CATERHAM SCHOOL
THE CATERHAMIAN Review of the Year 2019-20
Cover artwork by Megan S, Lockdown Art
THE CATERHAMIAN 2019-20
CONTENTS 2 FAREWELLS AND WELCOMES 5 SPEECH DAY 12
ACADEMIC RESULTS
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PUPILS ON THE MOVE
22
CATERHAM CONNECT
27 LOCKDOWN
42 HOUSE REPORTS 49
HOUSE EVENTS
52 BOARDING
76
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INDIVIDUAL PUPIL SUCCESS
57
ARTS AND HUMANITIES
61
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
62 3D DESIGN 63 ARTS WEEK 64 SCIENCE
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67 HISTORY
68 GEOGRAPHY 69 MUSIC 80
DRAMA, THEATRE AND DANCE
85 PSYCHOLOGY 87
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY
88 ENGLISH 90 MATHS 93
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
96 CLASSICS 97
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
101 CAREERS 103 LIBRARY
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104
CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
107
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME
108
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
109 WELLBEING 111
WIDER CIRCLES
117 OUTDOOR LEARNING 119
TALENT SHOW
121
OTHER NEWS
123 CCF
141 SPORT 159 INDIVIDUAL SPORTING SUCCESS GREEN BIRD BY ESTELLA Y, LOCKDOWN ART
161 PREP SCHOOL
FAREWELL AND WELCOME
A FOND
FAREWELL Tom Murphy – I first met Tom Murphy in the Autumn Term of 1996. Tom was at that stage the Head of History and Politics at Whitgift and I was a mere history teacher at in my first term here at Caterham.
A
year later Tom arrived at Caterham as Director of Studies, a position he held for the next 24
years. Tom was one of the ‘big beasts’ of the independent schools history departments in the country at the time he joined this school - he was an experienced examiner on the old London exam board ‘Syllabus E’ and his word was seen as law by those of us just making our way in the profession. His knowledge of American politics and the breadth of his historical experience was legendary – he was (and is) an academic of great standing and a fantastic teacher. I suspect would have been just as comfortable teaching Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford, as he was teaching GCSE history to a Year 10 class here at Caterham. Tom’s impact on Caterham has been profound. He joined a school that was just beginning to find its way academically and his addition was a real statement of intent from Headmaster Rob Davey. Under Tom’s guidance, expectations and rigour were heightened and results did not take long to follow. Tom can feel justifiably proud of his legacy – Caterham became an academic school under his academic leadership. However, there is so much
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more to Tom than simply intellect and a passion for History and American Politics. Tom is also a great schoolmaster. His journey to Caterham in 1997 was via Bishop’s Stortford College, where he began as a history teacher but also a games coach (Tom is a very skilled games player – squash and cricket in particular), through Wrekin College where, in addition to teaching and running the cricket and squash, he also ran a boarding house and latterly to Whitgift where he ran the History and Politics department so successfully. Tom is a man of strong passions and, consequently, strong opinions. He loves art, theatre and literature and is never afraid to explain why my love of David Hockney is misplaced. He is a runner, a bridge and chess player. The word polymath is often overused but I think with reference to Tom it is apposite. Above all else, Tom is an inspiring teacher who knows how to intellectually grab a group of pupils and leave them breathless at the end of a lesson. He sees through faddish ideas and management speak (although rarely in public for which I am grateful) but is always looking to innovate and challenge. Like all good historians (and all good teachers who have spent almost half a century
in the profession) he brings a valuable sense of perspective to educational reform and theory – and his voice in meetings is always worth hearing. This voice may at times bring a jarring dissonance to the conversation but is all the more worth listening to as a consequence. There will be many of you whose lives have been changed by Tom over the past 24 years, and who have gone on to careers in politics or public policy related careers as a result of having been taught by Tom. I suspect there are many teachers, myself included, who have also been influenced by Tom more than perhaps we realise. This is all any of us who do this job can hope for – we come into the profession due to our love of our subject and our desire to change the lives of young people. Tom has done this more than most teachers I have had the good fortune to work with. Tom Murphy will rightly be remembered as one of the founding fathers of the new Caterham School. He saw an educational project that he believed in and stuck with it for almost a quarter of a century and, in so doing, transformed the fortunes of this school and the lives of a generation of Caterhamians. Legend. CERI JONES, HEADMASTER
FAREWELL AND WELCOME
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he took them out of their comfort zone to learn new languages and as importantly to embrace and understand new and different cultures to, in turn, play a full part in the ever-evolving international scene. Catherine is such a natural in the classroom, with a career in teaching which followed an initial stint as a tour guide on holiday coaches in the 1980s after graduating with a BA Hons degree in French and German. Having previously taught in two other independent schools, Catherine joined Caterham School in September 1997 and has helped shape the vibrant, innovative and inspiring German department along with other departments within MFL. Her infectious love for languages, her desire to share her knowledge and experience as well as her great sense of humour have contributed to encourage both naturally talented and more diffident learners to become highly skilled and articulate linguists who are so appreciative for her constant support, encouragement and sensitive approach to teaching. You only have to walk down the languages corridor with Catherine to realise her teaching range when pupils variously greet her with Guten Tag, Bonjour or Hola and sometimes all three at the same time! Whether she teaches a beginner’s class the days of the week in a language or a complex 20th century German novel to a sixth form class, she does so with the same drive and gusto, achieving
a positive impact and connecting with every learner at his or her own level. One of Catherine’s other incredible talents, perhaps stemming from her time as a tour guide, is to organise wonderful trips abroad for the pupils. She has always been a great believer that such trips form an essential part of the language learning experience and over the years she has organised or taken part in numerous trips abroad and study visits, latterly leading the newly established and very successful German exchange to Ansbach. Throughout her years at Caterham, Catherine has not only been an outstanding MFL teacher but also a first-class tutor, tennis coach, trip organiser, hugely committed to promoting excellence in every aspect of her job. Her qualities have inspired many generations of pupils at Caterham who remember her with fondness and affection. She is also hugely valued as a friend and an inspiration by her colleagues. As Catherine is moving onto the next stage of her life, I hesitate to call it “retirement” as she rarely sits still and is full of new projects and initiatives, whether in education or charity or simply just to make the most of her time to travel as much as possible, one of her other passions in life. I wish her a great time and know how much she will enjoy spending it with her family and friends. So, it is Au revoir for now, knowing that Catherine will keep in touch. Bon Voyage! NICOLE MCVITTY
farewell
Catherine Clifton Catherine brought to Caterham her passion and energy for Modern Languages and for the last 23 years has inspired many generations of Old Caterhamians.
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welcome
FAREWELL AND WELCOME
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COMMON ROOM
NEWS
Welcome to the following teachers who joined the Common Room in September 2020: Bertie Beeching, who joins as a Teacher of English; this is his first teaching post. Lucinda Charlesworth who joins as Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) from King’s College School Wimbledon where she held the post of Head of Learning Enrichment. Felicity Dickinson, who joins as Head of Academic PE from Highgate School, where she held a similar post. Dr Ashley Garber, who joins as a Teacher of History and Politics from Alleyn’s School, Dulwich. Andrew Granville, who joins as a Teacher of Maths from Jerudong International School, Brunei. Gabriella Guttner, who joins as Director of Drama from The Lady Eleanor Holles School. Phoebe Jones, who joins as a Teacher of History; this is her first teaching post. Bethany Quinton, who joins as a Teacher of Biology; Bethany is an Old Caterhamian. Harriet Rowling, who joins as Head of German from The Howard of Effingham School.
Kitty Tittle, who joins as a Teacher of Psychology; this is Kitty’s first school teaching post. Sally Wallis, who joins the Senior School as a Teacher of Biology from Caterham Prep School where she held the post of Head of Science.
We also say a fond farewell to: Anne-Fleur Brand (Teacher of Biology) who is undertaking a PHD in Norway. Kate Evans (Teacher of Biology) who is joining Berkhamsted School. Jaclyn Leach (Assistant Director of Sport) who is joining Sedbergh School as Assistant Director of Sport. Gaelle Sullivan (Senior Teacher Pastoral) who has been appointed to Kent College as Deputy Head Pastoral. Lesley Paine (Health Centre Manager) who leaves to spend more time with her family.
SPEECH DAY
This past school year was about much more than just Covid and Lockdown – your sons and daughters, our pupils – were involved in some incredible things both before and during lockdown.
Sp ch Day SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2020
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his has been a school year like no other – and this is a Speech Day like no other. We will celebrate the academic year just gone and the incredible achievements of all of our pupils. This past school year was about much more than just Covid and Lockdown – your sons and daughters, our pupils – were involved in some incredible things both before and during lockdown. I hope also we will be able to look forward to the opportunities and horizons in front of all of us as we put the learning and experiences gained over the past few months to renewed purpose. We also wish our leavers farewell as Old Caterhamians. This cohort of Caterhamians will not be forgotten as the Covid generation but rather celebrated and remembered for their achievements, their boundless energy, their good humour and their friendship and as the fantastic
pupils and young adults they have grown into. So let us celebrate our incredible pupils – there is so much to cover so forgive me if I omit some things. We will of course recognise academic and individual achievements when we come to the awarding of prizes later in this ceremony. One of the great things about Caterham is that in addition to offering elite performance opportunities across the school, we also ensure that everyone is included. Nowhere is that more true than in sport. Before we became a virtual school the school had played almost 700 fixtures since the start of September - across 89 different teams. Lacrosse had a great year and enjoyed success in county and national tournaments, with the U13A becoming Surrey Champions, the U14A Lacrosse team finished in 3rd place in the National Schools’
Lacrosse tournament, ranking as the highest placed co-educational school in the country, and the U15A team reached the last eight of the Nationals too. The lacrosse highlight of the Autumn term was the 1st X’s success at the Schools Super Cup - coming 3rd out of the top 8 teams in the country - after narrowly missing out on a place in the final. For a coed school this is a remarkable achievement. Netball also had a fantastic year. The U14, 15, 16 and 18s all qualified for the Surrey County Finals day and performed superbly and in an U12 netball fixture against St George’s Weybridge every girl in the First Year represented the school across 5 teams. We also now field 5 senior netball teams – something that we have never done before as a school – a testament to the energy and can do attitude of the pupils and of the staff. The boys have also enjoyed great
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SPEECH DAY success this year. The senior rugby teams had a very good autumn term with some memorable wins (another win against our local rival) and a great experience playing at The Stoop. Lower down the school the U13A rugby team won eight and drew one of their 10 fixtures. On the hockey pitch, the 1st XI had a great run to the South pools stage of the national indoor competition and lost out extremely narrowly on a place in the South Finals. This was our best ever performance indoor and was followed up by a strong spring term season outdoors. Last year’s U13 Hockey team are a very exciting prospect – beating both Reeds and Trinity in fixtures, something we have not achieved for some time. And of course, in addition to all this collective team success, the number of pupils playing representative sport at county, regional and international level keeps growing. There were also memorable music and drama performances across the first two terms – highlights for me were the James Bond themed autumn concert, the Senior Production of Beauty and the Beast and the musical scholars’ concert. As ever, the Talent Show was immense. It is always an evening that shows us off at our best and the quality and dedication that our pupils put into it always leaves me breathless. The girls v boys dance off was once again a stand out moment - as was the boys’ film – a real piece of cinematic quality poking fun at the school in all the right ways. CCF is a strong as ever and the range of clubs, societies and pupil led publications like Quantum Ultimatum, Preview and Cat Amongst the Pigeons grow each year. Once lockdown came, the achievements and the engagement did not stop. Your sons and daughters got involved making podcasts, academic films, making and donating PPE for our local community, raising thousands of pounds for charity and producing and creating beautiful and memorable artwork and music. This has not been a wasted
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Lottie Lottie McDonald McDonald (Head (Head Girl) Girl) Ben Ben Brown Brown (Head (Head Boy) Boy)
Interlude IInterlude would also like to thank Lottie MacDonald Olivia Olivia Lindo Lindo – Voice – Voice and Ben Brown, the Head Girl and the Head Summertime Summertime from from the the opera opera Porgy Porgy and and Bess Bess (1935) (1935) George George Gershwin Gershwin (1898–1937) (1898–1937) Boy, for all that they have done this year to lead the School. year. This has been a year when your sons and daughters – our pupils – once again demonstrated enormous ability, showed great ambition and ingenuity, achieved incredible success, inspired each other, made us smile and have grown together. On the way, they will have learned an incredible amount about themselves, and of course we have learned an incredible amount about ourselves this year. It is worth repeating that you learn a lot about the values of a community, of an organisation, when it is under intense pressure. Our values, our agility, our creativity, our optimism have seen our school community navigate the past few months very successfully – we have risen to the challenge and, in many ways, thrived throughout it. All of us have learned that we can do things that we didn’t think were possible or that we didn’t think we were capable of – colleagues and pupils who had to adapt to an entirely virtual curriculum and teaching style, pupils using technology to collaborate and create in ingenius and meaningful ways, hundreds of us participating weekly in virtual pub quizzes – something I had never come across but like many of you became addicted to (and I
should of course give a shout out to the English department and Mr Crombie in particular at this point). Our instincts remained virtuous – we didn’t just look after ourselves. We worked to make things better for others – whether that was through making and donating PPE, delivering food locally, donating laptops, raising money for others, providing virtual content and lessons for pupils in other schools less fortunate than ourselves. We worked hard to make sure that every family in our school community could weather the storm and stay part of our community. We should all be incredibly proud of what we have achieved and be determined to take that learning with us into the future –whilst our instinct might be to fall back into the comfort and familiarity of what we knew, we should commit to taking what we have learned and building better. …and of course the school has done this before….not just through the crises of war but also through earlier pandemics. There was a time in the early 20th century when the entire school had to move to Essex briefly to escape a scarlet fever outbreak. We will hear from our guest
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SPEECH DAY
We worked to make things better for others – whether that was through making and donating PPE, delivering food locally, donating laptops, raising money for others, providing virtual content and lessons for pupils in other schools less fortunate than ourselves.
speaker, Dr Nimako, later. I am LGBTQ+ society or as mentors on enormously grateful to him for the study buddy scheme. Pupil taking time out of his very busy experience is at the heart of all schedule to record his thoughts for that we do at Caterham and giving us. Given what has happened over voice to different perspectives will since February I think it is entirely make us a stronger community. appropriate to hear from someone Ensuring that we are a diverse and who was at the centre of the local inclusive community and ensuring response to Covid-19. I know that that all members of our school feel many of our parents are also front valued for who they are and are line workers for the NHS and have affirmed for being who they are is worked ceaselessly over the past 6 an absolute priority for me and the months to keep us all safe. I would school. like to publicly thank all of you for all you have done and continue to do. I would also like to thank Lottie MacDonald and Ben Brown, the Head Girl and the Head Boy, for all that they have done this year to lead the school. They have been exceptional leaders in a crisis and showed wisdom and calmness beyond their years. My weekly meetings with them was always a highlight of my diary and I am genuinely very grateful to DR NIMAKO them both for the way that they helped shape and influence school His specialist include lung cancer e in Humandecisions Biologyand thinking and helped interests Can I also thank all of my and is the multidisciplinary team lead. His don before graduating shape and influence a really positive colleagues for the outstanding school culture. Like all good leaders job they did last year. We have a other interests are asthma, COPD, cough, pool University. He – they were not afraid to tell me superb Common Room here at respiratory failure, interstitial lung disease, aining at St George’s when I had got something wrong Caterham – utterly dedicated to the respiratory and bronchiectasis. on hospitalsbut asalways well as offered constructive infection task of supporting your children ey. Dr Nimako advice and solutions. to achieve their full potential. It is Dr Nimako is a football coach and chairman By extension I would like to thank worth noting that what I asked of o lung cancer at the all the School Prefects for theirYouth Football my colleagues last year was of Redhill Club. He is a far in l, obtaining his MD help over the year,lifelong and indeed all excess of what was expected of supporter of Liverpool FC. te of Cancer Research members of the school who have many teachers – you will know that ned an MScplayed degree in in shaping pupil a part from the experience of pupils in experience – whether that be on other schools – but they rose to the om Cardiff University. the school council, as wellbeing challenge superbly and I am very ambassadors, members of the very grateful to them for all that
ND DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES
Dr Kofi Nimako as been a Consultant cian since August 2013 and nical lead for respiratory Surrey Hospital. He is a al College of Physicians and e British Medical Association oracic Society.
they did and (in expectation) all that they will do this term. Likewise, thank you to the Parents’ Association for all the support they give to the school – both through their fundraising activities but also in their role as a critical friend. It has been enormously helpful to be able to share our thinking with the PA and have it honed by their input. I know just how hard Sam Kensey, the committee and all the class reps work. Thank you. Thanks also to the Trustees of the school. Being a Trustee of a charity has changed hugely over the past decade – it is a voluntary role with great responsibility. We are lucky to have such a diverse, talented and critically supportive body of trustees at Caterham who have been asked to go above and beyond their normal duties during this crisis. They have been a huge support to me and the school – their efforts generally go unnoticed but they deserve our collective thanks as we start a new academic year. And finally thank you to all of our parents. You have been in the midst of your own storms coping with Covid but you have been supportive, patient, understanding and flexible. I honestly mean it when I talk about our collective efforts in responding to Covid – and although I know we are not out of the woods yet, what we have achieved so far we have achieved together. My final words go to our Leavers. You have been a fantastic year group and I salute you – you have made me laugh more than cry and I have really enjoyed sharing your journey over the past 5 years. I am sorry that it didn’t end in the way that any of us wanted but, as I said in your year book – when challenges come (as they assuredly will) having a network around you is the key to success. You will always have a common bond with each other and with this place and that means you will never be alone in the world. Good luck next year and do remember that the Caterham community will always be here to help you if you need it.
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SPEECH DAY PRIZE WINNERS
CATERHAM SCHOOL SPEECH DAY PRIZES ACHIEVEMENT, PROGRESS AND CONTRIBUTION TO SCHOOL LIFE First Year Prizes Vivienne Christofides Mathilde Gisselbrecht Zara Leghari Eva Green Narayan Minhas Estee Norman Rajan Prashad Emilia Wlodarska Jonathan Woods Ethan Wright
Second Year Prizes Theo Banton Elle Davidson Rosie Davison Alice Keyworth Rianna Patel Isabelle Pond Max Tatara Joel Veldtman Sam Willson Mark Wolstenholme
Third Year Prizes Genevieve Alcock Millie Carmona Amali Carter Sophie Hobbs Lisa Hu Xavier Parker Kiyan Patel Oliver Rose James Williamson Abigail Wynn
Fourth Year Prizes Holly Bradley William Chang Catherine Chao Holly Cook Grace Godfrey Sophia Liu Jake Mears Austin Taylor Noah Willson Eric Yang
PRIZES FOR OUTSTANDING ALL-ROUND CONTRIBUTION TO SCHOOL LIFE The Rignall Prize
Jeremy Chang Laura Chisholm Katie Hudson David George-Kalu Drew McGlashan Electa Yeung
The Gregory Prize
George Fogarty Freddie Hull Mai Wallace Narek Nahapetyan Katie Watson
The Gorman Prize The Eothen Prize Old Caterhamians’ Prize
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Toby Carter George Thomas Maddy Pullen Charlotte McDonald Ben Brown
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND EFFORT Fifth Year Prizes Rachel Cliffe Nicola Finnegin Amelie Griffiths Sophie Hammond Rosie Home Isabelle Oliver Ryan O’Sullivan William Pye Eva Zeng Gracie Zhou
Lower Sixth Year Prizes Blanche Boomla Piers Bryan Maisie Greener Olivia Han Venus Ho Sally Ho Kelvin Lee Julia Makin Alexander Richings Belva Tam
SERVICE PRIZES The Bonarjee Prize
Isabella Berlin Mihir Gandecha David George-Kalu Olivia Lindo Uliana Petrova
The Brooke Prize
Tia Appea Grace Gair Charlotte Howarth Mark Lee Angelina Pisannaya Amelia Watson
The Wakefield Prize The Bacon Prize
Holly Gale Auyush Ganesh Karen Ma Matthew Olukoga Imogen Richings Leah Slattery Michaela Swayne Oliver Zonfrillo Emily Alexander Jeremy Chang Phoebe Cornish Kitty Fitzgerald Matthew Hannah Katie Hudson Olivia Raymond Benjamin Sharpe David Stevenson
PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRIZE The Parents’ Association Prize for Senior Debating
Narek Nahapetyan
SPEECH DAY PRIZE WINNERS
UPPER SIXTH ACADEMIC PRIZES The Allison Prize for English
Lauren Kosky
Academic Prize for Biology
Jack Warr
Academic Prize for Business Academic Prize for Chemistry
Sabrina Mak Polina Ivanova
The Coleman Prize for 3D Design Academic Prize for Drama and Theatre Studies
Ankush Patel Amelia Watson
Academic Prize for Economics
Max Hristov
Academic Prize for Fine Art
Sabrina Mak
The Hilton Prize for French
Laura Chilsolm
The Stephen Smith Prize for Geography
Jeremy Chang
The Prize for German
Benjamin Sharpe
The Masters Prize for Computer Science Academic Prize for Greek
Mulang Su Jessica Small
The Leathem Prize for History
Rhianna Harding
Academic Prize for Latin
Joshua Thorpe
The Robert Jarrams Prize for Double Maths (Pure)
Harrison Lam
The Robert Jarrams Prize for Double Maths (Applied)
Annie Qin
Academic Prize for Single Maths
Roy Wang
Academic Prize for PE
Zara Russell
Academic Prize for Photography Isabella Armitage Academic Prize for Psychology
Imogen Richings
Academic Prize for Physics
Leo Yue
Academic Prize for Politics
Electa Yeung
The St. John’s Prize for Philosophy and Ethics
Katie Watson
Academic Prize for Spanish
Mollie Harris
Academic Prize for Textiles
Michelle Wong
GAMES PRIZES Honours Cap – Representing Your Country in Sport
Charlotte McDonald Zara Russell Mina Darwin Ollie Hamilton Nell Jones Georgia Young
The Dunwoodie Cup – Best All Rounder in Girls Sports
Zara Russell
The Dermer Prize for Top Sportsman
James Watt
The Whiting Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Girls Sports The Smith Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Boys Sports Games Prize for Consistent Contribution to Games (Girls) Games Prize for Consistent Contribution to Games (Boys) John Villers Cup
Charlotte McDonald Toby Carter Holly Gale Katie Hudson Mai Wallace Isaac Salem
Darby Medal for Swimming - fastest girl Darby Medal for Swimming - fastest boy
Amy Davies Louis Davidson
Headmaster’s Special Sports Prize
Kirsty Dymond
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SPEECH DAY PRIZE WINNERS SPECIAL PRIZES The Christine Walker Prize
Georgia Bennett
The Baynon-Milnes Prize for Outstanding Concert Performance The Abbott Prize
Olivia Lindo Thomas Boyd
The Andrew Fisher Prize for Outstanding Performance in Drama
Ed Statham
The Blake-Thomas Falaises Prize (CCF)
Freddie Hull
The Susan Herbert Prize
Rhianna Harding
The Pidgeon Prize for Literature
Phoebe Cornish
The David Rogers Maths Prize
Laurie Carter
The Jen Dodd Maths Prize
Lucy Yu
Moncrieff Jones Science Prize
Ben Brown Mike Land
The Caterham Medicine Prize
Om Goswarmy
The Caldwell Cup for Musical Theatre
Maddy Pullen
The Chris Wright Cup for Junior Music
Alice Himsworth
The Susan Child History Essay Prize
Thomas Boyd
The Leathem Prize for History
Rhianna Harding
The Alexander Clarke Prize for Community Service The Hilary Trehane Prize for Services to the Community The Ansell Reed Prize for Contribution to Boarding & School Life The Harvard Book Award
Sasha Starodubtsev Finlay O’Sullivan Yuka Okada Julia Makin
The Thomas Warren Prize for Backstage Support The David Evans Award for Overall Academic Excellence
Misha Grinberg Caroline Book Amy Davies Ralph Hope Madeleine McMillan Michaela Swayne Alex Thomas Selina Wang Thomas Wang
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT AWARD Senior Independent Research Project Award: The Young Prize The Frederic H. Gay Prize
Rhianna Harding
The Alden Davies Prize
Mulang Su
The Audience Prize
Mulang Su
Shortlisted Intermediate Independent Research Project Award
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Ben Brown
Maddie Harding Leah Slattery Leo Yue Ananya Saraf
Highly Commended Caroline Book Georgina Craton Lucy Gomm Mollie Harris Ralph Hope Max Hristov Lauren Kosky Lottie McDonald Jaiden Patel Annie Qin Jess Small George Thomas Jack Warr Molly Watson Electa Yeung
SPEECH DAY PRIZE WINNERS
THE CATERHAM AWARD The ‘Caterham Award’ is awarded to Upper Sixth Form pupils who have participated fully in the Caterham School community. The award winners represent a great variety of interests and talents, and they will all have demonstrated responsibility, creativity, and a commitment to life at school. The Caterham Award promotes the School philosophy, ‘Inspiring Education for Life’.
Yonis Abdulle Emily Alexander Tia Appea Isabella Armitage Sophie Austin Georgia Bennett Isabella Berlin Alex Bond Caroline Book Thomas Boyd Ben Brown Jack Carter Laurie Carter Toby Carter Owen Cawood Jeremy Chang Howard Chen Hazel Cheng Laura Chisholm Katia Colligon Chloe Conway Molly Cooke Georgina Craton Tom Da Silva Amy Davies Solyana Dawit Henry Du Plessis Kirsty Dymond Ilia Erin Luca Fassio Kitty Fitzgerald James Flanagan George Fogarty Grace Gair Holly Gale Mihir Gandecha Aayush Ganes
David George-Kalu Georgie Gilshenan Lucy Gomm Om Goswamy Rebecca Grant Logan Green Tyler Green Misha Grinberg Abigail Hammond Matthew Hannah Maddie Harding Rhianna Harding Max Harrington Mollie Harris Ralph Hope Abbie Horsfall Charlotte Howarth Max Hristov Katie Hudson Riad Hulkhory Freddie Hull Polina Ivanova Daniel James Chris Jasobhar Joseph Kelly Lauren Kosky Harrison Lam Michael Land Jack Lee Mark Lee Richard Li Olivia Lindo Karen Ma Sabrina Mak Lottie McDonald Ned McGarvie Drew McGlashan
Madeleine McMillan Narek Nahapetyan Mark Newman Qi Jiang Ng Ana Odeide Yuka Okada Matthew Olukoga Finlay O’Sullivan Dylan Page Reggie Palmer Ankush Patel Jaiden Patel Uliana Petrova Mac Phanuvatsuk Jemine Pinnick Angelina Pisannaya Henry Poon Nathan Price Maddy Pullen Annie Qin Olivia Raymond Imogen Richings Max Robertson Zara Russell Isaac Salem Ben Sharpe Tyrese Simpson Robyn Sinclair Leah Slattery Jessica Small Alexander Smith Sasha Starodubtsev Ed Statham David Stevenson Will Stuart Olivia Sturgeon Mulang Su
Millie Summers William Sun Michaela Swayne Alexander Thomas Caelan Thomas George Thomas Jack Thompson Joshua Thorpe Ellen Tong Isabella Tork Alex Tute Galina Veshchugina Mai Wallace Selina Wang Thomas Wang Roy Wang Jack Warr Amelia Watson Katie Watson Molly Watson James Watt Alex Weiner Hurriaga Hannah Williams Matthew Willmott Emma Wilson Nico Wong Anna Wright Electa Yeung Oliver Yu Lucy Yu Leo Yue Billy Zhang Erio Zhang Anika Zhang Oliver Zonfrillo
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ACADEMIC RESULTS
“I want to acknowledge an exceptional group of young people who have responded admirably to the challenges and uncertainties of the last six months. They have shown themselves to be true Caterhamians – resilient young people who work hard and do their very best to support those around them at all times.”
