown R., Dalton J., Dingwall F., Hicks E., Hind O., Kight B., Martin T., Seamark R., Stewart T., Thrasher O., von der Heyde G. and Wingfield E. Oliver Thrasher

COLTS B

German international. Bedford got off to a shaky start, going 0–1 down very early on. However, we roared back and put five past the shell-shocked Trent side in a game that can only be described as ping-pong hockey as goal after goal was scored. Special mention must be made of Jack Dalton who scored a fine hat-trick as Bedford ran out 5–4 winners in the game of the season for the Colts. Bedford were keen to end the season on a high against an Uppingham side whose size dwarfed that of even our most physical players. On a wet and cold day, Bedford’s hearts were not in it for the most part. In the last ten minutes we ran Uppingham close, narrowly losing 2–3, which was our season in a nutshell: the ‘nearly’ team. The high points of the season were: Stewart’s one-on-one tackling; Ed Johnson’s physicality; Hind’s bursting runs from deep; Ben Kight’s work rate and team ethic; Rob Seamark’s shot-stopping; my tracking back; and Gabriel von der Heyde’s reverse hit from hell which struck fear into the heart of many a goalkeeper. The Colts’ season also involved challenging the football team to a game of football on the main pitches. After a week’s anticipation, build up and pre-game bravado, the match was upon us. Obviously the football team were favourites as they were playing their sport. Hind came close to winning the match on three occasions for the hockey team, nailing the woodwork twice and having a fair goal disallowed. It was 0–0 after 90 minutes, and so the game went on to penalties and I am delighted to report that the footballers crumbled under the

They arrived with their mail shirts Glittering, silver-shining links clanking an iron song as they came. School-weary still, they set their broad, battle-hardened shields in rows upon the pitch Then, stretched themselves on Gordon’s benches. Their armour rang; their ash-wood spears stood in a line, Greytipped and straight: The Colts B’s war-gear were honoured weapons. How many times have my men sworn to stay after dark And stem that horror with a sweep of their sticks. And then, in the morning, this grass pitch glittering with new light would be drenched with blood, the benches stained red, the floors, all wet from that fiend’s savage assault – and my soldiers would be fewer. Still, vile defeat we knew not but once. They brooded on their only loss, misery at such a bitter hardfought game. Their days have gone as fate willed. As I knew how, swearing no unholy oaths, seeking no lying wars. We can leave this field happy and fly to glory. Squad: Adkins D., Clements D., Comfort W., Cupei J., Dennis A., Diemer M., Garrett J., Guthrie H., Kane C., Kerr W., Lombardo P., McCormack O., Shepherd A., Tomlinson-Patel S. and Van der Walt J. Adapted from Beowolf by B.S. Bantock

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U15 A

U15 B

This has been another difficult season for this group of boys and no matches, despite some close encounters, were won. It would be easy for me to be negative but there are clear positive factors and not all is doom and gloom. Anticipating that wins might be hard to come by, I felt it important that the main instruction to the players was that they were to always try to play correctly, pass and not clear, and to maintain discipline. To their great credit they followed these instructions and showed great determination and spirit throughout all of the matches. Bad luck did not help: I can recall five occasions when a shot hit the post and stayed out and a couple of results might have been different. It was nice to hear Bedford supporters complimenting the way they were playing and this praise was certainly deserved. There are some strong players and some will make effective 1st XI players in due course. Alfie Orchard is a natural, athletic sportsman with a sharp tactical sense; Kieran Whitehall has good skills with fast hands and was often able to open gaps in opposition defences; and Tom Parry showed skills, determination and mobility. All of these are capable of strong contributions to Bedford hockey in the future. There are others that will come through as they grow older and they must believe in their abilities. A lot of good hockey was played and I would like to thank the team for their efforts. Parry T. (captain), Blundell O., Burgoine H., Gay E., Kendall J., Lovell J., Medley A., Omitomilola R., Orchard A., Patel J., Patel S., Sear L., Trudgill W., Whitehall K. and Wilshaw-Quinn B. J.B. Watson

The U15 Bs went into the new season hoping to build on a difficult campaign last year. There are no easy fixtures in the calendar, but first up were a strong Oakham age group. With the A team hit with injuries early on, the B team had to call upon boys from the C team in game one. A competitive first half saw Oakham take a 0–2 advantage into half-time: this was a positive start with a slightly weakened side, and the message was to keep going. Oakham started the second half strongly, however, and showed their class with four quick goals which ended the tie as a contest. The January weather does what it does best and the next two games fell to the snow/ice. This gave the squad the opportunity to recover from injuries and do some indoor training which improved their skills no end. Buoyed by a few returning players, the boys set out to try and beat a Rugby side who we had beaten 1–0 the previous year. Another close game ensued, although, unfortunately, we found ourselves on the end of a 0–1 scoreline this time out: however, it was a much improved performance. A mid-week 0–0 draw with Bishop’s Stortford College provided further evidence that the team was starting to gel. The first (and only) win of the season came against Oundle. The game probably could have gone either way but, with some resolute defending and a fine team goal, victory was ours. Injuries to players in the A team towards the end of the season again stretched the B team and, unfortunately, the season petered out with defeats in our final two games. At times through the season it looked as though we might just kick on and gain a few more wins. However, it wasn’t to be. Thanks to

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Mr Strachan for his coaching and for making the season an extremely enjoyable one. Squad: Blore D., Brakenbury J., Christian G., George J., Lawson H., Lister M., Lovell J., Medley A., O’Riordan P., Patel J. and Whelan F. A.E. Meredith

U15 C The 2015 hockey term saw Tim Machin and me take leadership of the U15 C team as manager and coach, respectively. Our thoughts after our very first training session were that these boys had talent and some blistering pace but we needed to give them some tactical knowledge. They needed to work on their game awareness and to play as a team, not just as individuals. The first game of the season was upon us quickly without too much time for training. We lost 0–1 at home to Oakham. It was a close game that could have gone either away. Unfortunately for the boys, it didn’t go our way, but we knew we had the players to bounce back from this going forwards. Our second fixture took us to Rugby (after our game against Oundle was postponed due to weather). We had plenty of training sessions running up to the Rugby fixture and there was a confident mood among the group. We played Rugby on grass, an alien surface to many of the boys. However, they adapted their play to suit the conditions and walked away with a thumping 5–0 victory. I remember vividly how overjoyed the boys were, especially captain Aaron Borland who scored a hat-trick. After more training sessions in the week we played Repton at home and we gained another crushing victory with the scoreline reading 5–1. At times our pace going forward was too much to handle for the opposition and it was a joy to watch. After our original fixture against Oundle was postponed we eventually played them in our fourth fixture at home and the result was a 2–1 victory: a closer game than the previous two. However, it was pleasing to see the boys hold their nerve and show fantastic team spirit to get over the line with a victory. Our last fixture of the season saw us come up against a strong Uppingham side at home on grass. The result was disappointing, losing 0–1. However, the performance from the Bedford boys was magnificent, as it had been all season. This game saw us a without two key players but the rest of the boys rallied and worked extremely hard in a game which was bitterly

close. Tim noticed that one of the Uppingham boys was playing with a left-handed stick which is extremely unusual and actually illegal in our hockey fixtures. However, the boys took the result on the chin and were still very pleased with their efforts. To sum things up, the boys played five, won three and lost two. Most importantly, they played some beautiful hockey throughout. Tim and I were so pleased with their efforts and it was very satisfying to see the enjoyment they gained from training hard and playing well. They grew as a team from week to week and I hope that they all have fond memories of their hockey experiences this year. Squad: Borland A. (captain), Bornemann L., Chan W., Choi M., Clayton S., Duxbury K., Higgs M., Ksenofontov E., Liu F., Mahwendepi T., Manorattanawong V., Ogunyiluka A., Perkins S., Todd A. and Yin M. T. Brett

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U14 A This lot aren’t half bad. Having delivered a stellar season in their final year of prep school hockey, much was expected of them and, on the whole, they delivered. Some decent sides were brushed aside with impressive insouciance and, perhaps even more encouragingly, a couple of very hard-fought wins were secured. And yet, this team will (and do) define themselves according to their results against Repton, Trent College and the like. In these two games, we fell short this time around, but there were more than enough signs that this will not always be the case. The season started with a bang: Oakham could not live with the lively link-up play of Felix Mallelieu, Charlie Axford, Tom Blythman and Ben Roworth and five goals in the first 20 minutes effectively finished the game. Especially pleasing was the awareness Sam Dalton showed to pick up two of these goals on the back post after excellent work; he should develop into a fine hockey player. The boys switched off slightly to allow Oakham back into the match, but 6–3 (with a Mallelieu hat-trick, though Blythman deservedly took man-of-the-match honours) was a deserved margin of victory. An uneven hammering of Biddenham followed before what was, from my perspective, the match of the season, a 3–2 away from home victory over KES Birmingham. Axford showed good awareness from a free hit to drive into the D before unleashing a sweet strike into the top corner and Mallelieu doubled our lead with a very calm finish. This was pleasing, though, for what happened next and how the boys responded. KES – who were a very good side, indeed – came back to level the game with ten minutes to go; by this point the match was ‘feisty’ in the extreme. We retook the lead with a Mallelieu deflection from an Axford crash into the D but this was really a victory won by the back three of Alex Rennie in goal, Will Barnes, Ben Rea and the tireless work of Alfie Elston and Finn O’Sullivan in front of them. Winning ugly is not something this side has had to do often, so this performance was a genuine highlight of the season. A routine win against Rugby (6–1) followed with the usual few from Axford and Mallelieu and the welcome addition of a goal from Ross Denton. Denton and the always eccentric Peter Head were the finds of the season and should develop very nicely indeed over the next years. When Bishop’s Stortford

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were then dispatched 4–0 at home, we really did believe this team were potential national champions; this was not wrong but perhaps a little premature. In fact, the east region rounds of this year’s national tournament were our worst day of the season and threatened to derail our efforts for some time. If our rematch against Stortford had been a premiership football match, then mountains of ink would have been wasted analysing its outcome. Suffice, for these purposes, to say that Stortford came with a plan (though not a particularly edifying one) and executed it superbly. We had no answer to their physicality and ended up on the wrong side of a scoreboard for the first time in the season. The fact we compounded this with a defeat to a good Norwich side did us no favours when we tried to claim the mantle as best team at Bedford School Hockey Club that day. Then we struggled. We lost 1–2 to a genuinely good Repton side who ended the year as national champions; Barnes, who was excellent throughout the season, will have learnt much from the manner in which he conceded the last-second short corner from which Repton scored, but if we were being entirely honest, Repton probably deserved to squeak past us that day. Isaac Pearson put in a commanding performance at the back against a very tricky Repton forward, showing his development as a player over the course of the season. The less said about the loss to Trent College the better, though I have no doubt that a fullstrength side, playing with more confidence than we had at that point, would have won. A nice, morale-boosting thrashing of Thomas Deacon Academy allowed the boys to salvage something from a disappointing second half of term. This remains, though, a genuinely excellent side full of talent and character. To a man they have a burning desire to learn and improve. Their tour of South Africa and some hard indoor work (and some hard gym work for some) will see them overturn defeats to Repton and Trent, I have no doubt. The real test (and they must not lose sight of this) will be the 2019 National Championships. Roll on that day. As will be obvious from the above, these guys have been a real pleasure to coach and get to know this season. My thanks to them, to the Director of Hockey and to the sadly departed Dr Charlton, whose antics with the B team gave much inspiration and enjoyment throughout those cold winter months.

Squad: Axford C., Barnes W., Blythman T., Dalton S., Denton R., Elston A., Gouldstone H., Head P., Kirkup W., Mallelieu F., O’Sullivan F., Pearson I., Rea B., Rennie A., and Roworth B. M.T. Herring

U14 B Having carefully re-gripped their sticks and sluiced off the muddy remains of autumn from their astro boots in the final week before Christmas, the U14 B squad returned in January seemingly well prepared for the tough set of fixtures ahead. This general orderliness was quickly rewarded with victory in their first match against Oakham. Having craftily manoeuvred their own goal some four-feet behind the baulkline to help disorientate a number of thunderous Bedford attacks, Oakham managed to keep the deficit to a single goal at half-time after Harry Gouldstone finished off a smart short-corner routine. After some repositioning of the posts, the hosts did show their pedigree after the break, snatching a goal back before Max Hendry calmly sealed the victory for Bedford from close range with only a few minutes to go. It was a promising start for the team, who looked eager for the next. Unfortunately, the snow at Bromsgrove was to thwart their enthusiasm and, it seems, something of their calm control on the pitch. Against a relatively inexperienced Bedford Modern side, Bedford were quickly down 0–2 and looking an altogether different outfit. After some stiff advice at half-time, however, they brought themselves back into the match, eventually turning out 4–2 winners. Chris Kitson’s two solo goals from the bench and one wonder save from Benjy Fishwick between the sticks (‘That was one hell of a stop’, remarked an astonished Bedford Modern teacher from the sidelines) proved to be invaluable. Coach Charlton’s response to this minor scare was a change in formation. Moving from the regular and dependable 4–4–2 to a more dynamic 3–1–4–2 setup, Bedford began to look a much stronger side, playing some really eye-catching hockey. Away to King Edward’s Birmingham, Hendry tapped in the rebound from a superb reverse strike early on by Ben Lucas. Harry Ward and Captain Joe Fordham then had to hold their nerve at the back to see off a number of smart attacks from the home team. Like the rest of

the team, they proved themselves to be indomitable, throwing their sticks in front of every shot. Indeed, it was a seasondefining match for Ward, who was quickly becoming a proverbial wall at the heart of the defence. Bedford’s style and tenacity continued to improve and, despite a 0–2 defeat away to Rugby, they were playing their best hockey of the season. Particular commendations on the day went to Toby Garrett and Elijah Cooke, who both worked tremendously hard down the flanks on a cold day, attacking and defending with equal zeal. This positive attitude almost earned Bedford a special victory against a strong Bishop’s Stortford side the following Saturday. After a titanic midfield battle, led by Charlie Hicks and Gouldstone, being forced to settle for a 2–2 draw felt akin to a loss for the boys and for their supporters. In particular, Arun Chambers deserved more from his pacey, dangerous counter-attacks up front. After such promise, then, it was disappointing to round off the season with two 0–1 defeats, first to Repton and then Trent College, but the effort and commitment shown by the boys, even in defeat, could not be faulted. Perhaps above all others, Rahul Sheemar, James Kneller and Charlie Probyn, all of whom provided remarkably assured performances in defence, showed the rest the type of serious improvement that can be achieved over the course of a season. Ben Herbert and Jonathan Hosking, too, deserve special mention for their fearless attitudes during matches and their particular diligence in training. And despite the mildly disappointing finale, the whole team can be proud both of their individual and collective achievements this season. Squad: Fordham J. (captain), Chambers A., Cooke E., Fishwick B., Garrett T., Gouldstone H., Hendry M., Herbert B., Hicks C., Hosking J., Kneller J., Kitson C., Lucas B., Probyn C., Sheemar R. and Ward H. E. Charlton

U14 C Below is a selection of games from the season as seen by captain James Kneller. These games give a fair reflection of the boys’ journey through the season. Oakham – away. Won 3–2 The U14 C team arrived at Oakham and, to our dismay, were

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greeted by a muddy grass pitch. Furthermore, there was a strong cold wind blowing and the day was damp and miserable: not the best conditions for the first game of the campaign. In the first half Bedford found it hard to adjust to the grass pitch and struggled to clear the ball into the opposition half. Oakham capitalised on the continued pressure to score two unanswered goals. Bedford heads were dropping but some inspiring words from a frustrated captain in the changing rooms at half-time got everyone focused and ready for a second-half fightback. The Bedford boys duly obliged and adjusted to the pitch and the opposition well. This was largely thanks to strong captaincy and the team’s ‘never say die’ attitude. The boys held their positions better, which gave them more opportunity to slide the ball behind the tiring opposition defence. Some substitutions were made and man of the match Chris Kitson came on to score a hattrick in five minutes. This left Oakham completely bewildered and Bedford managed to hold out to the final whistle. The vibe in the changing room was something the boys won’t forget for a long time. Team spirit is something that is talked a lot about in sport – but that fact that these boys pulled off a win against the odds was a real highlight of the season. Rugby – away. Drew 1–1 After a strong start, Daniil Dulgeru scored a fantastic early goal and Bedford clearly had the upper hand. A series of chances formulated by the midfield and a series of saves from the exceptional Rugby keeper kept the score to 0–1 at halftime. A Rugby side with much better structure and intent came out in the second half. They kept two players high in the circle on every attack which caught the Bedford defence by surprise. A mistake from the Bedford defence in the early second half led to a Rugby goal and made it 1–1. However, Bedford quickly reacted to the threat, Sareer Safi made a series of excellent saves and Teddy Hartigan stopped a ball on the line that was travelling like a bullet: possibly the best piece of defending of the season. Both teams had chances late in the second half but neither side capitalised and eventually time ran out. The bus on the way back

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was understandably subdued as the team reflected on the draw that should have been a win. Repton – away. Lost 0–2 The match against Repton will haunt the team after losing 0–2 but having at least 70 per cent of possession and spending most of the time in the opposition half. Bedford were constantly pressurising the D but could not turn the ball into the goal against a tireless and solid Repton defence. Three times Repton executed a fast break and twice they scored. It could have easily been three from three had Toby May not pulled off a superb save. Bedford were left scratching their heads and had a fair bit to do in training. Oakham – home. Won 6–0 Something had to be done following the Repton match so the U14 C team worked hard in training on a new attacking and defensive shape. Their hard work resulted in a much improved performance. They were more incisive as a result and opportunities on goal came thick and fast. Charles Tavengwa and Daniil Dulgeru marshalled well in the midfield, often finding the forwards in space. First-half goals from Sachin Kaylan, Ife Emmanuel-Odiachi, Tavengwa, Dulgeru and Kitson showed how much of a team performance it was. A change of goalkeeper for Oakham in the second half brought a sturdier defence. Even though Bedford applied continued pressure, they only managed to breach the defence once more with a Kitson goal. The performance and scoreline demonstrate just how much Bedford improved their hockey throughout the season and the fact that hard practice pays off. A great way to finish the season. Squad: Kneller J. (captain), Destro J., Dulgeru D., EmmanuelOdiachi I., Fahmy M., Foat E., Hartigan E., Hirst M., Ianiri A., Katechia J., Kaylan S., Kitson J., Malhi R., May B., May T., Mehmood A., Probyn C., Safi S., Stevens M. and Tavengwa C. James Kneller E. Charlton

