Borlasian 2019

THE BORLASIAN 2019 THE BORLASIAN 2019

Ciara Lurshay

Jana Lakatos Isobel Smith

Louise Hibbert

In loving memory of Robert Coates 2001 - 2019

Ella Murgatroyd Taran Sandher

Izzy James

The Borlasian 2019

HEADTEACHER’S FOREWORD As I read through the pages of this year’s Borlasian I am overwhelmed by how much we seem to pack into a single year at school! Academic teaching and learning at Borlase has continued to grow and develop thanks to the passion and dedication of our teachers and the irrepressible enthusiasm of our students. It is a joy to see and hear young people and adults engaged in academic discussion from the Year 7 pupils presenting on their Historic Castle models to Sixth Formers giving lectures on their Extended Projects.

Back in January we were badged a ‘World Class School’ by Professor Deborah Ayre, for High Performance Learning, an award we are very proud to have achieved. This is because it recognises the rich and challenging academic learning that characterises Borlase, but it also acknowledges the importance of the school ethos, our values, our staff and students’ commitment to Te Digna Sequere. The wider range of extra-curricular opportunities and cultural experiences, the focus on charity and environment, contribute to developing young people who not only have the skills and knowledge to shape their future but a sense of moral purpose guiding their decision-making. There is much of this captured in The Borlasian, providing us with a lovely snapshot of the year, allowing us to reflect on what has passed by so quickly; the sporting successes and artistic triumphs, the competitiveness and camaraderie are shared in these pages.

This year brought with it many joys but also shared

sadness. Both of these have reminded us all the importance of friendship and community and I am very proud of all our Borlase community.

Thank you to Mr Lofthouse and all the editorial team for another great publication.

Te Digne Sequere!

Ms K Mountfield 1

HOUSE REPORTS

BRITONS

It has been a strong year for Britons. Our new Heads of House, Ms Walder, Ms Rayner and Señora Roman have presented us with many great assemblies and exciting opportunities throughout the year. The first major event in the calendar was the House Drama competition. In addition to some wonderful monologues and duologues, the main house play was a rendition of The Knight’s Tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The task of organising and directing this play was no small feat for our wonderful Ms Rayner and Year 13 Jana Baguley. The cast included a couple of Year 13s but was mostly made up of a fantastic team of Year 7 students who, despite their disadvantage in experience, managed to pull off an exceptional performance, securing 3rd place and a total of 641 house points.

As the end of the year draws near, we are forced to say goodbye to another set of Year 13s, and wish good luck in returning to our Year 11s. This is always an emotional time for many at Borlase and Britons is no exception; so, the last two weeks of assemblies were dedicated to farewells and making memories.

For the Year 11s, Ms Walder used baby photos sent in by parents as a competition amongst form groups to see how many could be recognised. For the Year 13s, it was a chance to recollect their fondest memories from the last two, five or seven years at Borlase.

We also said our last goodbyes to Mr Heywood, our former head of house, who is leaving the school after a long time and was happy to give some final words of advice to all in Britons, chief among these: Follow things worthy. We have really enjoyed being Heads of Britons.

Joe Walker and Amelia Barclay

DANES

The Autumn Term had yet to begin and the Danes were already swimming in success. Off the back of a very close 2nd on Sports Day (not to mention the bounty of gold medals in almost every event) we regained the top spot with the inter-house tug of war on the final day of Summer Term. They say you only need to look at the muscles of a Dane to know one when you see one. However it is with great shame, yet honour, that we were unsuccessful in holding this title for the prestigious House Cup. But that was the past and we move forward, commencing the year with the 6th Form House CrossCountry Cup already making its way to the trophy cabinet. I believe that over half of the top 10 runners were wearing yellow. Unfortunately, and to the dismay 2

of the whole house, Key Stages 3 and 4 failed to support the 6th Form’s lead, seeing the house quickly drop down the tables. You know you’re in trouble when you’re in the Viking/Saxon territory. But, quick to redeem themselves, the Year 7s and 8s went on to achieve 2nd in the Sprintathon and we climbed back up the ladder quickly.

Next up, the main event of the year, House Drama.

With passion, conviction and determination, the Danes claimed the title in two of the three categories with ease. D5 won the Tutor Group category and our soloists collectively won the Monologues and Duologues category. Profoundly enough, we finished only 2nd in the overall competition, which left even the rationalists perplexed… Someone ought to look into that.

With only a few more events to win, the year is coming to a close with ever more silverware filling Mr Miall’s office, and it is with pride and gratitude that we say goodbye to another year at Borlase, handing over the baton of duty and worthiness into the palms of the next generation of young Danes.

It’s time for the House Cup to come home.

Thank you to Mr Miall, Miss Cowan, and the rest of the Danes teaching staff, but most importantly to the whole house. We wish you the best of luck in the future.

Julian Whitaker and Mae Reineke

NORMANS

This academic year Normans have been extremely successful in inter-house sporting competitions, having the largest number of participants across all six houses, reflecting one of the house’s main principles: “excellence in mass participation”.

At the beginning of Autumn Term, the senior students led by example with their incredible results in the House Cross Country. Harry Turner finished 1st in the Senior Boys’ race. This motivated Normans to work together for the success of the house, inspiring the younger students to follow in their footsteps. We started the year on a high with 1st place in the House Cross Country overall and a 50 point advantage over Britons.

This success continued in the Winter and Spring Terms through the impressive results generated by the junior and intermediate students in inter-house competitions, including an outstanding number of participants in the House Netball, Hockey and Football, from Year 7 all the way up to the 6th Form.

Of particular note were the Year 10 girls’ netball team who secured 2nd place and 90 points for the house,

HOUSE REPORTS and the Year 7 boys’ hockey team who won 90 points for coming 2nd in House Hockey.

We had both girls’ and boys’ football teams competing this year in the House Football, with all the teams throughout the school gaining high points for the house. In particular, the Year 10 boys’ team took 1st place and the Year 7 boys came 2nd.

Looking to the future, Normans will be eager to carry this sporting success across to the next academic year and aim to improve on all the incredible results achieved by the house this year.

Outside sport, this year it was the turn of House Drama! With a high number of entrants from the house we managed to pull through in 5th place… Let’s hope next year we can start the year off with a win in House Music!

Max Ellis and Leah Otto

ROMANS

2018/19 has been by far Romans’ most successful year in their decorated history. One of the first victories of the year was in the House Drama competition, where we finished in 1st place by a whopping 200 points.

Special thanks and appreciation go to Ella Chivers and Juliette Dudley who directed the winning performance of The Nun’s Priest's Tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, including an unexpected but rousing rendition of Te Digna Sequere. The house finished second in the Form Poetry Performances, with Miss Anderson’s form winning the inter-house competition with their performance of Roger of Ware; another notable performance came from R1, who managed to rap their performance to the tune of Dr Dre’s The Next Episode, and a special performance from Toby Broyhill-Fogg earned him the win in the Senior Monologues category.

Once again, whole house participation showed to be the key to success, as Romans finished well ahead of the other houses.

The 10th July 2018 will forever be remembered in Romans, Borlase and sporting history. Sports Day

2018 began in the same way it begins every year the whole school Lap of Honour. The mighty Romans emerged to the blaring sound of Seven Nation Army

by The White Stripes, and if you had asked any of those students to predict the outcome of the day, they would have said 4th place - bar the optimistic House Prefects, who maybe would have said 3rd. The day was not to finish in the way it started, however. The spirited Purple Army went out and defied expectation, bringing the Sports Day trophy home for the first time in our 125 year history. Romans finished in the top 3 for every age group on the day, contributing to our 104 point demolition of second-placed Danes. Romans’ Sports Day triumph of 2018 draws distinct parallels with Leicester City’s Premier League title of 2016, and the celebrations rivalled those after England’s penalty shootout win at the 2018 World Cup. However, the main victory of the day was the money that the house raised for Help for Heroes, through the Cake and Wind-Up-Toy Racing Stalls. Thanks to all students who helped run the stalls and those who donated.

Every Roman deserves a thank you for making 2018/19 a great year, but there are some who go the extra mile for the house. A big thank you must go to the team of Senior Prefects for all their help this year, making events and competitions run smoothly. We’d also like to thank Miss Holt and Miss Holmes for being excellent Heads of House. Thank you to all of the form tutors for their continued work throughout the year during form time. But the most thanks go to Mr Black, who has almost single-handedly led Romans for the past year, and done a superb job. He deserves an enormous amount of credit for all of the extra effort he has put in this year and we cannot thank him enough.

Thanks to all who have made this an incredible year for the house, and here’s to more success in years to come. Best of luck for the future to our leaving Year 13s!

Toby Hill and Charlie Harris 3

HOUSE REPORTS

SAXONS

We have enjoyed being captains of this house, and perhaps the greatest honour of our time at Borlase was receiving the badge for ‘Saxon of the Half Term’.

We wish Saxons all the best with their future, and hope you continue to display our infamous Saxon spirit in all walks of life.

Brandon Smith and Natassja Krajewski

VIKINGS

Taking over as Saxon House Captains was always going to be an enjoyable challenge. We were proud of our unprecedented success on Sports Day 2018, coming 3rd overall, and notably winning both the senior girls’ and boys’ relays. It was a great example of the Saxon spirit in action. Backed by our fantastic team of prefects - ranging from HELM and STEM to Environment and Head Boy - we went into the new academic year with high hopes and a driving desire to do well.

Perhaps this good start didn’t carry over the summer, coming sixth in House Drama, whilst always attempting to maintain that same Saxon spirit for which we are so renowned. Special thanks to all those involved in monologues, duologues, form plays and the wholehouse play. Every fifth place feels like a first in our eyes, and every person who committed to helping our house effort, no matter how big or small, makes us grateful to be part of Saxons.

Our assemblies this year have been varied, interesting and a pleasure to be part of, from tutor assemblies to individual contributions and inter-form competitions.

We hope you too have enjoyed the exciting ideas that have been shared by our colourful house. To the end, we are proud to be Saxons, our ingenuity in evidence even in the Y13 House Challenge Cup, where we believe our disqualification for ‘breaking the spirit’ rallied the Saxon troops even further. However, our (joint) fifth place was truly an honourable success for all involved.

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As captains of Vikings we have been honoured to lead Vikings through a very exciting year, entering and having a fantastic time in every challenge that was put before us, both inter-house and within the victorious Viking community itself.

We started the year with House Cross Country and participation and completion of the run was high! This was reflected later in the year with the Sprintathon, where Year 7 Vikings achieved the fastest times.

Effort and humour were key in our House Drama competition - V2 was the winning form and all are to be congratulated with regard to the evening finale, particularly the amusing rendition by the Seniors.

Maria and Sophie have to be thanked for all their work and effort.

Assemblies have, of course, been informative about a range of Viking leaders such as Ivar the Boneless and Erik Bloodaxe, and each tutor group has presented a different focus with a particularly interesting session on Chinese New Year.

Unfortunately, Mrs Bownass, who has been Head of House alongside the super Miss Williams, is stepping down. Her positive, calm, and yet determined approach will be much missed. We wish the new captains a fantastic year and would like to thank all of Vikings for making this such an unforgettable year.

Olivia McDonald and Hassan Khan

CHARITY

CHARITY

As always, we have held regular Mufti days throughout the school year to raise funds for a range of different charities, all close to the Borlase community in different ways.

One of the key charities this year was Jenson's Giant Leap. Jenson is the 4½ year old twin son of D&T teacher Mr Nicholls. Jenson has cerebral palsy and cannot walk due to the tightness and pain in his legs. This Easter he underwent a ground-breaking new operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital to reduce the spasticity in his legs and give him a chance of walking. The operation was NHS funded, but the family still needed to raise £30,000 for the after care and years of physio required to make the operation beneficial. Borlase, through a range of staff, pupil and community fundraising activities contributed over £3,000 to the cause, and we wish Jenson every success for the future.

Another charity close to Borlase is the support for a school in Uganda which Miss Cowan visited a couple of years ago and another to save the Children in Venezuela where the family of a member of our sixth form have suffered direct poverty. A final mufti day contributed the Brain Tumour Charity which has also directly affected current and former students and it was very touching to hear them speak about how it has impacted them.

The school continued to support Read for Good, Children in Need and Red Nose Day along with Movember, raising awareness of testicular cancer, and a Sprintathon in the Summer Term totalling over £13,000 in charity this year. It should be remembered that there has been a lot of practical support as well, with a focus on The One Can Trust where Mrs Fortnam and a number of sixth formers have supported local needs through donations and time.

MOVEMBER

A group of Borlase students all grew moustaches (admittedly some were better than others!) in November in support of the Movember Foundation.

As modern young men, we wanted to raise awareness of the importance of men's physical and mental health issues, which affect us and the people around us daily.

We used the “power of the moustache” to advocate our support and raise money for the Movember Foundation, which undertakes some great work to raise awareness for, and help cure, these issues.

One of the biggest health conditions that affect young males our age is testicular cancer. In addition, prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK and it is currently a threat to our fathers, uncles, brothers etc. These are both medical conditions that are curable if caught early, and the Movember Foundation is working tirelessly to raise awareness about these conditions to prevent millions of men dying prematurely around the world.

Men’s mental health has also been highlighted as a very important issue recently, one which the Foundation has invested a lot of time and money into over the past couple of years. The issue is wrongly stigmatised and it is considered "not manly," and therefore not discussed. We all strongly believed that this is something that needs to stop, immediately.

Male suicide rates are at an all-time high and so many men in the UK and globally are suffering around the world because of the idea that "men can't express their feelings."

Thanks to the many kind donations of friends, family, teachers and even strangers, we managed to raise a staggering £903 in the month of November. We are truly humbled by the support of everyone and are very grateful.

Aman Sharif and The Borlase Bearded Boys

Aman Sharif and Amelia Crick, Charities Prefects 5

BORLASE REMEMBERS

WW1 CENTENARY

event unlike anything we had ever done before. As the final notes of In Paradisum faded away and The Last Post rang out from the rear of the church, there seemed to be a tacit feeling that it had, equally, been an event unlike anything we would ever do again.

Maddie Smith

2018 saw the centenary of the armistice which ended the First World War. Borlase marked the occasion with an extensive programme of commemorative activities on 10-11 November 2018.

REQUIEM CONCERT

It was the lively sound of Concert Band playing the Colonel Bogey March at 7pm on Saturday 10 November that heralded the opening of what was undoubtedly the most ambitious Autumn Concert yet: a two and a half hour extravaganza featuring the union of all Borlase’s hard-working choral and instrumental groups (save the jazz bands - absent, but not forgotten) to commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1.

Earlier in the year than usual, and in the much bigger venue of All Saints’ Church, the dedication and enthusiasm of all performers was tangible, as one by one each group stepped up to the mark - much to the delight of the capacity audience. Highlights of the first half included: the debut of our very own Mr Robson’s setting of the 23rd Psalm The Lord is My Shepherd, as an uplifting tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers; the amazing acapella rendition of We Rise Again by the six male voices of Year 12 Barbershop; and our Junior Choirs’ rousing finale of Songs From WW1 - a beautiful sound made all the more stirring by the addition of a full orchestra and the voices of our audience, as they joined in with the final choruses of Keep The Home Fires Burning and Good-bye-ee! After the interval, Cantorum took to the stage to perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem Mass, complete with Mr. Robson on the organ and an orchestra separating the choir from Mr. Miall, as he conducted the spectacle with unwavering enthusiasm. Featuring terrific solos from Sean Douglas, Georgia Tuke and Cormac Diamond, as well as the blood, sweat and tears of a choir and a conductor who put this entire piece together in just seven weeks, the end result was an 6

FALLEN BORLASIANS EXHIBITION

A commemorative exhibition was put together by Ms Cains, Director of Development, with the help of Year 9 History students and the Year 13 History Society. The exhibition was built around a display of the personal stories of each of the 58 Borlasian students and staff who died during WW1. The life of each of each was carefully researched and documented, from their time at Borlase, to the part they played in the war, and how they died. The display also included more than 70 objects from the Borlase archive, including letters, cups, reports, photographs, registers and newspapers.

Through the exhibition, over 400 visitors learned about how the conflict impacted families, the school and the Marlow community, and much of the work produced will go into a permanent display at school.

Particular thanks go to the Y13 History Society for their contribution to the exhibition: Alex Maynard, Luke McCallum, Sam Beesley, Flo Roy, Amy Tyler, Millie Nixon.

BORLASE REMEMBERS

DANCE PERFORMANCE

In 2014, as part of the school's commemoration of the centenary of the start of WW1, the Dance Department presented the inaugural performance of our newly-formed boys’ dance company. The piece, entitled Bloodshed, featured 9 dancers, and its success motivated the boys’ dance company which has gone from strength to strength, growing in size, and performing at various regional and national youth dance events.

To commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1, the department wanted to create something special, building on the 2014 performance. The boys’ dance company reworked the original piece of choreography with the current company, featuring Alfie Dean and Ben Furley, now the senior members of the company who were tiny Year 7s in the first performance.

This year saw the addition of a female ensemble who, in collaboration with Mrs Ashby, presented a new piece entitled Family Portrait which focused on the

women left behind and how they were affected by the war.

The performance ended with four contact duets performed by Year 11 and 6th Form dancers, based on soldiers being reunited with their loved ones.

The department was incredibly proud of all the performers and would like to congratulate them on beautiful, focused and emotive performances.

Performers: Emily Annis, Jodie Brown, Laura Donnelly, Emily Doyle, Jasmine Fraser-Nicholls, Sanjana George, Issy Grimes, Olivia Henderson, Rosie Lewis, Rebecca Markwell, Kitty Pilgrim-Morris, Megan Powell, Grace Potter, Hannah Rooney, Elizabeth Rackstraw, Lauren Stewart, Kirsty Wardle, Sophie Yazdi-Davis,Max Arnold, Dilsher Bagri, Max Blackbourn, Joe Cockcroft, Alfie Dean, Fin Engelberts, Logan Foster-Lyons, Ben Furley, Sam Furley, Adam Ghani, Ryaan Ghani, Alex Hill, Josh Leech, Toby Oliver, Simon Ormond, George Sammes, Sacha Smith, Tim Woodford

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BORLASE REMEMBERS

POETRY PERFORMANCE

To make sure our characters were represented properly in the performance, we created our characterisation using a mix of dramatic techniques and careful research of certain characters’ lives and personalities.

In order to capture the serious and intense atmosphere in some moments of the play, as well as maintaining the authenticity of the First World War, we utilised both sound and carefully planned lighting to create the most immersive atmosphere possible.

For the students, it was an amazing opportunity to gain more experience of working in a company, and to have the chance to be part of the phenomenal ensemble was a privilege, especially at such a young age.

On Sunday 11 November the chapel became a place of quiet contemplation as pupils from Spinfield Primary School and Borlase recited their own work to an audience who were visibly moved by the readings.

Spinfield Year 5s and 6s read poems they had written as a response to war and their work on war poetry with Borlase 6th Form English students. They ended their recital with a reading of Philip Larkin's MCMXIV, a rumination on the loss of innocence. Later in the afternoon Borlase students read a combination of poems and short stories they had written as part of the twinning programme with Marly-le-Roi. The images created within some of the work were a powerful and fitting tribute to the fallen.

DR SCROGGY’S WAR

On Sunday 11 November a group of drama students from Years 9 and 10 performed a compressed version of Howard Brenton’s play Dr Scroggy’s War, directed by Miss Rayner and Year 12 student, Beatrice Lofthouse. The play focuses on Harold Gillies, a surgeon who, as well as inventing pioneering methods of plastic surgery, also brought hope to the men who had nothing at such a dark time.

The rehearsal process was intense - less than two months from audition to performance! - but it was rewarding. Miss Rayner decided to use a thrust stage (a first for the drama studio) which challenged us with our movement and blocking, but ultimately lead to an intimate and engaging performance for the audience.

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The whole cast would like to thank Miss Anderson for her guidance; Jennifer Lewington-Chislett, Will Davis and the tech team for their help in the technical aspects of this production; Beatrice Lofthouse for her directorial expertise and amazing commitment; and finally Miss Rayner, without whom none of this would have been possible. Miss Rayner guided us and was so committed and dedicated throughout the whole process - spending evening after evening rehearsing with us and even coming in on her Half Term break! It was one of the many examples of how dedicated the teachers are at Borlase and all the opportunities the students are given.

Will Tucker, Poppy Morgan and Clara Mathison-Spires

BORLASE REMEMBERS Within only a couple of months, the cast and crew of Dr Scroggy’s War pulled something quite remarkable together. Taking Howard Brenton’s play, first performed at the Globe Theatre, I knew I had set our students and set designer a challenging task of bringing elements of war and hope together.

I chose this play based on the fascinating characters and real-life work of Dr Gillies - a doctor who not only was a pioneer for plastic surgery but also a beacon of hope for the young men distorted in war. “Gillies can fix your face for you, that’s just flesh and skin and bone. It’s mind and soul, boy, mind and soul needs the healing” It was a joy to work with a cast of such talented actors, each role demanding a high level of characterisation and physicality. The more intimate thrust stage was a new experience for many of the students and they worked really hard to use the space effectively. The cast truly rose to the challenge and I am very proud of the performances they worked so hard to create.

Special thanks go to Beatrice Lofthouse who was a phenomenal assistant director, offering not only her amazing ideas and direction, but also acting as a superb role model to the younger years. This is something that Borlase Arts is so lucky to have: A level students who freely give up their time to help the development of those younger than them.

Ms Rayner, Director, Teacher of Drama and English

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BORLASE REMEMBERS

THE RIVERS OF BLOOD MEMORIAL In 2014, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School purchased six of the ceramic poppies from the Rivers of Blood installation at the Tower of London, one for each of the six houses. The Design Technology Department then took on the challenge of creating a means of displaying the poppies in a meaningful way. Head of Design Technology, Peter Heywood explains how the stunning memorial was created:

The memorial to the fallen of World War One was the culmination of ideas and effort by several people and the result of a series of connected events. It was Mrs Fortnam who suggested the school could purchase some of the poppies from the very humbling memorial at the Tower of London. I was fortunate to view the installation from the top of the Shard at the time and it was an incredible sight, with each ceramic poppy placed for a life lost during the conflict. Because each poppy was handmade and planted by hand it gave the memorial an even greater reach and feel for the scale of sacrifice.

Students from each house were asked to submit designs to create a permanent memorial for the poppies to stand in the chapel, where all of the school’s fallen are remembered. The final design emerged from three submissions:

Cameron Bruce had an idea that was reminiscent of

many memorials, combining vertical obelisks with a Palladian style that could easily be credited to the architectural work of Gilbert Scott. It provided the vertical typography for the house names and the rib detail which would later frame each panel.

Claire Missen proposed a design which featured a hexagonal form, possibly inspired by the wheel of a gun carriage. This idea lent itself directly as a suitable arrangement and was the starting point and eventual sectional shape.

Victoria Chong presented the idea of a tree, akin to the new growth of woodland over the once desolate, mud-covered and bloodied battlefields in the post-war years, and this became the main inspiration for the finished design.

Following the typical design process, I made an initial concept drawing to discuss the design and construction with our Technician, Mr Bigsby. The gothic-shaped plates bearing the vertical house names were designed to reflect both the stained glass windows in the chapel and the shape of the millions of shells fired. The continuous rib starts at the base as the tree root where it is a cross between a foot and hoof to remember the thousands of horses killed during the conflict. It moves through the trunk separating each house name-plate, before reaching out as an arm and hand to both hold the blood red poppy and as a gesture for peace. Before finalising our design for construction we produced a foam version to show to Miss Mountfield, as she was tasked with choosing memorial words to inscribe at the base of each plate.

Once the specification was set, production began in earnest. Mr Bigsby spent many hours setting out on CAD, followed

by CNC routing and turning the brass sleeves to smoothly hold the poppies, while I set about hand routing, profiling and fitting the angled halving joints.

We then brought our contributions together for the final assembly and finishing.

As is often the case with projects, what had begun in 2014

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BORLASE REMEMBERS as an idea to mark the centenary of the beginning of the war, eventually, due to pressures of work, became a reflection of the whole conflict and we finally completed it after an intense week of early mornings and snatching other pockets of time in the days leading up to 11th November 2018. The years from the beginning to the silencing of the guns is recorded on lozenge plates attached to the vertical ribs.

During the process, features of the design suggested aspects of the war and its commemoration that were not initially intended, and in this way it began to feel like it was meant to be. Others who have viewed it have also seen unexpected associations that I had not made, or previously conceived! It is always rewarding to work on a project that emerges from an unexpected starting point outside of the usual rubric, and to use your abilities to produce something for an emotive and communal reason such as this; but the real highlight was working collaboratively with colleagues and students without the usual pressure - other than the date for the commemorative service and display!

Peter Heywood

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SEQUERE

SEQUERE

2018-19 saw the introduction of a new school publication, named Sequere after the school’s motto.

Led by Year 12 students, Anastasia Emelyanenko and Beatrice Lofthouse, student journalists from a range of years wrote a collection of interesting and stimulating articles on everything from recycling to windsurfing, and a selection of these is reproduced here.

MEAT FREE MONDAYS

About three years ago, I went vegetarian for a myriad of different reasons, in particular related to health and ethical concerns. However, I never considered that going veggie would also benefit the planet and yet that very reason is why I continue to eat a meat-free diet.

Now, before you stop reading because I’m some sort of preachy vegan looking down from my high horse, think again. While I do not personally agree with it, I have nothing against people who choose to eat meat and especially not those who are forced to eat meat for whatever reason. I simply want to educate you about the meat industry and how eating vegetarian 12

for one day every week can benefit the planet, you and your family.

First of all, Meat-free Monday is a campaign started

by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009. They aim to raise awareness about how detrimental the meat industry is and how skipping meat for a day could affect the planet.

‘How on earth could doing this save the planet?’ I hear you ask. Well, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock industry is one of the most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems. They estimate that it is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while other similar organisations estimate up to 51%. By participating in Meat-free Monday, the demand for meat will be hugely decreased, meaning that meat companies will reduce the supply and therefore raise and slaughter fewer animals.

Reducing demand for meat would also reduce the amount of grazing space needed for livestock. At the moment, vast swathes of rainforest and other natural habitats are being cleared in the name of meat, which is cutting off the world’s oxygen supply and threatening species into extinction.

Similarly, livestock farming requires huge amounts of resources to rear the animals, such as grain and water.

Animals convert food into energy very inefficiently, so it can take up to 12kg grain to produce 1kg beef. If less of that grain was being used to rear livestock, more of it could go to people in poverty and help to alleviate world hunger.

Meat-free Monday doesn’t just benefit the planet but would also benefit you. It is common knowledge now that the overconsumption of red meat and processed meat is detrimental to one’s health, potentially resulting in cancer, heart disease and strokes. In 2010, scientists at the University of Oxford found that eating meat no more than 3 times a week significantly reduces the chance of suffering from these conditions.

This would also save the NHS £1.2 billion in costs each year. It is also cheaper to live off of a vegetarian diet, as the price of meat is significantly more expensive per 100g than plant proteins such as beans and lentils.

I hope that I have made you think more about your consumption of meat and helped you to consider cutting back on it. There are no drawbacks to participating in meat free Monday, so I also hope you can get your family to join in.

Sophie Wadsworth

SEQUERE

CRISP PACKET RECYCLING SCHEME

During 2019 a group of Y12 students introduced a Crisp Packet Recycling scheme to the school. Sequere interviewed them about the scheme.

How will this actually help the environment?

Crisps are a very common snack in the UK, especially in school-age children. There is no reason not to try and recycle what we use to consume our food. We believe stopping these crisp packets going to waste will positively impact our local environment as hopefully fewer animals will find empty crisp packets they think are food. Furthermore, we hope to inspire others to recycle as much as they can which may, therefore, cause a much bigger impact.

What made you decide to get involved?

We are all interested in bettering ourselves and the communities we are part of. This includes making the school more eco-friendly and also trying to support our local community in recycling more. Georgia and I are trying to get the word out about this project, and others are doing assemblies. We are giving up our time because this is a very important issue which needs to be tackled.

How will the process of “crisp packet recycling” actually work?

There will be specific 'crisp packet’ bins in multiple locations around the school. They will be clearly marked and easily accessible. Students and teachers will put any empty crisp packets into these bins which

will be put together once full and collected from the school.

Who are the key people involved?

Daria Poma Kostik and Taryn Rothman are creating a presentation, which will be displayed by Charlotte Burnage, Izzy Molhoek, Polly Bennett, Lucy Denmann, Harjeev Soomal, Charlotte Emmerson, Tara Brogan and Rose BG in assemblies spanning the entire school.

Kate and I have been researching bin possibilities and the practicalities of the project.

Do you think this will be a big deal at Borlase?

Due to the impact this project will make, Kate and I believe that this will indeed be a big deal at Borlase!

The large number of crisp packets binned every day that will now be recycled will make a huge difference in helping the environment.

Is organising this scheme/project going to last long term? Will future Year 12s need to help keep it going?

Our aim is for this to be a long-lasting measure, so the regulation of the bins will need to continue in the future and the help of future Year 12s will be greatly appreciated. Additionally, the simplicity of the scheme means that it is sure to continue in future years.

Is the environment something you’re passionate about?

On behalf of the group advocating this, we are extremely passionate about the environment and are constantly striving to help in our communities. Our influence within Marlow has been seen in places such as the Marlow Rugby Club, where we now only use paper straws.

Georgia Tuke and Kate Iley

YOUNG LOVE: A CAUSE OF THE GENERATION GAP? Generation Z. Officially the generation born from 1997 onwards, many say that we are the generation that is going to change things. Despite this, we tend to also get a bad reputation. With ever-increasing technology and knowledge at our fingertips, many older generations see this as a disconnect from the real world - a prime example of this being love. But is that really how things are?

A lot can be said for Generation Z. Despite being younger, hence often branded as not as smart as other generations, there are things we must remember.

With the world changing so fast, it’s hard for older generations to claim that they’ve had more experience in the world. Although it may be true, it was certainly a different world. So how does this relate to love?

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SEQUERE Though it is true that older generations have had more experience with love, this should in no way belittle the experience of someone from a younger generation.

Everyone has a first crush, a first love, etc. Even your parents, grandparents, teachers!

For older generations, flowers, cards, and chocolate seems the thing to do. Although, in their taunting, they may be right that these days we don’t burn CDs to give to our crushes, what we lack in old-fashioned methods we make up for with our extensive knowledge of the internet. That much is true! These days teenagers are able to navigate the complicated social etiquette that comes with dating on the internet. Despite the obvious negative that it isn’t one-to-one, the internet allows for long-distance relationships on a day you just can’t be together on otherwise.

In addition, studies have shown that younger generations are actually a lot more positive towards being single on Valentine’s Day, despite the seemingly endless complaining. Many take it as a chance to have a little me-time, with an estimated quarter of all Valentine’s Day shoppers under 24 planning to buy something for their pets.

Another view that differs is the image of a couple on Valentine’s Day. Many people in older generations mumble and grumble about how much “gayer” the younger generations seem to be getting with time.

The truth is, people just feel a lot more comfortable to come out since the days of McCarthyism and the 50’s (although it has to be said that things are still far from perfect). These days, more and more people are growing up with all these different, realistic examples of what a couple looks like, and it’s only changing us for the better.

In conclusion, it’s often said that love is one of the greatest causes of generation gaps. It’s true that we don’t see eye-to-eye, but as long as we know that what we’re doing this Valentine’s Day is right for us, that’s all that matters. Both younger and older generations look down on one another regarding love, but the truth is that the attitudes towards and etiquette around love have changed significantly and, in more ways than one, this is for the best. That doesn’t mean that some traditional flowers shouldn’t go a-miss, it’s just a reminder to keep our minds and our hearts open.

Katherine Perry

BRITAIN ON THE EDGE OF A NO DEAL BREXIT

As the March 29th deadline for the UK’s departure from the European Union looms, the country is approaching a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union.

This is because the government has failed to secure 14

parliamentary approval for the agreement that the Prime Minister has agreed with EU officials. This agreement describes the transition period that the UK would follow from March 29, 2019, to December 31, 2020. During this period the government would negotiate a final settlement with the EU that describes the UK’s permanent relationship with its biggest trading partner from January 2021 onwards.

A ‘no deal’ on March 29 would mean that there would be no agreements on the future relationship between the UK and EU, and no transition period. The majority of MPs are against a no deal scenario because of the likely impact to the UK economy, as well as to the livelihoods of the thousands of Europeans who live in the UK. Theresa May is still seeking to secure approval for her deal despite its historic defeat in the Commons two weeks ago, with MPs rejecting it by 230 votes.

Last week the Prime Minister succeeded in getting a majority of MPs - largely her party and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party - to vote in favour of an amendment whereby she could once again seek the House’s approval for her deal. This is dependent on Theresa May renegotiating the contentious Irish ‘backstop’ clause, although the challenge for the government is that the European Union has insisted that the current deal is the final deal and that they will not renegotiate it.

A no deal Brexit would result in the overnight severing of 70 international trade links, with the UK falling back on World Trade Organisation tariffs. This would increase the price of imports and exports, likely increasing the price of commodities for consumers.

It would also likely leave gaps in UK law that were previously covered by EU legislation.

The Bank of England has stated that a no deal Brexit would be worse for the economy than The Great Recession that began in 2008. A no deal scenario would lead to disruptions of the supply chains for manufacturers - for example the car industry - and companies are currently also stockpiling food to preempt supply disruptions. An example of the fears of the business sector is that Airbus have warned that they may move their UK operations to the EU, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. Other concerns over a no deal Brexit involve the rights of EU nationals living in the UK as well as the roughly 1,000,000 British citizens residing in EU states, as their legal status would be uncertain.

However, a no deal Brexit is certainly not the only possibility. With the current political deadlock in Parliament, the immediate future of Brexit remains unclear.