2020 LEAVERS:
IN A CLASS OF THEIR OWN
H
eadmaster Ceri Jones paid tribute to the Class of 2020 as this summer’s A Level results once again placed the school amongst the top UK performers, and proved the character of a fine group of young people. Two thirds of all results were at A* to A grade, and despite a challenging and uncertain year, 2020’s results once again secured Caterham’s place in the premier league of UK independent schools. 98% of Caterham pupils secured places across Oxbridge, Russell Group and top 10 UK universities, including medicine and veterinary courses. Ten Caterhamians will now join the 60+ Caterhamians at Oxford or Cambridge University. The Headmaster, Ceri Jones, said: “I want to acknowledge an exceptional group of young people who have responded admirably to the challenges and uncertainties of 2020. They have shown themselves to be true Caterhamians – resilient young people who work hard and do their very best to support those around them at all times. It is a privilege to have been by their side, from welcoming them all into the Sixth Form post GCSE, through ‘normal’ school time and throughout lockdown. They know they remain part of our school community and that they will be supported
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by us as they embark on their exciting individual journeys to life at university and beyond. “Thanks are also due to our hardworking and inspiring team of teachers here who showed great ingenuity, innovation and determination as they continued to teach and prepare our Sixth Form students for university study throughout the summer. From day one of lockdown, teaching continued through our multi award-winning digital approach. Preparation for University: Summer Course 2020 Ceri Jones added: “Preparation for university courses in all subjects provided through the summer means Caterham pupils are ready to thrive as they take their next steps. The continuity of provision teachers provided supported our students academically, but also ensured a vital sense of community and normality throughout lockdown. “Grades open doors, but importantly we know that our young people are leaving us not only with their academic grades but with a skillset for life – they are problem solvers, digitally confident and creative, resilient young people ready to thrive as they move forward into the wider world.”
ACADEMIC RESULTS
COOL CLASSICISTS Many congratulations to LOTTIE, JESS and RHIANNA, all of whom have secured a place to study Classics at the University of Oxford (Lottie will study Classics and English). Rhianna, who will study at University College, paid tribute to her teachers at Caterham: “The teachers here really care for their students and are always willing to help. The extra support and help in the Sixth Form has been wonderful.” Jess, who will study at Magdalen College, said: “The Classics Department is just amazing – thank you so much! Even during lockdown, my teachers provided on-line seminars which really helped me prepare for university.” Jess also found time during her time at Caterham to enjoy the Army section of the School’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF), rising to the rank of Colour Sergeant.
BUILDING A BRILLIANT FUTURE OM is delighted to have earned a place to read Medicine at Imperial College. “I want to thank Dr Avery and Ms Henry for running such a great Psychology Department – they are always so on top of things!” Om also paid tribute to the “inspirational” Mr Quinton (Head of Science). Om, who is considering a career as a surgeon, joined Caterham School aged 13, having moved to the UK from Mauritius. “Caterham has been like a supportive family to me – so welcoming, so supportive. Thank you!”
Lottie has been an outstanding Head Girl at Caterham. “I have had so many experiences here,” she said. “I have loved sport at Caterham, especially the chance to compete at the Under 19 Lacrosse World Cup in Canada in the summer of 2019.” She praised her teachers, too: “Mr Crombie (English) and Mr Owen (Classics) have been an amazing support, especially in relation to my Oxbridge application.”
GREAT CHEMISTRY
COMPUTER WHIZZ
POLINA has been a boarder at Caterham since joining in the Lower Sixth. Now she has achieved a fabulous set of straight A*s in Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and Physics and will go on to Oxford University (St Hugh’s College) where she will study Chemistry. “I would like to thank the boarding staff, and the Head of Chemistry, Mr Keyworth, who has been so helpful, supportive and inspiring – and his whole department. Dr Dimakos (Maths) has also been a wonderful teacher. I have had so much fun at Caterham – I have absolutely loved it.”
A highlight of MULANG’S time at Caterham School was giving a presentation on the highly complex topic of the world’s time zones to a large, live audience. It was unforgettable! “Many thanks to my computing teacher, Mr Stokes, who has been great, and to Mr Buchan in the excellent Maths Department.” Mulang, who is keen to work in computer software, has been a much-loved member of our boarding community: “Everything has been so smooth, everyone so supportive – there have been no problems! Thank you!”
13
ACADEMIC RESULTS
98 11 70 %
of Caterham pupils secured places across Oxbridge, Russell Group and top 10 UK universities, including medicine and veterinary courses
BRILLIANT SUCCESS FOR YUKA YUKA joined Caterham as a boarder when she was 11 years old – and now she is off to Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall) to read Physics. “Where do I begin?” asks Yuka. “I have enjoyed so much at Caterham and I want to thank the entire staff – including those who have never taught me – for being so helpful, supportive and friendly. I have learnt so much from Mrs Quinton, my boarding housemistress, and her team in Beech Hanger. I have missed them all during the coronavirus pandemic. I have received outstanding support from the Physics Department, and the teachers have continued to support us all with excellent virtual learning during the lockdown period.”
14
%
Caterhamians are now heading for Oxford or Cambridge University – joining 60+ Caterhamians already there.
%
of all results at top A* and A grades
OFF TO A FLYING START!
LAURA THE LAWYER
JACK is interested in becoming a pilot and considered training straight after school. However, he has opted to get a degree first. He is off to Imperial College where he will read Earth and Planetary Science. “A big shout out, please, to Mr Batty,” says Jack. “He’s a geology specialist and has been so helpful to me, especially as I was preparing for my chosen degree course during lockdown.” He says the Geography Department’s trip to South Wales as one of his best experiences, along with the opportunities he had to fly through the RAF section of the school’s CCF: “And I even led my own squad of junior cadets – we called ourselves ‘Tornado Flight’!”
LAURA has done brilliantly since she joined Caterham aged 16 from a local school. She has now achieved A*s in English Literature, French and Politics A Level and will go on to Warwick University where she will read Law with French Law. She credits a special ‘Careers in Law’ event at the school for helping her to decide to read law. “Thank you so much to all my teachers – none of this would have been possible without them!” says Laura. “I’ve had a great time here and made lots of friends. Caterham is such a welcoming school.”
ACADEMIC RESULTS OTHER TOP ACHIEVERS Maximum Effort
Mad about Economics
A Runaway Success
MADDIE’S superb grades in her three A Levels (Economics, Maths and Psychology) have earned her a place to read Economics at Nottingham University. “Economics has a direct relevance to so many aspects of life,” says Maddie, who is considering a career in finance or banking. “I have loved Caterham School – the best thing here is how much all the teachers care about their students.”
Keen cross-country runner, RALPH achieved a stunning string of grades in all four of his A Levels – Geography, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. Now he is off to Imperial College to complete a degree in Physics. Ralph says: “The Physics Department has been brilliant. Dr Scott is so enthusiastic and his Physics Extension Club set me up for university.”
MAX has been a lynch-pin of our boarding community, rising to become Head of House in Viney (our senior boys’ boarding house). “Boarding has been the highlight of my time at Caterham School,” says Max, who may consider entering academia after reading Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE). “Being Head of House was a wonderful A LEVEL EXAMINATION RESULTS 2020 privilege for me. I feel very fortunate, and now I’m off % Passes SUBJECT A* A B C D to study a subject I am A*–A A*– B A*– C fascinated in!” 3D Design 0 1 1 0 0 50 100 100
What a Star!
Biology
12 16 10 6 0
64 86 100
Business
3 6 9 1 0
47 95 100
Chemistry
14 11 8 4 0
66 87 97
Chinese
0 8 7 1 0 50 94 100
Computer Science
3 0 1 0 0
Drama & Theatre Studies 0 Economics English Literature
Making Waves AMY is a superb swimmer – she trained 13 hours a week during her school days and was heading to this year’s trials for the Olympic Games before they were sadly cancelled. “I loved my A Level subjects – Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and Physics – so it was hard to decide on a subject to read at university.” She eventually chose to read Chemical Engineering at Nottingham University: “It is a good combination of my favourite subjects, and will open up good career opportunities.” Amy said: “I joined Caterham in Year 7 and have loved my time here. It’s such a great place.”
7 0 0 0 0 100 100 100
Fine Art
ALEX’S outstanding A Level results have won him a place at Durham University where he will read Physics and Astronomy. Alex says: “I studied Astronomy GCSE with Mr Mansell and this really triggered my interest in the subject. Maybe I will go on to study astronomy at post-graduate level – or I might have a career in computing, which also fascinates me. Thank you, Caterham!”
1
0
0
9 20 11 3 0 10
7
5
1
0
67 100 100 67 93 100 74 96 100
French
1 3 2 0 0
67 100 100
Geography
7 6 2 0 0
87 100 100
German
0 1 1 0 0 50 100 100
Politics
4 7 3 2 0
69 88 100
Greek
1 2 0 0 0 100 100 100
History
2 5 4 0 0
Japanese
0 1 0 0 0 100 100 100
Latin
5 1 0 0 0 100 100 100
64 100 100
Maths
38 35 11 8 4
75 87 95
Further Maths
20
86 93 100
Photography Physics Physical Education
5
2
2
0
3 3 0 0 0 100 100 100 16 18 11 4 0 1
1
1
1
0
69 92 100 50 75 100
Psychology
11 12 15 6 0
52 86 100
Religious Studies
4 2 2 0 0
75 100 100
Russian
6 0 0 0 0 100 100 100
Spanish
2 0 0 0 0 100 100 100
TOTAL %
2
75 100 100
179 173 107 39 4 27.9 34.6 23.4 10.6 2.8
15
STRENGTH STRENGTHIN IN STRENGTH IN NUMBERS NUMBERS NUMBERS AS ASCATERHAM CATERHAM AS CATERHAM STRENGTH IN NUMBERS CELEBRATES CELEBRATES CELEBRATES RECORD RESULTS AS CATERHAM RECORD RESULTS RECORD RESULTS
ACADEMIC RESULTS
AAA The average grade profile for a Caterhamian
CELEBRATES RECORD RESULTS
Summer 2020’s GCSE results placed andand resilience. I am also Summer 2020’s GCSE results placed character character and resilience. am also Summer 2020’s GCSE results placed character resilience. I Iam also thethe school in the top flight of UK delighted forfor all across thethe theschool schoolin inthe thetop topflight flightof ofUK UK delighted forpupils allpupils pupils across the delighted all across schools once again, with all all grades who have to endure such schools once again, with allgrades grades country country who have toendure endure such schools once again, with country who have to such setset according to examination turbulent times and who deserve set according to examination turbulent times and who deserve according to examination turbulent times and who deserve boards’ strict criteria forfor all schools. positive news today. boards’ strict criteria forall allschools. schools. such such positive news today. boards’ strict criteria such positive news today.
PPE, helping raise funds forfor East PPE, helping raise funds forEast East PPE, helping raise funds Surrey NHS charity SASH or SurreyNHS NHScharity charitySASH SASHor or Surrey supporting ourour partner schools, ourour supporting our partner schools, our supporting partner schools, pupils have shown their true colours. pupils have shown their true colours. pupils have shown their true colours. I am incredibly proud of them andand thethe am incredibly proud ofthem them and the I Iam incredibly proud of whole school community. Despite whole school community. Despite whole school community. Despite Despite a challenging andand uncertain Summer 2020: Inspire Course difficult times forfor everyone, working Despite challenging and uncertain Summer 2020: Inspire Course difficult times foreveryone, everyone, working Despite aachallenging uncertain 2020: Inspire Course difficult times working Despite a challenging and uncertain Summer pupils across the country who have to the end of term, all the while year: Ceri Jones added: “We moved quickly with such purposeful and inspiring year: Ceri Jonesadded: added: “Wemoved moved quickly withsuch suchpurposeful purposeful and inspiring year: Ceri Jones “We quickly with year: to endure such turbulent times and supporting each otherand andinspiring the – 40 per cent of all were thethe ourour pupils’ pathway intointo ourour people provides a great deal 40per per cent ofgrades allgrades grades were the to ensure toensure ensure our pupils’ pathway into our young young people provides great deal ––40 cent of all were pupils’ pathway young people provides aagreat deal deserve such positive news wider community around them. › 40 per cent of all grades were the towho toptop grade 9 Sixth Form back in March to provide optimism.” topgrade grade99 Sixth Formback backininMarch Marchto toprovide provide of Whether ofoptimism.” optimism.” Sixth Form of today. they were making PPE, top grade 9 – More twotwo thirds of all certainty ahead of aof difficult fewfew More than two thirds ofresults all results certainty ahead of difficult few helping raise funds for East Surrey ––More than thirds of all certainty ahead aadifficult › than More than two thirds ofresults all Summer 2020: Inspire Course were the top 9 or 8 grade (equivalent months for everyone. They are now Caterham School’s GCSE results were the top 9 or 8 grade (equivalent months for everyone. They are now Caterham School’s GCSE results NHS charity SASH or supporting were the top 9 orthe 8 grade months for everyone. They are now Caterham School’s GCSE results results were top 9(equivalent or 8 grade Ceri Jones added: “We moved to an A*) more than ready for Sixth Form study, followed hot on the heels of the to an A*) more than ready for Sixth Form study, followed hot on the heels of the our partner schools, our pupils have to an A*) more than ready for Sixth Form study, followed hot on the heels of the (equivalent to an A*) quickly to ensure our pupils’ – 4–out of every 5 grades issued was having completed our online Inspire School’s A Level results which saw –44›out out of every 5 grades issued was having completed our online Inspire School’s A Level results which saw shown their true colours. of every 5 grades issued was having completed online Inspire School’s A Level results which saw 4 out of every 5 grades issued pathway into ourour Sixth Form back a top grade 9, 8 or 7 (equivalent to course through the summer term, and pupils achieve 70 per cent A* to I am incredibly proud of them top grade or779, (equivalent to coursethrough throughthe thesummer summerterm, term,and and pupils pupilsachieve achieve70 70per percent centof ofA* A*A toAA was a top 8 or 7 aatop grade 9,9,grade 88or (equivalent to course to in March to provide certainty an an A*/A grade) as young people hungry to make the grades and an average grade profile and the whole school community. anA*/A A*/Agrade) grade)to an A*/A grade) asyoung youngpeople peoplehungry hungryto tomake makethe the gradesand andan anaverage averagegrade gradeprofile profile (equivalent as grades ahead of a difficult few months for – The average grade profile of aof most of life at forDespite pupils of AAA. difficult times for everyone, The average grade profile ofaaof a most oflife lifeschool.” atschool.” school.” forpupils pupils ofAAA. AAA. › The average grade profile ––The average grade profile most of at for of everyone. They are now more than working with such purposeful and Caterham pupil is ten grade 8s Caterham pupil ten grade 8s 8s Caterham pupil is grade ten grade Caterham pupil isisten 8s ready for Sixth Form study, having inspiring young people provides a “Even when lockdown hit, our pupils “Even when lockdown hit, our pupils “Even when lockdown our pupils The Headmaster, Ceri Jones, said: completed our onlinehit, Inspire course great deal of optimism.” TheThe Headmaster, Jones, andand whole community continued to to The Headmaster, Ceri Jones, said: and whole community continued to Headmaster, Ceri Jones, said: whole community continued “Our youngCeri people cansaid: celebrate through the summer term, and as Caterham School’s GCSE results “Our young people can celebrate work through virtual school from day “Our young people can celebrate work through virtual school from day these grades with certainty “Our young people can celebrate work through virtual school fromthe day young people hungry to make followed hot on the heels of the these grades with certainty knowing of lockdown toschool.” the endend of term, these grades with certainty knowing oneone one oflockdown lockdown tothe the end ofterm, term, knowing that they have worked most of life at these grades with certainty knowing of to of School’s A Level results which saw that they have worked hard them while supporting each other that they have worked hard forthem them all the allthe the while supporting each other hard for them across afor two-year “Even when lockdown hit,other our that they have worked hard for all while supporting each pupils achieve 70 perprofile cent of for A* across a two-year course andand with a aa andand thethe wider community around The average grade across two-year course and with and the wider community around course and with a summer that The average gradeprofile profilefor for pupils and whole community across aatwo-year course with wider community around The average grade to A grades and an average grade summer hashas shown their true Whether they were making a Caterhamian hasthat shown their true character summer that has shown their true and them. them. Whether they were making continued to work through virtual aCaterhamian Caterhamian summer that shown their true them. Whether they were making a profile for pupils of AAA. resilience. I am also delighted for all school from day one of lockdown
Summer 2020’s GCSE results placed the school in the top flight of UK schools once again, with all grades set according to examination boards’ strict criteria for all schools.
AAA AAA
.
SUPERB SHARON Superb Sharon Superb Sharon Superb Sharon SHARON is keen to train as doctor, SHARON is keen toaas train as a SHARONisiskeen keen totrain train as doctor, SHARON to aadoctor, possibly specialising in paediatrics. She’s possibly specialising in paediatrics. She’s doctor, possibly specialising in possibly specialising in paediatrics. She’s on track, having achieved a brilliant set set on track, having achieved abrilliant brilliant on track, having achieved atrack, set paediatrics. She’s on having of 11 of GCSEs. Sharon, whowho is a weekly GCSEs. Sharon, weekly of 1111GCSEs. Sharon, who isisaaweekly achieved a “Thank brilliant of GCSEs. boarder, said:said: “Thank you you toset my teachers, boarder, tomy my11 teachers, boarder, said: “Thank you to teachers, especially Dr Dimakos, who was such an an Sharon, who is a weekly boarder, especiallyDr DrDimakos, Dimakos,who whowas wassuch such especially an enthusiastic maths teacher! enthusiastic maths teacher! said: “Thank you to my teachers, enthusiastic maths teacher! especially Dr Dimakos, who was such an enthusiastic maths teacher!
16
REASONS TO BE Reasons to be Reasons toCheerful beCheerful Cheerful Reasons to be CHEERFUL WILL is the youngest of three brothers to to WILLisisthe theyoungest youngest ofthree three brothers WILL of brothers to attend Caterham School. He of has achieved attend Caterham School. He has achieved WILL is the youngest three attend Caterham School. He has achieved a remarkable set of 12of ‘9’s in hisinGCSEs. remarkable set 12Caterham ‘9’s hisGCSEs. GCSEs. aaremarkable set of 12 ‘9’s in his brothers to attend School. “I would lovelove to continue working in the would tocontinue continue working the “I“Iwould love to working ininthe He has achieved a remarkable set fieldfield of physics” sayssays Will,Will, whowho will study ofphysics” physics” willstudy study field of says Will, who will thatof subject with chemistry, biology, 12subject ‘9’salong in along his GCSEs. “I would love that subject along with chemistry, biology, that with chemistry, biology, maths, further maths at Aat Level. maths, further maths A Level. to continue working in the field of maths, further maths at A Level. physics” says Will, who will study that subject along with chemistry, biology, maths, further maths at A Level.
RACHEL’S ROARING Rachel’s Roaring Ahead Rachel’s Roaring Ahead Rachel’s Roaring Ahead AHEAD RACHEL achieved a stunning 9 grade ‘9’s ‘9’s RACHELachieved achieved stunning grade RACHEL aastunning 99grade ‘9’s RACHEL achieved aGCSEs. stunning and one one grade ‘8’ in‘8’ her She9She and grade in her GCSEs. and one grade ‘8’ in her GCSEs. She joined Caterham Year 7 from Micklefield joined Caterham Year from Micklefield grade ‘9’s and inone grade ‘8’ inMicklefield her joined Caterham ininYear 77from School in Reigate. Rachel, whowho enjoys all all School in Reigate. Rachel, enjoys School in Reigate. Rachel, who all GCSEs. She joined Caterham enjoys in sortssorts of dance, is thinking of becoming a a of dance, is thinking of becoming sorts of dance, is thinking of becoming a Year 7 In from Micklefield School in teacher. the meantime, she is looking teacher. themeantime, meantime, she looking teacher. InInthe she isislooking Reigate. who enjoys allEnglish, sorts forward to Rachel, her A Level subjects: English, forward toher her Level subjects: English, forward to AALevel subjects: geography, economics and psychology. geography, economics and psychology. ofgeography, dance, is thinking ofand becoming economics psychology. a teacher. In the meantime, she is looking forward to her A Level subjects: English, geography, economics and psychology.
ACADEMIC RESULTS
99
40
%
%
of pupils remain at Caterham after GCSEs to complete their A Level studies
of all GCSE grades achieved top grade 9
GCSE EXAMINATION RESULTS 2020 SUBJECT
9 8 7 6 5 4
9 – 8
3D Design
7
40.6 81.3 84.4 100
Art
6
13
1
5
0
16 9 2 0 0 0 0
0
92.6 100 100 100
Astronomy
2 2 4 2 3 0
30.8 61.5 76.9 100
Biology
51 54 4 0 0 0
96.3 100 100 100
Business Studies
17 18 18 13 2 0
51.5 77.9 97.1 100
Chemistry
32 32 24 15 5 1
58.7 80.7 94.5 99.1
Drama
0
9–5
6
Computer Science
2
9 – 6
Art: Fashion Textiles
Chinese
1
% PASSES 9 – 7
7 6 0 0 0 0 10
9
7
3
1
0
3 4 5 2 1 0
77.8 100 100 100
100 100 100 100 63.3 86.7 96.7 100 46.7
80 93.3 100
English Language
97
23
17
1
0
0
87
English Literature
85
30
16
7
0
0
83.3 94.9 100 100
1
0
2
0
0
0
33.3 100 100 100
English 2nd Language
99.3 100 100
French
17 10 14 12 3 1
Geography
19 16 21 15 3 1 46.7 74.7 94.7 98.7
47.4 71.9 93 98.2
German
5 6 4 7 1 0
47.8 65.2 95.7 100
Greek
1 0 0 0 0 0
100 100 100 100
History Italian Latin Maths Further Maths Music Philosophy & Theology Physical Education Physics
14 20 10 7 7 0 58.6 75.9 87.9 100 3 0 1 0 1 1 50 17 4 2 0 0 0 49 37 30 21 4 0 18
16
13
2
0
0
4 4 1 1 0 0 22
12
11
3
0
0
66.7 66.7 83.3
91.3 100 100 100 61
82.3 97.2 100
69.4 95.9 100 100 80
90 100 100
70.8 93.8 100 100
6 1 2 1 1 0 63.6 81.8 90.9 100 42 36 20 7 4 0
71.6 89.9 96.3 100
Russian
2 0 0 0 0 0
100 100 100 100
Double Science
1
18.8 42.2 87.5 93.8
Spanish Totals %
11
15
29
4
4
18 16 18 3 1 0 572 383 276 152 46
60.7 92.9 98.2 100
8
39.81 26.65 19.21 10.58 3.20 0.56
66.5 85.7 96.2 99.4
17
PUPILS ON THE MOVE
UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS AND COURSES 2020 O
ur focus at Caterham is to support our young people to the courses and universities about which they are passionate and which best support and enable their ambitions. In 2020, 98% of Caterham pupils secured places across Oxbridge, Russell Group and top 10 UK universities, including medicine and veterinary courses. The choices of our pupils reflect the breadth of
Bournemouth University
4
King’s College London, University of London
Business and Management (Economics)
Business Management
Business and Management (Finance)
Computer Science with Intelligent Systems
Economics
English
Sport Management
Liberal Arts
Brunel University London
1
Cardiff University
Physiotherapy
2
Kingston University
Biological Sciences
Graphic Design
Physiotherapy
Lancaster University
Durham University
6
English Literature
General Engineering
History
Geography
London School of Economics
Natural Sciences
Actuarial Science
Physics and Astronomy
Economics
Psychology
Geography with Economics 2
3
11
Law (Bachelor of Laws)
Business Management
Management
Psychology
Loughborough University
Heriot-Watt 2
Economics
Accountancy and Finance
Mechanical Engineering with Placement Year
International Business Management with Economics
Medway School of Pharmacy
Imperial College London
MPHARM (Pharmacy) with Foundation Year
8
1
Economics and International Relations
Business Management with Study Abroad
Edinburgh Napier
6
Psychology
Industrial Design and Technology with Placement
18
interests and diversity across this talented cohort of young people. Places have been successfully secured on courses across a wide range of subjects including medicine, aeronautics and astronautics, classics and Law. The below table details the destinations of our 2020 leavers, the number of pupils moving on to that university and the range of courses secured.
Computing
Nottingham Trent University
Earth and Planetary Science
Business
Mathematics
Business Management and Marketing
Mechanical Engineering
Oxford Brookes University
Medicine
Economics, Finance and International Business
Physics
Events Management
2
1
2
4
›
PUPILS ON THE MOVE
98% of Sixth Form pupils gained places at Russell Group and Top 10 UK universities Psychology
University of Birmingham
Real Estate
Biomedical Science
Queen Mary University of London
3
University of Brighton
Biomed Engineering
Civil Engineering with Construction Management
Mechanical Engineering
University of Bristol
Medicine
Aerospace Engineering
Royal Holloway, University of London
2
Geography
Accounting and Finance
History 1
1
1
University of Cambridge
Mathematics
2
University of East Anglia UEA
Applied Medical Sciences
Natural Sciences
Business Management
University of Essex
The University of Edinburgh
4
University of Exeter
English Literature
Biological Sciences
Linguistics
Business and Management
Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Classics and Study Abroad 7
English
Economics
Geography
Mathematics
Mathematics and Data Science
Psychology
Medical Sciences
Spanish and Philosophy
Neuroscience 7
1
11
Economics with Industrial Experience
Computer Science
University of Bath
1
Sports and Exercise Science
Cognitive Science (Humanities)
UCL (University College London)
3
Classics
Biomedical Sciences Swansea University
Liberal Arts with Study Abroad (4 years)
Engineering
Product Design St George’s, University of London
6
Neuroscience
Veterinary Medicine Solent University, Southampton
1
Classics
Management with Marketing (Year in Business)
Royal Veterinary College, University of London
1
Physics
Economics with Placement
University of Glasgow
International Development with Economics
Geography
Mathematics
University of Leeds
Politics and International Relations
History and Philosophy
Psychology with Placement
Psychology
1
4
› 19
PUPILS ON THE MOVE
60+ Caterhamians currently studying at Oxford or Cambridge University
Psychology with Education
University of St Andrews
Sustainability & Environmental Management (International)
English University of Surrey
University of Lincoln
1
Biochemistry University of Manchester
7
Computer Science
Medical Physiology and Therapeutics
German and Economics
Neuroscience
Law with French Law 8
Chemistry
Liberal Arts Management
Classics
University of Winchester
Classics and English
1
Creative and Professional Writing
Experimental Psychology
University of York
Physics (4-year MPhys)
2
English 2
Psychology
Natural Sciences Writtle University College
International Relations and Politics
Equine Performance Science 7
Aeronautics and Astronautics / Aerodynamics with Industrial Placement Year Business Analytics with Placement Business Management International Relations Mechanical Engineering / Engineering Management with Industrial Placement Year
20
1
Biomedical Science with Placement Year
Mechanical Engineering
Psychology
1
Biomedical Science
Economics
Philosophy
University of Toronto
University of Warwick
Criminology
University of Southampton
University of Sussex
Biochemistry
Chemical Engineering including an Industrial Year
University of Sheffield
Law with International Relations
Biomedical Science 8
Architecture
University of Oxford
2
Psychology 2
Economics University of Nottingham
1
1
PUPILS ON THE MOVE
SECURED OXBRIDGE PLACES SPAN SCIENCE AND ARTS SUBJECTS From Chemistry to Experimental Psychology and Mathematics to Engineering, this year’s set of Oxbridge offers saw a strong showing for science subjects.
C
aterham’s Sixth Form day and boarding girls have shown their mettle in STEM subjects with Hazel receiving an offer to read Engineering at Cambridge, Annie to read Mathematics at Cambridge, Selina to read Physics at Oxford and Polina to read Chemistry at Oxford. 10 leavers will now join the 50 plus Old Caterhamians currently studying at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Classics and English also met with success, with three of this year’s offers covering these arts subjects. For the second year running the Classics department achieved a 100% success rate with all applicants receiving an Oxbridge offer. Ceri Jones, Headmaster, said: “We always prioritise supporting our young people
to take the path that is right for them as they progress on from the School, whatever that be. This is a huge achievement for our pupils who have not missed a beat across a busy academic, sporting and co-curricular programme – they have my warm congratulations. We are proud of our record of securing Oxbridge offers, but it is just one measure of success. It does, however, say something important about the academic ambition and experience of the school which benefits all pupils whatever their own particular journey may turn out to be.” Despite Caterham students’ recent successes in gaining highly competitive degree apprenticeships, including with BP and EY, Oxbridge remains a popular and successful path for the School’s leavers.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARKUS LEO, UNSPLASH
21
CATERHAM CONNECT
CATERHAM CONNECT INSPIRING NETWORKING
CSS Insight: Entrepreneurship A stunning city sunset was enjoyed by Sixth Form, Old Cats and parents attending the Caterham School Society Insight Evening into Entrepreneurship and Investment.