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SUMMARY Overall, it has been an enjoyable season for all with some excellent cricket played by most of the sides. The 1st XI led from the front by playing good cricket throughout the whole of the summer and again proved themselves to be one of the best teams on the circuit. They were very unfortunate not to progress to the national finals in the T20 competition, losing narrowly to Malvern in the quarter-finals. The 2nd XI, U15 A and U15 B also had very good seasons and it bodes well for the school to see players from these age groups already playing in the 1st XI, notably Rahul Sheemar (who has been taken on by the Essex Academy) and Emilio Gay (Northamptonshire Emerging Players’ Squad). The U15 A team progressed to the regional finals of the Lord’s Taverners Competition but, on the day, Warwick School were the better side. However, the team should be proud of their superb win against Malvern in the semi-final. The U14 A were awarded the win by BMS so are, once again, County Champions. The team will now play in the U15 Lord's Taverners’ National Cup competition next summer. As with every year, the school says goodbye to several 1st XI players who have made huge contributions to cricket over the years. Paddy McDuell (1st XI captain), Tom Bradbeer, George Furbank, Shiv Patel, Ajay Momi, Josh Selvey and George

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Cochrane-Davies will all be moving on to pastures new. We wish them all the very best with their cricket and no doubt we will see some, if not all, playing in future OB fixtures. A big thank you to all of the coaches who have given up so much of their time and worked tirelessly with their squads throughout the summer. Also a big thank you to the ground staff, who have prepared excellent pitches and to the catering staff for all of their hard work. G.S. Steer

THE FIRST ELEVEN Coach: W.R. Montgomery Support coach: P.G.M. August As the U17 side were demolishing Bradfield in glorious autumnal sunshine in rural Oxfordshire in September 2014 to become champions for the second time in four years, everybody was really digesting the news that the inspirational master-incharge of cricket, Peter Sherwin, would leave at Christmas and the newly appointed Director of Cricket had already left after just a few days in post. What a welcome to Bedford School for the new Head Master and a genuine concern for the cricket community. However, pre-season took place at school in glorious

sunshine and Mr Montgomery was parachuted in to take over the XI for the summer while former Warwickshire CCC Academy Director, Mr Gary Steer, took over the role of Director of Cricket. The boys worked hard on all areas of their game throughout preseason training and, with the experienced Paddy McDuell leading the team, the squad looked in good shape for the start of the season. Felsted were the first victims, bundled out in 45 overs for 136 with spinners Ben Slawinski, McDuell and Shiv Patel sharing seven wickets. An opening stand of 125 between captain McDuell (61) and Jake Duxbury (53 not out) ensured victory by nine wickets inside 24 overs. MCC reluctantly agreed to a 50over game but could only muster 174–7 which was easily knocked off in 28 overs thanks to a dominant unbroken fourthwicket stand between Tom Bradbeer (42 not out) and Ajay Momi (43 not out). Bromsgrove, who clearly fancied themselves, arrived early and swaggered around giving the impression that they would be heading back to the West Midlands early. They were, having been beaten by 141 runs even before the junior games had broken for tea. Charlie Clarke made 72 not out and, together with the lower middle order Bedford scored 83 from the last three wickets. Then the school bowling unit shared the wickets, wrapping up proceedings in 32 overs.

And so to Oundle which has become something of a grudge match in recent years with their staff steadfastly refusing to accept that we have the right to decide the format when we play at home as we always graciously accept their playing conditions when away. Their disdain for 50-over cricket is legendary but one wonders what their boys really think … We were inserted – a negative tactic even before a ball was bowled in a timed game – and the XI batted poorly but Duxbury hung around for 47, not his most fluent or attractive innings but it proved to be a vital contribution and Clarke again playing an innings of outstanding power for 60. 215 was well below par but getting bowled out in 52 overs left more than 70 overs to prise out the home blockers (sorry batsmen). No run chase from ball one but it took well into the last hour to take the final wicket with Shiv Patel’s figures of 17–7–12–4 rather highlighting the tempo and ambition of the innings as they fell 73 runs short. Josh Selvey bowled a good long spell for his three wickets. In stark contrast the two-day game with Tonbridge was a beacon of positive cricket and credit to our visitors who batted with such panache in both innings, leading to an exciting fourth innings run chase. It was again Duxbury playing another solid opener’s innings that laid some sort of foundation, allowing the strokemakers of George Furbank and Shiv Jhala to prosper down the order to post 237. The Tonbridge number three stroked a

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beautiful 100 and a surprise declaration 28 runs adrift after just 39 overs sent Bedford back in for a tricky 45 minutes on the first evening before players and parents enjoyed a lovely barbeque in the Head Master’s garden. McDuell had perished but Duxbury steadfastly batted out the day and, with Bradbeer, they put on 119 for the fourth wicket in the morning session and then Momi and Clarke, neither shy of a big shot or two, had licence to set up a declaration. Momi hit 38 from 11 balls but Duxbury (87) and Bradbeer (72) deserve great credit for their application. 298 was what Tonbridge needed in something approaching 65 overs and victory was the only item on their agenda. They lost wickets at regular intervals but kept chasing the target to the end and fell 72 short but with plenty of overs in hand and with a more circumspect chase they may well have got much closer; rather that attitude than blocking for a draw. Again the bowlers shared the wickets and, by having a varied and quality attack at his disposal, McDuell was never short of options. The second half of term started with a trip to Harrow against whom the school has an excellent recent record. However, a very poor batting performance saw the side trounced. Harrow had a fast start in a 55-over game but the spinners dragged it back and Jhala with his chinamen and googlies had his best spell with 3–34. However, with the first ball of his second over Patel dropped a fiercely hit return catch and badly broke his index finger and his season was over. 234 was not a big target but poor shot selection and the basic lack of knowledge of when tea was saw the side collapse to 94 all out and in the process allowed a 15-year-old slow left-armer to return figures of 11–5–13–5. Stowe was once again washed out and then a long away trip to Shrewsbury saw a ruthless streak surface as a school with a

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high reputation was put to the sword. The day after the end of A-levels saw both sides with a few red eyes and unshaven and weary looking faces – perhaps the quietest coach journey ever had allowed our upper sixth to recover a little – and all six bowlers took wickets as Shrewsbury were skittled for 107. Fourth former Rahul Sheema on debut (and obviously exempt from A-level hangover comments) started with four consecutive maidens and ended with 2–15 from nine overs. The runs were knocked off inside 23 overs with Duxbury being denied a not out half-century as Momi decided to bring proceedings to a quick conclusion and an early return to continue the recovery process. The last block fixture was away at St Albans which resulted in another comfortable win, highlighted by the fact that the 2nd XI game was just finishing as we returned to school. 183 was a reasonable score in a 45-over game but no one batsman was able to take control. Slawinski took 3–39 from possibly one of his worst spells of the season (his own assessment) but everyone knows how high he sets the bar. A beautifully crafted 78 not out by McDuell and yet more mini-blitzes from Momi and Clarke won the game with 13 overs to spare. A young XI under the leadership of Slawinski beat Newington from Sydney thanks to a fine display of powerful hitting by Ollie Burgess, and so to the last game of the season. To allow some of the OBs who are league cricketers to play in the school fixture, the game had been moved from the traditional Friday/Saturday to Thursday/ Friday and the improved quality of their side was obvious to see. Selvey ripped into the OB top order and they were reeling on 82–5 before the middle order restored pride: 306 all out was a fine recovery with Selvey ending up with 6–62. Jhala with a swashbuckling 66 coming in at No 8 took the school to 253 and a well-timed declaration by Will

Notley set the school 301 to win. Once again Duxbury (82) played a splendid anchor role and Ewan Cox scored his first halfcentury for the 1st XI. At this point a scoreboard of 214–1 looked really healthy, but then wickets started to tumble. However, Clarke, coolness personified, took it all on board and saw the side home with an over to spare, winning by two wickets. The side also enjoyed another good run in the National Schools’ T20 competition. A 32-run win at Stowe got the ball rolling and then two games in four days advanced the campaign. Wellingborough were beaten by 37 runs and then a thriller at Felsted was won by four runs with Furbank bowling the last over for just four runs. That game involved a catch by Burgess that was beyond belief. Running in from long off he slipped and, while on his ample posterior, stuck up one hand and clutched the ball as it was about to sail over the boundary. Remarkable. A brilliantly managed run chase by McDuell against The Leys, ably supported by Burgess, won the regional final. A long trip to Malvern without Patel and Furbank was always going to be a big ask as those two were key players with bat and ball and Furbank was also inspirational in the field. A 50 from McDuell laid a good foundation but the innings never really kicked on so Malvern got home with an over to spare. Slawinski’s bowling in the T20 was exceptional: in 18 overs he conceded just 4.2 runs per over and Patel, before his injury, went at 4.6 in his three games. A total of 15 games, 13 wins and just two defeats tells of another outstanding season, and it most certainly was. The comprehensive nature of some of the victories was unreal: men against boys stuff. In all honesty the side did not bat consistently save for the reliable Duxbury. McDuell scored four half-centuries in his last six innings and Momi and Clarke played some cameos. Five bowlers took over 12 wickets in block fixtures with Selvey

topping the list with 19 which delighted everyone. I don’t want to sound too corny but it was a team effort. It was summed up by George Cochrane-Davies who came into the side and batted at No 10 but his fielding was a joy to watch and he gave so much to the team. It was a privilege for me to be involved with such a fine group of cricketers and characters who were so well led by McDuell. The work that they had done in previous years with Peter Sherwin has stayed with every one of them and the pride they showed in wearing their blazers and caps and representing Bedford School makes me as an OB very proud. Congratulations to the XI of 2015 who found time to play cricket, practice, revise and give parents, staff and themselves some wonderful memories. A big vote of thanks has to go to Mr Montgomery who, as a head of department (and soon-to-be member of the school’s senior management), had a host of other things to think about but he gave so much time to the XI – I thought Peter Sherwin enjoyed getting involved in practice sessions but Monty took it to a new level! His energy and cricket knowledge was invaluable and in the T20 run chase against The Leys he should take as much credit as the players for talking them through. Thanks also to Angus Gill who was team scorer and indeed so much more. The 2015 XI: Captain and honours cap: P.J.R. McDuell. Colours: T.D. Bradbeer, C.R. Clarke, G. Cochrane-Davies, J.A. Duxbury, G.A. Furbank, S. Jhala, A.S. Momi, S.P. Patel, B. Slawinski and J.T. Selvey. Squad: Burgess O., Choda N., Cox E., Gay E. and Sheema R. P.G.M. August

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THE SECOND ELEVEN Results: Felsted: won by 32 runs Bromsgrove: lost by 25 runs Oundle: won by four wickets Harrow: lost by six wickets St Albans: won by 30 runs OBs: won by 85 runs The Stowe and Shrewsbury matches were lost to the weather. Raising a settled, regular side to represent the school at this level is becoming harder each year and, before handing out plaudits to the players, I would like to thank Mr Braithwaite for his huge efforts on a week-to-week basis to chase and persuade boys to play. We ended up using over 20 boys in only six fixtures, with only a hard core of four or five playing every one. Despite all this, the actual cricket played was often impressive, with a shambolic effort at Bromsgrove being the only exception. The upper sixth stalwarts Ben Clarke and Ollie McLeod split the captaincy. We missed Clarke’s keeping badly after his pavilion accident at Bromsgrove but McLeod always led by example, putting in a robust bowling shift each game and competing hard, among the inevitable 2nd XI banter. There is a potentially larger upper sixth group next year if Max Thackara, Adit Shah, Akshar Kaul, Alex Williams, Michael Holroyd, Oliver Burgess, Aidan Swain, Chris Bracewell and Toby Clarke are not promoted (and don’t succumb to the need to ‘revise’ 24/7). Thakara’s spell against Harrow was mightily impressive; Kaul got lots of runs once he got used to our pitches; Burgess smashed it everywhere and fielded athletically; Swain bluffed the opposition into thinking he was Mitchell Johnson but bowled gently and

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accurately; Bracewell can be erratic and injury prone but is also a potentially match-winning opening bowler; Shah is starting to accumulate runs regularly and bowls well, too; Clarke Jnr is improving rapidly, having started in the 3rds; Holroyd’s batting looks really promising; and Williams (probably my ‘man of the season’) scored runs, took wickets and had an exemplary attitude towards his cricket generally. Meanwhile, in the year below, there was a surplus of talent, but a disappointing shortage of availability. Having said that, Shaylan Tomlinson-Patel and Ewan Cox played a few times and looked like potential 1st teamers. Bhavik Talsania, Will Comfort, Will Barrett and Elliot Wingfield also look like strong players who could be pushing for 1st-team slots. So all is certainly not doom and gloom. So, memorable moments of the season include Kaul and Shah’s opening partnership against Harrow, Cox and George Cochrane-Davis’s (who was then never seen again) knocks at Felsted, Swain’s spell against Oundle and Bracewell’s hostile overs at Bromsgrove. My annual thanks to the orchestrator of Bedford cricket, this year Mr Steer (the model of efficiency and diplomacy). Also thanks to Mike Holdsworth and the team for some excellent tracks, and to Alex Grieve and his team for some much-needed sustenance at tea. As long as Mr Braithwaite has exorcised the demons of this season, we both look forward to what’s in store next year! Squad: Clarke B. and McLeod O. (captains), Anstis B., Barrett W., Bracewell C., Burgess O., Choda N., Clarke T., CochraneDavis G., Comfort W., Cox E., Holroyd J., Kaul A., Shah A., Swain A., Talsania B., Thackara M., Tomlinson-Patel S., Williams A. and Wingfield E. R.E. Heale

U15 A Coach: T. Brett The U15 A side had a good year, winning more games than they lost. The highlight of the year was beating Malvern College in a nail-biter in the Lord’s Taverners Competition at home. It was pleasing to see how the boys have developed throughout the season. As a team, a lot of time was spent working on the tactical side of the game and it has been great to see them learning as the season went on. A special mention must go to Emilio Gay for his contributions, particularly with the bat. Also credit must go to Jason George who has been reliable with the ball but also a very positive character in the field and a real team player. He is a fine example for the rest of the boys. I would also like to mention Victor Hardwicke for his positive attitude when batting and, finally, Alfie Orchard for his superb efforts in the field. Squad: Beard H., Blundell O., Finch C., Gay E., George J., Hardwicke V., Hassan A., Kendall J., Lake M., Orchard A., Parry T., Patel J., Whitehall K. and Young-Lee A. T. Brett

Squad: Barden S., Beard H., Bird A., Blore D., Bornemann L., Brakenbury J., Chan W., Clayton S., Duxbury K., Finch C., Fordham M., Iles F., Lake M., Liu T., O’Riordan P. and Willocks W. G.M. Strachan

U15 C Coach: S.D. Adams The U15 Cs played their cricket in good spirits all season, despite reliably coming up against sides with more depth and skill. Although they did not win a match, each player made some notable improvements to his game, most notably Lennard Bornemann’s ground fielding and catching, Winki Chan’s bowling and Thomas Liu with the bat. The highlight of the season was our match against Oundle on the 1st XI pitch, which saw the team just miss their target despite being ahead of the game throughout. It has been a pleasure to coach a side who never wavered from enjoying their cricket and always gave of their best. Squad: O’Riordan P. (captain), Borland A., Bornemann L., Chan W., Chapman G., Choi M., Holland D., Ksenotontov E., Lister M., Liu T., Mahwendepi T. and Yin M. S.D. Adams

U15 B Coach: G.M. Strachan The U15 B team have had a very good season. They have learnt to play hard and competitive cricket. We have had some really good wins and certainly our most memorable win was against Harrow where we won on the last ball chasing 213 in a 30-over match. I have really been impressed by the team spirit within the side: they have really encouraged and got the best out of each other.

U14 A Coach: W.D. Peters The U14s have had a ‘maturing’ season, learning to cope with difficult circumstances and producing some exceptional results when really up against it. From an average start, only winning one from three, the lads bounced back in tremendous fashion, winning at both Harrow and Shrewsbury away. Consistently

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brilliant performances from super-captain Rahul Sheemar (a batting average of 46 and a bowling average of 10) saw him promoted to the 1st XI; an achievement he thoroughly deserved. Harry Gouldstone had an equally impressive season, stepping in as captain as Sheemer left. The side’s stand-out bowler this season has been Alex Rennie, who has produced a stunning bowling average of 9, with best figures of 5–2 against Felsted. Singling these players out may not do justice to the rest of the team who have all displayed an improved attitude and desire to win throughout the season. It therefore seems only fair to say well done to them all for their unwavering dedication and exceptional talent. Squad: Sheemar R. and Gouldstone H. (captains), Barnes W., Blythman T., Denton R., Haggar W., Head P., Hicks C., Kalyan S., Mehmood A., Rennie A., Safi S. and Younis S. W.D. Peters

U14 B Coach: A.E. Meredith For the majority of the 2015 season the U14 Bs have played some excellent cricket and worked extremely hard during training. There have just been a few moments where the boys have switched off in the field and that has cost us. Against Harrow we bowled first and managed to take three wickets for just 18 runs in the first six overs. We then dropped two catches and before we knew it Harrow had raced to 198–5. This was probably 30–40 runs over par from the position we had them in. A loss to Bromsgrove by one run in the last over was tough to take for the boys and another five-over switch off versus Oundle saw us lose three games on the bounce. Every game was

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competitive and the boys knew that the win was just around the corner. This came with an emphatic 117-run victory versus Felsted, quickly followed by a demolition job of St Benedict’s by ten wickets. Probably the closest and most evenly matched contest came against Caroline Chisolm’s U14 A side who boasted two Northants county players in their ranks. All we had worked on in training over the previous weeks just seemed to click: the shot selection was clever, the running was confident and we posted a very good 178. The two Northants openers set about the target quietly but sensibly, finding gaps and hitting the very rare bad ball that we bowled. The 100 partnership soon was up: one boy especially was in good form, although we had dropped him three times previously and he quickly raced into the 90s. On 99 he chipped one up and Peter Head made no mistake this time. This probably swung the game in our favour and we went on to win by ten runs in what was a

highly skilled game and a very enjoyable one to umpire/watch. Although, all of the boys performed well all term, I would like to mention Kamran Awan who opened the bowling with superb precision and took valuable early wickets. Jonathan Hoskings also deserves to be mentioned as he grew into his opening batsmen role as the term went on and finished with some excellent knocks. Charlie Axford captained the side with intelligence and Felix Mallalieu impressed every game with ball, bat and in the field. Squad: Axford C. (captain), Awan K., Chambers A., Fishwick B., Fordham J., Head P., Henry M., Hoskings J., Kirkup W., Lucas B., Mallalieu F., O’Neill H., O’Sullivan F., Safi S., Ward, H. and Zaman A. A.E. Meredith

U14 C The 2015 season was testing yet very enjoyable for everyone involved in the U14 C cricket team. Improvement was the aim of the season and every player showed great enthusiasm to play well and get involved. Over the season the C team managed just one victory but showed great character and team spirit to be competitive in every match. Over the course of the season, 18 boys competed in an U14

