EXPEDITION TO DOMINICA 21 ART 31 MUSIC 50 DRAMA

Operation Wallacea Expedition to Dominica

From the second to the fourth week of the summer holidays, a mix of thirteen fifth, lower and upper sixth boys in addition to Mrs Mainstone and Mr Lumley Wood, travelled to the Caribbean for what would be the first Operation Wallacea expedition in recent years. After a hectic rush through two airports, a flight to Martinique (including a night’s stay on the island) and a two hour boat ride, we arrived at the capital, Roseau, on the mountainous, luscious volcanic island of Dominica.

For the first week, the group took part in the terrestrial half of the expedition. Staying at Three Rivers Eco Lodge, located in the rainforest and, as the name would suggest, situated between three rivers, the week was spent learning about the environment, biodiversity and ecology of the island and the Lesser Antilles.

Joined by a school from Chester, we were split into four groups of six to take part in activities and surveys, including: insects, marine, freshwater, anoles (a small reptile similar to a lizard), bats, light trapping, habitats, and birds. These were led by a group of scientists, all of whom were incredible and able to answer any questions on their fields of expertise and the island’s flora and fauna. Possibly the most memorable and loved scientist was one of the entomologists working for the Natural History Museum called Dom. Throughout the week he led the insect surveys, delivered a fascinating lecture on the Darwin Project, and frequently removed spiders from the dorm.

Some of the highlights, to name a few, from this week were the volcanology day and the marine surveys. The former, taking place on the Wednesday, saw the groups join for the day to learn more about Dominica’s geology and volcanic activity. We were joined by one of the volcanologists living in the island (well, once we picked him up after leaving him at the camp!) whilst also visiting the beach and the astounding Trafalgar Falls: a twin waterfall, with one having a stream of cold water and the 

Quadrats under water

 other having water heated by volcanic vents. It was here where the group made an adventurous climb up to the foot of the larger of the two waterfalls to visit the natural hot springs.

Despite torrential downpours and a challenging route to reach them, the springs were worth the journey and enjoyed by everyone. Continuing the theme of water, the marine surveys were just as interesting. Each day, one of the four groups would head to Champagne Reef, named after the carbon dioxide, bubbles, released by underwater vents that can be seen rising through the turquoise water to the surface.

This day was spent snorkelling around the reef and surveying the coral and marine life. One memorable species caught sight of by one of the groups was a turtle, which was considered to be quite a rare sight in the area! Other species seen during the first week included the endemic Dominican boa and anole, iguanas, hawk moths, and more. At the end of the week, a competition for the most species seen took place, allowing Group 1, who recorded seeing 98 different species, to win.

After leaving the rainforest, the second week began with a whale- watching boat trip that would take us to the marine site further up the island. Despite a fairly quiet start to the boat journey, we were able to see pods of dolphins, pilot whales, and even a sperm whale (Dominica is the only country in the world where this species will remain all year round). After disembarking and taking a short bus trip, we arrived at the Cabrits National Park and Fort Shirley: a reconstructed

eighteenth-century fort built within a dormant volcano’s crater. This was where we would be staying for the remainder of the expedition and taking part in either a reef ecology course or a PADI diving qualification. Furthermore, lectures focusing on coral reefs, climate action and marine conservation efforts would also take place in the evenings.

Those taking the PADI open water diving course spent the first two days completing the confined water dives and the preparation for the written test. After everyone had passed the exam on the Wednesday, the open water dives began, taking us to the deeper - and more colourful - areas surrounding the Cabrits to continue practising the skills learnt in the previous days and to see further marine life. This included barracudas, octopuses, angelfish, and a seahorse, one of the more enigmatic animals seen on the expedition.

Meanwhile, those doing the reef ecology spent the week snorkelling (or diving for those who had qualifications) on the coral reefs surrounding the Cabrits and working with local groups with conservation efforts. One of these organisations was Coral Watch, which is a non-profit organisation that researches coral bleaching. The week also included working on a project of a group’s choice which was then presented to everyone at the end of the week, and a tour down the Indian river. This was the only location where mangroves, another frequent topic within the lectures, grew on the island, as well as being the location from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

After an incredible two weeks on the ‘nature island’ of Dominica, the Operation Wallacea expedition came to an end, and we left the island behind. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Mainstone and Mr Lumley-Wood for their tireless efforts in organising and running the expedition. I hope that you both got the rest you deserved after this one!

This trip was a once in a lifetime experience - from relaxing in freshwater rivers and getting up close to nature, to having fun and giving a bat waves - this is a trip that won’t be forgotten soon. ■

Charlie Lawrence

Ickwell Reserve in the

Spotlight A fter a quiet period with little activity taking place, I am pleased to report on stirrings in the woods and much more light being shed, not only literally by some judicious vegetation clearing, but by the use of

satellite surveying to assess our natural capital and carbon reserves. Any area of natural vegetation of which Ickwell has much, needs some management from time to time. In historical terms, this would be facilitated by large bovines on our ground eating, trampling or rubbing against trees and grassland. We are doing some of this artificially by the gardening team following a carefully worked out plan which involves some vegetation clearance to let more light in. Tree removal, where light is being blocked to prevent other trees and shrubs from flourishing, and grassland management, where cutting and removal helps the less aggressive plants to flourish and replace more aggressive species. We have many areas where briars and pendulous sedge have taken over and suppressed new plantings or some of our more delicate flower species have been smothered. Patches of snowberry and privet, both garden escapees, are being cleared or reduced. Our programme of coppice has also been getting behind, and we need to clear it back to the intended rotation. Coppice woodland can provide both light, when in year one, and woodland edge effects as it grows upward. Some of our stands are nearly 20 years old now so are in need of thinning at the very least.Mr Jones at Ickwell The gardening team will be undertaking some extensive

The FERA ecological surveyor, Steven Sylvester

work on site in the autumn and what they will be doing should add to the biodiversity of the reserve in enhancing some of our valuable habitat.

I worked in the agricultural industry for many years in the potato sector. During my time I came across the work of FERA, previously known as the plant health laboratory, and still part owned by DEFRA. When an announcement was made by them recently about a new scheme called “Land 360”, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved. I was also enthusiastically backed by The Bedford School Foundation Trust who are my funders in this.

Under changes to the Government’s support for the farming industry (ELMS), there is to be an emphasis on payments for public goods and support for habitat conservation. The scheme has its sceptics, me amongst them. However, before any of these schemes can be implemented, a full survey of natural capital on the land involved will need to be done. This gives us at Bedford School, in having an 11ha nature reserve, a unique opportunity to collect our own data for use by the school and especially our geography and science departments.

We are not thinking of applying for government aid but, with future career prospects for our boys in mind, we are enabled to follow the story. Incidentally, the market leader here is The Castle Howard Estate in Yorkshire.

The LAND 360 investigation will involve satellite surveying and on the ground ecology analysis. When the online maps and data arrive, we will have a full picture of our site and recommendations for future management to include scope for carbon saving and biodiversity.

I hope by next year’s Ousel article that I can follow up how we have used the data and what the boys will have learned.

As an aside to this, some of you will know that housing and industrial developments also have to include areas for “wildlife gain”. We at Bedford School should be in the forefront of helping to educate the next generation who will need to be employed to put wildlife gain in agriculture and housing development in the front line.

Once again despite a quiet period, I am grateful to the support of the IB department, the gardening staff and especially to Tony Young who left his employment at the end of the Summer. ■

CHJ

The Letters Patent that established the school in Edward VI's reign called for ‘one Master and one Usher to continue for ever’.

The last three Vice Masters: Colin Baker (left), Daniel Koch, John Moule (right) at Bedford Regatta, May 2017

The Office of Vice Master: A History

Outgoing Vice Master Daniel Koch researches the history of his predecessors.

It has been a privilege to serve as Vice Master at Bedford School for six years. When I joined, I knew it was a very old school, founded in 1552. The names of all the Head Masters are known back to that date. What I did not know is that the job of the Vice Master is equally old. The Letters Patent that established the school in Edward VI's reign called for "one Master and one Usher to continue for ever."[1] Although the job title has changed over the centuries from Usher to Second Master and finally to Vice Master (sometimes hyphenated, sometimes not), the role remains essentially the same - to be the Head Master's senior deputy and to assist them in all aspects of running the school.

I set out to discover the names of the Vice Masters of Bedford School going back as far as I could. To my knowledge, no one has attempted this before. One thing that piqued my interest is the School Hymn, ‘Domus Pater’, which we sing – in Latin – every year on Speech Day and other ceremonial occasions. The hymn is attributed to Henry Le Mesurier, ‘sometime Vice Master’. If nothing else, I hoped that I could find the dates of Le Mesurier’s time here to add precision to future editions of the hymn book. I began by working my way backwards, using the school’s magazine, The Ousel, as my guide. I joined the school in 2016 and have met three of my four immediate predecessors.

Colin Baker held the post from 2008 to 2016 when he retired. He began teaching at Bedford School in 1979, and was Housemaster of St Peter’s, Head of Chemistry, Director of IB and Director of Studies before becoming Vice Master (Ousel, 2015-16, pp. 87-9). Mr Michael Cassell, the then Senior Boarding Housemaster, was Acting Vice Master in the Autumn Term of 2011. John Moule was Vice Master before him. Moule joined the school as Vice Master from Stowe, where he was Head of History and then a Housemaster. He arrived in January 2006. He was appointed Head Master upon Dr. Philip Evans’ retirement (Ousel 986, 2013-14, pp. 68-9). In 2014, he went on to become Warden (Head) of Radley College.

Moule’s predecessor was Simon Davies. He came in as Vice Master from Abingdon School, where he was Senior Boarding Housemaster (Ousel Dec. 2002, p. 4). He taught Biology. He was appointed Head at Eastbourne College and left Bedford in July 2005 (Ousel 2004-5, p. 14). Mr Rob Campbell, Head of Art, was the Acting Vice Master in the Autumn Term of 2005.

Prior to Davies, all Vice Masters of Bedford School (at least back to the early 19th century) were internal appointments, and all but one were in the post when they retired, normally after several decades of service to the school. Alan Thorp was Vice Master from 1988-2002. He was born in South Africa in 1942. He joined the school in 1970 and taught History and later became the school’s first Head of Economics. He also ran rugby and was Housemaster of Sanderson’s (Ousel, June 2002, pp. 4-5). I had the pleasure of meeting him once when he came to watch a rugby match at school in my second or third year here.

Michael Barlen was Vice Master from 1977-88. He was an historian and author of several books, including Bedford School and the Great Fire (1984). His library was donated to the school after his death and is currently housed in the History Department. Barlen arrived at Bedford in September 1956. He was Head of History from 1967-77 and was also a Housemaster of Pemberley. He chaired the staff planning committee for rebuilding of the main school after the 1979 fire. In 1988, he became Acting Head Master and then Head Master until his retirement in 1990. He was a musician and enjoyed mountain walking (Ousel, Dec. 1990, p.3). He died unexpectedly soon after his retirement. His widow, Antonia, still attends school events regularly.

Richard (Dick) W. Roseveare (Vice Master from 197377) was educated at Monckton Combe in Bath and Clare College, Cambridge. He taught for two years at King’s School Grantham, then joined Bedford School in 1937. He was a

Biologist and served for some time as Head of Department. From 1941-46 he left the school and served in the Second World War. He was Housemaster of Redburn for 15 years. His tribute in The Ousel reads: “He has a natural sympathy with young people, particularly the awkward and difficult ones, and many times had seen good where his colleagues saw no hope of redemption and has been proved right.” (Ousel, Nov. 1977, pp. 77-9). Owen Vaughan Bevan, Vice Master from 1969-73, was a Bedford School boy. He joined the Inky in 1916. Later, he studied History at St. John’s College, Cambridge. He taught briefly at Denstone, then joined the faculty at Bedford School in 1934. He Simon Davies taught Latin and French, led the CCF, and coached the 1st XV and Alan Thorp the 2nd VIII. He was Housemaster of Burnaby during the war (Ousel, Nov. 1973, p. 62). Before Bevan, L.H. (Jack) Clarke served as Vice Master for five years between 1964 and 1969. He was a Mathematician and studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He came to Bedford in 1930 and taught here for 39 years. He wrote several textbooks, ran tennis and was Housemaster of Pemberley for 15 years (Ousel, Oct. 1969, pp. 123-5). Vernon Frederick (Bob) Dowell Lee was Vice Master from 1956-1964. He was educated at Oundle and joined the teaching staff at Bedford School in 1922. He coached the 1st VIII, was Housemaster of Kirkman’s and taught Maths as well as other subjects. According to The Ousel, “On the day before he retired after 42 years of service, he proudly coxed the 1st VIII, standing in the stern in the position from which he had coached crews for so many years.” (Ousel, Nov. 1964, pp. 126-7). He died in 1986 (Ousel, June 1987, p. 60). Unfortunately, I could not find a picture of him. Lee became Vice Master when H. Boys-Stones retired at Christmas 1955 (Ousel, Nov. 1955, p. 139). Boys-Stones was educated at Shrewsbury. In 1911, while on parade, he tripped and fell in front of George V. He went to St John’s College, Oxford Michael Barlen but left after a year when the Great War broke out. He served throughout it in the King’s Own Regiment. He completed his degree in 1921 in History and Classics and was appointed at Bedford in 1921. He ran the O.T.C. (Officer Training Corps), was Housemaster of Burnaby from 1931, and always played the lead in staff plays. He was Vice Master to three Head Masters from 1946 until his retirement in 1955 after 34 years of service (Ousel, March 1956, pp. 3-4). Henry Alwyne Henderson, Vice Master from 1936 to 1946, taught at the school for 42 years. He came to Bedford from Brasenose College, Oxford in January 1904. He was

R.W. Roseveare O.V. Bevan H. Boys-Stones



 Housemaster of Castleside, the Junior Boarding House, then St. Peter’s Boarding House. He coached the 1st XV. The Ousel said that when he was appointed Vice Master in 1936, “ten difficult and exacting years were in store for him” (Ousel, June 1946, p. 31). Running the school during World War II, with air raid sirens, food rationing, labour shortages as well as taking on extra boarders from Victoria College, Jersey, was undoubtedly extremely difficult.

Harold Llewelyn David served as Vice Master in his final three years before retiring in 1936. He joined the staff in 1914, but during the Great War he enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was posted to India. He was known as a gentle man but was said to have “within him the burning fire of a Thomas Paine on matters which affected the rights and liberties of his less fortunate fellows.” (Ousel, Oct. 1936 132-3). Prior to David, N.P. Symonds held the post for a decade from 1923 to 1933. These were the final ten of his 47 years’ service, during which he was heavily involved with Rowing and CCF. On his retirement, The Ousel said that “for many years he held the office of Vice Master and more than maintained the dignity of that position.” (Ousel, Oct. 1933, p. 143).

It was tricky to find the date when Symonds took on the role. I was able to work out that it was 1923 from a summary of Speech Day of that year in which the Head Master congratulated his predecessor, E.H. Dasent on his retirement and thanked him for 40 years of service, saying “he was never content with slackness or a low standard” (Ousel, Oct 1923, p. 82). We know that Dasent was Vice Master because the 1918 School Prospectus lists him as such, as do the 1919 and 1922 prospectuses, which are in the Bedford School archives. They say that Dasent was on the “classical side” and was a “late Scholar of Jesus College, Cambridge.”

Similarly, the dates that

H. M. (Henry McLean) Dymock

served as Vice Master required some digging. In 1912, The Ousel reported that “the School assembled on September 20th [to be told] that Mr. H. M. Dymock had…decided to terminate his long career of devoted service,” noting that he had been a member of staff since 1872 (Ousel, Oct. 1912). His obituary notice in The

Henry Alwyne Henderson N.P. Symonds E.H. Dasent H.M. Dymock

Ousel in February 1932 said that Dymock was born 1847. He was Vice Master under three Head Masters. The 1911 Prospectus lists H.M. Dymock, MA, Late Scholar of St. John’s College, Cambridge as “Senior Master.” He was educated at King Edward VI's Grammar School at Louth, and later at Rugby School. He was Housemaster of St. Peter's House between 1876-1904. The notice also says that he came to Bedford School in 1872 to assist Mr. Fanshawe (then Head Master), who was ill. It goes on: “This was three years before [James Surtees] Phillpotts became Head Master of Bedford School, under whose and Mr. King's rules he held the position of Vice-Master.” (Ousel, Feb. 1932, p. 7).

If Dymock retired in 1912 and served as Vice Master under three Head Masters, that suggests he was in that post at least since 1874 (the three Heads would then be Phillpotts from 1874-1903, John King, 1903-10 and Reginald Carter from 1910 on). We know that his predecessor, Henry Le Mesurier, the writer of the School Hymn, retired in July 1873.[2] He had served the school for 41 years.

Le Mesurier joined the school in 1832, replacing Thomas Brereton (the brother of the then Head Master) as Usher at a time when there were only sixty boys on roll. John Sargeaunt, the author of the first history of the school, said he was a Wykhamist (i.e., educated at Winchester). He then studied at Brasenose College, Oxford. In the 1830s or 40s, he fought the Trustees of the Harpur Trust, who were threatening to reduce the money spent on the school in order to fund other activities. He won by proving that it was clear from William Harper’s grant that the school was his main priority.[3] His interest in Harper might explain his choice of ‘Domus Pater Harperiae’ (‘In Harper’s House’) for the opening line of the school hymn, which he wrote and was first performed in 1861. Le Mesurier was also well-known for a harsh temper, for giving frequent beatings, and for having the “appearance of a grizzly bear” particularly in his old age. He is almost certainly the subject of the 1861 photograph below.

Le Mesurier preferred the term Second Master rather than Usher, which had been used by previous holders of the post. (The term Vice Master seems not to appear before the early 20th century).[4] As for Thomas Brereton, Le Mesurier’s predecessor, he became Rector of Steeple Morden in Cambridgeshire around 1830 – possibly H. Le Mesurier in 1861. National before leaving Bedford Portrait Gallery, London. School.[5] He had been Usher since 1817. Prior to that, the post was held by Charles Abbot, a noted botanist and author of Flora Bedfordiensis (1798), who was Usher from 1788. Several earlier Ushers are mentioned in William Page’s The Victoria History of the County of Bedfordshire (1904), presumably from records held in the Bedford Borough archives. It may well be possible to trace the list of Ushers all the way back to the foundation of the school. But with my time in Bedford nearly at an end, I will need to leave that to a future historian or Vice Master. ■

art Gilbert Lloyd lectures

In September, we were delighted to welcome back Michael Peppiatt to get this year’s series of lectures underway. Michael is an art historian, curator, and writer; The Art Newspaper has referred to him ‘as the finest art writer of his generation’. Of the many exhibitions Michael has curated, several have been on Giacometti; his Michael Peppiatt most recent, ‘Francis Bacon: Man and Beast’ at the Royal Academy in London from January to April 2022, was greeted with universal critical acclaim. At the time of his lecture Michael was writing a book called ‘Giacometti in Paris’ so we were delighted he agreed to talk on ‘Giacometti’s studio’. Doing his lecture from France by Zoom, Michael provided an exciting and insightful talk covering the wide range and achievements of Giacometti’s work and how, despite growing recognition and fame in his own lifetime, he continued to work in the same small studio for the duration of his career. There was plenty of information for the Lower Sixth boys to consider and include for their essays about Giacometti. We do hope that we will be able to invite Michael into school for another lecture in the near future. In November, we welcomed Andrea Rose. As Director of Visual Arts at the British Council from 1994 to 2014, she was responsible for Britain’s representation at the Venice Biennale, commissioning exhibitions from Leon Kossoff, Gary Hume, Mark Wallinger, Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili, Gilbert & George, Steve McQueen, Jeremy Deller and Sarah Lucas, among others. As Exhibition Curator at the British Council, she organised Lucian Freud’s firstever museum exhibition overseas in Washington, Paris and Berlin and initiated the series ‘Masters of British Painting’ with the Musee du Louvre, Paris, bringing some of Britain’s greatest historic painters – Gainsborough, Turner, Reynolds, Wright of Derby and Constable – to the attention of French audiences. Andrea has worked extensively in some of the more difficult areas of the world, opening cultural relations

Andrea Rose

on behalf of the UK with China in 1982; with Iran in 2002; and with North Korea in 2013. She has had a long-standing interest in Russia, organising a major exhibition on Yuri Gagarin with the Russian Space Agency in 2011. She has written extensively on British art, from the Pre-Raphaelites to Francis Bacon, and completed the Catalogue Raisonné of the work of Leon Kossoff in September 2021, the subject of her lecture.