W
ells Fargo’s London HQ was the jaw dropping venue for this fantastic evening with UK leading entrepreneurs and investors imparting knowledge and encouragement to budding entrepreneurs of all ages. Jacqueline Gold CBE gave the key note speech before the audience rotated around a panel of experts from across the school Old Cat and parental body. The strength of the Caterham School community was in full action on the night.
We were also delighted to welcome our partner Caterham House students from the London Academy of Excellence to the event.
22
CATERHAM CONNECT
CSS Bonarjee Lecture:
JOHN HUMPHRYS
Legendary broadcaster John Humphrys was the guest speaker for the 2019/20 CSS Bonarjee Lecture held in a packed Humphreys Theatre.
T
he annual event triumphs free speech, free media and democracy and is held in memory of Old Caterhamian Stephen Bonarjee who established Radio 4’s Today programme in the 1950s and is known as ‘the father of modern radio’. Stephen was also a supporter of the school throughout his life. With surprising impressions of the Queen and Margaret Thatcher combined with insightful and
amusing anecdotes from decades of interviewing global leaders, John Humphrys entertained his audience for well over an hour before signing copies of his latest book. We were delighted to welcome guests from several local schools, including a large party from Oxted School in addition to our own Sixth Form pupils, parents and Old Caterhamians who supported the evening.
Ama Agbeze captained England’s netball team to Gold at the Commonwealth Games
Careers in the City Over a hundred pupils and their parents joined the Careers Department for the Careers in the City evening on Tuesday 21 January, where ten superb speakers from a huge range of professions gave frank and honest accounts of their career paths so far. Old Caterhamians Cameron Brown, Camilla Clark, Alex Clark, Samir Dwesar and Rachel Wright, who all left within the last ten years, talked us through their experiences and offered some very sound advice on how to choose your next steps. The professions they have entered were very exciting - Geospatial Consulting, Trainee Actuary, Press Officer at No 10, Politics comms, careers at J P Morgan and it was great to hear their stories. We also welcomed parents and friends of the School who were equally diverse in their roles, from Underwriting, Law, Journalism, Accountancy and Investment Banking. It was a super evening which can always be shown when you have to ask people to leave! Thank you so much to everyone who took part.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION
FROM LEADING LIGHTS IN SPORT
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brilliant night of inspiration saw some of the UK’s top sportsmen and women (including Old Cats) gather at Crystal Palace FC to give all members of the Caterham community insights into lessons in resilience and success that they have gained from their sporting careers. We were thrilled that they offered new words of inspiration to the Caterham School community. The Caterham School Society’s series of Insight Evenings were shortlisted by the Times Educational Supplement for their 2020 Independent School Awards. The events are supported by the Old Caterhamian’s Association and bring together the knowledge, experience and networking potential of everyone connected to the school.
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CATERHAM CONNECT
PA VISIT TO
JIGSAW
Despite the flurry of snow on Thursday 27 February, the Parents’ Association were delighted to visit one of our supported charities - Jigsaw (South East) in East Grinstead.
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PAQUIZ On Saturday 7 March, parents and staff pitted their wits against each other to win the coveted PA Quiz Night first prize and avoid walking away with the wooden spoons in an evening of questions, music and pictures. Compere Stuart Terrell got the evening underway with the first rounds of questions before the supper break where Salisbury’s of Whyteleafe served their delicious fish and chips dinner (other options were available!). There was time for the ever popular game of ‘Heads & Tails’ where the last person standing wins a bottle of bubbly before The quiz continued with the best brains in Caterham pondering questions across all subjects. Each table was allocated a ‘quiz host’ from a TV quiz. There were 135 questions in total including a double points joker round, with the scores ranging from 87.5 to 133 points. The winners were ‘Team Sir Bruce Forsyth’ beating second place ‘Team Anne Robinson’ by 11 points, the wooden spoon winners were ‘Team Jimmy Carr’’. Well done everyone! The excellent quiz raised in excess of £1,200 for the PA Charities. Many, many thanks to all those who organised this event.
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am Kensey and Erika James met with Carolyn Steer, Business Development Manager and the team. We talked about the amazing work they do supporting children as they prepare for the loss of a loved one and the essential continuing support through the loss. We were delighted to present Carolyn with a cheque for £2,500.00 from the Parents’ Associations’ fundraising over the last year and we are very much looking forward to raising more funds for this amazing and worthy charity. During our visit Carolyn told us about the support groups workshops that they organise for up to ten grieving families over a period of 6 weeks. These workshops give families an opportunity to work through and cope with their grief and in the words of an attendee “it taught us how to communicate again.” These workshops cost around £2,000.00 to organise and run, they will be putting our donation towards helping children and their families to deal with their loss and rebuild their lives.
“Before we felt alone-scared and not normal - with Jigsaw we learnt how to work our our way through it together we found peace, comfort and the skills to help us cope with our grief.” Mother who attended groups with her 7 year old son.
Thank you for supporting your Parents’ Association and our nominated charities.
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SUPER SPARKLY FIREWORKS NIGHT
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thunderous firework display was the just reward for our fulsome crowd who were undaunted by Saturday’s heavy downpours. The rain did not spoil the fun of Caterhamians young and old who enjoyed a wonderful evening and kept toasty by the fire globes and with lashings of mulled wine so cheerfully supplied by the Parents’ Association. The youngest faces in the crowd lit up with the glow of luminous toys and yummy sweets from the Prep PA stalls. ACDC got the fireworks party started – the track chosen specially for Head Groundsman John Dodwell who, with his team, worked so hard to enable the event set up. Thank you to our many volunteers and to all who made Saturday another sparkly, fun evening.
TRANSFORMING LIVES – IE BURSARIES Caterham School’s Inspiring Education Transformational Bursaries campaign was launched in early 2019 with the aim of enabling access to a Caterham Education to those who would not otherwise be able to join the school. Just over six months after its launch and the campaign welcomed two new bursary pupils into the school in 2019. September 2020 has seen a further three pupils join under the scheme.
INSIGHT WEBINAR US ELECTION Over 150 pupils, parents and Old Caterhamians joined a fascinating and lively insight into the current state of play of the US 2020 election campaign with former White House advisor and Old Cat Geoffrey Kemp. This was the first of a series of Insight webinars available for the Caterham School community. Geoffrey provided valuable insight into how Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter are impacting the race for the White House. Questions flooded in from pupils, parents and former pupils alike generating lively discussion on who Biden might choose as his running mate and whether, in 2024, we might see another Obama in the running.
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CATERHAM CONNECT
Checkpoint Charlie
Poignant personal stories were interwoven with key points in Cold War history as Iain MacGregor, author of Checkpoint Charlie, gave our Caterham School Society Spring Lecture.
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he audience spanned A Level and GCSE pupils studying this era in the classroom to those of us familiar with the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie from daily news bulletins – and was introduced by former Caterham bursar Brigadier John King MBE who recalled his service in East Germany. Published to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the fall
of the Berlin Wall, Iain’s book Checkpoint Charlie is a vivid and poignant exploration of the history through the lens of interwoven first-person experiences. In a fascinating lecture, Iain talked through the key events and people that populate his book and who were connected on every front to the Berlin Wall and a segregated city from recent European history.
THANKING CLASS REPS
Old Park Woods’ Woodland Orchids For those of you taking a regular ramble in the school’s Old Park Woods nature continues to offer beauty and inspiration. Amongst the many flowers in bloom at the moment are Common Spotted Orchids. There is also plenty of wildlife activity happening throughout the woods with the resident badgers and deer in evidence.
On Monday 15 June, Mr Jones joined our hardworking Class Reps via Zoom to say a big thank you for all the work that goes on over the year. In normal times, the Headmaster would hold a special ‘Thank You Supper’ in the refectory but due to lockdown restrictions this year, the get together had to take place online. With everyone invited to bring a glass of their favourite tipple to the meeting, Mr Jones raised a toast to the group. The supportive parents in this role are vital to the functionality of the school and we say a wholehearted THANK YOU!
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LOCKDOWN PPE FOR CARE WORKERS The support effort by the Caterham community is global with amazing support from our overseas pupils and Old Caterhamians.
VISOR PRODUCTION Our hardworking 3D department joined forces with Prep School Art to produce 200 visors in one day! The visors have been distributed around the North Tandridge Primary Care Network and are already being used to protect workers at local residential homes and GP surgeries.
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he production of the masks has evolved over the past week to speed up the process and make use of more accessible material and fabrication techniques. Last week, the initial design took the 3D printer 12 hours to print four head bands using 63 metres of PLA (a biodegradable plastic derived from corn starch mounted onto a reel). This was clearly too slow, so the volunteer team designed and
manufactured its own ‘low tech’ visor from clear PVC, foam, elastic and snap poppers which could be quickly assembled. A new design is set to speed up production further still with a version suited for hospital use with no fabric parts. Kitronic who supply primary and secondary schools with materials for Design & Technology have shared a different visor design which can be quickly laser cut from sheet polypropylene.
Lucy G, with the help of friends and family, is spearheading a brilliant effort to provide significant PPE provision for care and health workers in Caterham and beyond. In addition to starting a fundraising campaign on Instagram, (with brilliant posters designed by fellow pupil Sophie T) Lucy is working hard arranging purchase and shipment of CE certified masks to Caterham. Great work Lucy and team! This support is in addition to the many boarding families who have already donated and sent masks and PPE via the School’s boarding houses.
STAY HEALTHY – JOIN THE CLUB ON STRAVA Since moving to virtual school, members of the Sports Department set up a Strava Club, this tracks your exercise and posts it onto the Caterham School Strava page, competing and seeing how active we are as a community.
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AMAZING
£7K Raised for SASH The English Department’s Saturday night quiz, which began as school community fun during lockdown has raised almost £7,000 for SASH, the charity for East Surrey Hospital and the care and services provided by Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust for people across Surrey and Sussex.
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Mr Nick Crombie, set the wheels in motion at the start of lockdown and the event has proved so popular that he has kept it going, raising the brilliant sum for the NHS and gaining a global audience.
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r Crombie said: “The quiz started five weeks ago as an opportunity to get our community in one place on a Saturday night, aiming to bring their ‘big night out, back in’. We have grown over this time and now see upwards of 200 teams compete every week, some tuning in from Oman, New Zealand, Sweden, America, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. “On Saturday 18 April we decided to make it a ‘Dress for the NHS’ quiz – encouraging families to put on a costume, or to dress fancily, whilst making a donation to SASH Charity, our local NHS Trust. So far we’ve raised over £6658 and it’s still rising. We are so proud to give this money to such an amazing cause at a hugely challenging time.” The initial target set by Mr Crombie was £500 but this amount
was passed before the quiz even began. The school had emails and calls from former pupils across the world who were keen to join the community effort and donate for the cause. Mr Crombie added: “The amount
raised has been brilliant but It doesn’t surprise me in a way – the sense of community pulling together has been awesome and this is just one of the ways our community has got involved to help others.”
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LOCKDOWN MORE FABULOUS PHOTOS FROM OUR SATURDAY NIGHT QUIZ....
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PA SUPERHERO AWARD FIRST WINNER ANNOUNCED Many congratulations to Mr Crombie who was nominated and voted to be our very first Caterham School Parents’ Association Superhero! The comments we had from parents throughout the school community were heartfelt and amazing – here are just a few:
He vowed to read every night and he even brings pupils past and present (and so far one teacher) to sing! I’ve learned so much about him (he’s never poached an egg!) and what a nice man he is and how well he engages with the children and how they look up and respect him…..then there is the weekly quiz, researching all the questions, taking all the grief and providing hundreds of families with entertainment and humour. The Quiz really is the highlight of our week. Then there is the fundraising for East Surrey Hospital SASH raising £7,000. Need I go on? – Mr Crombie for the first PA Superhero award! Thank you.
So thank you Mr Crombie from all of us for your amazing work at keeping everyone engaged and connected, entertained and may be a little bit smarter.
PM Pays Tribute to
OC Professor Nicholas Hart We are incredibly proud of Old Caterhamian Professor Nicholas Hart for his amazing, lifesaving work treating Boris Johnson and so many coronavirus patients in his role at Guys and St Thomas’s, London.
The NHS has saved my life, no question.
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ick was given high praise from the Prime Minister with his (and his colleague Dr Nick Price’s) name included as a tribute to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symond’s new born son. Professor Hart, director of the Lane Fox Respiratory Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’, is one of the most experienced specialists in treating patients with chronic respiratory failure. Dr Hart attended Caterham School and progressed to achieve BSc (Hons) in Anatomy and MB BSS (Hons) University of London, MB BS (Hons) and then PhD at University of London, Royal Brompton Hospital in 2004. In a tribute to Professor Hart and all who looked after him in hospital, the Prime Minister said: “the NHS has saved my life, no question”. After spending three nights in intensive care, Boris Johnson added that he had witnessed the “personal courage not just of the doctors and nurses but of everyone: the cleaners, the cooks, the healthcare workers of every description, physios, radiographers, pharmacists”.
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LOCKDOWN
Paella Online ANNIE HELPS THE SCRUBS EFFORT
Spanish Upper Sixth Form pupils Mollie and Jeremy participated in a Spanish live remote Paella cooking lesson with Mr Garcia, conducted in Spanish. Mollie cooked a very healthy traditional vegetarian dish whilst Jeremy ended up with a mouth-watering seafood paella. An amazing achievement for their first time cooking – buen provecho!
CATERHAM MFL Business as usual It was business as usual for the Spanish Department, connecting with the LAE Stratford pupils via Micorsoft Teams. Mrs Nye, Mr Parker and Mr Garcia continued to support the Lower and Upper Sixth pupils during the school closures, interacting and discussing Hispanic themes with them. Saskia has just received an off from Warwick University to study International Management – great news
WELLBEING WEBINARS for Parents Each Wednesday during the summer term our Pastoral Team have led Wellbeing webinars to support parents and pupils throughout lockdown, coping with change and other pertinent topics relevant for teenage life and beyond. These were incredibly popular with a huge number of parents joining in from across the community.
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Fourth Year pupil Annie has been using sewing skills, learnt for her Duke of Edinburgh Award, by making scrub bags for the NHS. Taught to sew as part of her DofE skills programme, Annie was invited by the local scrubs making team to make the scrubs bags from donated pillowcases for the NHS. Annie is really enjoying the challenge, along with doing her bit to help. A great way to connect and give at this time. Go Annie, we are so proud of you!
SHOUT OUT FOR SCRUBHUB A huge thank you to everyone who donated material on Saturday 24 April ! The school minibus was filled with donations and delivered to parent Laura who is using it to make scrubs for local GPs as part of national network ScrubHub.org. uk. Have a look at some of the first designs that will help to put smiles back on the faces of patients across our local area.
CARDS FOR CARE HOMES First and Second Year pupils have been busy making cards and writing messages for the staff and residents of local care homes. There were delivered in the first week of May and will certainly have bought some colour and joy to the recipients.
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TALKING ITALIAN Third Year pupils studying Italian got the chance to put their spoken language skills to the test in May as 35 English and Italian pupils (and three teachers) met up via Google Meet.
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aterham pupils and their new friends from Vaiano Cremasco were able to ask each other questions and hear the replies spoken in a native tongue. Both sets of pupils had been well prepared, spoke confidently and were fully engaged in the dialogue that took place.
The partnership between our schools has been in place for seven years and virtual learning has allowed us to see the potential in this way of communicating, something that can be continued into the future.
ZACHARY AND RAJAN
PERFORM Lower School pupils Zachary (Second Year) and Rajan (First Year) showcased their talent in May adding a Bollywood vibe to their brilliant cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’. With Zac on vocals and Rajan’s cool beats on the table, it wasn’t to be missed. Congratulations to both boys!
Storytime Live Hits 50! On Sunday 3 May, Caterham English celebrated their 50th consecutive live show by inviting some incredibly talented performers to soothe the soul on a Sunday. Over the past eight weeks, the Department has read three novels, seen over twenty pupils perform music, hosted seven quizzes and raised nearly £7000 for charity all thanks to your incredible support. On Sunday, each singer brought something different from their original performance and we even had a world exclusive from Ashleigh Davies, who performed her new single for the first time live. The videos have been watched over 450 times on our story and a huge thank you to Millie, Becca, Alyssa, Ashleigh, Charlotte, Olivia, Anna Davies, Anna Wright, Nathan, Drew and Megan. Thanks go to Ellen (Upper Sixth Form) for the amazing sketch of the Instagram live shows.
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Trinity Group 1500m VIRTUAL CHALLENGE CUP In the middle of May, 144 Caterham pupils completed in the first every Trinity Group 1500m Virtual Challenge Cup, against 14 other schools.
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his was an event open to all pupils from the First Year to Sixth Form, where each pupil had to run 1500m as quickly as possible. The focus of the event was to encourage as many pupils as possible to be active and represent their respective schools. In the end, over 1500 pupils took part in the competition. Take-up was particularly strong in the First, Second and Third Year groups. Our Second year placed second out of 15 in both the participation event (42 pupils) and the boys’ event (ben W in 5.19 minutes). Our First Years came fourth in their event, with 38 participants, the same number as the Third Year. There were a number of outstanding individual performances, with the top Caterham times as listed below. All Caterham athletes
should be very proud of their efforts – irrespective of their times, as they brought great credit to the school in this event. First Year – 38 Participants Ryan R – 5.30 mins Estee N – 5.59 mins Second Year – 42 Participants Ben W – 5.19mins Eloise A – 5.46mins Third Year – 38 Participants Nick S – 5.43 mins Izzy H – 6.02mins Fourth Year – 19 Participants Jonny N – 5.58 mins Grace G – 5.54 mins Fifth Year Josh C – 5.15 mins Lauren B – 6.39 mins Sixth Form Issac S – 5.48 mins
TANZANIA We Made it! In just 15 short days the Caterham community travelled the 10,975km to reach Tanzania.
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aving set ourselves the target of arriving in Tanzania by the end of May, we are astonished at how quickly we were able to cover this ground. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed KMs to this challenge. We hope you have enjoyed it – we have certainly loved the feeling of what a community effort this was. Day in, day out, off we went on cycling, walking and running adventures – family collaborations or individual efforts – and we did this together. Just amazing. There have also been some extremely generous donations to our Just Giving page –thank you so much to everyone that has contributed towards our target. St Catherine’s Hospice will certainly appreciate it too.
FORM CATCH UP
FIFTH YEAR BACK TO SCHOOL
FIRST YEARS SOLVING THE MYSTERY 1W were given a choice of recipes and ideas to create and bake Sherlock Holmes and Hound of the Baskervilles inspired biscuits in their lesson. The class enjoyed cooking together over Google Meet with a little help from some willing parents and with some amazing results; any that went awry were quickly added to the list of the Hound’s victims with the help of some red icing!
Will their biscuits enhance their powers of deduction as they try to solve the mystery of the curse of the Baskervilles?.. only one way to find out…
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Mrs Pearce and the Fifth Year tutor team were delighted to welcome Fifth Year pupils back to school in the last week of term to hand back their textbooks and collect lost property. It was great to hear how they have been making the most of lockdown, and enjoying their Inspire Course.
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10,000 PIECES OF PPE FOR LOCAL HEALTH & CAREWORKERS A phenomenal effort of support for the local Surrey community from the Caterham global family came to fruition in early June with the arrival of 10,000 pieces of PPE at North Tandridge Primary Care Network – all fundraised for, sourced, arranged and donated by Caterham boarding pupils and their families.
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he project was spearheaded by Lily G with support from her friends Ethan L and Electa Y who were moved by the shortage of PPE for health and social care workers and how it was affecting the local community in Caterham and Surrey. The need first came up in a regular online catch up between Mrs Quinton, Head of Beech Hanger Boarding House, and her House pupils. The pupils’ responded almost immediately, keen to help in
any way they could. Lily said: “I have quite a few amazing friends helping me out through this process. They have been supporting me and money collection couldn’t be done without them.” The project was no mean feat but Lily and her friends took on the challenge and brought about a result that will support GP practices and almost 40 care homes across the North Tandridge area and beyond for several months.
CATERHAM ATHLETIC PROGRAMME KM CHAMPIONS Huge congratulations our CAP Champions: l
Top Runner: Megan S Top Cyclist: Max T l Top Combined Runner and Cyclist: Max T l
Very honourable mentions must also go to the following pupils for their fantastic efforts - it really was so close at the top! l
Karlijn R Theo B l Izzy H l Niall M l
At the start of May we launched our CAP KM Championships, were we challenged our CAP athletes to run and cycle as many KM as they could during the month of May. The response was superb and the KM Champ titles were decided by a mere few KM - incredible.
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key part of our CAP programme this term has been to focus on the opportunities that ‘lockdown’ has presented us, as well as finding new and innovative ways to stay motivated. Many of our CAP pupils seem to have now discovered a new love for cycling and running! Both fantastic ways to enjoy the outdoors, both as part of an intense bit of training and also some enjoyable family outings. Both physical and mental preparation have been a key factor in our meetings and in the weekly tasks set. There have also been opportunities to get a bit more
creative with our nutrition and our recovery processes, due to the extra time we have to focus on these things. We are very proud of how our pupils have approached this period of time and how they have remained just as committed and determined to work hard and continue to improve despite the constraints that they face. They have all found ways to overcome any obstacles in their way, which will only serve to make them even better prepared for competitive life as and when it returns.
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ABSOLUTELY SUPERB
Virtual Sports Day 2020 SPORT DURING ARTS WEEK SAW PUPILS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE PART IN A VIRTUAL SPORTS DAY, WHILST COMPETING FOR THEIR HOUSES.
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here were eight different events for pupils to participate in, with a points system designed to encourage and reward maximum participation and effort. Pupils entered more than 1500 events over the course of Arts Week, with Mr Taylor’s Circuit Challenge proving the most arduous task. Stay-at-home Shot Put, Household Hurdles and Lockdown Long Jump were the events with the highest participation. “It was absolutely superb to see the number of you who joined in
and took part in Sports Day - in excess of 300 pupils submitted results.” During the Sports Day competition, pupils had the opportunity to upload photographic evidence of them completing their events. A large number of pupils sent in wonderful photos of them competing. Other pupils used this as an opportunity to support the Black Lives Matter movement by contributing black screen photographs, echoing the support
of the movement from professional sportsmen and women across the globe. As a school, we are delighted to see our pupils supporting this positive movement for change and demonstrating their awareness of issues affecting our local and global community.
3D DESIGNERS Isolation does bring some challenges to teaching 3D!
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hird Year pupils were working on an ‘inclusive design’ project in May, we took time out to use our single period in a separate creative task. Pupils were tasked with ‘Producing a digital message for those affected by Covid 19. The message could either be for the UK or the world. The only limitations were that is must be produced using digital media such as apps on their iPads. Isolation does bring some challenges
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to teaching 3D, however Second Year pupils have made great strides during our recent ‘Upcycling Project’. They were tasked with finding unwanted, broken, unused items or even waste packaging (in their homes) to upcycle into products. Some amazing products were created including a bag woven from newspaper (Isabel T), a hand decorated tray made from MDF (Millie Y) and a mini greenhouse made from plastic bottles and timber (Isabelle P).
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Old Cats Praised by
UNITED NATIONS In March, former pupil Rory Moore set up Coronavirus Community Volunteering (CCV) to encourage his friends to help the vulnerable during the pandemic.
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ust three months later, CCV Global is the biggest Covid-19 volunteering organisation in the world, operating in over 40 countries with 100 voluntary staff around the world and 35,000 volunteers in its network. His organisation was recently recognised by the United Nations, with UN agency UNESCO publishing a video about CCV Global, thanking them for their work across the world during the pandemic. CCV Global’s mission is to tackle the effects of Covid-19 around the world. The organisation connects volunteers with those who need help through an app, meaning
that those self-isolating can get assistance with basic tasks like shopping or simply have a chat over the phone to prevent loneliness. The app provides an innovative
digital solution to the challenges of self-isolation: by partnering with community organisations across the world, CCV Global helps volunteer groups (that often rely on dated tools like Facebook groups or community lists) to access more people that may need help in the area. This ensures that people who are not part of community groups or do not have a volunteering service in their area are able to access the help they need. CCV Global also uses its global network and platform to promote fundraising initiatives that are linked to Covid-19. You can find out more about the organisation at: ccvglobal.org.
LOCKDOWN CRICKET SUCCESS With cricket suspended due to the Covd-19 pandemic, most Caterham pupils have had to contend with live online coaching sessions through the Summer Term via google meet, however, Lower Sixth Form pupil Nathan has continued his development with Surrey County Cricket Club’s Elite Player Group (EPG).
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uring the first part of lockdown Nathan’s training was overseen by the academy’s strength and conditioning coaches and largely consisted of a series of self-lead fitness training sessions including two 5km runs, two sprint sessions and home strength sessions every week. There was some competition added to the mix with four internal 1km time trials and several 2km time trials, where Nathan recorded some extremely impressive times.
Once the ECB lifted the ban on ‘live training’ the EPG returned to training at Surrey’s Guildford ground twice a week, where bowling, batting and fielding were added to the arduous fitness program. This allowed Nathan to focus on specific areas of his skill development that he had been working on through the winter here at Caterham and during the Surrey EPG program. Nathan has continued to develop his already impressive pace, whilst also honing his accuracy, during this first phase
of training before returning to competition. We wish him well for the rest of the summer and hopefully he will be able to test his skills in some fixtures before the summer is out. It has been an extremely difficult summer term for all the cricketers, but especially 1st XI captain Ankush, who was due to lead the team this year, which would have been his fourth season in the team. We would like to thank him for the tremendous commitment that he has shown to Caterham cricket in his time at the school and wish him the very best for all his future endeavours. We would be delighted to see Ankush and his fellow cricketing leavers, return to Homefield in the not too distant future.
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A Taste of
SPAIN In May Lower Sixth Spanish pupils enjoyed an online lesson with Mrs Nye, from her home kitchen!
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he demonstrated in Spanish how to prepare a traditional Tortilla Espanola. During a live remote cooking lesson, the whole group was able to produce a tasty menu consisting of marinated olives, Spanish omelette and tomato salad as Mr Garcia guided them, in Spanish, through the process. Everyone enjoyed the results – yum! Later the same week, the pupils were given a taste of life under lockdown for Spain as Mrs Nye’s
sister, Mrs Mountain (a teacher at the Complutense University in Madrid) joined their lesson and described in Spanish how the lockdown has impacted Spanish
society. Pupils also heard from Mrs Nye’s mother about what life had been like under Franco’s rule in the Basque Country in northern Spain. T¡Excelente trabajo chicos y chicas!
FIRST Virtual Running Fixture CATERHAM HAD THE MOST PARTICIPANTS IN THE FIXTURE OVERALL On Thursday 14 May, 118 First and Second Year pupils participated in the first ever Caterham School Virtual Running Fixture against KCS Wimbledon and RGS Guildford where the challenge was to run for 20 minutes and cover as many metres as possible.
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he number of pupils that participated in the fixture was both remarkable and inspiring – as were some of the distances covered by our pupils! I am proud to say that Caterham had the most participants in the fixture overall, the highest number of Second Year participants, the equal highest number of First Year participants, as well as the highest percentage participation rate in First Year, Second Year and overall.
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Remarkable facts! The total distance covered by the Caterham pupils in 20 minutes was 365,800m – all of which count towards the KM’s for St Catherine’s Challenge. There were also some outstanding individual performances: In the U12 section, Ryan R came third overall, with a distance of 4970m, Estee N came 4th overall, covering 4780m. Other notable
performances included (this is not an exhaustive list) Niall M 4700m, James T 4500m, Tilly G 4364m. In the U13 section, Sam G came second overall with an excellent distance of 5070m covered in 20 minutes. Ben W came fourth with 4660m and other excellent performances (again not an exhaustive list) included Sam H 4600m, Eloise A 4370m and Karlijn R 4160m. There were plenty of other remarkable performances throughout the competition, Ruby S providing real inspiration and every pupil who participated can be extremely proud of themselves, as we are of them. MR BAGGS, DIRECTOR OF SPORT
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ACADEMIC SHORT SERIES 2020 As some surrendered to lassitude and despondency, many in the Caterham community grabbed the opportunity lockdown offered for research and reading and the chance to be academic in a new medium.