C team match. Every player was committed to the team and put all of their effort into matches. Noticeably, Harry Ward, Benjy Fishwick, Joe Fordham and Abid Zaman all got a call-up to the U14 B team. Each fulfilled their potential among better quality opposition. Four different boys took on the role of captain; Ward, Fordham, Fishwick and Ryan Tame. Each took captaincy in their stride and helped the team improve. Seb O’Grady, Romeo Chryssaphes and Enyichi Chukwu joined the Cs later in the season after promotion from the U14 D team and each demonstrated a high level of cricket when playing for both the C and D teams. There were many performances that stand out from the season. After Shrewsbury posted a big total of 225 from 25 overs, Bedford batted patiently and amassed 135–7 from their 25 overs. This match bought about the highest Bedford batsmen total all season with captain for the day Fishwick scoring 66 runs. Ward scored 36 and 37 against Oundle and St Benedict’s respectively. With the ball, Zaman was the standout bowler all year with his pace and his ever-improving accuracy. Elijah Cooke and Ben Herbert showed great improvement through the season while Fordham’s spin bowling helped the team break down the opposition’s batting order. The team’s sole victory came against Bromsgrove. In tricky conditions Bedford, batting first, were 88 all out, with man of the

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always enjoyable and always saw boys improving and reaching new peaks of cricketing ability. Squad: Ward, H. (captain), Abbas A., Chryssaphes R., Chukwu E., Cooke E., Destro J., Fishwick B., Fordham J., Herbert B., Johnston M., Katechia J., Kitson C., O’Grady S., Ponnaganti N., Safi S., Sahota A., Tame R. and Zaman A. Harry Ward

U14 D

match Zaman making 42. The fielding and bowling were then faultless from Bedford with the season epitomised by the sixth- and eighth-choice bowlers Matt Johnston and Anand Sahota, respectively, who took the last five wickets for nine runs as Bedford recorded a 16-run victory. This was by far the proudest moment of the U14 C team’s season! Every player showed great enthusiasm for cricket this season. We must not forget boys such as Nishanth Ponnaganti, Chris Kitson and Joe Destro who played in the majority of C team games and showed consistent quality throughout. The U14 C team’s season wasn’t always successful, but was

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Coach: L.M. Holt Support coach: T. Machin The real plus with this team was their team spirit and the way in which complete newcomers developed and enjoyed the game. The season concluded with two boys from the D team representing their house playing with boys from the A team down. They all really enjoyed playing cricket, and their encouragement of each other on the field was superb. Boys who previously thought cricket was dull and not a sport for them have said they hope to continue next year as they’ve enjoyed the season so much. From my perspective as the coach of the team, that’s the greatest thing about taking a lower order team – keeping it fun and sparking an interest in the boys that could last a lifetime. Squad: Chan B., Chiu L., Chryssaphes R., Chukwu E., Ebimami E., Fahmy M., Jennings H., O’Grady S., Pelling T., Sahota A., Shaw H., Singer O., Sorensen J., Thomas A. and Zhang A. L.M. Holt

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THE FIRST EIGHT

The past year has had many highlights for the whole of Bedford School rowing, but especially the 1st VIII. We started off the year well, with good results at Peterborough, and then an amazing run at Hammersmith Head, posting a seriously quick row on the Thames. As we crossed the finish line, however, all shattered and gasping for air, a call came from the cox, Matt Malindine, saying we were now to go back up to race pace and row back to the landing stage, which was another mile. This preparation for Schools’ Head paid off though, no matter how cruel and painful it was. We knew we were a similar speed to five or six other crews, so our aim was to beat as many of them as we could. We had a decent row, but even though it wasn’t anything special it was quick, and we finished fifth in our category, and just missed out on a top 20 spot. This put us in a great position for the summer, beating all of those crews we were near to. It was now the time of year when John Hunt decided he would start to row again (after being ill for most of the cold head season), Will Reynolds kept rowing even though he ‘hated it’, and Tom Booton pulled a surprisingly large ergo. These were massive boosts to the crew, providing some more power in an already big group. Now all Mr Mulkerrins had to do was get us to row together, something that turned out to be quite hard. Even though we weren’t one of the tidiest crews around, we could row quickly, and slowly started gaining speed and experience through racing at BASHER. With National Schools’ Regatta just around the corner, we went into Bedford Regatta looking for a good set of results. It was a very busy day, completing seven races on the day. We flew through the first two rounds of the IM3 event, beating a crew from South Africa! We then faced two different Hampton crews in the semi-finals of the two events we were entered in, and managed to beat them both. The first of the races was hard fought, with the Hampton boat being made up mainly of their 1st VIII. We had to row hard and managed to hold them off. With our place now confirmed in our first final of

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Bedford Regatta, we now had to beat the next Hampton crew, which we did successfully and got into the second final. The finalists in the junior VIIIs category was Shrewsbury School, a crew that was seriously quick. Unfortunately, they beat us easily. The next final, however, was against Sir William Borlase, a crew who had beaten us at Schools’ Head. We managed to control the race all the way after getting a quick start, and took away the IM3 trophy for the second year in a row! Rowing at Bedford Regatta is something special. Hearing that roar as you come past the enclosure is unbeatable, especially when you’re winning! With National Schools’ Regatta only a week away we went to Nottingham City Regatta to have a rehearsal for the following weekend. It wasn’t to be, however, as we had a poor start that put us straight out of the race in a strong heat. It made us all wake up to the fact we had to perform at National Schools’ if we were to do well. A coxless four was also entered at Nottingham and (despite being in an IM1 category) to our utter disbelief we managed to win the event (even with Simon Beal adding an extra 500 metres to the course due to his lack of experience steering)! So National Schools’ Regatta was upon us: the pinnacle of our season. Mr Mulkerrins demanded we went out hard in the time

trial, as we couldn’t afford a repeat of the previous weekend’s mistakes, and it paid off. We came second in the time trial and had the middle lane for our semi-final, and had managed to avoid a lot of the big crews. It meant we could cruise through the semis, pulling out at the start and holding everyone back, including the noisy neighbours BMS. The final wasn’t going to be so easy, though, and we knew this. This was the race of our season, the race of our school careers and the last ever National Schools’ Regatta race for six of us. After a typically calm but steely team talk from Pete, and an emotional one from me, there was no doubt that we were all up for the race. Adrenaline was high, but we managed to hold it together and stay with everyone off the start. Two of the main contenders pulled away to battle for first and second, but we were level with Latymer. In fact we stayed level all the way down the course, everyone giving it our all. It was going to come down to the last 500 metres. Matt made the call, he screamed down the microphone for us all to go that little bit harder, to make us go that little bit faster, to get us that bronze medal. Latymer were doing the same, though, and had just that little bit more in the final 500 metres. We came fourth and, although we didn’t come away with a medal, the guts and pride shown by the whole of the crew that day will forever stay with me. After a well-earned couple of days’ break, it was back to the daily grind in order to prepare for Henley. We managed to fit in another few regattas, with Tom Blakemore making a cameo appearance to help us win Marlow Town Regatta. We also contested at Reading Town Regatta and another Marlow regatta, getting a feel for some of the American crews that had come over for Henley. There was a lot of anticipation for Henley, with us all wanting to do well, but so much of the result would be decided by the draw. We drew an American crew: the national champions, in fact. Mr Mulkerrins somehow managed to persuade us that they may not be that good and that we stood a chance of beating them. In sweltering 34 degree heat we went about our full race warm-up, even though we were already sweating. After sitting at the start line for what felt like an age, we were ready. We did lead them for a couple of strokes at the start, but when it came to racing they were very, very fast. It was a sad end to a quite fantastic season and successful rowing

career for six of us, but we had all done ourselves proud over the past season and will hopefully be a year group that will be remembered by younger years and will spur them on to be successful. After such an amazing season I would like to thank Mr Mulkerrins for putting up with us through all the early mornings and weekend races. We really wouldn’t have got so much success and enjoyment from the sport if it wasn’t for him. Crew: Seamark C. (Captain of Boats), Beal S., Booton T., Hunt J., Malindine M., Lousada T., Reynolds W., Sheridan J. and Winder J. Charles Seamark

THE SECOND EIGHT

We started the season like every year, in the cold and wet of the spring term, under the stable captaincy of Tom Blakemore, the self-appointed ‘people’s captain’ for the senior squad. With many boys from the boat being lower sixth our ergos were never the strongest in our field. However, with the introduction of early morning training we hoped to bridge this gap, and I think I can safely say that all the boys in the boat made considerable improvements in their power in the boat. This was made possible by Mr Ingle’s new strength-and-conditioning sessions, which some members of the crew took full advantage of. As we headed towards Schools’ Head (a major fixture for the year) we felt confident that we could perform well. The crew included some strong rowers who would eventually move up into the 1st VIII, such as Tom Booton. We arrived in positive spirits after remembering to bring the entire boat with us (unlike the week before). We finished 50th in the end which was a concrete performance, but one we all felt we could improve upon as the season progressed. It was at this point in the season that we had to say goodbye to a key member of the boat, Ivan Simon, although he would make sporadic appearances as the season progressed. Sarnen training camp was certainly a highlight for the squad. We enjoyed perfect, still, sunny weather for most of the camp and the addition of beach volleyball courts by the lake was a welcome feature! Unfortunately, as the camp progressed our captain, Tom Blakemore, developed a bad strain to his lower back along with a few other crew members, due to the high intensity of the training. Thankfully, the squad’s physiotherapist, Martin Birch, was able to assist and the hydrotherapy in the lake was incredibly successful. We returned to Bedford for the start of the regatta season and the commitment level increased as a crew. A special mention must go to Zac Barnett who was there early for all the invaluable water sessions to help make the process as efficient as possible. National Schools’ Regatta is the culmination of the season; we arrived with the music loud and determination to match it. Our cox, David Stephenson, set out the race plan and after some sort of sports yogurt from Mr Ingle we were set. We started the race in the most aggressive manner possible and to our great surprise we were in the mix of things with Radley and Abingdon. As the sheer scale of the 2 km lake dawned on us our position dwindled but we still managed a very respectable

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fifth place in effectively a champion 2nd VIIIs semi-final. The next big challenge was the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Regatta. This event is entered by the very best university crews. Despite confidently believing that we stood a good chance in qualifying, we only managed to come fifth from last (still beating BMS by a good 25 seconds). I would like to thank Mr Ingle for his excellent coaching and motivational team talks. David Stephenson must also get a mention for his ability to place a GoPro on the boat in almost all circumstances. Finally, our thanks go to Mr Mulkerrins who was there for every early morning and after-school training session; without him we would certainly have been less effective as a squad. Tom Trudgill

J16 SQUAD

The autumn term rowing fixtures began at Bedford Small Boats Head where the squad competed in a coxed IV, quad sculls and new member Benedict Eggeling from Germany raced in a single. The coxed IV recorded the first win and there were several other good placings. Following a successful training camp at Pangbourne during half-term, new combinations raced at Cambridge Winter Head and Star Head. There were several near misses at Cambridge but on returning to home water the squad then improved by winning both the novice VIII and novice IV events. Eggeling then went on to finish off an excellent day by triumphing in the J16 singles category, overtaking two other scullers in the process. Overall, a very positive term which showed considerable potential for the season ahead. The spring term was quickly upon us: this meant that eight more athletes were able to join the programme as the rugby season drew to a close. This increased competition for a seat in the top boat and meant that the squad could progress further as there were enough athletes to boat two VIIIs. The first race for the spring term was Cambridge Head to Head. The rugby boys

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settled well into the VIII as they recorded their first win of the season. Two weeks later it was Peterborough Head where the novice VIII recorded a second win over students despite a last-minute illness (which saw Kraig Green stepping in to rescue the situation at the last moment for the second event running)! In the afternoon race a hastily rejigged J16 combination finished a close second behind a fresh KCS Wimbledon crew and, in a tough field of university boats, a novice IV finished second behind Loughborough University. The following week the VIIIs raced at Worcester and Bedford Head and also recorded some good results with two more second places over what was a testing but enjoyable weekend. Losing out to Norwich School at Bedford Head by just one second led to a fierce rivalry that progressed throughout the season. We had some improving ergo scores in the following week, of which a particular highlight was Harry Sivills, who put himself third on the school record list, closely followed by Eggeling. Many athletes managed to break the 19 minutes mark for 5 km, which put the crew in a good place for the coming events. After half-term our coaches, Mr and Mrs Guise, began to select an A boat and a B boat, both of which raced in the novice category at Reading Head. The A crew finished first out of a field of 23 crews for the first time in over 25 years. The B boat finished in a respectable 12th place – also a very promising result at such a prestigious head race. These results gave the squad great confidence going into the Schools’ Head which was just a week and a half later. At the Schools’ Head we entered a J16 1st VIII and a 3rd VIII. This later combination had a tough race against boys of a greater age but gained valuable experience. The J16 crew spent half of the race side by side with BMS, and pushed passed them near the end – it was a real boat race (and on the very course, too!). Having overtaken two crews we finished in second place in our class, 28 seconds behind Norwich. This promising result gave us great confidence going into the upcoming regatta season. We knew it would be tough to overhaul Norwich due to the margin of their victory: however this spurred the squad on as there was a challenging and realistic target of catching them by the end of the season. In the Easter holiday the squad went on the Sarnen training camp. Here there were two priorities: to continue our revision for the GCSE and iGCSE examinations and to develop our rowing – we needed to go as fast as possible for the regatta season. It was a fantastic trip, we all learnt a lot both on and off the water and in a wonderful setting – the views were breathtaking. At the beginning of the summer term a squad of 13 athletes and two coxes had formed for the regatta season; Mr and Mrs Guise decided to concentrate on an VIII and a IV. The VIII was based on a nine-man squad coxed by Rich Man and including Tommy Hine who was eligible to row in novice events but who was over-age for J16. The coxed IV was based on four athletes who had formed as a crew on the Sarnen camp and was coxed by Ben Whitelaw. Below are the reports of the respective seasons written by the boys. L.J. Guise

J16 VIII

After gaining excellent regatta experience at Eton Dorney with the BASHER regatta, the crew returned to Cambridge to win the Spring Head to Head. In May, Bedford Regatta had arrived and we entered both a novice VIII and a J16 combination. The novice crew lost to Abingdon in the final after beating Emanuel by a canvas in a thrilling finish in the semi-final. In the J16 event the VIII was well beaten by Norwich who led from the start and never let it go. In the next two weeks the boat speed ‘moved on to another level’ as our training continued efficiently through the exam leave. Later that month we gained some more valuable experience on the very course of National Schools’ Regatta which was to be held a week later. We raced at Nottingham City Regatta, once again finishing in second place, a particular highlight of the season after a bad semi-final. The following week was National Schools’ Regatta, and on the Saturday we raced the J16 1st VIII event. It was a straight final and, with Dulwich dropping down from the ‘Championship Class’, we knew it was going to be tough to medal. Dulwich took the win and by some margin, Norwich came in second place and we came in just behind in third place after having to push through a strong and resilient Emanuel crew. Bronze was a great result and we knew we had come very close to Norwich who had won at the Schools’ Head by a large margin. A sense of achievement was also combined with a sense of determination that we would continue to improve in the rest of the season. On the Sunday we split the VIII up into two coxless IVs. We knew that it was going to be difficult to qualify but that was our aim. The crew containing Ed Lamb, Harry Sivills, Benedict Eggeling and Oliver Winder did qualify into the last 12: a wonderful achievement. After half-term the VIII next raced at Marlow Town Regatta and won the novice event. The following week was our last regatta of the season at Thames Valley Park and the draw was exactly what we wanted, a straight final: Bedford, Norwich and Emanuel (second, third and fourth at National Schools’). We knew that this race was going to be ever so close, but the target for us was to get our bow across the line first in what was a 500metre sprint race. On the day Emanuel scratched, leaving a sideby-side between Norwich and us to end our season. We were down off the start but in the last ten strokes we were able to

push through them and win by just three feet! Finally, we had beaten Norwich: this rounded off a very successful season for the squad. We are grateful to Mr and Mrs Guise for all they have done for us this season as without them none of these achievements would have been possible. Squad: Cazzoli E., Dason-Barber T., Eggeling E., Hine T., Lamb C., Lamb E., Liggins T., Man R., Sivills H. and Winder O. Oliver Winder, Harry Sivills and Ed Lamb

J16 COXED IV

The J16 ’4+’ crew was formed during the Easter rowing camp at Sarnen, with the initial speed of the boat surprising other IV combinations during that week. After success and good progress at the Swiss camp, the combination continued training at Bedford in the summer term. We raced in Bedford Regatta, performing strongly but losing by a boat length to Norwich, giving us a strong building block from which to build. During the term the crew improved immensely thanks to the help of Mrs Guise. Harry Molloy’s stroke rate got more controlled, giving the boat a much better rhythm, while the whole crew became better together, balancing the boat. During training, Dan Lewis always tried his best to get the most out of each session, putting effort into each stroke even during light training. I would often ask him to lighten his strokes because he was pulling the boat to the right! The training took us through half-term to the Star Regatta where we got through to the finals after beating Eton College by a convincing distance. However, we then lost a close race against St Edward’s by three feet. There was a definite feeling of improvement but also one that we needed to put in some more work to get our hands on a tankard. This led to more piece training where George Edwards would shout encouraging words while backing up Molloy’s pace. Josiah Cooke would be a leading voice and powerful member of the crew during the training, making sure we were all working on the areas which needed the most improvement. This led to us coming close to victory (by less than a canvas) at the Marlow Regatta against Marlow RC. Seven days later came the last regatta of the season, Thames Valley Park, which consisted of a short 500-metre sprint where we were placed into a straight final against Emanuel School. The race

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began with a powerful yet collected start; however, Emanuel dug deep and kept the bows so close that it ended with neither crew knowing whether they had won or not. Finally, the uncertainty was broken when it was announced that our crew had beaten them by less than three feet. We were glad that our efforts and those of Mrs Guise in training had ended in a strong victory at the end of the season and we had tankards to show for it. Crew: Cooke J., Edwards G., Lewis D., Molloy H. and Whitelaw B. Ben Whitelaw and Dan Lewis

J15 A

It has been a busy 2014–15 season in terms of the number of heads and regattas we have entered and the training we have endured, come rain, shine, sleet or gales! Results have been mixed with both highs and lows but we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves throughout. J15s attended two amazing, productive training camps this year: Pangbourne and Radley. Pangbourne was in the somewhat soggy October half-term and, as a two-term rowing school, it the first real opportunity for us to row together as a crew. Indeed, for some of our newer boys it was their first experience of rowing! Radley in the May half-term was a complete contrast in terms of the weather; the sun shone and we all returned with a tan. It was hard work but also good fun. We experienced a lot and learnt loads, including a demonstration on how to scull by Dr Suthers who eagerly demonstrated and jumped into the boat whenever an injury (or opportunity) arose. One of the highlights of the year was the Bedford Regatta where we put together a mature, controlled and aggressive race to beat Abingdon’s J15 A crew by a length. The other major event which involved a lot of training and effort was the National Schools’ Regatta – the biggest race of the year. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the final due to a very hard draw although we

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all felt we did our best on the day and in the circumstances. I think that this year has been an eye-opener to everyone who chooses rowing as to just how hard, monotonous and often painful rowing can be – although weirdly it is fun at the same time … Next year will undoubtedly be even harder but, given our experiences this year, hopefully we are mentally and physically prepared for the inevitable challenges ahead and for that I would again like to thank our coaches, Dr Suthers, Mr Mitchell and Mr Satchwill. I would also like to thank the other, often unsung heroes, the support staff at Bedford who make it all ‘happen’ so effortlessly – without them none of it would be possible. Crew: Cave H., Christian T., Churchill A., Davies A., Donougher H., Emerson J., Graham O., Lodge C., Mitchell O., Sheridan B. and Stephens B.