Leon Kossoff (1926-2019) is generally recognised as one of Britain’s greatest painters so we were delighted that Andrea agreed to do this talk. Andrea brilliantly conveyed the enduring power of his paintings and the fundamental importance of London to his work and the final image of Kossoff’s studio shortly after he died provided an emotional and moving conclusion to the lecture. Following this, we were thrilled that, courtesy of the Kossoff estate, the school was very generously and kindly donated one of his etchings ‘The Destruction and Sack of the Temple of Jerusalem, after Poussin’. Made in 1999, this print is a drypoint and aquatint (a unique print in that it was not editioned, and the copies that exist were all made individually after Kossoff’s particular instructions). This is a fantastic and exciting addition to the school collection which will serve as a reminder that even an artist of Kossoff’s calibre worked from other artists’ work; something our boys have to do in all year groups.

We were extremely grateful to John Duffin who very kindly agreed to stand in for Anne Desmet RA at very short notice (we are pleased that Anne will be able to join us for a lecture in the next academic year). John’s work is regularly used by our boys as inspiration for their own work so we were delighted he agreed to come for our first ‘in person’ lecture of the year. John is a member of the Royal Society of Painter printmakers and has work in the collections of major museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Ashmolean in Oxford and The Fitzwilliam in Cambridge. John talked about his depictions of city life produced over a thirty year career and discussed his own approach to drawing, printmaking and his belief that the greatest artistic results come from the harmonious marriage of subject matter, vision and technique. John’s presentation was a real inspiration and his interest in using unusual and dramatic perspective for his images was an excellent reminder to think about approaching things in different ways. ■

MCC

John Duffin

Tyler Choga

Bradley Cole Henry Cudjoe

PRINTMAKING

William Maltby

Max Alexander

Charlie Barber Austin Ward

Charlie McCutcheon

Ta Leepiboonaswats

Michael McCormack Alex Ying Samson Lok

Alex Edun

Nickey Lam

Tom Jenkin

ART AND ARCHITECTURE SOCIETIES

Many of the Autumn Term’s Art Society talks were done remotely which allowed us to have some exciting and varied presentations.

OBs Sami Shameem and Freddie Peacock talked about the one-year Art Foundation courses they were attending at Leeds University of the Arts and Central St Martins in London. They reinforced the point that for any sixth form boy uncertain about his future career, an Art Foundation course is a fantastic opportunity to make an informed and considered choice about the right degree. We were delighted that OB Peter Webb agreed to do another talk on the basis of his previous excellent presentations, and he did not disappoint, talking enthusiastically about the exhibition ‘Durer’s Journeys’ at the National Gallery. Having only just seen the exhibition, Peter gave an informed and excellent overview of Durer’s extraordinary career and life.

OB David Chan talked about Balenciaga’s Summer Fashion show in 2020 and although he is not studying fashion, his enthusiasm and passion were clearly communicated.

Of the ‘live’ presentations John Ogunyiluka (L6th) gave a powerful talk about “Black History Through Art’ as part of Black History month when he included some of his favourite works by artists Yinka Shonibare, Chris Ofili, Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley and the Benin court artists.

Professional designer Roger Dickson kindly came to talk about his job in User Experience Design and his career path from doing a one-year Art Foundation course and then a degree in Graphic Information Design.

Taking place all day on Sundays, (Artist Masterclasses) proved to be immensely productive and inspiring.

Alex Edun and Henry Cudjoe (U6th) gave an update on how their business, ‘twocustomisers’, is progressing and the eventful summer they had with publicity generated by a pair of their customised shoes being worn by Dan Bibby in the summer Olympics.

With the exhibition programme now fully resumed in the Bellroom we were delighted that Rob Campbell, former Director of Art, agreed to come and talk about his exhibition. He has certainly been busy since retiring!

The weekly meetings of the Architecture Society in the Autumn Term primarily focused on weekly drawing tasks but U6th architecture degree applicants Henry Flatt and

 Dr Wallace speaks about Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’

Samson Lok talked about their summer work experience and architecture courses and how invaluable that had been with their application process.

In the Spring Term, we were delighted to again host Artist Masterclasses, the first since Covid. For the U6th the focus was on silk-screen printing with Dale Devereux Barker as an ideal opportunity to develop and extend their coursework projects with the other for the L6th using mono-printing with the artist and teacher Jane McDonald. Following her excellent and impressive exhibition in January this was an opportunity for the boys to use this printing process as a launch pad for the start of their own coursework projects. Taking place all day on Sundays they proved to be immensely productive and inspiring.

The Spring Term was a busy one for the Art Society. Joe Hart (L6th) spoke articulately about Frida Kahlo explaining why she has become such a feminist icon. Harrison Beveridge (L6th) talked about NFTs which have generated so much controversy while Tom Howe (L6th) talked authoritatively about fashion designer John Galliano.

It is always a pleasure to welcome Dr Wallace who this time spoke insightfully and passionately about Hieronymus Bosch’s extraordinary painting ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’. His explanations of the slightly disturbing qualities of this painting certainly helped to decipher the deeper meaning of this arresting image. It was great to see Louis

 OB Harvey Toms speaks about his Art History degree course

Cooke (5th) volunteer to do a talk from his year group and as another aspiring fashion designer, he brilliantly explained his fascination and passion for the work of Karl Lagerfeld. Rob Parrish (L6th) reprised his BSIP prize winning talk ‘Why are investors so interested in the Art world?’ and as someone who is doing Economics, provided a very different perspective on why art should be valued. It was great to see this talk attended by almost as many Economic students as artists.

To get the Summer Term underway for the Art Society, James Holliday (L6th) talked about the Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko. Rothko’s work always generates a reaction and James explained that until he had seen his paintings in real life, he hadn’t really appreciated it which served as a reminder that you should not judge artwork only by images seen on a computer screen. Well done to James for making it to Tate Modern to have a look at the work in person!

OB Harvey Toms is currently studying Art History at Edinburgh University but found time to come and tell us about his course. He talked enthusiastically about his experiences to date highlighting work by Caravaggio and Bernini as two artists he has really enjoyed studying this year.

Dr Wallace very kindly agreed to do another talk for us following his excellent Spring term talk on Hieronymus Bosch. Grunewald’s ‘Isenheim altarpiece’ is a painting that once seen is never forgotten and Dr Wallace gave another informative and compelling presentation which was a reminder of just how much he will be missed when he retires at the end of this term. Thank you to him for his support and enthusiasm in the many talks he has done for the Art Society.

Christian Tyrell (L6th) in his talk asked the question ‘Can a polka dot change Art History?’ in the context of looking at the work of Yayoi Kasama. Christian’s enthusiasm and passion for her work was clearly evident as he persuasively argued that she has been influential in developing the concept of immersive art and the instagramisation of exhibitions.

Dr Koch chose Medieval architecture both in Bedford and Bedfordshire as the subject for his talk. This was an important reminder that if we look carefully at the environment around us there is always something to engage, inform and lift our spirits! We were delighted that Dr Koch agreed to talk to the Art Society for one final time before he leaves at the end of term and wish him well for the future.

Harrison Beveridge (L6th) talked about ‘Album covers’ as a very specific art form he had recently come across when looking at a friend’s collection of vinyl covers while James Lumley-Wood (L6th) chose the hugely ambitious title ‘What is Art?’ as the subject for his talk. In a very well-considered and argued presentation, James persuasively supported his interpretation with plenty of examples which generated an excellent discussion at the end.

The Architecture Society in the Summer Term continued to focus on observational drawing tasks but to coincide with the L6th starting their UCAS applications U6th boys Will Maltby and Henry Flatt talked about the whole process and why they had selected the courses and places they have applied to. In our only other talk this term Merlin Toms (L6th) looked at contemporary Islamic architecture and, having lived in both Dubai and Qatar, he gave a very personal and well-informed talk.

The end of year exhibition is something of a highlight for the department and an opportunity to celebrate the boys’ hard work at GCSE, A-level and IB. It is also an opportunity for visitors to vote for their favourite work in the exhibition. This year the work that really caught people’s imagination was Austin Ward’s large and imposing cardboard head, congratulations to him! The Head Master also makes a choice for the Head Master’s Art Prize and on his visit, Mr Hodgson picked out the work of Samson Lok and Nickey Lam for special mention. But for the range, diversity and scale of work he produced for his exhibition Charlie McCutcheon was his choice - a worthy winner.

You should not judge artwork only by images seen on a computer screen.

Art History

This year the afternoon sessions for pupils have taken place in the classroom and, for the later adult class, on Zoom. We have had up to 20 pupils attending the after-school class, including someone from Sharnbrook Upper School, and 18 adults at the Zoom sessions which has extended the catchment to people in Wiltshire and the Lake District! This later Zoom session has also been regularly attended by boys unable to make the earlier session. Miss Bacon has continued to inspire and challenge with the range of work covered and it has been great to see boys in particular engaging and participating in discussions. This year we were able to organise a visit to the Higgins Museum to see their excellent exhibition ‘Body and Soul’ which included work by Edvard Munch, Walter Sickert and Lucian Freud among many others. As the former Curator of the Higgins, Miss Bacon was able to provide an authoritative guide to the works on display which served as a reminder how fortunate we are here in Bedford to have such a fantastic collection.

We look forward to the class resuming in September with a new selection of iconic art works to be studied. ■

MCC

Sam Crowe Lamont Henry Flatt

Christopher Sporton Henry Flatt

SCULPTURE

Alfie Shooter

Henry Flatt Alex Ying

Harry Taylor

Henry Flatt

John Ogunyiluka Ted Ferris

ARTiculation

This year saw Tyler Choga (U6th, Crescent) reach

the Grand Final of the ARTiculation competition; an annual national public speaking competition, which invites sixth form students to give a short presentation on a piece of work, artefact or architecture of their choice.

After a close round of internal heats, Tyler was selected to represent the school at the Regional Final which took place at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich. Tyler’s thoughtful and eloquent talk on the work ‘Sharecropper’, by Elizabeth Catlett was celebrated by the adjudicator - Jago Cooper (Director of the SCVA) – for the ‘journey that it took the listener on’.

Tyler’s authoritative talk began with Catlett’s background, the descendant of slaves whose work aimed to reflect society and incite societal change; his powerful description of the inescapable cycle of debt and the discrimination faced by African Americans gave an excellent grounding for his visual analysis. Tyler’s analysis and comparison of the ‘Sharecropper’ and ‘War Worker’ effectively weaved the formal qualities of the print and painting to the content, interpreting the subjects of the work as people not to be pitied for the situation they were in, but admired for their strength and pride in the face of adversity. This was masterfully linked to the European Cubist movement, which was in turn linked to the appropriation of African artefacts. Tyler’s personal response to the work and his confidence in articulating such a complex subject matter within 10 minutes earned him a place at the ARTiculation Grand Final.

On the 23rd of March, Tyler presented his talk to a packed auditorium in the National Gallery, at the Grand Final of the ARTiculation competition. The final included an introduction

 Tyler delivers

his talk at The National Gallery. from Director of the National Gallery, Gabriele Finaldi, and was adjudicated by Art Historian, Writer and Broadcaster, Neil Macgregor.

Tyler showed great courage in being the first presenter at this year’s Grand Final and was highly commended by Macgregor, the former Director of both the National Gallery and The British Museum. Macgregor praised Tyler for his incredible ability to analyse Sharecropper, stating how his presentation reminds us how important it is to look again.

Tyler’s talk was celebrated by the adjudicator for the ‘journey that it took the listener on’.

We often view images of the oppressed through a lens of pity, but Tyler’s powerful presentation revealed how Catlett portrayed the resilience and dignity of her people, who endured such atrocious conditions. He praised Tyler for his account of the work which he described as coming from the heart, and for reminding us all that Elizabeth Catlett’s work was for the service of her people, and encompassed what she stood for and the hope that she carried.

With 120 schools having entered the competition, Tyler did exceptionally well in reaching the shortlist of eleven individuals competing from across the nation. He represented the school in an exemplary fashion and was unfortunate to miss out on placing amongst some strong competitors. Tyler has since been inducted into the ARTiculation Alumni Network, through which a plethora of opportunities are made available to finalists. A huge well

done to Tyler for this superb achievement. ■

JPN

Detweiler Competition 2022

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Detweiler competition which was introduced to Bedford School by Rob Campbell (Director of Art 1994-2013) in 1997. The prize is named after the Canadian composer, author and patron of the arts Dr Alan Detweiler who so generously provided the prizes until his death in 2012. Initially set up as an Art competition, it now involves the English, Music and Drama departments and so encourages the arts across the whole school and as such is a major event in the school arts calendar. To celebrate this anniversary, we invited back former Detweiler Art prize winners to the awards evening on Friday 25th February to relive their past glories and to experience what the Detweiler competition has now become. It seemed only appropriate that Rob Campbell should be one of this year’s judges along with Sebastian Chance: not just because he initiated the prize but because he also kindly judged the prize remotely last year with Covid restrictions in place - an unenviable task. We are extremely grateful to them both for taking on the always challenging task of judging. We were delighted to also welcome back other past Art Staff including Stephen Odom, Katie Nicholson, Anne-Marie Abbate 

 and Mique Moriuchi which made the evening extremely memorable. I was delighted that the very first Detweiler prize winner, Jonathan Cosserat, was able to attend and agreed to present the prizes.

This year’s theme ‘Sense of Place’ generated some exciting and ambitious work. Highly commended was awarded to: Ta Leepiboonsawats (U6th) for his technically accomplished landscape oil painting; Samson Lok (U6th) for his intricate and painstakingly drawn self-portrait standing in front of the main school building; Alex Hayward (L6th) for his atmospheric intaglio print of a garden; Sachin Kambli (L6th) for his small and detailed oil painting of an old tractor and Charlie McCutcheon (U6th) for his large and expressive self-portrait painting. The 2D prize was awarded to Will Turner (Removes) for his beautifully observed and composed oil painting of a collection of objects at the back of an Antiques Emporium in Ampthill while the 3-D winner was Chris Sporton (U6th) for his imaginative, engaging interpretation of a mountainous landscape. ■

MCC

Simeon Gay

ST CECILIA'S cONCERT

St Cecilia would have been interested. The Concert missed her Saint’s Day by 16 days, we were assembled in the Great Hall with social distancing and face masks, there was plenty of fresh air and we were well wrapped in overcoats and blankets for this winter performance.

And what a Concert. It lifted the spirits after the day’s reporting of increased Covid variant cases, Downing Street party issues and resignations and the arrival of a national Plan B. The Music School rescued us from all of this.

We were straight in with the Brass Ensemble’s Gabrieli Sonata, playing its famous soft and loud dynamics so brilliantly from the East and West balconies of the Hall. Faces turned and smiled. Then Thunderbrass made us sit up with Bizet’s Farandole from L’Arlesienne Suite No 2, its march theme and references to folk melodies. This needed and had careful control. It was then delightful to hear the Segovia Guitar Ensemble with Techno by Jurg Kindle, a recent work known to those who ‘stream’ and well-handled here. A change of tempo next arrived with the New Jazz Collective, the Funk Band, the Rock Group and the Jazz Orchestra. These were exciting, disciplined performances by all the groups. Nikki Iles directed Walk Tall and Cold Duck Time so carefully, referencing their Gospel flavours and rock jazz; and then the Funk Band’s Butterfly by Mraz, arranged and delivered by Gideon Chan, took us rather by storm as he navigated complex vocal lines but also directed some challenging instrumental parts. Full marks to him and his Band. This momentum was sustained by the Rock Group’s Killing Floor and Crossroads and the Jazz Orchestra’s Fancy Pants and Don’t You Worry about a Thing – beautifully controlled and delivered and just what we needed in these strange times.

After the interval the Concert Band under Dominic Childs treated us to Bernstein’s Candide Overture with its memories of well-known melodies, followed by the Festival Band under Joss Sanders with Sparke’s Westminster Prelude,

 full of majesty and pomp and the moods of ceremonial London. The Orchestra of the Ouse, again under Dominic, gave us well known Selections from Les Misérables and the Chamber Orchestra under Bjorn Bantock presented a remarkably disciplined 1st Movement from the Brandenburg Concerto No3, familiar and yet difficult to pull off so well. Harry L’Estrange and Feyi Okusanya were notably controlling Leaders of these two Orchestras. We finished the evening with the Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joss Sanders and led by Feyi Okusanya performing In the South by Elgar, a tone poem – exuberant, sweeping and colossal as it came to its end in triumph.

So, an evening of twelve different orchestras, ensembles and bands – all achieved at a time of difficulty. This was a remarkable achievement by the Music School and its players, the first major concert for the Upper School in over two years, greatly appreciated and celebrated by the audience at the end. ■

Richard Miller

Choir Trip to Salisbury Cathedral

Annual Choir trips finally recommenced after a rather lengthy interlude presented by Covid, and this year’s excursion was to the prestigious Salisbury Cathedral.

From the word ‘go’, busy would be an understatement! Every moment of each day was filled with a blend of rehearsals or activities, as had to be the case with five services in four days. The boys (and staff) worked tirelessly to prepare for each service as they came with a new repertoire per performance. And without complaining, the boys got to work. This work was well received as ‘thank you’ after ‘thank you’ would come pouring their way from the congregation after their singing concluded.

But the fun wasn’t only contained to the classroom (so to speak) with many outings: from Italian restaurants and Scotland’s finest authentic cuisine, to scrambling around treetops in Go Ape, to hurling bowling balls down the alleys towards 10 pins (to a very wide range of successes and lack thereof!) The balance of work and fun was met to perfection through the rigorous planning of the school Chaplain, Mr McCleery, without whom the trip would not have gone nearly as smoothly!

The endless smiles and positivity were supplied, without fail, by Mrs Whiteman, whose work behind the scenes perhaps went unnoticed by many of the boys, but those delicious 

 lunches that appeared every day did not make themselves!