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lowly at first as staff presented their thoughts on Bruegel, Auden, Elgar and Kant, but with steadily building momentum, the Academic Shorts series took shape. It wasn’t long before the pupils were in on the game, kicked off by Katie (Lower VI) and her award-winning discussion of conceptual art which was soon followed by a flood of eager scholars and filmmakers who discussed topics from game theory and fluid dynamics to Joseph Conrad and Ronald Reagan. Old Caterhamians contributed
wonderfully too, notably the Rev’d Canon Chris Pullin, Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral, who spoke of his love of Dante, and from a more recent vintage Thomas Land on solitary bees. To hear all parts of the community speak with passion and erudition on such diverse subjects was truly inspiring in difficult times. A special mention should go to Holly (Fourth Year), whose remarkable film on Catullus garnered high praise from two Oxford dons; and to Mrs Hunter and Mr Quinton for their two splendid
TRADERS IN THE MAKING Fifth Year Business Inspire pupils have been exploring the world of the stock exchange in the last half of the summer term. They have come away with an understanding of what stocks and shares are, how markets work, the skills required in picking the right stock and the pitfalls that come with market crashes. When trading their own virtual £100,000, our budding investors had a very tough introduction to the risks and rewards associated with share trading and have had to navigate continuing volatility in the FTSE 100. A particular well done to Fenton & Reuben who both managed to net positive returns at a time when few others could (including Mr Moore!).
films each. The undisputed master of the genre, however, was Dr Scott, who wowed us three times over with his engrossing discussions of black holes and Chernobyl. As in so many other ways, Caterhamians rose to a new challenge and a new way of studying and in so doing created what may well be a feature of scholarly life here for many years to come. The full series can be seen on Twitter (@CaterhamEnrich) and Instagram (@CaterhamEnrichment). MATHEW OWEN SENIOR ENRICHMENT TUTOR
Key Worker SUPPORT KEY WORKER SUPPORT HALF-TERM FUN ‘It was a great pleasure to act as a local hub’ The School was open for business during May half-term with an ‘Activity Camp’ provided for the children of keyworkers. Our camps have become a valued community resource at this time, with the majority of the attendees being from local primary schools other than Caterham. It was a great pleasure to act as a local ‘hub’ in this way and offer and exciting range of activities.
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HOUSE REPORTS 2019-20 Caterham School’s Heads of House report on the year’s events....
BEECH HANGER HOUSE 2019-20
BEECH HANGER MRS CLARE QUINTON The beginning of a new academic year never ceases to be exciting. We spend the last warm weeks of August preparing Beech Hanger to welcome both old girls and new.
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egistration Day arrives, the bustle begins, the house springs back to life and gradually everyone settles into the routine of the term. The girls certainly did not disappoint in their dedication to house events in the months we had together before lockdown. They triumphed in the mixed competition alongside their Townsend and Viney teammates in no less than ten events. From Chess to Debating, Art to Maths, Quiz to Spelling Bee and last but not least House Music, when they raised the roof with a scaled down Symphony Orchestra and a fantastic rendition of ‘In the Hall of The Mountain King’ with Aldi making her debut as the conductor. Who could have foreseen what a year it was to be when we
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celebrated The Boarders winning the Mixed House Cup in March with only a handle of girls and boys left to enjoy the celebrations on Home Field. March also brought much excitement to Beech Hanger when we welcomed Freya Louise Scott to the Boarding Family a week before most of the house had to fly back home overseas and continue their learning remotely in the wake of Covid19. Every year I marvel at the achievements of our boarding girls but the 2019/20 cohort will surely be a vintage year. Their resolve and stoic acceptance of the upheaval caused by the pandemic left me in awe and wonder of these amazing young women. The Fifth Year and Upper Sixth in particular, robbed of the chance to show
off the academic knowledge they had worked tirelessly for; robbed of their Prom, their Speech Day, their Summer Ball. Every single girl confined to sit out the final months in front of a screen, many continuing their lessons unabated into the wee small hours, day in day out, due to time zone differences, and without complaint. My heart went out to them. They had and have to this day my undying admiration. All that remains is for me to thank the wonderful Beech Hanger team for their constant and unwavering support and love of the girls in the house. Each one brings their own strengths and passion to Beech Hanger and the girls’ experience of boarding at Caterham is so much richer for it.
HOUSE REPORTS TOWNSEND HOUSE 2019-20
TOWNSEND MR PHIL COMERFORD A new school year means many things for our boys; new school, new boarding house, new roommates, new uniform, new teachers, and an immeasurable number of others.
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owever, there is nothing more important than the new friendships, the memories made, and the loudest of laughter, which echoes in ears for many years to come. The boys made an incredible impression against their competition this year, taking top positons in the intermediate athletics, badminton, and table tennis. For the boys to carry themselves with such great spirit, winning with great pride but also sportsmanship was an incredible sight to see, and one which will stay with me. A storming performance alongside Beech Hanger seen a huge number of accolades in the mixed games. Claiming victory in six of the ten competitions sees us finishing well ahead, but there was never a moment when a win was assumed, and every win was fought with great determination to show all the house has to offer. Every performance is worthy of a special mention but one stands above… finally winning the house quiz! Watching the rain cloud which hangs over that event fading off into the distance as celebrations rang around the Wilberforce hall is one that I will never forget. Life in a boarding house changes
quite a bit when everyone retreats home. Through all of the upheaval of the transition to virtual school however, there was an amazing sense of calm and understanding among the boys, imparted directly to them from the amazing staff who took everything in their stride, smiling through the most unusual of days to give those who depended on them the most reassuring feeling. The halls were then quiet, and the dorms that normally have energy and enthusiasm bursting through the doors were suddenly cold and empty. The video calls now synonymous with the past year however were a welcome boost given to one another in the same way that an arm around someone
would give a lift when a day did not go to plan. Listening to those boys share jokes and the greatest of smiles to keep the spirits of others high is what makes boarding truly amazing. My amazement to what the boys have accomplished this year, and my excitement for what this could mean in the future could not be higher. While my gratitude and admiration goes to the staff who make Townsend a place filled care, understanding, and kindness. It takes a very special person to come in when the nights are long and work tirelessly to build such a strong community, so I count myself very lucky to see you all on the Townsend team.
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HOUSE REPORTS
UNDERWOOD MRS KATIE KOI
There were many achievements of note during the 2019-2020 House Cup but this year I will be sharing a memory which gave me hope in the week leading to the first National Lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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s the world was rapidly changing around us and our hands were getting raw with washing, decisions were being made whether to go ahead with the final House events. There was never any doubt from the Underwood Senior Lacrosse and Netball teams that they wanted to play and even if a handful of players showed up, they wanted to go ahead. The rules were relaxed and the event became co-ed events which allowed for full teams. I remember, with clarity, looking around Home Field during the Senior House Lacrosse tournament and feeling comforted by the joy of the players and the best House Spirit I have witnessed as my time as Head of Underwood. The number of spectators grew as the cheering became louder while new players attempted to learn the game quickly and the experienced players put on a show of skill. It was never in doubt that Underwood would win the tournament, this group of players had dominated House Sport since their time as juniors. This win did mean that with a first-place finish in the Senior Netball, the Underwood Girls would finish
first overall in the Diane Raine Cup for Girls. The day of the Senior House Netball tournament arrived and a full Underwood team arrived despite the growing concern of Lockdowns. They once against dominated on the courts and with that win secured the Diane Raine Cup for the House! I will always remember this group of Upper Sixth and they will hold a special place in the history of Underwood. The dominate performances on the sports fields by the senior girls’ teams as well as the leadership of Ed Statham and Ben Sharpe in our Music and Drama events will be difficult to fill. Anna Wright and Jack Carter were excellent Heads of House, always thinking of ways to motivate with their assemblies and create community spirit. The excellent Virtual Talent Show put on by the House and shown in our final assembly proved that even though we were apart, we were not alone. Thank you as always to the departing Heads of House and Miss Troughton for all of your efforts in the running of Underwood. GO UNDERWOOD!
VINEY MR NICK MILLS
The most memorable moment of the year for the boys and staff of Viney house came in mid-March on the eve of the first lockdown.
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n an impromptu whole school assembly on the Eothen courtyard, it was announced that for the first time in seven years the boarding boys had won the Steven Smith Cup and also the Jim Seymour Cup in conjunction with the Beech Hanger girls. While it was a great achievement and a moment of great pride for the house to see Max and Jeremy lifting the trophies, it was no great surprise given the character and talent of the boys. The success in house competition this year was in part a result of the talent of the boys across the range of events and there were outstanding performances
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from Narek in chess and debating, David in athletics, Sam in music and Ollie in the house song. Yet the real driving force of success were those boys who volunteered for every competition, tried their hardest and worked as a team even when the odds were stacked against them. This spirit was exemplified by boys like Jemine, Max, Jeremy, George and Christian whose commitment to competition was relentless throughout their final year in the boarding house. Indeed the departing Upper 6th have made a wonderful contribution over the years and their efforts and leadership will certainly be missed next year. They
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HOUSE REPORTS
It was announced that for the first time in seven years the boarding boys had won the Steven Smith Cup and also the Jim Seymour Cup in conjunction with the Beech Hanger girls.
OUR HOUSE MASCOT ‘NEWTON’
NEWINGTON have been an outstanding year group who have approached school life with energy, enthusiasm and good humour and it was fitting that they should be rewarded for their efforts with victory in the house competition. At boarding reunions for years to come, boys and staff will still be telling stories of Misha, Mulang, Mac, Max, Henry and the rest. Away from the house competition it was a successful and busy year for the boys of the house, though of course one that was cut short by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet in the first half of the year there was still time to pack in lots of great trips and activities. The Christmas Dinner Dance was enjoyed by all and, alongside the usual paintballing, Cosmo, Bluewater and Wembley trips, there were new weekend adventures with visits to the Shocktoberfest at Tully’s Farm and to the Escape Rooms. Despite the frustrations of lockdown it has been another great year for the boys of Viney house, and this success is largely due to the willingness of so many boys to throw themselves fully into the life of the school. Without their positive attitude and the support of our enormously committed boarding staff it would be impossible to achieve so much.
MR NEIL PARKER
So, once again it has to be said that this year’s house competitions did not all go Newington’s way.
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e finished in the lower half of the table for most of the categories with the exception of our Junior Boys who came a very creditable second. As they move up into the Inters I have great hopes for them winning our first silverware for, well, ages!! However, as ever the point of house events is not really about the winning. What has been wonderful this year is the continued development of the willingness to get involved. This was spectacularly on view on two occasions. Some senior boys dusted the dried mud off their rugby boots and turned out for the Senior House Rugby competition. On paper no one gave us a chance so it was as satisfying as it was surprising to see us win! The second area where amazing participation was on show was the House drama competition where we came second to a phenomenal Lewisham performance. For the first time we had a full quota of actors from across the
year groups, we had a proper rehearsal schedule, we had costumes and we had fun. I have put a great emphasis on Newingtonians stepping up for house events that might take them out of their comfort zone but will give them a new experience either in a skill (House Art) or a sporting competition (House Swimming). I was so pleased to see a shift in responses from an immediate “No” when approached to represent the House, to either “Yes” or “Can I check if I am free?” I was very grateful this year to my excellent Heads of House Mai Wallace and Matthew Willmott (known as M and M). Throughout their time at school they have always epitomised the “give it a go” attitude and were the perfect role models for the rest of the house. Our house mascot “Newton” attended most events and appeared as is tradition on stage in House Drama. He remains optimistic that competition success is just around the corner.
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HOUSE REPORTS
The willingness to try something new and ‘do it for the house’ is impressive
HARESTONE MISS HANNAH WALTERS
Harestone finished off the 2019-2020 House year on a fantastic high, winning The Diane Raine Cup for Girls in dramatic fashion.
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ith the whole school crowded onto the Eothen playground, our Senior and Inter girls were crowned victorious. This was a fantastic way to see off the House year and has made the lack of House events since, much more bearable. Over the year I have been impressed by not only our successes, but the overall house spirit of all Harestonians. The willingness to try something new and ‘do it for the house’ is impressive and something that I hope continues to be a key part of our house ethos. I have been impressed with how the members of Harestone excel in so many areas of the school. This year was no different, with the house finishing first in a number of sports and spelling! The Inter Girls collected the most overall points for the house, followed closely by the Senior Girls, so it is no surprise that we finished first place in the Diane Raine Cup. We had other thrilling finishes in Junior Spelling, Inter Rugby and Senior Basketball. This allowed us to finished a solid third place in the mixed cup. While our boys finished in sixth place in the Stephen Smith Cup, I have been impressed with the enthusiasm they bring to every event. I challenge the boys to see how they can improve their standings for next year. While we may be limited in what house events can happen in the future, I have no doubt that Harestone will continue to see success. Finally, I must thank the pupil Heads of House, Kirsty and Laurie. They have been fantastic this year and were willing to step up and do anything needed. This year would not have been as successful without their enthusiasm and leadership within the house. A big thank you to all of the Harestone Upper Sixth for your contributions to the House over the years.
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LEWISHAM MR DARYL TODD
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away .....
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e could never have envisaged such an abrupt conclusion to the 2020 House Competitions. With ‘lockdown’ arriving before we could demonstrate our usual prowess in Football (Capt. Isaac Salem) and Cross-Country (Capt. Katie Watson), our record this last year has been far from ‘stellar’, and for the first time in nearly six years we finished without a House Cup. The Boarders have been on our heels for some time, and they finally showed their total dominance this year. However, the year was not without successes. Our Inters Girls were victorious on the badminton court and in the swimming pool. Ava Kelly and Jenny Lomas were our usual star performers. The Senior Boys completed a swan song by once again winning the Boys Hockey (with the help of Ollie Hamilton), and Dylan Page left all-comers in his wake to help us secure the Senior Swimming Cup. Our intellect shone brightly in the Junior ranks with Scarlet Louca and Stanley Mills outsmarting everyone in the Junior House Mathematics competition. Our thespians were unstoppable in House Drama, when Sam Everett together with a strong supporting cast, entertained everyone with a humorous vignette depicting their Housemaster! House Music returned to its roots, and our talented musicians produced beautiful sounds. The supercool and stylish guitarist Drew McGlashan, led a great ensemble performing ‘1000 years’ with pianist Ammara Khan, Sam Case on Cello and singers Penny Ogden and Hannah Belshaw. We were also treated to a stunning solo by singer Anna Davies. The saddest aspect of the year, was that I didn’t get to see my old Lewisham tutor group for a proper farewell. Nevertheless, I would like to thank my two Heads of House, Georgie Gilshenan and James Watt for their tireless support for Lewisham House over the last seven years. It is always a privilege to see young people grow into helpful and amazing adults.
Inters Girls were victorious ... our intellect shone brightly in the Junior ranks ...
HOUSE REPORTS
RIDGEFIELD MISS REBECCA SMITH Congregated in the Eothen courtyard with the Ridgefield flag billowing in the wind behind us, the House awaited the results of the annual competition with heightened excitement.
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he final stages of the competition had felt a little different this year, with some events unable to go ahead at the very end. And yet, despite these unusual circumstances, the passion and pride of the Ridgies remained impenetrable, as it had been throughout the year. The students’ enthusiasm, sense of fun and ‘give it a go’ attitude had been the central pillar of the house ethos throughout the year, and the results were the mere icing on the cake. With the final scores revealed, it was confirmed that we had had a mixed year in terms of results, with a wide range of placings. A super 2nd place for the senior boys, junior girls and in the mixed competition; and 4th and 6th place for the junior boys and senior girls respectively.
Highlights of the year included wins in the junior girls badminton, the inter girls netball and the hotly contested senior girls swimming.
Highlights of the year included wins in the junior girls badminton, the inter girls netball and the hotly contested senior girls swimming. However, a mention must go to the inter boys who dominated many of the sporting events this year securing wins in the rugby, hockey and swimming! Despite lockdown meaning no events could take place in the summer term, I have no doubt that the Ridgies will be ready to get stuck in once more when house events are up and running again. Finally, I must thank the wonderful student Heads of House, Maddy and Henry, for their superb leadership and unfaltering enthusiasm over the years. My thanks and best wishes too to all the U6 leavers for their contributions to Ridgefield over the years.
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HOUSE REPORTS
Throughout the year words such as passion, teamwork, community and being united resonate to me when looking at our house.
ALDERCOMBE MR ROBERT MUGRIDGE
As a House, Aldercombe has continued to move from strength to strength despite the challenges we all have faced over the past year.
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hroughout the year words such as passion, teamwork, community and being united resonate to me when looking at our house. For me, it is clear, that these qualities flow through all those that put on red shirt to compete. Every year I am truly blown away by the House spirit, sheer determination and willingness to partake in the wide variety of house events. Moreover, it has been a pleasure to see participation numbers increase and the greater willingness by students to get involved in a variety of events that are on offer. As Head of House, I can honestly say that our students put in a performance that do the house proud come rain or shine! In terms of success, in what was a unique year we have many. For the boys, the quality and performances have steadily improved over time. Victories were achieved by the inter team in the cricket and the seniors in
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table tennis. However, the junior boys take all the plaudits. In the newly formed junior cup, our boys won rugby and swimming whilst strong performances in other areas meant they were crowned inaugural champions – well done chaps! For the girls, not to be outdone by the junior boys, our juniors were the dominate force. Victories in athletics, tennis, lacrosse and second place finishes in swimming and badminton meant our junior team were crowned champions in the junior house cup – well done girls! For our senior and inter team, whilst narrowly falling short of defending the Diana Raine trophy, success was still achieved. The senior girls were victorious in athletics whilst coming second in rounders, tennis and lacrosse. When watching our girls compete, it is evident that they are supportive of one another and teamwork and pride no matter the event or how results were going
was more important than overall victories. Finally, I and the rest of Aldercombe would like to thanks all the Upper Sixth leavers for all they have done for the house over the years and wish them every success in the future as they depart Caterham. I personally would like to say a special thank you to Zara Russell and David Stevenson who lead the house with passion and enthusiasm throughout the year. You both have demonstrated a great deal of positive energy in your roles as student head of houses, which I am sure has had an impact on the younger years and their performances. I also would like to thank Mr Richard Evans, the Deputy Head of House who fulfils his role with good humour. I am already relishing the chance to notch up some more victories next year and hope we improve on our already impressive participation numbers!
HEADER HEADER
HEADER
HOUSE MUSIC New Format is a Hit! A NEW FORMAT FOR THE HOUSE MUSIC COMPETITION WAS UNVEILED IN WHICH EACH HOUSE PRESENTED A SOLO VOCALIST, SOLO INSTRUMENTALIST AND AN ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE.
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he evening demonstrated the splendid array of musical talent that we have at Caterham School and all performers ranging from the First Year up to the Upper Sixth Form did themselves and their houses very proud. The winner of the instrumental class was Samuel (Boarders) who performed Liebestraum on the piano brilliantly with technical mastery and a high calibre of musicianship. The second place recipient was Alice (Aldercombe) on the flute and third place was awarded to Philip (Harestone) on the violin. Special mention must go to Sahil who stepped in to perform at the last minute. The winner of the vocal class was Olivia (Harestone) with a delightful performance of Gershwin’s Summertime. Second place was awarded to Aldi (Boarders) with a delicate and emotional performance of Berg’s Die Nachtigall and the third place was awarded to Anna (Lewisham) with a sensitive and impactful performance of Another
The winning house was Ridgefield house for their energetic, rhythmic and refined performance of Don’t Stop Believing. Love. Becca is also commended for stepping in to perform her song at the very last minute. Our adjudicator for the evening, Gerry Ruddick commented how brave pupils were to perform and give their personal interpretations of the pieces. The high standard and quality of the performances gave him a remarkably difficult
job to decide on final placement of performers. Following on from the soloists, each House presented their ensemble entries. The winning house was Ridgefield house for their energetic, rhythmic and refined performance of Don’t Stop Believing. Runners up were Lewisham with their stunning performance of A Thousand Years and third place was awarded to Newington for their committed and vocally sound performance of September Song. Special mention must go to the Boarders for producing a twenty-two piece orchestra and for Aldi conducting so very well. All performers did excellently and the music department were incredibly impressed with the range of arrangements and number of pupils involved. The overall winners of the competition were the Boarders with Lewisham and Ridgefield sharing second place. Huge congratulations must be extended to all performers and we look forward to the next competition.
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HOUSE EVENTS
Results of the HOUSE EVENTS 2019-2020 House events in the academic year 2019-2020 took place with the usual gusto up until the Covid lockdown. Fortunately, Mr Jones managed to award the coveted Annual House Trophies on the final pre-lockdown day of school in the spring term in an impromptu awards ceremony in Eothen Courtyard.
This year saw the introduction of separate Junior House Cups for both the boys and the girls. As a result of lockdown, several events did not take place this academic year. This includes; senior netball, senior football and the cross-country events from the Spring term and all the Summer term events; cricket, rounders, tennis, athletics and the drama improv’.
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The results of the house events held in the Academic Year 2019-2020 were as follows:
GIRLS
BOYS
Junior Badminton –
RIDGEFIELD
Junior Rugby
–
ALDERCOMBE
Inter Badminton
–
LEWISHAM
Inter Rugby
–
RIDGEFIELD
Senior Badminton –
BOARDERS
Senior Rugby
–
NEWINGTON
Junior Table-Tennis –
NEWINGTON
Junior Hockey
–
HARESTONE
Inter Table-Tennis
NEWINGTON
Inter Hockey
–
RIDGEFIELD
Senior Table-Tennis –
UNDERWOOD
Senior Hockey
–
LEWISHAM
Junior Swimming
–
UNDERWOOD
Junior Badminton –
Inter Swimming
–
LEWISHAM
Inter Badminton
–
BOARDERS
Senior Swimming
–
RIDGEFIELD
Senior Badminton –
BOARDERS
Junior Netball
–
HARESTONE
Junior Table-Tennis –
UNDERWOOD
Inter Netball
–
RIDGEFIELD
Inter Table-Tennis
BOARDERS
Junior Lacrosse
–
ALDERCOMBE
Senior Table-Tennis –
ALDERCOMBE
Inter Lacrosse
–
HARESTONE
and BOARDERS
UNDERWOOD
Junior Swimming
–
ALDERCOMBE
Inter Swimming
–
RIDGEFIELD
Senior Swimming
–
LEWISHAM
Senior Basketball
–
BOARDERS
Senior Lacrosse
–
–
–
LEWISHAM
MIXED EVENTS Junior Chess
–
NEWINGTON
Junior Art
–
RIDGEFIELD
Inter Chess
–
BOARDERS
Inter Art
–
ALDERCOMBE
Senior Chess
–
BOARDERS
Senior Art
–
BOARDERS
Junior Maths Challenge
–
LEWISHAM
Music
–
BOARDERS
Inter Maths Challenge
–
BOARDERS
NEWINGTON
–
BOARDERS
House Shout (New event)
–
Senior Maths Challenge Junior Spelling Bee
–
HARESTONE
Drama
– LEWISHAM
Inter Spelling Bee
–
BOARDERS
Quiz
– BOARDERS
Junior Verse and Prose
–
ALDERCOMBE
Inter Public Speaking
–
BOARDERS
Senior Debating
–
BOARDERS
HOUSE EVENTS
When the annual house competitions were concluded at the end of the Spring term 2020 (comprising Summer 2019 events (listed in the previous Caterhamian) and both Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020 events from the listing above) the House Cup Standings were as follows:
STEPHEN SMITH CUP FOR BOYS
JIM SEYMOUR MIXED TROPHY
1st
– BOARDERS 156
1st
–
BOARDERS 206
2nd
–
2nd
–
RIDGEFIELD 164
3rd
– LEWISHAM 113
3rd
–
HARESTONE 153
Joint 4th
–
ALDERCOMBE
106
4th
–
NEWINGTON 147
Joint 4th
–
NEWINGTON
106
5th
– LEWISHAM 145
6th
–
HARESTONE 86
6th
–
ALDERCOMBE 141
7th
–
UNDERWOOD 85
7th
–
UNDERWOOD 121
RIDGEFIELD 132
JUNIOR CUP FOR BOYS 1st
–
ALDERCOMBE 60
Joint 2nd
–
NEWINGTON
55
Joint 2nd
–
LEWISHAM
55
4th
– RIDGEFIELD 50
5th
– HARESTONE 41
6th
–
UNDERWOOD 33
DIANA RAINE CUP FOR GIRLS Joint 1st
–
HARESTONE
148
Joint 1st
–
UNDERWOOD
148
3rd
–
ALDERCOMBE 143
4th
– LEWISHAM 136
5th
–
6th
– RIDGEFIELD 119
7th
– BOARDERS 85
NEWINGTON 130
JUNIOR CUP FOR GIRLS 1st
–
ALDERCOMBE 73
2nd
– RIDGEFIELD 58
3rd
–
HARESTONE 54
4th
–
UNDERWOOD 53
5th
– LEWISHAM 50
6th
–
NEWINGTON 48
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HEADER
HEADER
BOARDING LIFE
at Caterham
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BOARDING
Christmas time... Santa’s Little Helper – Spotted at Beech Hanger Sunday evening (8 December) was wonderfully Christmassy with a Secret Santa for our boarding girls in Beech Hanger, held at the end of a busy weekend of Christmas celebrations. Can you spot Santa’s little helper beside the tree?
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BOARDING
QUIZ NIGHT
TRIP TO GUILDFORD, SURREY
CHINESE NEW YEAR
TEN PIN BOWLING
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BOARDING
On Sunday 8 March, some of our Viney boarders put school behind them and took to the twisting trails of Bedgebury Forest. Set against the backdrop of the National Pinetum, the group picked up their mountain bikes to tackle some of the single track routes with tight turns, steep descents, and large boulders. Covering over 13 kilometres of the forest, it was a truly exhilarating day for all!
DODGE BALL
HOUSE MEETING
PANCAKE DAY
MEAL IN MATRON’S ROOM
SPORTS AFTERNOON
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INDIVIDUAL
PUPIL SUCCESS Caterham Busker Creates
CHRISTMAS CLASSIC! Caterham School Performing Arts are always delighted to share news of our pupils’ achievements – and this one is particularly exciting! Nathan in the Lower Sixth has had a song released by Scouting for Girls.
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athan (stage name Jackson Freedman) has been busking in Bligh’s meadow since he was twelve, but on the side has been writing his own songs. Last summer, his father challenged him to write a Christmas song without the word Christmas in the lyrics and it being about watching telly. As his father puts it, “It seemed like a song we could agree on. A grown up song about loving the holiday, loving each other, but mostly loving
watching telly on a big day off.” After 20 minutes he came back with a hook about wanting to stay home watching re-runs rather than visiting relatives, “It’s not you, it’s not me, it’s your family.” The song is called ‘Let’s Not Go Away’ – recorded with Roy Stride from Scouting For Girls. It is a bonus track to the new Scouting For Girls album, ‘The Trouble With Boys’ through Sony Music and will be out on all
Ben Qualifies for
NATIONAL GIGAFINAL A huge well done goes to Benjamin (First Year) who qualified for the National Chess Gigafinal in the Under 12 category in June.
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ll chess tournaments have been cancelled due to the pandemic, however the organisers of this huge event managed to move the tournament online. With the date hot on the heels of school exams, Benjamin had not had the chance to practice as much as he would have liked to. However, he managed to achieve the gigafinal
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qualification score of 3.5 out of 6 in the final round. This ranks him inside the top 100 Under 12 chess players in the UK. For his first ever online tournament, Benjamin has every right to feel very proud of himself. Well done Benjamin!
platforms mid-November. Scouting for Girls will be debuting ‘Let’s Not Go Away’ live on their current UK tour and Nathan will be singing it in Bligh’s Meadow as he busks in amongst his set.