Callum Kunchur

RETROSPECTIVE This year sees the retirement of the school’s longest standing member of staff, Head of Design & Tech, Peter Heywood, after 35 years. We asked Peter to look back at his time here.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MY TIME

When I arrived in 1984 the school site looked very different to the tightly packed eclectic arrangement of buildings we recognise today. I vividly remember that the Wednesday morning I walked down West Street for the first time was like walking back in time! The perspective vista from what was then the Red Lion Pub (now Cote Brasserie) towards the Hand and Flowers (pubs are not a theme...) was – and still is - a truly impressive one with the charming sign for ‘Ye Olde Tuck Shoppe’ preceding the understated Shelley Cottage and Albion House of the literary greats. Opposite, the stunning Georgian grandeur of Remnantz and Sir Christopher Wren’s Palladian Weston House beyond, where the elevated pyramid-topped folly in the wall served as home to the ‘Ice Tree’, an anticipated part of every Christmas. The Tuck Shop provided sweets and snacks during my early days for the 430 boys, until Mr Smy came to an agreement with the owners to bring forward their retirement, so ending the daily and hazardous melee on West Street as boys spilled out onto the pavement around the somewhat bijou establishment.

I entered the school through the rather penal looking gates. A hockey friend who frequently passed by on his commute remarked that he had no idea it was a grammar school and had thought it was a Borstal! The Borlase Borstal to alliterate! My wife is local and, giving me directions, had remarked that I could not miss it, “as the front looks like Slade Prison from the TV show Porridge.“ So, after thirty five years, my sentence is now up! Once through the gates I encountered boys playing Fives in what is now Mr Kipping’s workshop,

and I turned off the yard (though not before glimpsing the outdoor urinal, now hidden behind the electric power transformer) into the old reception, which was not the reception, but a strange vestibule containing all manner of stuff: Madam Kendall’s bike, the odd bit of sporting equipment and various household items. Turning left and heading towards what is now reprographics I passed the living accommodation of Mr and Mrs Cyril Smith, the school caretaker (Matron’s rooms were their kitchen and their backyard is now the exams store! Reprographics was their parlour; the staff kitchen their bedroom and the back stairs a bathroom).

Finally, I reached the Head’s Secretary, Elsie Shorrocks, a formidable but nonetheless charming lady. “Would you like some tea? Though Mr Smith might offer Sherry!” I had arrived in a ‘Brave New (and civilised) World!’ It was also ‘1984’!

Mr Roy Smith, the head, was delightful - in complete contrast to the head I hoped to leave behind in Derbyshire! He personally toured me round the school and confiscated water pistols from the Sixth Form leavers along our way, gently admonishing and asking after their siblings or parents! As we entered the cloisters I took breath and exclaimed, “All this flint is knapped face and four sides and look at the chequer patterning in the gables!” I couldn’t contain my delight.

The only disappointment was the abrupt punctuation by the block stairwell to the Art room (now M10U), inhabited at one time by the nationally renowned and innovative Robin Pitman. Then, it was the domain of Rod Hammer who was to become my mentor, confidant and the man (along with Tim Spalton, one of my first O Level pupils) who got me into beekeeping.

The embarrassment of this intrusion was cloaked, until relatively recently, in Virginia creeper to hide its shame, I always mused. Today the unbroken vista of rooftops, Shelley’s cedar top and the Jacobean style chimneys has been compromised by the rather brutal sight of the sixth form building or ‘ice-block’ as I coined it. However, the most offensive aspect today is the polycarbonate covered veranda in front of the school office, previously the French room and briefly staff marking room - a facility much missed! Returning to the Art room, now M10U, the previously-mentioned stairs were the only way to and from this free-standing building of, along with the Hall and H Block (it is a prison!), 1960s design.

The room held uninterrupted views across West Street (No LRC or Languages Department), to the Chapel and towards the Hall and Cloisters. It was the perfect room from which to sketch and paint the street or the rest of the school.

The Chapel, unsurprisingly in solidarity with all before 15

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RETROSPECTIVE and all to come, was the jewel in the crown. Though not a practising Christian, but raised to the lessons of the faith and having respect for all places of worship, the presence of this building in a state school was a humbling moment. The timber work and carpentry was of immediate interest and Roy lost me for a while, though interjecting with snippets of lost souls recorded within, such as Kenrick Reginald Huymans Johnson ‘Snakehips’. I was fascinated and absorbed by the overall impact of the space down to the detail of the figure in the oak (a manifestation of otherwise invisible medullary ray cells in quarter sawn oak, plane and beech to the uninitiated). In my time it has mercifully been allowed to remain a constant, unchanged, with the exception of the beautiful stained glass windows donated by Old Borlasian Stuart Lever, a reassuringly tasteful addition, and the restoration of the landmark cedar shingle clad spire; Borlase still has one, sadly Notre Dame does not. Within, I have enjoyed, from the position of a musical philistine, the organ playing of firstly David Colthrup and latterly the legendary Hugh Robson, a man who truly deserves the title of ‘Gentleman’. The organ music makes every visit, for whatever service, special, and the school must again be unique in this facet of our weekly routine.

We continued our tour taking in Home Meadow excavated by the pupils in the early part of the last century and home to Peter Swadling’s ground maintenance equipment, housed in what had previously been the ATC hut located west of the current basketball court. Separating it from Colonel’s Meadow, as today, was the assistant caretaker’s cottage, then occupied

by Mr and Mrs Dick Harris. He grew vegetables on his allotment, in what is today the middle of the Gym! The award winning produce was mulched with the fine grass-cuttings from the long gone cricket square.

Beyond, towards school, was an orchard and, to the right, the swimming pool. When you sit at one of the octagonal CAD workstations in G2 you would have been treading water! Travelling back towards school was the dining room, another freestanding building of post-war reinforced concrete frame and block construction, I believe and, even by contemporary standards, the ugliest building to have graced the site, roofed in best quality corrugated asbestos sheeting.

Notwithstanding, dining within was a joy. Properly cooked meals by Mrs Smith’s team, staff tables, table manners, stainless steel cutlery, orderly pupils, no paper or plastic waste, quiet eating – marvellous! A time to eat, chat and learn etiquette. Lunchtime was a lesson for all. As I consume my wholemeal sandwiches from my reusable polypropylene lunchbox and bounce

from student to student during the allocated 50 minutes during lunchtime workshops, I reflect fondly upon those halcyon days. To ameliorate the rather grey institutional interior, a group of the early girls in the eighties, including Kathryn Wesson, one of my ‘A’ level Students, painted a ‘Magic Roundabout’ mural on the end wall. It was a cheerful addition, but I could not help feeling that I had been transported to the children’s ward of a local hospital, if you get my drift!

Today, the dining room in the Audrey Moore building is a cavernous cathedral of sound and disposable items, reminiscent of a railway café with souls passing through to forage their selection and return to their territory as they scoff it en route. The curved building is tiled and tri-gabled in a pleasing nod to the rear of the cloister and clock tower facing, with two-tone brickwork used to mimic the flint and brick vernacular opposite. If you have sat in the English classrooms and wondered why there are round columns off-set from the windows, it is because during construction the corridor changed sides to the inside of the curve. This was due to neighbours’ objections once the steelwork was already in situ. Bizarrely, while no windows are apparent on the corridor inside, outside blacked-out windows are visible that would have overlooked the neighbouring properties from the classrooms! When A5 and A5U were built to extend English and provide the Food and Nutrition Room, a solid end wall was the ‘Order of the Day’!

Some of my most rewarding times have been spent in the food rooms. After the arrival of co-education in 1987 the School embarked on expanding the curriculum, including the expansion of the Modern Languages block along the West Street frontage, a new library which later became the first dance studio and is now the large lab H7U. For Design and Technology a Food and Textile facility was added, which is now Mimi’s and the KS3 lab. Christine Brunskill, the first Head of Home Economics, established the subject, followed

by Anna Woodman and, lastly, Joy Chalmers. Joy and her husband, Colin, became great family friends and although they are no longer with us I feel her presence and influence each time I teach a food lesson with Year 8 in the latest food room. She opened a culinary world to me and the school community at the very highest level, and I consider myself blessed to have worked alongside these three very remarkable colleagues. The triple aspect of the current room gives me a pleasing outlook as we work, observing sports activities on Colonel’s Meadow and the antics of the squirrels and various bird species as they pick through the bins for food that others have left behind!

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RETROSPECTIVE Viewing Colonel’s Meadow while Roy acquainted me with its history of drill by officers from Remnantz, and the burial site of the famous horse ‘Skirmisher’, I asked about what was then ‘The Booth Building’, named after a previous Head. Now the Languages Centre on Oxford Road, it was leased from Holy Trinity Church and served as extra classrooms, then later one of the many homes of the Art Department, one of the most travelled departments in school during my time and also, albeit briefly, Textiles. When the large Horse Chestnut is in full candle it is one of my favourite settings, though the Flint and Brick Cottage look is slightly at odds with the staff cars and Platts’ rather harsh grey industrial building. Who on earth permitted that in Quoitings Square?!

We ambled back to the main buildings for the main event and, under the archway, entered the newly created Design Technology Department which stood on either side. Firstly into M3, the Metal Workshop (a room in which I would one day be photographed completely naked!), then into M4, the Wood Workshop, then M2, the Graphics Studio, with a machine store tucked inbetween. “This could all be yours,” Mr Smith quipped.

“Are you sure you know how to use all this equipment?”

The area had been well set out and resourced by the Subject Advisor, Austen Matthews, a man I have the greatest respect for. I relished the chance to be on my own, free to explore, escape the restrictions of working in the five teacher set-up I was in. It was a time before the constraints of National Curriculum, league tables, data, initiatives, Ofsted, testing etc. Even GCSE had yet to be invented!

I returned on the Friday for interview and have been here since. We used my own hand tools while awaiting the sets I had ordered and, after sixth months had elapsed, Colin Prime joined me as the first technician. A fellow Derbyshire man, we hit it off immediately. Sadly, Colin passed away in 1990, but not before some very happy days with Martin Brown - ‘Brownie’ - with whom I worked for sixteen of the best years. Martin Green became our technician and stayed for only twenty years! We were the Three Musketeers of Technology.

From introducing the subject, to the present day, punctuated by the Department move The Three Musketeers of in 2007 to the current Technology accommodation, I have been fortunate to work with 18

the most beautiful people: in the department; in the other subjects I have taught - Physical Education, Art and Geography; on cross-curricular projects, language exchanges and in whole school events. I cannot possibly do any of them justice here, but I would like to thank them all for the opportunities they have provided, the confidence they have shown in me, the support they have given me, their kindness to me and, above all, their friendship – they know who they are!

Design the future and build it with love, but mostly taste!

Peter Heywood, Summer 2019 The Design and Technology ‘Cast’ in order of appearance 1984-2019: Peter Heywood; Colin Prime; Martin Brown; Martin Green; Christine Brunskill; Josephine Roberts; Anna Woodman; Joy Chalmers; Ann Dunn; Kevin Chapple; Stuart Berkley; Richard Scase; Jude Hadfield; Jocelyn Libovici; Rosemary Stops; Cassie Dyson; Maxine Tolson; Robert Wood; Mark Nichols; Alan Bigsby; Graham Nicholls.

A Bit of Perspective

I was tasked with producing this sketch in the 1990s

by Mrs Crittenden (Deputy-Head and, latterly, Head) when open evenings became the norm! In the absence of an aerial photo, and in a pre-drone world, I tried to fit the school onto a standard paper size utilizing a range of different drawing methods with a disregard for true geography akin to Harry Beck’s London Underground Map. It is a bit ‘Frankenstein’ in that respect, but perhaps neighbour Mary would have approved! Over 25 years I pasted in each new building, until recent CAD versions superseded it.

SOCIETIES

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SOCIETIES

CLUBS & SOCIETIES AT BORLASE The wide range of student-led academic societies, clubs and groups is a significant feature of Borlase life. From PolSoc to MedSoc, Debate Soc to the improbably-named Pete’s Bar and Grill, Year 7 Drama Club to Gospel Choir, these societies and clubs are run by 6th Formers eager to share their knowledge, experience and passion with other students.

The year began with the popular Academic Societies Fair in September. The leaders worked through tutor time to set up their stalls with posters, leaflets, slideshows, lights, and even a mannequin! The Fair was a huge success, as a flurry of year 11s, 12s and 13s hurried to sign up to the myriad of societies and it was exciting to see so many students embracing the fantastic opportunities on offer.

CHEMSOC

After an amazing year, being led by the one and only Joe Walker, ChemSoc was passed down to Year 12s who definitely had big shoes to fill. Anastasia Emelyanenko and Ailsa Carlaw have managed to keep the society growing, with an average Thursday breaktime seeing up to fifty students crowd into L3 to learn about all the exciting things going on in the Chemistry World.

Presentations on chirality, explosives, composting and a two-part series on chemical murder kept things interesting. We have extended and enriched both the studies of A Level students and some super keen year 11s and 10s over the last few months. Thank you all (except the third row) for being amazing every Thursday Break.

Anastasia Emelyanenko and Ailsa Carlaw

ECOLOGYSOC

ASTROSOC This year AstroSoc passed from Harvey Fraser to Daria Poma-Kostik and Jas Presho and, as there have been so many breakthroughs in astrophysics recently, ideas for presentations have not been limited! Astrosoc members have seen presentations on black holes, dark matter, gravitational waves and even a debate as to whether humans will ever inhabit another planet.

AstroSoc leaders were also lucky enough to help run the Year 7 and 8 activity day organised by the UK Space Centre, an exciting day involving rocket- and satellite-building.

BIOCHEMSOC I think it’s safe to say BioChemSoc paved the way for other new societies that started this year. Our USP is that we are the society for the lazy - combining Biology and Chemistry into one society means by attending on a Tuesday break, you only need to miss one of your breaks. Our debut presentation was: “How to cook eggs without heat” and included an eggsperiment (no pun intended!). Other presentations included: biological and chemical weapons, artificial meat, gene therapy, the circadian clock and “what makes hair curly?”.

Ritu, Liz, Lucie and Shyam 20

Ecology Society was formed this year to cater for those interested in Biology but not wanting to go down the typical medicine/ biochemistry route which appears popular among Borlasians. Instead, Ecology Society focuses on the study of animals and their environments, as well as the impact human activity is having on our earth and how we can reduce our negative impact on our environment. Our leaders even got the chance to hang out with a cardboard cutout of David Attenborough at STEM dinner!

Jess Kent, Emma Goddard, Max Clark and Sophie Williamson

ENGSOC

Engineering Society has continued to be our excuse to make Physics fun. Whether it be explaining the functionality of bikes with a test ride, explanations of complex electronics with a Scalextric race or discussing aerodynamics by taking over the hall to throw paper airplanes, we've done it all. EngSoc also had a representative in the school’s team for the Apollo 50th anniversary bottle rocket launch, gaining second place.

Toby, Myles and Ollie

IRIS RESEARCH CLUB

This newly-founded society focuses on performing investigations and experiments which are beyond the scope of the curriculum. We have done a lot of work this year and would like to thank all of the Lab Technicians, Dr Sowden and Mrs Barclay for helping us. Ionic

SOCIETIES liquids… Ionic liquids… Ionic liquids… So many ionic liquids have been created by a budding array of young scientists this year, forming the research for a Year 9’s Silver CREST project. In addition, an environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based plastic was created (well, the veg don’t count!) by a few students. Max Brazier started the year with a bang, synthesising flash powders and other explosives as part of his EPQ, with the highlight of many miserable Mondays being seeing objects exploding. In addition to this, our club has a custom Hot Sauce, one which will literally blow your head off. This is a mixture of capsaicin and ethanol, refined from Ghost Peppers. At the end of Spring Term, we embarked on an experiment involving the extraction of aspirin from the bark of a willow tree which Dr Sowden has kindly brought from her garden, and hope to continue this in the summer term.

PHYSOC

PhySoc is the perfect society for the many Borlasians who love physics, Yuri Oganessian and being unnecessarily competitive. Some of our best presentations this year included a demonstration of the mechanics behind the brachistochrone, another demonstration by Charles Washbourn of his linear motor, and the physics involved in the recently famous black hole picture. On the other hand, some of our worst presentations included proving why humans can’t run through walls and a semi-successful attempt at tying two hundred wooden dowels together.

But every week in M6U we have got something for everyone who want to learn more about physics.

THE RINGO STORY

One of the highlights of the year was Maths Fest where PBΔG managed to get our mascot Lo Shu named and signed by the incredible James Grime (and also Matt Parker).

For those who don’t already know, Ringo Starman is a doll in a car racing suit and helmet, belonging to PhySoc, who joined the school a little over a year ago at the 2018 STEM dinner.

Shortly afterwards he disappeared into the void (or was he kidnapped by Sam Selbourne?) only to be found in pieces in March 2019 by various members of PhySoc and ChemSoc, both of whom claimed ownership of him.

To settle this argument of utmost importance, both societies agreed to a heist lasting a week, in which each would attempt to steal Ringo from the other and hide him somewhere in the school, lasting until 3:30pm on the Friday before we broke up for Easter, at which time the society with possession of Ringo would win and be declared by the other as ‘Borlase’s best STEM society’. Many creative hiding places, some belonging to PBAG, who decided to join in, included a cardboard box in a maths classroom, the guitar storage area, a bush, the theatre prop room, a PE cupboard, the floor in A5U and Mr Ahmed’s physics room.

After a long week of society leaders arriving at school at 7am to search whilst explaining the situation to many understandably confused members of staff, PhySoc ended up in possession of Ringo. Obviously, ChemSoc refused to say that PhySoc was the best, thereby disqualifying themselves from the competition through contract violation, even though they’d already lost by that point so it didn’t matter.

Oli, Sam and Alex

Stevie Cooper, Munmeet Bahra and Nav Basra

Joseph Martin, Ailsa Carlaw, Claudia Mura and Stevie Cooper P(exτeiπ∫ β∝ℝ ∩ Gr2i⌊⌋) (PBΔG)

PBΔG is the place for interesting and obscure maths.

Since taking over in January we have had a large variety (σ2 >> 1) of presentations on topics from Machine Learning to the Golden Ratio. We’ve had some debates, such as “Statistics vs Mechanics: Which is the best applied Maths?”, which happened to end in a draw (H0: Statistics > Mechanics, H1: Mechanics > Statistics, not enough evidence to reject H0 ∴ Statistics is better).

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SOCIETIES

PSYCHSOC If you like tea, cake, or psychology, then look no further than PsychSoc. As leaders, we’re all about presenting research into the most fascinating and quirky topics relating to the study of the mind and behaviour.

Fond memories of Tuesday breaks this year include: hypnosis, electroconvulsive shock therapy, gender dysphoria, personality tests, mind-mindedness, memory, neuroplasticity, painkillers and placebos, PTSD and EMDR, sexual orientation, technology and mental illness, and what goes on during sleep. It has been a privilege to run a society with such enthusiastic members and we look forward to continuing the discussions (and biscuit-munching/ tea-sipping) next year.

HELM ECONSOC

Amy Badham, Faye Downey, Charlie Evans

KS4 SCISOC There has been a wide range of topics and discussions throughout the year, but our favourite has been diving into the depths of quantum mechanics and finding out about time dilation and that light doesn't even experience the concept of time! We're very proud to say that this year we have had equal numbers of all KS4 year groups, which we hope has inspired even more people than before. For the future we plan on giving the leadership of KS4 SciSoc back to someone from Year 10 or 11, to help show that anyone can get involved, regardless of age!

Ben Ford and Anastasia Emelyanenko

VETSOC Veterinary Society has been given a new lease of life this year, and we have hosted a guest speaker, currently studying at the Royal Veterinary College, and run a practical using an ECG machine. We look at both the medical side of working with animals and the more human-centred side, looking at the effects of various events such as Brexit on the veterinary community and farmers, as well as some common diseases and conditions we may come up against in our work life as actual vets! We’ve learnt lots and hope to continue to help our society grow with planned activities including dissections, heart decellularisation and hatching some chicks!

Haidee Owen, Georgia Mill and Izzy Barnett 22

Having unfortunately failed to write our report in time for The Borlasian 2018, we have plenty to reflect on.

Over the past year and a half, Economics Society has seen compounding interest from a variety of year groups. Perhaps the most popular aspect of the society has been our trading competition using the app BUX. A surprising number of people made a profit on the app, notably Daniel Porter, who won the competition with 11% return from his initial investment. However, many also suffered at the hands of Bitcoin, which halved in value during the competition, with Matt Covus losing every penny in his trading account. As they say on Wall Street; “Bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered”.

During the year we discussed subjects as diverse as: the controversial Wolf of Wall Street, the topical gender pay gap, infrastructure projects such as Heathrow expansion and Crossrail, and many more current issues. We were privileged to have a presentation

by Dr Edward Anyaeji from the University of Reading about the economic implications of commercialised Nuclear Fusion in 2050. Although the maths was beyond us, we were all able to see that this new form of power generation would become prominent in the energy sector in the years to come.

We wish the existing members of EconSoc and its four new, highly capable, leaders, all the best in continuing their journey to boost their own human capital, with a view to producing many unicorns in the future.

Andy Barton, Matt Whitfield, Natassja Krajewski and Aman Sharif

SOCIETIES

FEMSOC

FemSoc has had another full and exciting year. We are particularly pleased to have seen an increase in the number of boys attending. Our weekly discussionbased sessions have been varied and have covered topics including sports, music, current affairs and even Love Island! Outside of the classroom we attended lectures and conferences such as the Henley Literary Festival and the Care International Women’s Day event in Central Hall, Westminster, where the fences to which the Suffragettes chained themselves 100 years ago still stand. The highlight of our year, however, was the Parliamentary lobby day we attended in March, in an effort to change legislation regarding workplace harassment. We were joined by MPs Jess Phillips and Maria Miller, Helen Pankhurst (great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst) and activist, Dr Shola MosShogbamimu in Parliament. During the meeting with our MP, John Howell, he agreed to write on our behalf to Alok Sharma and Penny Mordaunt in order to change the dated legislation. We are so pleased to have received word from Alok Sharma in response to this, confirming that the UK will ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 189; this will provide more rights for workers across the world to help prevent workplace violence and harassment. It was a main goal for the day to get the UK on board with Convention 189, so we are delighted that our efforts were effective. It was a surreal day, spent surrounded by some of the most accomplished feminists of our generation. FemSoc has now been handed over to its new leaders, but we know we are leaving it in very safe hands!

Kitty Pilgrim-Morris and Erin McLoughlin

INTERNATIONALRELATIONSSOC

Ever since its founding, International Relations society has always been a small society; yet it has been filled with passionate members, who have debated a range

of contemporary issues in the geopolitical world, ranging from Viktor Orban’s Hungary, to diplomatic professionalism and even the delicate relationship between Israel and Palestine - which never ceases to receive the largest amount of participation! Although the topics were controversial, the members managed to keep the debates calm and collected, which made my job as society leader a whole lot easier. My favourite moment was when Mr Rendell engaged in a fierce debate with students over the issue of free speech; it is always lovely to see staff members getting involved! I hope that International Relations society will continue to be the amazing society it has always been, under the leadership of Raphael and Thomas.

Jonathan Vallee

JAPANSOC

Mina-san, konnichiwa! If you know what that means, you’ll be a minority in JapanSoc, the Borlase Japanese club that has given up teaching anyone Japanese because new members keep on joining - we even reached fifteen people in one presentation! This is all through the power of press-ganging them to come once, and then making it such an enjoyable society that they never want to leave. I’m bowled over by the support that it has received, even if that means I have to spend my money on food from Japan and all my time making Powerpoints. To name some of many, we’ve looked at foxes, WW2, funerals, anpanman, overwork, Pokemon, terrorism, fashion, theatre, anime, Valentine’s Day, salarymen and so, so much folklore.

Who can ever forget the sandal that gains sentience and runs around scaring people? What about the horrible fish things that Mr Hill brought back from his trip to Japan? (Thank you for that, Sir - the mochi you gave us with them were excellent!) Furthermore, we are the only club to have a tea ceremony, the watching of films, the reading of books, a treasure hunt, an official abdication and not one, but two séances (neither or which succeeded in summoning a bakezori.) I’ll never forget the seven of us reading ghost stories by electric candlelight whilst crammed in a small, dark cupboard.

JapanSoc has been the highlight of my week since its creation and I’m very sad to be handing half of it over to the very capable Hope, and the other half to the not-so-capable everyone else. I wish everyone good luck next year, and I hope that we’ve all started to understand the value of culture, and how much things vary even in this globalised world. May you continue to enjoy learning exciting and highly unusual things!

Jemima Jones 23

SOCIETIES

LAWSOC

Cece and I decided that such a politically engaged and opinionated school would really benefit from a Law Society to encourage students who are interested in studying Law to engage with the subject on a deeper level. During the year we have presented and discussed a range of topics, from ancient law, such as the Magna Carta, to UK landmark cases and even more modern, mainstream cases such as the O J Simpson Murder trial. The Society proved to be a great success and we really enjoyed leading sessions for people who were so interested in Law. Maisha Ahmed and Cece Briscoe

POLSOC

Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court, and the outcome of the midterm elections.

We frequently shifted our focus to developing events in the wider international landscape, too, including situations in the Middle East, with expanding tensions between Israel and Palestine and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi - conflicts in the Ukraine, and the rise of populism in Europe.

We have also gone beyond current affairs, with fascinating sessions on philosophical issues, such as the nature and utility of socialism, the legacy of imperialism, and what rights we should have in a free society.

There has perhaps never been a more fascinating time to discuss politics and its impacts, not only on our lives here in Britain, but in the wider world.

Amelia Crick, Ed McLaren and Oscar Murphy

PERFORMING ARTS BARBERSHOP

For four years now, the various leaders of Politics Society have endeavoured to enrich Borlase with as wide an understanding of the state of modern affairs, government and philosophy as possible; granting students the opportunity to uphold or dispute the status quo on a wide range of issues, in accordance with their own, rather than selected, viewpoints. The increase in turnout which the society has seen, from a plucky half-dozen committed free thinkers to more than fifty, can be said to evidence its fundamental success in providing the subject which it tackles with the degree of nuance and seriousness it deserves, all the while maintaining a balance between the involvement of new members and those already wellestablished. Therefore, for those willing to question established conceits surrounding state, economy, nationhood and society at large, there can be no more wonderful haven in all of the school.

This year, PolSoc saw a wide range of lively debates that reflected the turbulent political times we all live in. Whilst we had many discussions on topics involving the issues facing the UK - such as Brexit, the NHS, and the state of the political parties - we also discussed issues in Trump’s America, such as gun rights, the 24

I’m not sure if we could have asked for a more exciting first year for the Barbershop group. Myself, Mark, Callum, Charlie, Raphael and Fergus have been met with such great support from all of our audiences, and we’ve had such a great time getting to know our collective sound and expanding the repertoire. The highlights of the year have been the calls of “encore!” at the Spring Chamber Concert, and taking 2nd place at the Wycombe Orpheus Young Musicians Festival - our first group outing - as well as a performance at the Cookham Music Festival and being invited to perform at Orpheus Male Voice Choir’s annual concert in the Wycombe Swan, following our result in their competition.

Cormac Diamond

SOCIETIES

BRASS ENSEMBLE

This year Brass Ensemble featured in the WW1 memorial concert performing I Vow to Thee My Country, a traditional patriotic hymn set to music from Gustav Holst's Jupiter. In the Christmas Carol Concerts we accompanied Cantorum in performing a variety of carols including Once in Royal David's City and God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen. Since then, we have continued to rehearse, with a particular focus on developing the ensemble skills of the younger students in the group.

Daniel Crane

CHAPEL CHOIR

Christmas Carols for elderly people in December. We are a very committed group, with rehearsals every Monday break, even when there aren’t any forthcoming concerts, and the effort put in by some members has been extraordinary. Despite broken stands, dropped clarinets and last-minute rehearsals in the theatre foyer, I am proud to say that Clarinet Collective has had what has been described by members as its ‘best year ever’, due to the enthusiasm put in by everyone.

It is with both strong regret and slight relief that I hand over Clarinet Collective to Josh and Florence, and hope it continues to be just as exhilarating next year!

Jemima Jones

GOSPEL CHOIR

It has been another successful year for Chapel Choir.

We worked very hard to be ready in time for the WW1 centenary concert, in addition to singing at the traditional Remembrance Service in Chapel. The eagerly anticipated Carol Concert came next, in which we sang our favourite of this year's pieces, Lux Aeterna, by Sarah Quartel. The Senior Concert was an emotional experience for those of us in our final year, but no less enjoyable. Our rendition of A Litany by William Walton was well received and marked our final public school concert performance of the year. The choir also sang at special Easter Chapel assemblies, as well as performing at Leavers’ Chapel and the Arts Dinner. As ever, the success of the choir is testament to the commitment and enthusiasm shown by all members and so I’d like to thank the girls, as well as the Music Department, whose support allows the many school groups to function as they do.

Mae Reineke

The start of this year was slightly different for Gospel Choir, as the WW1 centenary concert forced us to find appropriate pieces. We ended up arranging and performing Au Revoir, But Not Goodbye, Soldier Boy and There’s A Long, Long Trail, two wartime songs which were emotional, effective, and fitting for the atmosphere of the night.

After this, we decided to go back to the roots of Gospel music, and had just 8 days to rehearse for our next event, the Marlow Music Festival. We performed the spiritual Take Me to the Water, for which we received the silver medal, along with glowing comments from the adjudicator.

At the Christmas Carol Concert we presented another spiritual number, Jesus, What a Wonderful Child, and an upbeat Pentatonix medley featuring Hark! The Herald Angels Sing which got the congregation clapping and tapping their feet along throughout.

For our final major concert of the year, we performed Joyful, Joyful and Take Me to the Water, complete with choreography and soloists including the Year 13 leavers.

These pieces were so popular that we reprised them at the Arts Dinner.

Emma Gazard and Sophie Yazdi-Davis

CLARINET COLLECTIVE

Playing the lively Pink Panther Theme in the Spring concert was the highlight of the year for Clarinet Collective, as well as performing a more sober hymn medley in the WW1 centenary Concert. But our club goes beyond official school concerts – and we played 25

SOCIETIES

JUNIOR GIRLS’ CHOIR

This year has been highly successful for the Junior Girls choir and we are so grateful for their continuing commitment and enthusiasm. A particular highlight was the WW1 commemoration concert where they sang a cheerful rendition of Keep the Home Fires Burning, which included a final chorus sung with the entire audience! At Christmas there was high praise for their performance of The Nativity Carol and, at the time of writing, we are currently awaiting results from the ‘Music for Youth’ competition.

Ava Sherwood Rogers and Georgia Tuke

STRING QUARTET

ROCK CLUB

We are always extremely busy at the start of every year with Rocktober, Borlase’s annual contemporary/ popular music gig, arriving very quickly after the beginning of term. Nevertheless, the hard working bands that make up our society are always ready on time to rock the house! Rock Club is a wonderful creative environment that brings friends together to have fun playing our favourite songs every week. We are consistently populated by several amazing bands, leaving me with the constant struggle of mediating conflicts over the two available drum kits. However, this is a wonderful problem to have, as it shows the enthusiasm of the school’s contemporary musicians in their practice and performance. The bands are currently preparing and learning their sets for Borlase’s summer rock festival: Summer Soundwaves, which will be another opportunity to showcase the talent and passion for music the members of Rock Club display.

Gabe Smith

Following the departure of several members at the end of last year, the String Quartet was reorganised with new members this year. Although our time together has been short, it has been a great pleasure to play some challenging chamber repertoire. Following our performance of the Romanze from Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart at the WW1 commemoration concert, we have focussed on more varied repertoire from composers such as Beethoven, Haydn and Borodin.

In February, we played at the Henley Youth Festival followed by the Senior Concert in April. We have a few future events coming up as summer approaches after which we will be saying goodbye to Harry and Mae. Raphael Conte

YEAR 8 DRAMA CLUB:

This has been another spirited and successful year for Saxophone Ensemble off the back of winning ‘Best Student-led Ensemble’ at last year’s Boscars. Two new members, JJ Jones and Josh Kaushal, entered seamlessly into their roles, and by our last concert both were leading their respective parts. The combination of Jonny Ainscough’s undisputed expertise supporting Emma Gazard’s harmonious melodies was particularly noteworthy, but I believe the underpinning key to our success was the relentless hard work all our members put in to the band, never forgetting their instruments nor failing to show up to the vast number of rehearsals.

One final thanks to all the members of the group, it was great fun playing together and an honour to have led this ensemble.

This has been a very successful year and the members have come so far in such a short amount of time. We began the year doing improvisation and games to help them get used to performing and become more confident. We have now moved to studying a play called Second Sight and all of them have been assigned roles. The Year 8s have been excellent at getting to know the play and have been very enthusiastic. They have been a pleasure to mentor and we can already see the difference that this club has made to their acting and their confidence, and as they choose their GCSE options we hope that this club has encouraged them to pick Drama. We will be carrying on this club next year and are really hoping that it will grow in popularity as the years go on. There are so many opportunities for the students at Borlase and we have loved being part of it.

Julian Whitaker

Poppy Morgan and Elizabeth Rackstraw (Year 10)

SAXOPHONE ENSEMBLE

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(Humanities, English, Literacy, Modern Foreign Languages)

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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AT BORLASE

Government and Politics remains the subject of choice for students fascinated by the democratic process in the UK and across the Atlantic. This subject makes headlines daily and relentlessly ventures into unchartered territory. Hence, class and society debates are popular and lively.

Year 13 were fortunate to travel to Washington DC and New York last autumn, with Year 12 en route this year. The trip brings to life the textbook and classroom learning in an invaluable way. Sitting in the House of Representatives ahead of the Mid-Term elections, one could quite vividly feel and imagine how normal undertakings would have been out of recess.

Year 12 are visiting Parliament and the Supreme Court this term, in part facilitated by Dominic Grieve MP whom we hope, diary permitting, can meet with us, although he is very busy at the moment as Brexit continues to evolve and the Conservative leadership selection process is underway.

Year 12 and 13 academic societies continue to flourish; PolSoc, InternationalRelationsSoc and FemSoc, offer avenues for specialised debate, at times with guest speakers, or mock Conservative leadership elections, and wider research potential. These societies also provide a forum for those in lower years to explore and exercise their interest in the social sciences, and are conducive to more considered A level choices.