Our School Director of Music, Mr Sanders, was immeasurably important owing to his composed manner, keeping us all calm when things perhaps didn’t quite go to plan, and he seamlessly stepped into the choir to support any part who needed it (as well as slipping out in services to ensure our trebles were still alive and kicking).

Lastly and by no means least in any respect, Mr Roberts, Head of Choral Music, delivered the choral music to perfection through his hand waving and immense facial muscles from service to service! We are so lucky to have such an experienced conductor and singer leading the school choir, so thank you for all you do and all the effort you put in week on week without fail. ■

Caleb Sanders

As Caleb has said, this was an amazing experience, but much of its success is due to the exemplary attitude shown by them and every member of the choir from start to finish. I would like to pay particular tribute to James Watson, for whom this was a swansong of his organ-playing career at Bedford School, and in playing for these five services, did a brilliant job which would normally be expected of a professional musician. This all meant that, at times, you could almost imagine it was the regular cathedral choir leading the services. Well done, everybody! K. Roberts

Rock Night

Rock Night was back! After late cancellations, postponements and date changes, the stage was set for another mesmerising display of live music.

The crowd entered The Quarry doors through the billowing smoke to a dimly lit stage. The audience stood apprehensively at the side of the room awaiting the first act then Funk Band took to the stage. The groovy beats of Josh Jeganathan quickly warmed up the audience as the singers Gideon Chan and Tesha Wikramanayake got them singing along to the classic covers of Ed Sheeran, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. During this opening set, we witnessed some impressive, choreographed moves from the horn section along with skilful musical dialogue between the two talented keyboard players James Watson

and Harry L’Estrange. 



Henry Gillham followed with a sumptuous ballad before an electric rendition of the Final Countdown arranged by Daniel Hutchins and performed by a group of his friends led by Murray Silk and Wilfred Barker on lead vocals. We witnessed another special moment at Rock Night as the legendary Mr Peters showed us his impressive vocal range performing his signature, Spandau Ballet classic, ‘Gold’. Sets from the talented Will Roberts and then from Gideon Chan continued the showmanship and some mixed BGS groups also performed, with a confident display from Alice Toon.

The live music concluded with an extended rock set from the Upper Sixth Leavers, ‘The Monitorship’ led by Dylan Swain (vocals) and joined by Maxwell Martin (drums), Gabriel ‘the shredder’ Davis (lead guitar) and James Cutler (bass). Energetic DJ sets from Gabriel Almeida and Charlie Faulkner ended what was an outstanding evening with a party

atmosphere. ■

TPR

Jazz at the quarry

Starring The Jazz Orchestra, New Jazz Collective and Prep Jazz Ensemble and presenting an evening of jazz, groove and funk music.

The Jazz Orchestra was led by Nikki Iles and featured guest soloist Mike Lovatt, who is one of the UK’s outstanding lead trumpeters and Bedford School’s Brass Fellow.

“Come and join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the Quarry Theatre which will be transformed into a Jazz Café for one night only.”

What an irresistible invitation for jazz aficionados to get into the grove with no less than three jazz outfits, all keen to demonstrate how jazz is constantly on the move and breaking new ground at the hands of our school tutors, both regular and visiting. Here was a chance firmly taken by our proto musicians learning their craft at school.

Jazz cafés of all descriptions have always been the vehicle, to my mind, to showcase jazz; that burble of conversation and hand clapping only add to the tension vital in jazz expression. You only have to listen to live recordings, be it Ronnie Scott’s club today or The 5 Spot and Village Vanguard of the 1960s, to hear for yourself.

So, the sweeping back of the front row of The Quarry for a line-up of tables with eager supporters added to the atmosphere as maestro Nikki Iles led on the first of our bands.

The Jazz Orchestra plus guest soloists were first up, leading us into a joyous rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Don’t you worry’. This tune, from 1973, was a perfect opener for an evening of jazz grooves revolving around funk hip hop with Hugo taking on the theme on Tenor.

Thad Jones’ great band standard ‘Big Dipper’ was given a thorough analysis by the band with standout solos from Caleb, Mike and Hugo.

What jazz night would not be complete without a roaring piece from the great trumpeter Freddy Hubbard. Hubbard as composer and bandleader always gave his all as did the band. ‘Red Clay’ was the chosen piece and is something of a funk signpost as it heralded the era of this genre and showed how Hubbard could innovate and move forward. Fifty years ago, he had recorded his first album as a 20-year-old for Riverside, and this heralded a great period of creativity. 

 The boys gave it all they had especially thanks to Mike Lovatt for leading this and much of the playing. He commented, “Thank you for the two wonderful days I spent recently as Bedford

School’s Brass Fellow 2022. It was such a pleasure to take workshops with all the promising young brass musicians. They responded quickly to my suggestions and advice on playing a wide range of different styles of music. The two days culminated in a fantastic jazz concert featuring myself with musical direction by Nikki Iles. All in all, the most enjoyable time working alongside

Bedford School musicians!” Inspiration all round for all involved.

As Nikki said in the concert, this was the first time she was able to get up from the piano to conduct knowing she had full support behind her.

In the first half, the band continued with a revue of classic jazz including the great ‘April in Paris’ - on this occasion not repeating the last line thrice as Count Basie did to get his version into the Jazz Hall of Fame.

Before their final chorus, there was a reprise from the jazz weekend of ‘Shame on you’, sung very enthusiastically. A number by Weather Report ended the first half. The band went off to acclaim from the large crowd for a well-earned break. Among others we heard from Hugo, Daniel and Caleb. There was also a vibrant contribution form the family team of Gideon and Harry.

The Prep Jazz opened the second half with a rendition of ‘What a Wonderful World’, the Louis Armstrong classic some of us can remember seeing performed by the man himself in black and white on the TV. It was good to see the boys

enjoying this evergreen as they start their jazz journey.

Two things stood out in the second half. Herbie Hancock’s classic ‘Watermelon Man’ was one. HH performed at this year’s Glastonbury Festival and, as usual despite or because of his 82 years, he showed he can still wow the crowds as the boys did with their version of this great classic number dating from 1962 (more or less at the start of his long career in Jazz innovation).

The concert was rounded off by a performance of ‘American Patrol’: a march from the C19 but probably performed by Glen Miller many times during his World War Two time in Bedford.

This rounded off a great night. Best wishes to all the performers - do come back next year please. ■

CHJ

SUMMER CONCERT

The first summer concert for three years could not have taken place in a more Bedford School setting. It was a glorious summer evening, with cricket happening on the 1st XI pitch, as the gathering audience were treated to a delightful evening of entertainment.

The concert began in the chapel; Choir Director Keith Roberts was illuminated by sun beaming through the windows as he conducted the Chapel Choir through a variety of hymns. The choir were back at full voice for the first time since early May with all the boys from exam year groups back to add their considerable talent. Following on from this, the Consort Choir, made up of students from the boys’ and girls’ schools treated the audience to a trio of acapella performances jumping expertly from musicals to folk song to jazz, with Remove form student Finn Adams describing their performance of Shenandoah as ‘absolutely perfect’.

Part two of the concert took part in the Great Hall, kicking things off with the Rock Group performing Mr Brightside with Angus Timmins leading the way on vocals. What followed was a demonstration of the breadth of talent we are lucky to have here at Bedford school. With the Segovia Guitar Ensemble,

Orchestra of the Ouse and Chamber Orchestra with soloist Christopher Sporton all performing wonderful pieces. The evening was rounded off with the Symphony Orchestra, led by Feyi Okusanya and conducted by Nathan Sankersingh and Mr Joss Sanders, performing a variety of pieces finished off with a medley of the Lord of the Rings soundtracks - truly a highlight of the evening leaving me wanting to go and immediately watch all three films again.

A special mention must go to all our Upper Sixth leavers this year and their contributions to music at Bedford School over their time here. It would be remiss of me to not mention James Watson at this point, our departing school organist. Across the evening it would be easier to name the pieces that James did not perform in. He expertly accompanied the Chapel Choir; sang in the Consort Choir; sang with the Chapel Choir; played double bass with the Chamber and Symphony Orchestra; and of course, performed solos on the organ in both the Chapel and Great Hall. His final piece in the Chapel rather appropriately being ‘Grande Finale in C’ and a grand finale it was for someone who has contributed so much to the school. ■

Chris Deplancke

CHAPEL CHOIR

This year’s Chapel Choir began with the arrival of a new Choirmaster, Mr Keith Roberts, and he wasted no time breathing new life into the choir after a long hiatus during Covid. Having spent so long without being able to rehearse together, it was paramount that we got back into the habit of practice. Mr Roberts did a brilliant job through the Autumn Term, navigating the difficult task of assigning voice parts. There was also the issue of structuring the benches to ensure that individual boys could develop their voices, many of which had broken since the last time the choir met.

Autumn is always a busy time for the choir, and the Founders and Benefactors service on Sunday the 3rd October is the one of the biggest services of the whole year. Accompanied by our excellent organist James Watson, and with the aid of the Brass Ensemble, the Chapel Choir was able to put on a stellar performance despite having only returned to singing three weeks earlier. The term did not slow down, as the remembrance service on the 14th November and the carol services on 3rd, 5th, and 9th December kept us on our toes, with dozens of other wonderful performances of which the boys should be proud.

Then it was time to introduce the new trebles. Without the benefit of a recruitment trip to the Prep School, our youngest boys had all grown up, and the future of the choir was looking doubtful. However, Mr Roberts set immediately to work organising and preparing a talk, performed in Prep School assembly, featuring a solo performance from one of our newest recruits to show the boys where they could be. After this, new probationary members were introduced into the choir slowly, paired with experienced trebles and shown the ropes.

The Spring term brought the OB weekend, on the 19th and 20th of March, where we were joined by ex-choir members. 2020 Alumnus Jack O’Donovan made a return, alongside Ben Watson, the older brother of our organist. This was a

wonderful service, as the younger boys were offered the privilege of meeting chapel choir members from as far back as the 1970s. That very same Sunday, the boys had a speedy transition from the OB service to the Choral Society concert, in conjunction with Bedford Girls’ School and the Eagle Choir. Always a highlight of the year, this concert was no different, and the boys did themselves credit for their many after school rehearsals across the term.

Finally, the Summer Term kicked off with our first group trip, continuing a longstanding tradition of performances alongside the Ely Cathedral Choir. Feyisayo Okusanya, ex Ely Cathedral schoolboy turned Bedfordian, was able to accompany the choir to visit his old teachers. The service was a great experience for the boys, featuring a song using Gregorian notation, which many of the younger boys may not have encountered.

As I come to the end of my tenure as Head of the Chapel Choir, I can say that I feel immensely honoured to have been able to lead the procession each week. The historical aspect and the weight, both literal and figurative, of carrying the cross is not lost on me. When I look back on the decade I have spent in the choir, I’ll remember the lifelong friends that I’ve made, the wonderful places I have visited, and the skills I’ve gained. It is no easy feat, spending Friday nights and Sunday mornings in school, but I’m sure my fellow choir members would agree, it is well worth the effort. ■

Dylan Swain

Liverpool Oratorio Review

Unlike the global megastar Sir Paul McCartney, Alexander Olleson is certainly a treble who would have made it easily into Liverpool Cathedral choir based on his singing of the solos in Sir Paul’s first foray into classical music, the Liverpool Oratorio. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society for its 150th anniversary and, with the help of Carl Davis, John Harle and a recording with a stellar line up of soloists, they made it a global phenomenon.

Choirs and orchestras made up from Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School, the Eagle Choir, and a wonderful set of soloists, conducted by Dominic Keating-Roberts, brought it to Bedford. It was wonderful to see such a wide age range so enthusiastically and energetically tackle a piece that covers Sir Paul’s journey from truant in the cemetery of the Cathedral through what he would have known as courtship, the stirring of 60s gender politics to fatherhood.

Carl Davis wrote the piece with the orchestral soloists from the RLPO in mind, hence the terrific solos for violin tackled brilliantly here by Michael Gemmill, and contra bassoon and cor anglais Paul Sharrock. Particularly lovely were the real-life husband and wife, soprano and tenor team of Lottie and Harry Bagnall, playing Shanty and Mary, Bethany Remfry as the highly characterised teacher and Adrian Finch the Bass.

Although Bedford School Hall can’t quite match the eight second reverb of Liverpool Cathedral, the venue for its glittery premiere, the rafters certainly lifted with the exuberance and panache of the many choristers and performers. ■

Duncan Fraser

HOUSE SINGING

House Singing is my favourite event of the year.

Nowhere else in the world can you find an upper school singing competition supported with such fervour, such enthusiasm, and such delightful boisterousness as at Bedford School. I have never felt so supported as each time I stood upon that stage in front of my house. This year was no exception, and despite a short rehearsal time after Covid setbacks, House Singing went ahead on 14th October.

Each house did themselves immense credit. The unison singing was, as always, the highlight. As Head of School, David Adeyemi, highlighted in his speech, it was great to see the boarding house boys singing so brilliantly in what is often their second language. With a range of pieces, from The Beatles to Lewis Capaldi, the unison songs opened the night and wowed their audience. Each house had clearly practised sitting down and standing up, with crisp movements across the board.

Then it was time for the part song. Many boys made their part song debut this year, with new faces of boys from Year 9 to Year 13 showing that House Singing is still a landmark event for participation. We were treated to another wide range of performances, with St Peters’ jazzy and complex rendition of ‘The Boy from New York City’ making a stark contrast to Bromham’s ‘You’re Welcome’ from Moana, marking the first instance of rap in House

Singing to my knowledge. 

 The school welcomed as adjudicator Andrew Kennedy,

Director of Music at Uppingham school, whom we had last seen on a decidedly Bedford-sided day of Rugby in

September. Every adjudicator takes a different approach to the thankless job, and Andrew tackled the difficult task with joviality and diplomacy, aware of how many dissatisfied schoolboys would be created by his final decision.

In the end, though, it was Ashburnham house which took home the part song, unison, and overall trophies. A treble for the ages, and something that hasn’t often happened in the competition’s history. As a completely unbiased writer for The Ousel, Ashburnham clearly outclassed their adversaries.

All jokes aside, House Singing continues to be the most hotly anticipated event of the school year here at Bedford School, and 2021’s was especially memorable in my final year at the school. After touring many Old Bedfordians, it is clear how much of a lasting impression House Singing leaves on the boys, and I am glad to have been part of that tradition. ■

Dylan Swain

SURVIVORS 2022

Back row: Harry Taylor, Will Osborne, Diego Citriniti, Alex Tunnicliffe, Arun Nanda, Will Maltby (roof), Arvin Rai, Ellison Hendry, Michael McCormack, Tom Jenkin, George Ashcroft, Nick Challacombe, Jonny Huggins, Tyler Choga, Jayden Robinson.

Front row: Jacob Bailey, Jake Bentley-Evans, Miles Ratcliffe, Henry Christian, Ethan Whitlock, Miss Oakley, Mr Whitbread, Mrs Gedye, Mrs Carrington, James Deardon, Aidan Carruthers, Benjie Ingram-Moore, Dylan Swain.

ANIMAL FARM

Orwell’s famous novel has been portrayed on stage many times and at the beginning of the 2021/22 school year, the Bedford School Drama Department set out to put on the show with a cast comprised of boys from years nine to thirteen.

As rehearsals began in late September, it was clear the whole cast was excited to get things underway. However, as with any great production, there was much work to be done. With superb directing and advice from Mrs Keylock, the cast began to embody the roles of their animals. It is fair to say most of us were a little confused when our first assignment was to ‘go to a farm and look at how the animals behave’.

Rehearsals early on often began with an exercise in which the cast would behave as their chosen animal. No doubt any visitors to the quarry would have been in for a surprise when they saw a group of boys running around like farm animals in a clamour of squeals and squawks. As a cast, we were lucky enough to receive fantastic help from external choreographers alongside Mrs Keylock which was enormously helpful in creating the epic scenes such as the infamous Battle of the Cowshed. Many hours were put into perfecting the lift of my character Mr Jones, many of which consisted of me falling on the floor! Throughout this process though, the entire cast worked hard to perfect the battle ensuring that on the night, everyone’s efforts culminated in a superb scene.

This scene along with the rest of the play was accompanied by a both mesmerising and impactful score produced by the schools very own Feyi Okusanya or rather ‘Fey Beats’. Speaking of sound and lighting in the play, special mention should also go to Jacob Foster and Joe Travis who, with the help of Mr Pharaoh and Mr Tearle, ensured that the atmosphere of Animal Farm was brought to life as it grew more ominous by the scene.

Accompanying this array of light and sound was our incredible set, constructed in the Quarry with a levelled stage, a chicken coop and tractor tyre along with hay bales, all

creating a wholly immersive farmyard on stage. We were truly grateful for the combined efforts of Miss Fowler, Mr Pharaoh and Mr Tearle who spent many hours painting and constructing the set that immersed both the audience and actors into Animal Farm. Topping off the creation of Bedford’s own Animal Farm were the fantastic costumes put together for each character, the costume department’s creativity shining through use of old cable knit jumpers and torn shirts for the chickens and sheep and Napoleon’s impressively intimidating black trench coat. Many boys were happy to see their old prep schoolteacher Mrs Keane who gave up much of her time to help not only with costume but set and even a few directing tips. Suffice to say, the show looked ready for a superb performance.

Of course, this was the main event, the incredible

performances delivered by every single cast member from 

 opening night onwards. As Mrs Keylock said there was no one star to this show other than the collaborative efforts of the whole cast. Although, as the whole cast will tell you, mention must go to Milan Verwoert, who midway through the rehearsal process had to take on the character of Squealer. Nevertheless, he endeavoured to be not only show-ready for opening night, but he delivered some spectacular performances. But it was the efforts of everyone involved: cast, crew and director that ensured that ‘Animal Farm’ culminated in a truly fantastic production. ■

Sam Maling

Our production of ‘Animal Farm’ was a huge success. Ian Woolridge’s adaptation of the novel retains many of the nuances and subtleties of character found in the original text, along with some great stagecraft elements. We had a full spectrum of age groups participating in this show and it was a delight seeing the Bedford School students throw themselves into the animal physicality of their roles at each rehearsal. Director, Mrs Keylock, was immensely proud of what they all achieved. She commented that the production was a great theatrical come back after the pandemic: ’I have always loved Orwell and wanted to direct this classic again for some time. I particularly enjoyed working closely with a fight choreographer on the ‘Battle of the Cowshed’.

‘Animal Farm’ was a very exciting collaboration with the Music Department at Bedford School. This creative and poignant production delighted audiences for three performances. The theatre was visually transformed into a farmyard and audience members commented on the immersive experience. After eighteen months, this production was very well received by the local community. The production was supported by a student technical team, and it was great to see so many boys want to take part. The wonderful and talented ensemble cast included Dylan Swain (Old Major), Will Hayward (Donkey) Josh Cooke (Raven) Tanay Rai (Pigeon), Sami Hundal (Napoleon), Millan Verwoert (Squealer), Will Roberts (Snowball), Thomas Taylor, Arthur Polhill and Michael Robertson (chickens), Louis Cooke (Clover), Luca Moretto (Boxer), Giles Halsey (Mollie), Toby L’Estrange (Minimus) Sam Maling (Mr Jones), Max Pearson (Mr Pilkington). In addition, the very creative and strong ensemble: Henry Gillham, Stanley Breed, Elio Lepore, Gabriel Sankersingh, Tawanda Munatsi.