CHIEF SCOUT PLATINUM AWARD Congratulations to Matthew, Lucy and James (Fifth Year) who achieved the Chief Scout’s Platinum Award.
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his requires outstanding effort and commitment over a long period of time and few Explorer Scouts achieve this honour. All three pupils are greatly involved in the scouting movement being young leaders in Beavers or Cubs. It was presented at the United Reformed Church by the Scout District Commissioner. Congratulations for achieving this prestigious award!
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he Art Department opened its doors on Saturday 30 November to nearly 40 families of 7 to 11 year olds keen to have a taster of Caterham School style creativity. The children were encouraged to work in the style of Matisse inspired by a colourful still life set up especially for the event. Their designs were then transferred onto tote bags for life. A lovely morning of making and sharing Caterham’s creative facilities.
GREEN BIRD BY ESTELLA Y, LOCKDOWN ART
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ART AND HUMANITIES
&
Design Innovation
TEEN TECH
Katie made a very good case for film being important as an art medium.
ARTICULATION COMPETITION Huge congratulations to Katie S (Lower Sixth Form) who secured a top 10 place in the highly competitive UK-wide ARTiculation 2020 competition. Katie performed her presentation at Clare College Cambridge.
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ir Nicholas Serota CH congratulated all speakers for the enormous amount of work that they put into their presentations which clearly came across. Sir Nicholas said that Katie’s presentation had great structure, with talk of abstraction and oppositions in nature and technology. Sir Nicholas liked how Katie’s talk mentioned the historical context of 1999 – with comparisons about water and art at the time which was really interesting. He also said how Katie made a very good case for film being important as an art medium. It was a great pleasure to hear Katie speak and we all hope that she is feeling very pleased with her amazing achievement.
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On the 20 November we took 9 pupils to ACS Cobham International School so they could take part in this year’s TeenTech event where around 150 schools from the South East get to have a day of design and innovation.
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his is an opportunity to meet professionals and discuss their design ideas. The pupils get the opportunity to interact with new ideas, which helps to develop their own ideas. The pupils were given a mentor from industry to help guide them with a brain storming exercise in groups of two or three, they each developed a useful new design idea which was then presented to the group for evaluation of the designs. They then decided which idea to put forward and present to the other schools. After that the pupils had a look round the rest of the exhibits including Air Products, who have nothing to do with aeroplanes, but work with air and the gases therein. They are the world’s largest suppliers of hydrogen and helium. The two presenters were very engaging and the students had a lot of fun with them. Atkins were at the next stand we visited, where we had fun building a tower. Atkins are a multinational engineering, design, planning, architectural, project management and consulting company. Then we saw Thales a French multinational company that designs electrical systems for the likes of aerospace and defence. Here the pupils got to try their hand at controlling small drones and tiny robots. “I found the day very fulfilling and fun. It was very nice to see different companies and what they work with. My favourite things were the drone flying and liquid nitrogen experiment.” Leah P “TeenTech is a wonderful event. At first I didn’t think I would like it but when it started it was very inspiring entertaining and interactive. I definitely would recommend this to any other girl. Technology is not always thought as to be a girly thing but I really enjoyed it. There were different stations as you went around and each one was super interactive so you basically did everything yourself and I learnt so much.” Karlijn R “I liked the building surveyor stall because they had a camera that shot a million lasers a second and spun around so they could take 360 degree pictures that were accurate enough so that they could measure the picture and it would be accurate to a millimetre in real life.” Leo K
ART AND HUMANITIES
BIRDS AND FLOWERS BY HAYLEY C, LOCKDOWN ART
ROSE BY LILIA J, LOCKDOWN ART
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ART AND HUMANITIES
POPPIES BY CHANTI M, LOCKDOWN ART
BUTTERFLY BY FRED O, LOCKDOWN ART
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DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
Design Technology Product Design in Action 2019 Lower Sixth design pupils visited London’s Emmanuel Centre in November.
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he focus of the day was to hear from five renowned speakers from a diverse range of design related specialisms including speakers such as Daniel Charny who is an internationally recognised creative director and lecturer in the field of contemporary design. Daniel took the audience through a practical look at social design, in particular, the Fixperts initiative, which is a learning programme that challenges young people from schools and university to use their imagination
and skills to create ingenious solutions to everyday problems for a real person. Students must test each prototype with the target user until a solution is found. This iterative process of listening to feedback and redevelopment of prototypes is essential for success. The highlight of the day was from speaker Wayne Hemingway who reflected on his fascinating and diverse journey from thrifty market staller to international and morally responsible designer, culminating in the development of his company
Red or Dead. Now leading an award winning multi-disciplinary design agency, students were led through a timeline of London lifestyle in the 70s compared with modern day, socially responsible design. Day trips such as these provide pupils with a valuable insight into the world of design. More and more focus is placed upon creating products which are both technologically advanced and morally sustainable. A design career which today’s young designer will enter will be a rapidly changing one.
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3D DESIGN
3D information
The 3D department has dramatically changed its provision this September but one year ago, things were very different. September started (as it always does) with the Lower School enjoying practical projects as well as learning new technologies.
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particular hit among the First Years was the ‘Mini Succulents’ project which introduced pupils to the world of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing. Pupils were tasked with design and making a 3D printed Succulent Holder of their own design. A handful of outcomes can be seen below. A small number of Second Years took part in our annual trip to ‘Teen Tech’ held in Surrey. Pupils learn about advances in Design and Technology specifically in the UK but also worldwide. Pupils are able to experience many of the activities first hand and also take part in larger competitions against other visiting schools. The pupils returned having learned a range of transferable skills and knowledge. Earlier this year, the Fourth Years began their coursework component which requires an external trip. Leighton House in Kensington has welcomed the Fourth Year pupils for the Second Year in a row. On entering the museum, pupils are greeted by the Museum Curator and provided with a tour in which they learn about Sir Leighton. Shortly afterwards, they enjoy a short drawing skills workshop led by the Museum Artist in Residence. The rest of the time is theirs to
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document and record the vast interiors on the Museum. The entirety of their first coursework component is based on this visit and many months’ later pupils produce a product and portfolio in response to the house. With the closure of schools and pupils now reliant on virtual learning, it provided the opportunity to experiment with new projects. In a normal school day, many of our pupils would enjoy design and practical based learning. Now, home-based we tried to ensure pupils still had access to problem solving and creative challenges. The ‘GOOD Design’ project was in response to the Covid pandemic. Over a period of four weeks, Second Years were tasked with solving one of three problems which were affecting society due to the outbreak. Social exclusion and growing food inside the home, specifically for those that lived in flats with no access to outdoor space proved a challenging task. We had numerous excellent ideas and prototypes but a handful of the most successful are below. The opportunity to think about others and design to solve ‘real life’ challenges affecting those day to day is fundamental to our subject. Other successful projects included
learning about Origami and making structures to bridge gaps and withstand the most weight. First Years worked hard to undertake these challenges and produced some interesting outcomes. Third Years were tasked with identifying an area of exclusivity in the home. They could work in pairs, communicating remotely but had to redesign a simple object in the home which was either of poor design or excluded individual users i.e. those with arthritis or for any other reason they knew of. This culminated in a series of design sketches and prototypes and a Teams presentation to the class. The outcomes were superb and highly professional. GCSE and A level pupils continued to work hard over the duration of lock down and ensured their subsequent coursework was of the highest standard. The quality of submissions this year really was superb and demonstrated a demanding level of concept and finish. I’d like to thank all of the pupils which worked hard to engage with the 3D lessons provided to them. Outcomes on the whole were truly excellent and demonstrated an exceptional level of perseverance in challenging times.
ARTS WEEK
Arts Week
Life Beyond Caterham During Arts Week, Lower Sixth Form pupils focussed on the next steps in their careers journey, looking at the opportunities available to them beyond Caterham School. We have been delighted to welcome three exceptional external speakers to support our students in this investigation.
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ane Marshall, former student recruitment lead at Imperial College and LSE, gave some great insight into how personal statements should be written alongside offering some examples of actual personal statements she had read! Robbie Pickles, Head of Undergraduate Recruitment at the University of Bath, talked us through why university might be a good route, how to approach your research and an update on how the current pandemic has effected the way prospective students can access universities in the absence of physical open days. Our final speaker was Emma Rosen, author of The Radical Sabbatical, who after graduating with a Masters in History from the University of Exeter and securing a job on the very competitive graduate programme with the Civil Service, realised she wasn’t
following a path that made her happy. She made the brave decision to hand in her notice and spend a year working in roles she always thought she would like, before the ripe old age of 25. What was very interesting to see was the response from our students when asked what they wanted from a career: variety, making an impact, enjoyment, fulfilment, pushing boundaries, personal growth and my personal favourites, working in an environment of trust and respect and being around people that challenge what you think.
We also ran sessions on the application process, with students registering for UCAS and continuing with their research post–A Level through Unifrog, whilst Heads of Department ran some subject specific personal statement masterclasses. Monday afternoon also saw the return of 18 Old Cats, who left last summer and returned to talk about their experiences in the first year at university, taking a gap year or changing their minds after starting a course and discovering it was not the right one for them. This was such a great opportunity for our Lower Sixth Form to hear about different universities and the courses they offer, alongside the support that is available to them when things do not go to plan. The Sixth Form Team hope that this was a valuable week and that pupils enjoyed all aspects of the programme.
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SCIENCE
Christmas SCIENCE LECTURE We were thrilled to welcome OC Jansen Zhao back to Caterham School for the 2019 MJS Christmas Science Lecture which focussed on Jansen’s work: The Quest of Harnessing Quantum Information.
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uantum mechanics underpins the most fundamental understanding of reality by modern science. The discovery of quantum mechanics and its development throughout the 20th century have led to an unprecedented technological revolution. Jansen left Caterham School to study for a Master of Physics, Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at Oxford University before completing a PhD in Quantum Computing at Singapore University of Technology and Design. Jansen is currently a Senior Researcher at ETH, Zurich. Jansen expertly conveyed his work both to the mathematicians and physicists in our community and to those less well versed in the subjects with entertaining cartoons illustrating his points. The lecture provided an intuitive overview of the interdisciplinary research of quantum information science. Jansen provided snapshots
We were honoured to welcome Jansen back – and intensely proud of all that he is achieving. of the latest progress of collective endeavour in harnessing quantum information processing to solve some of the most pressing problems our society has to face today. We were honoured to welcome
Jansen back – and intensely proud of all that he is achieving. It was heartening to see the audience so full of current pupils, Old Caterhamians and parents who enjoyed the evening and contributed so many interesting questions.
NATIONAL BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD Each year our Upper Sixth Form sit the National Biology Olympiad organised by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). During our lockdown the RSB decided to organise an Intermediate Olympiad for Lower Sixth Form pupils – as a result 15 Lower Sixth Form Caterham Biologists ended up sitting against thousands of top Biology A Level students up and down the country. They were stunningly successful bringing home a large haul of medals. I am immensely proud of all of them who had the courage to take part. GOLD: Alex R, Max F SILVER: David P, Sophie T BRONZE: Jasmin K, Maddie A, Venus H, Amelia D, Cyrus L MR QUINTON, HEAD OF SCIENCE
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SCIENCE
QUANTUM ULTIMATUM Inspiring Scientific Inquiry Dan Quinton, Head of Science, writes:
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he Moncrieff-Jones Society is very dear to my heart. Despite a tough year, I managed to attend a few of our pupils’ Moncrieff lectures and they were, as always, of exceptional standard. The aim has always been for MJS to be a top Science Society, not just a school science society. The talks mirror University lectures – experts in their field presenting something they are passionate about in a serious manner. No gimmicks, no nonsense. I want pupils to love science because it is fascinating. I want the audience to be slayed by a tough academic presentation and to be drenched by facts and concepts for 30 minutes – ideas that they have never considered before. I want the presenters to be grilled – classic science peer review – so
they can check what they know and understand the claims that have just made. Once again, Caterham Scientists have delved deep into unfamiliar territory, outside of their comfort zone, unearthing new areas of science they barely knew existed. Michael Land (President) and Ben Brown (Vice-President) have done an amazing job this year steering MJS even deeper into the world of science. Science tries to explain the truth about how the world works. Another year on, Caterham pupils are a little bit wiser. I hope that this amazing (first ever fully electronic) edition of Quantum Ultimatum, the official MJS magazine, gives you a feel of what we have done this year, in what I truly believe is the best science society in any school in this country.
MEDICS TALK Pupils from Fourth Year to Upper Sixth were treated to a super talk from Dr Nicki Perry about the Senses and Colour Vision. The content included a set of glasses that corrected colour blindness, which was truly an incredible insight especially for those in attendance that had colour blindness.
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SCIENCE
Biologist Insight Gut Microbiota MR QUINTON, HEAD OF SCIENCE
FROM MATHS TO ALTRUISM THE UPPER SIXTH FORM BIOLOGY READINESS FOR UNIVERSITY COURSE FINISHED ON A HIGH AT THE END OF TERM WITH TWO OLD CATS GIVING STUNNING LECTURES ON TWO AMAZING AREAS OF BIOLOGY.
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ethany Quinton has just graduated from York University with a First in
Biology and recreated one of her favourite Uni lectures – on the
One area of fascinating and cutting edge Biology today is understanding the role of the billions of bacteria that live in and on each and every one of us.
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am convinced that medicine and the treatment of illnesses such as IBS and Crohns will be transformed in the next decade as Biology begins to understand the role microbes play in our digestive system. At the end of June Upper Sixth Form Biologists took part in the Biology Readiness for University Course were treated to a fascinating lecture by guest speaker Heloise Vinette titled ‘The Role of Gut Microbiota in Nutrition and Health.’ Heloise is a graduate of Biology
from The University of York, and had studied Biology in France and Spain, and is currently embarking on a Masters in Immunology at Imperial College London.
dilemma of altruism which seems to go against all the principles of Darwinian Natural Selection. Why would animals ranging from monkeys to ants to bees to birds help relatives bring up their young at the expense of themselves therefore not breeding? Understanding the maths of Hamilton’s rule helps us understand at a genetic level why this is favourable. Isaac Quinton is currently studying for a Masters in Maths at world leading Warwick University – certainly the best funded maths department of any UK university, and arguably the top Uni for maths at the moment in the country. Isaac explained his second year dissertation project on the Mathematical Modelling of Disease with such clarity it made some head-spinning maths seem easy. Maths is an ever more important part of Biology and as the introductory paper the Upper Sixth Form were shown states ‘Maths is Biology’s Next Microscope, only better’.
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FIFTH YEAR BIOLOGISTS EXPLORE ENDOSYMBIOSIS
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ur Fifth Year Biologists have been engaging superbly with the Inspire course. They have been learning about the theory of endosymbiosis and were given the freedom to submit a piece of creative work to explain this challenging theory. We have had some brilliant submissions where pupils have been really imaginative and made the most of digital technology to be inventive. Including a tik tok rap by Hannah.
HISTORY
JACK THE RIPPER ON A COLD BRIGHT SUNNY WINTER’S DAY OUR TROOP OF FIFTH YEAR DETECTIVES HEADED OUT TO LONDON TO INVESTIGATE THE WHITECHAPEL MURDERS AND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT THAT ALLOWED THESE ATROCITIES TO HAPPEN.
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e discovered the most useful sources to look at to determine the people and the area of Whitechapel. Pupils then got the opportunity to handle the actual census records of the time and used them to formulate their impressions of Whitechapel. A highlight was getting to see and read the actual ‘Dear Boss’ letter. Pupils were also taken on a tour of the Whitechapel area to put the narrative of the murders into context. Finally we discovered that the Ripper Murderer was probably just an ordinary person!
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GEOGRAPHY EXPEDITION LAND OF ICE AND FIRE BY S J TERRELL
Over the Summer 39 intrepid Geographers and five staff travelled almost to the Arctic Circle to visit one of the most fascinating geological, glacial and tectonic places on the Earth. ‘The Land of Fire and Ice’ is a physical geographer’s paradise and the students were constantly in awe of the majestic power shown by the planet here.
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he trip included crossing ‘The Bridge Between 2 Continents’, visiting and walking behind waterfalls, trekking across the Langjokull glacier (complete with crampons and ice-axes), climbing the dormant Eldfell Volcano in the Westmann Islands, swimming in the Secret Lagoon and being amazed by the awesome Strokkur Geyser. All in all, a breathtaking tour that gave many pupils the opportunity to experience the world in a way they would never perhaps have thought possible.
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Geography award The Geography department has been re-awarded the Secondary Geography Mark for 2019-2022 by the Geographical Association.
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he Geography Quality Marks are prestigious awards which recognise and promote quality and progress in geography leadership, curriculum development and learning and teaching in schools. After submitting our application over the summer the inspectors reported that: “The department continually aims to increase pupil engagement in geography through creative and imaginative ways of learning with an emphasis on what it means to be a good geographer.” The inspectors were also impressed with development since our last application including the use of GIS and technology in our teaching, a development of outdoor learning with our local, regional and international field trips and our growing school links - Our Big Fat geography Quiz for Year 5 pupils from local primary schools was particularly praised.
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Music at Caterham School
continues to thrive and in a year that presented many challenges for the Performing Arts due to the pandemic, we saw great creativity and imagination with music-making during the lockdown. The first two terms had many highlights at home and abroad, collaborations with local schools, support of charity events and the exciting opening of new facilities in the department.
LIVE LOUNGE It was wonderful to see so many pupils perform songs by ABBA to Sam Smith, all with energy and musicality.
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he Music Department hosted a fantastic Live Lounge evening in the Deayton Theatre that coincided with the grand opening of the Liu Recording Studio. It was wonderful to see so many pupils perform songs by ABBA to Sam Smith, all with energy and musicality. Live Lounge is an acoustic music evening- pupils perform their own choices of music and these are performed with simple accompaniment on only piano or guitar. The premise is that pupils perform their own versions of the songs and only very minimal rehearsal takes place- much like an open-mic night. The bar is always open and the audience enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. Highlights included an original track by Nathan F, Zach M’s stunning rendition of John Legend’s All of Me, Annabella W and Zara P’s wonderful version of ABBA’s Chiquitita, and Elena
A’s moving performance of Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved. It was particularly impressive to see so many of our First and Second Year pupils perform with such maturity and style. Special mention must go to Rajan P, in the First Year, who requested some
singers so that he could perform One Republic’s Counting Stars on the tabla. He did not disappoint. The audience were in awe of his talented performance. Well done Rajan and well done to all our vocalists for another enjoyable showcase.
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MUSIC
AN EVENING
OF SONG AN ELEGANT VOCAL RECITAL, FEATURED SINGERS FROM ALL YEAR GROUPS
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he recital demonstrated the extraordinary vocal talents of many pupils who exuded style in their performances - Toby’s moving rendition of Purcell’s Music for a While, Chelsea’s Melodramma and Aldi’s Die Nachtingall by Alban Berg were particularly striking. Moving performances were given by Joshua singing Nell by Gabriel Faure, Millie singing Chanson d’Amour also by Gabriel and Cyrus singing The Sky Above The Roof by Vaughan Williams. High praise must be given to pupils in the Lower School - First Years in particular. It was wonderful to hear and see them singing with such expression and determination: Tanya, Chloe, George and Jasintha have an exciting vocal future ahead of them. Set in the Wilberforce Hall, the evening was a relaxed and celebratory affair that was suggested
by our incredible team of vocal Visiting Music Teachers. Caterham School is proud to have some of the best practitioners in this field teaching daily, on-site. Their
Music Festival Awards CONGRATULATIONS TO AMMARA K, THIRD YEAR, WHO ACHIEVED JOINT FIRST PLACE AND THIRD PLACE IN THE BRASS AND WOODWIND CLASSES AT THE BECKENHAM FESTIVAL, DESPITE BEING THE YOUNGEST PERFORMER IN ONE OF THE CLASSES. Ammara performed Prelude No 1. From Five Bagatelles by Finzi and Fille aux Cheveux by Debussy. She also performed Clarinet Sonata 1st Movement by Saint Saëns. Ammara is one of our Music Scholars and aside from her solo performances she is a very active member in a number of ensembles; the Wind Orchestra and the Music Scholars’ Ensemble. Ammara is also an ambassador for the Music Department and is regularly invited to speak on behalf of pupils at open events. Her confidence and style is shown not only in her musical performance but in her fantastic delivery of speeches.
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inspirational approach has a huge impact on all vocal music in the School including the choirs. Huge thanks must go to these fantastic teachers.
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‘The Music of Bond’
Autumn Concert
The Autumn Concert was truly a spectacular, memorable event that celebrated the incredible music of the Bond films.
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he concert featured the Caterham School Symphony Orchestra, which comprised of around 130 of our instrumental musicians, Sinfonia, Concert Band, the Brass Ensemble and members of the Chamber Choir. We heard the iconic James Bond Theme by John Barry/Monty Norman and other classics such as For Your Eyes Only, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, Live and Let Die and Nobody Does It Better. These magnificent scores were originally recorded with the world’s best musicians and to recreate these masterpieces so authentically is testament to the talent and dedication of every pupil. Special mention must go to our superb vocal soloists: Aldi H, Thomas B, Anna D, Alyssa D, Olivia L and Maddy P. These talented singers all gave jaw-dropping vocal performances throughout the concert, supported by Sinfonia.
One audience member can be quoted saying “I am still trying to get my breath back after those vocal performances”. A wonderful, but much-deserved compliment! It is so wonderful to see so many of our fine musicians performing
together; these ranging from only learning their instruments for a matter of months to those studying diploma repertoire. Congratulations to all musicians involved in this show-stopping event.
I am still trying to get my breath back after those vocal performances
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MUSIC
Opening of the
LIU RECORDING STUDIO The Music Department was delighted to announce the official opening of The Liu Recording Studio on Thursday 17 October, as part of our bi-annual Live Lounge evening.
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t is with the kind generosity of Mr and Mrs Liu that the studio has been made possible, and Mrs Liu, along with the Headmaster, were with us to receive a vote of thanks and a tour of the facility. The studio has already been in high demand for both recordings and composing, and is a wonderful addition to the Music Department’s facilities, providing endless opportunities for our pupils - most notably the chance to learn sound engineering and studio recording.
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Strings Concert at
ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, CATERHAM
Evensong at HAMPTON COURT Our Chamber Choir and ETS (Eric Thiman Singers) made a return visit to the iconic Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace in an Evensong service that was uplifting and stirring.
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he chamber Choir demonstrated their skill and precision in their singing of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis settings by Purcell and in the response settings by Byrd. The semi-chorus was a beautiful feature and pupils must be congratulated: Georgia, Millie, Ferdy, Thomas, Josh and Justin. The anthem was delivered beautifully by ETS and both choirs together performed a jubilant hymn with
force and energy. Chapel Royal is a significant venue for choral musicboth Purcell and Byrd wrote for the chapel as far back as 1572. It was a wonderful experience for Caterham choirs to perform in this inspiring setting and all who attended were keen to congratulate the choirs on their achievement. Hampton Court representatives again expressed their admiration for our choirs and commented on their professionalism as well as their singing.
SINGING with DISTINCTION
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livia L achieved a Distinction in the ABRSM singing Diploma; a magnificent success. This challenging exam is one of the highest accolades for solo performance and Olivia’s result is testament to her dedication and passion for singing. Olivia, now in her final year at Caterham School has made an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the School, both as a soloist and choral singer. She has always performed with great style and presence in all genres. She has given remarkable performances in church, in musical theatre, pop and jazz. Congratulations to Olivia on this outstanding result.
Pupils from the Prep and Senior School performed a lunchtime concert at St John’s Church, Caterham at the beginning of December.
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warm, receptive audience heard performances from the Caterham Prep School’s String Quartet and the Early Music Consort, one of the Senior School’s string ensembles. Special mention and commendation must be extended to the soloists of the concert. Alexander from Caterham Prep School performed Concertino by Küchler. His playing was both musical and lyrical and his piece prepared superbly. Michelle, a GCSE pupil in the Fifth Year performed Ladies in Lavender by Hess on the violin. Her performance was lyrical, warm and really caught the essence of the piece brilliantly. Karlijn performed Radetzky March on the cello; the performance was both spirited and lively and was clearly well-prepared. Mathilde performed Allegro by Fiocco on the violin, giving her debut solo performance since joining the School this year; Mathilde demonstrated sound intonation and tone in her performance. Nathan treated the audience to a well-prepared and stylish performance of Sons de Carrilhoes by Pernambuco on the guitar. Seb Y performed Sonata in D, a cello duet with Mrs Quinton by Boismortier. Seb performed with lyricism but also expression in this duet, demonstrating excellent sense of ensemble and musical understanding. Finally, special mention must go to Frances in the Lower Sixth Form for her performance of Bach’s Cello Suite. Her performance was wonderfully clean, precise whilst still maintaining the warmth and depth in tone required of this repertoire. The audience, mainly local members of the community, spoke very highly of the quality of performances and insist on a return visit in the future.
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MUSIC
A Special Visit from
THE BAND OF THE IRISH GUARDS Members of our Wind Orchestra were offered a unique experience when they joined 35 members of the Band of the Irish Guards for a four hour rehearsal on Vaughn Williams’s English Folk Song Suite.
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upils were introduced to the life of a professional army musician and were intrigued to hear about their experiences when performing for royal weddings, personal performances for the Queen and at the changing of the guards and Trooping of the Colours.
The Music Department have forged strong links with Kneller Hall and the Army School of Music which will benefit our wonderful musicians immensely. The Caterham School Wind Orchestra makes regular appearances in the School calendar and works closely with the CCF’s events such as Remembrance Sunday and Passing Out Parade.
PIANO RECITAL This annual recital of pianistic excellence was a fantastic display of confidence and technical skill.
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here were performances from pupils in the First Year to the Sixth Form and the repertoire covered a huge range of composers and genres. Special mention must be given to Susanna and Samuel, both of the Lower Sixth Form for their wonderful performances of pieces by Scriabin and Liszt. Their sensitivity, dexterity and quality of sound was testament to their hard work and musicianship. The Piano Recital is held in the beautiful Wilberforce Hallthe ideal setting for chamber music events. The Hall houses a stunning grand piano which together with the beautiful acoustics makes for the ideal setting for performance.
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Wind Orchestra
TOUR TO BELGIUM
The Wind Orchestra undertook the School’s first ever instrumental tour abroad, giving memorable concerts at some venues in Belgium.
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he tour commenced with a fantastic concert at The London Academy of Excellence (LAE) which acted as a starting point before the Wind Orchestra made their way to Bruges. In Belgium the Wind Orchestra performed at the two great memorials to the fallen of the First World War, in Ypres. The first was St George’s Memorial Church, and parents of Caterham School pupils made a special visit to support their children by attending a splendid concert by the Caterham Drum
Corp, Brass Ensemble and Wind Orchestra. Music such as ‘Ride of the Valkyries’, ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ and the ‘Nutcracker Suite’ all contributed to an outstanding concert. The second performance was the breathtaking ‘Hymn to the Fallen’, performed sublimely by the Wind Orchestra at the Menin Gate’s Last Post Ceremony to around 300 spectators. This was a memorable, moving and poignant moment for all involved. Pupils were astounded by the experience; the thousands of names of the fallen soldiers lining the walls of the arches together with the 8pm Last Post played by the buglers was a heart-stopping experience. It was a real delight for all members of the Wind Orchestra to perform at St George’s Memorial Church, not only because of the history of the church, but to share their musical experience with the
A memorable, moving and poignant moment for all involved. Caterham School parents who attended the performance. The Wind Orchestra finished their tour with an exciting performance entertaining the crowd at the Belgium theme park – Plopsaland. Music from the James Bond films and The Lion King were included to bring enjoyment to all present. The first ever Wind Orchestra tour was a huge success for all involved.
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MUSIC
CAROL Service The Carol Service was a wonderful way to end the term and once again, our choirs ETS (Eric Thiman Singers) and Chamber Choir gave stunning performances of anthems, both old and new.
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he processional carol, in traditional form, featured Second Year Jacob L singing the solo verse of Once in Royal David’s City. The service was attended by the First Years who contributed to the service with their Anthem Torches; a rousing and powerful festive piece. Uplifting descants and triumphant organ accompaniment from Mr Hall made this service a wonderful start to the Christmas holidays. The service of nine lessons and carols was well attended by many parents, staff and friends of both the Prep and Senior Schools.