J15 B

Ollie Mitchell

This year has seen a fantastic transition from sculling to sweeping for the B crew, under the careful guidance of Mr Mitchell and Dr Suthers. We have participated in some of the biggest regattas and heads in the country and have got results to be proud of in the process. We started off in the head season with BASHER Head, and came a respectable 11th, but it made us hungry for a medal. We got our only crew medal at Hampton Head with a first-place victory. After our next head, a fourth place on home turf, we went down to the Tideway for some rather damp training in preparation for the Schools’ Head after Reading Head, where we came sixth. On the Tideway, we came a solid ninth place over the gruelling 7 km course. In the Easter holidays we ran a training camp in Radley for three days: with beautiful weather and an empty river, it was many boys’ highlight of the rowing year. After that we had a small boats head with various placings, and then training began

for the regatta season and, most importantly, National Schools’ Regatta. The regatta season took place at seven different venues, and we gave all the regattas everything we had. BASHER, one of the biggest regattas in the calendar, was a lesson learned as we came third in both side-by-sides. That got us ready for Bedford Regatta, where we beat Cheltenham College’s 1st VIII. Our reward for that victory was races with Abingdon’s J16 Bs and Hampton’s B crew, and, sadly, we lost both races, but rowed hard in both. Then it was time for National Schools’ Regatta, the hardest of the bunch. We had an exceptional time trial, coming level with the Hampton crew that beat us by about three lengths, and we progressed to the semi-finals, where we scraped through by less than a canvas and got into the final. Although we came sixth out of six in the final, we had an amazing row, and proved to everyone that we are indeed a quick crew. The next three regattas passed in a blur: at Star we put up a tough fight against tough crews; at BASHER 2 we again lost to some very fast crews; and in the third we put in an amazing performance, constantly fighting the London Oratory crew who ultimately won the race. Our final regatta of our season was another to be proud of – Reading. On a very short course, we had a final to remember, and we ended up coming second to Bryanston A crew, making us the fastest B crew in the competition. The season has been a killer, with fantastic performances and disappointing results scattered between our long, gruelling training sessions. Overall, it has most certainly been a season to remember, going through injuries and bad weather, and I’d do it all again without a moment’s hesitation. The entire crew would like to thank the amazing coaches who took the crew: Mr Mitchell, with his ‘get it done now’ attitude, and Dr Suthers who took the crew at the start of the year. Sincerely, we couldn’t have done it without them. Crew (National Schools’ Regatta): Chambers S., Charter J., Christian G., Emerson J., Murphy J., O’Keefe C., Rogers Z., Shiels E. and Tovey S. George Christian

J15 C

This season has been an unlucky one for the J15 C crew. We had an admirable squad and have performed very well against tough opposition. We have improved greatly over the year, as shown at the BASHER II event. The season started off coldly in January and we began preparations for the Schools’ Head in March. The first race of the season was BASHER Head at Eton Dorney. There were no set crews for this race, but the rowers that would form the C crew all performed well. Our first proper fixture was Hampton Head in early February. We entered the B crew category, and were very pleased with fifth place, coming second out of the other C crews who also entered, falling just short of beating Eton. In early March, we competed in the Reading University Head. It was an early start, and we were tossed into the A crew category, perhaps leading to a performance that was not our

best. However, the length of the course meant that we were getting an idea of how it would feel to race at Schools’ Head the following week. Schools’ Head took place on a gloomy day in March. After waiting for nearly two hours, we set off, just as the light rain began. The course was over 5 km, and the crew performed as well as we could. We were disheartened by the event, having not done as well as we predicted but, as it was the longest course we have ever rowed, I think we rowed commendably. We did in fact beat our Reading counterpart, who we had previously lost out to at the Reading Head. We later took part in a match against BMS, Abingdon and Norwich. The crew was split up into three different combinations for the match, which was thankfully at home. We performed very well, one of our combinations winning the gold, and the short course was a welcome respite from the Schools’ Head. The crew performed well for the BASHER Regatta at the end of April, especially considering a few of the boys in the crew had only just started rowing the week before. The crew won their first side-by-side of the season but, unfortunately, spent themselves on that win and were not able to reproduce that form in their second side-by-side. Perhaps the low point of the season came during the Bedford Regatta. We entered the novice VIIIs category and were very unfortunate indeed to be put up against two A crews. We lost both races, but were eagerly anticipating the C crew category later on. We had probably the best start all season and were confidently rowing through Abingdon when one of our crew had a huge problem with his oar. This lead to a broken rigger, preventing him from rowing with any kind of oomph. This particularly disheartened the crew, as we were really pulling ahead. Unfortunately, due to illness, we were unable to compete at the Schools’ Regatta at the end of half-term. However, the moment the exams were over, we were flung straight into the Star Regatta in Bedford. We performed well, but I think the crew appreciated that we were not performing at our best, likely due to the exams the previous six days. The penultimate event of the season was BASHER II, once again at Eton Dorney. This course was shorter than on the previous two occasions and we acquitted ourselves well during the time trial. Our first race went fantastically, and we were so, so close to beating our closest opposition (two or three seats at most). Unfortunately, we did not fare so well in the second race, more through exhaustion than anything else. The final race of the season was at Reading Town. There were two events that we competed in: the IVs and the VIIIs. Our IVs race was unfortunate in that we had an unlucky start, and were boxed in by the two crews we raced. Once again, I was not able to participate in the VIIIs race, and I heard that the result was quite the same, unfortunately. Despite all the rough patches, I feel that this season has been beneficial. We are a fast crew, and have all progressed far in terms of technique. I hope that next season will be just as productive and perhaps with a little less bad luck.

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I would like to say thank you to our fantastic coaches, Mr Graeff and Mr Satchwill. It goes without saying that without you two we would not have been able to sit in a boat without tipping in, much less compete at high level events. I know I speak for the crew when I say thank you so much for all the time and effort you spent making this crew the best it could be. Crew (from BASHER II – many others also rowed): Ananth A., Barker M., Case E., Deacon M., Golosov I., Hilliard C., Midder D., Thiara P. and Wilshaw-Quinn B. Conor Hilliard

J14 A

The rowing year began in September with the most ambitious of rowers coming to the river on Wednesday afternoons, eventually transitioning to the indoor rowing machines as it got darker. However, the real training kicked off in the spring term where more were joining and the races were starting. The first race was at Hampton Head where our cox, Tom Holland, decided to make a ‘tactical collision’ taking out one of our opponent’s steering. We came ninth out of 23: a modest result. Then came our first race against Bedford Modern at Bedford Head, in which the Bedford School boats came first and second (and the Bedford Modern boats last and second to last!) Our next race was the Schools’ Sculling Head at Eton Dorney, the Olympic racecourse where we and the other two octos raced 50 other boats. Our A and B octos beat Bedford Modern’s A boat, and our C boat were only one place behind. Then came a privately arranged quads match in which we entered 12 quads. One of the quads ended up coming in first and another came second; a good end to the term. After a successful term of rowing came the Easter break during which we attended the Radley training camp. The majority of the rowers went to this camp where they aimed to improve their rowing skills. We achieved this goal, but in the meantime gained blisters, sunburn and fear over Miss Owens’s mini-bus driving! We entered the summer term’s race season with some rowers lost but many more gained. The first Saturday back we went to BASHER, our very first regatta at Eton Dorney, in which

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we had entered our A, B and C octos. The J14 As were just beaten by the J15 Bs but we easily beat the J15 C crew. After that was Bedford Regatta where we beat the Oratory School by too many boat lengths to count, and Sir William Borlase by three boat lengths. Sadly, we were then taken down in the semifinals by Radley. We then had the National Schools’ Regatta, the biggest race of the year, in which we qualified for the actual regatta itself. The B octo also did the same in their category; however, the C crew just missed out on qualifying. We may have qualified for the semi-finals but to get through to the finals we would have to win in our category. We could not achieve this goal due to one of the most horrific ‘crabs’ that year – so bad that I almost drowned from the amount of water pummelling me in the face. As a result we came last in the finals. Star Regatta then followed where we beat Hampton‘s mixed octo but were then defeated in the semi-finals by the unraced Radley. We then came on to the hardest and longest race of the year in Marlow. It is such a hard course that only the top seven crews in the country turned up. Sadly, we came last, but we still rowed an excellent time in the race. Whilst the A boat was doing this, the B and C boats attended BASHER II. Then came the final race of the year at Reading Town Regatta where we ended with a bang. The A boat was split up into two quads who went up against one another in the semi-finals: what a mighty fight this was. In this race there was also Abingdon, a school which apparently has poor coxes because they ended up crashing into our boat and racing in our lane! Nevertheless, the Bedford School team of Sam Wainwright (cox), Lennart Roese, Harry Homan, James Zhang and Alexander Bowes won their semi-final and then went on to win the finals by at least a boat length. What an end to the year! Thanks to the boys who were willing to row and were loyal to it. I would like to give a special thanks to the coxes and parents who supported us and to all the coaches (Miss Owens, Mr Gunn and Mr Fisher) who made this possible. Crew: Abraham T., Bhamra A., Bowes A., Davison A., Holland T., Homan H., Linley-Hill A., Roese L. and Zhang J. Alexander Linley-Hill

J14 B

The year began with a lot of training to build up our skills for the first race which was Bedford Head, a good home race to start us off. Our boat came second, only beaten by our A boat. We were particularly pleased to beat Bedford Modern School A boat. This set us up well for the year ahead and improved our confidence for future races. The next race was at Dorney Lake where we came 39th out of 52. We managed to beat three A crews from other schools. In the summer we learnt how to do racing starts and prepared for the regatta season. Our first race was once again at Dorney Lake where we were in a tight race against the J15 C boat. It was a close race but they beat us by a length. Our favourite races were Star and Bedford Regatta where we were on home water and doing knockout tournaments. In Star Regatta we lost to Norwich A crew in the semi-finals. At Bedford Regatta we lost to Hampton B crew in the quarterfinals. Overall, this year has been very successful with the crew constantly achieving new records and developing new skills. A big thank you to Mr Palmer and Mr Allen who helped us throughout the year. Crew: Billington O., Hopcroft J., Nielson M., Perkins O., Sanders S., Swainson A., Wegener A., Whalley P. and Whitehurst J. Paul Whalley

SARNEN

‘Making the boat go faster’ is a lot harder than it may appear. Individual crew members need to be dedicated and determined with an appetite for hard work and physical pain. Collectively, the crew will build team spirit, trust and technique on the water … all of these individual and team traits came into sharp focus at our Easter training camp in Sarnen, Switzerland. Lake Sarnen is 6 km long and 2 km wide and is the preferred training location of the Swiss national rowing team. It is a

stunning place: a glacial lake set amongst a backdrop of snowcapped mountains. The calm, flat waters provided the perfect condition for side-by-side seat racing in small boats, the spoils of the victors being a place in the Bedford School 1st VIII. Days were long and full. Typically we would be up at 7.30 am and on the water at 9 am, wearing many layers as the warm sun had not yet risen above the mountains. After being on the water for our so called ‘technical session’ we arrived back to stock up on snacks bought from the local supermarket. Then we were given four hours to revise, but it was not all bad as we had a cracking window view! At around 3 pm we would have our second session, the so-called ‘work session’ where we would complete our pieces up and down the lake. After all the rowing objectives were finished, we had our hydrotherapy, which involved swimming in the freezing alpine water. Then we would usually head down to the sports complex outside our housing

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where we played volleyball and relaxed while the sun set over the mountains. Following tradition, four pairs (all of a good standard) competed for the Crosby pairs trophy – some questionable steering by two of the pairs in the semi-finals made the 1,500-metre course some 200 metres longer! Eventually the pair of Lousada and Seamark emerged victorious – congratulations Tom and Charles! Some of the highlights included: the Mulkerrins/Booton pair’s German push off; Martin Birch’s ten pressups in a unstable skiff in the middle of the freezing lake; Matt Maladine (cox) throwing up after the coxes’ ergo as a result of consuming numerous Red Bulls minutes prior to the four minute ergo (which he won); Mikhail Glik (OB) renting a luxurious chalet on the lake to visit us during our camp; and lastly, Zack Barnett’s monster crab (which was, thankfully, caught on camera!) At the end of the camp we all believed we had made big improvements. The traits of a great crew had been formed and undoubtedly the camp helped us with our successful summer season. We would like to thank Mr Mulkerrins, Mr Guise, Mrs Guise, Mr Ingle and Mr Birch for such a successful camp. Jared Sheridan

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THE FIRST ELEVEN Buoyed up by the successes of last season, the 1st XI felt confident heading into the first fixture of the term against King’s Ely. The opposition boasted four academy players and started brightly. Dan Viscusi had a busy debut in goal and dealt admirably with everything that was thrown at him. It took a while for Bedford to gain a foothold in the game and it took a well-placed

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shot from one of Ely’s wingers to put them a goal ahead at halftime. Changes were made, with Fuga Iwama and Alex Georgiou replacing James Smith and Domenik Kharzaliya on the wings as our experimental team continued to find its ideal shape. The defence was strong, and Ely found it hard to get past Josh Wellington. Eventually Bedford’s hard work was rewarded. Nico Rey Benito found himself on the touchline with the ball. He dribbled slowly at the Ely goal, taking at least five touches for each yard gained. An Ely defender brought him down and the referee awarded a penalty. Tom Bradbeer neatly slotted the penalty just left of the keeper’s centre. Bedford were back in the game. Jake Duxbury then set up Kharzaliya with a well-timed chip over Ely’s defence and Kharzaliya gave us the lead with ten minutes to go. Duxbury consolidated the lead with a well-taken goal and the game finished 3–1. A great start to the season. The next game was an away trip to Radley. The new-look team featured Bayduzhiy at left-back and there were debuts for Harry Allen and John Holroyd. Bedford looked strong right from the off and looked on top form, with Rey Benito and

Cochrane-Davies running the show. Maxim Bayduzhiy created the first goal by winning the ball in defense and played a beautiful long ball over the Radley right-back which Kharzaliya controlled and then fired in from a narrow angle. Radley equalised soon after, seemingly against the run of play. Bedford were determined to regain the lead after half-time and good chances came to Rey Benito and Duxbury. Eventually, Duxbury went in for a challenge, the ball collided with his legs and bobbled out to Rey Benito. He forced his way through the opposition defence and beat the goalkeeper with a composed finish. The game ended 2–1 to Bedford. The next challenge for the 1st XI was an away trip to St Edward’s in the first round of the LB Cup. Bedford started the game well, and Kharzaliya eventually scored. George CochraneDavies added a second soon after. St Edward’s responded well, and two quick goals meant both sides had two goals apiece at half-time. The second half was tense, with both sides determined to win. With 15 minutes left to play, the opposition scored twice in the space of five minutes. It was now 2–4 and the score remained this way until the dying moments of the game. Julian Kitson was introduced as a late substitution and his pace and strength allowed him to get the better of his marker and he reduced the deficit. Moments later, he had another goal and the game headed to extra time. Buoyed by the dramatic comeback, Bedford were full of confidence and Cochrane-Davies hit the winner with a cool finish. The final score was 5–4 and Bedford were through to the second round. Bedford’s next challenge was against Haberdashers’ Aske’s. They dominated possession throughout the game and scored four excellent goals. A late consolation goal from Rey Benito to make it 1–4 was a good reward after a spirited team performance against excellent opposition. A home fixture against Haileybury proved to be a physical contest. Haileybury scored two before half-time, both from swift counter-attacks. A changed team emerged in the second half, with Smith, Iwama and Duxbury linking up well in attack. Duxbury and Kitson both scored in the second half and the game finished 2–2. The second round of the LB Cup pitted Bedford against

Berkhamsted. Bedford’s defence was tested regularly; Wellington and Tom Bradbeer were made to work hard. At the other end of the pitch, Aaron McNally and Harry Allen put pressure on the Berkhamsted defence. They went ahead early on so during the second half we changed our formation to try and snatch an equaliser. Unfortunately, they proved to be adept at dealing with our attackers while launching their own effective counter-attacks. The game ended 0–5. The season ended with a fixture against the OBs. It was great to see so many familiar faces back at the school and, for many of the 1st XI, it was the last time they donned the red Bedford School football shirt. The game ended 0–2.

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It was a relatively successful season. We often lacked the killer instinct to see off a game when we held the lead, but we were also capable of bouncing back when we were losing games. The team boasted a large group of lower sixth players who will continue with the strong Bedford football form of recent years. We wish Smith all the best as takes on the captaincy next year. Thanks to the upper sixth for their hard work and dedication to Bedford School football over the years. Finally, a huge thank you needs to go to Mr Hutchinson and we wish him all the best as he moves to QEGS Blackburn. He has been a great coach and a wonderful master-in-charge of football – another strong season. Squad: Bradbeer T. (captain), Allen H., Bayduzhiy M., Callanan R., Cochrane-Davies G., Duxbury J., Georgiou A., Holroyd J., Iwama F., Kharzaliya D., Kitson J., Maier L., McNally A., Rey Benito N., Rosano R., Smith J., Viscusi D. and Wellington, J. Tom Bradbeer

Our season took a downward turn from there, with a couple of defeats leading us to accept Mr Rooke’s experimental line-up in a 5–3–2 formation. The first test for this new formation was away against Haileybury. Initially it showed promise, with us grinding away at the opposition, securing a 1–0 lead from an Aaron McNally penalty. However, a couple of errors led to us conceding two goals before half-time and, after a bright second half, we conceded a third late on when pushing for the equaliser. This was frequently the story of our campaign, where tight games were lost by thin margins (except our slightly less than virtuous outing against Haberdashers’). However it was an enjoyable and packed season with Harry Allen finishing as our leading scorer, coming home with six goals. Squad: Herriott J. (captain), Allen H., Benzie A., Bloxham C., Fahmy J., Gebing P., Hamilton W., Israel-Bolarinwa O., Liu C., Maier L., Matthews T., McNally A., Monaghan A., Nakum M., Ollerhead R., Titov D., Viscusi D. and Williams A. F.D. Elliott

THE SECOND ELEVEN Bedford 2nd XI’s season started with a goal-fest against King’s Ely. With a commanding performance on the pitch we controlled the match in the middle third. However, defensive frailties from an unfamiliar back line meant we conceded three goals from King’s Ely’s few chances. Thankfully, we ourselves scored five, capped off by a wonder goal from Calvin Liu from the halfway line to secure the victory.