Special mention should go to Millan Verwoert who only had two weeks to prepare for the role. The success of the production also relied on the outstanding backstage technical team, including Charlie Lawrence, Deimis Sukys, Ben Smith, Charlie Faulkner, Jacob Foster. In addition, special thanks must to Feyisayo Okusanya who took the mantle of musical orchestration and composer. His musical underscore was both haunting and poignant. Congratulations to all involved. ■

APK Scan this QR code to read the Bedford Independent review.

MACBETH

It was in the Quarry Theatre, where Sami Hundal’s

adaptation of Macbeth provided the audience with a true taste of Shakespeare’s suspenseful, dark and eerie play. Actors presented us with scenes of horrific murder and gripping violence. It is fair to say that this play had it all. The cast was made up of a handful of boys ranging from Fourth Form up to Sixth Form, with inclusion of girls from Bedford Girls’ School. All actors threw themselves into character and mastered the art of Shakespearean language, each playing their individual role and with the support of the lighting and sound team, they were able to present a fantastic piece of theatre.

The set design was minimalistic with the main feature being a large wooden throne upstage centre. The throne was very much within the heart of the story and saw many actors rest upon it, from Duncan to Macbeth, but its inclusion in the set was vital for connoting MacBeth’s desire for power.

Sami said, “I wanted to heighten the religious aspect of the play, I wanted there to be a truer reason of fear within Macbeth - the supernatural elements of Macbeth now had a reason to be shocking and life consuming for Macbeth as a devoutly religious man”. Sami developed his intentions through the inclusion of religious symbolism, be it a crucifix or the rituals being spoken at the play’s opening. The audience definitely experienced the religious aspect. Further use of projections onto the backing gauze made for effective and efficient transition in location, be it the moorland or church.

Imaginative design and techniques are what stood out to me the most. Sami used a fantastic range of design ideas, the

favourite being the ghost of Banquo. In this scene, a white spotlight shone upon an empty chair at the dinner table. This spotlight represented the ghost of Banquo, a perfectly constructed technique that interested the audience and bought the scene to life, alongside the impeccable acting of Max Pearson (Macbeth) who supported the technique. Sami continued to use the spotlight at the end of the play after the thrilling battle between Macduff and Macbeth. The head removed from Macbeth was left on stage and highlighted by a spotlight, resembling the overall downfall and Macbeth’s loss of power.

A piece of theatre with such complexity requires a highly skilled team of actors, and every person pulled their weight and contributed to the play. Luca Moretto, Tom Hayward and Hasan Manji (as the witches) held the piece together, allowing the story to flow and unfold. Cole Balachandran (as Duncan) demonstrated his power and effectively catalysed Macbeth’s hunger for the throne. Theo Artus (as Macduff) treated the audience with an aggressive and well constructed fight scene with Macbeth that allowed all in the theatre to truly visualise the gruesome nature of the piece. Bea Anderson (as Lady Macbeth) was excellent in demonstrating her own cunning and desire for her husband Macbeth to seize the throne, whilst also experiencing the consequences of murder. Josh Cooke

Shakespeare’s work is universal, the themes and the actions, these are core human problems that we all feel.

(as Lennox) delivered the famous line of ‘There’s daggers in men’s smiles’, in which for me concluded not only the skill had by the actors, but the work ethic to provide us with one of Shakespeare’s favoured plays. Sami said, “Shakespeare’s work is universal, the themes and the actions, these are core human problems that we all feel - that is what runs through Shakespeare’s work, the universality is the energy that surges through it to keep it alive”.



Having spoken to Sami following the performance, he gave me an insight into the trials and tribulations of directing theatre. The struggle he faced was acknowledging what to direct – “I knew I didn’t want to do something contemporary. Maybe I wasn’t reading the right stuff, but I didn’t find anything that grabbed me - that was calling out for me to reshape it and make it my own”.

Having spent time developing possible ideas he entered into the realm of Shakespeare. He explained, “But that’s what makes his texts so interesting. Something that is so rooted in the past, so specific to location and context is so easily uprooted and planted into an entirely different setting and period”.

Sami concluded with his experience of directing Macbeth – “The beauty of directing this play was because it was a true creative experience that involved everyone and

caused everyone involved to be thinking creatively”. ■

Arthur Proctor

Remote by Stef Smith

This play is about a group of teenagers whose lives

intertwine in just one day. It tackles the challenges of mental health, bullying and shows relationships between brothers, friends and enemies. Particularly, it illustrates how hard it is for adolescents of our age to express our emotions towards one another.

In performance, there were many instances where the difference in age and maturity came through particularly by Blister and his sidekick Skin (Ferdi and Rufus) who used their size to rule over the younger boys. The characters in the play were very raw and there were moments of happiness, brutality, innocence, and difficulty expressing their emotions.

The centrepiece of the set was a large tree and many of the scenes revolved around it and the park. The protagonist, Antler (Tanay), wrestles his suicidal thoughts however is calmed by his presence in nature. There was an added challenge because the play was scripted for a nearly all-female cast. Mr Banks, the director, cleverly adapted the play in order to suit an all-male cast.

We learnt many vocal, physical, and improvisational skills and I felt that I had gained more confidence on the stage having being part of this production. The twelve of us rehearsed every Monday after school and we formed many new friendships between the two year groups. My role in the play was Finn, who was originally part of the bullying gang but was looking to escape it and then found a friendship with Chris, brother to Antler. My character struggled trying to stand up for himself and Chris against the bullies and was worried about the repercussions. I especially liked the final fight scene where the sidekick, Skin, became power hungry and attempted to start a fight with me using big logs of wood; it was a fun scene to stage.

When it came to show night, everyone was a bit nervous, but we pulled together in the end and the final performance went very well. I believe the main message of the play is summed in the last scene where the friends and foes set aside their differences and come together to enjoy the sunset; illustrating that your friends can support you in troubled times, you’re not alone, and that simple aspects of life, like going outdoors and experiencing nature, can help balance your overflowing teenage, hormonal emotions.

This production was a Fourth and Remove form only play and the actors were as follows: Tanay Rai, Henry Gillham, Arthur Polhill, Ruairi Cassell, Ferdi BarnettVincent, Rufus Thwaite, Nahan Thatakan, Ben Pickering, Stephen Brown, Lucian Davis, Josh Cooke, and me. Set design was created by Stephanie Carter. Lighting and sound was provided by Elio Lepore and Mr Turl. James Pinkney

Jonno Davis Scholar O n Wednesday 9th February many of the drama scholars were privileged to be a part of a physical theatre workshop in the Quarry Theatre. The workshop was taken by Jonno Davies, an experienced actor, who has starred in many films such as Clockwork Orange Workshop and recently Amazon Prime’s Hunters. He came back to the school, that he left in 2010, to teach us the Laban Movement, surroundings. Through this concept I realised that both direct a physical and movement-based technique that helps actors or indirect would have certain stereotypes such as for direct, a create a physical vocabulary which they can use not only businessman who is running late for work, whereas an indirect for themselves but also between them and the director. The movement would be if someone didn’t want to go to a lesson; technique consists of Eight Efforts. They help an actor both it really made me realise how even the smallest concept could physically and emotionally identify and play characters who affect how an actor portrays a character. are different from themselves. This embodied work helps the Then we went onto the second concept of three being actor understand internal impulse and in develop an expressive weight, for this method you could be either strong or light in body that can make clean, precise choices. It also helps the your movement. For example, if you were on the moon, you actor create and maintain a strong physical instrument that will would be light in your movement as the gravity would pull serve them throughout their training and future professional you away from the moon. During the explanation, Jonno used work. However, due to the workshop’s hour and a half time a couple of words to describe how each element would be frame, Jonno decided to scale this back and looked at three of considered, for light it was ‘fragile and delicate’ whereas for the eight movements: time, weight and space. heavy it was “power and immovable”. Later on once we had

We began with a warm-up, the aim of this being to get us put this concept into action, we were asked for our feedback warm but to also be aware of the space and proxemics we which I thought was a great way to reflect on the work that we had with other actors. The first concept we went onto was had so far done. time: we had the choice of being direct or indirect. Direct would be going from Point A to Point B whereas indirect was taking your time to get to Point B by getting distracted by other objects such as a curtain or door.

We began with direct movement. I and many others were instructed to walk in a straight line with purpose, this was very physically demanding as once you reached the first checkpoint, you as an actor immediately had to focus on the next point. Next up was indirect movement where we were again instructed to move around the stage, but this The third concept was the quickest to understand as it time have less purpose and take more time getting to your made everyone think about the actor’s use of space, for checkpoint. To make us understand the concept, Jonno example if my character was afraid of another character gave an example, which made us as actors appreciate our on stage then I would do my best to avoid them and alter my movement again linking back into direct and indirect movement. Lastly, Jonno instructed us to slowly build up are character from the three concepts we had been taught, he told us to “improvise the character” as if you already had a character in mind, you wouldn’t be able to execute it as well and the whole workshop was based on improvising movement. Therefore, I slowly built my character up through each concept and ended up with a homeless man who was very direct due to the dragging of my foot on the floor as well as very heavy as his injury had grounded his whole body and put him into some discomfort. So, when I reached a certain point, I would hold on to the object I had directly bolted to and breathe heavily to show the discomfort I was in. Overall, I really enjoyed this workshop and after speaking to many of the other drama scholars, I know that they enjoyed it too as it widened their dramatic horizons by learning about the Laban Movement. ■ Josh Cooke 

This embodied work helps the actor understand internal impulse and develop an expressive body.

Harun Ćehović Workshop

On Tuesday 21st February, Drama students from the Fifth Form to the Upper Sixth were very fortunate to partake in a fun, engaging specialist workshop from OB Harun Ćehović. The workshop focused on the actor’s warm-up technique (that Harun is currently studying at RADA for his Masters in Acting). The technique explores the foundations of Stanislavski and Grotowski, and elements such as sensibility and naturalism to enlighten the boys on the tools to physically prepare the body and mind before a performance.

One of the most successful techniques used is the use of ‘memory games’ in which one member starts the game by naming an item. The next member of the group then repeats that item but adds another item to the ‘memory’ list. Each member then adds their own item, and the purpose is to see how many items the group can memorise. This was an engaging and effective exercise as it compelled each member to collaboratively listen and then usefully contribute by associating the previous word to the new word (allowing recall to occur easier).

Harun then expanded this exercise to storytelling. This time, each member would deliver one line, and the next member would then continue the line to progress the story to see where it would unfold. I found this to be an excellent technique as it sparked creative, spontaneous thinking.

From this, Harun introduced a new, more physical technique called ‘follow the leader.’ For this, we were put into pairs, one of us being ‘A’ and the other ‘B’. Firstly, student A was considered the leader of the pair, and, therefore, student B would freely follow student A in a series of fluent physical sequences (only connected by student B’s palm following that of student A). This was a very interesting exercise that required strong concentration skills, and an open, creative mindset to explore where the movements would lead to.

After this successful technique, Harun highlighted the importance of bringing attention to breath relaxation – a key element Harun accentuated for firstly getting into character, and then effectively developing that characterisation. To achieve this, Harun demonstrated many breathing techniques.

Initially, the focus on breath was light by us just focusing on our breath and tensing up parts of our body as directed by Harun. Harun then intensified this, and the focus on our breath was more centred through continuous breathing, by requiring us to breath in for four seconds and out for six seconds.

To finish the very well-directed workshop, Harun offered a chance for questions from the boys to gain a greater insight, which was well received and extremely valuable. The workshop was hugely beneficial and inspirational for all the Drama students who took part in the session, providing a vast insight into drama beyond Bedford School, as well as the many skills Harun had gained from his drama experience at the school and at RADA that has seen him succeed, both within and out of the theatre. ■

Tom Hayward

Wuthering Heights

at The National Theatre

On Wednesday, 23rd February Lower Sixth Drama and English students went off to see live theatre! ‘Wuthering Heights’ at The National Theatre, London was a co-production with Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and York Theatre Royal and adapted by Emma Rice from the novel by Emily Brontë. This production was the first that many had seen outside the Quarry Theatre, since the Covid pandemic, the last being ‘Woman in Black’ at the Cambridge Arts Theatre over two years ago as part of GCSE Drama. ‘Wuthering Heights’ was a great start to the first of many live productions that we watch as part of A level.

The story begins with Lockwood renting Thrushcross Grange in the Yorkshire moors. He meets his landlord, Heathcliff, who lives in Wuthering Heights. Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to explain the story of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is an orphan who arrives at Liverpool docks as a child and is taken in by Mr. Earnshaw who lives at Wuthering Heights; he is bullied by Mr. Earnshaw’s son Hindley due to his race. However, Catherine and Heathcliff develop a romantic relationship which is doomed from the start. It continues with Catherine in a love triangle, marrying Edgar at Thrushcross Grange and later dying in childbirth, giving birth to Cathy. In the play, we see how cruelty slowly manifests within Heathcliff due to his childhood experiences, as he becomes cruel towards his wife Isabella Linton and child, Linton, who dies. He doesn’t let Cathy see her dying Father Edgar either; the story ends with Cathy falling in love with Hareton.

In the novel, Nelly Dean tells Lockwood of Catherine and Heathcliff, however in Rice’s adaptation the narrator of the story is the personified moor, which functions as a Greek Chorus. The leader of the moors is Nandi Bhebhe wearing a crown of twigs, leading the dance routines and the main member of the moors themselves. She was excellent; the moors had dance routines and songs accompanied by the live band. This added energy and excitement to a piece in which the story was actually rather dull: people are always dying, getting married, babies being born, mothers dying in childbirth. The moors added excitement to a piece that was rather depressing.

The moors added a musical element to the play and when they began with singing, “I am the moors, nothing here can shift me, nothing here can change me, I stick to the earth and I stick to my story, I am the moors”, accompanied with a dance routine and the live band, the moment was one of the best; it added warmth and excitement to the piece. However, this song was repeated around eight times throughout the

performance and got a little monotonous, losing its flair. The musical element I very much enjoyed. Growing up watching musicals, this added excitement for me. The musical element made me question - could this be classed as a folk musical due to the sudden bursts of song, or a Greek tragedy the genre of the piece seemed confused?

The start of the piece was very jarring; I thought I was watching a horror show. Lockwood is in a storm and ends up at Wuthering Heights - actors are hanging from wooden towers, screaming at the top of their lungs. Cathy has draped eyeliner screaming in a white dress, looking like a ghost, making the sound effects of the moors. A door flat was placed centre stage with Lockwood trying to get into Thrushcross Grange. The opening was uncomfortable to watch.

Unfortunately, this production was full of sections that felt they had very little purpose and many moments were jarring and seemed as though they were just thrown in. For example, Cathy gets a microphone and drops into a heavy rock song. This was accompanied by heavy metallic music from the live band. This didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the piece - she threw a microphone stand only for it to become a trip hazard for the next scene. Lucy’s performance as Cathy was very over the top. This meant that moments when you should sympathise with the main protagonist, you didn’t, due to the nature of her performance.

One member of the ensemble played both the character of Isabella Linton and Isabella’s son Little Linton. Her performance was highly comedic and fun to watch. She lived in Thrushcross Grange, dressed in flourishing outfits and danced around the living room with her brother. Her performance was highly comedic and one of the standout performances in the piece.

The show highlights that it is a play, the wings are open, so we can see the stage managers walking in the wings giving actors props. When the actors were not part of the action, they sat stage left and right on chairs.

‘Wuthering Heights’ has a very difficult plot to follow, since many of the character names are the same - most characters are related in some way. Halfway through the production, the actors explained what we had watched so far, using chalkboards, and making remarks about how the audience don’t understand the storyline.

The A level Drama students focused on the effectiveness of the set and there was some inventive set design. For example, a tower constructed of ladders was brought on centre stage during a scene in which Catherine and Heathcliff were playing in the moors. The ensemble began to sing the song “we are the moors” accompanied by the life band. The ensemble used bamboo sticks with small red books on the end and moved around Catherine and Heathcliff to represent birds. This was reinforced by flying black birds across the screen. Heathcliff and Catherine began climbing up ladders on the tower on adjacent sides and went to kiss. This moment was very effective as most of the set was at ground level and the same pieces of set were used throughout the performance, actually slowing the tempo of many scenes due to the repetition of the set. However, the tower added height to the set and due to this moment having lots of set and props, it was more exciting and increased the tempo.

This production was very much like Marmite: you either loved it or you hated it. Unfortunately, I think a large proportion of staff and pupils felt the latter. Though to be able to watch a live theatre production and to travel to a prestigious venue that many aspire to perform in, was a fantastic experience that we had missed, and stimulated us for future performances. ■

Harlan Todd

Drama society

The Autumn Term

After over a year away from face-to-face drama society, it was incredibly refreshing to be back in the Quarry Theatre Studio once more to take on a new year of academic drama lectures and sessions. The first session certainly lived up to expectations with the returning OB Ethan Chappell-Mason bringing a hybrid lecture and practical session focusing on Verbatim Theatre, a branch of theatre that older students got introduced to by Alecky Blythe not so long ago. This was the return of a welcomed old face alongside the excitement of returning to practical sessions with a new set of younger boys, all eager to participate in what was an incredibly informative and insightful session.

The exciting start to the year didn’t stop there, as we also had a midweek meeting: this time, through the power of teams. Rob Icke, an English playwright and director who has been described as the “great hope of British Theatre” managed to join us remotely to talk to all the boys about how best to go about scriptwriting and directing for stage and screen. This talk was particularly fascinating for me; as someone who has previously written scripts, it was really refreshing to go back to the fundamentals of the practice and access a new perspective whilst also inspiring the younger years to pick up a pen and get writing!

After this blockbuster start, we then continued to hearing lectures from other members of the current society. This included a talk from our current President of the Drama Society Max Pearson, who throughout this term has gone above and beyond to make Drama Society an academic hub whilst also allowing for it to be accessible to all who wish to join.

Max brought Stella Adler to the forefront of our dramatic minds, explaining her background and theatrical traits. This deep dive into her character was well-researched and executed and certainly set the standard for the lectures to follow. Louis Cooke also gave us a talk on a passion of his, costume design. It was fascinating to explore the wider context of theatre and delve into how costumes are decided and created for stage and screen. The following week came another student lead talk, this time from Remove Former Will Hayward. Will spoke well about stunts and stunt doubles, with an overall view of how action movies and shots are made. This was then backed up the following Monday by a talk from fellow Year 10 Charlie Eggleton on sound design in theatre, with practical elements to see how different sounds, music and atmosphere can change the meaning and feel behind a piece of acting for stage or screen. It was so good to see throughout the progression of the term, younger students putting their hands up to give talks to the group and I congratulated all who did in what can be a very daunting situation! Finally, we finished the term with an expressive improvisation session in which boys got to go on stage in groups and perform pieces of improvised theatre to their peers - a fun and lighthearted way to round off what had been a very academically stretching term.