A significant number of Year 13 have elected to further pursue their subject interest at university and we wish them every success going forward.

I would like to thank the Borlase Politics teaching team for their dedication to providing inspirational and informed subject delivery in the face of not just A Level reform, but Brexit and President Trump’s USA. Ms F Pryor, Head of Politics

Y13 IN WASHINGTON & NY

In October, 37 History and Politics students travelled to Washington DC. Ignoring our jetlag, we headed straight to Harpers Ferry - the location of John Brown’s Raid in 1859. On our second day, we visited the Senate and House Galleries, as well as the Supreme Court and the Congressional Library. We also saw the Presidential Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery and the Theatre where Lincoln was assassinated in 1860. During our walk to the White House, we were stopped by the police and told to stand against the shop fronts as the Presidential escort drove past. We are all absolutely 28

convinced Trump was in the back seat, ignoring any doubters who claimed that Trump was in Texas at the time! We finished the evening with visits to the Washington Monument and the moving WW2 National Memorial, under a beautiful, pink sky. On our final day in Washington we visited the Lincoln and Vietnam War Memorials, as well as the Arlington National Cemetery.

After a fairly quick journey, stopping at key American Civil War Battlegrounds on the way, we arrived in New York. Our first morning included a boat trip to the Statue of Liberty and a visit to Wall Street. We were all moved

by Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial Museum, then spent sunset on top of the Rockefeller Centre and our evening in Times Square. Our last day allowed us free time to explore New York City and all it has to offer, this being (for the girls at least) Sephora, Sephora and…

Sephora, though we did also manage to get to Grand Central Station. It is difficult to explain how memorable this trip was, making friends with classmates we’d not had the chance to get to know, and making jokes that have managed to see us through A-levels. It is equally difficult to explain just how much walking we did - my Fitbit is yet to recover. Fortunately, we were fed in American portions throughout our travels, from Mexican in sombreros to macaroni cheese in the Hard Rock Cafe.

Amelia Crick

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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE MODEL UNITED NATIONS

HISTORY AT BORLASE

This academic year has been one of great transition for the History Department, with both Mr Mead and Miss Picton joining the school in September 2018. They have made their presence felt already, with new A Level modules on the Tudors, and Lenin and Stalin, coming into play from September 2019. That aside, there has been some fantastic work going on, with the Year 7 Castles Project and Miss Williams’ Year 8 WW1 Trench Project particularly standing out. In fact, several of Year 7’s castles are currently on display at none other than Windsor Castle, and our thanks must go to Ms Hocking for arranging such a wonderful opportunity.

Outside the classroom, our Year 10s have recently returned from what proved to be a truly sensational trip to Berlin.

Mr P Mead, Head of History

In April, a group of Year 10 students attended a Model United Nations conference, alongside over one hundred students based locally and in France and Spain.

The chosen topic of debate was ‘violent extremism’, and delegates representing various UN member states collaborated to create real-world solutions to address this multi-faceted issue. As Chair it was my job to lead the debate before delegations split into smaller groups to draft resolutions. They worked alongside representatives of other member states to address the causes, acts and consequences of violent extremism. Delegates presented pieces of legislation to the chair and members of the Secretariat, which were debated and voted upon in a simulation of the debate procedure of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The standard of debate was consistently high, and addressed all aspects of the topic at hand. Students representing prominent news outlets, including the BBC, US-Based Fox News, Russia Today, and France 24 covered the event by producing “Newsround” style video shorts, in addition to live twitter feeds throughout the day. Several Borlase students returned with awards recognising their contributions both as delegates and members of the press.

Iesha Allen 29

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YEAR 10 IN BERLIN

In Berlin we had a great time learning about its past and the impact past events can have on us today.

We visited many monuments and sites, including Sachsenhausen, a WW2 concentration camp, and the famous ‘Checkpoint Charlie”. The East Side Gallery on the Berlin Wall was particularly impressive, as it displayed a large amount of art that truly turned a painful reminder into a celebration of how humanity has progressed as a whole. We were accompanied by two knowledgeable guides, Steve and Jeff, who explained many places of historical significance.

During our free time we had the opportunity to sample traditional German cuisine (or not!) as well as to purchase souvenirs. We spent most of the days walking around Berlin and taking public transport which allowed us to gain an understanding of the history of the place and appreciate the interesting and varied culture in Berlin.

We stayed in an A&O hostel in East Berlin during our stay. The rooms were very good, plus the extended football table led to many a competitive match! We all appreciated Mr Miall’s efforts to wake us up, blasting his favourite tunes through our door at 7am! Songs like Walking on Sunshine, September and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go all featured on this exclusive playlist.

On the last day we visited, among other things, the Soviet War Memorial. This was one of the most impressive sights we had seen all week, a true homage to the former power of the USSR. It was also a good place for sunbathing!

Will Tucker, with help from Max Rahimian, Emily Stephens, James Porter, Maisie Cochrane and Lucy Barnes (Year 10) 30

ENGLISH AT BORLASE

Examination prowess, Oxbridge success, creative writing trips, playwriting and poetry competitions, debating, theatre trips, academic conferences, interschool literary discussions, visiting speakers…The list of achievements, activities and stimuli just keeps on growing!

In terms of examination results, students at GCSE and A Level have continued to flourish. Not only have Sixth formers shown their academic development in their A Level studies but also extended their creative writing skills and been a mainstay as learning mentors to younger students. To encourage their academic aspiration at tertiary level, trips to Oxford and Cambridge universities for prospective students of English were complemented by residential courses at Eton College. Academic Mentoring of those hoping to study English at university took place as part of RISC (research and independent study programme).

Several EPQS on comparative literary topics chosen

by Year 12 and 13 students soon developed. Some students chose to do an extended project in creative writing.

This creativity, along with the annual academic conferences focused on examination texts and techniques, has flourished. In October half term, a group of Year 12 students travelled to Venice to experience the history and atmosphere of La Serenissima to fire their creativity. The resulting writing was collected in an anthology, used for EPQs and entered into competitions. In July, four Year 12 students are taking part in a creative writing course at Keats House in London.

This year four Year 13 students applied to read English at Oxford University; all four were invited for interview and given conditional offers.

The Whole School Poetry Competition this year included a wide variety of wonderful entries. This competition is open to pupils and students of any age, all of whom wish to receive the accolade of Bard of Borlase! This year, Charis Horsely was crowned Bard.

KS3 winner was Ananya Chakrabarti and KS4 winner was Leon Tasch.

Equally prestigious was the competition organised by the Chaucer Heritage Trust. In November, Dr Charles Farris, Head of Education, once again visited Borlase to introduce Year 7 and 8 students to the first great writer in the English language – Geoffrey Chaucer. In a series of lively sessions he introduced them to Middle English, Chaucer, and some of the characters from his best-known work, ‘The Canterbury Tales’, this year focusing on magic and trickery in the Franklin’s Tale.

HELM The students all participated enthusiastically in Dr. Farris’ interactive workshops, reading Middle English out loud and creating their own tales of trickery for the Trust’s creative writing competition. In a crosscurricular link, House Drama this year was also based upon ‘The Canterbury Tales’.

In Borlase itself, many clubs and activities capture students’ energy and attention.

The Advanced Reading Group tackled texts and authors as diverse as Gawain and the Green Knight, Metaphysical poetry and nineteenth, twentieth and twenty first century novels and poetry. These were discussed as preparation for seminar style discussions of literature at university and interviews at the top universities. In addition, the group visited Keats House in London to learn about Keats, attended conferences on Literature and Poetry, and visited the theatre to see performances of The Taming of the Shrew in Stratford, Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre, and Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at The Old Vic. In June the group will be following in the footsteps of Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway on a study day in London. The Sixth Form English Society held weekly meetings focusing on a wide range of literature selected by the students themselves. The study of the literature of World War 1 was enhanced

by Dave Part of Marlow Library who talked about the role played in WW1 by citizens of Marlow.

The annual KS3 competitions and festivals involving poetry recitation and Shakespeare performances and recitation have continued to encourage maximum participation in literary activities. Currently, several Year 8, 9 and 10 pupils are involved in the Carnegie Shadowing Scheme in collaboration with Great Marlow and other Buckinghamshire schools.

To support students’ study and enjoyment of texts, a wide range of theatre trips has been organised during the year. All of our Year 7 students travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the RSC’s thoughtprovoking production of ‘A Christmas Carol’. 120 Year 8 students went to see the National Theatre;’s highly acclaimed production of War Horse. Our Year 11 students attended the RSC’s production of ‘Macbeth’, one of their GCSE set texts, at the Barbican, while our A Level students visited the Globe Theatre to see a production of Othello, one of their set texts. In addition, a group of our Year 11 students spent a day in Stratford-upon-Avon learning about Macbeth from a performance perspective, working with an RSC actor.

The wealth of literary and linguistic opportunities abounds. The Year 7 Dance project this year is based upon poetry from other cultures. Through Poetry,

Dance and Music, the theme of Equalities will be showcased.

Further literary and linguistic support also comes on a daily basis from the LRC. The Young Adult Fiction stock has developed considerably to maintain an engaging and diverse collection for students of all years. In addition, the collection of critical works to enhance advanced study, support EPQs and Oxbridge entry has expanded significantly.

Delight in language and literature gained through reading, creative writing and inter-school activities does not happen by chance. For their continuous generosity and inspiration, I would like to extend my thanks to all my English colleagues who give of their time and expertise unstintingly.

Ms R Holmes, Assistant Head

YEAR 8 WW1 SCRIPT WRITING AND ENRICHMENT DAY

The 2018 Year 8 enrichment day was based around a cross-curricular project with History in which students visited the training trenches on Marlow Common and listened to a talk by Dave Part from Marlow Museum on World War 1. In the afternoon the students wrote short plays using stimuli from different sources, propaganda posters, diaries, letters and autobiographies to draw upon their learning. They later performed their class plays on chapel lawn, a fitting setting for plays that were moving and affecting and showed a high level of research and historical knowledge.

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VENICE CREATIVE WRITING TRIP

At the end of October, eighteen Year 12 students with a passion for creative writing embarked on an amazing and productive trip to Venice. It was a marvellous opportunity to practice writing poetry, prose, monologues and much more, and we were even able to enter our writing into very prestigious writing competitions such as the Tower Poetry Competition. We also had the chance to listen to incredible talks by Ms Birkett on Lord Byron, Ms Bungey on Shakespeare’s interpretations of Venice and Mr Lofthouse’s edgy ghost stories on Hallowe’en!

Moreover, we got to experience some classic Venetian weather - there was a lot of flooding in the Piazza San Marco and all of us managed to splash around wearing waterproof shoes (more like big bags!) Overall, it was great to get to see the beauty of Venice and write and learn, especially with other students. The trip provided us all with three successful pieces of creative writing, a once in a lifetime experience and friendships which will hopefully last forever!

Anastasia Emelyanenko

Bub Red Demure and clean, your sky was bare, Atop still waves of clearest glass, You do not see the lurker there, A drunkard drinking from his lass.

Stable standing in the sea this Ship a lighthouse, signal me?

You’re swaddled sweet within the sail, But I, aboard your ship, do ail.

All unerring, but this pirate, I, rufescent corsair rocking, Out from underneath your vessel, With my reckless heart I wrestle; Alas what was the point I ask?

It took the words from out my mouth And draped them ‘cross your rigid frame, Streams of claret stained your world An innocent shade of red I hurled.

And if thy eyes could clearly see, The world once more as purest white, Then would you, lovely, swiftly blink, Or let this drowning vessel sink?

Mark D’Arcy

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CREATIVE WRITING

Every year the Audrey Moore Prize for Creative Writing is awarded to the student whose writing is deemed to be the most innovative and exciting.

This year’s winner is James Nickels (Y13) for his collection of performance poetry.

Lady Lost Look into my eyes Can you see something misleading Look into my eyes There is something deceiving But what is that you’re reading Is it heeding or mischieving You perceiving and believing Then conceiving and proceeding To the greatness I’m achieving And the sadness I'm relieving

Shut it. Look at me I’m addressing My decree I’m announcing The dispossessing Of your lost love and lust I can't adjust to this world Painful path planned out preserved Are you nerved Cause now I'm baneful Be fearful Gonna make you tearful

Look into my eyes False truth misleading Look into my eyes Fake truce deceiving Flawed trust it's failing Command your lust I’m draining Your fire passion I’m freezing Control of our love I’ll seize it When it’s you and me it’s pleasing When without me you’ll lose all reason

They’ll be scars several Worse than Tsars evil Screams to Mars awful

So stay with me And you will always be Flying high and flying free

Bloody you till you’re Broken and bruised Leave you dead Lost and deceived Lady misled James Nickels

Look into my eyes Look into my eyes No really now Look me in the eye There’s no need to be misleading No point now for deceiving You are mine My possession My obsession Was suppressing Now confessing And expressing My repression 33

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Bub

BORLASE BARD

Whole School Winner: Charis Horsley (Y12)

Black Kingdom

Flickering shadow trips along the canals, Grainy clouds of fog diffuse, delicate Tints of herb, devoid of flavour; Rosemary, sage, thyme - no time like The past - crawling like a cockroach Grappling at each heel; diluted, stagnant, - stolid, just betrayal of light - not Consumption of darkness.

Sucking in shallows like air - thick Liqueurs vaping stale fingers of The Whole School Poetry Competition 2018 challenged Steam into the pitch-bleached waters. Its students to write a poem on any subject they chose.

There was a large number of high quality entries and it Liminal theft as the corrugated meniscus was very hard for the judges to decide on the winners, Dances under puppet strings of the breeze, particularly because the entries were anonymous, to Washes of watercolours bleed, then drown, give an equal chance to every age group to be the Soaking through basement stories, one by one. winner of the Bard's Chair. After much deliberation, Charis Horsley (Y12) was crowned Bard - our first female Bard, with Leon Tasch (Y11) winner of the KS4 KS4 winner: Leon Tasch (Y11) category and Ananya Chakrabarti (Y8) winner of the KS3 category.

Treeline

Bub

It’s a place where we used to go, With summer skies painted indigo, Shivering sunsets by the lake play Through my mind in A Major. Always.

Far beyond the city’s glow, In the blues of lazy afternoons, Butterscotch eyes and major chords Waiting beneath the sentient pines Press pause. Leave life lying there Because I know I must find her Somewhere in the the trees.

This is real time. Deeds of release.

Her smoky hair and hazel smile Over gold dust fields that span for miles.

I search to find my mountain fiend So we can sing our song again.

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Bub KS3 winner: Ananya Chakrabarti (Y8)

The Quest

A quest to live for, a quest to die for, A quest to laugh for, a quest to cry for, A quest of many, a quest of few, A quest to complete even when you’re feeling blue.

The quest for power, the quest for peace, The quest for happiness or somebody’s release, The quest to kill the dragon, the quest to win the war, The quest to save the people that you most adore.

A quest is one of these things, but it could be many more, A quest can be something done to settle an old score, A quest to preserve your name, to tell the world who you are, A quest that becomes a legend lasting longer than a star.

Some may last for centuries, some may last for days, Some may be a race against the clock, but be filled with delays, Some may last a minute, others a year or more, Some may take a second, a quick little thought.

Some quests are made for heroes, the brave and the mighty, Others are for the ordinary who are most definitely not almighty, But everyone is unique, each in different ways, And some quests need people who can do nothing to amaze.

Some heroes have super strength, other can fly, Some heroes can shrink or grow, with energy in endless supply, But there are many individuals with no super power, But are drawn to the quest in their darkest hour.

Bub

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SCIENCE OXFORD POETRY COMPETITION

In Literacy lessons during the Spring Term, Year 7 and 8 students wrote poems on the theme of ‘science’ which were entered into the Years 7-11 category of the Science Oxford science poem competition 2019, a poetry competition for schools in the Oxford area, run in conjunction with the Oxford Science & Ideas Festival.

Fourteen Borlase students were included in the

shortlist of 20: Daisy Hayward (Y7), Ellie Lane(Y7), Freya Millard (Y7), Lily Pollard (Y7), Evie Ringrose (Y7), Alannah Ryder (Y7), Millie Elwood (Y8), Sam Furley (Y8), Rebecca Hesketh (Y8), Helena Kennedy (Y8), Jack Lee (Y8), Emily Layton-Watts (Y8), Maisie MathiesonSpires (Y8), Rory Shaffrey (Y8) Lyla Griffin(Y7) was selected as one of 3 runners-up for her poem, Windmill, and Flossy Thornton-Wood (Y8) was selected as winner for her poem, The Mind.

Bub

Winner: The Mind Sometimes she Is a wonderful companion, Leading me through new worlds, finding new adventures.

Wittily whisking me away to a land I had never imagined before, Yet my body still lies in the familiarity of my own bed, my own home, Maybe even my own two feet.

She can be a whirlwind of emotions, Patterns, Pictures, Dreams ignited from one single motion, One single touch.

By day, she Spreads her eloquent wings, Thoughts and feelings projecting off of each flawless feather, Subconscious yet predictable.

By night, These thoughts and feelings become falsifiable; She’s the eagle, the Vulture of her own fantasies, Changing with every vision that she creates.

When I fail to see what’s before me, She lightens my path through life; Whether it’s the merciless hawk, Or the magnificent hummingbird.

Bub 36

Flossy Thornton-Wood (Y8)

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Runner-up: Windmill

Bub

I stand on the hill Standing strong for all to see I’m here in darkness I’m here in night But am I even noticed?

Reaching up towards the clouds They taunt me As they’re lazily drifting across the deep blue sky My white wings catching the sunlight My powerful blades turning Forced by the wind My companion out of view Nature’s strength shows me all weather While we work in harmony

White metal spinning faster Whirling day and night Electricity flows through my veins The power stored within me The energy I contain Threading onwards The breeze leaves me I’m slowing down As my white wings stop turning You disappear out of sight It’s out of my control I stand silent on the hill Waiting Alone

Bub

Lyla Griffin (Y7)

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CREATIVE WRITING

Shine

Bub

When you need help Look up When you feel down Look high Imagine you’re somewhere far away There must be something to light your day Count the stars in the sky Impossible, but you should try There’s one that shines just for you If you don’t know what to do Keep your star shining bright Keep it up there every night Whatever you do, don’t let it fall If you lose your light, you’ll lose it all.

Ruth Groffman (Y7)

The Horrors of War

Bub

This was it, the conch horn sounded, And into battle we strode, The shells were flying, the guns were pounding, And through all hell we rode.

I swung my sabre wildly, Without a pistol at my side, Rifle bullets passed my head, Yet I did not try to hide.

I thundered through the midst of war, Past many fallen men, I never want to see a sight As horrid as this again.

But despite all the screams of the dying, Within the horrors of war, I found an oasis of silence, Where the screams could be heard no more.

Oliver Green (Y7)

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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES AT BORLASE

One of the joys of MFL is encouraging students to put their learning into practice outside the classroom to develop their confidence in speaking the language and also appreciate the cultural, geographical and culinary attractions of the different countries. Every week, at breaks and lunchtimes, our Year 12 and 13 students can regularly be seen running language clubs for older students, and support sessions for younger students.

Beyond our own classrooms, our students have also supported a local primary school in their French activity day, as well as one of our hub secondary schools in Spanish GCSE revision workshops. Our Year 8 German Christmas party is now an annual fixture, with Weihnachtsgebäck (Christmas biscuit) decorations, Stollen and Lebkuchen to snack on and carols sung heartily in the original German.

Stretch and challenge opportunities continue, and this year we congratulate Stevie Cooper and Alex Huxley on their gold medals and Claudia Mura on her silver medal in the UK Linguistics Olympiad. Congratulations also go to Ella Watharow, Ben Ford, Jonathan Vallee and Sasha Harding-Hubbard who participated in the EU ‘Juvenes Translatores’ competition. Raphael Conte and Mollie Marsh had highly commended entries in the Lancaster University Modern Languages Essay Competition. Four of our Year 12 German students – Stevie Cooper, Claudia Mura, Daniel Rooney and Daniel Porter – had a rewarding fortnight on work experience in Saarburg; and our Year 9 Youthbridge winners, Daisy Foley, Sofia Ziaullah, Sofia HeardNorrish, and Jemima Ridley have enjoyed extending their cultural knowledge of Germany with articles, respectively, on beautiful areas of Germany, famous German people, German food specialities and the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers.

Exchange trips to Spain, France and Germany continue, although we were unable to run the French trip this year. The experiences these exchanges offer our students are invaluable in developing an authentic linguistic and cultural experience, with visits to historical and cultural places of interest, as well as local and family traditions.

Alongside these longer visits, there are also the Year 9 trip to the Aachen Christmas market, the year 7 visit to Boulogne, and the Year 12 study trip to Berlin.

The success of all of these trips relies heavily on the expertise, enthusiasm, organisation and unstinting support of our MFL administrator, Mrs Alexander.

Mandarin continues as an enrichment subject, with

students starting after-school lessons either in Year 9 or Year 12; we are also looking forward to offering weekly after-school Mandarin enrichment classes for Year 7s from September 2019.

We could not finish this report without a huge thank you to two people leaving the school this year: Mrs Birch, who has been with us for two years, has selflessly supported every aspect of our department’s work, and we wish her every success in her new job; Mr Heywood has long been an honorary member of the MFL department, supporting us on one Spanish exchange, five trips to Aachen, and an incredible fifteen German exchanges; both we and Gymnasium Saarburg send him our heartfelt thanks, and our best wishes for a long, happy and healthy retirement.

Mrs J Hopper, Head of MFL

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES HUB After a rigorous application process, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School was selected in July 2018 as one of the nine lead schools in the government’s major new initiative to improve the quality of language teaching and increase uptake of languages at GCSE. Each lead school trains and supports the staff in four hub schools.

The project, co-ordinated by the National Centre for Excellence in Language Pedagogy (NCELP) at York University, is backed by £4.8 million over the next four years, to raise standards in French, Spanish and German. As headteacher and linguist Ian Bauckham CBE observes, “improving the teaching and take up of modern foreign languages in our schools is a central priority. Languages are an essential part of a rich and rewarding school curriculum, and an improved national language capacity is needed for the United Kingdom to continue to play a role as an outward-facing trading nation.”

Work started in December with key planning meetings with our hub schools - Chiltern Hills Academy, John Colet School, Holmer Green Senior School and Highcrest Academy, followed by a two-day training course for the Hub’s Specialist Teachers, Jenny Hopper and Blanca Roman. The hub’s current focus is on embedding evidence-based phonics, vocabulary and grammar training in the schools, and developing resources. In July 2019, we are looking forward to sharing best practice within the hub schools with a further 20 schools in the area, and we are delighted

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HELM that Ian Bauckham will also be visiting to see the project in action. The Hub is also active in developing wider activities, including bespoke support, and KS2-3 transition.

We are very excited to be involved in a national project which recognises the critical importance of languages for the future at a time when the UK’s lack of linguistic competence in comparison with other countries is a source of concern, if not embarrassment. Indeed, in 2017, a survey of employers by the CBI and Pearson found that only a third of businesses rate the foreign language skills of school and college leavers entering the jobs market as satisfactory, with the major EU languages of German, French and Spanish most in demand.

As the Director of the NCELP, Professor Emma Marsden from the University of York’s Department of Education, notes that “Learning languages is associated with a whole raft of benefits - personal, cognitive, cultural, social, and economic.”

Mrs Hopper

WW1 CENTENARY TWINNING COMPETITION

In 2018 Borlase students were invited to take part in a multinational competition organised by the head of the twinning association in Marly-le-Roi (Marlow’s twin town, and our exchange town) to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1. This competition challenged students from Marly-le-Roi and its twins in Britain, Germany and Portugal to create a short story or piece of artwork on the theme ‘Des soldats qui rentrent du front en 1918 et leur "retour à la paix"’ (soldiers returning from the front in 1918 and “their return to peace”). All submissions were assessed by a committee in Marly-le-Roi and work by 15 Borlase students was selected.

Writing: Naomi Haldane, Rebecca Canton, Holly Baker, Dilsher Bagri, Joe Hoggan, Leon Tasch, Imogen Cole, Sam Jackson, Lisa Dixon Art: Rebecca Johnny, Nicola Chmielewska, Imogen Downes, Charlotte Bridges, Adam Ghani, Maria Kharatishvili The selected entries were translated into French and collated along with the work from the three other countries into a commemorative book.

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GERMAN CLUB

is something that made my stay at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School truly special, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. But I am most grateful to the students who attended and who made every Tuesday break-time an interesting and fun adventure.

Annika Langner: German Assistant 2018-19 Annika and her ‘partner’ English Language assistant at the Carl-Bosch-Gymnasium gave a successful presentation of their work to the UK-German Connection in May and were highly commended for their work.

Learning a language is not only about grammar and vocabulary, but also about culture. Only when understanding the culture a language was formed in, can one unlock the true potential and gain a real understanding of its phrases and concepts.

This is why the German club at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School wanted to help students be more directly in contact with German culture and German students: not only to learn a language, but also to engage with it and with the people who speak it in everyday life.

With the help of the UK-German Connection, we established a link with a school in Germany to exchange letters, pictures and videos and to gain insights into German life. Over the course of six months, themes like Christmas, school life, food and pop culture were explored.

The project started off with a Christmas parcel that was sent before the holidays and which included some Christmas Crackers with handwritten jokes, as well as introductory letters to the other school. After the holidays we received a parcel from the Carl Bosch Gymnasium in Ludwigshafen and the exchange started from there. Highlights included hand drawn comic strips about school life, as well as video presentations on self-made magazine covers.

While exploring the theme of food, the students tasted and also rated different types of German bread and tried out various sweets that can only be found in Germany.

The enthusiasm of the students who attended and the opportunity to share some of my culture whilst learning so much about English culture in the process,

GCSE GERMAN IN AACHEN The Year 9 German trip to Aachen was such a fun experience!

On Friday 7th December, 38 students and 4 teachers got on a coach at 6am to travel through England, France, Belgium and Germany to get to the Christmas Market in Aachen. After the 10 hour coach journey, we all got the keys to our rooms. For once we decided we would keep our rooms clean but that didn’t go so well. The youth hostel was really nice and the lady at the front desk was very friendly when we needed soap. For dinner we ate McDonald’s and waffles from a stall. My group and I found ourselves in a small café drinking hot chocolate.

The next day we had a German breakfast at the youth hostel. I had 3 bread rolls and a kiwi – it was very nice!

At 10.00am the next day, we left for the Christmas Market again. The food was amazing and the stalls were full of fabulous gifts. We looked around the stalls while enjoying pretzels.

I had Kartoffelpuffer (potato cakes) – they were delicious! I bought some Champion socks and a Christmas tree decoration from the market.

We spent a lot of the day at the market, buying lots of things for family and friends. Then we went for a tour of the beautiful cathedral, which was very interesting and the designs were extremely intricate.

Then we set off to the Lindt factory! It was literally a whole supermarket dedicated to Lindt chocolate and everyone took advantage of the abundance of chocolate. I would like to thank the teachers for taking us to Germany and also helping us to talk in German.

The whole trip was a once in a lifetime experience.

Year 9 German 41

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GCSE SPANISH EXCHANGE

In February Year 10 Spanish students travelled to Ávila for our exchange visit. We arrived with a combination of excitement and nerves for our week ahead, but we were delighted to be reunited with our exchange partners. The first afternoon and weekend we spent with our host families touring Ávila. During the week we visited Madrid, Salamanca, Segovia and Toledo.

We especially loved Salamanca due to the beautiful square and the sunshine. We had lots of opportunities to practise our Spanish and enjoy the Spanish way of life. On Friday we spent the morning with our exchanges at their school and enjoyed various activities with them, such as eating churros!

We were all very sad to say goodbye but left with

a great understanding and enjoyment of Spanish language and culture, as well as having made good friends.

Paul Groeneweg

Y10 GERMAN EXCHANGE In May Borlase students welcomed their partners from Gymnasium Saarburg for the inward leg of the German exchange. Several of the hosts had a Duke of Edinburgh expedition weekend as the partners arrived, but the remainder of the group generously entertained our guests with a range of activities taking in May Bank Holiday activities, craft fairs, barbecues and a chance to see a typical morning’s rowing training!

On the main programme our visitors enjoyed trips to Windsor and Oxford, a day in school in lessons with their partners and group lessons in history and music.

(The reflections that the German visitors had on their day in school will be a fascinating point of reference for our comparison of the German system when we visit

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in June.) We also had a joint trip to London, including a panoramic view of the city from the London Eye and a guided tour of the Tower of London which enabled both Borlase and Saarburg students to improve their knowledge of history!

We were sad to see our partners go, but look forward to consolidating our friendships with young and likeminded Germans, and to developing our cultural knowledge of Germany, during our trip there in June.

The school has been awarded a grant from the UKGerman Connection to support our outward trip in recognition of the support and commitment of the German government for cultural exchanges of this type.

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YEAR 7 BOULOGNE

most of us - and learnt about how they grow. Next we learnt how croissants and bread were made and had a go for ourselves. After another long coach journey we arrived at Calais to get an earlier train than expected and reached Marlow at 8:30pm.

Alex Ley

At 4am on 23rd May, more than 120 absurd people congregated in Sainsbury’s car park. By 7:30am most of these people were on a train at the bottom of the English Channel, hurtling towards the French coast.

After hours of travelling we arrived in Boulogne. We enjoyed French baked goods and most of us bought junk from gift shops, which was probably just a waste of money. Next we went to a snail farm and it was very different to what I expected. We ate snails - well,

We had a brilliant day, from visiting a Boulangerie to eating crepes with our friends. The coach journey was brilliant, we sang songs, talked to our friends and watched the amazing entry into the Eurotunnel.

Boulogne was such a great way to learn more French and see the lifestyle of a French person. We explored a small town and bought souvenirs. My favourite part was going to the snail farm! It was amazing. There are loads of different types of snails which is important to know for eating them, and every snail is different. They let us hold the snails and I got a little too excited and carried 17 snails on my body! Then we gathered inside a small hut where we were able to eat them (dead not alive!). There were 3 different types we could choose from: cheese, nothing, and garlic snail. Most of our class liked them, especially the cheese one!

Year 7

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MFL SPELLING BEE 2019

The Foreign Language Spelling Bee, run by Routes into Languages, is a competition for students in Year 7 to practise and improve their vocabulary, spelling and memory skills in a foreign language. This was the first year we had been involved in the competition so it was exciting for students and teachers alike!

Of the 3,285 who began the competition, three Borlase students were amongst the final 56 who travelled to Southampton University for the South East Regional Final.

Mrs Birch The French Spelling Bee was great fun and I felt that I learnt a lot that has been extremely useful in my French lessons. The competition was open to the whole year group and we started with fifty words to learn. Two from each class were selected for the school final

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and I was thrilled to make it through. For the school final we had 100 words to learn, and three of us were selected: Matthew Gillespie, Maria-Jose Taguiang and I. On 24th April, we travelled to Southampton for the Regional Final. This time, we had 150 words to learn and it was all about speed, accuracy and nerves of steel! We had one minute to spell as many words as possible using the French alphabet, whilst not forgetting perfect pronunciation and accents.

We were quite terrified as we were shown in to a large lecture theatre where the final rounds were held. We hadn’t realised we would face such a large audience of teachers, pupils and parents from schools across the south-east! We all did well and it was an amazing experience. Although none of us made it to the Nationals round, we enjoyed every bit of it and have become excellent spellers as a result! Overall, I think all would agree, le Français, c’est génial!

Oliver Green

PERFORMING ARTS

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PERFORMING ARTS

PERFORMING ARTS PREFECTS’ REPORT Every year the Borlase Performing Arts Department seems to find itself overwhelmed with a jam-packed schedule of performances that showcase the broad spectrum of talent across all years - yet it continues to maintain the unfailingly high standard that Borlase prides itself on. This year has been no different indeed, some might say it has been even busier than usual!

We kicked off the year with the lively performances brought to us by the many acts of Rocktober, as bands and soloists alike truly evoked the theme of ‘The Noughties’ to the delight of a packed crowd in the drama studio. This student-led event, overseen

by Mr Hartley and Ms Lewington-Chislett, provided a platform to demonstrate the incredible range of contemporary music styles our students have to offer - from the Arctic Monkeys to piano ballads - and plenty of moshing in between!

The beginning of November heralded the opening of arguably our most ambitious Autumn Concert yet: a very moving two and a half hour extravaganza, featuring all Borlase’s hard-working choral and instrumental groups, to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One. On to Christmas, and our 2018 Carol Concert in All Saints’ Church began with an atmospheric performance of In the Bleak Midwinter as Cantorum filled the candlelit church with their a cappella melodies, and ended with the massed choirs performing a novel 46

arrangement of The Holly and the Ivy, to bring a joyous close to the night.

The year also saw the return of the Senior Musical a gruesome retelling of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

For six months, a dedicated and talented team of forty performers from Year 11 to Year 13, supported by a group of lower years, managed to tackle the complex harmonies, varying time signatures and disjointed melodies that make the show so unique and powerful, like seasoned pros, supported by a creative team including Mr. Miall, Miss Mountfield and Old Borlasian, Fran Stafford. The four sold-out shows in mid-February were made even more special by the orchestra, which featured many incredible Borlase student musicians showing off their skills, and dared to take on such a dense score.

Interspersed between these huge events the Music Department made time to display the individual musical talents of students, that are so integral in keeping our music scene varied and alive, through the Autumn and Spring Chamber Concerts. Smaller vocal groups and stunning solo instrumentalists made both of these intimate performances truly memorable, and we hope these types of events continue for years to come!

As Arts Captains, we would like to thank the entire Department on behalf of all the students that are given these unique opportunities; there is no doubt in our minds that the quality and enthusiasm behind every performance will continue to thrive.

Maddie Smith and Sophie Yazdi-Davis

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC AT BORLASE

The Music Department has, once again, had a very busy and successful year with increasing numbers of students continuing to take part in both academic and extracurricular activities. Over the past two years our Key Stage 3 curriculum has been revised and students practically explore a range of musical styles and concepts from Song-writing to Minimalism, and African Drumming to Reggae. We have also seen numbers of students choosing the subject beyond KS3 continue to grow, against the current national trends, with a 68% increase overall over the past two years. In the current Y9 cohort almost a third of the year group are studying for the GCSE. Extra-curricular music has continued to thrive.