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THE THIRD ELEVEN The 3rd XI displayed excellent spirit and commitment throughout what was a weather-interrupted season, encountering mixed fortunes on the pitch but emerging with some famous victories to their credit and at all times demonstrating good sportsmanship and a love of the game. They began the season in fine form with an emphatic 6–2 victory over King’s Ely. From the outset it was clear the team was intent on playing good football and Bedford dominated the early stages, the midfield trio of Ollie Charlton, Jacob King and John Fahmy outworking their less energetic opponents. Henry ‘Ibrahimovi ’ Gee was a revelation up front; having always shown promise, in this his final season of school football he was the perfect spearhead, composed in possession and deadly in front of goal, and would finish top scorer across all four senior teams, averaging a goal a game. He took little time to get off the mark, characteristically turning away from his marker in a crowded box and shooting past the goalkeeper before adding a second soon after, beating the offside trap to run onto a through-ball and slot home. King’s Ely recovered and pulled a goal back but Bedford soon restored their two-goal cushion in spectacular style. Controlling a Wilfred Hamilton throw-in on the

outside of his foot, captain Charlton ran onto the bouncing ball and crashed it arrow-straight into the corner of the net from 20 yards out. Buoyed by the quality of the hard-running skipper’s goal and celebration, Bedford pressed forward again and the impressive Dan DiFilippo whipped in a great cross from the left, leaving Hamilton to finish the move at the back post. The visitors reduced the arrears just before the break with a sharp volleyed finish of their own, this time from much closer range to give Chris Bracewell no chance, and rallied again after the interval, the Bedford defence having to be at its best to deny them a third. Ben Anstis played a decisive role in organising the line alongside Chris ‘CJ’ Junge, who was dominant in the air and made a superb lunging block on the edge of the six-yard box to prevent a firmly-struck drive hitting the target. After Bracewell charged out authoritatively to claim the resulting corner, Bedford regained their confidence and began a passage of more direct play that was to be rewarded with two further goals. Matt Calthorpe had twice played Hamilton into dangerous positions with his trademark lofted passes up the line and the winger used his strength and trickery to get a shot away on both occasions, driving narrowly wide of the post. On the other flank DiFilippo was breaking dangerously and struck up a good partnership with Charlton, who also hit the bar with a wickedly-swerving corner, and Jonathan Konstantinidis, who used the ball well and was unlucky not to score with a fierce shot soon before Bedford added a fifth. It was a goal 1st team coach Mr Hutchinson would have been proud of, his intensive Brazilian ‘Futsol’ sessions really paying off as Bracewell punted a goal kick to the edge of the King’s Ely box, inviting Harry Cope to outmuscle his opponent and drill home to open his account for the season. We like a goalkeeping assist. Moments later Hamilton, benefitting from a wonderfully timed pass from the stylish Fahmy, took a touch into the box and finished neatly to give the scoreline an impressive gloss. 6–2 may have been a little harsh on the visitors who, to their credit, finished the game well, but in another sense it was a fitting reward for Bedford’s approach, allying great energy and endeavour with sharp decision-making and calmness on the ball. The outstanding player of the afternoon was Fahmy; he always had time in possession and used the limited space available well, controlling the flow of the game. Unfortunately, he would soon be poached, alongside the mercurial Hamilton, by the 2nd XI. Bedford started their second fixture well and were unlucky not

to beat Oundle, being pegged back by a last-minute equaliser in a game that saw the versatile Philip Gebing step in as goalkeeper in place of the injured Chris Bracewell. The game ebbed and flowed and was a real battle at times but Dan Tune, Hamilton and Gee caused all manner of problems up front and captain King put in a man-of-the-match performance in midfield. King had established himself in previous seasons as a whole-hearted central defender, a player who could be relied upon to take most of the ball some of the time. He turned up at training this time round, however, resembling less a tall Neil Ruddock and more a Bastian Schweinsteiger–Yaya Toure hybrid, taking the ball on epic, careering runs down the centre of the pitch, throwing himself into aerial challenges he almost never lost and making tackles at every opportunity. A combination of King’s presence in the box and the flight of Calthorpe’s long throws, which turned out to be a considerable weapon over the following games, led to Bedford fighting back from a poor start to score twice before half-time. An additional highlight was an outlandish 30-yard pass down the line from left back DiFilippo who, with the outside of his right foot, achieved the kind of outlandish curving trajectory last seen when Roberto Carlos lined up a free-kick for Brazil v France at Le Tournoi in 1997. The second half saw the introduction of George ‘Matic’ Neave in centre midfield and he almost created a goal with his first involvement, threading a lovely pass through to Cope, but the shot was blocked. Bedford kept attacking and went into a 4–2 lead, the outstanding moment arriving when Tune

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turned magnificently upon receiving the ball out wide and played a lovely ball over the top for Hamilton to run onto, control and slot under the opposition goalkeeper. Oundle were always in the game, though, and applied relentless pressure to the Bedford goal, being rewarded with a share of the spoils, the second of two late strikes coming after a succession of corners in which their entire team seemed to be packed between the penalty spot and the goal. The final score was 4–4. Disappointing as this was, it had been a pulsating encounter and the team remained unbeaten, but this would change with the visit of Haberdashers’ for an inaugural fixture between the two schools. The closer a school is to London, the more of an aura it seems to have, probably due to the occasional team featuring an academy product from one of the capital’s premiership outfits,

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and Haberdasher’s arrived with a good reputation. They were confident on the ball and it wasn’t long before they had raced into a 0–2 lead but Bedford were not overawed and Neave, on his first start, fired in from a corner box before Tune equalised with what was later voted the goal of the season. Running on to a ball played over the right back, Tune took a touch to control the bouncing ball before firing a remarkable volleyed lob over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net, striking the ball slightly to the left of goal from halfway between the centre and 18-yard lines. It was a wonderful goal from the outstanding player on the pitch that day but the ‘Habs’ boys added three further goals in the second half, their attacking wide play being a little too strong and their goalkeeper recovering from his ordeal at the hands of Tune to pull off a series of excellent saves whenever they were forced onto the back foot. Tom Humphreys, making his debut at half time, did briefly level the game following some excellent link-up play between Neave and Konstantinidis and Bedford pressed hard for more goals, Calthorpe and DiFIlippo offering good support on the overlap, but it was not to be. Games against Westminster, St Edward’s and Oakham fell foul of the weather so up next was a testing trip to Haileybury, another potentially powerful outfit with the occasional academy starlet bolstering their midfield; they would be our toughest opponents. Charlton took the armband again in the absence of King and was tremendous down the left side; his run and shot was Bedford’s first real chance of the half and he also kept the home side guessing with some lethal corner deliveries, landing

perilously close to the goal-line. With Tune adding extra composure in a new midfield role, Neave and Humphreys providing an additional physical edge in the central positions and Justus Geldmacher showing great anticipation and poise at centre back, Bedford held their own. Haileybury did take the lead but Bedford won a penalty just before half-time and Neave confidently placed the ball on the spot. We couldn’t watch, having been brought up on penalty misses, but the impressive midfielder sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, driving the ball high, Shearer-style, to his left; there was no celebration, just a quick jog back for the restart, a sign Bedford would not settle for a draw. The second half saw a continuation of the high-quality football seen before the break and both sides had chances to win the game. DiFilippo repeated his improbable swerving pass down the line, Geldmacher and Junge were accomplished at the back, Konstantinidis proved a great outlet down the right and Tune played a series of through-balls that Gee, working hard on his own up front, very nearly converted; the home goalkeeper was alive to the danger and forced the angles but Gee’s second attempt looked certain to go in, bouncing only millimetres wide of the post. It looked set to finish one-all until, with seconds remaining, a Haileybury midfielder picked up a loose ball, took a touch forward and unleased a high, dipping, unstoppable shot into the net off the underside of the bar. Bracewell had performed heroically all afternoon and flung himself at it fulllength but there was nothing he could do. The Bedford players were too exhausted to react on the full-time whistle but much

optimism was ultimately drawn from what was an outstanding performance and the boys approached the penultimate fixture, a long-haul to Radley, with confidence. Running out onto a pristine pitch and under the watchful gaze of former Head Master Mr Moule, the boys started well, Neave in particular biting into the challenges; it was a particularly crunching tackle from the same player which allowed him to play in Gee and, presented with a similar chance to the previous week, this time he found the only space available to him and rolled the ball just inside the post first time from the edge of the box. Neave’s celebrations were so vigorous that they may have contributed to his picking up an ankle injury and leaving the field, inviting returning captain King back onto the pitch. Recovering from injury himself, I recall advising him to sit back but the first thing he did was win the

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ball, smash through at least three challenges and hurl himself into a final 50â&#x20AC;&#x201C;50 as he entered the box, flying over the top of the goalkeeper and a covering defender and landing to see the ball pass inches wide of the post. Charlton was finding his rhythm from the corner spot again and almost scored direct, before driving down the left and setting up Gee for a very tidy goal indeed, the striker picking up the rebound from Charltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shot, rolling the ball under his studs to find half a yard of space, then stroking it into the far corner. Radley, stunned, took some time to recover but they did get a goal back, only for Gee to complete his hat-trick following an excellent run from Konstantinidis, who out-sprinted several opponents on his journey down the length of the pitch before shooting at goal, the ball falling to Gee in the resulting melee. King, Charlton

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and Humphreys ran themselves into the ground and the returning Anstis marshalled the back four towards the final whistle and a rare away victory at one of the stronger schools on the circuit. All that remained was a final away trip, this time to Rugby. This proved a frustrating game, played on a giant pitch in windy conditions. Neave shook off a sprained ankle to start and again he put in a dominant performance. The full-backs pressed up high and Charlton and Konstantinidis almost broke through on several occasions, with King also threatening from set pieces. However, Rugby held out on their home pitch and ultimately stole the game. I take some responsibility for this, having substituted King at a crucial moment, concerned about his knee injury; this left a gap in front of the defence and Rugby exploited

the space available to punish the visitors with a brace of welltaken goals. Bedford kept playing good football, Tune and Gee instrumental and Humphreys playing dangerous balls into the channels, but the season ended in defeat. This was one of several occasions where the team seemed to lack a little bit of good fortune but it was a hugely enjoyable season overall, with some memorable performances and two great wins to reflect upon. Special mention should go to King and Charlton, who shared the captaincy in the end and led by example at all times, and to fellow leavers DiFilippo, Calthorpe, Humphreys and Gee; this group was called up to play for the 2nd XI the following day against the Old Boys and it is a mark of their dedication that they turned up without a moment’s hesitation. Several also featured in a victory for the boys over the staff at the end of the season and the 3rd XI played additional games against the 2nd XI (one win, one defeat) and the recently-formed German XI. This final game was striking for the manner of its opening, ‘Germany’ kitted out in the national strip, singing their anthem to a backing tape playing on a ghetto-blaster brought onto the pitch for that purpose. We welcomed veteran defender Tim Matthews back in the absence of Geldmacher and Junge and Kamran Ahmed also stepped up to help, looking tricky on the left. The match was hard-fought, Henry Gee scoring with a lovely volleyed finish from a ball floated into the box, but the 3rds eventually fell to a strike of great quality from Maxim Bayduzhiy, somehow allowed to

play in spite of being Russian; the 3rd XI was, on the whole, too gentlemanly to point this out and Leo Maier captained his team to another German victory. To conclude, defender Anstis won player of the season, with Gee and Tune in second and third place respectively. Gee won the golden boot (7 in 7) and the goal of the season, as mentioned earlier , was scored by Tune. Charlton took the ‘engine room’ award for miles covered. We wish our leavers all the best as they move on to pastures new and grace the playing fields of whichever colleges or halls of residence they end up in. Looking ahead to next year, the Tune-Hamilton-Neave-Konstantinidis quartet will be knocking on the door of the first team, as will defenders Anstis and Junge and goalkeeper Bracewell, and Cope will aim to follow in Gee’s footsteps and top the scoring charts. The team was an absolute pleasure to work with; results were mixed but I may not have enjoyed coaching a team quite as much as this one. Thanks are also due to Mr Pip August who took on training and refereeing duties over the term. Squad: King J. (captain), Anstis B., Bracewell C., Calthorpe M., Charlton O., Cope H., DiFilippo D., Fahmy J., Gebing P., Gee H., Geldmacher J., Hamilton W., Humphreys M., Junge C., Kaul A., King J., Konstantinidis J., Neave G., Ott H. and Tune D. M.W. Graham

THE FOURTH ELEVEN Having the honour of captaining a school sports team is no mean feat, especially one as ‘fetch’ as the 4th XI football team. We started the season as mere strangers but ended as a ‘band of brothers’. We knew we had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything we ever wanted. In one moment would we capture it or just let it slip? Our first match came after just one session training together, when we were still just acquaintances; however, with the introduction of our ‘dynamic stretches’ and the home crowd cheering us on, the camaraderie within the team was already evident. In the past King’s Ely have not been the toughest of opposition and they didn’t disappoint in our opening match. I started the game with my palms sweaty, knees weak, arms

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feeling heavy but with the fans at the side-lines cheering, I was spurred on. The already formidable striking partnership of Shay ‘You Just Got’ Boyd and Kamran ‘Skillz’ Ahmed managed to secure a comprehensive 5–0 win. Their partnership was already comparable to that of Paul Benson and Andre Gray in their epic 2013–14 season for Luton Town. It left us all feeling very positive for the games ahead. The next game, against Haberdashers’, was a testing one for the whole team, but we saw stand-out performances from Alex ‘De Gea’ Monaghan in goal, Henri ‘Ottemeister’ Ott in the fullback position and the crunching Roy Keane style tackles from Max Kiel in midfield. With a close but heart-breaking defeat of 2–3, tempers became inflamed with one of our strikers losing (but quickly regaining) his cool. One positive taken from the game was the realisation of the hidden talents that my centreback partner Michael ‘totally stoked dude’ Stokey possessed, with his prowess in the midfield being as effective as it was in the defence. The next two games held a mix of disappointment and delight with new players showing their immense worth to the team. Our game against Haileybury was a very frustrating one. Being the stronger of the two sides we felt that we should have emerged with a win, but without our goalkeeper this was very difficult. After a valiant effort from Alex Roese in goal for the first half, our newest arrival, Philip ‘Gebiniho’ Gebing, donned the gloves and managed not to concede in the second half. Having lost Tom ‘Snakey’ Humphreys in midfield a special mention must go to Akshar ‘Iniesta’ Kaul as he had to fill Tom’s size 11 boots, which

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he did consistently well in our remaining games. Leaving Haileybury with a respectable 5–5 draw allowed us to prepare for the upcoming contest against Radley. Having just completed our mocks and after a gruelling twohour trek to Radley, it’s fair to say we were not in the best of spirits to pull off a ‘Class of 92’-like performance. Yet something came over us … this opportunity was once in a lifetime and a feeling of carpe diem overcame the whole team, enabling us to smash Radley 5–0. It was a mixed bag of performances this season, ending with two wins, one draw and two defeats. Overall, I would say it was a successful season. I had the opportunity to lead a team and represent the school in such a great sport. It was clear to see how much every member of the team improved in almost every aspect of their game through the effective use of ‘diags’ or even the simple art of tackling. In my opinion, the two stand-out players of the season were Ott and Kiel due to their sheer determination. I really enjoyed playing for the 4th XI and wish the squad the best of luck for next season. A special thanks must go to Mr Everitt for the time he gave to the team and Gary for his undeniable golden cauldron of football knowledge, which he successfully bestowed upon us. It all helped to make a great team. Congratulations on a great season, boys. Squad: Malhi A. (captain), Ahmed K., Bosut A., Boyd S., Chan A., Gebing P., Holland S., Humphreys T., Kaul A., Kiel M., Marchio F., Meniru O., Monaghan A., Ott H., Roese A., Stokey M. and Whalley P. Aran Malhi

COLTS A This season Jack Chapman was appointed as captain and helped achieve the amazing feat of a second successive season unbeaten. He was asked to play at centre-back but even found himself in goal for one match to cover an illness. The season started off very well with a commanding 3–0 victory over a strong Haberdashers’ side. Ed Paradise, dubbed the ‘new Messi’, opened with what was either a world-class finish or a mis-hit shot. Two more great goals followed: Will Forsythe scored with a beautifully curled shot into the top-left corner and Georgy Kharzaliya sealed the victory with a tidy finish inside the box. The team then put in what was arguably our best performance against Haileybury: world-class defence with a great counter-attack and goal by Kharzaliya saw us win 1–0. With the departure of our outstanding coach, Tim, Mr Finch filled his shoes and guided the team to a solid win against a decent Radley team. The final score was 3–1 with goals from Kharzaliya, Forsythe and Tim Hammond, but, unfortunately, we let in the one blemish of the season from a free kick. Oundle were next on our hit-list as they were brushed aside 4–0 with a Kharzaliya hat-trick and a late Paradise tap-in. I was also justly proud of my Phillip Lahm-type pass through to Kharzaliya from our own half. This match also saw a flawless goalkeeping debut from our captain who was subsequently compared with David De Gea due to his cat-like reflexes. In the penultimate game Oakham were beaten 6–0 in another topclass performance from Bedford, with two coolly taken goals from Hammond, another brace from Kharzaliya, as well as goals from Freddie Elston and Paradise. Finally, we ended the season with a bang against Rugby (5–0)

in an explosive attacking performance where goals flowed. Kharzaliya again scored a delightful hat-trick and Paradise chipped in with yet another goal. The final treat came from Ken Ekweremadu: after a delightful one-two between him and Forsythe, a cross from Forsythe and a sublime pass from Paradise, Ekweremadu struck the ball with venom into the goal. So, this was another fantastic season for the Colts A team, winning every single game. A special mention must be made of the compact back four consisting of Jonathan Malindine, Jamie Barnes, Jack Chapman and me, as well as the occasional fill-in from the versatile and reliable Joe Conlon. The defensive unit conceded merely one goal in the entire campaign. Finally, I must pay tribute to our goalkeeper, Harvey Storey, who was rarely busy, but was an integral part of the team. Squad: Chapman J. (captain), Barnes C., Conlon J., Ekweremadu K., Elston F., Forsythe W., Hammond T., Hill L., Kharzaliya G., Malindine J., Oliver J., Paradise E., Storey H. and Barratt W. Luis Hill

COLTS B In the clash of footballing philosophies, heroes are born and, my, didn’t philosophies clash this year. Before half-term we lost all three of our games, shipping 12 goals and scoring six. In the final three games during the second half of the season we won every game, conceding six and scoring 11. In the first half of the season we were beaten by Oundle; in the second half of the season the return match saw us beat them. Football is a game of two halves. Once we began to pull some wonderful results out of the