Will Roberts

Spring Term

After a fantastic first term back, Drama Society hit the ground running at the beginning of the spring term. With a crowd of members - new and old from a breadth of different year groups - one of the highlights of the beginning of the term was Fourth From drama scholar Henry Gillham’s talk on acclaimed theatre practitioner Jerzy Grotowski. Despite being one of the youngest members of the society, Henry delivered a fantastic talk in which he not only taught us all about Grotowski’s unique style of ‘poor’ theatre, which we learnt focuses on the actor and dismisses the need for costume and props, but also sparked discussion on his own and others’ thoughts about Grotowski’s style of theatre and how it relates to both an actor and an audience member. Suffice to say, it was an excellent start to the term.

Things kept going strongly when the very next week we were lucky enough to receive a talk by playwright Mark Cately. Perhaps most well-known for his work on EastEnders and an incredible playwright as well, Mark delivered a thoughtprovoking talk detailing not only his own writing process but how anyone can improve their scriptwriting. He spoke about how the first step is to break down what is going to happen in your story, ensuring you have a protagonist, an objective and an obstacle. Mark also gave an intriguing insight into the often-overlooked structure that so many of our favourite films and plays follow, surprising boys by asking for their favourite films and then revealing how each one fits the structure. With a few budding scriptwriters in attendance, the talk was a fantastic opportunity and a superb experience for all.

Soon after was another talk from one of the younger members, with Fourth Form boy Stanley Breed giving an excellent talk on pantomime. Perhaps one of the most rooted forms of theatre in our society, Stanley gave an insight into the history of pantomime as well as how it has come to take up such a significant role in our country, a staple of many families’ Christmases. With many of the boys asking some fantastic questions, a superb discussion on pantomime’s importance to the theatre industry today was sparked as well as some great opinions on boys’ preferred forms of theatre. It was a surprise to many boys that the unfortunate reality is that pantomime is responsible for keeping much of the theatre industry afloat in the UK and points were raised on the importance it has perhaps in maintaining the industry, whether or not it is someone’s preferred form of theatre. The result was great talk and an eye-opening discussion.

A little later in the term, Drama Society was lucky enough to have OB Thomas Liggins return to school. Having recently been cast to star in a new West End production of ‘My Fair Lady’, Thomas gave a superb talk on his journey from his first musical at Bedford School, ‘Sweeney Todd’, (coincidentally one of Mrs Keylock’s first shows at the school) to his time at university and drama school, before detailing his audition process. The talk was certainly a highlight of the term for many boys who hope to pursue a career in theatre, who were grateful not only to receive Thomas’ insight but also to relate to Thomas as an old boy of the school. There were certainly a few laughs shared about school life, making it clear that the House Singing spirit remains strong. Thomas also emphasised that he was not someone who immediately went to drama school, and instead went down the university route, highlighting to boys looking to pursue a career in theatre

that they are not limited to one route. Overall, the talk was a fantastic experience for all involved.

Towards the end of the term, the president of the society, Max Pearson, stepped up to give an incredibly detailed and interesting talk on Federico Lorca. Perhaps one of the most acclaimed Spanish playwrights, Lorca is less well known in the UK. Max said he wanted boys to learn about different styles of theatre and different writers’ works which they otherwise would not have been introduced to. Max gave an insight into Federico’s rural trilogy as well as his troubled life in fascist Spain and his resultant brutal execution. However, Max went even further by comparing and relating Lorca’s works to theatre more familiar to us, sparking discussion between the similarities and differences of Lorca’s and Shakespeare’s tragedies and how Lorca’s work can be explored in the modern world. Speaking to boys afterwards, there was a strong sense of a new interest in lesser-known theatre and perhaps we will receive a few more talks on unfamiliar playwrights and practitioners in the future.

The final talk of the term was given by lower sixth student Sarmukh Hundal on the illustrious playwright Anton Chekhov. Perhaps most known for his principle of Chekhov’s gun, Sarmukh’s talk was titled ‘More than just the gun’ and explored the beginnings of Chekhov’s career, initially as a doctor, before turning to writing as a means of extra money before finally going on to become perhaps one of the most influential playwrights of all time and credited as one of, if not the, father of realism theatre. The talk was a fantastic opportunity for both the older boys who were able to make superb contributions and the younger boys who asked fantastic questions and sparked discussion across the society. Throughout, there was fantastic conversation on how Chekhov’s work can be interpreted as well as its relevance both in its own time and in ours. Speaking to the boys afterwards, the talk proved especially useful to the Remove boys who were working on their devised pieces in drama, and it seemed their teachers’ persistent questions of “Is this scene relevant?” made a lot more sense. All in all, a tremendous conclusion to Drama Society in the spring term.

Sam Maling

Summer Term

In what is often coined as ‘the business end of the year’, the summer term - in all its relentless energy - was not short of the Drama Society’s presence.

Charlie Lawrence eagerly volunteered to present first, willing to continue the trend of academic lectures that society members relished in the term before. Amidst, undoubtedly, being in full flight preparing for his external GCSE examinations, he was still able to find time to exercise his passion for Kabuki Theatre and deliver a highly insightful presentation on the roots of this Japanese art form, as well as its influences on Western theatre and wider society. As a society that prides itself in warmly welcoming and encouraging attendees involved in all aspects of theatre-making, Charlie had the taxing task of having to appeal to an array of theatrical interests. Needless to say, referencing the costume, style, ensemble and the language that these sorts of plays employ- among many other dimensions of their production- certainly constituted a thrilling and educational experience for all viewers. While the lecture proved the vast depth of knowledge that the speaker possessed on the subject, the questions from the floor afterwards proved provoking and as evidence for the rich academic curiosity of the group.

What the group, perhaps, value the most, however, is the closeness of the cohort, as a consequence of our mutual love for drama; thus, Louis Cooke’s final imparted words of wisdom, before his departure to a sixth form that specialises in the performing arts, were resonant and indelibly impactful on such a tight-knit community.

Despite the searingly emotional farewell from Louis, and Charlie’s extremely enriching guided tour through intricate Japanese theatrical form, what amazed me the most was the confidence and flair with which Milan Verwoert managed to share his knowledge of the cross-curricular relation between the studies of theatre and politics. The comparative and creative thinking that was exhibited here reminded the members in attendance of how pivotal to intellectual growth having a breadth of knowledge is - alongside, showcasing the transferability of the dramatic practices. ■

Max Pearson (President of the Drama Society)

Charlie Lawrence presented on Kabuki Theatre in the summer term.

Bromham House REPORT 2021-2022

The 2021 – 2022 school year was an exciting and different experience for Bromham House. The boys returned to their vertical tutor groups and house assemblies in the Great Hall; the boys were quick to adapt back to the way things were precovid. Despite finishing sixth in the House cup this year, we have proved we have the capabilities to become much more competitive in the coming year. Our potential was proven, by our wins in House volleyball and cricket and our ‘deserved’ win in house rugby. Games have been hard fought this year with grit and determination and always with an inspiring sense of team-sprit.

As expected, we won House cricket with ease, displaying some highly impressive individual performances and some huge sixes. We dominated in the Senior House Rugby competition also; however, due to some complications with our team selection, we were robbed of our victory!

We showed our strength outside of the sporting competitions by winning the House Debating Competition with impressive performances by the juniors Isaac AdeyemiAbere and George Gutteridge and, in the seniors, by Krish Nair and David Adeyemi-Abere (our illustrious Head of School). In Bromham, we value our academic achievements, and we congratulate the leaving Upper Sixth senior boys on their contribution to the House and for their results and university admissions.

Inside the house, the Bromham spirit remained strong with all the new boys settling into the Bromham way of life. With the day house becoming full again and the kitchen stocked up with lots of toast, all boys were able to join back in with the full House spirit.

Looking back over the year, we have had many memorable moments. Perhaps the most memorable for me was our valiant effort in House Singing; we were still able to produce an entertaining part song. The enthusiasm and charisma shown by the singers created a performance that was talked about for weeks after. As ever, our support for our brothers in Burnaby boarding house was the loudest of any House and

BROMHAM

DAVID ADEYEMI

A Level, head of school, co-captain 2nd XV rugby, 3rd XI hockey, minor colours rugby, mitre club, debating society, english society, ancient greek, theology and philosophy society, classical society, tours team, house colours, academic stripes, messenger in Heracles, Ready2Lead

SAMI HAROON

IB, Senior 4, cricket 2nd XI (minor sports colours), academic colours, theophil society (president), current affairs society (president), debating society and team (Cambridge Union competition)

ALEX AELLEN

A Level, 2nd XV rugby (minor colours), 2nd XI cricket (minor colours), 2nd XI football, Pythagoreans’ society, drone racing club, physics gym, academic colours

GEORGE ASHCROFT

A Level, 1st team football, 2nd team rugby, academic colours

BEN BAKER

A Level, 4th XV rugby, 5th XV rugby, drama society, investment society, house colours cricket squad

NICHOLAS CHALLACOMBE

A Level, monitor, 1st XV rugby, 1st XI hockey, 1st XI

JACK CHAPLIN

A Level, head of new music society, CCF SGT, shooting team, CCF, biology society, rifle club

BRADLEY COLE

A Level

BEN GUEST

A Level, head of house, 2nd XV (captain), 1st XI hockey, aussie rules football, MVP

DAVID HAMEL-HENN

IB

ELLISON HENDRY

A Level, hockey minor colours, hockey 2nd XI, cricket 3rd XI, english society, house colours

ARVIN RAI

A Level, football 3rd XI, cricket 4th XI, tours team, house colours

OSCAR WHITCOMBE

A Level, captain of boats, 1st VIII rowing (major colours), 2nd XV rugby

ROHAN MEHMI

A Level, Deputy head of house, cricket 1st XI (captain), major colours, hockey 1st XI (vice-captain), major colours, hockey honours cap, geography society, Pythagorean’s society, sports performance group, headmaster’s scarf, house colours

KRISH NAIR

IB

FEYISAYO OKUSANYA

A Level, also boarding house colours - Burnaby

NATHAN SANKERSINGH

IB, deputy head of house, vice-president of music society and secretary of the adrian boult society, arts colours (music), tours team, Adrian Boult society, record club, orchestra of the Ouse, symphony orchestra (conducting), concert band (conducting), ThunderBrass, senior brass festival band, combined orchestra on Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio, CCF (RAF Sergeant), astronomy society, funk band

OSCAR TERRY

A Level, head of the RAF section, geography society (secretary), 1st shooting (colours), rifle club, geography society, leading the RAF through the regions RAF competition (1st in shooting), 2019-2020 BSSRA division winners

burnaby

IAN CHAN

A Level

NIKO DOERNER

IB, deputy head of house, 1st XI Football

MARCUS GURNEY

IB

ARCHIE HOUGHTON

A Level, monitor, cricket first team (vice-captain), hockey first team (captain)

JAMES NEAL

A Level, 1st XV rugby and 1st VII rugby

GEORGE MANSELL

A Level, 2nd team rugby cocaptain (minor colours), 2nd team hockey captain (minor colours), 2nd team cricket captain (minor colours), pro clubs top scorer, house colours

JASON NI

A Level, deputy head of house

WILLIAM OSBORNE

A Level, house colours, captain of 3rd XI football, 3rd team rugby, school plays, tours team, boarders’ committee, house singing solo, Movember video

CALLUM SMYTH

A Level, 1st XV rugby co-captain, head of house

we were proud of their performance and the hard work they put in.

We enjoyed an entertaining House Dinner: we welcomed back some OB Bromham legends and received an outstanding after-dinner speech from Dr Albin Wallace. Outside of school and sport, the Year 10s and 12s enjoyed a fantastic joint trip with Burnaby to Ninja Warrior UK and a beautifully prepared barbeque from Mr Hinkins. The boys spent the time showing off their athletic ability by climbing and running through the obstacle course and would later find enjoyment by playing games of tag and ‘rugby’ in the inflatable park.

James Barney and Harry Tongue (2022/3 Heads of House)

Pemberley House Report 2021-2022

It was great to return to the house in September, mostly free of Covid restrictions and be able to mix freely again with friends. We welcomed eight new boys into the 4th Form, and three in L6th in September. We also welcomed Gordon Guo, who despite joining Pemberley the year before had not been able to travel to UK and be with us in his first year. It was good to be back! The fun and energy of life in the house quickly resumed, and it didn’t take long for the new boys to get involved in all the activities that went on. Friday nights in Pemberley are always special, but after a year of social distancing, it was great to come together, sing the house song and enjoy a movie night together in traditional fashion - we had really missed these evenings!

The first major event of the year was house singing. Weeks of rehearsal saw us put in a fantastic effort but sadly the judge appeared not to be a Beatles fan! There were several trips organised throughout the year. The cinema and bowling trips were great fun – ‘The Lion King’ theatre trip was a particular highlight in the first term.

In the return after Christmas, Charlie Chen and Aaron Qiu were both influential in initiating a whole house celebration of the Chinese New Year, cooking an incredible hot pot for us to all enjoy. We also celebrated Burns Night by trying a traditional haggis.

As the nights began to draw out in the Spring Term, we christened the new firepit, complete with marshmallows on sticks and popcorn. Miss Bassa also organised an amazing evening celebrating the end of Ramadan with authentic food and celebrations.

The Boarders’ Dinner was a great evening which brought the whole school boarding community together. The highlight of the evening was the guest speaker Damon Pattison (uncle of Jake), himself a former Pemberley boy, who gave a fascinating and very funny insight into boarding life in the 1990’s! The Summer Term also saw an outdoor cinema night organised by our Head of House, Jake Pattison, and the return of the Pemberley Running Club, rekindled by Joe Hart. The meals out with the tutor groups were enjoyable, and a great way to say thank you to our amazing tutor team of Mr. Thompson, Miss Bassa and Mr Watson.

Pemberley supported the house competitions very well this year, with a number of Pemberley boys helping the Crescent team to second place in Senior Rugby, third place in the tug of war, and success in the Junior Cricket. Overall, this was another great year to be part of Pemberley!

Jasper Walter

CRESCENT House Report 2021-2022

Crescent enjoyed an extremely successful 2021-22 year. This was in large part due to the willingness of the boys to give things a try. Not only did this mean we got a full team out for every competition, but it also led to great success across the board, even winning house water polo, led by Daniil Smirnov from lower sixth.

Even in the events where we weren’t perhaps the favourite to win, Crescent still managed to bring the challenge to the perceived favourites. For example, in house basketball, the dominant St Peter’s only managed to scrape a victory by one point, in the final, after a late charge in the second half was led by Ben Beckmann, in the Upper Sixth; we racked up 14 points to St Peter’s’ 15 points. Sports Day was another successful event with a strong third place finish. In house relays it was safe to say that the Lower Sixth boys let the extremely quick Removes down; they managed to finish first in their year group, including finishing earlier than a majority of the upper and lower sixth teams.

In events in which many houses struggled to get a team out, Crescent seem to find it easy, often finding that they had too many players. A good example of this sprit to give thing a go was shown by Vivek Rav who played for the house fives team despite never having played fives ever before. Crescent rounded up a highly decorated year with a 3rd place in house frisbee, where the same willingness to get involved, led to another respectable finish and a positive end to Crescent’s house events for the 2021-22 year.

I am certain this approach will be instilled in the Year Eights who will join our team come September 2022.

Louis Elder (Head of House)

crescent

MAX ALEXANDER

A Level

OLAOLUWA APESIN

A Level, deputy head of house, 4th XV rugby, 4th XI football, medical society (co-chairmen), chemistry society, biology society, beyond biology group, mitre club, tours team, house colours, Bedford School device bank, Romeo and Juliet, Talalay Science Competition finalist

BEN BECKMANN

A Level, deputy head of house/ charities captain, 3rd XV rugby (minor colours), 1st V basketball, deputy head of corps, command sergeant major (CCF), chair of law society, chair of motorsport society, president of German society, chess club, one of the founders of the Bedford School device bank, MoBro

OSCAR CALVERT

IB

MALDWYN CROOK

A Level, 1st XI football, table tennis team, water polo team, volleyball club, Mitre club, critical thinking, law society, chess club, bronze Duke of Edinburgh, academic stripes, University of Cambridge NRICH Maths Solution published

HENRY CUDJOE

A Level, head of arts (Crescent), major rugby colours, 1st team rugby, house colours, basketball, chess, DofE gold

BEN EIDMANS

A Level

JONATHAN HUGGINS

A Level, 3rd XI hockey (colours), 3rd XV rugby (colours), 1st XI cricket (colours)

NATHANAEL HYLTON

IB, CCF Sergeant RAF, philosophy and theology society, english society, 2021 Detweiler winner

SEBASTIAN ILES

A Level, house mentor, major rowing colours, minor sport colours, 1st VIII rowing 2021 and 2022 including Henley, house colours, tours team, debating, law , chess societies, GB trials 2021, 1st place in schools’ chemistry analyst competition

BENJAMIN INGRAMMOORE

A Level, monitor, 1st team hockey, tours team, RS seminars, minor colours in cricket

LAWRENCE JEFFERYS

A Level, vice-captain first team golf, geography society, economics society, Pythagoreans’ society, minor colours, represented Bedford School in the ISGA National Finals in 2020 and 2021 (individually finished 6th in the boys and 9th overall in the ISGA National Final 2021), represented Bedford School in the HMC National Finals in 2018 and 2021

WILLIAM TURNER

A Level, 2 XI football captain, 1st team tennis captain, physics society and maths clinic support

THOMAS WEBB

A Level

AIDAN LEUNG

A Level, wellbeing mentor, first team basketball

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

A Level, head of house, 3rd XV rugby, 3rd XI hockey, swimming, water polo, art society, architecture society, art history, life drawing class, geography society, economics society, house colours

JACQUES WILDON

A Level, house sports captain, 1st XI football, 2nd XI cricket, minor sports colours

Pemberley

CHARLIE CHEN

A Level

ELLIS MORGAN

A Level

JAKE PATTISON

A Level, head of house, mentor, school council, representative for Movember, 1st XV rugby (major colours), first XI football, athletics, boarding house tours, investment society, business society, economics society, house colours

AARON QIU

A Level, 1st team badminton, minor sport colours, photography society, architecture society, film study society, chinese society, winner: school photography competition, 2nd place U16 badminton county tournament

CHARLIE MUMFORD

IB

KOLIA SOROKIN

A Level, president of the chinese society, president: (Pythagoreans’) society, captain of the U18 A water polo team, president: esperanto club, first team water polo, chemistry society, linguistics society, piano, linguistic olympiads (silver), maths challenges (silver), physics challenge (gold), biology challenge (gold), chemistry challenge (silver)

TAWANDA MUNATSI

A Level

OLUWAJOBA THOMAS

A Level

Phillpotts House REPORT 2021-2022

This academic year has been a year of change for Phillpotts. From COVID restrictions to various house events, it is apparent that Phillpotts has fully returned to its former pre-COVID glory.

The first Autumn half term marked the final half term of Mr Fisher as the Phillpotts housemaster. Motivated and competitive as ever, we worked hard in house singing practices and had to overcome missed practices due to quarantine and restrictions. It was amazing to see everyone working together with it being many people’s first experience of a significant house event. It was a blast and although we didn’t win, it was a clear highlight of the year in every aspect. As we said our goodbyes to Mr Fisher and his wonderful family at the house Christmas dinner, we welcomed Mr Bury and his family. The house dinner was held in Phillpotts and featured heartfelt speeches from each Upper Sixth, all of whom had been in the house since the Fourth Form. One door closed, another opened.