Inclusivity is a key part of the department’s philosophy, so it is very pleasing to see concerts regularly featuring hundreds of students; and the music rooms are rarely without the sounds of students rehearsing, working on their classwork compositions or just ‘jamming’ at break and lunchtimes.

One of the most memorable musical events of this year was our Autumn Concert, which became part of a weekend of Performing Arts events to commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1. The Concert in All Saints’ Church featured all of the main school ensembles, both senior and junior, and the capacity audience of over 300 was treated to a wide selection of polished performances.

Five weeks later, the school’s choirs found themselves back in All Saints’ for the traditional Christmas Carol Concerts which celebrated the huge variety and depth of the students’ musical achievements.

The Senior Concert in May gave us the opportunity to say thank you to our Year 13 musicians for all they have done in an evening which saw some outstanding performances. It was also a reminder of the sterling work undertaken by our student leaders and the ensembles that they direct - indeed over half of the fourteen musical items were student-led, and the quality of music being produced by these young people never fails to impress. Our student-led ensembles have also been very busy representing the school in a variety of public events. Gospel Choir received a silver medal at the Marlow Music Festival, and the Henley Music Festival welcomed the String Quartet. The new Y12 Barbershop group has had a very successful year, with acclaimed performances at the Cookham Music Festival and the Wycombe Orpheus Music Competition. They have also been heard on Marlow FM, and private bookings are on the rise.

It has also been another successful year for our Jazz

Bands, led by Mr Davie. Both bands took part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing and the Senior Jazz Band provided wonderful entertainment at the recent Parents’ Association Ball.

One of the largest events for the Music Department this year was the Senior Musical Production: Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Sondheim’s score is famous for its complexity, and successfully undertaking a performance of such a work is certainly not easy, particularly with its often dissonant harmonies and the wide ranging and often angular vocal lines. The full company and crew must be congratulated for rising unfailingly to meet its considerable demands. Indeed the show was a huge success, being greeted with a standing ovation each night. As well as the principal singing roles and large chorus, students also made up the majority of the ‘pit’ orchestra. These students, the youngest of whom was in Year 10, played confidently, expressively and musically alongside professional musicians.

So, as the academic year comes to a close we say farewell and thank you to our Year 13 musicians, who have given so much to the department over two or seven years. A huge thank you must go to all the staff in the Music Department for their hard work and support, particularly my colleague Dr Parsons. However, things never stop and another busy and exciting year lies ahead, with the triennial school-wide House Music competition returning in the Autumn Term and the small matter of a Junior Musical Production!

Mr S Miall, Director of Music

NEW MUSIC PRIZE

The ‘Borlase Maynard Ferguson Creative Music Bursary’ is a new school prize which will be awarded annually to one or two students whom the department feels • have made a significant commitment to extracurricular Jazz or other music in their time with us • show passion for their extracurricular activities • provide performances of excellent quality • promote the departments values of teamwork and inclusivity The bursary will be used to fund the recipient’s further musical education in whatever form they feel is best, such as lessons, resources or software.

The funds for this award have very kindly been donated by a parent, in honour of Maynard Ferguson, a famous Canadian Jazz musician who lived in the UK for a time, and did much to develop Jazz music within schools and universities.

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PERFORMING ARTS

JUNIOR CONCERT

The Junior Concert in June is always a massive success, and 2018’s concert was no exception. Every year it showcases the vast amount of musical talent in Years 7-10, and it is a great chance for those students to perform to teachers, family and friends the music they love, and enjoy playing. From orchestral pieces and group ensembles to solo performances - the variety is always huge. The solo pieces ranged from classical piano to enthusiastic pop songs and, as always with Borlase, the standard was as high as you could imagine.

The stellar performances by groups such as Youth Voices, Junior Orchestra, Junior Girls’ Choir, Cambiata and Junior Jazz were sure to inspire many more to join the extracurricular clubs, including the Year 9 Junior Girls’ performance of ABBA’s Slipping Through My Fingers - a heartwarming goodbye to those moving into the senior music groups. In addition, this year we also had the chance to witness a Guys and Dolls medley from our Junior Musical cast!

As always, we would all like to thank the accompanists and conductors of the musical groups - Mrs Ross, Dr Parsons, Mr Davie and Mrs Redgard-Stiler, and, of course, Mr Miall and our musical department, without

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whom none of the juniors would be able to have these wonderful opportunities to perform and show off their innumerable musical talents.

Rheya Dharwar, Sophie Le Duc and Sacha Smith

AUTUMN CHAMBER CONCERT

The Autumn Chamber Concert was the first public performance of the 2018 academic year and showcased a range of student musical talent, from flute solos to all-female quartets and the first performance of the Year 12 Barbershop group.

The Autumn Chamber Concert is a fantastic opportunity for students to present their gifts to fellow students, family members and the Borlase faculty; it is an acclaimed event throughout the Borlase community and one that is eagerly anticipated. As usual, the concert could not occur without the sensational accompanists: Mrs Ross, Mrs Garrett, Mr Robson, Mrs Hopper and Mr Miall.

Overall, it was an exceptional event which revealed the prowess throughout the various years of the school.

Lydia McGurin

PERFORMING ARTS

MR ROBSON’S ADVENT CONCERT

Once again Mr Robson kicked off the festive season with his much loved Advent Concert. This is always a highlight of the musical calendar at Borlase.

The evening comprised Baroque solos and small ensembles, interspersed with Christmas readings.

The programme included a wide range of 17th and 18th century composers such as Handel, Rameau, Scarlatti and, of course, Bach. The intimate and relaxed atmosphere of the Wethered Room provided a perfect backdrop for the challenging pieces performed. As always, the highlight was Mr Robson playing the harpsichord. We are lucky to have the instrument in the school, and such an accomplished player to do it justice. As is traditional, the evening was concluded with the audience joining in for carols, heartily singing following the mince pies and mulled wine in the interval!

Callum Kunchur

CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICES

The 2018 Carol Concert began with an atmospheric performance of In the Bleak Midwinter as our eighty

person-strong mixed choir, Cantorum, filled the candlelit church with their acapella melodies. This set the tone for the rest of the evening as we proceeded with a varied and expertly executed programme of celebratory carols. Chapel Choir provided the audience with beautiful intricate harmonies in their performance of Lux Aeterna, while Youth Voices brought a smile to every face with Follow That Star. The Year 12s showcased the musical talent within their own year with the all-female Quartet and the Barbershop group, both of whom provided fantastic unaccompanied pieces. Gospel Choir entertained the audience with two uplifting songs Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child and A Christmas Medley. And as always, the junior choirs were singing their hearts out to great success. The hard work of Cantorum throughout the night ended on a high with the spectacular O Magnum Mysterium leaving both the audience and the choir breathless at the end! Finally, all choirs joined in a novel arrangement of The Holly and the Ivy to bring a joyous close to a night which allowed the talents across the school to shine in a wonderful celebration of Christmas.

Maddie Smith and Sophie Yazdi-Davis

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PERFORMING ARTS

SPRING CHAMBER CONCERT

This year’s Spring Chamber Concert in March sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale! With more students than ever wishing to perform, those lucky enough to get tickets were treated to an evening of excellent musical talent from all year groups.

Olly Gale opened the evening with The Seasons: April ‘Snowdrop’ by Tchaikovsky, followed by a variety of performances with styles ranging from musical theatre to romantic concertos. The evening concluded with Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, performed by the very popular Year 12 Barbershop, receiving rapturous applause and calls of “Encore!” which they duly delivered.

The Chamber Concerts are a wonderful opportunity for students to practise their performance skills, in a less formal setting than our larger concerts, and a supportive atmosphere. Many of the students use their performance as a chance to showcase an exam piece or build confidence.

This year’s concerts have also given me the opportunity to gain Arts Management and Events experience, which I have very much enjoyed.

Maria Rees

SENIOR CONCERT

The Senior Concert is one of the most popular events in the Borlase musical calendar. This year’s concert showcased a selection of the fantastically talented ensemble groups that the school has to offer, and the standard exceeded all expectations. Headed by both staff and student leaders, the audience was treated to a night of rich musical entertainment, ranging from Beethoven to Bruno Mars!

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The night commenced with a performance of Carousel Waltz by Richard Rodgers from the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mr Miall. Other larger ensembles which performed included Concert Band, with a performance of the lively and challenging A Yorkshire Overture by Philip Sparke, and the Senior String Orchestra, conducted by Dr Parsons, whose performance included a heartwarming arrangement of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour.

All of the school’s senior vocal ensembles performed, including Chapel Choir, Madriguys (with backing Piano, Bass and Drums for their performance of Pompeii by Bastille), Cantorum and Gospel Choir. A new audience favourite, the Y12 Barbershop group, also performed, starting from the back of the theatre and walking down the stairs whilst charming parents with their songs Nevertheless and Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart. Student-led smaller ensembles also provided lovely and engaging musical performances, including Clarinet Collective, Flute Choir, Saxophone Ensemble and String Quartet.

Another obvious highlight was the Jazz Band, led by Mr Davie who delivered confident renditions of Respect and Love Shack, with each of the performers performing a short solo mid-piece. Particular congratulations must be given to Year 13 Sean Douglas, who sang to the audience during the interval.

Finally, the much anticipated Year 13 Leavers’ Medley concluded the night. This lively number was performed as a last farewell to the school and its Performing Arts teachers, featuring some highly amusing interpretations of select teachers and their mannerisms. We wish all the Year 13s who have been involved in the Music Department all the best in the future. Their hard work and commitment in leading many of the groups will be missed.

Maria Rees

PERFORMING ARTS

CAMBIATA

CANTORUM

This year has been monumental for Cambiata (previously known as Junior Boys’ Choir), helped by the increase in numbers. The new Year 7s joining gave a boost to the enthusiasm, size and sound, increasing the choir from around eight singers to nearly eighteen!

Some of the highlights this year have been the WW1 centenary concert, in which we sang Pack Up Your Troubles to an enthusiastic crowd in All Saints’ Church, and Carol of the Children and Jesus Child in the same church at Christmas. Our most recent performance, at the Spring Chamber Concert was fantastic also, according to those attending. Cambiata’s success this year could not have happened without the help of our brilliant leaders - Mrs Ross and Cormac Diamond, whom we thank profusely.

Sacha Smith

2018-19 has been one of the busiest and most challenging years for the Cantorum choir. In particular, the performance of Fauré’s Requiem for the WW1 commemoration concert in November required months of rehearsal. The work was highly praised and hugely rewarding for all members of the choir.

Immediately afterwards, we started preparing for the Christmas Carol service. In The Bleak Midwinter was a big favourite, opening the service around the church in candlelight and providing a beautiful ambiance.

Our most recent success was in the Senior Concert, where the spiritual piece Plenty Good Room uplifted the audience and got Cantorum members moving around and enjoying - for Year 13s - their last performance with the choir.

As always we are immensely grateful for the work Mr Miall does with Cantorum, and are excited about how much busier we can be next year!

Georgia Tuke

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PERFORMING ARTS

YOUTH VOICES

Youth Voices is a mixed-gender singing group for years 7, 8 and 9, who sing a range of modern styles including musical theatre and pop, and it is a great environment to discover new music and share a love for singing and performing.

We have had a very successful year with two incredible performances. The first was in the WW1 memorial concert when we performed the well-known and highspirited song Good-bye-ee! Our next performance was at the Christmas Carol Concert where we wowed the audience with an incredible a cappella performance of the three-part song Follow That Star by Peter Gritton.

Jasmine Fraser-Nicholls

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Symphony Orchestra has had a very busy but exciting year. I joined the orchestra when I joined Borlase as a new Year 7 in September 2018 and during my first year here we have played some lovely pieces.

To commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1, Symphony Orchestra took part in the Autumn Concert in All Saints’ Church, Marlow. The concert was very atmospheric and the location really gave you a feel for the music. We played some stirring wartime classics such as Keep the Home Fires Burning, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary/Pack Up Your Troubles and Good-Bye-ee!

The audience loved singing along and it turned out to be a most memorable event; a fitting tribute to all the people who fell in the Great War, including several Borlase students and masters.

Symphony Orchestra’s second concert of the year, the Senior Concert, took place on 4th April. I think this was my favourite of the events we took part in, because I really enjoyed the pieces we played: Carousel Waltz,

by Richard Rodgers and Pizzicato Polka by Johann Strauss II. This was the first time I had ever heard a piece performed pizzicato (with the strings plucked instead of played with bows) and this rendition was exquisite.

As one of only three Year 7s in the Symphony Orchestra, I feel honoured to be in such an advanced orchestra and I have particularly enjoyed being part of a group involving all years in the school. The pieces we have played are nothing like those I am used to and it feels amazing to know how much I have improved with my instrument.

Fin Engelberts 52

SENIOR STRINGS ORCHESTRA

Senior Strings has had another very successful year, covering a wide repertoire. At the Remembrance Concert in November, we performed The Banks of Green Willow, described by the composer George Butterworth as an ‘idyll’ of English country life.

Butterworth sadly died three years after writing this piece at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. It was particularly poignant to play this at the special centenary service. At the Spring Concert, we performed Elgar’s Salut d’Amour as well as Handel’s Water Music, and these contrasting pieces were well received by the audience.

As always, we will miss our Year 13s as they leave, but we look forward to welcoming new members.

A particularly big thank you goes to Dr Parsons for soldiering on through the pain of his broken arm to direct us!

Callum Kunchur

CONCERT BAND

This year has been a great success for the Concert Band, featuring two outstanding performances. For the WW1 memorial concert we opened the occasion with a lively, upbeat rendition of Colonel Bogey’s March

by Kenneth Alford, followed by a more mournful performance of Elgar’s Nimrod - another piece with a heavy association with the Great War. Fast forward to April, when Concert Band opened the second half of the Spring Concert with a spectacular rendition of A Yorkshire Overture by Philip Sparke which was received very well by the audience.

Concert Band is home to all instruments of woodwind, brass and percussion. Rehearsals are only twice per term, so the commitment required is less than music groups that rehearse every week. Breaks are provided in each rehearsal, and the environment is very friendly and welcoming.

Josh Kaushal

PERFORMING ARTS

MADRIGUYS

SENIOR JAZZ BAND

This past year has been an exciting time to be a Madriguys’ member as we have had the opportunity to explore an eclectic mix of songs which we have found interesting and fun. For the WW1 memorial concert in November we sang Bob Chilcott’s arrangement of Christina Rossetti’s poem Remember Me, which, through the incorporation of sign-language and powerful lyrics, made for an enjoyable performance.

At the Carol Concert we sang Go Tell it on the Mountain, a spiritual piece composed by John Wesley Work Jr. which celebrates the Nativity of Jesus. This uplifting song was perfect for the occasion, combining a joyous Christmas mood with a vivid religious sentiment. This was a pleasant number to rehearse, due to its cheerful tone and the general enthusiasm it was met with by the whole choir.

Following the tragic passing of Robert Coates in the spring we were asked to sing as a tribute to Robert at the service held by his family in celebration of his life. We performed Pompeii by Bastille, and were very glad that we could say our own goodbyes to him and contribute in our own way in that important service.

We performed Pompeii a second time in the Senior concert, alongside Sting’s Fields of Gold. The event was an entertaining and fitting way to say goodbye to our Year 13 members and was exceedingly enjoyable for performers and audience members alike.

Throughout the year, Madriguys’ rehearsals have been very entertaining (as they always tend to be). As a choir, we are known to have lots of fun performing and this is no different in rehearsals. Every member is enthusiastic, and we all work hard to give each song our all.

Mark D’Arcy

As we come to the end of our 3rd year under Mr Davie’s leadership, Jazz Band has never felt like such a tight unit. His infinite energy never fails to entertain and encourage us, and it has clearly had its influence, from the way we are playing. Our two big events of the year have been performing for the first time as the house band at Borlase’s Strictly Come Dancing, and our thrilling set at this year's Senior Concert, including performances of the well known Forget You and Respect (a tribute to Aretha Franklin). We rounded off a fantastic Jazz band season in style by once again performing at Pub in the Park and at the Parents’ Association Ball.

Cormac Diamond

JUNIOR JAZZ BAND

Junior Jazz is one of the most welcoming environments that you will ever experience. Is it due to the amazingly talented Mr Davie, who makes each individual feel like they have the most important part in the piece? Or is it the relaxed, joking atmosphere that all the performers have with each other? Or is it the amazing music that we get to play and perform?

The music can be anything from modern jazz to old classics. There is a large range of instruments, from pianos to French horns, saxophones to oboes - it doesn’t matter what instrument you have, Mr Davie will manage to incorporate you into the piece.

One of the most exciting parts of the rehearsal is the improvising, where anything goes. During our concerts, you have just one minute with only yourself playing; Mr Davie gives you the microphone and thanks you while you get an individual applause from the audience.

This year Junior Jazz performed at Borlase Strictly Come Dancing, which was particularly fun, and we will be performing in the Junior Concert in June.

Harvey Green 53

PERFORMING ARTS

ROCKTOBER!

The annual Rocktober concert took place on the penultimate night of the first half-term, the theme: ‘The Noughties’. The music ranged from Arctic Monkeys to instrumental pieces; all performed by the various bands that feature throughout the school.

School bands such as Grain and Both Sides of the Moon displayed a variety of songs that allowed for fantastic entertainment for parents, teachers and students. As well as bands, solo artists performed: Year 10’s Keyaan Hameed performed an acoustic version of John Lennon’s Imagine on his guitar and Year 9’s Emily Roberts played her own rendition of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know on the piano.

Rocktober is a student-led event which could not happen without Ms Chislett or Mark Hartley, who are to thank for the imaginative lighting designs and set-up. The technical theatre team helped organize the event and a special thank you to Leah Otto for introducing each artist. Rock events are far and few in Buckinghamshire and so it’s a delight to host such a unique concert within our school. It is an evening unlike many others and one filled with talent and expertise.

Lydia McGurin

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PERFORMING ARTS

DANCE AT BORLASE

The end of term bought a sad farewell as Mrs Hindley went on maternity leave, but we were very lucky that Adam Galbraith was able to cover her lessons. The students have been extremely fortunate to work with Adam; he has developed their technical ability and given them so much confidence in their performances.

Adam has been a pleasure to work with and I have appreciated his support enormously.

January and February in our dance world mean one thing... Mad March is looming, and with it the GCSE and A Level practical exams, and the annual dance show.

This has been a busy year for the Dance department.

As with every year, in September we auditioned and formed the Evolve Youth Dance Company for 201819. The standard of the audition was so high it was very difficult to only choose 12 dancers. There was so much talent in the studio, and across the year groups, and Mrs Hindley and I were very excited to see so many future Evolve dancers emerging.

With the company formed, we welcomed Adam Galbraith to the department. A previous dancer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Adam started working with Evolve on a new piece called 5am.

Choreographed to the song by Amber Run, the students gave a beautiful performance of this complex piece which then led to Mr Simpson arranging for the lead singer of Amber Run (a former student of his) to come into school and see the piece live, which was very exciting for the dancers.

November brought the school’s commemoration of the centenary of the end of WW1 for which we presented a very moving dance performance in three sections.

In December we had the most dazzling night of the year: the Year 8 Strictly Come Dancing Final. The dancers all worked so hard and performed beautifully on the night. Many thanks go to the Jazz Band for their wonderful performance, and to Imogen Baguley and Harry Fayers for the outstanding piece they choreographed for the Latin and Ballroom Club. We were delighted to have demonstrations on the night

by Tim Woodford and his partner Tallulah, and also Harry Fayers and Imogen Baguley.

Also in December the boys’ dance company was invited to perform at the SSAT conference in Birmingham.

The boys were all excellent and we were very proud of them.

In addition to this we were delighted that our Year 13 dance students were selected by One Dance UK to compete in a regional dance event, Udance 2019, at which the girls performed their piece 100 Years. The performance was stunning and we were delighted to be shortlisted for the national event. Although we ultimately didn’t make the final it was an amazing achievement for the girls to get so far.

The annual dance show Convergent took place in March. This year we decided to present the show in three sections. The first of these was a repeat performance of the WW1 piece, the second section comprised our extra-curricular clubs and our exam group pieces; the last section, entitled Plastic Fantastic, was a presentation of four new works focusing on the devastating effect plastic is having on our planet.

The dance show is a presentation of all of our extracurricular groups including the KS3 club, Pulse, Boys’ Dance, Evolve, Latin and Ballroom, and Senior Dance. The dance department is extremely proud of all of our dancers, and I would like to say a big thank you to our leaders: Rosie Lewis, Jodie Brown, Holly Lidgate, Sophie Yazdi-Davis, Rebecca Markwell, Tim Woodford, Imogen Baguley and Harry Fayers: your contribution to dance this year has been outstanding.

This year, two of our Year 13 students have gained places at professional dance schools. Congratulations to Kitty Pilgrim-Morris and Holly Lidgate, who will be going to train professionally at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and the London Studio Centre respectively.

We are also very proud that Kitty is one of six young choreographers selected by One Dance UK for their Young Creatives scheme; this involves Kitty creating a new piece of choreography that will be performed at the Royal Opera House and on the South Bank.

Congratulations Kitty!

Ms K Ashby, Head of Dance 55

PERFORMING ARTS

SUCCESS FOR IMOGEN AND HARRY

Last September, Harry Fayers (Year 10) and Imogen Baguley (Year 11) were delighted to once again experience success in their categories in Latin and Ballroom in the NATD National Championships at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. Imogen became National Champion in ballroom in her own right and together they both were placed first for their couples dance in Latin. It was a great day!

Since then, they have both qualified with distinction in their dance exams, Imogen at gold level and Harry in silver. Recently, they were delighted to win with a clean sweep at the South East Regionals, both as solo artists and as a couple, which has qualified them once again for the Nationals which this year will take place in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

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PERFORMING ARTS

DRAMA AT BORLASE

It has been another exciting year for the Drama Department and we are very proud of the high quality curricular work and extra-curricular Drama that has been produced over the course of this academic year.

We kicked off the year with an excellent production of Howard Brenton’s play Doctor Scroggy’s War, in our studio. The piece was performed as part of the WW1 project, which marked the centenary of the end of the war. Miss Rayner made her directorial debut at Borlase and created a superb performance of this play with a cast of Year 10 students.

In the autumn term, we hosted the triennial House Drama Competition, intended to promote participation and enjoyment in Drama. This year’s competition, Telling Tales, focused on Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

The first tier involved form performances of Patience Agabe’s slam poetry based on characters from Canterbury Tales, which was performed by all students across Years 7 to 13. The winning forms then competed in assemblies representing their respective Houses.

The second tier consisted of Monologue & Duologue performances, which attracted over 200 student entries and 50 from our staff. Stand-out performances were selected to perform at our House Drama evening performance.

The third tier, House Plays, saw our six houses compete against each other with a student-directed play version of a story from Canterbury Tales. The Year 13 directors worked hard to organise their rehearsals and make their House Plays happen. It was very rewarding to see students from different year groups enjoying working together and rehearsing their plays. When it came to the final performances, the audience very much enjoyed the comedic productions that were presented, and a joyful evening was had by students, staff and audience members alike. A special mention to Romans who were crowned House Drama Champions 2018: well done!

The Drama clubs continued to run this year, creating opportunities for our younger students. The popular Year 7 Drama club, run by Evie Amos and Sophie Print, allowed students to build their improvisation skills, begin working on Ayckbourn’s Ernie’s Incredible Hallucinations and of course have fun. The Year 8 Drama club, run by Poppy Morgan and Elizabeth Rackstraw has been equally popular, with students exploring a play called Second Sight.

The standard of curricular work has, once again, been excellent this year. A special mention must go to the Year 11 cohort who produced some outstanding performances of their scripted plays in front of an external examiner and live audience. It was a busy two days of examining (even the snow didn’t stop us!), with students performing a variety of interesting texts, both contemporary and classical, including Blue Remembered Hills, Bouncers, Daisy Pulls It off, A Doll’s House and many, many more. There were equally impressive designs from our technical theatre candidates in their individual specialisms, including Lighting Design and Set Design.

Our A Level cohorts have been very busy and have also produced some outstanding work. In March, the Year 13 A Level Drama & Theatre students performed both devised pieces and scripted duologues in front of an external examiner and live audience - a very demanding practical exam indeed. The devised pieces were highly accomplished, thought-provoking pieces of work, performed in the style of the contemporary and innovative theatre company Frantic Assembly - there was not a dry eye in the house after the final performance.

Equally accomplished were performances of text pieces from King Charles III, The Positive Hour, Top Girls and Blood Brothers, amongst others.

We are now in our third term, and continuing to work hard across all of the key stages. Soon we will be treated to performances from Year 12 students, in the form of their devised pieces in the style of Brecht and Frantic Assembly; it promises to be an exciting evening of performance. Meanwhile our Year 10 GCSE students are working on their devised projects, which we are looking forward to seeing in July when they are performed in front of an invited audience.

As well as curriculum performances, our GCSE and A level cohorts have participated in a variety of excellent workshops led by external practitioners and have attended a number of live performances including a fantastic production of Lord of the Flies at The Greenwich Theatre, London and a superb contemporary interpretation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of The People at Norden Farm which really inspired our students.

Ms L Anderson, Head of Drama

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PERFORMING ARTS

ARTS DINNER

Another year, another fabulous Arts Dinner for the senior Performing Arts students and staff. On a warm, sunny evening we were able to eat in the cloisters, listening to musical delights from Madriguys, and a fantastic rendition of Little Shop of Horrors from the Year 12 girls. All attending were suitably glamorously attired, with beautiful dresses and some fantastically striking suits.

We were then whisked into the theatre which had been transformed for the prestigious BOSCARS Awards. The ceremony began with a hilarious mockumentary on The Arts, brilliantly put together in the style of The Office by our Arts Captains, Maddie Smith & Sophie YazdiDavis. During the ceremony, we were entertained by Chapel Choir, Gospel Choir, and Barbershop, as well as a surprise flash mob performance by Madriguys of Angels. We reminisced about the performances during the year through videos which had been carefully put together by Will Davies, and the evening ended with a rousing rendition of One Day More from the Leavers’ Medley. This was particularly fitting because, for some of the Year 13s, Les Miserables had been their first Borlase production when they were in Year 7.

BOSCARS 2018 Dance Awards Best Ensemble Dancer: Rosie Lewis Best Dance Performer: Sophie Yazdi-Davis & Rebecca Markwell Best Female Dancer: Holly Lidgate Best Male Dancer: Tim Woodford Best Choreographer: Kitty Pilgrim-Morris Best Dance Club: Latin & Ballroom Technical Theatre Awards Best Make-Up: Minna Hughes Best Technical Support: Syd Lambert Best Technical Design & Operation: James Breedon Best Technical Leadership: Josie Day Music Awards Classical Instrumentalists Best Brass Player: Daniel Crane Best Woodwind Player: Emma Gazard Best Strings Player: Mae Reineke Contemporary Musicians Best Jazz Musician: Harry Freedman Best Contemporary Musician: Gabe Smith 58

Vocalists Best Male Chorister: Sean Douglas Best Female Chorister: Alex Rowlands Best Male Vocalist: Cormac Diamond Best Female Vocalist: Maddie Smith Musical Leadership Best Musical Director: Emma Gazard and Sophie Yazdi-Davis Best Student-Led Ensemble: Barbershop Drama Awards Best Company Actor: Ben Allanson and Duncan Farquhar Best Company Actress: Sophie Yazdi-Davis Best Actor: Cormac Diamond Best Actress: Isabelle Jones Best Drama Leader: Ella Chivers & Juliette Dudley

PERFORMING ARTS

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PERFORMING ARTS

JUNIOR MUSICAL: GUYS AND DOLLS Our biennial Junior Musical was staged over three days in July 2018 and the cast, from Years 7-9, performed four shows overall. Expectations were high from 2016’s performances of Beauty and the Beast, but (in true Borlase spirit), the Guys and Dolls cast put on a fantastic show. Guys and Dolls, set in 1930s New York, is a comedic musical based around themes of gambling, missionaries and showgirl dancers, including well-known song and dance numbers such as Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat, Luck be a Lady and Bushel and a Peck. The whole cast really got into the character of being either a conservative missionary, a giggly dancer or a swaggering gangster, sporting New York accents and extravagant outfits of the time.

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We always knew this would be a challenge, as the cast was so big (around 110 of us!) and also because this was a more mature musical to tackle than any Junior Musical performed before. However, alongside an impressive set of a New York skyline, a hard working tech team, a wonderful orchestra and a group of patient teachers who helped put the production together, we produced a show which we were all very proud of and which was a sell-out! However, it’s safe to say that none of this would be possible without the help of all the people backstage, whether it be tech, make-up, or props. Overall, Guys and Dolls was a huge success and, most of all, an amazing experience for the cast, as it really opened our eyes to the joys of performing on stage.

Lizzy Rackstraw

PERFORMING ARTS

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PERFORMING ARTS

SENIOR PRODUCTION: SWEENEY TODD Blood-curdlingly Brilliant!

This year’s production of Sweeney Todd in the theatre was stunning. Stephen Sondheim’s score is notoriously challenging and the Borlase cast and orchestra rose confidently to that challenge. It was very impressive to see so many student performers in the orchestra playing alongside professional musicians under Mr Miall’s baton. From the moment the highly original set-design was revealed with the first lighting cue, the audience was completely mesmerised. The ensemble singing was very impressive and with their wild gothic hair and make-up, they set the chilling scene for this horror musical. Sweeney Todd, played by Cormac Diamond swaggered on to the stage in the opening ballad and had us all gripped by his intense energy; he was clearly a man possessed. You believed that he was capable of anything as his desire for revenge dominated his every moment, simmering until it exploded in rage as he sang “They all deserve to die”, slitting the throats of the entire cast. His quest for revenge took the audience on a blood-curdling journey of horror as he murdered victim after victim in his barber’s chair. Each victim was sent very swiftly down a trap door and disappeared into the very convincing oven. Todd’s simmering aggression was balanced beautifully by the hilariously outrageous Mrs Lovett played by Issy Jones. Her casual and conscienceless delight in making pies out of the flesh of Todd’s victims was presented brilliantly in the final song of Act 2 where she, Todd and the whole cast danced with

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the pies that contained the various meaty qualities of a range of characters from Bishops to Bank Clerks.

Charlie Brockwell was a very convincing, evil and horridly lascivious judge – definitely playing against type he finally received his just desserts and was sent down the barber’s chute, his throat slit. He followed his friend the Beadle played by Sean Douglas who also had this throat slit after entertaining us all with his comic song about many, many bells in the Tower of Bray. Maddie Smith transformed herself from the delicate young wife of Todd into that same wife as a demented old lady; she brought humour and pathos to the role. Casting Juliette Dudley in the role of Pirelli was a superb idea. She had everyone laughing out loud as she strutted through the shaving competition and again, somehow turned being murdered into high comedy too. Josh Leech injected great fun to the role of Tobias and also fragility and tenderness when he sang the ballad, Not while I’m Around. Against all the darkness of angry, flawed characters, Mark Darcy’s Anthony and Lauren Hibbert’s Johanna brought a glimmer of hope and innocence to the story.

The whole show was an absolute treat with very clever use of the company as narrators. They were hilarious dancing around in bathing suits, and disturbing as the lunatics breaking out of the asylum.

Overall, this was a slick and thoroughly professional show, worthy of any West End Stage and much deserving of the standing ovation it received every night.

Ms K Mountfield

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SPORTS

SPORTS

PE & SPORT AT BORLASE

As a PE department we want to ensure our young people develop

AmBition

EnjOyment

Resilience An active Lifestyle LeAdership ReSpect for others, and Aim for Excellence.

Therefore, we are always striving to provide more opportunities for our young people to be active.

This year we entered Handball teams into the Buckinghamshire County competitions and created a Triathlon team which entered local events. To improve the access to fitness for health opportunities, we introduced Boxercise, Squash, Golf and Yoga into the KS4 Games curriculum.

Sport at Borlase has had another busy year and, despite all the barriers we continue to face with regards to facilities and contact time, we are still able to compete against some of the top schools in the country. We are, of course, very proud of our successes, but also the mass participation throughout the school. This academic year we have competed in 18 sports, fielded 116 teams and competed in over 400 fixtures, not including Rowing. In addition to these inter-school fixtures, students also compete in the Inter-house Sport programme. House competitions exist for Cross Country, Netball, Football, Rugby, Rounders, 68

Hockey as well as School Sports Day . As a result of the extensive opportunities provided, we have been awarded a Gold School Games Mark by the Youth Sports Trust.

We would like to thank all members of staff who give up their time to provide sporting opportunities for our students, but in particular, Mr Skevington and Miss Brookes; both are moving on to pastures new and it is safe to say that they have had a positive impact on the students and department this year.

The future looks bright for Borlase Sport, mainly due to the incredible impact that Miss Holt has had on the department. It has grown steadily from both a curricular and extra-curricular perspective and it is with great sadness that we say farewell, although we do wish her good luck in her new role at Berkhamsted School. Miss Holt will be missed by staff and students alike and, on behalf of the department, we would like to say a huge thank you for everything she has done.

Mr N Monk & Mr K Chappell, Acting Director of Sport and Acting Head of PE

SPORTS

SPORTS DAY 2018

On Tuesday 11th July the whole school came to together for the 137th annual School Sports Day. Students were involved in Track & Field, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Rowing and Croquet competitions.

It really was a great day with all students and staff involved. There were some amazing performances throughout the day and 4 school records broken. All the houses also organised stalls to raise money for their chosen charities. Congratulations to Romans for winning Sports Day for the first time in Borlase history.