SCHOLARS’ CONCERT
THE ANNUAL SCHOLARS’ CONCERT FEATURED MUSICIANS FROM ALL YEAR GROUPS WHO PERFORMED AN ECLECTIC VARIETY OF PIECES THAT ‘WOWED’ AND ENTHRALLED THE AUDIENCE.
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ll musicians and singers exuded confidence and style as they displayed their flair, skill and passion for performing. There were many highlights; however, within each section; Alex M’s performance of Arutiunian’s Impromptu demonstrated rhythmic and
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stylistic mastery, in the Woodwind section, Sophie H’s performance of Bennett’s Lamplight showed great musicality. In the Brass section, Willow P’s rendition of Coleman’s If My Friends Could See Me Now was highly entertaining whilst representing the Percussion section, Jerry T’s performance of Mozart’s
All musicians and singers exuded confidence and style... Rondo Alla Turca on the Xylophone was absolutely gripping and performed with such confidence. The singers all demonstrated such maturity and professionalism; Alyssa D, Aldi H and Cyrus L all gave memorable and impeccable performances. A special mention must go to our Upper Sixth scholars Olivia L and Thomas B who, as veterans of the annual Scholars’ Concert, gave outstanding final solo performances. High praise must be given to their commitment, dedication and musicianship that they have shown throughout their years at the School.
MUSIC
PRO CORDA CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION Two of our instrumental ensembles performed in the Pro Corda National Festival qualifying round, and we are delighted that both of these groups progressed into the semi-final stage; a sterling achievement.
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he first performers were the Fourth Year Piano Trio which featured Catherine, Valerie and Ellie. The adjudicator was particularly impressed with their balance and how they reacted to each other’s sound throughout the performance; a fine achievement considering this ensemble has only been together for a term.
Next to perform was the Caterham School Brass Ensemble which featured James, Kate, Michael, Megan, Finn, George, William, Henry and Willow. The adjudicator was very complimentary and described the performance as “superb” and “one of the best brass ensembles” she has had the pleasure to hear in a school setting.
MUSICAL TRIUMPS DURING LOCKDOWN The Music Department flourished over lockdown and we could not be prouder of the pupils’ achievements.
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ockdown provided the opportunity to showcase a number of our very talented pupils through online performances, recordings, and competitions. A number of musical performances were created using technology, with pupils recording from home. These performances remain on the Caterham School Music Department’s YouTube channel. Notable performances were given by Jerry T (playing a challenging marimba piece, recorded in Hong Kong), Olivia L (singing a stunning rendition of Gershwin’s Summertime), Rajan P and Zachary M (performing a fantastic tabla and vocal version
of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You) and Millie T (performing her touching rendition of Movie In My Mind from the musical, Miss Saigon). These performances give a snapshot of the range of music that is supported; from Baroque to Bollywood - all styles of music are actively encouraged and supported by the Music Department. In addition, members of the Caterham School Wind Orchestra entered the solo section of the Coulsdon & Purley Festival. We would like to give our appreciation to Alex M and Joani B who were both awarded Honours for their performances in the Woodwind category as well as congratulating
Zandile A-N who was awarded Honours and first place for the Woodwind Grade 6-7 category. A special mention needs to go out to Alice H who performed in the 16 years and under Woodwind Solo section, where she took first place and was awarded Outstanding as well as the Landsell Cup for Solo Woodwind. Alice was also nominated for the Hervey Alan Competition for Outstanding Musicianship where nominees are invited back to perform in the 2021 festival as a guest soloist. The Music Department would like to congratulate and thank everyone concerned for their contribution.
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Chamber Choir and ETS
TOUR TO ROME CATERHAM SCHOOL’S TWO SACRED CHOIRS, CHAMBER CHOIR AND ETS PERFORMED AS PART OF A MASS IN THE MIGHTY ST. PETER’S BASILICA IN VATICAN CITY, ROME.
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heir confidence, style and precise singing was highly regarded by the audience and the basilica’s resident musical director. This was their first performance on their tour to Rome; other concerts at St. Paul’s Within the Wall and All Saints’ churches were also highly impressive and demonstrated their choral prowess. It is testament to the dedication, commitment and musical talents of every member that both choirs achieved such commendable performances. The youngest members of the choir are in Year 5 (Prep School) and the oldest in Upper Sixth Form (Senior School): a shining example of the throughschool experience at Caterham School. The younger singers in particular should be congratulated on their maturity and stamina-intense, formal choral recitals and services are demanding for any performer. Our senior pupils should be thanked for modelling such excellent musicianship and professionalism. The choirs presented a programme of British choral music from early composers such as
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Purcell to modern composers such as Tavener and Todd. The Chamber Choir’s unaccompanied anthems showed sensitivity and depth which did justice to the stunning acoustics of St. Paul’s. The choirs singing together produced a powerful yet sublime sound; ETS’s soaring descants were effortless and uplifting. From the Senior School, Aldi H’s solo, Purcell’s moving Dido’s Lament was breathtaking and Raife N’s debut performances of his original composition, on the piano,
was met with rapturous applause. Aside from the performances, the choirs enjoyed an itinerary full of wonderful cultural experiences including a visit to the Colosseum and a pizza-making workshop. Gelato and other authentic foods were enjoyed throughout the tour and games and quizzes rounded-off each day with much humour, laughter and fun. The boutique hotel, near the centre of Rome, together with the local eatery, Ristorante La Famagilla were all perfectly suited to our particularly stylish ensemble of singers. Chamber Choir and ETS have an impressive musical CV; prestigious venues, recordings and radio appearances as well as stunning performances within the School such as Harvest, Christmas and Remembrance services. This tour to Rome, particularly with the grand highlight of St. Peter’s, marks and celebrates their success over the years. Furthermore, the choirs continue to represent Caterham School impeccably in every respect. Congratulations to every member of Chamber Choir and ETS on another unforgettable experience.
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COMPOSITION COMPETITION BOB CHILCOTT, GUEST JUDGE IMPRESSED BY CATERHAM SCHOOL’S FLAIR FOR ORIGINAL MUSIC The Composition Competition was launched to give pupils the chance to express themselves during the life-changing lockdown.
W ST CHRISTOPHER’S FESTIVAL, EPSOM ETS and Flute Ensemble ETS performed superbly at the St Christopher’s Festival and were admired by all of the other children from schools in Surrey and South London.
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veryone was most impressed by their performance and many commented on how inspirational they were to the younger children. Solo pieces from ETS included Will Todd’s beautiful Call of Wisdom that was sung to perfection. ETS then provided harmonies and descants in the massed choral items which included Bob Chilcott’s anthem, Can You Hear Me? This moving piece is unique as it employs sign
language. Congratulations to ETS on another stunning performance. Also representing Caterham School this year were the Flute Ensemble who performed solos as well as group items. This festival, attended by seven other schools was a wonderful opportunity for Caterham School singers and musicians to perform in the community and once again, we were very proud to share the high standards of music achieved here. Both ETS and the Flute Ensemble made excellent ambassadors for the School. The festival was attended by the Mayor of Epsom and Ewell as well as other local dignitaries.
e were delighted that Bob Chilcott, an eminent and successful British composer was available to judge the work submitted and he was extremely impressed with the calibre of compositions. He was invited to take on the challenge of judging the competition; no easy job here given the high level. Pupils submitted such an eclectic range of pieces including a cappella songs, atmospheric orchestral music, experimental music and pop songs. Someone with Bob’s profile was needed to make the call; he is one of the country’s leading composers and a household name in schools, churches, cathedrals and community choirs. He was a member of the King’s Singers and principal conductor of the BBC Singers as well as a chorister at King’s College Cambridge. Bob has worked all over the world with some of the finest singers and musicians - to hear such positive comments from him about Caterham School musicians is testament to their talent and hard work. Mr Chilcott, after thorough deliberation and online feedback, announced that Zach (3rd year) received 3rd place, commenting that his piece entitled I Promise it’ll Be OK was ‘a brave and effective’ a cappella composition. In 2nd place came Chelsea (4th year), with her work entitled Midsummer Snow which Mr Chilcott said showed a ‘strong and compelling sound world.’ And in 1st place, Upper Sixth Alyssa’s piece entitled Together (We’ll Get By): a stunning jazz influenced work about which Mr Chilcott commented ‘showed shape, cohesion, a beautiful chord sequence and took the listener on a journey.’ Congratulations to Alyssa, Chelsea and Zach and indeed, all our wonderful musicians who entered. Entries to the competition can be heard on the Caterham School Music Department’s YouTube channel.
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Beauty and the
Beast
The Senior School production of Beauty and the Beast, which took place over three nights at the beginning of December, was a roaring success.
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n this unusual retelling of the classic tale, Caterham audiences were treated to a magical evening. With a great cast and clever set design, we moved seamlessly from Paris to village life to the Beast’s castle. Special congratulations must go to Paige Griffiths who picked up the role of Beauty with just one week to go after illness caused the previous lead to withdraw. Well done to all involved and thanks to all the members of staff who supported the production on stage, back stage and front of house.
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DRAMA, THEATRE AND DANCE
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DRAMA, THEATRE AND DANCE
Ghastly Tales
for
Giggling Grown ups
LOWER SCHOOL
DRAMA
Congratulations to the 50 strong cast of ‘Grimm Tales’ from the First to Third Year who entertained and engrossed a packed audience on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 February.
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tarting with a matinee performance to local partnership primary schools and continuing with evening performances for friends and families, their level of performance did not falter. Four different tales, ranging from the darker Hansel and Gretel and Ashputtel to the comic farce of The Golden Goose and The Magic Table, were interspersed with powerful and moving dance from Charlie T and Stanley S. Possibly the star of the show was the golden poo which had the audience laughing and clapping simultaneously as the golden donkey, played superbly by Charlotte D, lived up to her name!
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DRAMA, THEATRE AND DANCE
LAMDA DISTINCTIONS A huge congratulations to the 13 pupils from Third Year to Lower Sixth who took their LAMDA exams at the end of November. All 13 pupils were awarded distinctions in exams ranging from Speaking in Public, Reading for Performance, Devising, Acting and Musical Theatre. NAME
EXAM
GRADE RESULT
Lara (5)
Acting
7
Distinction
Achintya (L6)
Reading
6
Distinction
Anoushka (3)
Devising
4
Distinction
Dante (3)
Devising
3
Distinction
Lilly (3)
Acting
3
Distinction
Eloise (4)
Acting
6
Distinction
Penny (4)
Musical Theatre
5
Distinction
Erin (3)
Speaking in Public
3
Distinction
Edward (5)
Acting
4
Distinction
William (3)
Speaking in Public
3
Distinction
Samuel (3)
Speaking in Public
3
Distinction
Scarlett (4)
Devising
5
Distinction
Alice (4)
Devising
5
Distinction
Sisters Charlotte (First Year) and Francesca (Year 6 Prep) were lucky enough to be cast in National Youth Musical Theatre’s production of ‘Imaginary’ this season. The current lockdown meant residential rehearsals had to be cancelled, but over Easter holidays they were in training with their fellow cast members via Zoom and the sessions were intense!
East Surrey
DANCE FESTIVAL On Tuesday 3 March, our three dance crews (Gravity, Adrenaline and Fusion) took part in the East Surrey Dance Festival at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill.
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usion began the evening with a creative and impressive performance of their own choreography featuring both hip hop and commercial dance. Adrenaline performed a crowd pleasing commercial number and Gravity performed a beautiful contemporary routine. Fiona C (Fourth Year) and Glenn K (Fifth Year) also performed an outstanding hip hop duet which they choreographed themselves.
A huge congratulations to all three crews for another set of amazing performances.
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DRAMA, THEATRE AND DANCE
LAMDA
OUTSTANDING RESULTS Another set of outstanding LAMDA results arrived over May half-term.
A record number of forty pupils took exams ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 8, in Acting, Devising, Speaking Verse and Prose, Speaking in Public and Musical Theatre. Out of the forty pupils taking an exam, thirty were awarded Distinctions and ten high Merits; a fantastic set of results. Of particular note are Ed, Millie and Rosie who started their LAMDA exams when they joined the Senior school and have worked through the levels to now complete their last graded exam where all achieved a final distinction! Congratulations to all and we look forward to future examinations when LAMDA return to physical school.
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NAME & YEAR
EXAM
RESULT
Amelia (1)
Musical Theatre Grade 1
Distinction
George (1)
Musical Theatre Grade 1
Distinction
Coral (1)
Musical Theatre Grade 1
Merit
Euan (3)
Acting Grade 4
Merit
Benji (3)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Kian (3)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Lilly (3)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Ed (U6)
Acting Grade 8 Gold Medal
Distinction
Isabelle (2)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Holly (2)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Zoe (2)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Josh (5)
Acting Grade 6 Bronze Medal
Merit
Millie (5)
Acting Grade 8 Gold Medal
Distinction
Ella (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Bella (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Megan (5)
Verse & Prose Grade 6 Bronze Medal
Distinction
Rosie (5)
Acting Grade 8 Gold Medal
Distinction
Stuart (3)
Speaking in Public Grade 5
Merit
Charlie (1)
Acting Grade 3
Distinction
Pia (3)
Verse and Prose Grade 5
Merit
Thomas (1)
Acting Grade 3
Merit
Paige (5)
Acting Grade 7 Silver Medal
Distinction
Anna (5)
Acting Grade 7 Silver Medal
Distinction
Anushman (1)
Acting Grade 1
Distinction
Stanley (1)
Acting Grade 1
Distinction
Charlotte (1)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Mili (5)
Acting Grade 7 Silver Medal
Merit
Amya (L6)
Acting Grade 6 Bronze Medal
Distinction
Asha (4)
Acting Grade 6 Bronze Medal
Merit
Aaron (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Ishaan (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Max (3)
Acting Grade 4
Distinction
Marcus (3)
Speaking in Public Grade 1
Distinction
Henry (3)
Speaking in Public Grade 3
Merit
Laura (4)
Devising Grade 7
Distinction
Maaduri (4)
Devising Grade 7
Distinction
Amelie (1)
Acting Grade 1
Distinction
Aathman (5)
Acting Grade 6 Bronze Medal
Merit
Alfie (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
Lorcan (3)
Acting Grade 5
Distinction
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Psychology Pupils visit
KRAKOW
OUR FIELD TRIP TO KRAKOW PROVIDED SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK HARD ABOUT EXPLANATIONS OF BEHAVIOUR.
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pplication of social influence topics including the agentic state and deindividuation, to exercises and discussions on whether biological, cognitive or social learning theories are more valid as we attempted to understand what we saw. Following our visit to the concentration camp at Auschwitz Birkenau and Schindler’s factory we reflected on the possible interaction between trait and state factors which cause normal everyday people to behave in a way that goes against their own values and beliefs. We also examined the nature of conscience; we considered why it was that the Nazis were able to commit such atrocities and how therefore we can understand what the role of conscience is in an individual. A real theory to practice opportunity to reflect on the evidential problem of evil.
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PSYCHOLOGY
YOUNG PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMME ERICA WINS! We are delighted to announce that current Lower Sixth psychologist, Erica, has won the InvestIN Experimental Psychology Competition.
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fter attending an open lecture at University College London on how to monitor brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG), Erica was inspired to design an experiment that measured the location of, and variation in, different types of brainwave activity in teenagers. EEG is a non-invasive technique which measures electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp. Erica was especially interested in investigating a potential difference between theta and beta activity when browsing social media versus reading a book.
CRIMINOLOGY & FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCE
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he day was hosted by David Wilson, presenter of BBC’s Crime Files, and featured Dr Graham Pike, Professor of Forensic Cognition, Jackie Malton, former senior Met police detective best known for being the inspiration for the character of DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, Professor James Treadwell, Professor in Criminal Psychology and Noel ‘Razor’ Smith, reformed former violent offender. Through interactive activities, pupils discovered the fallibility of their own eye witness testimonies and learnt that 75% of wrongful
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She had to submit a thorough research proposal where she detailed her precise method and expected results. Erica’s proposal was reviewed by an expert panel and judged the most sound and novel in a very competitive pool of submissions. Her work was especially commended for recognition of critical control mechanisms that would need to be in place and how she would go about analysing the data. Many congratulations to Erica, who is well on her way to becoming an experimental researcher!
On Monday 3 February, twenty Upper Sixth pupils applying to study psychology at university attended a fascinating criminology and forensic psychology conference that gave our pupils a unique opportunity to see how psychological theory is applied in the real-world. convictions feature mistaken witness reports. Pupils also assessed their accuracy in determining liars, finding that on average, the general public are very bad at detecting if someone is lying and that the biggest clues are often not visual (e.g. touching face, avoiding eye contact, etc.) but verbal (e.g. stuttering, repeating phrases, etc.). Speakers discussed famous murder cases in British history, for example the Ipswich murders in 2006 and the spree killings by Joanna Dennehy in 2013. They explored the forensic evidence used
in the cases and considered the biological, psychological and social factors that make a murderer. The day concluded with a Q&A session with Noel ‘Razor’ Smith, former ‘professional’ bank robber and convicted criminal on his journey into crime, the realities of living in prison, and his path to redemption and reformation. Pupils were able to make strong links to the specification and apply their theoretical knowledge to real-life case studies. It was certainly an enriching experience for all who attended!
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY
TOP RESULTS for TEAM CATERHAM at PHILOSOTHON We were absolutely delighted to have been placed fifth out of 16 impressive schools. On Wednesday 6 November ten Caterham pupils, two from each year from Third Year to Upper Sixth travelled to Stowe School to compete in the Philosothon event.
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his was a ‘discussion competition’ for the intellectually curious, aimed at discovering truth rather than “winning the argument”. The team were scored as individuals whose totals were then added together to give the overall school result. We were absolutely delighted to have been placed fifth out of 16 impressive schools, with each team member having come away from the experience with a real sense of enjoyment and having learnt a great deal. We have some outstanding philosophers in our midst!
THE TEAM CONSISTED OF: Third Year: Sophie and Ria Fourth Year: Mili and Eloise Fifth Year: Caius and Will Lower Sixth: Catherine and Husayn Upper Sixth: Tom and Electa
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ENGLISH
SECOND YEAR ENGLISH BAKE AYE AYE, I SMELL TREASURE!
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got crafty in the kitchen making ‘Treasure Island’ themed treats during one of their English lessons after half-term. They produced some inspired (and complex!) bakes, taking the form of desert islands, pirate ships, treasure chests, golden coins - even a bottle of rum! They demonstrated amazing skill and determination and their enthusiasm was off the charts.
Poetry by Heart
NATIONAL FINAL Following a superb performance and win by First Year pupil Charlie S in our school Poetry by Heart competition with The Sleepy Giant by Charles E Carryl, a video of Charlie’s recitation was submitted to the national competition in the Poetry Celebration category. The English Department are thrilled to announce that Charlie came in the top 10 of the national finalists! The judges gave warm praise commenting “This is a really confident and delightfully eccentric performance which fitted
the poem brilliantly. You paced it well and we loved the way you used your voice to convey the size and character of the giant” With no overall winner, just the top ten recitations selected, this really is an outstanding achievement and delightful for Charlie to be recognised at a national level.
POETRY
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ENGLISH
Inspire & Readiness Courses
THOMAS HARDY SOCIETY VISIT Caterham’s unique course which prepares our Upper Sixth Form pupils for university life and Fifth Year pupils for Sixth Form study welcomed a special visitor in June. The Upper Sixth Form English pupils listened in rapt concentration to Dr Tracy Hayes, our guest speaker from The Hardy Society on Wednesday 17 June. Dr Hayes spoke passionately about bad guys, good guys and the overwhelming grip of Fate in Hardy’s novels. It was a special experience for the pupils and provided great added insight in to their studies.
THOMAS HARDY
Narayan takes ‘The Library’ to round 2 The English Department were very proud to announce that Narayan in 1T got through to the second round of BBC Radio 2s 500 word competition with his short story ‘The Library’. The annual competition for 5 – 13 years olds received nearly 135,000 entries this year and only around 5000 go through to the second round of judging, therefore this is a fantastic achievement – well done Narayan!
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MATHS
UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALISTS
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ongratulations to the 83 pupils who entered the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge earlier this month. The 31 Gold, 21 Silver and 18 Bronze medal winners should all be proud of their achievements. The following 10 pupils did so well that they qualified for the British Maths Olympiad (round 1), to be held on 29 November: Leo, Howard, Lucy, Annie, Guoquin, and
HANS WOYDA TEAM QUALIFY On Tuesday 21 January, the Caterham Hans Woyda team (Lisa, Gracie, Lingjun and Lucy) hosted Colfe’s school for the first round of the knock out stage of the plate competition.
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espite a slow start in the first two rounds (Starter and Geometry) where Caterham was behind by 4 points (12 vs 16), a magnificent performance in the third round (mental maths) gave us a lead of 1 point. A strong performance in the group round, where all four pupils from the different year groups (Third, Fifth, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth) worked together to find solutions to a Diophantine equation, gave Caterham a comfortable lead which was increased even further in the last three rounds (Calculator, Algebra and Calculus and Race). Once again, a fantastic performance from the Caterham pupils leading to a 37-28 victory, qualifying for the second knock out round! Congratulations to all involved!
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Harrison in the Upper Sixth, Lingjun, Andy, and Olivia in Lower Sixth, and Gracie in Fifth Year. All or other Gold Medal winners qualified for the Kangaroo round (also held on the 29 November). Special congratulations to Leo, for his 125/125, and also Alex (Fourth Year) and William (Fourth Year) for achieving a Gold despite them only being in the Fourth Year in this competition aimed at the Sixth Form.
HANS WOYDA MATHS COMPETITION Determination brings a win! Early in November, Caterham’s Hans Woyda team (made up of a Third Year pupil, a Fourth Year pupil, a Lower Sixth Form pupil and an Upper Sixth Form pupil) hosted Woldingham School for the second match in this year’s competition.
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he Hans Woyda Maths Competition sees 64 schools from across London and the South East compete in a league format in order to qualify for the finals. Defeated by Wilson’s School in the first match on the 3 October, our team was determined to win this one to keep alive their chances of progressing to the next round. Nerves were tense and it was a rocky start with Woldingham the first to score some points. However, all four students bounced back strongly each contributing to the clear 32-16 win by the end of seven rounds. Congratulations to all involved and optimism is high as we enter round three in early December.
MATHS
GCSE MATHS IN ACTION
by Manol R, Fourth Year
On Wednesday 20 November, Fourth Year maths pupils visited the Emmanuel Centre in London where they enjoyed many inspiring and entertaining talks. Five great mathematicians spoke to us about their work life and how mathematics is used in our everyday life.
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he first speaker was mathematician and a communicator James Grimes. He talked about how messages and photos are transmitted on the internet, and the secret messages that tell a film studio when you are sharing movies illegally. He also talked about secret machines and codes used in the Second World War by the Nazis to send messages to each other and how mathematicians and officers like John Tiltman and Bill Tutte managed to crack the Enigma and the Lorenz code which prevented many deaths. Last but not least, he told us about the influential Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr who created radio controlled torpedoes by creating a frequency hopping signal that cannot be trapped or jammed. Our second speaker was Aimi Elias. She is a software developer and her talk was on pixels and apps that we use every day. She explained to us how the “Age app” works and how all the filters on Snapchat and Instagram work. The third mathematician we met was Dr Aoife Hunt who talked about the movement of crowds. Dr Hunt works for big companies
including those that organise Glastonbury Festival and made Wembley Stadium, and she even helped in the building of Heathrow Airport. Dr Hunt is looking at how quickly people can evacuate and how much time they spend doing different activities like passing security checks. She taught us some formulas like how the flow equals the number of people over time. Another interesting thing Dr Hunt told us is about her ‘toilet paper’ – her study about how much time people spend in the toilet! After Dr Hunt we had a short lecture by Paul Harrison who is a maths teacher. He lectured us on exam technique and preparations. After that we had a lunch break which was followed by our fourth speaker, Matthew Scroggs: he applied some mathematical thinking to PAC-Man and other games. Matt also showed us some 2, 3 and even 4-dimensional games and how they work. He used some famous puzzles to explain those games to us. Two of those puzzles were the seven bridges of Königsberg and the Chinese postman problem. A very interesting fact about Mr Scroggs is that he studied at
Oxford, then went on to UCL and now he is studying at Cambridge. Last for the day was Alex Bellos. He is a famous author and broadcaster – you may have seen some of his puzzles in the Monday edition of the Guardian newspaper. His talk was mainly about puzzles, demonstrations and mathematical conundrums. Alex talked about the famous handcuff problem, the box of calissons problem and many others which was a great relaxing last talk. After his talk, I managed to have a few words with him and even bought one of his books, Alex Through the Looking Glass which I highly recommend especially if you study or you are going to study maths at A Level. Everyone really enjoyed the great day we had and it was surely an experience we will remember our whole lives. I’d like to take the opportunity to give special thanks to Cerys Bradley who was a great host of the event and to Caterham School’s maths department and especially to Mrs Griffiths, Mrs Parker and Mr Griffiths who gave us that incredible chance of learning from some of the best mathematicians in England.
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MATHS
UKMT Senior Team MATHS COMPETITION The Senior Maths Team travelled to Epsom College at the beginning of December, to compete in the regional Team Maths Challenge competition.
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eo Y (U6), Lucy Y (U6), Esther K (L6) and Cindy W (L6) represented Caterham School. The first round of the competition was a set of ten questions on which the team worked together. After the first round (getting nine out of ten questions right) Caterham was six points behind the leading school. The second round was the Cross Number round which is like a crossword with maths clues. Our pupils really enjoyed that round performing really well and getting 57/60 possible marks!
The final round had a set of four questions with the pupils working in pairs where they needed the solution to the previous question to answer their own question. We were hoping for a high scoring performance to reclaim our title (regional champions 2015 and 2016) and qualify to the national final in London. Despite performing really well in the last round we finished third, nine points from the first place (missing a great chance of getting seven more marks in the last round). It was a great day overall and the pupils had a wonderful time!
UKMT INTERMEDIATE
Maths Challenge
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 37 BRONZE, 38 SILVER AND 26 GOLD MEDAL-WINNERS FROM THIRD TO FIFTH YEAR WHO TOOK PART IN THE UKMT INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE BEFORE FEBRUARY HALF-TERM. This competition is a nationwide competition aimed at challenging the most able mathematicians. Special congratulations to the following 25 pupils, who qualified for the ‘Kangaroo’ follow on rounds (one hour multiple choice papers held on 19 March). Third Year (Grey Kangaroo) Joseph S Genevieve A Sophie H Winston T Ho Bun N Marcus K James W Skyla C Lisa H Parco W Ivan Petrov C Justin L Yoyo Z Celia E-S Dylan M
Fourth & Fifth Years (Pink Kangaroo) Bryan C Lorenzo F Paramita S Eric Y Nikita B
George C Alice F Sophie H Cameron H Brandon K
Extra special congratulations to the four who qualified for the two hour Olympiads, also to be held on the 19 March. In Fourth Year, this was William C and Alex M. In Fifth Year, this was Eric L and Gracie Z. Extra special congratulations to Justin L and Ho Bun N for their joint best in Third Year certificates, and William C in Fourth Year and Gracie Zhou in Fifth Year for best in their Years and Joint best in school.
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A LEVEL MATHS
INSPIRATION by Ethan L, Lower Sixth form
On Monday 9 December, a group of Lower Sixth Form pupils, alongside Dr Dimakos and Mr Lander, went to the Emmanuel Centre to spend a day listening to a range of talks related to maths.
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he first lecture was about Fermat’s Last Theorem which introduced us to the theorem and were introduced to the person who discovered the proof. Following that was an entertaining talk about biological mathematics, in which the speaker used Game of Thrones, a creative method, to help us visualize the maths behind antibiotics and other elements such as population dynamics. The talk before lunch was a short talk about exam skills. Following lunch was a lecture on the benefits of statistics, during which the speaker used an interesting way to presents statistics as not misleading, despite the common conception that statistic are always confusing and inaccurate. The next session was a slightly more relaxing practical activity where we had to try and use straight lines to split shapes into smaller pieces. This is not as easy as it seemed as there is often more than one way to split the shapes and these ways are not necessarily obvious. Finally, a talk was given based the projection of different geometrical shapes on a plane known as topography and ended our day in a mind-blowing way. Everyone enjoyed their day with the wide range of talks.