The next term kicked off with house tournaments being created by Johnny Cummins with both Mr Ruta and Mr Bury taking part. We had events from pool to Mario Kart, which everyone could take part in to win the title of House Champion. COVID now seemed like a distant fever dream as the house was bustling with energy every night. This continued with inter boarding house indoor football set up by Kabir Singh and Tai Sang-Goodwin, where we were (again) robbed, coming second.

The house is now getting new boarders every other week as more and more people want to join Phillpotts and who can blame them? With all the change and uncertainty, over the past year, I am happy to say we pulled through together as a family. Thank you to all the matrons and cleaners who have helped us have a place to call home. Thank you to the tutors, Mr Williams and more recently, Mr Ramsden. Thanks to Mr Bury for taking over from Mr Fisher, filling his shoes smoothly whilst bringing his own twists to the legendary hot suppers and house meetings and everything behind the scenes that keeps the house running. Finally, goodbye to Mr Ruta and his family as they leave the house; your presence in the house will be missed dearly. As change occurs, we grow and become stronger as a house. One door closes, another opens.

Ethan Ofusu – Head of House

St Cuthbert’s hOUSE rePORT 2021-2022

The house has had a fantastic year, bouncing back from Covid and giving it all we he had. St Cuthbert’s has achieved some great results in the competitions this year with some of the highlights being Senior Squash, U15 Rugby, Junior Badminton, Junior Hockey and Junior Football. As well as this we have had the internal competitions of the house FIFA competition and the Art competition which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.

The junior common room has been enjoyed by all and has become a great space for boys to be during their free time. During breaks, the juniors enjoy playing games with the boys huddled around the Xbox playing FIFA or playing table tennis.

The Sixth Form have intertwined brilliantly and have thoroughly enjoyed the sixth form space where we can both work and relax. We have especially enjoyed the regular supply of bread, jam and chocolate spread from the exceptional matrons: Lisa and the new Mr Talbot.

The Heads of House, Henry and Charles, along with deputy head Ethan, have worked hard to ensure the house runs smoothly. Taking feedback from the House Committee and implementing it to create an even better environment throughout the house.

We would all like to say a huge thankyou to Mr Jones who acted as a temporary house master and added the weekly quiz along with the infamous cup. Mr Holt, the House Master of St Cuthbert’s, also deserves a huge round of applause who has continued contributing to the house and looking after the pupils’ well-being.

Looking forward to next year, I am excited to see what the house can achieve once again. I hope we can continue the legacy that the previous year has left and continue to create an even more warm and enthusiastic house environment.

Merlin Toms

st cuthbert’s

DANIEL BELLO

IB, house head of pupil wellbeing and welfare, 1st XV and 2nd XV team rugby (rugby minor colours), 1st XI football, volleyball team, house colours, tours team, chemistry society, med soc (co-lead), Harpur Science Forum, philosophy & theology society, 2nd orchestra, school band, junior brass, chess club, critical thinkers club, current affairs society, law society, Eckersley society, Movember (co-lead), Bronze and Silver DofE, highly commended in Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics’ PERC video competition, runner up in autumn Philosothon UK competiton, bronze and silver DofE

TYLER CHOGA

A Level, house art captain, art society, produced and acted in Heracles, 2022 articulation regional winner, national finalist 2021 BSIP highly commended, 2020 Detweiler highly commended, 2019 theory of knowledge winner

HENRY CHRISTIAN

A Level

CHARLES COSTELLO

A Level, head of house, 3rd team rugby

GABRIEL DAVIS

A Level, monitor, third XV rugby (colours), fourth XI football, investment society (co-president), Floreat (editor-in-chief)

JAMES DEARDON

A Level, monitor, house mentor, 1st VIII rowing 2021-2022 (major colours), physics gym, tours team, Pythagoreans’ society, DofE (bronze and silver), chemistry society, winner of Talalay Science Prize 2021, academic stripes

REUBEN GLENVILLE

A Level, badminton, Pythagoreans’ society (leader), chemistry society, physics gym, physics & engineering society, critical thinking, chess club, Mitre club, chemistry challenge (gold), senior UKMT (gold), BPhO (top gold), BPhO Round 2 (silver), academic colours, schools analyst competition (first prize)

ROBERT MENHART

A Level, fives first team captain, first team fives captain (colours), second team captain in tennis, house colours, Pythagoreans’ society, physics gym and society, national and regional fives competitor

PETER MOORE

A Level, 3rd and 4th teams: rugby and hockey, UKMT silver, Bebras 2019 round 1 highest in school

MILES RATCLIFFE

A Level, head of house charities, hockey - 4th team captain and minor hockey colours

DILAN SHEEMAR

A Level

JONAH WHITEMAN

A Level, house social secretary, 4th team football, 4th team rugby, basketball team, tennis team, law society, tennis volunteering, house colours, academic stripes, grade 7 trombone, silver DofE, peer mentor training, Ivy House award

ETHAN WHITLOCK

A Level, deputy head of house, chair of english society, 3rd xv rugby, tours team, Stileman English prize, Philpotts Sargeunt Prize for Spoken English

DANIEL WALKER

A Level, house colours, 4th team football, 1st team tennis, motorsport society, house colours

MAZHAR ZA’IR

A Level

Phillpotts

MARCUS CHIEN

A Level, head of astronomy society, co-head of physics and engineering society, house colours, second team football, tours team, first orchestra, chamber orchestra, chess club, charities committee

RAOUL FLORA

A Level

HENRY HU

A Level

CIARAN KILBANE

A Level, monitor, president of the debating society, president of the medical society, 2nds rugby, minor colours, 7s rugby, 1sts and 2nds hockey, cricket, athletics squad, Pythagoreans’ society, debating society, chess club, medics’ society

NICKEY LAM

A Level, deputy head of house (Phillpotts), head of aviation society, head of charities committee, rugby 2nd XV (minor colours)football 3rd team, tennis 1st team, architecture society, art society, art history club, art major colours, house colours, physics gym, Pythagoreans’ society.

HARRY OLDHAM

A Level, monitor, 2nd XV rugby, 2nd XV cricket, 3rd XI hockey, tours team, charities committee (vice president), law society, economics & investment society, geography society, current affairs society, drama production (Brain Storm)

ETHAN OFOSU

IB, head of house, tennis team, chemistry society, chess club, biology society, french society, spanish society, english society, economics society, Mitre club, drama society, christian union, academic stripes x2, Detweiler runner up (creative writing)

LAURIE STREDWICK

A Level

Redburn HOUSE REPORT 2021-2022

Redburn jumped into the 2021/2022 school year with huge excitement as it was the first full year back in the boarding house since COVID started. It would not be a new school year without the arrival of the new boys, all of whom settled in really well. Redburn’s supportive and welcoming ethos was a huge booster for new boys and with awards such as ‘House Champ’ and weekly ‘Success Friday’ events, a real sense of community developed quickly. These events at Redburn helped everyone to feel part of something bigger, whilst also celebrating individual and unassuming achievements that are not always recognised in our busy school week. As well as this, boys can give a presentation to the house on Friday evenings. This presentation can be about literally anything, from the maths of gambling by Sho Kudo to a Dragon’s Den pitch to recruit a pet house tortoise by the House’s dynamicduo, Bertie and Theo.

The first and most anticipated event of the year was House Singing. Through the incredible leadership team of Upper Sixth we got off to a cracking start and quickly got into practising the well-known ‘Sing’ by Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band. Through the six weeks of hard work Redburn achieved a well-deserved second place (robbed of first place by Sanderson’s!) While we did not win the competition, the experience of being back in an environment where a full house was able to come together and support each other every day for over a month was truly amazing, especially after such a long time away from each other. These events always encourage the synergy between all the year groups, helping bring the house closer together.

By the time the second half of the first term had rolled around, the house felt back to normal and became the fulltime home that many boys had missed so dearly, for so long. With our joint day house Paulo, Redburn were able to secure yet another victory in the house ‘Tug of War’, this once again proved that Redburn was not only strong in spirit but also physically. Redburn stayed strong throughout the year with multiple highlights such as a win with Paulo in the ‘Pancake Race’ and ‘Senior House Fives’. The Christmas Dinner saw the awarding of the first set of House Colours and a wonderful speech was delivered by Dr Wallace on ‘Australia’. Redburn charged into the second ever Boarders’ Games with a determined spirit, securing multiple victories in the Rubik’s cube and Cracker Eating Time Trial. We finished the year with a well-deserved third place finish.

Thank you for the continued support from all the Redburn team and a special thanks to Mr Marriott and Mr Nicholl for keeping us in line. Redburn has had a very successful year and no doubt that it will continue into the future.

By Bertie Denton, Theo Artus, Louis Day and Sho Kudo

Paulo Pontine House Report 2021-2022

Heading into this academic year following the year of group bubbles, Paulo Pontine had the agenda of promoting community and unity throughout all years. Whilst this seemed a daunting aim to have, with the help of Mrs Whiteman, our tutors and the senior team it was simply a task of bringing back the culture that Paulo had in the years before the pandemic. This year the house has been able to come back together on many occasions - one example being the resurgence of House Singing. Whilst it was sadly not our night to win, House Singing to Paulo is like butter to sliced bread, and it provided an opportunity to erupt with passion for the House and come together in a nail-biting competition.

A further all-time favourite of Paulo House is the highly anticipated House Relays and Charity Run. For Paulo,

PAULO PONTINE

JAKE BENTLEYEVANS

A Level, monitor, 3rd XV rugby, 4th XI football, law society, academic colours, house colours, rugby minor colours

ETHAN GALBRAITH

A Level, Paulo sports captain, football 1st XI (minor colours), cricket 2nd/ 3rd XI, house colours, geography society, bronze DofE

HARRY GOODMAN

A level, house colours, b team rugby-half rugby colours, b team football

ALEX IANKOV

A Level, deputy head of house, 4th team rugby, 4th team football, 2nd VIII rowing, medics society, Pythagoreans society, law society, geography society, silver award in Biology Olympiad, Bronze DofE, EPQ, house colours

THOMAS JENKIN

A Level, head of house, art society, house colours

GABRIEL MANN

A Level, monitor, house colours, rugby major colours, rugby honours, rowing major colours, tours team, geography society, Ashdown society

DARCY MCBRIDE

A Level, house colours, golf team, tennis (a team), fives (a team), clay pigeon shooting – representing Bedford School in the British Schools & Young Shots Championships

ALEX MOFFAT

A Level, house colours, academic colours, cross country team (colours), athletics team, 3rd XI football, hockey, tennis, fives, table tennis, charities committee, tours, classical society, law society, greek, mandarin, latin prize, literary analysis prize

HARRY TAYLOR

A Level, Paulo arts captain, 5th XI football, architecture society, art society, art history course, law society, entrepreneurship society, house colours

ALEX TUNNICLIFFE

A Level, head of house, house colours, 3rd xv rugby, rec golf, entrepreneurship society, law society

LUAY MUGHAL

A Level

REDBURN

JONTY DAWES

A Level, head of house, 2nd XV rugby (minor colours), 3rd XI hockey (minor colours), 2nd XI cricket, geography society, tours team, headmaster’s scarf

TOMAS ELSE

A Level, head of house, mentor, 1XV rugby (major colours), 2 XI hockey (vice-captain) (minor colours), 4 XI cricket, tours, drama society, citizenship speaker, Mo-Bro

HARRY HINE

IB, monitor, 3rd XI hockey, Floreat, DROP

JOE HUANG

A Level, basketball second team, economics society

LOK, SAMSON

A Level, secretary of art, deputy head of house, table tennis team, brass ensemble, jazz orchestra, wind orchestra, symphony orchestra, Redburn house singing conductor, Detweiler (Highly commended), house Colours, art colours

JAMES MOFFAT

A Level, monitor, football 2nd XI, philosophy and theology society (co-president), classics society, Tanner memorial prize (physics), school prize for religious studies, academic stripe, LAMDA grade 8 distinction, house colours

TED WALKER

A Level, monitor, 1st XV rugby (major colours), cricket minor colours (2nd XI), football (1st XI), tours team, deputy head of geography society, Mo-Bro, grade 8 singing

charity is of great importance. This year, following tutor group presentations, the House chose the Tibbs Dementia Foundation. Both these events provided a great opportunity for the house to not only win some house points but also raise money for an excellent cause. This year saw the return of vertical tutor groups. Our new boys gained the opportunity to feed upon the wealth of knowledge of the more senior members of the house. Alongside this, the peer mentor scheme like always has been a resounding success providing new boys in the house not only a mentor but a friend to seek in the tougher elements of school life.

All of these events provided increased excitement for the long-awaited Paulo House Dinner in March - an occasion when all boys in the house come together to share a meal provided by our esteemed catering team and to enjoy a truly engaging speech from our very own Dr Wallace. This year we were also joined by some surprise OB guests from Dr Wallace’s tutor group (Messrs Bhamra, Fordham, Hicks and Parrish). Whilst this year has been one of coming back together, we will, however, sadly be saying goodbye to a man who not only embodies the ethos and culture of Paulo in everything he does, but who has been a major influence in the lives of so many boys in the house. So we say goodbye and good luck to Dr Wallace.

Heads of House – Tom Jenkin and Alex Tunnicliffe

Talbot’s House REPORT 2021-2022

Talbot’s has achieved another extraordinary year. Recovering from the disruptions of COVID-19 with our new Housemaster Mr. Wise, house activities including trips to the trampoline park and gokarting resumed, together with cross-year groups socials in the House. Smiles on faces were no longer covered with masks, and this re-fuelled the enthusiasm and solidarity among housemates, making Talbot’s one of the most comfortable and cheerful boarding houses, which we proudly call home.

The House Singing Competition in October was a definite highlight in the Autumn Term. With James Watson conducting and Gideon Chan accompanying, we performed ‘Someone You Loved’ by Lewis Capaldi which guaranteed Talbot’s a strong 3rd place overall. Of course, the aftermath is always the best – the karaoke with the St Peter’s day boys and staff - and it was fantastic to interact with our twinned house once again outside of lessons. Another highlight was our House Christmas dinner. House colours were given out, boys wore their hipster Christmas jumpers, and some creative or pranky presents were exchanged on the night for Secret Santa, which was full of laughter and love.

Spring Term was a competitive term for Talbot’s, as various iconic events took place. These included resumption of the House Championships and quizzes. After rounds and rounds of fierce table tennis matches, it was Fifth former Justin standing on the top of the podium with a glorious smash in the end to win in a thriller. The Pool Championships also attracted numerous audiences analysing tactics and calculating angles for their peers in the barn every night. It was the lower sixth former Makar who eventually won the tournament and had his name engraved on the board. Another absolute highlight was the traditional house quiz, with the house divided into 6 teams, stimulating collaborative and creative answers to some of the most intellectual questions put up by Mr and Mrs Wise. Together with the deep, dense musical culture in the house, some boys also won various music competitions internally and externally including the Bedfordshire Music Festival, including our very own James Watson who won the School’s Senior Musician of the Year.

The Summer Term started off again with a bang as the house barbecue was held, with parents joining and some OBs returning all the way from Edinburgh! We all got to enjoy the clear skies and the bright sun shining on the fields, together with the fascinating ice creams delivered by the ice cream truck. With both internal and external examinations taking place this term, the unity among housemates had never been greater. Boys offered help to each other during prep time with patience and care, while delivering a quiet area to work hard. Of course, joy and cheers were continued to be filled in the barn every night with suppers provided by Mr Wise and Mr Peters with our everyday ‘around the world’ game with our table tennis rackets. The pleasant English weather in summer also laid the foundation of our ‘football gang’, adding more fun and excitement to the house.

It has been a fantastic year for us and thank you very much to all the staff who helped make this year so fruitful. We wish you all to stay healthy and continue strive for excellence in the coming year.

Gideon Chan

St Peter’s House Report 2021-2022

We may be the size of a shed, but we are as strong as an army. The new school year was still full of reminders of the restrictions from early 2021, but we were finally all but free from the grip of Covid. This year, as in any other, the boys of St. Peter’s certainly made their names known through success after success in all aspects of school life. The Autumn Term saw the boys hit the ground running with a very strong performance in the return of the beloved Sports Day, gaining a creditable third place followed shortly by further improvement in the House Singing competition in which we placed a strong second. Yet the real triumph in the house was through rugby in which the U16 and senior boys both won their categories! Our boys were not only hugely successful on the sports field but also in the classroom as we topped the merit charts too, landing us in a very creditable third in the House Championship as the Autumn Term ended.

The boys may have been locked down for almost two years, but they certainly didn’t lock away their running shoes!

st PETER’s

TALBOT’S

JACOB BAILEY

A Level, head of charities (house), vice-captain of boats (rowing), 1st VIII rowing (major colours), 2nd XV rugby (minor colours)

DIEGO CITRINITI

A Level

ANISH KATECHIA

A Level, monitor, academic colours, triple academic stripes, senior house option, house colours, house committee, school citizenship team, cricket 1st team (minor colours), basketball 1st team (minor colours), rugby 3rd team (minor colours), BSIP Runner-Up 2021, chemical society, physics and engineering society, debating society, Pythagoreans’ society, tours team, bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh award, Talalay Science Presentation competition (unofficial) Runner-Up 2021, MoBro

PRANAY LAD

IB, Sergeant in CCF Army, 5ths football team, Year 9 rugby C team, Year 9 cricket D team, St Peter’s house football, Bronze DofE, CAS, BSL Beginner

MAXWELL MARTIN

A Level, monitor, house options, captain of 1st basketball team, basketball club

THOMAS HERBERT

A Level, house head of sport, 1st XI hockey, 2nd XI cricket (minor colours), 4th XV rugby, geography society (president), academic colours, Headmaster’s scarf

ARUN NANDA

A Level, head of house, Paulo Pontine outside council, recreational golf captain, student lead on Malawi Community Partnership, tours team

ALEX ROBINS

A Level, monitor, peer mentor, 1st team golf, golf captain 2021/2022, sports performance group, minor colours, tours team, Bedford school device bank (co-founder), charities committee, geography society, business society, Pythagoreans’ society, senior maths problem solving, Movember, house colours, Independent Schools Golf Association national finalist (2019, 2021, 2022)

CHRISTOPHER SPORTON

A Level

OLIVER STRINGER

A Level, 2nd team rugby (minor colours)

AUSTIN WARD

A Level, head of art, house head of sport, rowing 1st VIII (minor colours), rugby 2nd XV vice-captain (minor colours), 1st place Detweiler arts competition

ALEX EDUN

IB, monitor,boarding committee, 1st XV rugby, 1st VII rugby 7s (vice-captain), athletics and rugby: major colours

KIERAN GILMOUR

IB, 1st XV rugby Captain (major colours & honours cap), academic colours, 1st VII captain, 2nd XI hockey, 2nd XI cricket, current affairs society (board member), mitre club

DELL KANG

A Level, academic colours, 1st badminton, deputy head of house, physics and engineering society, aeronautics society

ZAKHAR MOCHANOV

A Level

SEBASTIAN PEACOCK

A Level, 1st badminton

JAMES WATSON

A Level, arts colours, organist, president of the music society, head of jazz orchestra, head of choral society, head of funk band, symphony orchestra, consort choir, chapel choir, chamber orchestra, Adrian Boult society, tours, 5th XI football

ORLANDO WILLIAMS

IB, head of house, rugby 4ths, rowing 2nd VIII (minor rowing colours), tours, Pythagoreans’ society, current affairs society

Sporting wins after wins continued piling in thick and fast as we proceeded through the spring term with victories in junior volleyball, senior basketball, senior badminton and House relays. We certainly upheld our reputation for excelling in sporting environments. None of this would have been possible without the great leadership from our sports Captains, Tom Herbert and Austin Ward, who rallied the boys together at every hurdle and stumbling block, always fielding a very strong team no matter the circumstances. And once again we found ourselves excelling in the musical department achieving an admirable second place in House Music as well as topping the merit charts once again for the second term in a row! We ended the second term of the academic year in style with the annual house dinner, which featured a tremendous performance from our star musicians: Josh Jeganathan, Gideon Chan and James Watson. On a par with the outstanding musical entertainment were some superb speeches from the Head of House Arun Nanda, guest speaker Dr Wallace and our very own Housemaster, Mr. Cassell!