1st Romans 1679 2nd Danes 1575 3rd Normans 1556 4th Saxons 1483 5th Vikings 1459 6th Britons 1375

RESULTS

VICTOR/VICTRIX LUDORUM

Awarded to the individual who accumulates the most points in the Track & Field competition: Year 7 Boys: Adam Ghani; Girls: Triti Panda Year 8 Boys: Ed Ridley; Girls: Rebecca Johnny Intermediate Boys: Luke Bray; Girls: Ellen Cooper Senior Boys: Harry Turner; Girls: Millie Tomlinson

SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN

Junior Boys’ 300m: Jamie King - 44.15 seconds Inter Girls High Jump: Ella Griffin - 1.46m Inter Boys High Jump: Ollie Dawkins - 1.70m Senior Girls Javelin: Mila Welch - 30.93m

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SPORTS

Indoor Athletics

ATHLETICS

This year the athletics team competed in the indoor athletics competition and came 3rd overall. The boys’ team did very well in the track events and came 4th overall. In the boys’ relay, Matty Gillespie and Josh Covus, came 1st! In the other relay, the boys came fourth, but were up against some tough opposition and they still tried their best. In the field events Sam Puddephatt came 3rd in the shuttlecock throw and Josh Covus came 2nd in the speed bounce. The boys’ team was: Jack Johnson, Tom Gear, Josh Covus, Matty Gillespie, Sam Puddephatt, Reuben HudsonCubitt, Michael Teather and Hamish Anderson.

The girls’ team also did very well in track events and came second overall. Megan Fulton and Elsa Lamping came 1st in the relay and Amelia Warburton came 4th in the 100 metres sprint. In the 200 metres relay, Ellie Lane and Anna Needham came 2nd and in the four person relay the girls came 3rd. In the field events Freya Millard won the seated throw, Ellie Lane came 2nd in the shuttlecock throw and Lyla Griffin came 2nd in the standing triple jump; Elsa Lamping came 2nd in the standing vertical jump and in the speed bounce Holly Lochhead came 2nd. The girls’ team was: Megan Fulton, Lyla Griffin, Anna Needham, Holly Lochead, Elsa Lamping, Amelia Warburton and Freya Millard.

ESAA Track and Field Cup

The junior and intermediate boys’ and girls’ squads travelled to Hillingdon Stadium to compete against some of the best athletes in the county. The weather

conditions varied throughout the day but, despite this, the Borlase athletes strived to perform to their best and all the athletes should be proud of their performances on the day.

All junior girls performed admirably in their respective events and collectively finished a very respectable 6th position. Highlights included Natasha Rasmussen’s strong performance in the 1500m race as well as Anya Fletcher and Lyla Griffin’s excellent 800m race.

The junior boys, many of whom were competing in their first athletics competition for the school, gave a fantastic account of their ability, finishing 7th. Ryaan Ghani finished 2nd in the triple jump and Tom Gear and Gursahej Bakshi had a great battle in the 1500m event.

The intermediate boys put in some fine work, with Elliot Kent and Ed Ridley’s fantastic performances in the 100m and 300m respectively, illustrating what Borlase is capable of. The intermediate girls finished 5th, aided by podium finishes for Ella Griffin, hurdles, and Krishni Chavda, 100m District Athletics Event

The District Athletics Championships kicked off with the boys’ and girls’ Y9 and Y10 meeting. The Borlase contingent put in some great performances, with smiles on their faces throughout the day. The Y9 girls performed fantastically as a squad and earned the gold medal place. The Y9 boys finished 4th, but should be incredibly proud of their efforts and attitudes towards the day. The Y10 boys and girls both finished in 3rd position, the girls missing out on 2nd place by a single point!

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RUGBY

BU12 Rugby The season started with not many players who had too much experience of the sport, but everyone was very promising. Our first competitive match was against John Hampden, in which we put in a battling display, but ultimately lost 15-10. For our second game we trained very hard during lessons and after school; we had an incredibly good match against Desborough and won 20-15. We trained less for our third game against Burnham Grammar, but when we got to game day we properly knuckled down and won 115-5, a fantastic result. Our final match was against Claires Court and we were told that they had many players that could definitely play. We went into the game with a fighting mentality and came out 40-20 winners against a very good side.

Dom Monger

BU13 Rugby 2019 has been a fantastic year for the U13 (year 8) rugby teams, with some great wins. The season kicked off with a fantastic win away at John Hampden, with some great tries from Jack Lee and Sam Jackson, despite the openness of the pitch on such a windy day. Less than a week later, a plethora of tries brought another great win from a combined U12/U13 team against The Beaconsfield School at home.

After that, the results somewhat deteriorated, with hard losses to Claires Court and Great Marlow, mainly because of lack of players. This didn’t leave a mark on the team, however, and we gained a reputation for being the team that never gives up. This season has been much better than last season in terms of teamplay and coordination and it showed.

Sasha Smith

BU18 Rugby The boys kicked off this year with a tough preseason as Mr Hill and our new coach Mr Skevington endeavoured to take on the challenge of getting us in top shape.

The early commitment became evident as we fought hard for our first win of the season against a skilled Argentinian touring side all the way from Buenos Aires.

A large home crowd turned out to witness a tough battle, but the boys persevered, taking a comfortable win in the end. New additions to the squad proved valuable and Cam Jones, Luke Bray, Dan Crick and Ollie Dawkins all put in notable performances, reinforcing the squad. Our good start to the season continued with convincing wins over local rivals John Hampden and RGS. A fourth consecutive win of the season against Windsor Boys meant we progressed in the Natwest Cup. Unfortunately, with a team depleted by injury, we bowed out in the third round to John Hampden having beaten them before with a fully fit squad.

With the 15s season over, we turned our attention to 7s, with only one real goal in mind - Rosslyn Park. We went through a rigorous fitness programme building up to the tournament, credit to Miss Williams. This hard work paid off as the boys won 3 of the 4 games on Day 1, including London Oratory and Queen Elizabeth's, to match last year’s success of making it to Day 2. Battered and bruised, without much rest, we persevered to do the same all over again. During a close game against Pangbourne, we were level going into the final stages until conceding and unfortunately being knocked out of the competition. The boys can be extremely proud after making it that far and representing the school with pride.

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ROWING JUNIOR ROWING

start to our summer campaign and preparations are currently underway for our biggest regatta of the year, the National Schools’ Regatta, where we have the third highest entry (crew participation) in the whole country!

These are exciting times for Borlase rowing and I look forward to seeing what our talented and enthusiastic junior squads can achieve in the upcoming races.

Mr Joel, Junior Rowing Co-ordinator

BOYS’ ROWING

2018/19 has proved to be a good year for Borlase rowing; there have been a number of changes, including a restructure of the club and the appointment of a new junior rowing co-ordinator to oversee some 70+ Year 9 and 10 rowers. Year 8s have also become more integrated into the rowing program through a number of water camps and a six week block of indoor rowing to help inspire the next generation and build a strong foundation in this thriving club.

A long and hard winter training for all squads led to a strong start to the regatta season; our first national event saw a respectable 16th place and 25th place for our Year 9 boys’ and girls’ top eights. The Year 10 boys and girls came in 13th and 23rd, placing in the top quarter of the entire country. These results were then built upon at the Junior Sculling Regatta, with two crews coming in first and fourth in the B Final for the Year 10 boys’ quad (7th and 10th place overall) and 2nd place in the B final (8th overall) for the Year 10 girls’ double of Giulia Sarno and Ana GrahamUsabiaga. Both Ana and Giulia have already posted extremely strong scores on the rowing machine, indicating potential to compete next year at GB trials.

We have also had a number of crews making finals in local regattas including Marlow Spring and Bedford Regatta. The highlight of the season so far has been an overall win at Bedford for the Year 9 girls’ quad of Maya Jackson, Emily Tremelling, Sasha Halliwell and Sofia Heard-Norrish, coxed by Eden Hunt. This is an exciting 72

As with every year, last season finished with the National Schools Regatta and some results we could be proud of, with most of the junior crews finishing in the top ten boats in the country. Coming into the new season we have brought in a few changes to rowing, mainly the introduction of social rowing for those who still enjoy the sport, but may not want to face everything winter training can throw at them.

With this has come the addition of our social rowing captain, Louis O' Connell, who has been supporting them every stroke of the way.

Once the summer was over, the boys were straight back in the gym working on strength and endurance for the brutality of the upcoming winter. With a strong start to the 2018-19 season we were ready for the races to come. In the local head races, we had several wins, most notably Reading Small Boats, where we came home with first place in three different events, as well as second in two others.

After what seemed like months of waking up for early morning sessions, breaking ice off the boats, and spending three hours after training warming back up again, we were ready for the National Sculling Head.

This was culmination of the hours we'd put into going faster. Fortunately, it all paid off, with both our J17 and J16 quads earning themselves bronze medals.

Following this success, the squad went off to Spain for a 10-day training camp to prepare for the regatta season. With an extra 280,000 metres on the water, we were ready to start collecting more silverware.

Already we've managed to get another bronze and silver medal at the highly contested Junior Sculling Regatta, putting the squad in a great place for National Schools’ in the coming weeks. But this season is all about what we can do at Henley Royal Regatta, at which we hope to progress much further than in the last few years.

Matthew Covus

SPORTS

GIRLS’ ROWING

After winning a silver medal at the National Schools’ Regatta last year and having both crews qualify for Henley Women's, the girls were eager to get back on the water after the summer break. A tough stint of winter training this year resulted in the girls’ squad performing at a high standard throughout the head season's racing, finishing 5th and 8th respectively at Fours’ and Schools’ Heads, both national events.

We then jetted off to Spain for our training camp in

Laias where great progress was made in the J18 4+, J16 2x and J16 1x. The camp provided us with the opportunity to focus on our technique and power leading up to the summer regattas.

Our achievements so far this year earned us the Team of the Year Award at sports dinner. As we progress towards National Schools’, Henley Women's and Henley Royal Regattas, we hope to make a step up and bring in the results we have been training hard for.

Ikmun Gill

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SPORTS

FOOTBALL

All Borlase football squads, boys’ and girls’, have produced some scintillating play this year and upheld the beautiful game with honour. In all competitions our record is: played 47, won 27, drawn 12 and lost only 8, with a goal difference of +89.

U12

BOYS’ FOOTBALL

promoted to the A League. In our first league game we were 1-1 against Princes Risborough at the end of the first half, but then lost 3-1. Next was John Hampden; Jamie Shepherd scored a great free kick putting us 1-0 up, but towards the end of the match they scored an equalizer and the final score was 1-1.

Although a draw, it was definitely our best match. We now didn’t have much of a chance of promotion, but in our last match we fought hard and beat Cressex 8-1.

We ended the season around the middle of the table and every one of our players had improved. I think the most improved were the two girls in the squad, Millie Elwood and Natasha Rasmussen, who were easily some of the best players in the team.

Matthew West

The boys’ U12 A won the league with some extraordinary performances, which began with an 8-0 victory over Shiplake and included four other wins, one draw, and no losses. Everyone worked tremendously hard but there are 3 people I want to single out. First, Sam Gavin, whose amazing goals, especially against John Hampden, were crucial. Secondly, Tom Gear, who started in the B team but earned a well-deserved place in the A team - Tom’s work ethic was one of the best in the team. Last, but not least, Sam Puddephatt, the defensive rock at the back in every game. Overall, everybody was exceptional and our work ethic was incredible, most notably if we went a goal down - our heads never dropped, and we always had confidence in our abilities.

U13

Michael Teather

The season got off to a great start with two friendlies - a win against Claire’s Court and a draw with Shiplake College. All we needed was three wins to be 74

U14 We really benefited from the new Year 9s joining the school; for example, the rapid Irfan. We got off to a good start in the league with a tough 3-3 draw against a physical Sir William Ramsay, in which Zac Bayliss equalised with a penalty in the last minute of the game.

We then beat Shiplake 7-1 in very windy conditions.

The next game was against John Hampden. We led 1-0, but they came back to 2-1 and then got a penalty, which they scored. In the dying moments of the game, we scored a consolation goal. Our next opponent was Highcrest, and we wanted to pull ourselves up after the defeat by John Hampden. We did just that and won spectacularly 10-0. Zac scored a hatrick and I chipped in with a couple of goals. Our final game was against Cressex, which we again won impressively 9-0. To this day people can’t believe how many chances Freddie Pollard had in that game to only score two goals!

William Stubbings

U15 Overall we had a very good season, and the team played really well together. The season started against Sir William Ramsay where we played very well until we conceded an unlucky goal in the last few minutes and lost 1-0. In the second game, against John Hampden, we managed to create more chances.

We scored near the end of the first half, and continued to attack well and dominate in the second half, scoring two more goals, defending well to win 3-0. We went into the last game knowing that we could win the league if we beat Great Marlow. However, against the best team that we had played so far, we conceded in the first few minutes and never really managed to get back into the game, ultimately going down 6-1.

Noah Fletcher

SPORTS 1st XI This season left us with plenty of highlights to look back on and enjoy. The start was marked by solid defending, conceding just one goal in our first four matches. Adam Sullivan and Sam Selbourne dominated at the back, setting up a centre back pairing to stand the test of time. Ben Hall became a key fixture of the team, using his vision to pick out long ball after long ball over opposition defence.

Whilst Ben was making the RB position his own, competition was heating up for the LB position. County Cup champion, Michael Hall, was under pressure from two new hot talents, Seemit and Luke, each with a different style of play.

However, you can’t finish a season with a positive goal difference without scoring goals, and that is what our forwards did for us. Jamie had fun out on the right wing, toying with any defender in his path; Taylor on the other hand, has possibly the most powerful left foot in football, and also scored a hat-trick of just headers!

We also had another County Cup champion in the side tearing it up on the left wing, Tom Crockett is Borlase’s answer to Kylian Mbappe.

With all that being said, our midfield was arguably the strongest part of the team, and we changed our formation to make the best use of our talent in the middle. Julian Whitaker was a crucial element in the squad; his combination of composure, skill and ability to read the game made him a must-have player on any hockey or football pitch. Also in midfield was Alec Bussel, who put in a man-of-the-match performance against the County Cup champions. And finally, alongside those two, was Dom Reid; if you had to sum up Dom’s style of play, and that lob over the goalkeeper from miles out, the word would be classy.

Sam Selbourne

GIRLS’ FOOTBALL

U13 This season has been extremely successful and definitely one to remember! Scoring over fifty goals and winning 8 out of 11 games, the girls were a force to be reckoned with. This year, a number of girls joined the team, from both Year 7 and 8 and we had the privilege of being coached by Mr Cullen for the second year running. Before Christmas we played in

a Regional Cup at Cressex. We won and qualified for the next stage, representing Wycombe. After a day of hard work we managed to get into the finals, and came a worthy second on sudden death penalties. The current Year 8s will play with the Year 10s next year, and the current Year 7s hope to welcome the next generation to the team and show everyone what the Borlase girls’ football team is made of.

Millie Elwood & Natasha Rasmussen

U15 We had another successful year, not losing any of the matches we played. The addition of new player, Eilidh Duncan, as goalie was a great asset to the team.

We had a great 4-0 result against Cressex, with goals from Manasi Athwal and Naomi Tilley, and another great win against Great Marlow. We then travelled to Headington and came away with a well deserved draw. Overall, an excellent season, and we’re all looking forward to trying for another clean sheet next season.

Poppy Morgan 1st XI Some say that the girls’ 1st XI football team only existed because we wanted to go to sports dinner, and this is kind of true. I think, however, that we proved many wrong by the successes we had throughout the season. I have never seen a more dedicated group of players on a pitch - when these girls lace up their boots, they seriously don’t take no for an answer. Our season began with half of the team unable to kick a ball, but we’ve come a long way since then, and I can proudly say that now only a quarter of the team can’t!

I’d like to thank everyone who made this team what it is. We never would have become this close, or had this much success, if it wasn’t for all the girls and, of course, Mr Robertson.

Nikita Gurung

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SPORTS

U12

NETBALL

Overall the U12 netballers had a good season, considering a number of matches were cancelled due to weather conditions. U12A grew together as a team, with new players being added along the way and were able to work together to win their matches. Highlights included a 4-0 win over Highcrest School and a 7-2 win against Sir William Ramsay School.

The U12B Netballers also had a good season, beating Godstowe Prep in a thrilling match that ended 8-6, and drawing another.

U14 This year has been a very successful one with the U14A placing 2nd in the league. We welcomed lots of new people to the team and grew to play better together. Right from the start of the season we beat teams including Headington (18-11), Great Marlow (11-7) and Wycombe Abbey (13-9) but unfortunately lost to Wycombe High in a very close match (1217). We came 2nd in the district tournament, a great achievement for all of us.

The U14B girls made excellent progress this year, improving our play and how we work as a team. We had a lot of tough matches playing against the A League teams but managed to come away with two wins, one against Highcrest A (10-6) and the other against Sir William Ramsay (10-5). Despite having a small core team and some occasional issues with numbers, we managed to stay motivated and go into every match with a positive outlook. All the girls have played their role in the team and we were happy to welcome lots of new netball players to our training sessions and matches.

Emma Sage

Elsa Lamping & Elsa Jago U13 The U13 netballers had a good season, with the team improving as the term went on. Changes in the team and many players learning different positions, resulted in heavy losses to St Michael’s and Great Marlow at the beginning of the season, but this mobilized our determination to improve and everyone in the team always gave their best. We managed to finish the season with a good performance at the District tournament, where we gave some of our local rivals a challenging game.

Helena Kennedy

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U15 The U15 team had a brilliant season in the county league, despite only playing 5 matches due to cancellations.

Of those five, the first three were fantastically won, but then we lost to Pipers Corner. For the girls to have a chance to come first in the league, we would have to win against Wycombe Abbey, to whom Pipers had previously lost. After four quarters of perseverance and determination we ended up achieving our goal, and won 24-14, to regain the league title we lost last year!

Throughout the season the shooters, Hannah Dawkins and Olivia Hall, really raised the standards and scored

SPORTS many goals. Their work in the circle together was always very thorough and effective. Similarly, centre court, as always, continued to work hard to link the defence with the attack, including amazing drives and offers from Rosie Harris and Laura Paul with the very frequent tips and interceptions from Immy Duguid.

The defence had a tough job against extremely tall shooters in a number of matches but always pulled through, turning the ball over consistently and working very hard to keep the shooters out the circle and pushing them high and wide. Molly Edmondson, Charlotte Dudley and Caitlin Sadie worked very well as a unit and continued playing hard even under pressure.

U18 Overall the U18 netball team had a pretty successful season, with a mixture of wins and losses across the board. The season started well, with convincing wins against Dr Challoner's and Headington, despite the loss of Miss Holt as a netball coach.

This promising start continued into the county rounds, with wins against Wycombe Abbey, Pipers Corner and Ramsey; however we suffered significant losses to Beaconsfield High and Wycombe High, even after drawing to WHS in a friendly prior to the county rounds. Following this disappointment, we pulled together for victory against Wellington and Great Marlow, continuing to build on our team dynamic during training, especially considering the majority of the team was made up of new Year 12s! A loss to Wycombe Abbey and draw against BCA were disappointing to say the least, especially since our B team had beaten BCA, showing just how similar in ability all of our netballers are, no matter what team they are in.

Both teams worked hard to improve both our strategies and fitness, aiming high for the regional tournament which ended up being a great finish to the season, with the As finishing 2nd and the Bs 4th, suggesting a promising future for both of our teams next year!

Megan Lister

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SPORTS

HOCKEY GIRLS’ HOCKEY

GU12 A: We had a very successful season, our first representing SWBGS, playing 12 matches of which we won 7, drew 2 and lost only 3, scoring 39 goals along the way. We began by competing in a tournament at Wycombe High School with most of the teams in the area. Our biggest rival has, as always, been Great Marlow. We have also played schools as far away as St. George’s College, Weybridge, Headington School, LVS Ascot and The Godolphin & Latymer School. The majority of the time we came away with a win.

The goals this season were mostly scored by Megan Fulton, Lily Pollard, Holly Lochhead, Anna Needham, Hattie Parkinson, Lyla Griffin and Amelia Warburton.

The formidable defence was made up of Ellie Lane, Grace Runcie and Mia Clayton in goal. Every player in the team has been awarded ‘player of the match’ at some point, but we have all worked hard in every match.

Towards the end of the season we competed in the County Cup. We lost only one match to come 2nd overall, and qualify for the regional tournament. Played at Woking Hockey Club, this was a great experience and we came across some very challenging schools from our region. During the tournament we combined everything that we had learnt and played well as a team. We ended up coming 3rd in the plate, which was a great achievement, and an encouraging display of our potential.

Ellie Lane GU12 B: The team had a great season with a lot of fun and friendship along the way. We got off to a very good start with a 4-0 win over LVS Ascot. This was great for our confidence! After that we trained hard and played 13 more matches - with some wins and some losses We scored a total of 33 goals and our best game was against Great Marlow, which we won 9-0! It was great learning to play as a team and fantastic to finish second in the Bucks plate against a very strong team. Many thank to Zoe for coaching us.

Immi Downes GU12 C: We had so many amazing hockey players this year, and each individual had a great potential to improve on their skills and become part of the team.

At the start of the season, one of our first matches was a friendly against Holme Grange School, which we drew 2-2. The rest of the season was mainly draws and losses, but in the District tournament in April we came 2nd. Many thank to Jess, Zoe and Kate for coaching us.

Katy Butler 78

GU13 A: We built on the success of last year to finish the season with a goal difference of+9 compared to -4 last year. Highlights were a 6-0 win over LVS Ascot and especially a 5-2 win over our rivals GMS. Although we lost games to a few strong competitors, we always learned from our mistakes and improved our gameplay to grow as a team.

The February tour to Canterbury was a huge success.

The weekend tour consisted of daily training and professional coaching, and included team building exercises which created and strengthened new and existing friendships.

The highlight of the season was the County Tournament at Marlow Sports Club. We played very well against GMS, Wycombe High, and Pipers Corner School and won the tournament, putting us through to the Regional Rounds.

Our hockey had improved greatly and we proved to be some tough competition for schools who had been playing with each other for years. We did much better than last year, even though we didn’t finish in our desired position. Regardless of the result, we left with our heads held high, knowing we had improved both as a team and as individuals.

Rebecca Canton

GU13 B: In an extremely successful season we played 9 games overall. Although we unfortunately started with a loss to Wycombe High, we gained our first win against Beaconsfield High shortly after. We won the next two, but then drew with Wycombe High.

SPORTS Towards the end of the season, we also drew with Godolphin and Latymer school.

The Canterbury tour was a great opportunity not only to play and improve our hockey skills but also to have fun, build friendships and strengthen our team even more.

Evie O’Rorke

GU13 C: All season we have had a great time and been improving our skills. We won our first match against Headington 3-0, which put us in good spirits.

As a team of three people, we worked together well and enjoyed playing with the A and B teams. Sadly we lost 2-1 to Godolphin and Latymer School but it was a very close finish, and in April we participated in a district tournament - where we finished a competitive fourth against many other schools’ B teams.

came out as the winners, beating Great Marlow in the semi final and then Beaconsfield High in the final. It was a great achievement and really helped the team bond well.

We had some excellent individual performances across the season, with some super goals, short corners, saves and tackles. However it would be unfair to single out any one player, as each player brought something extra to their position and we all contributed to our success. There has been a strong commitment to attending training, keeping fit and supporting each other, and I truly believe that this puts us in a strong position as we prepare for the coming season.

Eleanor Sharp

Lisa Dixon

GU14 A: The team had a really strong season and we thoroughly enjoyed both the personal development and the team spirit gained from our experiences. We were able to build upon the strong results from last year with an experienced core team, whilst adding some new players to the squad.

We played a good number of friendlies, league matches and tournaments, winning the majority of our games against tough opposition home and away. We were also delighted to score some great wins over our local rivals.

The highlight of the season was the District Tournament, where, through a display of determination, resilience and flashes of brilliance, we

GU16 OUTDOOR: We had a very successful season with 8 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, and saw great improvements in each of our players, resulting in 47 goals scored. Our first game, against our local rivals Great Marlow ended in a 3-2 victory. The following games gave the team two more wins against Pipers Corner and St Mary’s Ascot. For the next month we trained and prepared for the County Cup in which we played Pipers Corner, Great Marlow, Beaconsfield High, Wycombe High and Aylesbury High. During the day we won 4 games and drew the last against Aylesbury. Overall, it was a very successful day and meant we qualified for the County Finals a week later. Our competition at this tournament was Stowe, Thornton College and Aylesbury High again. But, as a team we had grown confident in each of our abilities and this enabled us to win all three games, and advance once more to the Regional competition. In 79

SPORTS our group we had Claires Court, which we won 1-0, Surbiton, which was a tight game and one of our best in the season, and finally Lord Wandsworth, which resulted in a fantastic 6-0 win. Unfortunately, we lost 6-0 in the final to St Teresa’s Effingham, who were the deserved winners and went on to do very well in Nationals. I am very proud of our team this year as we have been determined to succeed and stuck to our key words: resilience and family.

Charlotte Dudley

As the season progressed, the development of the squad as a whole was very noticeable, which could not have been achieved without Mr Chappell’s expertise.

This was highlighted when the team, consisting of only the Year 12 players, managed to place second in the District tournament near the end of the season.

The commitment and spirit of the team remained high throughout the season, and the work rate from all players on the pitch could not be faulted.

Melike Gerrits

GU18 INDOOR: This year we continued to play in the local League at Wycombe High to prepare for the upcoming season. We had a number of successes against strong teams, though we struggled for numbers at times and often faced having no keeper.

A few weeks before regional heats we recruited Lucy Banks, Lucie Pryor and Anna Wray, who quickly got to grips with the style of the game and enabled us to come out champions, having won all 3 games comfortably.

GU16 INDOOR: We started the season playing matches on Monday nights against ladies’ and U18 teams. While we did not have a full team every week, we still managed to pull through, winning some of our games and drawing plenty. Our goal as a team this year was to make it through the county rounds, which we succeeded in doing. We came a respectable third, beating Becky High 3-1, Aylesbury High 4-1 and narrowly losing to St Teresa’s and Great Marlow. We were not so fortunate in the regional rounds, where we faced tough competition. Even though we lost all of our matches, we improved as a team, even managing to score a goal against Wellington.

GU18 OUTDOOR: We started the season well, winning all of our matches on tour in South Africa, and, with a large number of new recruits, we managed to maintain our high standard of play in September. We progressed through county heats and county finals, with some exceptional play from Mila Welch, who saved a large number of shots, and top goal scorer, Ellie Yeomans. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed out on the regional finals after placing third in the pool stages.

80

Unfortunately, luck was not on our side and between regional heats and regional finals, we suffered two injuries, including captain Melike. Thankfully, Tiger Droney stepped in, so we were able to play. The girls put in maximum effort but unfortunately just missed out on the semi-finals by one goal.

Millie Thomlinson

SPORTS

BOYS’ HOCKEY

BU12 A: With over 60% of the Year 7 boys playing hockey this season, we had great potential. Our objective this year was making sure we got the style of hockey right; we didn’t focus on the results. It was a season of two halves, we lost the first 4 games quite significantly: 1-5, 1-5, 3-7, 1-4. However, as we started to get to know each other better, the results improved.

On 3rd December we started a winning streak that continued until the end of the regular matches. In February, we went to Dr Challoner's Grammar School to play in the County Cup and, after a last push in the final, were crowned Bucks Champions. We therefore went through to the Regional tournament at Woking Hockey Club, where we were in contention for a spot in the cup but just missed out on goal difference. In the Plate semi-final we played a good Reigate team and lost 2-0.

Sam Babes

BU12 B: After a tricky start to the season, we pulled ourselves together and, after a 2-0 victory over Merchant Taylors’, who we’d previously lost to, our scores got better. However, it isn’t just about the score, it’s about how we played as a team and improved over time For quite a few of us this was our first season of hockey, the first time we’d touched a hockey ball and understood how the game actually worked. Once the rules had been figured out, our skills and ball manipulation developed and we learned how to play as a team. For me, the stand-out player was Rowan Dunkin. Rowan held the team together with motivation, courage and great sportsmanship; whenever I looked up the pitch he was in space and calling for the ball. I also think that the most improved player was Gurshaej Bakshi, as his defensive skills improved massively during the year. Out of 14 matches we won 6, drew 1 and lost 7, and we played some very difficult teams.

BU12 C: Over the course of this enjoyable season the team has performed outstandingly. I have to point out the skill of Sam Puddephatt’s defence as well as Reuben Hudson-Cubitt’s amazing attacking and striking, but these are just some of the excellent people on the team. Although we may have had a rocky start, we pulled it together and delivered some amazing game-play and thrilling results. Following a run of losses before Christmas we focused on training and building confidence, to come back even stronger.

Will Baker BU12 D: Though the D team has had a bit of a rough time this season, we have always aspired to be the best hockey players we can be and whenever we play, we always try our hardest. Despite not succeeding on many occasions, we have learnt (and still are learning) from our mistakes. We have bonded as a team and in the end, we have lots of fun.

Oscar Richards & Joe Cockroft BU13 A: This season all players improved hugely, Oliver West and Jamie Smith in particular have shown great improvement and deserve to be mentioned.

We had some tough games, losing 2-3 to Reeds, but winning a tight game against Merchant Taylors’ 4-3.

We did well to win the majority of our games and scored an impressive 43 goals in only 12 games. We had a clean sweep in the Bucks Cup losing no games and came out in 1st place. We showed great skill and effort in the Regional Cup and, although it was disappointing to lose in the quarter finals, all players showed great drive and determination. We had a few changes of personnel with players like Simon Ormond, Elliot Day and Jack Cowan stepping up from the B team and showing great potential for the future.

Jack Lee

Alex Ley 81

SPORTS BU13 B: Throughout the season the team has improved greatly, notably our defence and attack.

Although we started the season with a loss in our first game, this didn't get us down, and we went on to win two matches in a row. We have played against a mix of highly talented schools, building our team spirit, skills and confidence along the way.

A heavy mid-season loss to Whitgift (10-0), was a valuable experience and enabled us to grow stronger as a team. At the end of the season, we managed to put together a run of seven games without a loss.

One of our best performances was against Great Marlow. At this point we were at the top of our game and dominated the match, winning 13-0.

Although we had many outstanding players this year, two deserve special mention: Larry Jones, our goalkeeper, had a great season, often making seemingly impossible saves, and without him we would have lost many matches; and Elliot Day, who only started playing hockey this season and has been a great addition to our team and has scored many amazing goals. Overall it has been a fantastic season in which we have grown as a team and individually.

Oliver Wiggins BU13 C: This year the team has shown great commitment and determination in all our training sessions, showing the drive to improve for the future.

We have had many players move up to higher teams, proving themselves great hockey players; for example Seb, who improved hugely, resulting in a move up to the B team. We had a few great wins and draws against a range of teams, of all different capabilities. In those matches, aside from Seb, we had great players such as Charlie and Tom, showing great improvement over the year.

Oscar Bennett BU14 A: As our first season of 11-a-side, this year has definitely been a change from the 7-a-side game we were used to. We started with a 3-1 loss against Whitgift; not the start we wanted but a good performance against one of the best teams in the country. Matches against The Perse School and Holme Grange provided valuable learning experiences for the team with regards to tactics and the way we played on the pitch. After a slow start to the season, we pulled ourselves together to produce a 6-1 win over Kingston Grammar, followed by a draw with local rivals, John Hampden.

In the County Cup, we played RGS, JHGS, Stowe and Dr Challoner’s. There were many memorable 82

performances including Willem Bateson’s hat trick against RGS and, overall, a really good standard of hockey by everyone on the pitch, which enabled us to win all four games and qualify for the Regional Tournament. Here we had a very difficult group, which included both last year’s winners. We played Kingston Grammar School in our first game, losing 2-1. Our second game, against St.George’s, was, in my opinion, the best game we had ever played. Although we lost 1-0, St.George’s is one of the best teams in the country and for the whole game we were all working very hard to keep them out of our D. We then went on to win the next two games.

Oliver Whall

BU16 OUTDOOR A: We entered the Tier 1 knockout cup for the first time this year, having previously played in a group stage first. We drew Reed’s away in the first round, which was always going to be a tough game.

In a season-best performance we equalised mid way through the second half after dominating possession for most of the half. We went all the way to sudden death, but missed out, losing the strokes 6-5. This put us into the next round of the Tier 2 competition, facing Caterham. We were 3-2 up with 5 minutes to go thanks to goals from Adam Searle, Will Hunter and Tristan Rints, only to concede in the last play of the game. Again we went to flicks and couldn’t help out Elliot Kent in goal, losing the strokes 5-4.

An unbeaten season, in normal time, showed the potential of the team for the future, especially Tristan Rints who picked up player of the season for finding the back of the net in every game, even in friendly wins against Charterhouse, Whitgift and RGS. Ben Hoggan

SPORTS BU16 OUTDOOR B: Unfortunately, due to some classically unpredictable British weather we were only able to play three out of a possible six games this season. Though we won two of them (4-3 and 2-1), we stumbled against RGS, losing 5-6 in an unbelievable end-to-end thriller of a match that went down right to the wire.

Throughout the season there were many standout performers. In attack, Noah Fletcher dominated with his skilful play, which often left the opposition stumbling and bewildered. From a defensive stance, Oliver Neal always kept the back four in shape and put his body on the line on multiple occasions to stop the advancing opposition. Combined with Seb Peperell’s aerial skills, which often left the opposing team in awe, they frequently managed to come out of the scrappiest situations with the ball! Regardless of the lack of games this season, everyone enjoyed playing in the team and had a good time on the pitch.

James Massie BU16 INDOOR: Our indoor season had a lot of ups and downs, but also a lot great performances. After many early mornings for 7am training sessions, we looked extremely strong going into the regional playoffs. We coasted through the group stages with two fairly comfortable wins, and managed to score two crucial last minute flicks against Charterhouse to take us to the final where, against all of the odds, we delivered the performance of the season to beat the hosts Alleyns 3-0, and qualify for the regional heats.

Sadly, the results didn’t go our way at the heats.

Two great performances in the first two games only resulted in two tight losses, with one going down to a poor refereeing decision that made Mr Monk the angriest we had ever seen him! An easy 5-0 win in the last game wasn’t enough to take us through to the next round. We were still very proud of how we had performed throughout the season, and look forward to playing with each other again in two years’ time.