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velvet bag, we found ourselves in the process. Take Jack Ferrari: initially he did not appear to fancy it and was shy in training. When he played in fixtures, however, he peppered the park with perfect passes and brought culture and elegance to our game. Wazidur Rahman also showed himself a hero of epic proportions during fixtures: agile and perceptive, he sniffed out and snuffed out trouble. My heart rate did not rise to dangerous levels when we had Rahman in defence; when he wasn’t there (he had a few games off with illness) we seemed to do a fine impersonation of a sieve; with him we never looked at a loss. Will Smith was another who showed his mettle in fixtures: he has exactly the right detachment to be a good striker, being unfazed by pressure. I sometimes wonder whether all the best strikers are 90 per cent temperament and 10 per cent technique. Perhaps that is overstatement, but I do think that state of mind plays an enormous part in whether a chance is converted or not. Smith won us the vast majority of our games: no other player brought us back from the dead so often – he was our defibrillator. The season’s hinge of fate turned during our match against Radley: a

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penalty from Smith and an Elliott Whitaker goal saw us two up early in the second half. But a dizzily high kick tested Adison Cheng, our keeper, and they got one back. Then a boot-your-twofront-teeth-out counter-attack saw Radley come back onto equal terms. Suddenly we looked washed-up and, once again, in the process of snatching defeat from victory. Yet somehow, during one of our very few second-half forays, Smith snaffled a finish that had looked a million miles away; suddenly we were sitting on top of our first win. We lost the season before to Radley when we should have won; this season the footballing gods had us win when perhaps Radley should have done: there was some sort of cosmic justice in the air that day. We’d also shown a strong chin and the ability to bang back in answer to some of our critics in the Colts A, whose titters – and the titterers shall be nameless here, though they know who they are – were silenced. We didn’t have to eat the thin gruel of defeat again for the rest of the season. While Toby Nevett and Nihat Aslanoba gave us steel, David Lewes, playing with the ‘soggy-sock technique’ while one of his boots ‘talked’, also rose to the challenge magnificently. Lest we forget the skills of Simon Cheung, the manic energy of Conrad Webber, the deft and decisive midfield contributions of Harry Marks, the stalwart defensive power of Chizu Chukwu and Hodges Mak and, of course, the sterling keeping antics of Cheng, we record them here for posterity. And Bob Song, too: he was a presence on the touchline if ever there was one. Everybody mattered immensely in the moment, glamour boys or tea boys. If anybody has been left out then I can only plead the death of my brain cells: you all counted, believe me. Squad: Chukwu C. (captain), Aslanoba N., Cheng A., Cheung S., Ferrari J., Lewes D., Mak H., Marks H., Nevett T., Rahman W, Smith W., Song B., Webber C. and Whitaker E. A.W. Grimshaw

U15 A The 2015 football season was my first at Bedford School and one in which I had the pleasure of captaining the U15 As. In total we played seven games, of which we won three. Our first of these was against King’s Ely away. With only a couple of training sessions under our belts and I myself not actually being quite sure of everyone’s name, it was fair to say we were all a bit rusty, but on the whole I thought we played well. We got an idea of what everyone was capable of and where we could improve. The final score was a 0–2 defeat. After a few more training sessions (and a better understanding of names) we came up against some tough opposition in the form of Oundle away. By now we had begun to play some more advanced football with better chemistry between us. With conditions being far from perfect we created some strong chances but just failed to convert them. The final score was a narrow 0–1 defeat. Our wake-up call came in our third game against an immensely strong Berkhamsted team. With some crucial players from the team absent and with the rain pouring down, the goals scored against us managed to head into the double figures (a 0–12 defeat). This was probably a match to forget, but one that motivated us to improve and get some wins in our remaining games.

The next match was at home against Radley and one of my personal favourites of the season for obvious reasons. There were great team and individual performances on display with plenty of goals allowing us to win our first match rather convincingly. It was my first real insight into what we were all capable of and that there was some true talent between us. A hat-trick from Eric Ebimami, two each for Lachie Sear and me, and one apiece for Felix Iles and Gianluca Testa resulted in a final score of 9–0. Our fifth match was our second fixture against a very strong and well-organised Oundle side. We were again suffering from a few absences and struggled to ever really get going and so suffered a sore defeat (0–5), but it was another match in which we gained further experience and were able to work on aspects of our game in training, such as positioning and communication. The game away at Oakham was my highlight of the season. Using a completely different formation that Mr Bolton and I ‘discovered’ (4–2–3–1), all of us were desperate for another victory. With outstanding performances from Sear and Zac Stewart (very well-earned man of the match) and some great runs from Ebimami we emerged victorious. It was, for me, our best performance of the season by far. It was so great to see the team performing so well while having a great time. The final score was a 3–0 win. Our final game of the season was at home against Rugby. The match proved to be the perfect way to end our season. It was another fantastic performance from all the boys in the squad and we managed to fight off a strong side to secure a 5–3 win. On behalf of the squad, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Mr Bury and Mr Bolton for making all of our training sessions so much fun and making our season, on the whole, so enjoyable. Thanks also to all the other coaches who were brought in to help us and improve our football. I would also obviously like to thank all the boys for their commitment to the team and flexibility by always helping when we were a man short. Squad: Hearnshaw F. (captain), Asare F., Barden S., Brock J., Chand T., Chapman G., Chukwu E., Davis M., Ebimami E., Ikura T., Iles F., Lake M., McNally J., Moffatt J., Nefedovskiy A., O’Grady S., Oliver J., Sear L., Seward G., Stewart Z. and Testa G. Frank Hearnshaw

U15 B

this early attacking play into goals and King’s Ely soon dominated, scoring twice before Takeshi Ikura, our goalkeeper, was injured in a collision. With no substitute goalkeepers, Kirill Fomin volunteered to go in goal and produced some excellent saves, keeping out some difficult shots. We lost energy, however, and King’s Ely took advantage and the game ended in a 0–9 defeat. Lake’s performance saw him move up to the A team for the game against Oundle away. This was the beginning of a settled U15 B team. James Oliver made his debut in goal, with Tomiwa Fashola, Michael Davis, Thomas Chen and Jamie Brock across the defence. Sasha Plyushchenko sat in front of the defence with Taran Chand, Kirill Fomin, Ali Hassan and Felix Asare completing the midfield and Felix Iles acting as a lone striker. The team discipline was fantastic and we took a well deserved lead through Iles. Oundle woke up in the second half, prompting

January began with a sense of excitement. The rain seemed to be holding back and our first training session was on grass rather than huddled up in a sports hall somewhere in deepest, darkest Bedford. We had a new bunch of players, plus some familiar faces from the U15 B sides of yesteryear, full of determination, full of enthusiasm and full of all sorts of FIFA 15 related terminology. When asked which position they felt suited them best, Mr Bury and I had to deal with at least a dozen ‘I want to play CDM’ requests. EA Sports has got a lot to answer for. Two training sessions are perhaps not the best indicator of ability so our A and B sides away to King’s Ely on the first Saturday of the spring term were definitely experimental squads. The U15 Bs showed early signs of confident play with James Moffatt and Marcus Lake linking up well down the right. We could not turn

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Oliver to produce a series of exceptional saves. In the space of one half, he had grown in both ability and confidence and was not at fault when Oundle managed to secure an equaliser in the dying moments of the game (final score, 1–1). The next fixture was away at Berkhamsted. We did not play them last year so we had no idea what to expect. A few absentees meant we were low on numbers but we were buoyed by Lachie Sear’s move from hockey to football. Sear was a thorn in the side of the Berkhamsted team for much of the first half, scoring one of the goals of the game with a well-placed finish. Berkhamsted were stronger in every department and they won the game 1–9. Despite the scoreline, the game was actually quite close and the team deserve credit for their performance against better opposition in cold and wet conditions. The next match, a home game against Oundle, did not go too well. Injuries and the well-deserved promotion of our captain Brock to the U15 As left the team without some of its key players. We were grateful to Igor Mayorov (making his school sport debut) and Charlie Glover for stepping in and putting in some determined performances, and also to Michael Davis for taking on the role of captain and leading the team by example. Despite Hassan’s excellent equaliser on the stroke of half-time, Oundle won 1–6. Due to various events outside our control, the U15 B games against Radley and Oakham were sadly cancelled. To make up for this disappointment, we expanded the U15 A match squad to include those B team players who had excelled throughout the season. James Oliver, Felix Iles and Michael Davis all gained useful A team experience and contributed to the two victories. The final game of the season was at home against Rugby. A formation change against Oakham with the U15 A saw us move from 4–1–4–1 to 4–2–3–1, providing support in midfield and allowing the players to develop a greater sense of positional awareness. With Sear taking the lone striker role in the U15 As,

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we were delighted that Eric Ebimami joined the B squad. He had scored a series of impressive goals for the U15 As against Radley and Oakham so he led the attack. The team were determined to end the U15 B season on a high and were impressive in all areas. Oliver produced some excellent saves, Davis and Alex Guliev kept the defence under control, Sam Barden found his calling as a defensive midfielder and Rohan Malhi (making his debut) was impressive on the right of midfield. It did not take long for us to score with Ebimami coolly slotting it past the Rugby keeper. They equalised against the run of play but it did not take long for Bedford to take the lead. Ebimami scored another four, with Iles and Enyichi Chukwu also getting their names on the score-sheet. Davis added to the tally with a well-placed penalty in the dying moments of the game. The U15 Bs had done it! An 8–1 win and a great way to end the season. The results did not always go our way but all the members of the team improved throughout the season. All training sessions were conducted in the right spirit and thanks to Dan Walker and all the external coaches for their help throughout the season. Thanks are due to Davis and Brock for their captaincy and to all the players for their effort, enthusiasm and company throughout the term. It was great to see players such as Guliev, Malhi and Igor Mayorov break into the team at various points throughout the season and credit must go to Mr ‘Dario Gradi’ Melvill and Ben Atkins for taking the recreation squad each week to the ‘Cage’ and developing them as players. To Mr Bury – thank you for your company, the coaching tips and for not pinching too many of the B players for the A team. Roll on next year! Squad: Brock J. and Davis M. (captains), Asare F., Barden S., Chand T., Chavda N., Chen T., Chukwu E., Ebimami E., Fashola T., Fomin K., Guliev A., Hassan A., Iles F., Ikura T., Khasis A., Lake M., Malhi R., Mayorov I., Moffatt J., Oliver J., Plyushchenko S., Sear L., Tatayev A. and Younis S. M.W. Bolton

SPORTS DAY 2015 Fourth form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

St Peter’s St Cuthbert’s Bromham Ashburnham Paulo Pontine Crescent

Remove form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

St Cuthbert’s Paulo Pontine Ashburnham St Peter’s Crescent Bromham

Fifth form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

St Peter’s Crescent Paulo Pontine Bromham St Cuthbert’s Ashburnham

Sixth form 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

St Cuthbert’s Bromham Ashburnham Crescent St Peter’s Paulo Pontine

Overall winners 1st St Peter’s 2nd St Cuthbert’s 3rd Crescent 4th Paulo Pontine 5th Ashburnham 6th Bromham

284 points 273 points 248.5 points 241 points 233 points 226.6 points

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BADMINTON

Led by the inspirational Derek Lam, Bedford School badminton defied all expectations this year. The team remained unbeaten all season, enjoying matches against Stamford and Oundle. All squad members were enthusiastic and reliable; I felt privileged to watch such high-quality badminton and excellent sportsmanship. Colours were awarded to Andrew Zhu, James Zhang, Jonathan Cheung, Joseph Jacob and Ruben Sharma. Philip Barnes was captain in the autumn term, with Sachin Patel, Avi Patel, Curtis Fung, Ramius Yan, Emilio Llanaj, Kevin Ching and Archie YoungLee regularly playing for the team. We had our best-ever performance in the Centre Parcs National Badminton Tournament. We entered three teams in the years 10 and 11 category, with the A team (Andrew Zhu, Jack Dalton, George Hayward and George Andrew) beating the B team (Sachin Patel, Archie Young-Lee, Bhavik Talsania and Avi Patel) in the final. The A team won the county final convincingly and came fourth in the eastern region round, playing some quality badminton along the way. Within school, Saturday afternoon badminton club was introduced in the autumn term and has proved to be popular with the boys. Anyone who is free can come along and enjoy some games from 1 to 2.30 pm. C.M. Medley

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FIVES

In September, a new look 1st IV made the short trip to Bedford Modern for this inaugural game of the season. Manu Ratnayake (captain) the only sixth former, with fifth formers Jack Hutchings, Logan Jones and Ewan Cox, was keen to make a winning start. As new teammates and playing partners, understandings were yet to be established so there was all to play for in this always hotly contested local derby match. Ratnayake and Hutchings struggled against the more experienced BMS players in their singles games but Jones and Cox brushed their opponents aside to ensure things were evenly balanced at this stage. The BMS first pair were too experienced and points against them were difficult to come by but some valiant play by Bedford ensured competitive games. Fortunately, the BMS second pair struggled and failed to secure any points in their doubles games. An exciting afternoon concluded with a narrow win for Bedford by only 10 points (77–67); a great team effort The fixture against Cambridge University is one the boys always look forward to, particularly as an opportunity to play on the university’s new courts. A different look 1st IV made the trip this time: Jones, Cox and Ratnayake were joined by upper sixth former Arthur Edmonds. Always a tough game, Bedford (despite their best efforts) lost all the singles and doubles matches played. Unfortunately, this was followed by an equally tough game against Rugby on their own courts. The same IV battled hard but struggled to make any impression against the more experienced team. In the first fixture for the 2nd IV, a team consisting of David Woods, Hustin Bhatt, Harry Beard and Jack Hutchings were keen to make a winning start to their season against Oundle. Tough opposition ensured their ambitions were thwarted with Oundle winning by 80 points. The 1st IV were subjected to an equally tough time with only Cox securing a solitary win for Bedford in his singles game, Oundle winning by 83 points. The fixture against the Jesters, an adult team, is always approached with some trepidation. The 1st IV (Ratnayake, Jones, Cox and Woods) played with real determination, narrowing the victory margin for the Jesters to only 54 points: a creditable effort. On the back of a tough autumn in terms of results, the return fixture against BMS was approached with some caution. This apprehension was justified as the strength of the BMS first pair overwhelmed both the Bedford pairs in the doubles and, despite showing real determination, the 1st IV (Ratnayake, Jones, Ewan and Dylan Cox) lost by 51 points. The 2nd IV (Bhatt, Beard, Hawkins and James Wallace) also found things difficult with only Harry Beard securing a solitary win for Bedford in the singles, BMS winning by 79 points. The final autumn fixture did bookend the term rather nicely with a surprise win against an always strong visiting Derby Moor side. The game went right down to the final doubles game with Bedford managing to hold on to a six-point win. The spring term opener against the RFA, another adult team, is always a tough fixture. The singles wins for Jones and Ewan Cox were, therefore, a particular highlight in a game that inevitably will be won by the more experienced team (with the RFA winning overall by 66 points). To follow this with a trip to

St Paul’s could be seen as unfortunate as St Paul’s are generally recognised to be the best fives school in the country. Hutchings secured the only win for the 1st IV in his singles game, although limiting St Paul’s to a victory by only 79 points could be seen as a creditable performance. The 2nd IV (Woods, George Neave, Bhatt and Beard) did particularly well and were pleased to lose by only 57 points. Debutant Neave showed real promise. In the home fixture against Rugby, the 1st IV (Holroyd, Hutchings, Jones and Woods) really pulled out all the stops and were unlucky to lose by 16 points. The 2nd IV (Edmonds, Bhatt, Shah and Beard) all played well and really found form in their pairings to enjoy a well-deserved win by 25 points. Instigated by OB Chris Davey, Birmingham University now has a Fives Club and for their inaugural fixture Chris brought along some enthusiastic fellow players. An exciting game ensued with the game going down to the last doubles match. Unusually, but thrillingly, the game ended in a draw at 109 points each which the Bedford 1st IV (Hutchings, Woods, Jones and Bhatt) were justifiably delighted with. Bedford and BMS again hosted the East Midlands Tournament in early March. Bedford was only represented in the senior tournament and with matches against Rugby, Oundle, Derby Moor and BMS the going was tough so Bedford struggled to make significant progress in the competition. Playing for the Centenary Cup gives this annual fixture against Merchant Taylors’ an extra edge. The 1st IV (Ratnayake, Dylan Cox, Hutchings and Jones) held their own in the singles but struggled in the doubles which ensured that Merchant Taylors’ retained the silverware. The 2nd IV played particularly well in the doubles but also lost by 36 points. The final fixture of the season, against the OBs, is always an enjoyable occasion and, now that they are able to regularly field a 2nd IV, it ensures that most of the school squad get a game. Sadly for the school teams, the OBs were just too strong and the school failed to secure a single win in the whole afternoon, the OB 1st IV winning by 119 points and the 2nd IV winning by 128 points: a resounding victory. Despite the fact that the statistics this year make for bleak viewing, I would like to thank the boys for their efforts, resilience and good humour. Ratnayake has captained the 1st IV with good grace and dignity and played with real energy and determination. As many of the senior squad players are fifth formers I hope they will have learnt from their experiences this year so that they can face the new season with renewed energy and determination. Colours this year were awarded to Holroyd, Woods and Bhatt who, in addition to their many other qualities, have always made themselves available to play even at the shortest notice. The senior house competition is always great fun and played with real enthusiasm and determination. Played over five Friday evenings in the autumn term, ensuring that all houses have four available players is not always guaranteed so it was no surprise that Crescent (with three regular school team players in Woods, Hutchings and Jones) won comprehensively, with Ashburnham coming second. The junior competition, played in the spring term, proved to be much more competitive with the result being determined in the last round. St Peter’s, with Harry Beard and Will Jewers,

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impressed throughout the competition while Ashburnham, with Oliver Mitchell and Joel McNally, who are not regular fives players, excelled and surpassed expectation with the consistency of their play. St Peter’s just pipped Ashburnham to first place by only one point, much to the delight of St Peter’s. Both the senior and junior singles competitions were dominated by regular school team players. Harry Beard won the Mellor Cup (junior), showing a skill and maturity which bodes well for the future, while Dylan Cox (fifth form) defied predictions and powered his way past all other competitors to win the Dawes Cup (senior). My thanks as ever to David Mew who continues to inspire the boys as coach and to Mrs Mainstone who this year very kindly took the boys to several away fixtures at very short notice. Her energy and enthusiasm is much appreciated by us all! Squad: Ratnayke M. (captain), Beard H., Bhatt H., Cox D., Cox E., Edmonds A., Hawkins J., Holroyd M., Hutchings J., Jones L., Neave G., Shah A., Wallace J. and Woods D. M.C. Croker

GOLF

This year the Bedford School golf team defeated Abingdon, Oundle and Radley to reach the ISGA National Finals for the third consecutive year. The two-day event, held at Prince’s Golf Course and Royal St George’s Golf Club, saw the team come tenth out of the 19 competing. Sadly, the event saw Constantine Hafner and Guy Johnson play their last competitive matches for the team after two and five years of service, respectively. Unfortunately, the HMC foursomes team lost narrowly to New Hall School in the regional final, therefore failing to qualify for the national final for the first time in five years. The calendar of friendly fixtures was once again strong, with both home and away fixtures against Millfield, Uppingham, Haileybury, Oundle, Radley, Brentwood, Felsted, Warwick and Harrow. These fixtures, together with a mini-tour to Princes’ Golf Club in the February half-term and a full programme of coaching from Dan Grieve (Woburn PGA pro) throughout the three terms has made for an extremely productive year for the golf team. H.C. Taylor

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RIFLE CLUB

The 2014–15 shooting season started with the now regular Autumn League of the British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association (BSSRA) competition. The first rounds of this competition are due fairly promptly after the start of term so it is always a test of how quickly the team can get back into their shooting mindset after the long break. The team of Manu Ratnayake, Matthias Butler, Tommy Hine, Alan Wong and Angus Watson acquitted themselves well; their fourth place disguised a hard-fought battle with only 12 points ex 3000 separating the second, third and fourth places. November once again saw the house shooting competition and this year the format was changed to make it a little more exciting. The houses were each given a practice session so they could select their three-man team and then these teams competed in a single, shoulder-to-shoulder match. Ashburnham won this year with an aggregate of 212 ex 225, with an outstanding highest possible score from Hine. The autumn BSSRA leagues are very much a precursor to the main events of the spring term, namely the Country Life competition, the OB shoot and the BSSRA Spring Leagues. The team is usually well drilled by this point so the spring term offers them the opportunity to give their best performance. However, this year it was not to be; sadly, staff commitments severely restricted the number of opportunities for the team to practise. This meant the boys were unable to shoot the cards necessary to compete in the BSSRA Spring Leagues and we were left with no other option than to withdraw from the competition. A similar lack of practice for the Country Life competition, especially on the crucial landscape card, rendered the team utterly uncompetitive and we were forced to abandon this competition as well. Fortunately, we were still able to stage the OB shoot on 21 March, albeit with a reduced five-man team of Butler, Hine, Ben Howard, Alastair Ackroyd and Wong. This was shot across the now customary group, rapid, snap and ten-bull targets and the boys acquitted themselves well. Unfortunately, their lack of practice was once again telling, especially in the face of a highly experienced OB team, which contained ex-GB team members as well a Queen’s Prize Silver Badge winner. The final aggregate scores stood at 823 ex 1000 for the school against the OBs’ excellent 924. Wong earned the top shot trophy for the boys with 177 ex 200 and Nigel Greenaway (OB 76–81) did the same for the OBs with 188.