All in all, the ‘Shed Army’ spirit was not dampened one bit by the lockdown, from which we have simply grown even closer and stronger since. With the return of the Day House, we have fed our competitive spirit at every free moment with heated games of table tennis and with a new edition to the House this year: table football, which was kindly donated by OB and old St. Peter’s boy George Edwards and his family.

All year round, the incredible support from Mr Cassell, the matrons, Mr Talbot, and the senior boys has helped us be the best men we can be. We all look forward to delivering in our exams this summer and doing it all again next year.

Caleb Sanders and Jeremiah Williams

Ashburnham HOUSE REPORT 2021-2022

As the academic year draws to a close, it comes with great joy to look back on Ashburnham’s successes. With renewed appreciation, after two years of uncertainty, we leapt into every opportunity, with eyes set on the House Cup. An early focus of the Senior Team was the involvement of the boys, encouraging all year groups to get stuck in. The result: this year’s Ashburnham cohort have taken part admirably and proven successful in a broad range of house events. Highlights include: 1st in Junior Fives, Senior Hockey, Sports Day, Senior Debating, and House Singing. These excellent feats mean that we’re among the top contenders for the House Cup entering the final weeks of the year.

There has been much else going on. At the beginning of the year, the Upper Sixth were invited to join the Fourth Formers in a nostalgic trip to Box End Waterpark, where the Fourth Form found great enjoyment in continuously pushing the Sixth Formers into the water. House Singing also springs to mind when looking back; coming first in both unison and part song to claim the title of “Overall Winners” was a great way to welcome this tradition back. Finally, Ashburnham’s House Dinner wrapped up a memorable year; we wished farewell to the Upper Sixth, enjoying speeches and jokes from Joint Heads of House, Charlie McCutcheon and Ollie Blakemore, along with the delicious American cuisine.

All of this, along with much else, would not have been possible without the tremendous effort and commitment shown by Mr. Everitt, Mrs. Horne, and all our house tutors. Overall, the Ashburnham community has definitely lived up to our motto: ‘Lutum et Sanguis’. Our ‘mud and blood’ mentality, and our growing determination to include, involve, challenge and celebrate one another, has been behind all our achievements this year.

Deimis Sukys

Sanderson’s House report 2021-2022

It’s a well-worn phrase, but this year has been like no other! We were delighted to return to a sense of normality in the House and having everyone back, all together, immediately created a huge sense community. This was demonstrated very effectively with our performance at the annual House Singing Competition. Led expertly by Sam Crowe-Lamont and our Head of House, Henry Flatt, rehearsals never felt like a chore and despite the odd hiccup, our performance on the night brought home all three cups! A first in Sanderson’s history! Special mention to Dylan Swain for his work with the Part Song and our incredible Fourth Form pianist, Harry L’Estrange.

Of the numerous trips during the Autumn Term, the highlight was our Christmas Dinner at Santaniello’s. It was made compulsory to wear Santa hats throughout the evening (thanks Mr Midgley!), but it was quite a sight seeing all of us walking up the street dressed as Christmas elves! The evening also marked the end of Mr Huddlestone’s time as our long serving Assistant Housemaster; we are really pleased he has stayed on as a visiting tutor though.

The last two terms have seen a healthy combination of hard work and fun in the House. The atmosphere has been universally collegiate, and the sense of House pride and community lives as strong as ever!

We wish all of the leavers well and look forward to a return for the 2022/2023 academic year, where we hope to retain the cups.

Artin Lee – Deputy Head of House

ASHBURNHAM

JAMES BENNETT

A Level, 1st XV rugby team, rugby Major colours, rugby Honours cap, rugby sevens 1st VII, 3rd team cricket, Ashdown society, Core, Crossfit

OLIVER BLAKEMORE

IB, 1st XV rugby team, rugby Major colours, rugby Honours cap, house colours, head of house

AIDAN CARRUTHERS

A Level, fives second team captain, house colours

JASPER CUMMING

A Level, sergeant in army section of CCF, deputy president charities committee, 3rd team hockey, 2nd team rugby (minor colours), shooting, tours team, badminton, house colours

JAMES CUTLER

A Level, monitor, deputy head of school, duty monitor, 3rd XV rugby (captain, minor colours), 3rd XI hockey (captain, minor colours), 3rd XI cricket (captain, minor colours), investment society (president), economics society (president), current affairs society (vicepresident), geography society (vice-president), Pythagoreans, tours team, academic colours, house colours, BSIP prize winner, Heald prize for German winner, Headmaster’s prize for entrepreneurship

IBRAHIM HASSAN

A Level, 2nd XI cricket (colours), 2nd XI football, 1st team basketball, economics society (co-lead), academic colours, house colours

WILLIAM MALTBY

A Level, art colours, house colours

CHARLIE MCCUTCHEON

A Level, head of house, 1st VIII rowing (major colours), art history, art society, architecture society, law society, economics society, William James Burr Junior Memorial Prize for art, Detweiler highly commended, BSIP highly commended, art colours

JAYDEN ROBINSON

A Level, 1st team basketball (colours), 1st team tennis, 2nd team cricket, law society, economics society, house colours, minor sports colours

ARCHIE SELLERS

A Level, house colours

FREDDIE SELLERS

A Level, house sports captain, house colours, vice-captain for XI football, 1st V squash, 1st XI football, Headmaster’s scarf, academic stripe

YONATHAN SILESHI

A Level, co-president of physics and engineering society, 1st team basketball, minor colours, chess club, Pythagorean’s club, computer science club, classics society, Eckersley society, drama society, environmental work, philosophy society, mitre club, linguistics society, lockdown film club, co-founder of Drop Charity Organization, Ready2Lead, Global Social Leaders Collaboration award, British Physics Olympiad (merit), British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad (merit), UK Bebras Intermediate Challenge (distinction), house colours

DEIMIS SUKYS

IB, deputy head of house, house colours, executive editor of Ashburnham articles, shooting 1st team, tours team, philosophy and theology society, business and economics society, current affairs society, law society, rifle club, theatre (Edelweiss Pirates, Much Ado About Nothing, Little Shop of Horrors, The 39 Steps, Animal Farm, house Drama), debating society drama colours, fifth form project (highly commended), Philosothon UK 2020 - runner up, IB Group 4 Project - 1st place, University of Oxford Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition 2020 (highly commended), winning essay Bedford School Journal of Digital Learning competition (fake news and social media)

DYLAN SWAIN

A Level, senior 4 monitor, head of tours, Ashburnham Senior team, rugby 2nd XV, minor colours, basketball 1st V, minor colours, athletics squad, minor colours, head of chapel choir, head of classical society, head of drama society, founding member of Eckersley society, choral society member, academic colours, drama colours, house colours, ABRSM Performance Diploma in singing, DofE gold award

SANDERSON’S

CHARLIE BARBER

A Level, house colours

BEN CHAN

A Level, first team badminton, minor colours (badminton), house colours

BONBIE CHAN

A Level, house colours

SAM CROWELAMONT

A Level, minor colours (rugby), house colours, house singing conductor (won all three cups)

HENRY FLATT

A Level, head of house, Headmaster’s scarf, minor colours (rugby), house colours, architecture society

ARTIN LEE

A Level, deputy head of house, leader of Pythagorean’s society, table tennis team, maths STEP class, piano grade 7, pianist: house singing, Maths Challenge (bronze and silver), Bebras challenge (distinction), Chemistry Challenge (copper), DofE (bronze)

TA LEEPIBOONSAWATS

A Level, deputy head of house, house colours, highly commended prize in Detweiler competition (Art)

ANDY WANG

A Level, captain of badminton team, chairman of business society, 1st team badminton (colours), business society (chairman), charities committee, device bank, economics society, geography society, investment society, aviation society, current affairs society., academic stripes, Ivy House, minor sports colours, silver DofE

STAFF NEWS FAREWELL

James Crackle

We were extremely lucky to enlist the services of James Crackle for two years as an expert Teacher of Music. He was recruited in the height of the COVID pandemic (online) and proved to be just as convincing in person as he was online! James threw himself into all aspects of the musical life of the school, including playing flute in a number of different ensembles. We will miss James sorely as he moves onto further post-graduate research project in musicology.

JMS

Charlie Fisher

Charlie Fisher came to Bedford in the Summer Term of 2011, fresh from management consultancy, and prior to that, the army. Charlie, as you can see, is a man made for institutions. He came to learn how to teach and spent the summer shadowing the department. In the Autumn Term he started teaching proper, and it was clear that things were destined to go well, not just for the department, but the school. He would often remind me of his interview lesson, which to be frank, was not the best I have ever seen (though I have seen worse). I didn’t like to remind him that he was the only candidate for the History job and so interview lesson or not, he was hired. He turned out to be a great teacher, the type of teacher that boys pin their faith upon and trust absolutely to get them through. He is also the most organised of people and those management consultancy skills not only meant he was soon head of UCAS, but also made the department spreadsheets look wonderful. We all relied on him far too much I suspect, but Charlie has broad shoulders. After his stint as Head of UCAS, he became a day house master and quickly afterwards, a boarding house master. In the latter role he really came into his own. Phillpotts became the house with the reputation for being calm and lovely to live in. His boys were happy and hard-working. Of course, whilst the meteoric rise of Charlie at Bedford was going on, he and Martha had two children and they instilled a genuinely warm, family atmosphere into the house. Charlie will be much missed by the department. He contributed so much, and of course, was a mainstay of the Politics Department too. We all know he will make a really fine deputy head at King’s Ely.

EEP

Daniel Koch

Daniel joined the school six years ago as Vice Master and I still look back and marvel at how he dealt with an inspection so brilliantly in his first term. He wrote a huge number of policies in about six weeks – and got rid of one or two as well, my favourite (and, I think, his) being the earring policy. He has the most acute intellectual capacity, a huge work ethic, a devotion to the job at hand, and astonishing attention to detail. The way those inspectors were blown away six years ago became, for us all at Bedford, the norm under Daniel’s tenure.

He had to deal with all sorts of challenge since he came into one of the hardest jobs in teaching. There are not many left who could have taken on the sheer range of his role, which included being in charge of safeguarding (a whole role in itself), the day to day running of the school, all co-curricular, staff issues, pastoral care, line management of an unfeasibly large group of people from Housemasters to Lead nurses and counsellors, leading the monitors, communications with parents, dealing with the public and so on. His strong sense of right and wrong; his clarity of thought and sheer determination always to do the right thing by the boys, helped him through some unbelievably complex situations through which Daniel never once lost a sense of integrity or calling. There is a depth to Daniel which is genuinely inspirational. This depth was not always needed, however. I have had some fun looking at old emails and I found this one, which shows you how just far reaching his role actually was. This was apparently the eighth email on this topic from this boy….

Dear Sir, I understand I am being impertinent by doing this but I must urge you to reconsider your decision over the loo roll. After a particularly uncomfortable experience today in the loo, I realised that the loo roll is worse than I thought. It is really very poor and I feel embarrassed that guests of the school have to use this. Please understand that I am not trying to be a nuisance but simply trying to make the school a nicer place by improving simple things like loo roll. Kind Regards Olly

He also has a lovely lightness of touch, which he needed to call on in many sensitive moments and which may have kept him sane through some of them and he never lost his sense of humour – like when he spotted a typo on draft minutes: “Item 7. Summer Term Focus. Staff Warfare”. Or when I wished him luck for the home learning of his own children. He replied, “they have the stay-at-home PE thing cracked already – it’s called “bouncing off the walls”.

Lastly, not only did Daniel oversee a huge development of pastoral care at the school but he also published a book on Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote another (a History of New York), competed in the European Triathlon Championships, competed in a UK ironman in Bolton, ran a marathon, cycled from the East Coast to the West coast of England in two days with Hugh Maltby, ran every single street in Bedford (making the local press and giving a brilliant assembly on it), had two children called Samuel and Jacob with Laura and apparently almost as importantly acquired two bunnies called Caspar and Clover.

I honestly do not know how he managed it – he is an amazing man, and he will be a brilliant Headmaster. Our loss is very much Loughborough’s gain; we are really going to miss Daniel, and Laura, and Samuel and Jacob – they have absolutely enriched our community.

JSH

Caroline Millington

In the five years that she has been at Bedford School, Caroline has managed to do an awful lot – you might be surprised to read that Caroline has, in fact, been part time rather than full time; although I know

for Caroline, it has been a full-time commitment on many occasions. Caroline joined us in 2017 from Mark Rutherford and before that she was Head of Drama at Northampton Grammar. She described herself from the onset as a ‘doer’and if you need a job done, Caroline will always help out; nothing is too much trouble. She seamlessly settled into a very busy department and has always put the boys first in everything she does.

Her first production ‘Edelweiss Pirates’ back in 2018 was a thought-provoking National Connections play, which challenged the students to convey complex historical material in a mature manner. She thrived on ‘flying solo’ on this project and her attention to detail on set, and with costume and props was impressive. I have collaborated on three major school productions with Caroline and wish to thank her hugely for her support and guidance. Caroline takes real pride in her work on stage and tackles projects with gusto; give her a prop list and she is a happy lady! We will miss her.

APK

Michael Ruta

Michael Ruta first left the school in 2011. As a schoolboy he was a top Geographer an excellent rower and a monitor. It is therefore no surprise that he has made an excellent Geography teacher.

Michael has done so much in his four years with us, teaching a full timetable of Geography across the year groups, taking responsibility for the Fourth Form course, representing the department for IB, running the Geography society, Assistant Housemaster of Philpotts and tirelessly coaching rowing. His efficiency and energy are enviable and will certainly be missed.

Michael is a highly competent teacher who builds an excellent rapport with the boys. His resourcing of the Fourth Form Geography course has been exceptionally good, and we are all very grateful to him for his hard work with this. Michael has been the energy behind the geography society over the past few years and has encouraged so many of our sixth form geographers to put on talks and engage with extension opportunities. This was most impressive during lockdown where he was able to maintain the society over Teams. I am sure that providing this platform has helped to fuel the everincreasing numbers of sixth form geographers and university applicants we have.

It has been great to see Michael and his family flourish in Philpotts. This is a huge highlight of the job for Michael (thankfully given his next move) and he has been an excellent support to both Charlie Fisher and Chris Bury as housemasters over the past three years. The support and encouragement he shows to his tutees is excellent, the boys in his house in Ely are very lucky to be under his future care.

He has shown an incredible commitment to rowing in his time at Bedford School, attending numerous events, investing in delivering quality coaching, running countless extra sessions, giving up his weekends and holidays, delivering inspiring speeches and even going so far as to put up a new Geography display in the department complete in boat club colours!

He may be leaving Bedford…again…but he has ensured that he is still connected to us through the River Great Ouse.

TWR

Janice Skerman

Reach back, way back: lift the curtain on September, 1982. What was happening? Mrs Thatcher was, of course, Prime Minister having recently led Britain to victory in the Falklands War and, in September itself, Chris Evert won her sixth and final US Open, Jimmy Conners his fourth, Pope John Paul II gave an audience for PLO leader Yasser Arafat, filming began on Sean Connery’s final appearance as James Bond in ‘Never Say Never Again’, Bruce Springsteen released his sixth album ‘Nebraska’ and the Inland Telegram Service closed in the UK after over a hundred years. It was also the month and year in which Janice began working at Bedford School, as a cleaner in Burnaby House, under the stewardship of Tim Machin, not long in post as housemaster himself.

Back then, Janice tells me, Burnaby was not the embodiment of all things sixth-form that it later became, and all years lived within its walls; Janice loved her time there. She cleaned the boys’ rooms, amongst them she remembers the head of school, Greg Eckersley, who was, she says, a wonderful lad. Janice worked under Tim, then Alec and Nina Crowe and finally under Robin and Tanya Williams – a dazzling roll call of illustrious Burnaby houseparents of the late twentieth century.

Janice also began working in the dining halls in the afternoon, after cleaning in the morning, serving meals in the six housesized halls, that later became two and then the one big space that we now enjoy. She also often worked at sports fixtures, serving food to ravenous boys after a game and tea and coffee to parents cold from the frozen touchline. She worked in the Pavilion serving cricket teams, on the Gordon Field after hockey fixtures and with the rugby boys and parents during the Christmas term. She enjoyed getting to know boys and parents and, particularly with the cricket, remembers fondly Alastair Cook, his brother and parents and Alex Wakeley, who went on to captain Northants. She reels off the names of all the mastersin-charge of cricket past as though they are in the room: David Jarrett, Jeremy Farrell, Derek Randall, Pete Sherwin and dear old Gary Steer. She enjoyed her time working for all of them.

The golden memory of her time at Bedford School is the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh, when he opened the observatory in 2002. Vetted by Buckingham Palace, Janice was part of the team of catering staff kitted out in special tartan waistcoats and bowties, who were carefully rehearsed beforehand so that all went to plan on the day. Janice poured the great man his bottle of beer at one point, which she still holds a privilege all these years later.

And so, after all this time, Janice has had to retire because she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. It has affected her leg and meant she was falling over and passing out at one point before the diagnosis was confirmed, so she could not continue into her fortieth year, much as she wanted to. The dining hall staff miss her and we miss her too.

In her retirement she has the Park Road Methodist Church to keep her busy and enjoys listening to the weekly speaker at the Wesley Guild; but she misses the camaraderie of school life, the roar of the waiting queue, the scrape of the final boy to vacate his chair, her friends and colleagues. Her ideal day, she said, would involve working a day in the dining hall (one of the very few times that work has featured in an ideal day) and then time spent with family and particularly her granddaughters.

Janice has spent her working life in unstinting service; she is 

 one of the countless numbers whose dedication has enabled others, in their turn, to serve. She has watched as generations of boys have grown and thrived and her care has seen them flourish. She cherishes her time in the school and the school community, in its turn, cherishes her. We wish her all luck in her retirement years.

Could I have a few more chips with that, please, Janice?