Oliver Neal

BU18 OUTDOOR: In spite of a range of highs and lows, the cohesion and friendship of the team, made 2018-19 a great season. We entered the top league, competing with the private schools from the area, including the likes of Reed’s and Whitgift. This meant competitive, high-standard, fast-paced matches which required us to play at the peak of our ability. We began with a hard fixture, which unfortunately put us on the back foot for the rest of the season; nonetheless, we were still driven to finish well in the league and keep posing a threat to the other schools. Towards the middle of the season our results improved due to hard work on the training pitch and the excellent coaching of Mr Monk and Lee Pettifer. This showed in our 2-1 win against Old Merchant Taylors’ and 2-0 win against Marlborough College, both contributed to by Tom Sheldon, our top goal scorer of the season. Sadly, however, this wasn't enough and we finished too low in the league to progress further. Nonetheless, the team played some brilliant hockey in a highly commendable season in which all the players improved.

We ended the season with the 6s tournament at St. George's, playing 6-a-side on a half-sized pitch.

This was great fun and brought back memories of 7-a-side hockey in the younger years of the school. We progressed to the semi-finals with very high scoring games in the group stages, but narrowly missed out on the finals in an intense game against Tonbridge School. Our man of the season was Toby Hill, who showed versatility through all positions around the pitch and was highly valuable in both the indoor and outdoor season.

Ben Ferguson BU18 INDOOR: The season began with a friendly away fixture against King Edward VI, Southampton. a high scoring 5-5 draw across 3 matches with five minutes rest between each. This was followed a fortnight later, with a friendly tournament which included very tough opponents of the likes of RGS Guildford and Reed’s. A great team performance resulted in a 4-4 draw with Reeds, with Borlase constantly showing fight whenever trailing. The match with RGS Guildford was just as close, but, by the narrowest of margins, Guildford triumphed; many of the squad felt that they had been hard done by.

These friendlies provided good experience for the first competitive fixture of the season, the regional heats at King Edward VI, Southampton. In a group of four, we felt confident about our chances of progressing, hoping that the many early Friday morning training sessions before school would pay off. They appeared to do so initially, with a draw and a win from our first two games. Other results ensured that we would 83

SPORTS progress if we managed a draw in our final game against the team at the bottom of the table. Despite our best efforts, a stellar performance from the opposition goalkeeper meant that we were behind with a minute to go. Desperation and instinct started to kick in, and a deflected goal within the last 20 seconds gave us the draw we needed to progress to the regional finals. Here, we faced a tough group including the likes of Charterhouse, Whitgift and RGS Guildford. Despite some great play and tough battling, we failed to advance to the knockout stages, in part due to some poor umpiring. Nonetheless, the squad accepted it and went away with their heads held high, knowing that the experience of playing indoors would undoubtedly help prepare them for the tough outdoor season to come.

Calum Inchbald

FRIENDS OF BORLASE HOCKEY GROUP

The Friends of Borlase Hockey is a handful of parents who raise money to provide extra elements for the students, such as indoor equipment and video coaches. By next year we hope to have raised enough to fund a hockey minibus, which will be invaluable as the number of teams needing transport to various locations increases. If any parent would like to get involved, we would welcome all help, so please get in touch. Each season we aim to provide three events: a parents' social, an end-of-season Hockey Festival and the traditional Borlase Golf Day in aid of hockey at the school.

This year’s parents' social was a Quiz Night, a fantastic evening of questions, wine and fish and chips. A group of Year 13 boys gave a memorable presentation about the 2018 Hockey Tour to South Africa, which really demonstrated the outstanding opportunities hockey provides to students.

The Hockey Festival focused on school Years 7 - 9 playing in mixed teams on a sunny day in May. 84

Everyone had an excellent time, with Marlow Sports Club providing fabulous food for our hungry players.

We are hoping next year to attract some alumni players to join us for the day.

As I write this, we are preparing for the annual Golf Day on the slopes of Henley Golf Course in June. We are blessed to have Sally Woolven's support each year as the driving force behind this event.

CROSS-COUNTRY

This year, Borlase had a very successful cross country season. We started well with impressive results at the English Schools Cross Country Cup at Cottesloe. All the Borlase teams ranked highly, with the intermediate boys’ team coming 3rd (with Noah Fletcher winning the race) and the intermediate girls’ team coming 2nd.

Both teams qualified for the regional finals in Bedford, where they both came 7th. The final race of the season was the Buckinghamshire County Championships at Stowe School, where Borlase ran very well, with Lyla Griffin, Sam Gavin and Ellen Cooper qualifying to compete for Buckinghamshire in the National English Schools Cross Country, in Loughborough and Leeds.

Ellen Cooper

CRICKET

2018 was one of our most successful seasons this millenium. The U13s retained the county trophy thanks to an enthusiastic group of players who had a good level of commitment. A combination of good performances and strong leadership from Will Stubbings and Harry Bussell helped gel the group and they were ably supported by some terrific new talent from Year 7s Joe Hoggan, Toby Pettit and George Evans.

SPORTS The U14s made the County Cup semi final after knocking out some big names along the way, including Stowe. Chris Jackson skippered the group well and also performed at a good level as wicket keeper and batsman. Again it was the enthusiasm of the group that made it so enjoyable, but also some top class displays from Ollie Neal and Noah Fletcher.

The U15s won the district league and made the county T20 quarter finals. Ben Hoggan was probably the most consistent performer, backed up by Ollie Dawkins, Joe Haslehurst, Will Hunter and Zac Ambrose.

1st XI Cricket has always been problematic due to exams; however the absence of AS exams saw a new level of commitment from the Year 12s, instigated by Will Neal, and what they lacked in quality they made up for with raw energy. Special mentions to Henry Graham, Toby Hill, Tom Sheldon and Harry Yeomans.

SWIMMING

It has been a relatively quiet year for the girls’ swimming team, but a very successful one. All three age group teams competed at the ESSA regional heats, where our junior team of Chloe, Helena, Rebecca and Ellie qualified to swim at the ESSA National finals in London, a first for the Borlase swim team. We also had a number of galas against Wycombe Abbey School and Pipers Corner School, where again all three teams competed with great success and won overall.

U15 Girls The team had a slow start due to lack of players; however, after encouraging more girls to join, a total of ten players played in the team during the season, which is the largest number of girls’ tennis players we have had in this age group for some years. We had many victories including a 10-2 win against Wycombe High and 12-0 win against Amersham School.

Poppy Morgan BU13 Tennis The A team played in Division One for a second season and only narrowly lost to RGS, Aylesbury Grammar and Dr Challoner’s. The B team won two fixtures, against Thorpe House and Bourne End Academy, before losing narrowly to Great Marlow, Amersham and Dr Challoner’s.

BU15 Tennis The A team entered Division One for the first time in the school’s history, meeting some tough opposition.

We beat RGS in our first fixture, but went on to lose 2-10 to Aylesbury Grammar and 4-8 to Dr Challoner’s.

Despite these losses, we managed to battle our way through to finish on a high with a 12-0 victory over Sir William Ramsay. Every person on the court gave it their best, which was key to winning our matches, and a special well done to Ben Stoolman who took on the best players from each school, playing an excellent standard of tennis. Two wins from four games in our debut season in Division One was a fantastic achievement.

Max Branet

TENNIS

The 2018 season saw further growth in Borlase Tennis after a successful campaign in 2017 and we entered six teams into the Aegon Leagues.

U13 Girls We put in lots of hard work and effort throughout the season, and although the results weren’t what we hoped for, there were improvements throughout the team and every training session and match was very enjoyable. There were some close matches against some strong opposition, including a very close match against Wycombe High which we lost 6-7.

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SPORTS

CHARITY SPRINTATHON

In April, Year 7 & 8 students again participated in a Sprintathon to raise funds for the charity Stand Up to Cancer. The students were all fantastic and ran an extremely competitive race, raising £2,953, and smashing the target of £2000!

Results:

Distance Run: Saxons 12.5m; Danes 12.4m; Normans 12.3m; Romans 12.2m; Britons 12.1m; Vikings 12.0m Funds Raised: Britons £660; Vikings £635; Normans £453; Romans £425; Danes £415; Saxons £365 Thank you to all the students, friends and family who donated towards this great cause.

competition, in which over 100 primary children participated, umpiring the matches, coaching, and managing the results process. There has been an exceptionally high calibre of sports leadership and it was difficult to choose the Borlase Sports Leader Of The Year Award; however, this year the award goes to: Gaby Crosby.

Ms O’Hara, Sports Leader Tutor

BASKETBALL

BU13: This was the first year for Basketball in the U13 age group and the team - Max Blackbourn, Ryaan Ghani, Adam Ghani, Olly Jacobs, Simon Ormond, Rayan Ulhaq, Ethan Walden and Ollie West - displayed great determination to improve and commitment to training sessions. We played two fixtures: a development-focused friendly against a Year 9 John Hampden team, and our first competitive game against Princes Risborough, in which we competed well, but unfortunately fell short in the last quarter, losing 2422. This was a development year for the boys and hopefully we can utilise it to our success next year.

Special thanks go to Vijay Patel and Jack Donoghue for helping support training sessions throughout the year.

Mr Geddes

SPORTS LEADERS

This year we enrolled seventeen Year 12 students in the Youth Sport Trust’s Level 2 Sports Leader Award.

The group quickly bonded and delivered lessons in badminton, athletics and multi-skills to local primary schools, including St Peter’s, Spinfield and Burford.

The leaders also ran a highly successful hockey

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SPORTS

SPORTS DINNER

The annual senior sports dinner was held at Harleyford Golf Club in April, and over 100 students came to celebrate their sporting achievements during the year.

Special mention has to go to the students who won specific achievement awards and to the Senior Girls Rowing Team who won Team of the Year, and huge thanks to the outgoing captains. Special thanks also goes to the Old Borlasians for their support, and to our supplier, Hawkinsport, for sponsoring the awards.

Mr N Monk & Mr K Chappell Senior Sports Awards The winners of the 2018-19 Sports Awards are: Robin Graham Award for Character and Sporting Integrity: Taylor Delorie-Craft Patterson Trophy for Outstanding Sporting Endeavour: Tom Sheldon Philip McIntyre Award for Outstanding Sporting Achievement: Mila Welch Audrey Moore Award for Commitment to Rowing: Matt Covus

Team of the Year: Girls’ Rowing Boys Rowing – Captain: Matt Covus Girls Rowing – Captain: Ikmun Gill Girls’ Athletics – Player of the Season: Millie Thomlinson Boys’ Athletics – Player of the Season: Harry Turner Cricket – Captain: Will Neal Boys’ Football – Captain: Sam Selbourne; Player of the Season: Ben Hall Girls’ Football – Captain: Nikita Gurung; Player of the Season: Leah Tilley Netball – Captain: Charlie Harris; Player of the Season: Charlie Harris Girls Hockey – Captain: Melike Gerrits; Player of the Season: Millie Thomlinson Boys Hockey – Captain: Tom Sheldon; Player of the Season: Toby Hill Rugby – Captain: Sam Harris; Player of the Season: Ben Roddick

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SPORTS

DUKE OF EDINBURGH

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at Sir William Borlase continues to go from strength to strength, with 210 students from Years 9 to 12 starting their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award this year.

For the third year running we have had a phenomenal number of Year 9 students on the Bronze Award - 117 signed up this year. Their expedition section was completed with training in Oxford before the practice and assessment expeditions in the Chilterns.

They all worked extremely hard and not only did they have a great time, they also kept all the teachers and instructors on their toes!

Fifty students in Year 10 are working towards their Silver Award, which involves doing either a canoeing or walking expedition. Both groups have enjoyed their training and practice expeditions, the paddlers having tackled the Thames, and walkers the New Forest. Both have had moments of hard work, enjoyment, laughs and tantrums, all which contribute to them being better teams. The groups are now gearing up for their assessment expedition in the Wye Valley, which takes place in the middle of July.

Our Gold Award students have also chosen either a walking or paddling expedition, and we currently have forty-one signed up to the award. The training and practice expeditions are taking place in the summer term in the Brecon Beacons and Poole Harbour.

The Duke of Edinburgh award is not all about the expedition; at all levels students also have to undertake three other activities: volunteering, a skill and a physical activity. In addition, for the Gold Award students need to organise a five day residential activity with people they have not met before. Every student has been committed to completing these sections, which take 3, 6, 12 or 18 months to complete depending on the award level they are participating in. In many cases our students have been a huge help in the local community, volunteering with charity organisations or coaching and helping out with local clubs and projects, enhancing Borlase’s reputation no end.

I am incredibly proud of every single student who has taken part on the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Borlase this year and I would like to say a big thank you to

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them. So far this year, 24 past and present Borlasians have completed their Gold Award, which requires continued commitment to complete activities on a weekly basis for up to 18 months. To celebrate their success, these students were invited to collect their awards at St James’ Palace and Buckingham Palace.

We have worked extremely hard this year to encourage them all to complete their awards, which have been reflected in our yearly completion rates. This year our students have achieved achieved 63 Bronze, 33 Silver and 16 Gold, a total of 112, giving the school one of the best completion rates in the county.

The students’ behaviour has been impeccable and they have represented the school superbly; they really make the expeditions enjoyable to be on, even for the teachers. I hope they have been challenged enough to take part in the Award throughout their life at Borlase and inspire others to do so as well. Hopefully those who have done the lower awards will continue and obtain the next level up and inspire others to do so as well!

I would like to say thank you to all of the staff who have supported me this year; Dr Sowden, Miss Cowan, Miss Holmes, Miss Rayner, Mrs Blane, Mr Lofthouse, Mr Adamson, Mr Miall, Mrs Pryor, Mr Shi as well as Mrs Sadie, Ms Morris and Mrs Garrow in the administration office; the programme would not be possible without all of their help and support.

Mr Stevens, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator

STEM

(Science, Technology, Engineering,

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STEM

STEM AT BORLASE It has been another exciting and busy year in Science.

Our aim is to provide pupils with opportunities to experience Science outside of the classroom and to see how Science is able to solve real life problems.

We are particularly interested in developing student’s experimental and investigative skills so they can excel in the GCSE and A Level examinations.

To celebrate National Science Week in March, we held our annual STEM Fayre. Over 130 Key Stage 3 and 4 students displayed more than 150 projects, which seem to get more impressive every year. The subjects were incredibly diverse, ranging from ionic liquids, to clouds, to bugs, to aerodynamics, to saving the planet, to prosthetics. The quality and scientific depth of the projects was very impressive and pupils were able to enter for bronze and silver CREST awards.

In addition, a number of our Year 12 students have successfully completed their gold CREST award, a brilliant achievement.

Our student-led societies continue to flourish, offering budding biologists, medics, vets, chemists, engineers and astronomers the opportunity to debate current issues, and explore cutting edge research topics in a supportive environment. We have been extremely fortunate to have a number of visiting speakers talk to these societies, including representatives from Dyson, and Oxford and Cambridge Universities. We are also delighted that so many recent Old Borlasians come back to talk to students about the highlights and challenges of going to University.

We are incredibly grateful to all those students who have taken on leadership and mentoring opportunities within the department. A number of Year 12 students have regularly met with students in younger years to support them in Science. Likewise, Year 12 students have run a very successful KS3 science club, organising exciting experiments each week for a regular cohort of Year 7 and 8 students.

A number of successful trips and activities have run this year, in order to support the learning of Science outside of the classroom, including: university-style lectures for Year 12 students at the Biology, Chemistry and Physics in Action days; our annual trip to Space Camp for Year 10 students; participation in the School’s Analyst Competition and the Salters’ Chemistry Festival; a visit to the Oncology department of Oxford University; and a visit from the Royal Society of Chemistry to teach Year 12 students about spectroscopy.

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We continue to be impressed by the independence and motivation shown by our students, with record numbers completing EPQs this year and many students organising to attend university subject taster days or lectures to extend their subject knowledge beyond the classroom.

We are particularly proud of the thirteen Year 12 and 13 students who entered the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Olympiad competitions. Congratulations to Duncan Farquhar and Tom Chorlton who achieved Gold Awards in the Biology Olympiad.

The STEM Cell in the Learning Resource Centre has gone from strength to strength under Mrs Barclay’s direction, and provides an excellent platform for us to showcase opportunities for pupils to experience Science and Technology and a forum for our pupils to share ideas and take part in various STEM challenges.

Miss D Cowan, Head of Science

STEM

STEM PREFECTS’ REPORT

It really has been a pleasure being STEM prefects.

At the beginning of the year we assembled what we thought would be our STEM team, but throughout the year this grew and grew. The societies were keenly publicised in the Societies Fayre, and we hosted the first Junior Clubs Fayre, too. This was soon followed by the tearful hand over of the societies to their new Year 12 leaders, who have proved very enthusiastic and capable. Within a week of this, in true Borlase STEM spirit, the corridors were plastered with society posters (including an advertisement for Fibonachos and Square Root Beer from PBAG).

Of course, none of this would be possible without our STEM hero, Mrs Barclay. We are so thankful for all the effort she puts in, whether running the STEM cell or organising events. The ‘go ahead and do it’ attitude Borlase STEM has is truly amazing and promises further success in future years. Indeed, we are confident that we are leaving Borlase STEM in capable, if slightly mischievous, hands.

Thank you Borlase!

Alexander Williams and Sara Helin

OUR WONDERFUL TECHNICIANS

Mrs Robinson, Mrs Algama and Mrs Allen all use their extensive knowledge to source and trial new ideas, that is of course alongside preparing practicals for all year groups of students and looking after the teachers.

They have hosted the live hatching of chicks and the dissection of frogs, rats and brains. Preparation of chemicals and enzymes, maintenance of equipment, glassware (aka washing up!!!) and laboratories, making up and disposing of agar in vast quantities, growing bacteria - all these tasks are just in a day's work. This year they have enjoyed the exciting science of the KS3 lunchtime club with Dr Sowden, making these experiments possible. The technicians always love to hear new ideas from students and where possible try to help them with their endeavors. Therefore, students really should pop in to the Prep Room to see them and not just when they need to hire a lab coat.

Mr Horne is the technician with the Physics Department. Apart from doing an amazing job maintaining and repairing our equipment for students’ experiments, he also brings his long experience in the music industry to the department. Frequently deeply involved in department and student projects, his wide knowledge, precision and careful preparations are a real asset.

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STEM

STEM FAYRE

This year we had over 150 entrants for the STEM fayre.

The day was bustling from the start as Year 7s, 8s and 9s wheeled and carried their models and display boards into school. Over lunch the hall was flooded with vibrant projects, and yet more spilled into Mimi’s at the end of the day. Our team of Year 12s, running the fayre for the younger years, were overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of exciting projects on display; they were distracted by everything from homemade wind tunnels to an oscillating platform for earthquaketesting structures.

The amount of research and effort that went into these projects was immense, which only made choosing the winners that much more difficult! Well done to all; particularly our prize winners…

Year 7 1st Prize: Devvir Talwar - The Aerodynamics of Sports Cars 2nd Prize: Mia Clayton & Allannah Ryder - Water level alarm Year 8 1st Prize: Helena Kennedy & Gabrielle Tasch Prosthetics 2nd Prize: Anya Fletcher & Kate Sellar - Animalcentred interaction design

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Year 9 Outstanding Research Award: Joseph Martin - Ionic Liquids STEM Prefect Prize Thomas Buick & Giles Turner - Earthquake Resistant Buildings Mrs Barclay’s Award for Creativity in Science Megan Fulton & Sophie Richardson - Plastic Pollution Mrs Barclay’s Award Keira Brennan - How do sugary drinks affect your teeth?

Old Borlasian Prize Daniela Yakubovich & Shauna O'Hare - Helium vs Air Football PhySoc Commendation Fin Engelberts & Lyr Feldberg - What is Beyond the Universe?

Comp/Eng Commendation Callum Munro & Ben Williams - "Optical Sensors" (Height Ultrasound) Bio Commendation Emily Hillier - Calorimetry The STEM department is very grateful for the support of the Old Borlasian Club in contributing generously to the range of prizes and awards.

Murray Whitaker

STEM

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STEM

STEM DINNER

The STEM dinner was the Sixth form’s opportunity to celebrate our flourishing student-run academic societies and a myriad of other STEM successes. We had Chili Dogs and Doughnuts and enjoyed a maths challenge, quiz and origami pagoda challenge. We also heard from each society’s leaders for two minutes (and not a second longer!). PBAG (maths) summarised their year, while Sam solved a maths problem holding his breath, and PhySoc were interrupted by ChemSoc due to a running feud over Ringo Starman. We were also joined by a number of Alumni, including former STEM prefects, for what was a delightful evening.

STEM Awards 2018 Biology - Haidee Owen Chemistry - Jinna Kim Computing - Toby Broyhill Fogg Environment - Ben Allanson Maths - Alex Huxley Physics - Munmeet Bahra Psychology - Charlie Evans Dyson Engineering Award - Charles Washbourn Former STEM Prefect Prize - Tara Hopson STEM Prefect’s Award - Alexander Williams, Sara Helin STEM Star - Max Brazier STEM-tastic! - Staci, Stevie and Ailsa

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STEM

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STEM

BIOLOGY IN ACTION

Forty-eight Year 12s made their way into London for Biology in Action, a series of lectures designed to enrich our knowledge of biology. Held at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster, the event gave us the chance to hear a variety of opinions and learn more about biology in the wider world.

First was a detailed talk on the Human Genome Project and its repercussions for the world of genomics and how this has already been applied in medicine and the NHS. The second talk was particularly interesting for those of us working towards our EPQs or Gold CREST Awards, describing the process of publishing academic articles and some of the issues when authors lie or falsify their evidence. The next talk focussed on cancer and the research aiming to help treat and reduce the evolution of cancer cells, which was followed by a short session on exam technique. The final two talks were very interactive, with beetroot juice testing for raising nitrous dioxide levels to help survival at altitude, and a quiz on how to slow, or even stop, the ageing process!

also demonstrated that diamonds are used for much more than jewellery, with uses including drilling tools and the cooling of electrical circuits. Ms MacPherson even brought a lab-grown diamond on stage to demonstrate its properties in heat conductivity.

The third presentation, by Rachel Bolton-King, investigated the chemistry behind forensics, specifically ammunition and firearms. She introduced an interactive and competitive side to the lecture using an online quiz. I was truly amazed at the diversity of clues which can be left at the crime scene, including fingerprints and gunpowder residue, even the ability to distinguish between different brands of ammunition.

Georgia Mill

After lunch, Dr Peter Hoare carried out a range of experiments involving colour and light, meticulously explaining each one. His lecture was the perfect combination of fun and learning, demonstrating that science doesn’t have to remain utterly serious.

Working our way through a myriad of colours from blues and violets to vibrant reds, before Dr Hoare culminated his presentation with a chemistry classic: an explosion.

In November a group of Year 12 Chemistry students travelled to Warwick University to enjoy a series of lectures presented by lecturers from different fields of Chemistry.

A lecture about nuclear fusion and the creation of superheavy elements by Kit Chapman took an unexpected turn when he asked members of the audience to throw marshmallows at him. However, it clearly demonstrated the probability of successfully creating a superheavy element that scientists have to work with: about the same chance as a marshmallow landing in Chapman’s mouth from across the stage.

Chapman explained the importance of proof in a state when these elements last only for a fraction of a second.

Julie MacPherson delivered a lecture on the structures and uses of carbon, delving both into past discoveries and Nobel prize winners, and also peering into possible future developments in carbon, with possibilities ranging from using existing technology such as nanotubes for space travel and communication, to finding new ways of folding carbon that we can use. She

Haidee Owen

CHEMISTRY IN ACTION

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Finally, Jamie Gallagher discussed plastic in regards to other construction materials such as metal and wood. Working all the way from the stone age to modern day, looking at how we have developed our building prowess at each stage of the journey, Gallagher discussed both the positives and negatives of plastic, stressing the importance of it in everyday life. He presented points that are not often thought about in regards to the sustainability of plastic, such as the fact that plastic bags take up 7x less space than paper, and so by using plastic bags rather than paper ones, we save 7 journeys all of which will require fuel. Furthermore, the one-use nature of paper leads to more fossil fuels being used in the production of more products. Gallagher ended his presentation by discussing methods to reduce plastic waste including removing the colour from many products and not creating black plastic. He addressed a common myth about plastic - that it doesn’t break down - which is only partially true. It doesn’t break down with water; however by using a different solvent, acetone, Gallagher demonstrated through the use of Lego, that plastics can very quickly disintegrate.

STEM

PHYSICS OLYMPIAD BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

In March, 10 Borlase students entered the Year 12 British Physics Olympiad, which runs every year and is sponsored by organisations including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Rolls Royce, and the National Physical Laboratory.

The Olympiad draws many parallels to university entrance exams, asking questions on a wide range of physics topics from the basics of pedalling a bicycle all the way up to working out the density of Neutrinos passing through a given area.

This was the first time our students had entered this challenging competition, and it was also the first time that Borlase Year 12s have entered. They did very well, achieving one Silver, five Bronzes and four Commendations.

We are now creating weekly sessions and discussions in preparation for entrance exams and next year's Olympiad, allowing for as much collaboration as possible!

Silver: Stevie Cooper Bronze: Ben Ford, Navkaran Basra, Ethan Cole, Alex Huxley, Aaryan Samant Commended: Robin Li, Sam Martin, Andrew Jobson, James Sarney

A number of Biology students from Years 12 and 13 entered the British Biology Olympiad this year and achieved some excellent results: Gold: Duncan Farquhar, Tom Chorlton Silver: Sam Sharp, Amelia Barclay, Jinna Kim, Emma Goddard, Georgia Mill Bronze: Leah Tilley, Haidee Owen, Claudia Mura, Ailsa Carlaw, Rosie Lewis, Anna Tompkins Highly Commended: Will Neal, Anastasia Emelyanenko, Ritu Rajan, Amy Badam, Elizabeth Broadbent, Calum Inchbold, Rhys Haywood, Hannah Fernandes Commended: Amy Croall, Charlotte Williams

CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

We are delighted that so many of our students were keen to take part in this prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry competition. After the success with Year 13 pupils in 2018 this year Year 12 and 13 pupils were invited to take part, which will give Year 12 pupils a year to hone their Olympiad skills before having another go at the coveted Gold Certificate in 2020.

Silver: Sam Sharp, Sam Harris, James Dobson, Talia Bayliss, Ethan Cole, Ella Ronan, Will Neal, Julian Whitaker, Harvey Fraser, Alexander Williams, Maddie Smith, Mat Covus, Jinna Kim Bronze: Melike Gerrits, Amelia Barclay, Milly Woods, Ashwin Goyal, Harjeev Soomal, Aniruddh Hariharan, Tom Chorlton

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STEM

ATOM ROCKET FESTIVAL

In March four Year 12 students attended the Atom Rocket Festival held at Abingdon school, where we presented our final rocket prototype and competed in the competition to design and launch our own waterpowered bottle rocket. We had to prototype and rigorously test the fluid dynamics of our rocket; to do this we not only had to conduct multiple preliminary launches, allowing us to iterate closer to the optimum design, but we also had to fully apply our mathematical and engineering prowess to construct an effective parachute deployment mechanism. In addition to the payload fairing containing the parachute, we also needed to design the device that would both pressurize and support the bottle in the moments before launch.

In the end, despite some technical difficulties on the launchpad (even NASA has these) we managed to reach an outstanding height of 23.4 m which was just shy of the highest launch that day. The judges liked our rocket launcher, and parachute repurposed from an umbrella. We were successful in the public vote category with a landslide victory of online votes from our supporters!

Nav Basra

the aspirin and using a colorimeter to analyse the solutions. After lunch we heard a lecture on the use of chemistry in space exploration. Despite not finishing in the top three schools, Borlase’s team successfully calculated the correct answer.

Stevie Cooper, Anastasia Emelyanenko and Claudia Mura

SALTERS' FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY

In May a group of Year 12 students travelled to Reading University to take part in the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry. In the morning we did a ‘whodunnit?’ experiment, using samples from a crime scene and comparing them to samples collected from suspects using chromatography, ink samples, and different reactions using powders. The afternoon competition, set by the University, was a challenge to lower the temperature of distilled water to 10.5 degrees celsius by using a chemical reaction that took one minute. We used citric acid and sodium hydrogen carbonate and managed to get the water to the target 10.5 degrees at the 15th test. To end the day we watched a Chemical magic demonstration that was themed around fireworks and the elements that compose them. There were several exciting experiments, including putting dry ice into a plastic glove and tying it up.

Annabelle Avery

CAFÉ SCIENTIFIQUE

SCHOOLS’ ANALYST COMPETITION

In April three Year 12 students took part in the annual national competition sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Division at the University of Reading. The morning was spent finding the purity of a sample of aspirin by creating serial dilutions of 98

In February Hasok Chang, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University, visited Cafè Scientifique at Borlase to give a delightful lecture on ‘How we know that water is H2O’. He provided every member of the audience with an entertaining evening that left their minds excited about the philosophy of science.

DYSON VISIT

In March, students were treated to a visit from Old Borlasians Bronte Ford and Alex Dust, both now at The James Dyson University.

STEM Students learned about the huge benefits accompanying apprenticeship degrees, in particular the amazing opportunity offered at the Dyson University, which offers an Engineering Degree in partnership with Warwick University.

We heard about the interesting course which balances work experience with university study, whilst being paid! Alex was delighted to tell everyone that she was working on parts for the new Electric vehicle. We were enthralled by news of the accommodation Pods designed by George Clarke (TV’s Amazing Spaces) and to hear about the ski trips, sketching weekend in London and the legendary fancy dress Christmas Party and so much more.

They brought with them a number of the very latest products (hair dryer, handheld vacuum), a couple of motors, and some breakfast cereal for us to test out the vacuum cleaners. We accepted the challenge and decided to test our own domestic skills. After crushing an entire packet of cheerios on the carpet of the STEM room, we were then left with the problem of cleaning it all up... This was actually no difficult task with the engineering we had on hand!

Alex and Bronte stayed for our STEM dinner in the evening and presented a Future Engineer Prize to Charles Washbourn for his creative Gold Crest Project on Linear Motors.

Control or in the ISS (International Space Station).

Medical anomalies also occurred in the missions which required us to diagnose the problem and give the right medicine to combat these Other activities, such as the flight simulator and the gyroscope, were new and exciting experiences. Whilst learning how the activities are linked with space and the variety of jobs and roles that are involved, it was interesting for us to experience some of these ourselves. Our camp leaders taught us how to build rockets and robots. These were often turned into competitions that involved trying to gain the greatest number of points for completing certain tasks. We were often competing against other schools, particularly in the robot challenge.

We did everything in our small groups and were able to get to know one another better over the course of this learning experience. During the evenings, we usually attended lectures which covered a range of different subjects. We were often joined by groups from other schools which enabled us to make lots of new friends. Coming back to the dorms late at night, we were usually exhausted and had a good night's sleep before heading off to another fulfilling day.

SPACE CAMP

Space Camp is a five day long programme in the Space Centre in Huntsville, Alabama. The trip involves building rockets, robots and rovers in a friendly competition in order to to try to beat other teams and schools. With life-like missions, presentations from experts and activities that you couldn’t do anywhere else, Space Camp really is a once in a lifetime experience that helps build the bridge between childhood dreams and reality.

The day always started early and we went straight into the activities. Walking around with an appointed leader, we visited the many exhibitions located at Space Camp, detailing the early space exploration details and much more. We participated in many activities such as high ropes and climbing, rocket building and different rides simulating parts of space flight. Some of the biggest projects that we had to take part in were the simulation missions. We had three over the course of the five days, practicing orbits, a moon landing and a mission to Mars. There were two 1 hour missions and one 3 hour long mission. In the missions, we played the different roles and aspects that would occur in a real life mission. For example, you could be in Mission 99

STEM In addition to the actual Space Camp, we had some other other very memorable moments which included watching an ice hockey game. All of us enjoyed the build up to the game and the aftermath of the Huntsville Havocs winning the game. We visited Cathedral Caverns and Burritt on the Mountain which are historical local landmarks and went to The Bridge Street Mall, a modern outdoor shopping mall which often hosts musicians performing near the central spaces.

Space Camp gave us an opportunity to develop an understanding on space travel and occupations surrounding it. Not only did Space Camp allow us to experience what it is like to be part of a space crew, it also taught us the importance of teamwork and leadership. Through activities such as the three hour mission, we learnt to overcome various anomalies as a team whilst sticking to a tight schedule.

Sadie Brown, Katie Day, Eilidh Duncan, Will LaytonWatts, Alison Ormond & Seb Peperell

YEAR 12 GEOGRAPHY DAY AT KEBLE COLLEGE, OXFORD

In May, a few Year 12 Geography students had the brilliant opportunity to visit Keble College, Oxford. We had a series of talks about Oxford University in general and their geography department. One of the lead tutors in physical geography told us about his ongoing project regarding deserts and how the dust particles affect our atmosphere causing climate change. We also gained an insight into their human geography course and learned about the spread of disease in densely populated, industrialised cities.

Lunch was held in the Keble dining hall which was incredibly long and ornate with dark wooden tables and lamps along them. We had a delicious meal, sitting together with small groups of sixth form students from John Hampden and Aylesbury High.

Two undergraduate students then took us on a tour of the college including the gardens, halls of residence, lecture and seminar rooms and smaller tutorial spaces.

The college was beautifully kept with spectacular architecture and vibrant gardens. A PhD graduate then took us to the Radcliffe Meteorological Station, the oldest weather station in the country which has been recording data since 1815. The students and tutors were very friendly and helpful in answering our questions about possible routes after we leave school.

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YEAR 12 GEOGRAPHY AT CRANEDALE

The annual Year 12 Geography field trip enables students to collect the physical and human data required for the NEA element of the A-Level course and develop their geographical skills. This year we visited the Holderness Coastline and Scarborough, Yorkshire.

The trip began far too early for the majority of us.

That said, the five hour bus journey could have been an ideal time to catch up on sleep. Sadly, a small group’s passion for Drum and Bass disrupted this.

The Cranedale Field Centre staff were extremely welcoming on arrival; however Dominic’s dressing gown did raise a few eyebrows.