Academic and exam pressures meant we shot no competitions in the summer term. This gave us the opportunity to run a very well attended and enthusiastic staff shoot as well as undertake some gentle training to bring on the more junior members of the club in preparation for the next year. This training has now been made considerably more effective by the generosity of the Bedford School Trust, who kindly granted the Rifle Club the funds to purchase a Scatt electronic shooting system. The system uses a highly accurate camera to track the rifle movements during aiming and release of the shot and allows the coach to quickly diagnose and correct errors in the shooter’s technique. This year we say goodbye to a number of the Rifle Club as they leave the school and move on to pastures new. I wish Manu Ratnayake, Alan Wong, Ben Howard and Alastair Ackroyd all the best for the future and hope this is more of an au revoir rather than a goodbye; it would be great to see them competing for the ‘opposition’ in the OB matches in coming years. Good luck, chaps. P.M. Lumley-Wood

SQUASH CLUB

The new season began with an experienced 1st V which included players such as Shiv Patel, Josh Selvey and Arjun Vaingankar who had all been members of the club for many years. The two new faces on the block were George Allen and Rob Salvesen. The team gelled well together and produced some impressive results throughout the season, the pinnacle of which was reaching the National Schools’ Plate finals. The 1st V had an outstanding school fixture season with a 100 per cent win record, beating the likes of Uppingham, Stamford, Oundle and Rugby. The majority of victories were won 5–0, with only one game lost all season (we ‘only’ beat Oundle 4–1). The 2nd V had a mixed season; the team was made up of many new faces such as Emilio Llanaj, Charlie Gee and Oakley McNulty. They were, of course, some old faces in the team in the form of Navin Chodha, Freddie McLean and Ajay Shah who have done the 2nd V proud over the years. Starting off the season against Berkhamsted with a close defeat, being beaten by just one match, the season looked promising for the fresh 2nd V. Unfortunately, a few more defeats followed, with the exception of a win in the winter term against Oakham. The second half of the squash calendar was much more favourable for the 2nd V with no defeats in the spring term. This was partly down to the arrival of some new faces from rugby such as Andrew Zhu and Bavik Talsania who are turning into promising squash players. In the spring term the 1st V continued with the same players, apart from some brief appearances from rising star Peter Jamieson who filled in for Patel when he was playing hockey. Jamieson showed good resolve and, although he suffered some close defeats, he is becoming a very solid player. National Schools has been a competition the Squash Club has entered for many years. Many times the 1st V have fallen in the group stages and failed to grace Manchester with their presence. This year we were knocked out of the main draw by Dr Challenor’s (a very strong team just north of London) and

Aylesbury (a match in which the team was treated to the spectacle of George Allen getting a good work-out from a national player); we were, therefore, disappointed to find ourselves in the Plate. The knockout rounds were upon us; many a 1st V had fallen here we were determined to buck the trend. With a very convincing win over King Edward’s Birmingham (4–1), the 1st V were buzzing with the thought of Manchester being in sight. Only one more match stood in our way and that was against Lincoln College. Arriving in style in the school’s car we felt that nothing would get in our way. Lincoln College decided to play in the opposite order from normal by starting with No 1 and finishing with No 5. Their tactic was clear, trying to scare us into thinking we were on the way out as both No 1 (George Allen) and No 2 (Shiv Patel) lost in very close games, with my game lasting well over an hour. However, the depth of the 1st V shone through as Selvey, Salvesen and Vaingankar all had easy wins. Manchester was no longer a dream: it was a reality. With a few weeks to the competition, Mr Rees and Mr Montgomery put in place a tough training schedule in order to ensure the 1st V were entering the competition in form. We arrived the night before, limping into the hotel car park in a tired minibus in need of some TLC from the AA. Having gorged on breakfast (and having given Mr Rees his birthday present of Top Trumps and car scent from a motorway service station) we were ready for the day ahead. We scraped through a tough opening match with a 3–2 win. The top three seeds got to experience the full glass court which took some getting used to but in no time we were as efficient as the professionals. With the next match being a more convincing 3–2 win the team went into the final with high hopes. Sadly, the final was lost 1–4 to a very strong Wellington College side. A special mention has to go to Salvesen for spending the day unbeaten in all of his matches, an impressive feat given the quality of the squash at the tournament. The day was a great experience for the 1st V with loads of laughs and some of the highest standard of squash the school has played. This was undeniably one of the most successful seasons for the club. The results and the team spirit and enthusiasm made it an enjoyable season all round. This enthusiasm was seen at the Squash Club dinner which was attended by all members of coaching staff and graced by Steven Davis, the outside coach, for the first time. The speeches were top class and the club dinners are still some of the best nights I have had at the school.

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The OB match was yet another shining example of the spirit of the club. With enough OBs returning for three Bedford School teams to play, in was the biggest contest yet. There were some old rivalries on show with Patel playing Kushal Kansagra and George Allen versus Mr Montgomery. Sadly, the returning OBs took the win by just one match, the closest it had been in years. Our thanks go Mrs Smith and Miss Swallow for helping players of all abilities and making the courts a happier and more relaxed place to be. A huge thank you must go to Steven Davis and Mr Montgomery for the phenomenal level of coaching they have offered, improving everyone’s squash no matter what level. Finally, the biggest thank you goes to Mr Rees for organising the training, fixtures and being a great coach and mentor to the whole club for years. Squad: Allen G. (captain), Choda N., Gee C., Jamieson P., Llanaj E., McLean F., McNulty O., Patel S., Salvesen R., Selvey J., Shah A., Talsania B., Vaingankar A. and Zhu A. George Allen

SWIMMING AND WATER POLO

The water polo season started with a very competitive house water polo. Ashburnham were the deserving winners with some fantastic goals by Thomas Stewart and Oliver Maltby. It was a busy year for the water polo team. The U18 team took part in the National Schools’ Water Polo Competition which was particularly competitive this year. Unfortunately, despite playing really well, the team did not qualify for the final. Dmitrii Titov was an excellent captain for the team and led the team to numerous victories in friendly matches.

House swimming was a fantastic occasion and many extremely quick times were recorded. There were some particularly good swims from Maltby, Nick Stalley, James Brakenbury and Oli Peacock. Paulo was the winning house with some excellent individual performances. The swimming squad, led by Maltby, came first in the Stowe Relays at the beginning of the school year with Maltby breaking another school record with his 27.35 backstroke time. The junior and senior squads took part in the National Schools’ Swimming Competition and managed to qualify for the final with some excellent times. The highlight of the swimming season came in the Bath and Otter Cup with the team of Maltby, Jonathan Ho, Titov and Stalley coming seventh in the relay; a particular success in such a competitive event. E. Rubio

TENNIS

Mr Rees left the school Tennis Club in fine fettle having established a warm-weather training base in Portugal, excellent relationships with quality coaches and rapidly increasing player numbers. In football manager parlance, this has been a season of consolidation; the author has been lucky to have such firm ground on which to stake a position. After another intensive Easter training camp in the plush surroundings of Vale do Lobo, Portugal, hopes were high for the season. Across the club, however, results were slightly disappointing this season. By the end of June, though, great strides had been made by a number of players and the outlook for next season was looking rosier and a final fixture routing of Kimbolton School by the junior squads certainly settled the master-in-charge’s nerves (no vote of confidence from the Director of Sport just yet). In contrast to the junior sides, the senior sides were extremely fast out of the blocks. The 1st VI secured an impressive result against traditionally very strong rivals Stamford in their opening fixture. This was then backed up with another victory over Oakham. Both wins were secured on the back of highly accomplished doubles play from Rob Salvesen and Jayan Chander, in particular. The 2nd VI, if anything, started in more promising form by beating a strong Stamford side and fighting Oakham to a 4–4 draw (with a particularly illustrious guest appearance in the Oakham side from a former master in charge

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of Bedford School tennis). These fixtures, unfortunately, proved to be the highlights of the season as exam pressures and injuries took their toll. Oundle proved simply too strong for both sides; there was no shame at all in this; they were an excellent side with superb strength in depth. A rare outing for the Colts against Oundle, though, showed just how promising the top fifth-form pair of Peter Jamieson and Jack Dalton may prove to be in future years. By some accounts they were the strongest pair on the courts at Oundle that day (and had some stiff competition for this accolade). The 1st VI finished their regular season with a loss to a strong side from The Perse, though the 2nd VI managed to avenge this with a hard-fought win. A relatively inexperienced 1st IV travelled to Eton for the Independent Schools’ Tennis Association Championships and did extremely well to beat Kingswood School before narrowly succumbing to Nottingham High School in the agony of a singles shoot-out. We had, perhaps, tested our luck a few too many times over the preceding years. Nevertheless, the same squad is available next year and, with Chris Turner pushing hard to gain a place in the side, we should be looking to make it deeper into the draw next year. As mentioned, the junior sides had a ‘difficult’ season. There are some very talented players in the top pairs, especially Joss Cleary and Alisher Tatayev in the U15s and Alex Papp and Sam Dalton in the U14s. At times, though, our strength in depth was not quite enough to see us over the line in tight matches; generally players were often just one or two places too high in the rankings and tennis is a punishing environment if this is the case. There was, however, abundant evidence of progress throughout the year: boys trained hard and listened to the advice given to them by enthusiastic and knowledgeable coaches. A narrow defeat in the penultimate match of the season at Stowe (which would have been won had Cleary and Tatayev not been playing up in the senior sides) meant that everything was riding on the last fixture against Kimbolton. The boys were excellent and secured two highly impressive wins; much to build on. My thanks, and those of all the boys, to Messers Rees, Charlton and (the ‘late’) Hutchinson and ‘Misser’ Swallow. Nothing would ever get done without their enthusiastic, diligent assistance. Thanks, too, to our external coaches and, perhaps especially, to those at the coalface in the leagues. M.T. Herring

VOLLEYBALL

On Wednesday 24th June, the Bedford School Volleyball A and B teams travelled to Brighton to play in the National Independent Schools’ Volleyball Tournament on the beautiful beachside courts. Bedford B team did well to beat Sevenoaks B and LAE A team in the pools and came ninth out of 14 teams. Bedford A team reigned supreme in the pools, defeating all six opponents and securing convincing wins over a strong Sevenoaks A team, The Leys A, Lancing A and a particularly satisfying win against an over-confident Reeds A team! Their winning streak unfortunately came to an end in a tense finals match against a solid hosting Brighton College A team. This is Bedford School’s strongest ever volleyball team and a huge well done to the national championship runners-up: Angus Gill, Michael Morris, Jason Chiu, Ajay Momi, Shay Boyd and Ramius Tsz Wai. A.L. Smith

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general education The General Education department is responsible for delivering the PSHE and ‘citizenship’ programme to all the boys in the Upper School as well as engaging them and involving them in topical campaigns which aim to raise awareness of issues beyond the academic curriculum. As well as following the national PSHE guidelines, the past year has seen boys learning about a diverse range of topics from body image to politics, sex education to cooking and prejudice to financial education. We have been lucky enough to have an excellent number of outside speakers, skilled in their fields, to inform and inspire. Boys have also been involved in several school-wide campaigns this year; there is an emphasis on getting involved and learning by doing. In the autumn term, the ‘Movember’ campaign was run by upper sixth boys, who taught the younger boys about physical and mental health issues that they may face. Boys were also invited to take part in fund-raising activities such as an all-day sponsored cycle ride around Bedford Park, the annual dodgeball tournament, a ‘Quidditch’ match in full costume and a tennis-themed mufti day. We were delighted to raise £10,500 in funds to help research by health charities into testicular cancer, prostate cancer and mental health. In November we also ran a trip, together with the RS department, to the Holocaust survivors’ conference at Watford

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Grammar School for Girls. A group of sixth form boys were lucky enough to attend a talk from Ruth David, a Holocaust survivor, who told us of her family’s experiences. They also attended two lectures and took part in a workshop about the role of Vichy France in the Holocaust. In the spring term we worked with the YMCA and boys learned about the many reasons why people may become homeless and the challenges that they face. A brave group of nearly 40 boys and staff then participated in the ‘sleep-out’ on a cold February night in Bedford. After spending one night in cardboard boxes, they had just a small taste of how hard life must be for the homeless and raised funds for the YMCA in the process. In the summer term the ‘Live Below the Line’ campaign took place. Boys and staff lived on £1 a day of food for a week and learned about the 1.2 billion people in the world who do this every day. Once again, it was a huge challenge but also a thought-provoking and humbling exercise. We are very grateful to the speakers who have given up their time to contribute to these activities and to all the boys who have taken part with much enthusiasm. My thanks also go to Mr Palmer, Mr Graham and Miss Swallow, without whom none of this would have been possible. S.E. Spyropoulos

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Charities Charities Charities Members of the Bedford School community raised a fantastic £37,440 for numerous charities during this academic year. The Charities Committee were delighted by the number of people who got involved and came up with innovative ways to raise money. The autumn term is traditionally the busiest term for fundraising and this term was no exception with mufti days, a Parents’ Guild Macmillan coffee morning, rugby programme sales at home 1st XV matches, a wheelchair relay, the Poppy Appeal, an ‘Open Mic Night’, a Rotary swimathon and the Parents’ Guild Ice Ball. Mufti-day charities were Bedford and District Handicapped Riders Association (a local charity where four lower sixth boys volunteer at the Wednesday afternoon riding sessions as part of their IB CAS Service), Casuarina House in Kenya (founded by Debbie Scott, mother of Anthony Scott, OB), Whizz-Kidz, CHUMS (via the Avengers National Citizen Service JustGiving page), Street Child (Ebola Appeal) and Movember. The Rotary wheelchair relay event took place at Bedford International Athletics Stadium: we entered two teams in the relay event and Alikhan took on the individual race which involved a 400 m lap of the track. The event raised awareness and funds for Whizz-Kidz, a charity for which we have raised £14,397 over the past six years. The RSM organises the Royal British Legion Bedford School Poppy Appeal every year and the 2014 appeal raised a magnificent £1,373. The First World War Arts Evening held a retiring collection for the appeal and every house sold poppies before the school Remembrance Day service. The annual Movember campaign raised awareness of men’s health issues and raised £9,990, making us the top school and 22nd highest fundraising team in the country (see General Education article). The Ice Ball raised £5,000 for Bedford and District Handicapped Riders Association, Bedford MENCAP Playscheme, Cancer Research UK, Casuarina House and Movember. Charities Committee members helped set up the event, sell raffle tickets, create interest in the auction items and clear up on Sunday morning. The dayboy and boarders’ carol services raised £1,250 for Bedford Foodbank and St John’s Hospice, Moggerhanger. Open Mic Night raised £352 for Duchenne Children’s Trust and half the St Cecilia’s Day Concert retiring collection was donated to Bedford MENCAP Playscheme. The spring term included two mufti days, a charity sleep-out (see General Education article), a charity run and four music concerts. The January mufti day raised a record-breaking £1,313 for Bedford Guild House, Bedfordshire Wildlife Rescue and YMCA Bedfordshire. The March mufti day supported Cancer Research UK, the King’s Arms Project and Northampton General Hospital. Tedd Hicks (fifth form) underwent a ‘No 2’ hair shave to support his mum who also shaved her head to raise funds for the Oncology Department Chemotherapy Unit. The music events included a recital of vocal music by Ed

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Wilson and Aidan Swain in aid of Street Child, an evening of choral and vocal music organised by Thomas Edwards in aid of Autism Bedfordshire, a piano recital by Bryan Ng and Hoffer Tsang in aid of Cancer Research UK, an ‘Evening of Fine Music’ organised by Olly Bowes in aid of Help for Heroes and Rock Night organised by Mr Rooke in aid of Street Child. The annual charity run took place after house relays on 26th March and raised a magnificent £2,207.93 for UNICEF, Barnardo’s, Harrison’s Fund, Northampton General Hospital Fund and Papyrus. Oliver Smith raised £395 for Harrison’s Fund by completing 20 laps (15.5 miles) with a 20 kg rucksack on his back! Joshua Wellington (head boy) accompanied him every step of the way. The summer term mufti days raised funds for UNICEF (Nepal Earthquake Appeal), Breast Cancer Campaign, the Chellington Centre, Cancer Research UK and the Road Victims’ Trust. Bryan Ng organised an ‘Evening of Modern Music’ in aid of the King’s Arms Project, featuring a guest performance by Christopher Junge. Mr Eadie organised a bucket collection for UNICEF’S Nepal Earthquake Appeal and raised £240.25. The final event of the year involved Mrs Murray and Mrs Beale taking part in the Bedford Race for Life and raising £1,055 for Cancer Research UK. I would like to thank Rio Rosano and Assan Amirov (chairmen) and Julian Kitson (publicity officer) and all the members of the Charities Committee for their hard work. They have been an awesome team who have inspired the Bedford School community to raise a phenomenal amount of money for numerous charities. The Charities Committee would like to thank every single person who got involved with the fundraising. We are always keen to help local charities by giving up our time to help at events. If you have a contact with a local charity, do please let us know. C.M. Medley