AWG

Susie Spyropoulos

Susie Spyropoulos initially came to Bedford School to cover Richard Walker’s sabbatical term in 2008, returning again to a permanent position as a Geography teacher in 2009. Susie has had a hugely positive influence on so many of our young men. Her calm, composed manner creates a warm and inclusive classroom which has inspired a good number through the years to continue with Geography throughout their education at Bedford School and on to university. Susie has organised and helped to run numerous fieldtrips locally and further afield to Norfolk, Somerset, Wales, Dorset and Iceland to name a few. She is a true believer in the importance of giving all students an opportunity to experience the outdoors. Susie has been incredibly dependable in the department in so many areas, particulalrly through her responsibilities for the Human A level course; we are incredibly grateful to her for this and everything else she has done.

As well as teaching Geography she has previously been in charge of citizenship for the school. Not only engaging boys with important subject matter and life skills through lessons and workshops but also having them run sessions to teach, coach and mentor others. Her leadership of the citizenship programme brought together a team of teachers to form the department we recognise still. Susie’s compassionate and values centred approach has meant that she has made a real success of both this role and her coordination of the Community Partnership Programme over the past few years. This is an achievement of particular note and one that has taken a huge amount of energy to build up to its current provision. The Community Partnership Programme has benefitted a large number of local organisations such as primary schools, nursing homes and charities as well as a good number of our sixth form boys.

Susie will be remembered for her incredible work with the Movember charity, this really will be a legacy of hers as boys engage with this worthy cause in future years. Bedford School has regulalrly been amongst the top supporters and this is frequently recognised in their charity awards evenings. She has run many other initiatives in her time in the role, including ‘live below the line’ and the ‘charity sleep out’, all of which will have benefitted both charities and boys immensely. She has certainly ensured that many boys will see the importance of supporting charities in their adult lives.

Susie has been a regular mentor to new staff; she is incredibly compassionate and supportive. It is this supportive and values driven approach that has made her an excellent tutor in Ashburnham and I know Simon Everitt the boys and staff team will miss her.

We wish Susie all the best with her move to Goldington Academy; we know that she will be amazing and that they are very lucky students to have her teaching them.

Albin Wallace

Al Melvill put me onto him. Melvill had that foxy grin of his, as he buttonholed me one day in the Common Room, soon after Dr Wallace had landed at Bedford School: ‘Have you spoken to Albin about film?’

‘No.’

‘You must do,’ said the gnomic head of the Classics department, before turning on his heel and leaving the building.

So I had to seek Albin out. And I have tried to keep our conversation going ever since I first found him: Albin invariably makes you feel better about the world. He always has something to say that will shine a light into a fascinating corner and his film expertise is horrifying and stupendous – I can see why Melvill grinned. Albin’s favourites are blood-soaked horrors, classics of the genre; he revels in clotted gore. The older I get, the less sprayings of guts appeal; Albin, however, has the timeless, unslakable lust for blood of the true vampire.

Albin started at Bedford School in April, 2018, as the school’s first-ever director of digital learning; he was tasked with developing a structure for embedding digital learning across prep and upper schools. He set about getting the whole school onto Office 365 and ensured staff had laptops to meet the challenges of lockdown. He also generated enthusiasm for all that is digital, entering boys into competitions such as the Oxford University Computing Challenge. He taught in both prep and upper schools, both English and computing. He has also been right up to his neck in school sport during his stay: as well as coaching rugby and Aussie rules football, he has loved nurturing the emerging talents of the third XI cricketers: ‘Watching them walk blinking out into the summer sun as they take the field for the first time has been a tremendous thing,’ he says, with a smile of happy memory.

He has been widely involved in various aspects of school life and is a wildly popular tutor in Paulo, serving under, he says (and I wholeheartedly second him), ‘…the greatest housemaster ever - Fiona Whiteman.’ At this year’s Paulo dinner he also achieved the impossible: he gave a genuinely engrossing house dinner speech. I have heard many speeches at many house dinners and have given a fair number myself; I have never heard or given one that was gripping from first word to last. Albin’s was.

During his speech he gave each member of the Paulo house staff a film to watch or a character from a film that they resembled. He flattered me ridiculously in suggesting that I was the great Alan Ladd in ‘Shane’. So I’ll give him a character from a favourite play of mine that he has a ticket to see during the summer: he is the Professor in Jez Butterworth’s immortal Jerusalem: the kind of man not to judge his company by some arcane academic standard, but up for fun come one, come all, whilst being able, of a sudden, to tell us something profound and astonishing. He knows what an English woodland is for.

His speeches to the Art Society have been riveting too, whether on German Expressionist films or Grunewald’s alter piece in Isenheim, near Colmar in Alsace. Albin talked to me for some time about how this painting was used by the patients in the hospital there to meditate on pain: ‘If Christ suffered thus, I too can bear my sufferings…’ Listening to him made me want to view the painting myself: I could use something to help me with my own daily meditations.

When he leaves he will miss his colleagues; he has worked in education since 1978 and is now sixty-five: he says that the

staff of Bedford School are the nicest group that he has ever worked with.

And has he any distillations after forty-four years of working life, I ask. Albin gives me that benign smile and tells me that people work for various reasons: money, passion, company and fulfilment. He has found something of all of these things in his working life and has been vindicated in deciding to come back to the classroom, which he left as a teacher in 1983 to helm teacher-training organisations, work on research and run an educational company. He has enjoyed this Indian summer, returning to the chalkface where he began his working life; he can look back on a career well spent; he has pursued his passions and had the freedom to follow his interests.

And what does the next stage hold for him? No great plans: ‘I don’t have a clue,’ he beams at me. There are things he wants to do, places to see – he has just renewed his passport – but there is no real scheme, much beyond helping his wonderful wife run their company so that she might get off to the golf links if the mood takes her.

He has a mug that reads ‘Village Idiot’ on his desk: his Aussie friends bought it after visiting him in his East Northants village and concluding it was everything they suspected an English village to be. He cherishes his mug.

I tell you something: if Albin is the village idiot, it is a village I want to live in: half an hour in his company is such a glorious education in so many things you’d be an idiot to want to listen to anybody else.

His loss will leave a long ache: we wish him luck always.

AWG

WELCOME

Danielle Boughey

Miss Boughey, a drama teacher who previously taught here in 2017, has made her return having taught in schools such as The Bishop of Winchester Academy in Bournemouth. A fun fact about Miss Boughey is that she has an identical twin; she is older by twelve minutes. She is driven by her love for the theatre, whether performing in a play or directing one. She was drawn to Bedford School by the beautiful facilities and the young and talented students she has the opportunity to work with. She also runs a theatre company called ‘Five Star Theatre’ which includes pantomime and children’s theatre. Alongside this she also loves watching drama, whether it be in the theatre or on her TV at home. One of Miss Boughey’s favourite plays is A Streetcar Named Desire. She finds that one of the things that makes her proud is walking off stage after a run of nights and reflecting on how well she and the cast has performed and relishing the audience enjoyment of the play knowing she helped create it. Her ideal day would contain her playing with her dog, watching some gripping drama at the theatre or Netflix, then going out to eat with friends to a restaurant, preferably Mexican, though she also loves an Indian takeaway. Another interest of hers is football, supporting Birmingham’s finest, Aston Villa. Some career ambitions are to one day become Head of Drama and potentially a boarding housemistress in the future. We all wish Miss Boughey a great time at Bedford School and beyond her time here.

Isaac Talbot

Daniel Forrester

This year we welcome the new Head of the Bedford School Computer Science Department, Daniel Forrester: a well-spoken father of two children (and two rescued cats), an ex-software engineer who worked developing Helicopter simulators for training pilots, college lecturer, former reservist Signaller in the British Army and a Burnley fan. Whilst we discussed the merits of Vincent Kompany’s tenure as manager, I further broached the subject of his prior careers. Mr Forrester has worked in Munich, Germany with major Aerospace companies such as Eurocopter and EADS, now sub sections of industry giant Airbus. Later he moved to England and taught Computer Science as an A-level lecturer at Nelson & Colne College, which also saw him teaching Mathematics, and Rochdale Sixth Form College. Bedford School is his first teaching job at an independent school.

When discussing his hobbies, Mr Forrester speaks of running as his passion; he is known to take part in the ‘occasional’ half marathon and regularly runs to school as part of his commute. Mr Forrester mentioned how surprised he was when first learning of how much pride the school takes in its sport and is keen to get more involved with it as the year progresses. Mr Forrester said that he had ideas to expand computer science across the school and try and get more projects going, especially in conjuncture with the Prep school. With that to look forward to, we wish Mr Forrester good luck during his time at Bedford school and look forward to getting to know him over the coming years!

Ben Smith

Will Hale

This year the Bedford School English Department welcomes its newest member, William Hale. Perhaps when one thinks of an English teacher their mind conjures images of Dickensian schoolmasters. But Mr Hale (and all of the Bedford teaching staff, I hasten to add) bucks that stereotype absolutely. He graduated from Girton College, Cambridge, with a first class degree in English in 2020, but not before working a summer as a pastoral aide at a boarding school in Somerset. After graduating, Mr Hale worked as a boarding tutor at the prestigious Wycombe Abbey before moving to Winchester College where he worked as a resident boarding tutor, teacher of English and occasional play director. So it is safe to say that Mr Hale has achieved much in his time before arriving at Bedford School and comes with a passion for teaching that is palpable in his presence.

When asked for his first impressions of Bedford School, Mr Hale commented on the ‘buzz’ about the school and praised the ‘fantastic’ long lunches and break times, a sentiment I’m sure is shared by many of the boys in the school. Mr Hale mentioned his (short-lived) student stand-up comedy career with the Cambridge Footlights that saw him perform at the Edinburgh Fringe and professional venues across Cambridge, as well as his enjoyment of cricket and badminton. We concluded our conversation with a question of aspirations and 

 goals, to which Mr Hale quickly reminded me that the history of English literature is not entirely kind to those who are overly ambitious; he only aims to teach to the best of his ability and make the most of his time at Bedford School.

Ben Smith

Erik Hellquist

This year, we welcome Erik Hellquist to Bedford School as Head of Business and Economics and a tutor in St Peter’s who joined the school from Hong Kong in the Summer. Having switched from a career in business, Mr Hellquist decided to take up a teaching degree and became a teacher in Hong Kong. Since joining Bedford School, Mr Hellquist has been impressed with the amount of sport on offer; not only do the top teams get opportunities, but there is a chance for everyone to compete at their own level. He looks forward to the House Singing, which he has heard is a much-anticipated event! Away from school life, Mr Hellquist is a married father of two and likes to keep fit by running and to relax with a glass of wine. Could a halfmarathon be on the cards for Mr Hellquist in the coming years? He assures me not, but one never knows…

Jack Harte

Erin Null

This year we welcome Erin Null, the new head of the Bedford School History Department meaning I had the pleasure of climbing to the lofty heights of the D floor to sit and discuss work, life and inspiration with the Ohio-born newcomer. Whilst we bonded over our shared love of the National Trust (and disdain for the D floor stairs), Ms Null recounted her past work experience. Her most recent position, at Latymer Upper School where she worked for four years and before that a stint at a school in New York, gives her an extensive list of academic credentials. She also mentions in passing her time as a day-care worker and vows that she would never go back, although I can imagine that experience may help her deal with some of the more unruly Year 9 students in her classes!

Erin talks of her mother as an inspirational figure in her life, a ‘wise lady’ to whom she goes for advice, as well as saying that she often finds courage and inspiration in the histories she researches. For anyone of her students, of which I am one, we can see this evidently in her teaching where she brings a joyful energy to her craft that further inspires and motivates her students every day. However, it must be said that Erin’s history jokes may need some polishing up, as they are more often met with groans than laughter on a bleak Monday morning. We wish Ms Null luck in her endeavours at Bedford School and hope that she enjoys her time here almost as much as her holiday trips to England’s many national parks.

Ben Smith

Elaine Pun

Mrs Pun, a new Maths teacher who joined in 2022, has previously taught in Hong Kong for two years then moved to England to teach in schools such as the Royal Latin School in Buckingham. After formerly teaching at an allgirls school, she wanted the new experience of teaching in an allboys boarding school. Consequently, she chose Bedford School, drawn by how the school educates boys to be the best versions of themselves. On her arrival, Mrs Pun’s first impressions were how big the school site was, its facilities and how the teachers were all very friendly and welcoming. Her personal favourite feature of teaching is to see boys change their perspective about what maths actually is. Regarding her personal interests and hobbies, she enjoys badminton and music, with her favourite song being ‘Heal the World’ by Michael Jackson. She has also travelled widely; her preferred pick is Thailand. Mrs Pun’s ideal day would be made up of waking up early, making her own avocado and cheese on toast, reading, going out for a walk then sitting in the garden and having a barbecue with family and friends. Her favourite restaurant is an oriental food court called “Bang Bang” in London. A personal ambition of hers is to teach in an international school in a developing country. We hope Mrs Pun enjoys her next chapter in Bedford School.

Isaac Talbot

Joe Ramsden

Born in Leeds and raised in Northampton, Joe returned to Yorkshire to study for his degree in History and Politics at Sheffield University. Though anchored to Northamptonshire, Joe doesn’t stay still for long; he loves to run and cycle and completes the thirty-three-mile daily commute between home and school by bike. He has been known to run the route as well. Perhaps the addition of a swim in one of Bedford’s waterways might make this suitable training for one of Joe’s beloved triatholons - or perhaps running with colleagues, Mr Knight and Mr Palmer, is challenge enough. Clearly, his new regime is paying off: Joe recently took third place in the Northampton 10K.

Joe began his career as a History Teacher at Northampton Academy where he became Head of Key Stage Five History and Politics. The lure of his alma mater, however, was great, and he was later appointed at Wellingborough School where he relished working alongside his own former teachers. On arrival at Bedford School, he was struck by the friendliness of the school community as well as the breadth of opportunities afforded to boys. He very much enjoys relationships that are fostered at the chalkface; has loved coaching cricket to the U14C team (undefeated at time of writing) and hopes to further his pastoral remit in boarding.

His ideal day? A run in the early morning sun with a cycle at twilight, followed by a cold beer. And of course, time spent with his two children, a boy and a girl, aged one and four. Joe also likes to read books about running and to study historical stories about inspirational men and women. His Bedford School narrative starts here. We hope it’s a marathon.

RAQ

Luke Rogers

As a keen cook and fan of Ottelenghi, Luke Rogers knows that variety is the spice of life. His educational and work experience is certainly wide-ranging. It was during his AS Levels and at a large comprehensive in Wales that he discovered, unexpectedly, a passion for his fourth subject, Music, and fell into composing. From there,

he was one of few at his school to win a place at Cambridge, at St Catharine’s College. With his mind ultimately on a career in conducting and having attended Guildhall, he joined the Teach First programme. He soon found that the draw of performance in the classroom was greater than the music hall and went to work at Wilson School, a boys’ grammar, in Sutton, where he became Director of Music and subsequently Director of CPD. He shortly became Deputy Head at Gipsy Hill Federation, a group of schools in Lambeth, South London. From there, he moved into the independent sector and Colfe’s School in Greenwich, where he was Director of Studies for four and a half years, and most recently Interim Head of Colfe’s Junior school for two terms.

He is driven by the desire to make every pupil believe that they can excel, and he was drawn to Bedford by the strong sense that boys here define their own versions of success, all of which are celebrated. Luke is adventurous, loving nothing more than travel with his wife, Amy, and two small children, Ewan (5) and Imogen (2). Copenhagen was their destination last summer, yet Christmas is his favourite time of year; he is particularly looking forward to this year’s Carol Service. We are sure that Luke will find that he and Bedford School make the perfect composition. Indeed, a recipe for success.

RAQ

Grace Spong

Miss Spong, who joined the Geography Department this year graduated from Lancaster University in 2022 having studied Physical Geography, spending one of her four years in Colorado. She has a background at Bedford as she attended Bedford Girls’ School and her brother studied here. One of her many reasons for taking this opportunity was it being a place of familiarity and community. Miss Spong particularly likes having her own classroom to teach in and appreciates how engaged the boys are. Furthermore, the Geography Department has been so welcoming. She loves the sport the school has to offer. Miss Spong particularly loves swimming and swam at a number of National meets, including Commonwealth Trials. Further achievements to be proud of are getting a First Class Honours in her Master’s degree after completing back to back dissertations and of course applying for and being offered this job. Being a geographer, her favourite country is Australia, which she visited when she was younger. Miss Spong’s ideal day consists of walking with her family, watching Formula One and a roast chicken dinner (including her favourite, bread sauce). Miss Spong is very excited to start her teaching journey with Bedford School, with possible ambitions of completing a PhD in the years to come. On behalf of the school, we wish Miss Spong ‘good luck’ at her time at Bedford School and beyond.

Isaac Talbot

Andrew Tonge

Andrew Tonge, a new Geography teacher, joins Bedford School after having spent three and a half years at an international school in Munich and prior to this role, he also spent five years teaching in Berkhamsted. Sacrificing a scenic view of both the Alps and the Allianz Arena from his classroom in Germany, Mr Tonge was attracted to the school for its priority of kindness and pastoral care. However, since joining, he finds the year group names and the school hymn being sung in Latin to be particular unique quirks of the school whilst the view out of his classroom window is not quite as spectacular. Away from the classroom, Mr Tonge is a keen hiker and has climbed some prestigious mountain ranges such as the Andes. If you are ever on a hiking holiday, be sure to keep a look out for Mr Tonge!

Jack Harte

Ruth Ventura

Also new to the school this year is Ruth Ventura. Last year, she completed her teacher training at Dulwich College and joins Bedford School as a teacher of Spanish. Prior to becoming a teacher, Ruth gained a degree in geography (due to her love for nature) and trained as a professional ballet dancer. In fact, she is quite multi-talented as other hobbies include weightlifting, CrossFit and photography, however I am not quite sure how Miss Ventura has time to fit it all in! This love of sport is one reason why Miss Ventura was attracted to the school (as a balance between academia and sport is something that she feels passionate about) and she has enjoyed having a vertical tutor group and seeing friends being made across different year groups. Teaching Spanish at Bedford is just the start for the ambitious Miss Ventura, who would love to be able to teach other languages too such as German and French in the future and become Head of Languages in years to come. We wish her the best of luck.

Jack Harte

Virginia Williams

Several years ago, as she walked home from an Orchestra Unwrapped workshop at the Bedford School Music Department, Virginia Williams mused on what a wonderful place the school is. Now she returns, as Teacher of Academic Music.

Virginia graduated from Huddersfield University in 2003 with a BMus (Hons) and completed an MA in Contemporary Music Composition the following year. Having completed a PGCE in Secondary Music, she spent several years at Wootton Upper School then joined the Sharnbrook Academy Federation. She co-led the Music Department at Lincroft School, leaving her position after the birth of her second child. She is a mother to two energetic children, a boy and a girl aged 7 and 2. When her children are not preoccupied with Pokémon and Frozen respectively, the family like to cycle, bake and explore the outdoors. Virginia enjoys being a mum, but also loves teaching; she thrives on social interaction and hopes to get the best of both worlds in her new part-time role.

Virginia is an active member of the local music scene, often rehearsing with town bands and ensembles playing Eb Tuba. She also has a passion for fitness and group exercise, enjoying it so much that she became a qualified fitness instructor. An instructor for Les Mills Body Combat, she also teaches classes in Body Pump and Indoor Cycling locally.

Virginia’s strong first impressions of the school persist; she marvels at the variety of ensembles and music lessons taking place as well as the boys’ good manners and interest in their learning. We wish her every success here.

RAQ