The afternoon was spent on the Hornsea coastline preparing for the following day’s data collection. With the exception of dinner and our evening lesson, the evening was our own. Spacious facilities, bottomless hot drinks and a table tennis table provided great relaxation. All evenings would follow a similar pattern, with lessons relating to preparation for the following day.

Day 2 was the first full day of fieldwork and data collection. In small groups, we collected data that matched our individual enquiries from the beaches of Hornsea and Mappleton; some groups proved to be better at looking after equipment than others. Whilst teachers and the field centre staff were available for assistance, we were mostly given the responsibility to carry out our own research.

STEM Day 3 was spent on the moors, investigating the water and carbon cycles. By this point we were all used to the fact that everywhere was 45 minutes away from the field centre. Our final full day was our second day of data collection, this time with a focus on Human Geography and the topic of regeneration was prevalent in our comparisons between Scarborough North Bay and South Bay. This day was very interesting, and we certainly saw some differences between Scarborough and Marlow; what’s more the southern accent proved to be a little peculiar to some of the locals.

Overall, useful data was collected and valuable content absorbed. We all enjoyed the week, and the pleasant weather only added to this, although George still suffered an embarrassing mud-related slip.

Harry Dennis

offers a very friendly group for maths students to chat and socialise after school.

Mr Campbell’s Chess Club runs every break and lunchtime - It is virtually impossible to walk past his door without seeing students engaged in challenging games at the back of the room.

MATHS MENTORS

Year 12 mentors contributed enormously to the Maths department this year and a team of mentors ran the KS4 support on Thursdays and helped pupils in KS3 and KS4 lessons. Many mentors also gave individual support to students as well as helping teachers.

MATHSFEST

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT NEWS

Mr Vyse kindly stayed on for the Autumn term to keep us fully staffed. His classes appreciated his nononsense manner, his humour and his insistence on making miscreants recite the appropriate sections of the Criminal Justice Act. Mr Marchand took on the role of Acting Head of Department from November, and Mr Day joined us as head of KS4 Maths from January.

The department now comprises Mr Campbell, Mr Day, Mrs Lewis, Mrs Malatt, Mr Marchand, Mrs Sanghera, Mrs Richardson, Mrs Walder and Ms Watson. I would like to thank all the teachers for the hours they have put in with marking and supporting students above and beyond expectation in the first year of extremely challenging new Maths and Further Maths A Levels.

Mr Marchand

EXTRA CURRICULAR CLUBS

STEP is the Thursday after school group who just love maths and work on the hardest problems in preparation for University or just for fun led by Ben Allanson, Tara Hopson, Alex Williams, Joe Walker and Alex Huxley. As well as good practice, STEP also

In January a large group of A-Level Maths students went to Maths Fest in Birmingham, hosted by Matt Parker. If you don’t believe that stand up comedy and Maths is a winning combination… you clearly haven’t seen Matt Parker!

The day started with a talk about prime numbers by lecturer Vicky Neale, introducing some of the more challenging topics covered by Maths Fest. David Acheson, celebrated author and musician, took us on a tour of his house and talked about the real-life Maths that make up our world, such as the calculus behind making snowballs! After a short break, we got to see James Grime present Numberphile Live and got a sneak peek at an upcoming episode. Then Rob Eastaway talked about mathematical misconceptions followed by Hannah Fry’s fascinating discussion of the uses and effects of AI as well as explaining how pigeons can learn to identify tumours nearly as well as human doctors. The show finished with an amazing guitar duet of Best Song Ever by Ben Sparks and David Acheson.Overall it was a brilliant day, being informative yet entertaining, plus we got the chance to meet some of our favourite maths celebrities!

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STEM

COMPETITION SUCCESSES UKMT MATHS CHALLENGES

Nationally around 600,000 students take part in the three challenges and the top 40% receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze Certificate in the ratio 1:2:3. For each round a few hundred nationally are invited to take part in the Olympiad Follow On Competition, and a few thousand take part in the Kangaroo Follow On Multiple Choice round.

At Borlase 180 students take the senior maths challenge, 180 take the intermediate maths challenge and 170 take the junior maths challenge. Our students this year achieved 64 Gold Certificates, 132 Silver and 142 Bronze, with 36 students going through to the Kangaroo Round and 9 students through to the Olympiad Competition.

The students who went through to the advanced Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds this year were: Year 13: Joseph Garciaben, Patryk Jonca, Brandon Smith, Ben Allanson (British Olympiad), Joseph Walker, Duncan Farquhar, Natassja Krajewski, Sam Selbourne, Tara Hopson, Julian Whitaker, Kate Seeger, Matt Covus, Andrew Barton (Senior Kangaroo) Year 12: Robert Coates (Senior Kangaroo) Year 11: Leon Tasch and Swathi D’Souza (Senior Kangaroo), Leon Tasch, Swathi D’Souza, Adam Town (Maclaurin), Emily Farmer, Cameron Wilkins, Joel Scurlock, Clara Maccallum, Imogen Baguley, Maddy Hill, Gabe Smith, Chris Taylor, Oscar Wilkinson, Rosie White, Emeshe Kaic, Bridget Smith, Luke Haldane, Ben Wiggins, Rachel Dunleavy, Daniel Hunt (Pink Kangaroo) Year 10: Anthony Adamson, Adam Ulhaq, Mani Ipchi, James Perry, Raife Foulkes, Will Layton Watts, Will Tucker (Pink Kangaroo) Year 9: Joel Taylor (Cayley), Jemima Ridley, Alex Stephens, Hector Downes, James Ley, Daniel Hillier, Daisy Foley (Grey Kangaroo) Year 8: Lisa Dixon, Katarina Finney, Rebecca Hesketh, Jamie Shepherd, Triti Panda Year 7: Fin Engleberts (JMO), Toby Dickinson, Nathan Taylor

TEAM COMPETITIONS AND TRIPS

We regularly send teams to Maths competitions which allow our most enthusiastic and able students the opportunity to pit their Maths brains against students from other schools. These occasions are always tremendous fun and extremely exciting, especially for the accompanying teachers!

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Ritangle Competition - This was the second year for this competition for teams of students of A Level Mathematics, IB and Scottish Highers and Borlase entered a team called ‘Front Row’. The competition set a series of problems over a few weeks, culminating in a final answer. 600 teams entered and only 60 (including our team) got to the final answer to the problem before it was published. Congratulations to Alex Huxley, who solved and submitted all of the answers, with help from Ben Allanson, Tara Hopson, James Breedon, Matt Covus, Patryk Jonca and Syd Lambert.

Year 10 Maths Feast - In March, 8 year 10 students participated in the annual Maths Feast competition at John Hampden Grammar School. The competition was an enjoyable and challenging team competition that tested mathematical, team-working and communication skills. Congratulations to Anthony Adamson, Amy Greener, Elliot Kent and Adam Ulhaq for being joint winners in the 'comprehension' category and the 'higher/lower' category. Congratulations also go to Eilidh Duncan, Mani Ipchi, Oliver Neal and Emily Stephens for winning highest overall score, across the 4 categories, without winning an individual category.

Team Challenge: Joel Taylor, Charlotte Bridges, Jamie Shepherd and Alex Stephens trained with Mrs Lewis and went to Oxford to take part in the regional heats with Mrs Sanghera. Following the disqualification of the winning team for fielding too many Year 9s, they won the heat! They have qualified for the national finals which take place in London in June, an amazing achievement for the second year in a row.

Senior Team Challenge: Mrs Watson trained the team at lunchtimes and took Alex Williams, Ben Allanson, Ben Ford and Alex Huxley (“ABBA!”) to Oxford. SWBGS came top of the 20 teams there, a first for the school, and qualified for the national final in London.

In the final, as always, the questions were challenging, but nevertheless we saw full marks from teams in some rounds. Borlase came 75th nationally, beating 12 schools in the Final, and everybody did their very best.

In fact, the TV filming crew were so impressed with our students’ teamwork, they filmed them a lot.

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OLD BORLASIANS

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE The Development Office has had another very successful year and nearly £100,000 has been raised in gifts and pledges to the Here & Now annual fund. This achievement is due to the generosity of our parents and Old Borlasians. Borlase remains one of the most poorly funded schools in the country, still not reaching the national minimum funding formula agreed in 2015.

We are immensely grateful to all donors for gifts of every size. Donations received are supporting an incredibly wide range of opportunities for all our students. Some of the areas supported by the Here & Now fund include; learning support mentors; pastoral care mentors and resources to support well-being; performing arts equipment and our dedicated arts technician; modern and foreign languages specialist teachers; STEM experiments and equipment; and Sixth Form UCAS and Extended Project support.

Borlase was founded on the generosity of a local politician and philanthropist. Throughout the centuries the enthusiasm and generosity of parents, Old Borlasians and friends has ensured that the education we provide surpasses the basic level of educational provision provided by the government.

‘Without the generosity of our supporters, Borlase would not be Borlase’ – Kay Mountfield , Headteacher Ilona Cains, Development Director

OLD BORLASIANS

‘Once a Borlasian, always a Borlasian’

65TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION

In September we were delighted to welcome seven Old Borlasians from the Class of 1953 back to Borlase for their 65th Anniversary. It was exactly 65 years ago to the month that, having passed their 11-Plus examination, they first joined Form 1 of Borlase in 1953.

‘I have always been grateful for being taught by competent and caring masters. They believed in the disciplines of the day. It would be a mistake to think that Borlase in the 1950s was a continuous round of punishments and mishaps. In fact it was far from that. We were very well taught by highly dedicated Masters and were greatly encouraged in sports which most of us loved. We were introduced for the first time in our lives to many extra-curricular activities via the school library, chess, acting and music. In keeping with its high reputation many pupils did extremely well in GCE ordinary level and advanced level exams.

The results were consistently above average at a time 104

when achieving 9 or 10 O levels and 3 or more A levels was very exceptional. These were the days when only the very cleverest won university places’. Christopher Clarke (1953-58) Organiser, Mike Gellatley (1953-61) said, “The group’s first reunion was in 2003 on the 50th anniversary of joining Borlase. We hope to return in 2023 for the 70th anniversary!”

OLD BORLASIANS CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT 2018

The annual Old Borlasians Carol Service is a popular event in the school calendar, and a special part of the Borlase Christmas celebrations. The service followed the traditional nine lessons and included congregation carols as well as a range of Christmas anthems from our various choirs. Once again, we were delighted to welcome our ‘Old Borlasians Choir’ to lead the singing alongside our current students.

ARCHIVES DONATED

We have received many new items to add to our archive collection this year, including text books, student reports and photographs. One of the most notable donations is a pocket watch which was presented to Ewart Linley Wells (Borlase Staff, 1909-14). It was a leaving gift presented by the Headmaster, and is engraved Borlase School, Marlow on 31st March 1914 as a mark of esteem and affection. The donor’s grandfather had acquired the watch as part payment for a debt, before Ewart Lindley had emigrated to take up his position as a School Master in New Zealand, shortly before the outbreak of WWI. Sadly, Second Lieutenant Lindley was killed during WWI and is remembered in the Borlase chapel amongst the many Borlasians who did not return home after the First World War. We were also delighted to receive a phone call from Lynda Carter (nee Mitchell). Her father, John Alfred Mitchell, joined Borlase on the 20th of September 1927.

OLD BORLASIANS

Although sadly no longer with us, he had cherished his time at the school and kept everything from his original text books and prize books from speech days, to every report he received. His daughter Lynda kindly visited Borlase with his memorabilia and donated these treasured items to the Borlase archives. During her visit, she was delighted to discover his name still up in the Cloisters on the school shields and to match the prize books to his name and achievements in The Borlasian magazines we keep in our archives.

Whilst also talking about their careers and giving advice to the students, the speakers gave interactive workshops to give an insight into their daily role.

One of the keynote speakers was Mark Gloyens (Borlase, 1975-1981), Director and Co-Founder of Rebellion Brewery with fellow class mate and Old Borlasian Tim Coombes. He inspired students to follow their passions and advised them that even if the plan does not work the first time, to continue to persevere.

A LASTING LEGACY

OLD BORLASIANS AT 2019 CAREERS MASTERCLASSES

The 2019 Masterclasses for Year 12 students took place in May and we warmly welcomed 50 speakers, Old Borlasians, parents and friends from local companies over the two days. Speakers gave their time to provide our students with valuable insights into a wide range of careers including: Medicine; Nursing; Finance; Business; Entrepreneurship, Media, Law, Engineering, Marketing, Product Development, Languages, Army, RAF, Sport, Sponsorship, Artificial Intelligence, Podcasting, Event Management, Journalism, Politics, Cyber Security and Pharmaceuticals.

For the last 20 years, Borlase students have admired the inspiring stained glass window in the school chapel depicting ‘The Helping Hand and the Pursuit of Excellence’ donated by Old Borlasian, Stuart Lever (1939-44), who passed away in 2018. In his will, Stuart very generously left the school a bequest which will enable us to fulfil a project that has been a long time in the planning.

Over a number of years the Old Borlasian Club Committee, Lesley Haldane, a parent volunteer, and Lucy Budge, our Alumni Officer, have been gathering, sorting and cataloguing precious photographs, documents, books and silverware to create aschool archive. The collection is currently stored in cupboard, but, thanks to this wonderful bequest, we will now be able to create a permanent display to enable current Borlasians, Old Borlasians and staff, to see and be inspired by the school’s rich history. The display will be sited in C5/6 in the cloisters which will be renamed ‘The Stuart Lever Room’, in honour of this well loved and respected benefactor.

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OLD BORLASIANS

OLD BORLASIAN CLUB

A message from our President We decided this year to start by introducing ourselves and explaining what the Club is and why it is so worthy of preservation.

Founded in 1907, by Reverend Michael Graves, Headmaster at the time, the Old Borlasian Club has been dedicated to serving the school ever since. We exist to ensure the preservation of the history, heritage and ethos of Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School. All past students and teachers of the school are eligible to join the OBC and, if you are interested in doing so, please see the links on the school website.

What do we do?

At the moment we are busily creating a gallery of memorabilia, thanks to a generous bequest from former president, Stuart Lever. In addition, we are keen to organise social events that give Old Borlasians a chance to meet up at the school or locally. In November/ December there is a dinner, which is attended by the committee and any other club members who would like to come along. It is also hoped that we can resurrect the Old Borlasian Dinner as a regular event, which includes both Club members and any other former staff and students who would like to join us for the evening.

Every Christmas the Club hosts a party to thank the teachers for their hard work during the previous year.

This is always a convivial event and helps us to remain current with those entrusted with keeping Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School at the forefront of education, sport and the arts. We also ensure that the memorial boards for the longest serving staff are kept up to date in the School Chapel.

We are passionate about encouraging current students to excel in all aspects of school life, and to this end we provide prizes for the Stem Fayre and Dinner, Boscars for the Performing Arts Evening and school caps for the first team sports captains at the Sports Dinner.

In addition to these prizes, we have been providing the Old Borlasian Prize, for the student most embodying the spirit of the school, for decades. All past recipients of the prize are shown on a board in the Cloisters. You may even find a few members of the current committee on there!

How can we provide prizes?

The Old Borlasian Club uses the £15 annual subscription fee paid by members to ensure that these prizes can be presented. This money is also used to help the school with additional projects. In the past we have contributed to the cost of West Street school gates, the restoration of the Chapel spire, as well as funding 106

a glass roundel commemorating 100 years of the Old Borlasian Club and supporting the ‘Bricks for Borlase’ campaign, amongst many others.

So who are the Committee?

We are all past students and staff of the school, who meet up four or five times a year to steer our projects and discuss the development of the Old Borlasian Club and the school. We are always happy to hear from Old Borlasians who would like to join the committee, so don’t be put off by the name…we are not that old!

Cathie Wells: President Student (1990-92) Teacher (2000-04, 2008-10) I joined the committee just over a decade after I had left the school and now find myself in the role of President. I have a strong attachment to Sir William Borlase’s having been not just a pupil but also a teacher and a parent here. In fact, with my youngest child about to start in Year 7 in September, I feel more than ever the importance of ensuring that the current students enjoy their time here just as much as I did.

Tony Compton: Honorary Secretary Student (1957-64) “Staying in touch with old friends” is one of our OB Club raisons d’etre. For me the old friend has always been the school itself. I have stayed involved with Borlase most of my life and I have been a Borlasian parent when my son Andre was there. I was a Boat Club rowing coach for many years and also a founder member of the Parents Support Group Trust; I was then on the board of Governors for ten years and last year was honoured to be invited to become a School Trustee. I have been on the OB Club committee for almost 30 years and am proud to have been President of the Club twice. As an architect I have been involved for the past seventeen years with the project to build a new boathouse for the Boat Club.

Andy Howland: Honorary Treasurer Teacher (1989-2008) Having taught at Borlase from 1989-2008, I feel very attached to the school. My wife, Barbara taught here for twenty years and our family spent 57 years (quite possibly an all time record) within its walls. I am very keen on Borlase Reunions, whether formal or informal, and hope that I can help to further enhance them.

OLD BORLASIANS John Barry: Student (1948-54) I joined the Old Borlasian Club in 1963 to renew old friendships and to help encourage my former contemporaries to support the Club and the school. My interests on the Committee extended to the social side particularly and that led to my becoming the Honorary Secretary, where I served for thirty years to 2017.

Greg Lim: Student (1997-2003) As a member of the Old Borlasian Club committee, I’ve enjoyed remaining in touch with Borlase and seeing the school thrive. The Club supports current pupils in many ways and allows me to give back to a school that afforded me many opportunities. It’s great to meet with many Old Borlasians — former students.

Chris Funnell: Student (1975-78) Chris spent the last two years as President of the Old Borlasian Club whilst also serving as Mayor of Marlow.

His enthusiasm for preserving the heritage of the school has led to our current projects involving the OBC memorabilia.

Simon Funnell: Student (1972-79) I was invited to join the committee in 2008 and was privileged to act as President in 2009. I have strong family associations with the school along with my two brothers Chris and Nick and more recently my younger daughter Rebecca plus nephew Luke and niece Jessica - all past pupils.

I loved my years at Borlase and have always wanted to stay in touch and help the school, which I do through the Old Borlasian Club, as well as helping with other school projects including a joint boathouse project with Great Marlow School.

Peter Allen: Student (1955-63) Peter has been on the committee for a number of years and served as Treasurer for most of this time.

Rod Annable: Student (1968-74) Rod joined the committee two years ago and is keen to become involved with Old Borlasian Club events.

RECENT EVENTS

From Past to Future As President of the Old Borlasian Club it has been my privilege to attend two very different, but equally fascinating events in the last few months.

The first took place on the 23rd February, in the graveyard of what was previously Holy Trinity Church in Marlow. I was invited to join members of the Royal British Legion, the Marlow Remembers WWI Association and the Mayor of Marlow, Chris Funnell, in celebrating the life of Albert Langdon, an Old Borlasian, who had died exactly one hundred years before. The Rev’d Sarah Fitzgerald led a moving graveside service in which we learned of Albert’s time in the Royal Engineers and later the 11th Signal Company. After enlisting in 1915, Albert had a distinguished military career, serving in France and being part of the British Expeditionary Force that moved forward to Gallipoli via Egypt. His important contribution to wartime Signal Companies was rewarded with the 1915 Star and the British and Victory medals. Tragically, having served gallantly throughout the war, Sapper Albert Langdon died of pneumonia at the Military Hospital in Newark on 23rd February 1919, whilst on demobilisation leave, aged 32. He is just one of many Old Borlasians to have served the country in this way, as you can see if you read the memorial boards in the school chapel.

Julien Bussell: Student (1978-84) I joined the committee in 2017 and work on preserving school photographic memorabilia with a view to creating a proper collection for Borlase pupils to enjoy now and in the future.

Grant Taylor: Student (1978-82) I have recently joined the committee. Whilst I was not the most academic of students, I look back on my time at Borlase with great memories and realise that I was lucky to be at such a great school. I still have many friendships that have spanned 40 years. I am proud to be an Old Borlasian as I believe it is important to continue celebrating the school’s traditions and history that make the school what it is today.

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OLD BORLASIANS The Old Borlasian Club is keen to celebrate the lives and achievements of Old Borlasians and it is with this in mind, that we are aiming to create an area for memorabilia which will be accessible to all students, past and present. If you would like to be involved in this project, please let us know.

My second official engagement was to attend the Stem Fayre in the Hall at Sir William Borlase’s on the 21st March. It was wonderful to see how much interesting information was on show from a wide range of students, but still more pleasing to hear members of Key Stage 3 discussing their research eruditely and with real enthusiasm. As a researcher myself, I was very impressed by the depth of knowledge exhibited by all of the people I talked to. It was only sad that I did not have more time to hear about everything, two hours was just not enough! However, it was my great pleasure to award the Old Borlasian Club prize for Innovation in Science to Daniela Yakubovich and Shauna O’Hare for their imaginative and novel experiments involving helium and air filled footballs.

As you can see from the picture on p92 there were many other winners too, all of whom received prizes sponsored by the Old Borlasian Club.

This brings us neatly to one of the other aims of the Old Borlasian Club, which is to support the students of the school by sponsoring prizes at events such as the Stem Fayre, the Arts Dinner and the Sports Dinner. We also provide the Old Borlasian prize at Prize Giving, for the student most embodying the spirit of the school.

In this way, we feel that we can be instrumental in helping to celebrate the amazing and diverse talents of so many Borlasians.

This sponsorship is possible only through the Old Borlasian Club members, who pay an annual membership fee that will help us to guard not just the heritage and history of the school, but also enhance its current ethos.

If you are an Old Borlasian, you can find out more about the Old Borlasian Club on the school website… new members are always welcome!

Cathie Wells Sporting Greats As a member of the Old Borlasian Club Committee, I was fortunate to be invited to the Borlase Annual Sports Dinner at Harleyford Golf Club on 25th April to present the ‘Captains Caps’. These, as well as the other trophies and awards, are provided by the Old Borlasian Club and are awarded to the 1st Team Captains in recognition of their achievement.

The evening was very entertaining. It was interesting to hear how the teams all strived for success and I came away with a real sense of determination, team spirit and fun from both the students and the coaches.

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2018

This year the AGM took place on 14th November. In accordance with our usual procedures, the minutes of the previous meeting were read by Secretary Tony Compton and Peter Allen’s financial report was distributed. The accumulated funds stand at £2,618.

Elected committee members are listed on p106-7.

Peter Allen has stepped down as Treasurer after 20 years and Andy Howland has taken over the position.

Our new President is Cathie Wells, only the second woman to hold the position. Come on girls we would like to see more women on the committee to give it a better balance!

Grant Taylor [1978-82] has since joined as a welcome new committee member.

Kay Mountfield is ex officio member and Ilona Cains attends meetings as school representative.

After the formal meeting everyone adjourned to the George and Dragon for dinner and we were joined by one or two other Old Borlasians and wives. This informal dinner is open to all Old Borlasians who wish to attend, particularly as the annual reunion dinner has not been held for a few years due to lack of sufficient support.

For any enquiries, or to stay in touch with the Old Borlasian Club, please contact Tony Compton via honsecborlase@hotmail.com or the school Development Office via icains@swbgs.com

THE OLD BORLASIAN PRIZE 2019

This year the prize, consisting of the Bates Cup and £100 which is funded by the Club, is awarded to Charlie Brockwell, to whom we offer our congratulations.

IN MEMORIAM 2018-19

Old Borlasians who have sadly passed away in the last year and whose deaths have been notified to the school or the Club: Tony Chubb [1937-42] Long term committee member and Past President John White [1935-39] Past President John Asplin [1947-52] Stuart Walker [1974-76] Rory Jeffrey [1999-2004] Vickie McFarlane [1993-99] Maurice Oram [1945-52] Jack Dean [1938-43] Ex committee member and Past President David Hitchcock [1958-65]

OLD BORLASIANS

OBITUARIES JACK DEAN (1938-43)

Jack Dean passed away on 16th March 2019 at the age of 91¾. (The ¾, as Jack declared, was important.) His funeral, conducted by his friend, Mr. Peter Crang, took place at Amersham Crematorium on 4th April 2019.

Jack was the President of the Old Borlasian Club in 1991 and helped the Committee with his photographic and draughtsmanship skills. His home town was High Wycombe and he always lived somewhere in the neighbourhood of Wycombe, except for a short spell in Cheltenham.

Jack, whose first name was actually Alan, went to Priory Road School, but, with another Alan in the class, was called by his second name thereafter. He won a scholarship to Sir William Borlase’s School where he excelled in art and drawing. He left in 1943 to do routine office work until 1948 when he joined the Air Ministry specialising in Signals, Radio Listening and Radio Navigation. In 1950 he moved to De Havilland to work on the design of flight simulators. Several other roles opened up with B.T. Research, Smiths Industries, Dewhurst & Partners (instrumentation) and lastly Perkin Elmer (industrial instruments) in Beaconsfield, firstly as a draughtsman and then as head of the Technical Illustration Section. Jack would often attend reunions with his former Perkin Elmer fellow retirees.

Absorbing hobbies included collecting aviation art – Jack was proud of his flying experiences, especially his trip in a Dragon Rapide – and railway modelling.

A superb collection of locomotives and rolling stock in display cabinets occupied the whole of one wall in a room in the apartment where he and Margaret lived in The Pentlands. Jack was also a very good photographer, taking photos at weddings and other functions. A number of his very excellent photos played a significant part in school features for the Borlasian magazine.

Blessed with a powerful, melodious voice, Jack found

singing was a huge passion in his life. It was around this time that another passion took hold. Music led to his meeting his wife Margaret, herself an accomplished pianist. Unusually, at his funeral we were treated to a very fine performance from a recording Jack had made of his rendering of “Born Free”. The congregation was entranced! Jack and Margaret used to perform charity concerts and this very famous song, from an equally famous film, would often feature in a medley of songs to round off an evening’s performance.

Jack pursued his music and acting abilities with the same dedication he invested in all the other facets of his life. His first introduction to singing must have been at the Baptist Church in Eastern Street where he had been dedicated and sang at the Sunday School and then with the Young People’s Fellowship. Here he was steeped in a profound sense of Christianity which was a cornerstone of his daily existence. His non-conformist background took him from his Baptist roots through several Congregational and United Reformed Churches in the area. At Cores End he became a church Elder and Secretary and at Burnham he served as an Elder, Lay Preacher and, with his wife Margaret, they both served as Joint Secretaries. Jack’s enquiring mind challenged the traditional form of Christianity and was inspired by the writings of Bishop Jack Spong. He was provoked to write several books of his own – prominently Didn’t See You in Church, Jesus and View from the Pew. Jack became a member of the PCN - the Progressive Christianity Network - meeting with a group of, what he called, ‘Enlightened Speakers’.

Following his musical beginnings, Jack studied drama and became involved in Operatic Societies in Slough, Wycombe, Cheltenham and Chesham. Within a whole range of shows he was especially proud to have taken the lead role in The King and I. He also sang in and led local singing groups including The Chalkburn Singers, The Binfield Singers and The Bourne End Barbers Quartet (with his Old Borlasian Classmate, Len Dandridge).

Their common interest in music brought Jack and Margaret together and they married in 1993. He cherished his children Andrew, Caralyn, Jacky and Jonathan and, of course, his grandchildren Stephanie, George, Jonathan, Elizabeth and Max. Son Jonathan was a fine rower at Borlase.

Jack was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and faced the situation with great courage with Margaret at his side, his family in loving support and, latterly, the dedicated care of the Rennie Grove Nurses. As was expressed in his eulogy, ‘Jack was a man of God whose life was lived in order to show the love of God to others’ John Barry (1948-54) 109

OLD BORLASIANS

DAVID W HITCHCOCK (1956-63 / SENTRY HILL 1961-63)

10 years later. His hobbies were varied, ranging from hill-walking to steam railways, choir singing and the church. In 2006, David was licensed as a Reader in the Church of England and, in 2008, he obtained a Diploma in Theology and Ministry Studies from the University of Lincoln. He immediately joined the ministry team at Sleaford Parish Church and was also involved in a number of community organisations. He was wellknown, well liked and respected by the town and local area community.

David is survived by Brenda, his beloved and devoted wife of nearly 48 years, his 3 children Tim, Ben and Rachel, and his 3 grandchildren Annabel, Daniel and Jacob.

Peter Hitchcock (1958-65)

David with the Bishop of Grimsby at his ordination in 2006

TONY CHUBB (1937-42)

A long term and loyal Old Borlasian, David Hitchcock died on Good Friday, 19th April 2019, at his home in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. He had been fighting very bravely a 2-year battle against bowel and liver cancer.

A former pupil under the Headship of Ernest Hazelton Esq, he joined the Normans House and learned in the environment of such legendary teachers as Russell Sage, Don Bannister, Charles Davenport and Tony Malim. Earmarked later with his younger brother, Peter, to be founder members of the new boarding house, Sentry Hill, he had to lodge with teachers Norman Bateman and then Tony Malim for a while until Sentry Hill was ready for business in 1961! At Sentry Hill, he was immediately appointed a House Prefect and commanded considerable respect because of his understanding nature. Some Old Boys may recall his near drowning in the Thames one sunny Sunday afternoon while swimming with fellow boarders.

Happily, the heroics of one of his peers, Rick Bury, saved a catastrophe as Rick recognised David was in danger, swam out and pulled him to shore and immediately gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. For 5 or 6 years, David was one of the 2 principal School organists, playing regularly at daily prayers in the School Chapel.

Also, as he was an extremely young pupil, he spent 3 years in the VIth Form and still left school at age 17!

For a career, David chose Law, obtaining an external degree from London in 1966, having studied at Isleworth polytechnic for a year and Holborn College of Law for the remainder. Following studies at the College of Law, he was articled to a solicitor in Walton-on-Thames, but soon moved to Sleaford for the remainder of his career and retirement, running his own firm from 1981-99, eventually retiring some

Tony came to Borlase aged 11 in 1937, staying until 1942. Aged 16, he left school and joined Cable and Wireless to train as an engineer. Various members of his family had also been with the company so it seemed the right place for him. He trained in London and also Porthcurno in Cornwall and early in 1946 he was posted to Brazil where he worked on the cable ships in Rio, Pernambuco and Bahia for the next three years.

Not wanting to continue in foreign service, he returned to the UK in 1949 and became a technical adviser and representative for various furniture makers in High Wycombe which was, of course, the best place to be for this type of work. In the early fifties, he obtained the franchise for Pirelli's furniture division, advising on the webbing and platforms which formed the basis for chairs and sofas, working for them as an agent until he retired in 1992 aged 66.

Whilst at school Tony played cricket and rugby and was a fine sportsman. Aged 15, he was captain of the school cricket team. He was also a long-term member of the Old Borlasian Club serving as President and

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OLD BORLASIANS Membership Secretary and was on the committee for 50 years. A little anecdote: during the period he was Membership Secretary of the club, Tony's wife Pearl helped him out with the lists of members he needed for correspondence, and when Pearl asked him for a special software package to make things easier, Tony rushed out and got this for her, although he really didn't understand what he was buying. However, it did make Pearl's job easier to keep the membership updated!

Preferring to play soccer rather than rugby, after school he played for Wycombe Wanderers, Marlow and many other amateur teams in the area. He also played club cricket for various village teams until he was 75, when he had to have a quadruple bypass which prevented further sport.

After his retirement in 1992, he devoted most of his time to his beloved garden railway in West Wycombe.

He built all his own trackwork and pointwork and maintained all the locomotives and carriages himself. It was a joy for him to see the trains running around the garden, but this had to be sold off when his memory began to be affected by vascular dementia.

Tony died in July 2018 after a short illness, but he had a full and rewarding life of which Borlase was a huge part.

Pearl Chubb, Tony’s wife

MAURICE ORAM (1945-52)

Maurice Brian Oram (July 9th 1935- December 20th 2018) joined the school in September 1945, two months after his tenth birthday. Then, as now, most pupils arrived at the age of 11. A Norman, he was awarded a Trustee Scholarship in 1951-52. In his senior years, Maurice managed the numerous adverts which appeared in the Borlasian magazine. He was awarded full colours for cricket in 1952 and, in the following season, top scored versus RAF Danesfield and scored freely against Henley Grammar School. Maurice's

team mates included Keith Cartland, Brian Bond, Ralph Stockton and Ken Williams. Maurice also represented the school at tennis.

The Borlasian 1953 reports Maurice as receiving the Head Boy's Prize. As School Captain, he read one of the two lessons which were given in the Chapel on the occasion of the Dedication of the War Memorial by the Bishop of Buckingham.

Extremely public spirited, Maurice, in 1969, was elected as a Liberal to Marlow Urban District Council.

With the closing of the Urban District in 1974, he became a member of the Town Council and was, on five occasions, elected by it as the Mayor. He served as a Buckinghamshire County Councillor as well as being, for 24 years, a member of Wycombe District Council, of which, for four years, he was joint leader. In 1988, the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party and Maurice's subsequent Council service was as a Liberal Democrat. Save for a two year spell in which he was not elected, he represented Marlow over a 40 year period. He became governor of several schools, including Foxes Piece, where he attended meetings up until a few weeks before his passing. He had the very rare honour of having a road in Marlow named after him while he was still alive – Oram Court. For many years, Maurice commuted to London, and he was the founding Chairman and Honorary President of the Marlow-Maidenhead Passengers' Association.

The following is an extract from the obituary which appeared in the Bucks Free Press: "Marlow mayor and Borlasian Chris Funnell heaped praise on Mr Oram, saying he that had given an “unbelievable” amount to the community. He said: “He is Mr Marlow. I have known him for a long time. The Council was very sad to hear of his passing. Maurice was a lifelong supporter of Marlow Football Club, which held a minute’s applause for Mr Oram at the first game following his passing. Riley Park Trust chairman Tony Shannon praised Mr Oram’s “unflinching and extraordinarily long service to the Trust” and his “immense commitment and contribution to the Trust’s survival.” He said: “If he had not taken the initiative of having Riley Park Trust, an immensely valuable facility to the town, put under the wing of Gabbitas Robins Solicitors through a personal contact, the Trust would almost certainly have been lost to the town and Marlow’s youth and the community.”