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The best experience of my life!
Disneyland Paris REVIEW OF DISNEYLAND PARIS TRIP 7TH – 9TH FEBRUARY 2020, BY EVA GREEN, 1T
After a bleary – eyed start at 6:15 am, including a packed breakfast on the coach and a brief stop for hot chocolate at Starbucks at the Euro Star Terminal, we were finally on our way to France.
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hen we arrived at the Explorers hotel, we collected our room keys and excitedly tumbled into our rooms. After about an hour of settling in, we all went to the hotel play area, where we wildly ran around, climbing, and playing manhunt. Once we were all worn out, we mounted the shuttle bus and set off to Disneyland Paris, to spend our first evening at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. We were given cowboy hats to wear, which we all kept as a souvenir. When we were all seated, the arena burst to life with horses, buffalo, Cowboys and Cowgirls, and Red Indians, and of course Mickey and Friends! During the Rodeo Games, one of the the students in
our group was called up, much to our amusement and delight, and even won a medal for his shooting skills! It was hilarious when one of the teachers was called up alongside others to protect the gold our team had won, only to be captured by robbers! Fortunately they were rescued by the cowboys! We enjoyed a hearty feast of chilli and apple pie and it was a fantastically fun evening! The next morning, after a breakfast selection of croissants, bread, fruit and hot chocolate, we set off for the Disney Park. We had a brilliant day on the different rides, screaming our heads off on thrilling rollercoasters. My highlights were the Ratatouille Ride and Hyperspace Mountain.
I loved the chocolate crepes that we bought from a stall. At end of this exhilarating day, we even had time for a spot of gift shopping before heading back to the hotel. On Sunday, we packed our bags, and headed off…into Paris! We zoomed up fifty six floors of the Montparnasse Tower, where we were greeted by the spectacular view of the city. We had a superb view of the Eiffel Tower which was the highlight of the day. We stopped off at a market where our challenge was to choose and buy our lunch by speaking only French. Our last excitement of the day was a boat ride along the Seine, where we had an even closer view of the Eiffel Tower, many of us heading onto the outer deck, into the raging wind, to take a photo. At 10:30 pm we finally arrived back at school, exhausted after an unbelievably incredible weekend. It was one of the best experiences of my life!
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Adventures in West and East Germany
‘STAMMTISCH’ “Stammtisch” is the school’s long-running Sixth Form German Society and in the autumn term we were delighted to be joined by guest speaker – Mr Lumbard. He shared his experiences of working as a Language Assistant in a West German secondary school in a rural town in 1986-87.
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he new A Level course rewards pupils for their understanding of life in the divided Germany 1949 - 89 and Mr Lumbard’s personal perspectives, on the people and the politics in both East and West Germany at a time of great tensions between superpowers, provided pupils with some fascinating examples which they will be able to draw on when speaking about this important period in recent German history. Among the many memorable
episodes were Mr Lumbard’s visit to an eerily quiet East Berlin, seeing how locals reacted to West Germany losing the 1986 World Cup Final against Argentina and then writing
an essay back at university on the then impossible prospect of “A reunited Germany”. One of the many interesting documents from the time which Mr Lumbard brought to show the group was the full-length article in the local newspaper celebrating his year in the town of Hoya. It is safe to say Mr Lumbard made a similarly positive impact at “Stammtisch” and we are indebted to him for taking the time to share his enriching experiences with us.
FRENCH SOCIETY The Importance of Music
The French Society welcomed (virtually) Fallou N’Diaye , French producer and musician who gave a talk on the role and impact of music in African French speaking countries and its importance in African society. It was a fascinating insight into the world of music which prompted many questions from our A Levels pupils and no doubt will inspire some to explore further in preparation for their oral IRP next year. It was also great to see so many Fifth Year pupils, currently on our Inspire course, join in and get involved.
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
A TRUE INSPIRATION FOR OUR LOWER SIXTH
FRENCH SOCIETY: FANTASTIC START
The first presentation this term by Abbie in the Upper Sixth on ‘La relation entre le football Français et la politique’ was thoroughly researched and expertly presented with an impressive and convincing analysis. Incisive questions from the floor leading to a great debate with an amazing range of language and accuracy in French. Magnificent start! A true inspiration for our Lower Sixth.
Spanish Pupils Exchange Lower Sixth Form pupils took part in a virtual Spanish exchange with their counterparts from Academia Fonética in Madrid at the end of June.
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here were around 20 pupils taking part split equally between our two schools and they spent an hour comparing what life is like for young people in both countries. The chat included: university systems, their further studies and other topics of interest, free time and life in lock down. Pupils spoke to each
in Spanish and English and all our pupils had lots of opportunity to hear and speak plenty of Spanish. The whole exercise was another example of how embracing technology allows pupils to engage with Modern Language study in a way that makes it real for them. We will be continuing with virtual exchange throughout next year.
CLASE DE PAELLA The Lower Sixth form Spanish group were treated to a paella cooking demonstration in Spanish by our resident paella ‘expert’ Amelia, a member of the school catering team and Mrs Roberts.
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he session was conducted entirely in Spanish with pupils learning the tricks of how to create an authentic Spanish paella complete with mussels, clams, prawns and chicken, but definitely no chorizo, as Amelia told us! During the session pupils talked with Amelia in Spanish throughout and asked many relevant and not so relevant questions. Hearing the discussion was wonderful. Pupils then got to eat the paella and found it ‘muy, muy rica’ (very tasty). Many thanks to the Catering team and especially Amelia for this exciting and authentic session.
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CLASSICS
UPPER SIXTH CLASSICS STUDY VISIT OXFORD Six members of the Upper Sixth Form spent two days in Oxford as term began on the annual residential Classics Study Visit early in September.
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he pupils, who hope to study Classics, Classics and English or Ancient and Modern History at the top universities, were hosted by Brasenose College and stayed in the ancient college’s undergraduate rooms. The busy two days began with a seminar with Dr Sillett of St Hilda’s, during which the pupils examined textual and archaeological sources in a quest to understand the impact of Cicero’s upbringing in Arpinum on his later career. The afternoon brought a session with the legendary Fr Smail on his beloved Virgil, examining the extent to which Aeneas is a reluctant hero through some close reading of the greatest Latin epic. In the evening, the Mods tutor at Brasenose, Dr Morgan, himself a doyen of Latin
literature, showed the party around BNC, the pupils especially wowed by the sumptuous new library. There was just time for Mrs Hunter to lead a reading class in Ovid in her rooms overlooking Old Quad and the iconic Radcliffe Camera before a slap-up dinner and a relaxing evening in Oxford. After breakfast beneath an excited unicorn in Hall, the pupils met Dr Mitchell of St Benet’s for a class on the late Roman republic, and thence made for St Anne’s to chat about admissions and Oxford life with Prof Leigh. A tour of the Ashmolean Museum’s remarkable Pompeii exhibition closed a splendid and demanding trip which saw the pupils’ minds tested and their ambition stirred for the arduous term ahead.
National Classics Essay Competition SUCCESS Two Upper Sixth Classicists had news of success in a national history essay competition over the summer.
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ead Girl Lottie, freshly returned from representing Scotland in the U19 Lacrosse World Championships, and Rhianna, an international CrossFit champion, both entered the prestigious Julia Wood Essay Prize, run by St Hugh’s College, Oxford. Rhianna (who subsequently won a place to read Classics at University College, Oxford) and Lottie (Classics & English at St Hugh’s, Oxford) produced essays which explored works by Cicero and Sallust and the beginnings of the collapse of the Roman Republic in the first century B.C.. Both girls’ entries were ‘highly commended’ by the judging panel of Oxford dons and they were invited up to Oxford to meet them in October.
ESSAY PRIZE WINNERS: Inaugural Spivey Prize Essay This term, a new opportunity for academic enrichment was launched at Caterham.
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he Spivey Prize Essay, named in honour of the distinguished classical scholar and Old Caterhamian Dr Nigel Spivey, invited any willing members of the Sixth Form to subject themselves to an unseen 90-minute general essay, the title taken from the classical corpus. In total 41 pupils elected to enter and were presented with a blank Word document and the choice of two questions: “All bad precedents originate from measures good in
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themselves (Sallust). Discuss.” or “Not to know what happened before you were born is to be forever a child (Cicero). Discuss.” Of the 41 essays, which approached the questions from a remarkable variety of angles, seven were shortlisted and sent to Cambridge for Dr Spivey himself to judge. In a very close-run race, our Head Girl, Lottie won the day and became the augural victrix of this exciting and demanding new competition.
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATION Innovation Award Launch Following its hugely successful launch last year, the Old Caterhamian’s Association opened the 2019-20 round of the whole-school initiative for pupils: The OCA Innovation & Collaboration Award.
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he award is open to all pupils at the school and asks them to work with their peers to design and develop innovative ideas which will then be presented to a panel of expert judges in the Summer Term for a prize. The prize was awarded for the very first time at Speech Day 2019. Winners benefit from support and mentoring from the alumni community together with a financial prize to enable the expansion and market launch of their winning idea. OCA President Clive Furness and last year’s winners spoke with pupils to launch the initiative for this school year.
The winners in 2018-19 were Planet Eco comprising Millie, Leah, Juliette, Isla, Izzy, Savannah, Sayano, Scarlett, Scarlet and Karlijn in the First Year. Their idea of an eco-friendly shampoo and packaging was presented with a confidence and thoughtfulness well beyond their years. The judges were impressed by the depth of research and planning which has already gone into the development of the product, as well as the clear passion for the idea and the potential environmental benefits. Exciting times are ahead for the impressive Planet Eco as they continue to develop their ideas with support from the Old Caterhamians Association.
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INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Summer of Code FUTURE READY LEARNING
DIGITAL INQUIRY Caterham’s award winning Digital Inquiry course for Sixth Formers was launched to the Upper Sixth students in October. Developed in collaboration with Accenture and PwC, the course instils digital and practical skills necessary to allow our young people to thrive in the work place and is taken alongside their academic A Level studies. Digital Inquiry helped secure Caterham’s ranking as an EdTech 50 School, with the award presented at the House of Lords earlier in the summer.
VIRTUAL HANDS UP
With a record-breaking number of entries this year, the third annual Summer of Code competition produced some of the best programming and game design we have seen so far. The three overall winners, Joel, Brandon and Xavier each produced compelling and fun games along the theme of ‘around the world’. Joel, this year’s overall winner took this quite literally, with an endless runner that takes place on a spinning orb. The gameplay is simple and clean, and his overall design aesthetic, managed to win him the title of Summer of Code champion 2019. All of the entries demonstrated a high level of skill and complexity, as well as an eye for detail which makes game-playing engaging and exciting.
Upper Sixth Form pupil Mulang identified a potential problem in his A Level maths class – the competing need for pupils to put their hands up for help, whilst still needing to continue to work on the problem they were being challenged by. His response to this was of course, to build an app! The app allows pupils and teachers to connect in a classroom and raise their hand virtually, putting them in a queue which appears on the teacher’s iPad. The teacher can then work their way around the class, removing pupils from the list as they are seen. All the while, pupils can continue with their work, knowing that their place is being held in the line and a teacher will come to support them when they need it. ‘Question Queuer’ is now available for free in the App Store and our pupils can download it from the ‘Self-Service’ app on their iPads now.
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INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
OCA INNOVATION & COLLABORATION AWARD FINAL The OCA Innovation and Collaboration Award asks our pupils to work on a project in teams of at least two, which they think solves a problem. During a live final, judges see presentations from some of the most promising groups and then announce a winner, who receives a £1000 prize and the offer of support and mentoring.
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ow in its second year, the competition has shown us once again, that the spirit of innovation upon which the School is so proudly built, is very much alive and kicking, even in the year which will undoubtedly be remembered for ‘lockdown’. All of last year’s judges returned: Headmaster Ceri Jones, President of the OCA, Clive Furness, Vice-President of the OCA, Karin Schulte and current parent, Preya Jubraj. The combined business experience of our judges is a force to be reckoned with, but our finalists, who this year came from three different year groups – First Year, Second Year and Upper Sixth, represented very different ideas and solutions to problems they had identified, and seemed entirely undaunted. ‘Honey Cosmetics’ made up of First Year pupils, Darcey, Tilly, Ruby and Abigail, had created their own line of cosmetics which utilised a honey base. In a gift-wrapped example presented to the judges, there was a lip scrub, face mask and lip gloss, as well as a body scrub. Their presentation was clear and compelling, and they had already got themselves setup on social media to promote their ideas and products. The judges thought that this was a strong group, and
one which might be able to grow the idea of promoting eco-friendly, sustainable ‘make your own’ kits celebrated through platforms like Instagram. ‘Biofilm’ the name of the idea our Second Year pupils Isabelle, Alice, Elisabeth, Sophie and Mathilda came up with, was a homemade potato starch replacement for cling film. It was clear that much research and testing had gone into this idea, with several team members attempting to brew their own potato-based cling film. Their presentation showed broad thinking, noting the need to keep down the food miles on the potatoes they would use as well as an awareness of how they might fit into the burgeoning vegan market. Whilst there was more testing to do, this was a strong idea with a clear purpose and ethos behind it. The final entry on the night, and eventual winners, were ‘Funder’, a two-person team made up of Upper Sixth boarders, Misha and Zakhar, who delivered their presentation live from Russia. ‘Funder’ is a platform that wants to increase pupil engagement with school charity projects. It uses Natural Language Processing to analyse pupil writing which then suggests charities they may be interested in supporting. The platform then
aggregates which charities students click through to and explore and then sends this data to the member of staff who chooses the school’s charities, meaning that choices can be made based upon causes the pupil body have already engaged with on some level. The judges were hugely impressed by the ingenuity and thoughtfulness which had gone into this project and it was clear that both Misha and Zakhar were excited by their work. They will now be supported by the OCA community to develop a full version of ‘Funder’. The Headmaster summed up the event as ‘the embodiment of what a school should be doing – inspired, passionate and articulate pupils working together to solve problems and address issues they feel strongly about’ and that is exactly what we got during the award final. The future for all the pupils involved, looks to be exciting indeed, and it’s fair to say that the judges will already be looking forwards to next year, to see what our pupils will come up with next. This was a truly inspiring way to close out an unusual year where the whole school community has demonstrated its ability and willingness to innovate in every corner of their lives.
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Flexible
Share
Success
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INNOVATION DAY
ON THURSDAY 23 JANUARY WE RAN OUR FIRST INNOVATION DAY FOR OUR FIRST YEAR PUPILS.
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hey were set the challenge of creating an exciting, innovative product or idea in a day. There were a number of sessions on offer, including a workshop on creating a powerful group dynamic, the ethics of product and business creation, led by Mrs Webster and her Lower Sixth Philosophy and Theology class, as well as a session on how to use questions to do great research from Ms Wildsmith. Later in the day they were taken through the ‘Design Thinking’ process in order to generate ideas for their products. In the afternoon, teams divided their attention between marketing and prototyping before presenting their work to teachers. The enthusiasm and energy our pupils showed for the challenges we set them was only matched by the innovative and exciting ideas they presented to us. We saw everything from an app that identifies where ethically approved shops are, to a honey lip balm made on site with the assistance of our catering team. We are looking forward to some of the groups continuing to develop their ideas in preparation for this summer’s OCA Innovation and Collaboration Award.
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Ask
Build
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT: DIGITAL INQUIRY IN ACTION As part of Caterham School’s Digital Inquiry course, Friday 10 January saw 90 of our Lower Sixth pupils visit to the TMRW Hub in Croydon, a co-working space for start-ups at various phases of development.
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hilst there we attended talks from Francois Mazoudier (TMRW’s founder) and Gi Fernando MBE, both of whom are highly successful entrepreneurs and investors. They told us about their own experiences of entrepreneurship and how to succeed in that space. What was so fascinating about their advice to our pupils was how applicable it was to so many others parts of our lives. Some of their top pieces of advice were: Be flexible Understand that you don’t need to have all the skills, as long as you can find other people to share your vision l Ask for help l Seek out criticism so that you can build a better idea l Understand the importance of body language when working with other people l l
The Digital Inquiry cohort then heard from a number of start-ups working at TMRW, before pitching their own project ideas to Gi and Francois for feedback. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and one which gave our pupils invaluable access to people willing to invest time in their own journey with idea development, as well as giving them further opportunities to collaborate and think in a very different way. The Digital Inquiry course continues this term as our Lower Sixth build further skills whilst developing their own ideas and products in time for final presentations next term.
CAREERS NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SHOW – Earn Whilst you Learn On Wednesday 4 March, nine pupils, Mrs Brown and Dr Avery were lucky enough to attend the National Apprenticeship Show at Sandown Park. The show featured over 30 organisations that offered a wide range of apprenticeship routes, as an alternative to going to university. What became very clear was the number of apprenticeships available and how many different levels there were.
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upils from Caterham School, leaving after their Sixth Form education are generally looking at level 5/6/7. A level 5 is known as a Higher Apprenticeship and is usually the equivalent to an HND or HNC level degree whereas a level 6/7 is known as a Degree Apprenticeship which will allow you to study for a full UK degree whilst earning a salary. Apprenticeships are funded by the government under the apprenticeship levy and offer pupils the opportunity to earn a salary whilst being paid and sponsored through a degree programme. In most cases, apprentices will work for four days a week and then study on the fifth. Competition for places can be immense and
the higher and degree levels have recruitment procedures very similar to graduate recruitment schemes, involving online applications, online assessments, a video interview, an assessment centre day and panel or individual interviews, which take place over a number of months. The grade requirements are often considerably lower than those required by universities and this always worries some pupils – they worry that lower grades
signify a lesser quality of degree. This could not be further from the truth! Companies offering these routes know that A level academic attainment does not always match suitability to the workplace and their online assessments, which can be tough, are designed to pick out those pupils who are strong in in the areas where they are looking for certain skills and attributes. Recruiters also understand that not everyone exceeds in examinations and that applying your learning to a real life job can be perfect for some people. Some of the stand out programmes for our pupils were those at KPMG, Deloitte and Accenture whilst I was particularly intrigued by the brand new Police Constable degree apprenticeship with the Metropolitan Police! It was a great event and as one pupil commented, “it was a very informative event that definitely provided plenty of insight into what different companies had to offer”.
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CAREERS
In any one year, Nestlé offer just ten places at Gatwick and four at their York office so it is vital to understand how important your application and ability to shine at interview is in securing an offer.
DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME For the final workshop of the new Degree Apprenticeship programme, we were delighted to welcome Jack, Joe and Jordan from Nestlé head office in Gatwick.
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ll three are current apprentices on the Chartered Management degree programme. For Jack and Joe we were the first school they had visited although Jordan was on his third school visit! It was inspiring, for the twenty students in attendance, to hear first-hand about the scheme and how preparation is key to making a credible application for these very competitive schemes. In any one year, Nestlé offer just ten places at Gatwick and four at their York office so it is vital to understand how important your application and ability to shine at interview is in securing an offer. This workshop, looking at the interview stages of application, covered all the stages involved – from researching the company, thinking about your strengths and how you can make the activities you are involved in demonstrate these strengths, as well as preparing questions to ask your interviewer. Jack, Joe and Jordan took us through their journeys too. To finish off the session, the pupils were asked to come up with a very simple launch campaign to market Nestlé’s new vegetarian and vegan instant latte sachets, which started some amusing, healthy debate especially about the age range of vegans!
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Careers in VFX, Games and Animation ON TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY, WE WERE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME CAROLINE COX FROM ESCAPE STUDIOS IN LONDON, TO TALK ABOUT THE HUGE VARIETY OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE VISUAL EFFECTS, GAMES AND ANIMATION INDUSTRIES.
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scape Studios, based in London, offer a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses alongside short courses, for anyone who is looking to break into these lucrative, yet competitive professions. Over 70% of roles within these industries are creative and so, it came as no surprise that students taking this route tended to study an art based A Level such as Fine Art, Product Design or Photography. There are also opportunities for those who are interested in the computer science and coding/ software development areas but these roles are fewer in number. She explained that VFX is when the subject is designed to look real, whereas motion graphics is where subjects are meant to be more of a cartoon style animation – areas where potential students often get confused.
CHANGING LIVES On Tuesday 3 March the Careers Department was delighted to welcome back Abi Riches (OC 2013) to talk about her experiences since leaving Caterham. At school Abi explained she was always tied between studying something in the medical field or taking the performing arts route. In the beginning, drama won and she began studying at Queen Mary’s University, however she soon found that it wasn’t the right route for her and that the course, which had very little performing, was not what she wanted. It took her two years to finally take the plunge and apply to study midwifery at the University of Brighton and last year she finally qualified.
LIBRARY
DEATH BY DETENTION
Ali Sparkes
AUTHOR VISIT First Year pupils were treated to an interactive workshop by visiting author Ali Sparkes on 26 February. Ali was a newspaper journalist and BBC radio presenter and producer, before embarking on a full time writing career. Her talk appropriately named ‘Death by Detention’ evoked much hilarity.
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CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
BLOOD BOWL
WORLD CUP On Thursday 3 October, the Eltham and Caterham Lions flew to Austria for the Blood Bowl World Cup.
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ooking across the table into the eyes of your opponent at the start of a Blood Bowl game is always something special, sharing the knowledge that, between you, the next two hours will promise drama, tremendous concentration through a series of chess-like puzzles, and incredible good fun in a competitive and sporting atmosphere. Competing at the biggest tournament of its kind, the team that attended the Blood Bowl World Cup in Austria have gained a unique experience that will stay with them for life. Nine games were played across three days, sometimes playing over eight hours of Blood Bowl a day against opponents from France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. The team had to play their games in a range of languages, against opponents who
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have been playing Blood Bowl since the 1970s. Walking into the Convention Centre to register the two teams, The Eltham and Caterham Lions A and B teams were treated to an electric atmosphere, as over
1,500 players from six continents collected their passes, put on their lanyards, and gathered the skill markers for their teams’ combinations. With live music, including a special acoustic percussion band to hurry play along in the dying minutes of each tie, the excitement was palpable. The boys
were treated like celebrities due to their age, they were constantly asked for selfies and given gifts of miniatures, teams, dice and merchandise! Playing as two teams of six (each with an individual game), every draw mattered to the overall fixture, which could be won 4 - 2, drawn 3 - 3 etc. The pupils did themselves incredibly proud, with the A-team emerging with a winning record of 5 – 1 - 3 and coming 68th out of 236 teams, and the B-team coming 218th with a record of 2 – 0 - 6. The A team beat some British Champions, whilst Finn of the B team managed to secure a draw against the Captain of the Italian National team, who narrowly lost the final - finishing second. This was truly a unique experience that the team will remember forever, and are already looking ahead to the next world cup in 2023!
CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
YOUNG CHEFS
At the beginning of December eight Caterham pupils took part in the local heats of annual Young Chef competition hosted by De Stafford. The pupils that took part were Sky-Brooke D, Ewan S, Jimi O, Raya M, Cyrus L, Molly S, Lola M and Candice B. The pupils had two hours in which to produce a three course meal. The standard of the competition was extremely high and the food produced was of an excellent standard.
Bee Hives arrive... Caterham School Beekeepers Club was launched earlier this year for pupils and staff interested in establishing a school apiary.
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n Saturday 26 April this dream became a reality. Mr Tyldesley and Dr Soltysiak collected our new colonies and spent the day setting them up in their new home, within hours they were flying to and from the apple blossoms around the Orchard Theatre. Over the next few months, the bees will be working hard to build up their new home to store honey – we will be working almost as hard to keep them healthy and productive. Wild bee colonies are almost extinct in the UK due to imported diseases and pests, so beekeepers are more important than ever. We hope to keep a successful apiary here at school to benefit the local area, as well as inspiring the next generation of beekeepers.
Follow our progress via instagram: @CaterhamSchoolBeekeepers
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CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
CATZBOWL
HEAD TO SNOTLING SLAM On Saturday 8 February, 11 CatzBowl (Caterham School Blood Bowl Team) players travelled to Eltham College for the 2nd Annual Snotling Slam.
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ust as coveted as the Calcutta Cup, the Snotling Slam Trophy is an important totem of the yearly grudge match between the first two schools in the country to host a regular Blood Bowl team. The day consisted of three rounds, where each member of CatzBowl played a member of the ECBC (Eltham College Blood Bowl Club). The result of each two-hour game determined the players’ opponent in the next round, resulting in the final match being the decider of the fixture. Caterham School’s Xavier P entered the final round in third position, however the same skills that young Mr P showed at the World Cup in Austria last year came to the fore - allowing him to secure a 2-1 win. Through some
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point’s assistance from the second place Catzbowler, Xavier ended the tournament in first place. An incredible achievement from the Squad Captain, who is set to attend his third British Championship in May with the rest of the team as one of the youngest players ever to attend four major tournaments. Eltham College and Caterham School are just beginning their journey together, most of the year we attend tournaments as a single team. The World Cup last year brought the two clubs together as The Eltham & Caterham Schools Lions Team, this summer that friendship will be rekindled as the teams compete together at the British Championships. Blood Bowl is a fantastic game that pits the minds of two opponents against
each other long before they meet, players must build and prepare their teams of miniatures within a complex set of rules and tournament-specific stipulations. Planning for this event started months ago and saw the players practicing line-ups and set pieces on the desks of the Chemistry department. A great day was had by all involved, special thanks goes to our driver Nigel, and former Caterham School teacher Steven Marlow who organised the event. Although the trophy spends one more year 15 miles too far north, memories have been made that will last for lifetimes. Well done to: Xavier P, Finn O, Arthur B, Finn D, Harry F, James O, Justin L, Aaron U, Stuart S and Kiyan P.
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME
OXBRIDGE ESSAY FINALISTS
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Huge congratulations to Jaiden and William (Upper Sixth Form) who have both been selected as finalists for the well-renowned John Locke Institute Essay Competition.
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aiden’s fantastic essay questioned the continuing role of the Fed and whether there is a case for abolishing it and William wrote an excellent piece on the benefits and costs of immigration. Both were thought-provoking, sophisticated and well-researched pieces of writing and it is no surprise that they have been highly commended already in the competition. Well done Jaiden and William and fingers crossed for the final! The competition drew eight hundred and eighty-five submissions from sixty-eight countries in six continents. Only the highest quality essays were shortlisted for a prize. The overall winner will be announced at New College Oxford on Friday 20 September with Jaiden and William both in attendance.
ENRICHMENT DAY The strength of our community is a defining characteristic of Caterham School and we were delighted to start the year with a host of fantastic activities which saw pupils get to know and support each other. Enrichment Day was held on Friday 13 February and saw the campus abuzz with excitement and shared achievement. The result of the day was a positive school body ready to get stuck in to the challenges and potential of a new academic year!
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INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
IRP
INTERMEDIATE RESULTS 2019
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATION EVENING Many congratulations to our six Upper Sixth Formers whose IRP projects were selected to go through to the final. This is a tremendous achievement, not least because there were 75 entries this year. The finalists and the title of their projects were: Ben: Investigating the lift to drag ratio of an airfoil Maddie: Cashless Society Rhianna: Imperial Women Leah: Oxytocin Mulang: How Should Programmers Beat the Time and Seize the Day (electronic version) Leo: The Quantum Hall of Fame
Our panel of three external judges had difficulty deciding on a winner but eventually singled out Ben as the winner; Ben receives the Young Prize, worth £300 towards the cost of university books and resources. The runners-up, who also received prizes, were Mulang and Rhianna.
Many congratulations, too to the three finalists of the Intermediate IRP. These three pupils presented their projects as part of the evening: Ananya (Fifth Year): Explore the importance of a sense of ‘home’ in refugee literature Michelle (Fifth Year): Is xenotransplantation a solution to organ failure? Alex (Fourth Year): How is game theory used in the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Game of Chicken? The standard of these presentations was excellent and the overall winner was Ananya.
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The second annual Intermediate Independent Research took place at the end of November. This competition seeks to open up the Sixth Form IRP opportunities for intellectual exploration to pupils in the Fourth and Fifth Years.