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THE YEAR AT ICKWELL RESERVE When Colonel Wells left the site to the school in his will, talk among those who were informed was all about agricultural improvements. It was post-Second World War and increasing farm output was on everyone’s minds. The estate was then a productive dairy enterprise and Colonel Wells wanted boys to learn how to be part of the post-war agricultural revolution. He spelt out that agriculture would be one of the main areas to be studied by boys at Ickwell. When the school did start using the reserve in the 1970s things had moved on and there was then a focus on ‘produce mountains’! Also most of the agricultural part of the estate had been tenanted and the dairy herd dispersed. Thus boys have found other rewarding areas of study in science and geography. However farming is always present, especially if the neighbouring sheep get out and start clearing up the grass on the reserve, something they did in the winter half-term of 2014! Our major activity has, as usual, been the regular visits of the IB boys on a Wednesday afternoons as part of their CAS programme. They have followed an intensely seasonal programme of wood and meadow conservation tasks that closely follow the seasonal aspect of woodland and grassland conservation. The boys made charcoal and laid hedges. In the winter they coppiced some trees and planted others. We have a

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continual programme of hedge planting around the site boundary as well as renovation of existing hedges Our new tree nursery is in use and we have the first trees being grown-on ready for planting this coming season. The boys have cleaned out one pond and created another out in part of a field. Projects like this help to raise the biodiversity of the site as well as enabling us to make comparisons with indicator species in each habitat. The Head Master came out to join us one afternoon when the

boys were hedge planting. Other notable visitors have been the Head of Science from Oundle School and the Head of Biology from Radley College who took some spindle trees as a gift for their new headmaster, John Moule. Pupils from BSSC were out once again in the summer term to investigate five of our wetland areas for indicator species. This worked well and they were able to make useful comparisons working in the lab area at the site. C. Jones

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD GOLD AWARD PRACTICE

THE GOLD AWARD

After the best minibus journey of our lives (featuring McDonalds, Burger King, Subway and Krispy Kreme stops) four adventurers crossed the Welsh border. Despite Alex Georgiou bringing a passport (assuming we would encounter some form of border control), on the whole our group were fairly well prepared for the practice expedition. The minibus containing the four explorers descended into the valley of the Brecon Beacons, where we were dropped off by our D of E assessors. The first day broke and, albeit belatedly, we set off with our bags packed, fresh from showering; this was to be our last taste of luxury. Overall, the days passed smoothly and with relative ease. We scaled the highest peak in south Wales (Pen-y-fan), seeing plenty of what were honestly stunning views. We saw all kinds of the Welsh wildlife: white sheep, black sheep, big sheep, baby sheep ... Getting lost was at a minimal and navigation became the group’s forte, through the use of teamwork and aid from our assessors. Our morale was always on a high, so much so that when three of us walked off at too fast a pace leaving one man two kilometres behind (and lost!) the rest of us found this hilarious. We have now learnt from our mistake ensuring we all stay together as a group. The five days were a great success: thanks to Mr Knight and Mr Bolton for coming along and making the trip even more enjoyable. It was a fantastic end to the year for the four of us and we now all look forward to undertaking our Gold D of E assessed expedition in the coming year. George Neave

This year two groups (consisting of a team of seven, and a team of five) of lower sixth students took part in the Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition and were accompanied by Mr Huddleston, Miss Swallow and Miss Bell. To get the award required an overnight training expedition in the Peak District, a practice expedition in the Brecon Beacons and then the final expedition in the Lake District. As both teams fit on one minibus, we scrambled on together and made the ascent to the Lake District, with 12 already tired students. After hours of Miss Swallow’s driving (where I believe she only stalled once) and Jesse Billington’s favourite hits, we all prepared ourselves for the tiring task ahead of us. After being dropped off in the campsite behind a pub, the school treated us to our last supper, which we all hoped would fuel us for the next four days of extreme exertion, sure to be filled with mountains, rain and the thought of where on earth we were. After our first night in our tents, we woke up prepared for the day that lay ahead of us. We packed up and enjoyed our last moment of rest in the minibus as it took us to our starting point. Miss Swallow bade us farewell and good luck at Cockermouth in Buttermere, and then the real D of E experience began. After walking nearly the circumference of a beautiful lake, Crummock Water, we thought optimistically that the whole day would be filled with flat land and stunning views. Little did we know that we would be faced with three monstrous mountains almost immediately. Three hours complete, half the water drunk, our daily amount of food savagely eaten and we had just reached our first peak; however, we were happily greeted by the fresh-faced Miss Swallow and Miss Bell who told us the news that every D of E group craves: ‘You are going in the right direction.’ With spirits high again, we sat and soaked up the sun while enjoying our well-deserved lunch … only to then be faced with descaling the mountain, painfully climbing the next one instantly, almost tumbling down the other side to the bottom of the final mountain which we valiantly climbed, and were rewarded by the sight of our campsite in Braithwaite four kilometres away. After a night full of frisbee games and stories of our first day on Gold D of E we slept almost instantly, dreaming of what we hoped would be an enjoyable few days ahead. These dreams, however, were dashed the next morning as we woke up stiff all over, midges attacking in the thousands and rain soaking everything we owned. The next day started very well, surprisingly no

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accidents or wrong paths, so we sat and had lunch pleasantly on at the bottom of our next climb. However, this was short-lived as after lunch we proceeded in completely the wrong direction, walking an extra 5–10 km. Four hours behind, moral dropped to a low and, as the weather took a turn for the worse, we made the final descent of the day and set up camp where we slept straight away. The next day was considerably better than the last, mainly because we realised that we were over halfway through the expedition and we were surprisingly still intact. This day consisted of the most spectacular views: walking around a lake, through a forest and climbing up one of the largest mountains in the Lake District – to say we climbed up the never-ending mountain would do it justice. We then had to walk along a rocky path which seemed to be endless in the soaking rain at the end of the three most tiring days of my life. Waking up on the final day was amazing: we had the shortest day to go, no chance of getting lost and it was our last day! After about an hour of walking we met up with the other group and spent a couple of minutes reciting the highs and lows of our

experience. Realising we all wanted to leave as quickly as possible, we said goodbye and good luck to the other group and were determined to beat them back … the race was on. After climbing our only mountain of the day we were ahead of schedule, but nevertheless, we had to push on. When just about to start the last 5 km around the reservoir we took a break where we were joined, once again, by the other group (behind us) and this gave us an amazing incentive to push ourselves to the limits to get back. We knew that in two hours, we would be done and the D of E expedition would be over. After enjoying amazing views of the reservoir and taking more breaks than we should have, we arrived at the finish line, tired, sweaty but jubilant. To say the expedition was tough would be an understatement, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing people in my team and the constant encouragement, help and hints of sarcasm from the teachers. Cory Bloxham

THE SILVER AWARD GCSE exams behind us, we were looking forward to an academic-free few days in the striking Yorkshire Dales. Approximately 45 boys were about to participate in their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award assessed expedition. Having had a three hour (or more) minibus ride to Ribblesdale, we set up camp

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ahead of our first day’s endeavour. As our first evening unfolded, it became increasingly apparent that midges where likely to be a significant factor in the days to come! The first morning, after what (for many of us) was a rather underwhelming night’s sleep, the seven groups ‘broke camp’, to commence their various expeditions. However, before embarking on what was undoubtedly going to be a tough day, my group enjoyed some wholesome porridge with copious quantities of honey! Having enjoyed the challenge of a long but thankfully rain-free day, (throughout which my group were yet again helped enormously by Jack Dalton’s wizardry at map reading), we set up camp and enjoyed the surprisingly pleasing chorizo sausage mixed into an Uncle Ben’s rice bag! Even with Will Kerr’s questionable cooking skills this certainly ‘hit the spot’. Dinner finished, all seven of my group squeezed into one of our fourman tents to play some very competitive card games whilst trying to keep the irritating, itchy and intolerable midges at bay. Over the next couple of days, we were not only lucky with the weather but we were also privileged to be walking in such a stunning area. This countryside is utterly remarkable, but also on numerous occasions we could see the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct on the horizon, which adds to this magical landscape. As we commenced our third day, we were looking forward to completing the challenge. We were all becoming somewhat tired, rather smelly, and in need of both proper food and a long soak in the bath! I think I will always remember the last half an hour of the expedition. This was one of the best feelings because, as we walked over the final hill, we thought we could possibly see our target destination (a pub) in the distance. However, we weren’t entirely sure and didn’t want to get our hopes up. After maybe another ten minutes, we could start to see Mr Brough’s white Bedford School minibus. This, of course, provided us with an incentive ‘to step on it’ (even Shaylan Tomlinson-Patel and I stepped up from our hitherto rather ‘lethargic’ performance)! I think that could possibly be the fastest half mile I have ever walked! At that stage, however beautiful

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the scenery may be, our main priority was to finish, take our walking boots off and get home as soon as possible, not least to escape the midges (although not before paying a visit to a small roadside bacon-butty van, which was located very close to the finishing point). With the expedition finally completed I am sure that all the boys would say that, although challenging, they had an extremely positive experience; that it was very satisfying to work successfully as part of a team and that it delivered a real sense of achievement. For many of us it has no doubt whetted our appetites for the forthcoming gold practice expedition. George Andrews

THE BRONZE AWARD Over 60 boys have taken part in the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme this year. A training day in September saw them gain training in first aid, navigation, putting up tents and using Trangia stoves and, between September and Easter, the boys began their physical, skills and volunteering activities. There has been a rather eclectic mixture of activities undertaken: campaigning for the Conservative Party in the run-up to the General Election, shooting, helping in the Prep School late room, improving jazz-piano playing and coaching an U12s football team. The practice expeditions took place over the last four days of the Easter holidays. The destination was Ickwell and the conditions were superb. This is often the first experience that the groups have of walking for extended periods carrying heavy rucksacks and enough food to feed a small army. Group 8’s approach to cuisine was to get Sam Barden to coordinate their meal plans. They did not go hungry and Sam served up a feast during each rest break. There were opportunities for the boys to get lost and to learn from their mistakes for the assessed expedition. Michael Davis wrote the following about his experiences during the practice expedition: ‘During the Easter break, a group of remove form boys, including myself, took part in the Bronze D of E practice expedition

to Ickwell. Having prepared my things the night before, my group and I left the school after doing some last-minute emergency repacking within the group. We walked for seven hours and, despite getting lost, carrying heavy packs and having sore feet we all made it to the campsite and felt a great sense of achievement. We then set up our tents, ate after trying to remember how to use the Trangia stoves and went to sleep after a very long day. ‘We started the next day with a wholesome breakfast of porridge and then began the arduous task of trying to pack everything away into our packs. After an hour of this we began the walk back to school. It was a warm, sunny day and this time we paid more attention to the map after our mistake the day before. So despite sore feet from the first few steps, we all made it back to the school, even if we were a bit slower than the day before. ‘I think that I took away some very useful tips from this such as: properly planning within the group, eg, food and the route, improved teamwork skills and needing to pay close attention to detail on the map. I enjoyed the walking, day one more so than day two as I was tired from the first day. I also enjoyed the challenge and the sense of achievement that comes with finishing a D of E expedition, even if it was just the practice. Overall, I think that D of E is a fantastic experience and a great team-building exercise.’ The assessed expeditions took place over two weekends in June. The boys set off from Wendover, travelled along arms of the Grand Union Canal, camped in Ivinghoe and finished on day two in the Ashridge Estate. Both trips were, like the practice expeditions, blessed with good weather. Max Higgs wrote the following about his experiences during his group’s assessed expedition: ‘In late June, five groups embarked on their Bronze D of E expedition to the Chilterns. We walked from a village to the first campsite where we spent the night. Then we continued on Monday to a car park to get driven back to Bedford. Beforehand, we prepared by coming to a meeting every Wednesday where

we would plan our routes and our team aim for the expedition. My group’s goal somehow ended up being to make a Bear Grylls parody video. This proved to be an entertaining goal to reach, to say the least. We spent six hours walking on the first day and six hours on the second. In 12 hours, over two days, we walked a total of 32 km. We cooked all of our meals using a Trangia stove. Breakfast consisted of porridge and for lunch we prepared tuna, then for dinner we had rice and pasta because it was quick and simple to cook. These ended up being perfect because they gave you energy and were also very easy to carry. We took turns navigating through the Chilterns and finding our way to each individual site. We used the skills we had gathered from the practice expedition to successfully complete the tasks ahead of us. This required us working as a team and making decisions based on the problems we faced.’ I have been really impressed with the efforts put into the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award by all the boys (special mention to Max’s group for the entertaining Bear Grylls parody – available to view on YouTube and a testament to Oscar Tipper’s boundless enthusiasm and creative energy). They have worked hard to complete their expeditions and their activities and it has been great to hear positive reports about their behaviour and attitude from the external assessors, members of the public and those they have helped during their volunteering activities. I would like to thank Mr Allen, Mr Elliott, Mr Everitt, Mrs HillsJones, Mr Knight, Miss Pate, Mrs Spina and Mrs Whiteman (and Jonah Whiteman, perhaps the youngest Bedford School D of E helper there has ever been) for all their help during the practice and assessed expeditions. Finally, thanks to Mrs Mainstone for all her help, advice and patience during my first year in charge of the Award. At the time of writing, there are nearly 70 boys in the fourth form signed up for the Award Scheme in 2015–16. If it is anything like this year, those boys are going to have a great time. M.W. Bolton

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ANNUAL GENERAL INSPECTION The Corps Annual General Inspection took place on Wednesday 6th May. The Inspecting Officer this year was Wing Commander P.A. Finney, RAF. The day started with the formal parade on the Prep School Astroturf followed by a ‘round robin’ of military-type stands that formed part of the afternoon competition. All of this was rounded of by a prize giving and dinner in the evening which this year was held at Bedford Girls’ School. The weather was somewhat challenging at times but the cadets (and officers) coped very well. It was unfortunate this year that the helicopter visit was cancelled but we still had a fun afternoon. In his address to the Corps the inspecting officer said that he was deeply impressed with what he saw, including the behaviour and confidence shown by the cadets, the sophistication and variety of the training, the facilities of the school and the friendly feel to the Corps. To sum it up the Inspecting Officer finished his address by saying ‘Oh to be 14 and a member of Bedford School CCF’! It was a tiring but very enjoyable day. Well done to all involved. R. Mellor, RSM

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ANNUAL CAMP During the second week of the summer holidays, 20 of the cadets went down to Cornwall. After a long seven-and-a-half hour coach journey and one service stop we arrived at RAF St Mawgan. Everyone way happy to get into the accommodation. After the first night of camp we were awake at 6 am so that we were ready for the day ahead. At 7 am we marched down to breakfast with head of army James Robinson leading the way. After breakfast we got on the minibus and drove to the Eden Project: this was an amazing experience for all the cadets and everyone loved it. Afterwards we were back on the minibus and on the way to Land’s End. When we arrived you could not see a thing. While the cadets were chatting and trying to take photos, Mr Milton and Mr Mellor decided go down the cliff: we’re not quite sure how far they got! After a long day we were all glad to see our beds. Once we had dinner we all had to meet in the car park. No one knew why we were there but we soon found out: we were being given our equipment for the exercise that was happening on Monday and Tuesday. After breakfast on Monday we needed to pack our bag for the exercise and then we marched to the armoury to pick up our rifles. We then joined the other schools that were on the exercise with us. After the briefing we jumped on coaches and it

was a 30-minute drive to the exercise field which was a disused army base. Once we arrived there was no time for setting up camp: we were straight into battlefield skills. We were split into sections with the other schools and started going to the battlefield stations. This is where we were taught different ways of ambushing and attacking the enemy. Every single cadet loved it and for the recruits it was the first time firing blanks. After three stations we had an hour to have lunch and set up our bashers for the night. Once we had completed our battlefield training, we went on a patrol around the camp while also gathering ‘intel’ on the enemy’s position and ways to ambush them. After that we decided to head back to camp and we got a good night’s rest. On the fourth day it was the section attack. We went out in platoons and within each platoon we had three sections of around eight cadets. At 10 am we marched out as a company. Each cadet had 60 blank rounds and no one had any spare after the exercise. When we got back to camp everyone was so happy: everywhere you looked there would be a smile and the new recruits loved it. Before we got on the coach we cleaned our rifles. The following day we took part in development activities. These were centred around what felt like a jungle encampment deep in the wood and consisted of survival skills, including making fire in different ways, archery, axe-throwing and a final competition based on rope-tying. The staff were all ex-jungle warfare instructors and it was a very fun day. The next day we were up at 6 am and there was a room

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inspection at 6.30 am followed by breakfast at 7 am. We started off on the dismounted close-combat trainer which is a bit like very grown-up laser shooting. We then went on to live-firing on the 25 metre range with the LSW. This was the first time most of the cadets had ever live-fired end everyone enjoyed it. Once we had finished firing we took the rifles back to the armoury to clean. Next we went back to the accommodation and had to pack our bags ready to leave in the morning. On the last day every single cadet was shattered but we still had things to do before we could sleep on the coach. After breakfast we folded up sheets and cleaned our rooms before we got on the coach and started the long journey home. Everyone loved the trip and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the staff who organised it. Joshua Nethersole

CADSAAM (Cadet Skill At Arms Meeting) September 2015 Soon after the return to school in September a team of nine cadets competed in the Cadet Skill at Arms Meeting (CADSAAM) in Beckingham, Lincolnshire. This competition is open to all cadet units within our brigade area and is always fiercely competitive. It involves a number of different shoots that are not usually possible for cadets to take part in. This is only the second time the school has entered this particular competition and the team was up against 15 other CCF and ACF teams, many of which were highly experienced. The cadets worked very hard, demonstrated exceptional teamwork and performed well beyond expectations, achieving a third place overall, in addition to attaining places in the top five across a number of the individual events. Special mention must go to Beth Mortimer and James Robinson who, in their last time of attending this competition, both shot very well. Lastly a big thank you to Major Lumley-Wood, the team captain and coach, without whom none of it would have been possible. Tristan Brown

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VOLUME 987

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