Andy Howland (staff 1989-2008)

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OLD BORLASIANS

STUART LEVER: A LEGACY FOR ALL OLD BORLASIANS

The visitors were invited to join a Vikings House assembly in the Chapel, during which the Head shared some fascinating details of Stuart's time at the school and the massive contribution he has made since, not least the beautiful stained glass window depicting the virtues for which each Borlasian should strive.

The OBC presented the family with a framed picture of Stuart as part of the school rugby team, before joining them on a tour of the school, which included performances by some of the school’s vocal groups, a visit to the athletics track where Stuart won his coveted 100 yards cup in a special Sports Day Event for Old Borlasians only. The tour ended in C5/6, the room in cloisters that, thanks to Stuart's generous bequest, will be transformed into the Stuart Lever Room, containing a display of OBC memorabilia accessible to all.

Cathie Wells (President)

HAPPY ROWING DAYS Tony Craig, a former teacher at Borlase, who visited us recently to attend the funeral of Jack Dean, was persuaded to write an article about his rowing experiences with his own old school and college and also with our own Borlase Boat Club. He recalls his great friendship with Russell Sage who had been the Rowing Coach for many years.

The Murmuring of Innumerable Bees.

Four Bede men and two from Barnard Castle School have shaped my life.

My first Bede man would be Tony Rowell, the maths and careers master at BCS, who advised Bede College, where he had studied maths, and so I arrived there in 1959 for a General Arts Course at Durham University.

You may have read in last year's Borlasian that former Club President, Stuart Lever, had sadly died. He was truly inspired by his time as a student at Borlase and so it was a great pleasure, on the 6th June, to welcome two of his daughters, Rosalind and Barbara, to the school. Having heard so much about their father's time at Borlase, they were keen to experience a flavour of the school for themselves. Geoff, Rosalind's husband, also joined us and was astounded by how many opportunities current Borlasians are given during their school careers.

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Despite my failing the French course several times in 1960, vice principal G N G Smith, my second Bede man, suggested teaching for a year. I enjoyed this experience but having failed to pass French for the fourth time I returned to College in 1961 to start a three-year course for a Cert. Ed. Whilst there, a tall well-built third Bede man curiously asked “What weight are you?” I found myself over the next few years learning how to cox and, eventually how to coach beginners.

In my last Durham Regatta I enjoyed the privilege of coxing Bede’s first ever ‘eight’, the newly named Danny Webster, down the long course through the narrow ‘Hard Arch’ under Elvet Bridge (very difficult at speed with little clearance for the oars).

OLD BORLASIANS Sage, who had been in charge of rowing since 1935, asked me to take over in his place and I accepted with pleasure and trepidation. Russell had taught pupil Francis Smith to row and Francis, now a master at Great Marlow School, persuaded Steve Redgrave to go on the river. Had Steve gone to Borlase he might well have been introduced to Rugby by P.E. master Alan Black, Captain of Wasps Rugby Team.

During my 21 years in charge, crews won at the Schools Head, National Schools and National Championships.

Our rowing team grew to include two more dedicated coaches, David Ravens and John Stebbings, advised

by Mike Spracklen. Mike coached Steve to his first Olympic Gold Medal and one of our fours represented England 1986-1988. I saw the school going Co-Ed in 1987 and changing from rowing to sculling.

Another star was Paul Hawkins who rowed for Borlase, then Grey College, then Durham University Boat Club, winning the Durham Regatta Grand Challenge Cup. After six years at Durham University, he went on to invent ‘Hawkeye’, the ball tracking device used in sport as a quick and decisive electronic referee/umpire of disputed scores e.g. at Wimbledon.

The stroke of Danny Webster was Barry Owens. My fourth Bede man was a class teacher at Bear Park Primary who observed my progress when overseeing my first teaching practice with his class in 1962, and brought my attention to the scribble on the blackboard, and I have been into penmanship ever since!

After 4 terms at an army school outside Barnard Castle I sailed off with my wife Janice, whom I married in 1965, to spend three years at St. Andrew’s Scots School in Buenos Aires. Janice had accepted my proposal at the top of Durham Cathedral after a brilliant Johnny Dankworth June Ball.

The 1966 World Cup made the English most unpopular in Argentina and by June 1969, still without a post, I rang the head of Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School.

When asked whether the English/History vacancy had been filled, the Head (Earnest Hazelton) asked “Which school did you go to?” “Barnard Castle” I replied. “Did you know Bentley Beetham? I climbed with him in the Himalayas”. Bentley was a master at BCS and was a member of the ill-fated 1924 Everest expedition. He went down with dysentery and missed the tragic final ascent. I knew of him but he was much before my time at BCS. Rowing was my favourite sport. It attracted me to Borlase and I was appointed in 1969. In 1974 Russell

Tony & Russell: great pals, great team!

Upon retirement Jan and I returned to Barnard Castle.

My pastimes are crosswords, bridge, sequence dancing and golf. I was also a member of Bede College Bridge Club. Calligraphy plays a special part in my life and I have given talks and workshops. In 2012, involved with an OSL (Our Sporting Life) Exhibition, in conjunction with the Olympics, my Borlase blade hung on a gallery wall in the nearby world famous Bowes Museum.

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OLD BORLASIANS I have happy memories of Borlase and would like to thank the girls and boys racing at Marly-le-Roi, Strathclyde, Ireland etc. and singing the ‘Messiah’, where I joined them, in Marlow Church and the Royal Albert Hall.

I am always pleased to hear of Borlase achievements on the river. Most recently outstanding is Richard Spratley, Director of Rowing at Oxford Brookes over the past 25 years. Richard was in the Borlase Junior 15s ‘eight’ at the Schools’ Head in 1974. Under Richard’s coaching Oxford Brookes 3 ‘eights’ this year were in the top 7, including the winning crew at the Tideway Head. I suspect he is the most successful Old Borlasian rowing coach, receiving an award in 2016 from the Amateur Rowing Association for his achievements, including numerous Henley wins.

It crossed my mind that all the school and college colours with which I have been associated contained BLUE – (BCS, Bede College, Borlase and St. Andrew’s) and, coupled with my BEDE and BCS men, and finally, thanks to my last B, John Barry, who persuaded me to part with this information, there must be, for me, a lucky ‘Murmuring of Innumerable Bees’.

REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE AND THE PRESIDENTS’ SHERRY PARTY

those Old Borlasians who gave their life for their country.

The Presidents’ Sherry party is a very different affair.

Held on the last day of term, it is so called as past Presidents are meant to put their hand in their pockets and fund the informal buffet lunch. These days the Club shares the cost with the school and it is a very relaxed get-together with all staff members to thank them for their hard work during the year. Past members of staff are particularly welcome, along with any ex pupils.

In line with tradition some Old Borlasians attended these two events which take place in the second half of the Autumn term. They are very different but both give us the chance to revisit school and mix with some of the staff and pupils.

The service is more serious but nevertheless it is always a delight to be able to sit in the intimate confines of the Chapel again and remember the past, and in particular

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Tony Craig - Staff, History/English and Rowing (1969-95) AKA ‘Wendy’ (On my third day at Borlase my Fourth Form (37 in a room built for 30) had written on the blue door in large white chalk letters ‘The Wendy House’ referring to the TV comedy programme Not in Front of the Children, which starred Wendy Craig.)

OLD BORLASIANS

THE BORLASE MASONIC LODGE Now incorporated into THAMES SCHOOLS LODGE No.6216 The Lodge announces its new Worshipful Master Frances Veaver, as of 1st September 2019.

Anyone requiring information about the Lodge should contact: K.R.Cartland, 4 Fontwell Close, Maidenhead, Berks, SL6 5JX. Tel.01628 636179.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Remembrance Day: The annual service of Remembrance will be held in the School Chapel on Monday 11th November at 10am.

AGM: The AGM will be held in the School late November – date to be arranged.

O. B. Carol Service will be held in All Saints’ Parish Church, Marlow, on the evening of Wednesday 18th December.

Presidents’ Sherry Party will be held on Thursday 19th December from 12pm onwards.

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SCHOOL RECORDS

2018 LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS Agnew, Chloe: English with Creative Writing - Queen Mary University of London Ashwell, William: Medicine - Hull York Medical School Atkinson, Rosanna: Law - Birmingham Baldwin-Pask, Ben: Business Management - Cardiff Barlow, Victoria Heather Annie: History - Lincoln Bateson, Samuel: Accounting & Business - Reading Bell, Imogen: Physics - University of East Anglia Bethell, Daisy: Molecular Bioengineering - Imperial Bracken, Siofra: International Development - King's College, London Bradley, Peter: Mechanical Engineering - Nottingham Broadbent, Jack: Biochemistry - Magdalen College, Oxford Brown, Ella: Coaching and Sport Science Nottingham Trent Brown, Fraser: Computer Science - Exeter Broyhill Fogg, Holly: Biological Sciences - Warwick Bruce, Hannah: Chemistry - Wadham College, Oxford Bruce, Toby: Geography - Birmingham Burns, Madeline: Fashion Buying & Merchandising Manchester Butler, Harry: Mechanical Engineering - Lancaster Cadinouche, Josephine: Music & Italian - Bristol Capel-Smith, Daniel: Natural Sciences - Bath Chapman, Oscar: Computer Science - Sussex Cooper, Daniel: Sound Technology - Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Copland, Caitlin: Politics & International Relations Bath Coyne, Michael: Psychology - Aston Craigmile, Miles: Business Management - Swansea Cresswell, Maria: Aerospace Systems Engineering Coventry Daruvalla, Davies: Politics & International Relations Bristol Davis, Isobel: Medicine - Bristol Dawkins, Christopher: International Business, Finance & Economics - Manchester Dean, Thomas: Mechanical Engineering - Bath Devereux, Jessica: Natural Sciences - Leeds Dissegna, Giulia: Biological Sciences - UCL Dring, Amy: Product Design Engineering Loughborough Duguid, Finlay: Medical Sciences - Leeds Duncan, Anna: Marine Biology - Portsmouth Elliott, Ciaran: Mechanical Engineering Loughborough 116

Emsley, Lucas: Environmental Science - Nottingham Trent Farman, James: Politics - Swansea Fisher, Alfie: Economics, Politics & International Relations - Oxford Brookes Fisher, Evan: Materials Science & Engineering Imperial Fores, Alexander: Mechanical Engineering - Cardiff Foulkes, Rees: Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) - Brunel Fox-Wilson, Beatrice: Business & Management with International Study - Exeter French, Jessica: Biomedical Sciences - UCL Funnell, Luke: International Management & Spanish - Bath Gaskell, Francesca: Industrial Economics Nottingham George, Olivia: Geography - Southampton Gilmour, Hannah: Sport & Exercise Sciences Birmingham Gladwyn, Eleanor: Dentistry - Sheffield Godsoe, Thomas: Business Management (e-Business) - Swansea Graham, Heather: History - Bristol Green, Hannah: Biomedical Sciences - York Groeneweg, James: Mathematics - Bristol Gutierrez, Anna: Biology - Leeds Hacking, Daisy: Sport Science & Management Nottingham Trent Hassaine, Yucef: Mechanical Engineering Nottingham Haveron-Jones, Alexander: English Language & Literature - Somerville College, Oxford Highfield, Elizabeth: English - Bristol Hindle, Tallulah: Biosciences - Sussex Holliday, Barnaby: Geology & Physical Geography Birmingham Holt, Charlotte: Mathematics - Bristol Hooper, Chloe: Physics - UCL House, William: Economics - Birmingham Hudson, Eden: Human Biology - Loughborough Hunt, Bailey: Mechanical Engineering - Plymouth Hunt, Samir: Geology - Leicester Hutchins, Jay: Electronic & Computer Engineering Nottingham Hyde, Rachel: History - Birmingham Ingram, Grace: Psychology - Swansea Jackson, Millie: English - Exeter James, Joshua: Biomedical Sciences - Bristol Jewell, Max: Biosciences - Sussex

SCHOOL RECORDS Johnson, Grace: Environmental Biology - Nottingham Johnston, Luke: Engineering - Wadham College, Oxford Jones, Anna: Medicine - Nottingham Jones, Matthew: Economics & Management Merton College, Oxford Joslin, Matthew: Psychology - Portsmouth Kankate, Rhea: Anthropology/Philosophy - Oxford Brookes Keyworth, Georgia: Politics - Newcastle Landen, Elizabeth: Earth Science - Glasgow Lawes, Isaac: Business Management - Sheffield Lawton, Arthur: Aerospace Engineering Hertfordshire Lee, Jade: English Law & French Law - Exeter Leeson, Meredith: Nursing (Adult) - Oxford Brookes Lungu, Andreea: Maths - University of East Anglia Maddern, James: History - Nottingham Magid, Eden: English - Royal Holloway Maher, Archie: Economics - Goldsmiths Marsh, Ellen: Psychology - Loughborough Martin, Alexia: Medical Biosciences - Imperial Martinez-Williams, Laura: Modern Languages Exeter Mayer, Konrad: Physics - St Hugh’s College, Oxford McCarthy, Harry: Business & Management Studies Sussex McEvoy, Edward: Social Policy & Politics - Bristol McKillop, Fintan: German & Linguistics - Warwick McKillop, Sarah: Psychology - Essex McNab, Iona: Criminology & Social Policy Nottingham Minihane, Jacob: Politics & International Relations Exeter Moir, Abigail: Philosophy & Politics - Southampton Moreland, Thomas: Biology - Nottingham Moreton, Josephine: Law - Leeds Morgan, Tomaso: Archaeology & Anthropology Birmingham Naeem, Taiba: Aeronautical Engineering - City, University of London Nash, Josephine: Biomedical Science - Birmingham Nicklin, Chloe: Archaeology & Anthropology - St Hugh’s College, Oxford Norfolk, Thomas: Marketing - Lancaster Norton, Luke: Politics with Film Studies - Liverpool O'Hara, Isabella: Ecological & Environmental Sciences - Edinburgh Peperell, Hannah: Modern Languages with Business Management - Birmingham Peplow, Isabelle: Modern Languages & Cultures Durham

Porter, Imogen: Sport & Exercise Psychology Portsmouth Potts, Niamh: Combined Honours in Social Sciences - Durham Poulter, Eve: Mathematics with Finance - Exeter Preston-Whyte, Katherine: Geography - Liverpool Price-Davies, Ieuan: Mechanical Engineering Liverpool Raina, Aanchal: Biomedical Science - King's College, London Rehman, Haarith: Chemical Engineering - Swansea Robinson, Chloe: Biological Sciences - Loughborough Runcie, Isobel: Mathematics & Economics Nottingham Russell, Alexander: Music & Sound Recording Surrey Saunders, Katie: Medicine - Aberdeen Selman, Finn: Law - Birmingham Shanagher, Lily: Spanish & Russian - St Edmund Hall, Oxford Sharp, Emma: Medicine - Nottingham Sheldon, Amy: Music - Bristol Sheppard, Alfie: Creative Advertising - Falmouth Smith, Zoe: Natural Sciences - Southampton Sparks, Elizabeth: Multimedia Journalism Bournemouth Spicer, Nicholas: Modern History with Economics Manchester Staines, Jesse: International Media & Communications Studies - Nottingham Stephenson, Alexia: Architecture - Nottingham Trent Stephenson, Yasmin: Broadcast Journalism Nottingham Trent Swales, Anya: Mathematics - St Hilda’s College, Oxford Taylor, Samuel: Biology - Nottingham Thomson, Andrew: Physics - Exeter Till, Oliver: Physical Earth Science - Swansea Tyler, Edward: Geography - Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Tyler, Gregory: General Engineering - Durham Ward, Charlotte: Zoology - Leeds Watson, Saskia: Politics & Sociology - Newcastle Whitfield, Samuel: Biology - Bristol Williams, Millie: Biomedical Sciences - Cardiff Willis, Brittannie: Medical Sciences - Exeter Willis, Megan: Fashion Design - Leeds Winter, Nicholas: Mechanical Engineering Nottingham Woods, Katie: Politics & Economics - Southampton Wride, Tristan: Computing - Imperial 117

SCHOOL RECORDS

SENIOR PREFECTS 2018-19

Head Boy – Alex Lyons

Head Girl – Alexandra Rowlands Deputy Head Boy – Charlie Brockwell Deputy Head Girl – Lottie Heuser HELM – Cece Briscoe & Alexander Maynard Sports – Sam Harris & Mila Welch Environment – Ben Allanson & Phoebe Butler Performing Arts – Maddie Smith & Sophie Yazdi-Davies STEM – Sara Helin & Alexander Williams

YEAR 7

SCHOOL PRIZES 2018-19

7A Academic Achievement - Fin Engelberts, Phoebe Palmer 7B Academic Achievement - Emily Hillier, Francesca Wells 7C Academic Achievement - Ruby Duncan, Murray Cartwright

7D Academic Achievement - Maria-Jose Taguiang, Ella Jenkins Year 7 Sporting Prowess Prize - Sam Gavin

Design - Eloise Rints

Dance - Daisy Stevens Drama - Alex Coe

English - Jasmine Fraser-Nicholls French - Daisy Foley

Geography - Holly Baker

German - Edie Minter History - Georgie Hill

Mathematics - Joel Taylor Music - Joel Taylor

Physical Education - Charlie Warren Religious Studies - Joseph Martin Spanish - Sophie Dodd

Extra-curricular Performing Arts - Harvey Green

Extra-curricular Sport - Will Stubbings, Eleanor Sharp Youthbridge prizes for the most promising pupils in German in Year 9 1st - Daisy Foley, 2nd - Sofia Ziaullah, 3rd - Sofia Heard-Norrish

Year 7 Sporting Endeavour Prize - Hatty Parkinson

The Hamer Prize for Draughtmanship in Year 9 Rebecca Johnny

YEAR 8

YEAR 10

8A Academic Achievement - Ryaan Ghani, Eliska Hodkova

8B Academic Achievement - Amelie Crook, Emily Layton-Watts

8C Academic Achievement - Oscar Beswick, Lisa Dixon 8D Academic Achievement - Charlotte Bridges, Julia Koteles Year 8 Sporting Prowess Prize - Millie Elwood Year 8 Sporting Endeavour Prize - Toby Petitt

The D.J. Colthup Prize for the most promising artist in Year 8 - Julia Koteles

Prize for Academic Excellence in KS3 - Max Blackbourn

Art - Nicola Chmielewska

Biology - Shivani Shrestha Chemistry - Will Tucker

Computing - Adam Ulhaq

Physics - Adam Ulhaq

Design - Richard Koteles Dance - Lily Meyer

Drama - Lizzie Rackstraw English - Raife Foulkes French - Adam Ulhaq

Geography - Nina Passler

The Dr Isles STEM Prize - Maddie Clayton

German - Nina Passler

YEAR 9

Mathematics - Anthony Adamson

Biology - Alex Stephens

Physical Education - Elliot Kent

Computing - Joel Taylor

Extra-curricular Performing Arts - Lizzie Rackstraw

History - Richard Koteles

Art - Sofia Heard-Norrish

Music - Joe Parkinson

Chemistry - Joseph Martin

Spanish - Hope Auman

Physics - Maya Kunchur

Extra-curricular Sport - Chris Jackson, Hannah Dring

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SCHOOL RECORDS YEAR 11

Physical Education - Gaby Crosby

Art - Katie Haveron Jones

Psychology - Amy Badham

Chemistry - Adam Town

Technical Theatre - Lola Castle

Physics - Poppy Smith

Extra-curricular Sport - Alec Bussell, Liv Lowry

Biology - Emily Farmer

Spanish - Mollie Marsh

Computing - Liza Avezbakiev

Extra-curricular Performing Arts - Cormac Diamond

Design - Imogen Baguley

The Governors' Award for the best GCSE Results 2018 Charlie Evans, Ella Williamson

Drama - Swathi D'Souza

SPECIAL PRIZES

Dance - Tim Woodford English - Rishi Miriyala

French - Rebecca Lamping Geography - Poppy Smith German - Folkert Bowler Mandarin - Leon Tasch

The J.C. Davies Prize for History - Luke Maccallum

The E.W. Hester Prize for Geography - Jemima Jones The Alison Barraclough Geology Prize - Tom James The Moores Prize for Music - Maddie Smith

History - Clara Maccallum

The Enos Moore Memorial Prize for Literature Alexander Lang

Music - Charlotte Farmer

The Marly-le-Roi Prize for French - Alex Rowlands

Spanish - Catarina Silva

The Mor de Fuentes Prize for Spanish - Jemima Jones

Extra-curricular Sport - Joe Haslehurst, Maddy Hill

The Xerox Prize for Business Studies - Fabi Foulkes

Mathematics - Adam Town

The G.J. White Prize for Economics - Ben Hall

Physical Education - Joe Haslehurst

The Urenco Prize for German - Sam Beesley

Extra-curricular Performing Arts - Josh Leech

The D.C.W. Banner Prize for Art - Victoria Chong

The Colin Prime Prize for Design - Emeshe Kaic

The Audrey Moore Prize for Creative Writing - James Nickels

YEAR 12 Art - Sophie Williamson Biology - Ashwin Goyal

Business Studies - Cameron Chadwick Chemistry - Tom Chorlton Computing - Alex Huxley Physics - Nav Basra

Drama - Sophia Rios Dance - Amy Croall

English - Beatrice Lofthouse Economics - Raphael Conte French - Tom Chorlton

Geography - Charis Horsley Geology - Fin Butler

German - Claudia Mura

Government & Politics - Leo Langridge History - Ruby Mitchell

Mathematics - Alex Huxley Music - Georgia Tuke

The Lidgate Markwell Prize for Dance - Kitty PilgrimMorris The Switchshop Prize for Computing - Syd Lambert

The Alex Wylde Government & Politics Prize - Amelia Crick The Wendy Farmer Psychology Prize - Amy Tillyer The Eatwell Prize for Mathematics - Ben Allanson

The Tim Magee Prize for Drama - Sophie Yazdi Davis

The Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson Prize for Improvised Music - Jemima Jones The Borlase Maynard Ferguson Creative Music Bursary Harry Freedman, Zara Harris The John Schofield Prize for Science - Dominic Meeks The Tocky Technical Theatre Prize - James Breedon The Harry Stranger Prize for PE - Millie Thomlinson The Enterprise Award (for the most enterprising member of the sixth form) - Cece Briscoe The Old Borlasian Prize (for all round positive contribution to school life) - Charlie Brockwell

Thames Schools Lodge Prize (School Service Prize) Aman Sharif

The Wethered Prize - Luke Haldane (for Music Diploma

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SCHOOL RECORDS

STAFF 2018-19 Support) Mike Adamson - Science (Chemistry) Jillian Addison - Geography Borhan Ahmed Al-Rubaie - Physics Vicki Alexander - MFL Co-ordinator Nayani Algama - Science Technician Rachael Allen - Science Technician (Biology)

Lauren Anderson - Head of Drama Kirsty Ashby - Dance (part-time) Brett Bagley - Assistant Caretaker Erica Barclay - STEM Administrator Amanda Barrett - Learning Mentor Cover/Admin Sarah Barrett-Klikis - MFL Jo Beswick - KS4 Learning Mentor Alan Bigsby - Design & Technology Technician Sarah Birch - MFL Suzanne Birkett - English, Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Christopher Black - Psychology, Head of Romans Harry Blackwell - Biology Jane Blane - Geography Fiona Bovis - MFL Kate Bownass - School Counsellor, Head of Vikings Libby Brookes - PE Lucy Budge - Alumni Relations Officer Jane Bungey - English, Head of Key Stage 5 Ilona Cains - Director of Development Mark Campbell - Maths Nick Cartwright - IT Technician Suzanne Chaplin - School Administrator Kevin Chappell - PE, Hockey, Head of Normans Anu Chawla - Director of ICT Services Silvia Colmenero - Spanish Language Assistant Rachel Cork - French Nigel Couch - Head of Physics Danielle Cowan - Head of Science, Assistant Head Lynn Cupitt-Jones - SIMS Administrator Diana Davis - Learning Mentor, Student Support KS3 Will Davies - Performing Arts Apprentice Nicola Day - Matron John Dowling - Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

Linda Fortnam - Y13 SSO Alice Franklin - Biology (Schools Direct) Adam Galbraith - Dance Christine Garrow - Reception, Peripatetic Music Administration Clémence Gautier - French Language Assistant Ben Geddes - PE (Schools Direct) Glenda Godfrey - Art Technician

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Caroline Goodall - Teaching Schools Administrator Mark Gould - Maths Lesley Haldane - Examinations Officer Marshall Hall - Head of Art, Photography Yinghua Han - Mandarin Katherine Harrison - School/Sixth Form Administrator Mark Hartley - Music Technology, Technical Theatre, Jam Theatre Peter Heywood - Head of Design & Tech, WRL, Head of Britons Stuart Hill - PHSE, Head of Key Stage 4 Claire Hindley - Dance Kathryn Hocking - Geography, History Rachael Holmes - English & Literacy, Assistant Head Kimberly Holt - Head of PE, Head of Romans Jenny Hopper - Head of MFL, Head of Normans, ITTCo Nick Horne - Science Technician (Physics) Kate Hyett - Data Manager Hannah Jackson - Intern Sarah Johnson - Examinations Officer Sam Jones - School Administrator/Reception Sammy Karim - Sixth Form Administrator Georgina Kilbourn - Head of Biology Paul King - Head of Geography & Geology, Economics Ray Kipping - Site Manager Ali Leibowitz - KS4 Learning Mentor Jenny Lewington-Chislett - Performing Arts Technician Patience Lewis - PE Susanne Lewis - Maths James Lofthouse - Literary Co-ordinator, Borlasian Editor Dianne Malatt - Maths Bevan Marchand - Maths Catriona McLeod - Director of Finance & Operations Joseph McNally - Head of Business Studies & Economics, Head of Saxons Peter Mead - Head of History Seth Miall - Director of Music, Head of Danes

Helen Milne - Biology Nathan Monk - Director of Hockey Charlotte Morris - School and Performing Arts Administrator Kay Mountfield - Headteacher Richard Neill - Assistant Caretaker Kim Nicholas - Psychology Graham Nicholls - D&T Margaret Nixon - Finance Assistant Amanda O’Hara - SSP Admin. Assistant Ben Parsons - Music, Assistant Head, Teaching Schools,

SCHOOL RECORDS Joanna Picton - History Anita Pollard - Cross Key Stage Liaison Fiona Pryor - Business Studies & Economics, Head of Saxons Sarah Rayner - Drama & English Jessica Reinhold - Science Isabel Richardson - Maths Craig Robertson - Head of Key Stage 3 Sonya Robinson - Science Technician (Chemistry) Hugh Robson - English, Organist Blanca Roman - Spanish Karen Rooke - Biology Megan Sadie - Finance Assistant Harneet Sanghera - 2ic Maths Hannah Shearer - English Yinhuming (Ming) Shi - Physics (Schools Direct) James Simpson - Deputy Head Todd Skevington - PE Rebecca Sowden - Head of Chemistry Petra Stafford - Chemistry John Sturt - Chemistry (Schools Direct) Anna Summerfield - HR Manager Neil Vyse - Maths Louise Walder - Head of Maths, Assistant Head Anetta Walkowska - Year 12 SSO Elena Watson - Maths Brian Wilds - Assistant Caretaker Tom Wilkinson - Director of Rowing Rhian Williams - History, Politics, Assistant Head, Head of Vikings Kyaw Win - Computing Clare Woodgate - Head’s and Deputy Head’s PA

Language Assistants - Annika Langner (German), Solene Guilloux (French) and Silvia Colmenero Atanes (Spanish) Peripatetic Music Teachers - Hugh Robson (harpsichord /organ); Jason Reeve (percussion/piano); Jean Garrett (piano); Emma Walker (flute); David Young (classical guitar); Simon Bishop (electric guitar); Jon Woodhouse (saxophone); Sue Cossins (clarinet/cello); Marilyn Vanryne (violin/viola); Gilly Ross/Robina Redgard-Siler (singing); Simon Davie (brass).

STAFF LEAVERS

During the year we said farewell to the following members of staff: Borhan Ahmed Al-Rubaie Libby Brookes Danielle Cowan

John Dowling Alice Franklin Adam Galbraith

Peter Heywood

Kim Holt

Sarah Johnson Sam Jones

Anita Pollard Hannah Shearer

Yinhuming Shi Todd Skevington

John Sturt

Neil Vyse

Annetta Walkowska

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STAFF LEAVERS

STAFF LEAVERS 2018-9 We caught up with some of the members of staff leaving this year and asked them the questions that matter.

MR HEYWOOD How many years have you been teaching here?

I’ve been at Borlase for 35 years.

What is your life motto?

Fish first, ask questions later.

What are your plans after Borlase?

I’m going to look after my grandson, pick up beekeeping, do a lot of fishing. Build a small, light watercraft for fishing and improve some of my children's homes (significantly). I will also continue to ignore social media, go on some road trips and visit people I haven’t seen in a long time as well!

What has been your funniest moment?

There are many but one is, I was attending a 6th form leavers ball in Frieth and went into the pub to check that no students were in there. I offered to buy one of my colleagues a drink, but the landlord asked for my ID. I was 32.

What’s your favourite thing about Borlase?

I love the environment- the buildings and the variety of trees and all the nice vistas from all the vantage points - they’re all worthy of a painting.

What’s your least favourite thing?

One is when people don’t greet you when they pass you, that is a big pet hate for me especially because that happens a lot. Also, I’m not a fan of ill-conceived educational directives.

What are your hidden talents?

I think my hidden talent is empathy for people in difficult circumstances.

Which actor would play you in a movie about your life?

Definitely Matt Damon.

What’s your skincare routine?

I haven’t actually got one! Did someone say my skin looked good? But no… soap and water only!

What will you miss the most?

The majority of the students and the majority of the staff.

MR AHMED

How many years have you been teaching here?

About 2... 1 and a half?

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What is your life motto?

The courage of one can change the destiny of many.

What are your plans after Borlase?

I have a Head of Physics job in a military school in Qatar.

What has been your funniest moment?

Writing the N00BS guide to Mr Ahmed’s detentions.

What’s your favourite thing about Borlase?

I really like the staff here. They’re all professionals, are really experienced and knowledgeable in their fields. The students are really really good.

What’s your least favourite thing?

Having to give 600 detentions this year!

What are your hidden talents?

I absolutely destroy N00BS in Gaming. Right now I play Vainglory, but I destroy N00BS in any game I play.

Which actor would play you in a movie about your life?

Either Robert De Nero or Keanu Reeves, because I feel just like John Wick when I’m surrounded by students.

What’s your skincare routine?

What is skincare?

What will you miss the most?

I like the questions that the kids come up with sometimes, the questions that they ask that are well beyond their age. I’ll miss those kinds of moments, because I haven’t seen that elsewhere.

MRS BIRCH

How many years have you been teaching here?

I have been teaching at Borlase for two years.

What is your life motto?

“On ne vit qu'une fois, autant que ce soit amusant.”

Coco Chanel What are your plans after Borlase?

I am going to teach French at Wycombe High School.

It’s an all-girls school, so it will be quite a change!

What has been your funniest moment?

Running the staff relay on sports day for the wrong house, twice!

What’s your favourite thing about Borlase?

The amazing MFL team I have been so lucky to be part of. I have learnt so much from the people I work with and I am eternally grateful for their support throughout my two years here.

What’s your least favourite thing?

STAFF LEAVERS The parking.

What are your hidden talents?

Headstands – I could probably take a lesson on my head. Though I won’t be trying that before I leave!

Which actor would play you in a movie about your life?

Audrey Tautou What’s your skincare routine?

Soap, water, Bobbi Brown What will you miss the most?

I will miss the friends I have made amongst colleagues and so many of the entertaining, intelligent and incredibly talented students I have taught. I will also miss the variety of subjects I am currently teaching, though it will be nice to know which language I’m supposed to be speaking and which room I’m supposed to be in from one lesson to the next!

MISS SHEARER

How many years have you been teaching here?

Three years. That’s a long time - not as long as Mr Heywood though.

What is your life motto?

Life is a bold and daring adventure What are your plans after Borlase?

I’m going to travel around the world and teach, and continue to develop my creative writing skills.

Australia is a possibility as a starting point.

What has been your funniest moment?

Sometimes I’ve had classes and they’ve started laughing and I started laughing and none of us could stop. I wish there were more of those moments What’s your favourite thing about Borlase?

Some of the trips that I’ve been on. For example the Space Camp trip and the creative writing trip to Hartington.

What are your hidden talents?

I’ve run 4 half marathons. I used to dance and play the cello.

Which actor would you have to play you in a movie about your life?

Emma Thompson because she’s just brilliant What will you miss the most?

Seeing my students developing their creativity.

MISS COWAN

How many years have you been teaching here?

Three years.

What is your life motto?

"Ordinary things done consistently create extraordinary results" - you just need to get started.

What are your plans after Borlase?

I have a new job at a school in Scotland. I am going to be living on the coast, not be too far from the mountains so I can make the most of the outdoors.

I'm looking forward to paddle boarding, climbing and walks on the beach.

What has been your funniest moment?

It was my childhood dream to go to Space Camp so I was very excited when I got to accompany the trip last year. One evening the teachers decided to have a look around one of the shuttles, we had a great time climbing around and pretending to be astronauts.

We were in full flow when we realised there were cameras everywhere and the Space Camp staff had been watching us the whole time!

What’s your favourite thing about Borlase?

I think it is great how hard everyone works to offer such a vast array of experiences beyond the curriculum from trips to shows to musical performances to competitions to expeditions. I love how there is always something going on and how willing the students are to get involved and make the most of it.

What are your hidden talents?

After many years going on expeditions, many of which have involved walking in the pouring rain all day, I can put up a tent in record time.

Which actor would play you in a movie about your life?

Reese Witherspoon. I was once told I looked like her!

What’s your skincare routine?

Liz Earle hot cleanse and polish every day.

What will you miss the most?

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Ciara Lurshay

Jana Lakatos Isobel Smith

Louise Hibbert

In loving memory of Robert Coates 2001 - 2019

Ella Murgatroyd Taran Sandher

Izzy James

THE BORLASIAN 2019 THE BORLASIAN 2019