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ntrants choose their own research title from any area of academia, prepare and compile an essay or project over the summer holidays and submit the fruits of their labour for assessment by Caterham staff. A very encouraging 28 pupils (twice as many as last year) entered the competition with projects ranging from North Korea to Aristotle’s Poetics, from veganism to impressionism. It is no platitude to say that the standard was remarkably high and the task of choosing a small group of finalists from so strong a field was an unenviable task for the team of staff corralled into sharing the responsibility. Several very fine projects were “Commended” or “Highly Commended”, but only those adjudged the best three were invited to present their work at the Senior IRP evening last week. Seemingly undaunted by the occasion, Michelle (Fifth Year) gave an extraordinarily lucid and detailed account of xenotransplantation, while Alex (Fourth Year) made some seriously high-level mathematics comprehensible to all as he discussed Game Theory. The winner of the Intermediate IRP 2019, however, was Ananya (Fifth Year), whose essay and presentation on the theme of “home” in refugee literature showed scholarly endeavour and analytical dexterity well beyond her years. Well done to Ananya, and to all her peers who volunteered to spend their summer holidays on their own independent intellectual journeys.
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WELLBEING The welfare of our young people is what underpins a brighter future for everyone
National Stage for
CATERHAM WELLBEING
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ur award-winning wellbeing team led on all matters wellbeing at the UK and international education show BETT at London’s Excel centre on Tuesday 21 January. Mrs Griffiths, Miss Smith and Mr Moore presented to a packed theatre on securing wellbeing as part of the curriculum with fantastic feedback
from all present. They concentrated on the Caterham ‘we’re all in this together’ philosophy of teachers and bursarial staff all engaged in the wellbeing of the pupils. In the afternoon, Mrs Griffiths chaired the Education Arena discussion across a range of wellbeing topics with representatives from UK independent,
LAUNCH OF OUR
SECOND YEAR REMINISCE
WELLBEING PODCAST
In the week beginning 15 June our Wellbeing Ambassadors launched a new podcast series which will hear them discuss a range of topics.
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hey will be sharing their experiences and giving advice on what has helped them. In the first episode, David, Shreya, Lauren and Alyssa discuss lockdown and how they have been coping with the changes. They would love to hear what you’d like them to
secondary and primary schools. Mrs Griffiths said: “To be able to share our best practice with UK and global schools is really important. We can all learn from each other as wellbeing is a priority for anyone involved in education – the welfare of our young people is what underpins a brighter future for everyone.“
@caterhamwellbeing discuss in future episodes, so feel free to send a direct message to @ caterhamwellbeing on Instagram with any suggestions you may have. We hope you enjoy listening! Our Wellbeing Ambassadors are pupils who have received special training and take a leading role in supporting fellow pupils as part of Caterham’s award-winning wellbeing approach.
At the end of term our Second Year pupils were looking back at their time in the Lower School and reminiscing about their highlights. They have all achieved so much and it is great to see so many fond memories! Favourites include winning the Surrey Lacrosse tournament, the Sports Tour to Dubai, the French Trip to Paris, the Christmas Fair and toasting marshmallows in outdoor learning lessons. Friendship, positivity and new experiences- there is so much to be proud of and it has been wonderful to witness it all!
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WELLBEING
NEW WELLBEING INITIATIVE
for Sixth Form Pupils A new series of voluntary wellbeing lunchtime sessions where put in place in response to Sixth Form feedback, these sessions will address practical issues and equip them with some life skills.
UK LEADING
WELLBEING
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he theme for the first session was “First aid for your mates” led by Mrs Lesley Paine, the school Health Centre Manager. It covered skills to provide students with an appropriate response to a situation including, being able to read signs and symptoms, how to help and assess a situation, what to say, what to do, when it is necessary to call 999 and what to do whilst waiting for emergency services.
The specialist award recognises the leading whole-school approach at Caterham which promotes mental health and wellbeing across the entire school community.
Caterham’s innovative and sector leading approach to Wellbeing has been recognised once again, this time through recognising the contribution that our Deputy Head (Pastoral & Wellbeing) is making to the independent sector!
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or her work around Wellbeing in education Mrs Sarah Griffiths has made it onto the ‘i25’, a list of the top 25 independent sector’s leading influencers and innovators who have made an impact to pupil experience and independent education in the UK. This latest accolade follows the National Children’s Bureau backed Wellbeing Award for Schools (WAS) which was awarded
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to Caterham earlier this year. Following a rigorous 16-month-long assessment, which included input from pupils, parents and staff, Caterham’s pioneering approach to Wellbeing was endorsed by the WAS inspector who commented: “Wellbeing is embedded in the curriculum and across the whole school. Pupils and staff have incredibly positive things to say about the climate of the school and how they have been personally
supported.” The specialist award recognises the leading whole-school approach at Caterham which promotes mental health and wellbeing across the entire school community. Individuals at every level of the school’s community are proactively involved in supporting Wellbeing: from pupils in Kindergarten up to Sixth Form, to the school’s Trustees, the teaching and support staff and parents.
WIDER CIRCLES
WIDER CIRCLES Fifth Year Josh Runs
100 MILES
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osh (Fifth Year) completed a tough 100 mile challenge over May half-term to help raise funds for a local 4 year old boy, Liam, requiring specialist cancer treatment in the US. Touched by the Liam’s situation and that many of the fundraising efforts had to be cancelled due to lockdown, Josh created his own challenge. Supported by friends and family, Josh ran and cycled over live stream and social media, prompting a lovely message of support from Pride of Britain. To keep Josh going, his Fifth Year friends donned their training shoes and joined him virtually on the runs! Josh has raised an amazing £3200 so far. Fantastic effort Josh, what a great neighbour you are!
FOODBANK HELP
HARVEST FESTIVAL Members of the Upper Sixth Form Charity Committee delivered assemblies to the rest of the school, informing them of the issues around food poverty in the UK. These accompanied their support and kind Harvest Festival donations of food items for the Caterham Foodbank. Thank you to all who supported this effort.
Cup of Good Cheer:
BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING
The Sixth Form Centre was buzzing with this year’s Macmillan Biggest Coffee Morning. The Charity Committee invited parents, support staff and teachers as they hosted a brilliant morning for a superb cause close to so many people’s hearts. This is the 29th year that the school has hosted the fundraising morning and we were delighted to welcome back Miss Hilary Trehane, former member of staff, who begun the event at Caterham School in 1990.
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RECORD ROTARY
COLLECTIONS Thanks to our many pupil volunteers who went out to help the Rotary Club of Caterham. Nearly £5,300 across seven nights. This is a new record for Rotary Club Caterham – with £1,000 on one night alone – and the donations will benefit Clifton Hill School, Caterham First Responders and Caterham Carnival. A brilliant effort and their help is very much appreciated. Thank you!
BRAVE SHAVE
Zosia Fundraises for Macmillan Too many of us know someone who has or is going through treatment for cancer and understand the effects that treatment has, not only on the patient, but family and friends too. Inspired by a friend who was cared for by Macmillan before returning to full health, First Year pupil Zosia decided to go a step further and raise money for the charity, here is her story...
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Hello, my name is Zosia. I am a First Year pupil here at Caterham and I’m doing the ‘Brave Shave’ for Macmillan Cancer Support. In the current pandemic, many charities are supported less because everyone is focused on finding a vaccine or cure for Covid-19. Coronavirus means people living with cancer need our help more than ever.
At home my family and I are very privileged that we have each other and are healthy, but not everyone is as fortunate. There are so many people suffering from cancer and in this challenging time it is difficult to be diagnosed and treated. But together we could help to save lives!
WIDER CIRCLES
CLIFTON HILL The Lower Sixth Form volunteered in droves to participate in our weekly Friday activity sessions for Clifton Hill pupils. This created such a nice, exciting atmosphere on the first session of the year. Some of the Clifton Hill pupils find our Sports Hall to be a very challenging environment, and so it is great to reach this level of participation! The volunteers were divided into groups to run alternate sessions, aided initially by the Upper Sixth until Lower Sixth leaders are appointed. The sessions build up to the sports days in June.
THE LONDON ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE Caterham has been a driving force behind the foundation of The London Academy of Excellence (LAE) Sixth Form College in Stratford, East London, an area where Sixth Form academic opportunities were previously extremely limited.
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ur Sixth Form pupils partner with LAE Caterham House pupils, and teachers across the two institutions support each other with collaborations and regular visits. In just five short years, the Academy has rapidly gained a well-deserved local and national reputation as one of London and the UK’s leading state sixth form providers. Caterham School and the LAE both celebrated a hugely successful summer with students progressing on to Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group universities to read a range of subjects including medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. In October the new Lower Sixth students of Caterham House, London Academy of Excellence, Stratford came for a day hosted by the Lower Sixth. The day was a mixture of learning and fun activities and is an important part of our cherished link with LAE Stratford, allowing students to widen their experiences, make friends and network.
PUPILS’ FUNDRAISING RECORD
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n Thursday 30 January, we welcomed representatives from Clifton Hill School and Rotary Club Caterham so that they could chat to and thank the many pupils who helped raise a record amount in the run up to Christmas. The door-to-door collections are a vital part of Rotary Club’s local fundraising, and Clifton Hill School have already benefited from a donation from Caterham School and Rotary. The money donated will help Clifton Hill fund an after-school activity, the first one of which was running at the exact same time our event was taking place. Well done, to all our volunteers and thank you.
CHARITY SUPPORT
Seasonal Sustainablility Congratulations to Eva for winning the prize for the best – and most sustainable - homemade Christmas jumper. Worn in support of our Lerang’wa Lunches Charity.
The Missing 2000 CELEBRATING OUR PARTNERSHIP WORK We are very pleased to have contributed to the Schools Together publication: ‘The Missing 2000’. This documents the work being done with cross sector partnerships targeting educational gaps and a lack of opportunity in key demographics in the school population. The aim is to share and encourage collaborative activities between schools.
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VIRTUAL RESIDENTIAL In 2017 Caterham School, together with the Access & Accelerate Foundation and United Learning, founded a multi-year university access programme for Year 9 pupils at six local academies.
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he pupils attend residential Easter and summer school sessions at Caterham during the school holidays during which they experience further academic study, work experience sessions, and university preparations sessions. The pupils continue to attend these courses until the summer between Year 12 and 13. Pupils are mentored by undergraduates (including Old Caterhamians) who will keep in touch online between the residentials, supporting them through their various academic stages.
Our UA pupils are now entering Year 13 with their choices for their ‘next steps’ very much in their minds. The summer 2020 ‘virtual residential’ focussed on one to one sessions with their under graduate mentors who remain a dedicated group in these times, and who were primed ready following some excellent training around coaching techniques from Caterham’s Director of learning: Kim Wells. The program started with an upbeat session from our longstanding partners 2-3 degrees led by Carl Konadu and Tamanna Islam, drawing out self-awareness from the lockdown experience. We then had a series of sessions around university applications delivered by Michael Englard of the London
Partnerships Enrichment at Whyteleafe Primary School Over the first five weeks of the Spring term, six Caterham Lower Sixth pupils have been enriching the geographical lives of Year 5 pupils at Whyteleafe Primary School. Every Monday lunchtime they have travelled to Whyteleafe to deliver a series of lessons ranging from map skills to testing earthquake-proof housing to finally demonstrating the different ways in which volcanoes erupt! The pupils have found this a very rewarding experience and I have been immensely impressed with the way in which they have approached the tasks - talking maturely with the Whyteleafe pupils, guiding and helping them to get the best out of the activities and confidently delivering the material with only a 30 minute preparation window. I am very much looking forward to the next half of term, with six new Lower Sixth students and a new Year 5 class!
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Interdisciplinary School and with subject specific sessions from Caterham teachers Dr Avery, Ms Drummond, Mr Parker, Mrs Brown and Mr Fahey. Participating pupils will be applying for a wide range, including commercial music, U.S. universities via a sports scholarship, medicine and Oxbridge maths. During the session with 2-3 degrees one pupil commented: “Obviously this program is good for university and stuff, but it is also good for teaching you to become a better person in general, and how to be confident in yourself because I was quite shy. This is what the program has done for me, and it’s made me have a better insight into the world.”
WIDER CIRCLES
UNITED ACCESS Caterham’s pivotal role in the United Access programme continued despite the Government restrictions with the programme beginning after the Easter weekend...
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e started with some training of our five undergraduate mentors in coaching led by Mr Wells. The mentors are a vital ingredient of the programme, especially under current conditions. There will be a range of academic sessions led by Caterham teachers to stretch and inspire beyond ordinary A Level study including Maths, English Literature, Psychology and Economics (our academy pupils are now in the Lower Sixth). We will finish up with a session on higher order thinking and some life coaching in preparation for challenges ahead.
PARTNERSHIPS CONTINUE A virtual residential Easter course continued for our United Access programme, a vital part of Caterham’s partnership work. The week kicked off with five undergraduate mentors benefitting from some coaching training with
CARL KONADU
Mr Wells. Day 2 saw inspirational sessions on English, economics and politics, maths and psychology with the academy pupils who are now in Year 12. The pupils also took part in some higher order thinking and life coaching with their undergraduate mentors supporting throughout the sessions. The final day of the Easter ‘residential’ saw pupils reunited with Carl Konadu of 2-3 Degrees who led a timely and lively interactive session on ‘Staying Positive in Uncertain Times, Forging Your Own Path’.
UNITED ACCESS RESIDENTIAL Our sixth United Access residential was held in Beech Hanger over the October half term break. Our regular attendees returned, now for 13 academies and Sixth Form Colleges. The pupils got stuck into some critical thinking, problem solving, wicked problems alongside sport and a final presentation from GB downhill skier Chemmy Alcott.
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LERANG’WA IN LOCKDOWN Lerang’wa School is back open following the shutdown in Tanzania. They were as disappointed as us that our Lower Sixth Form visit to the school didn’t go ahead for the first time in 15 years due to Covid-19, but we remain partners in these difficult times.
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oney raised by Caterham School pupils has been used to establish the vegetable garden, a new initiative for the new head teacher: Mr Ruge, requiring good fencing and irrigation. It will be educational as well as supplementing the diets of the pupils alongside our Lernag’wa Lunches provision.
The village of Lerang’wa has been only mildly affected by Covid so far thanks to the shut down, and numbers at the school are higher than ever upon reopening. We will be in close communication in order to support the education of the young people in our partner school in the most effective way possible.
LUNCHES ARRIVE IN LERANG’WA! Funds raised at Caterham School provide lunch for the pupils of our partner school, Lerang’wa every school day. This provides security for the local children and families and contributes to increasing attendance and attainment at the school, primary education being the cornerstone for future development of both individuals and the community.
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OUTDOOR LEARNING & DUKE OF EDINBURGH BEN WILKINSON
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards Old Cats presented at St James’s Palace Five Old Caterhamians attended their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Presentation at St James’s Palace on Tuesday 11 February.
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ith three progressive levels, the Gold Award is the pinnacle of the programme and requires two self-sufficient expeditions in the hills of South Wales for four days and three nights walking for 7 to 8 hours each day. This is in addition to a full year of voluntary work plus six to twelve months of a skill and physical activity for at least one hour a week. Whilst the awards require significant commitment from each individual, they offer a life changing experience and the opportunity to develop key essential skills for life and work. The award was presented to the Old Cats by HRH the Earl of Wessex.
The award was presented to the Old Cats by HRH the Earl of Wessex
DofE GOLD AWARDS
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OUTDOOR LEARNING & DUKE OF EDINBURGH
BEE HIVES
PRE-SCHOOL OUTDOOR LEARNING
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s I write this review in the midst of ‘living with Covid19’ I am struck by the ongoing importance of Outdoor Learning and its place within the School curriculum. Classroom based teaching is where the majority of pupils learning takes place, however it is during outdoor sessions that ideas and concepts can be cemented into pupil’s memory. Within our sessions from Pre-School to Sixth Year we have been working heavily on developing pupils ‘soft’ skills; resilience, communication, leadership, patience, grit, perseverance, teamwork and motivation are but a few of these and are all key to developing well rounded and engaged young adults ready for life after school. Over the past year almost all of our trips and activities have been cancelled; however, this has not been a time for treading water, the past six months have been spent updating and rebuilding our school resources and infrastructure for Outdoor Learning. I am proud to say that the WildCats area now
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boasts four new team building challenges, a teaching area and an assault course, all of which were built during lockdown and are ready for pupils returning in September 2020. The school now has 2 colonies of bees and a mini orchard based in the paddock behind the Prep School, and we are looking at new ways to expand our learning areas for 2021 and beyond. Within Old Park Wood, Chalara Francine (Ash dieback) has been a large concern and as a result vast areas of the wood are being cleared and replanted. Regeneration gaps and clearings have also been created and we are seeing the benefits of this with a greater spectrum of biodiversity on show through the seasons. Birds, dragonflies, bats, mice, badgers, deer and foxes can all be seen inhabiting and reclaiming the woods and will be studied by the pupils for years to come. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Expeditions were decimated this year with only one of the five planned expeditions taking place. Due to travel restrictions and Covid regulations it was impossible for us to safely lead Expeditions, however the pupils have been continuing with all other areas
of their awards and we have had some great successes. In the past 12 months there have been 9 Gold Awards and 58 Silver Awards completed; a great display given the circumstances of the past 8 months. As we move towards September 2020 the provision for Outdoor Learning is growing. Mr Dyer is joining the team as Head of Outdoor Learning in the Prep School, with more regular lessons for all pupils, and weekly Woodland Activities are being given to all classes in the Pre-Prep. It may be hard to see an end to the current pandemic, but I am confident that when it happens, Outdoor Learning will become an even greater force within the school for helping us to nurture well rounded and conscientious individuals, that are ready for the ever changing world beyond. WILDCATS AREA ASSAULT COURSE
2020 CHARITY
TALENT SHOW On 1 February 2020, Caterham School opened its doors for the annual Charity Talent Show. This yearly institution was a valuable opportunity for the pupil-led Charity Committee to put their fundraising and organisational efforts front and centre, and for pupil performers from the First Year to the Upper Sixth to showcase their talents in singing, dancing, musicianship, or a combination of these.
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t was wonderful to see the School community coming together in the names of celebrating talent and supporting the Brain Tumour Charity; Lerang’wa Primary School; and Berber Village, Morocco. Our fundraising total is an excellent testimony to the selfless work of the students and staff who have contributed, in any way, to the success of the Talent Show. In addition to the performances by pupil individuals and groups – capped off by the Upper Sixth Boys v Girls dance-off, which was won this year by the boys – the annual Staff Dance featured in both the Matinee and Evening Shows. For the second consecutive year, I was a participant in the Staff Dance; this feature, and the Talent Show as a whole, epitomises Caterham School’s inspiring vision for the school community.
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TALENT SHOW
Growing up, I was never the most outgoing child. The mere thought of walking onto a stage for any reason was completely unthinkable to me until my mid-to-late teens. I used to think that the only activities worth pursuing were the ones that I was “good at.” I’ve never learnt to play any musical instruments, or had any musical talents – which set me apart from many of my school friends – so my younger self never contemplated performing on stage. Over a period of a few years, however, I discovered how fun and how empowering it is to be able to do so. It was in this spirit that I took part in the Staff Dance on Saturday. Whether or not I danced particularly well is a question that I can’t answer, but if our audience had as much fun watching it as we had performing it, we did what we set out to do. That’s the charm of the Talent Show. I’d like to thank Mr Fahey and the Charity Committee for orchestrating the event; Mrs Richards and Mrs Parker for choreographing the Staff Dance; and all the student acts for stepping up and headlining the show. This weekend has been a perfect illustration of why I am proud to be a Caterhamian. BY MR RICHARD EVANS
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ongratulations to the Charity Committee for producing this year’s fantastic Talent Show. The event raised nearly £4000 for the Brain Tumour Charity and Lerang’wa Lunches, whilst refreshment sale were to support our Morocco project. Well done to Matthew O who won
the evening event with his rendition of ‘Bruises’, and to Millie T who won the matinee with ‘Memory’. Well done also to the staff, boys and girls dance troupes, a fantastic display, and a narrow win for the boys this year. A big thank you to all who came and supported the event. BY MR TONY FAHEY
DEBATING, PUBLIC SPEAKING AND MODEL UNITED NATIONS Model United Nations Conference Success On Thursday 10 October ten Caterham pupils attended a Model United Nations conference hosted by King’s Canterbury School. It was a great day of debates and pupils enjoyed meeting delegates from a number of other local schools. Three committees were on offer looking at a variety of topics focused on the impact of technology. All of our Caterham delegates should be proud of their performance and represented their countries in a mature and thoughtful fashion. A special mention goes to Amya who represented Canada on the Human Rights Council and received a certificate of commendation for her work on constructing a resolution and the high quality of her public speaking.
OTHER
NEWS GREEN COMMITTEE IN ACTION A VERY SUCCESSFUL FIRST CLEAN-UP AROUND THE SCHOOL WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE GREEN COMMITTEE IN JANUARY. Pupils from various year groups went outside during lunch break with pickers and gloves to clean up litter. Over five kilograms of litter was collected! This is part of our Plastic Free Schools journey, a pupil led programme designed by charity ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ (SAS) to help pupils understand the issues of plastic consumption and take action. SAS founder Chris Hines was guest speaker at Speech Day 2019.
STUDY BUDDY CATERHAM’S NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING STUDY BUDDY RESTARTED IN EARNEST IN OCTOBER. Over 350 pupils packed the Pye Centre and the Refectory to launch this year’s peer to peer mentoring scheme. Well over 100 Lower Sixth volunteers have joined the Upper Sixth buddies after a training programme which taught them coaching techniques such as deep listening and challenging questioning.
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OTHER NEWS
BELIEFS WEEK A Time for Reflection Beliefs Week in February was a time for contemplation, thankfulness, asking questions, and listening to speakers with experience and knowledge on this topic.
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t was brilliant to welcome Chine McDonald to speak about her career at Christian Aid, attend a seminar titled 'Atheism and Finding purpose' on Wednesday lunchtime, while on Friday the Gideons delivered an assembly to the Lower School. The reflection space in the concourse has been somewhere to ask big questions, honour someone you miss, think about hopes and dreams, focus on purpose, and add to the tree of thankfulness. The Chaplaincy Team have also led assemblies, and our Christian Union were able to explore ideas and concepts that surround Belief, with guest Simon Quincey from King’s Church, Oxted.
SHORTLISTED! TES Independent School Awards Caterham School has been shortlisted at the TES Independent School Awards 2020. This is the third year running that Caterham has either won or been shortlisted for these prestigious awards. Tes editor Ann Mroz said: “The Independent schools in this country are truly exceptional and those that have earned a place on the Tes Independent School Awards shortlist are a cut above the rest. “We received an unparalleled number of entries this year, all of which were first rate. The schools that have been shortlisted should be proud - it’s a remarkable achievement.”
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SIXTH FORM PUPIL
AMBASSADORS Towards the end of the summer term, we said goodbye and thank you to the Sixth Form Pupil Ambassadors who worked with classes lower down the School and supported clinics at lunchtimes.
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his year was the first year that we had ambassadors in maths, english and physics and we hope everyone has enjoyed taking part! I know that the younger classes have really benefited from your expertise and enjoyed your presence in lessons. To those of you who are off to university, thank you so much for giving up your precious time in your final year and we would like to wish you well in the future. To those of you in Lower Sixth, we look forward to seeing you back next year!
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RAF SECTION
SUMMER CAMP FLT LT JAMES ARROL-BARKER
Cadets spread their wings
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uring the summer 12 cadets from the RAF section went to RAF Halton, the home of the Recruit Training Squadron, alongside four other CCF units from around the country. After all had arrived and settled in, a full week of activities started. The week included a number of excellent activities including water sports, visiting the RAF Museum London, and a number of other visits. The cadets also had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Recruit Training Squadron in order to find out more about the training programme that prospective airmen and airwomen complete whilst at RAF Halton.
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In the evenings the cadets took part in numerous team building activities all of which were scored for the camp competition which was won by the mighty B Flight. The staff and cadets all had a very enjoyable camp. The thanks of the staff go to Sgt Harvey the TEST NCO and also to the cadets for their exemplary behaviour throughout the camp.
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ARMY SECTION SUMMER CAMP CAPT MATHEW OWEN
NINE DAYS OF ADVENTURE A contingent of 45 members of the Corps’ Army Section headed for Sennybridge, Wales for the highlight of the training year: annual Summer Camp.
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fter travel and an evening of fieldcraft revision and inter-section competitions, Day 2 was spent climbing on coastal cliffs and surfing on the sands of Porthcawl. The weekend was back to ‘green’ training – a two-day battle exercise which included building clearances, night ambushes on vehicle convoys under a canopy of flares, and battlefield first aid scenarios with terrifyingly realistic lost limbs. An evening of bowling, dominated as usual by the prowess of the staff, seemed enough to reenergize the
indefatigable cadets, who spent the next two days on expedition in the Brecon Beacons. Through a combination of dry and liquid
sunshine, they scaled Corn Du and Pen y Fan, rigged their own Tyrolean across a river into their wilderness campsite, and gave a hearty rendition of Sweet Caroline around a roaring campfire. Up with the lark and the deluge of rain, off the cadets went again, straight from their tents into wetsuits for a canyoning session in a torrenting River Mellte which featured jumps from waterfalls, surrender to the current and desperate swimming to safety. Following an evening of platoon sports and a night back in Sennybridge’s palatial accommodation, it was back into uniform for Day 7. The morning was spent on the ranges, engaging pop-up targets from four positions in disturbing proximity to the M4 and then organizing the rescue of a bemused badger who inadvertently wandered onto the firing point; the afternoon on area practising
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fire and movement with paintball guns amid abandoned tanks and helicopters. Our final full day took some deep underground and underwater in the wet caves of the Neath Valley, others off to the Wye for a day’s two-man canoeing in the sunshine. And in a jiffy, nine days were up. A splendid mess dinner on our last evening bade farewell to two stalwarts and legends of the Corps, Maj Henry Taylor and WO2 Maurice Byrne, who bowed out in style, accompanied by the lusty chorus of cadets singing a heartfelt Auld Lang Syne. Only those who have worked with or under them, hundreds of cadets and all us staff, will understand how very much they will be missed. The curtain came down for them and for all at final parade, where prizes were awarded to several cadets, including Best Cadet on Camp, Cdt Odeide, and Best NCO, Sgt Salem. But in truth all deserved prizes for their remarkable performances over the nine days, in which all the cadets exhibited in buckets the spirit and values of cadetship.
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CAPT MATHEW OWEN
OPEN MORNING CORPS PUTS ON A SHOW
Corps was out in force as the new school year began at Open Morning in September.
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reshly returned from two very successful summer camps, the cadets were brimming with enthusiasm as they told prospective parents and pupils about life as a cadet. One section ran through the high ropes course high above our heads as onlookers watched their courage and skills in action, while below another demonstrated fieldcraft, kitted out some eager young recruits for battle and chatted to their parents about their experiences with Corps.
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LONG RANGE SHOOT Shooting Stars
WG CDR KEVIN BAGE
Twenty-four Fourth Year cadets began the training year with a bang (lots, in fact) this year.
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ith a chill wind whipping off the channel and sunny skies, the cadets began their Advanced Infantry syllabus with a 100m shoot at Hythe Ranges in Kent, honing principles of marksmanship and weapon handling and in some cases winning classification badges. This was the first of five range shoots Corps runs each year and to judge from this season opener it looks like it will be a fine year on the firing point for the cadets.
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GUTHRIE CUP 2019
CAPT MATHEW OWEN
ARMY SECTION COMPETES In October a team of ten hand-picked cadets from the Fifth Year and Lower Sixth competed against other schools in London District for the prestigious Guthrie Cup.
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he stern one-day test of military skills was held at Harrow and saw Corps’ Army Section team rotate through ten stands. First up, the cadets gave their all to a PT stand, running in relays with great spirit, before they dealt with two realistic first aid scenarios (winning second prize in this discipline). Next it was military knowledge, observation and target indications before CSM Carter led the section in a section attack with blank rounds on an enemy position. A visiting tribal chief needed a ration pack
to become a sumptuous feast – the cadets’ imagination was truly tested – and the day ended with an assessed shoot on the range and a drill competition. It was a very creditable performance from the ten Army Section cadets in Corps’ first outing at this annual competition. While no silverware came home with us this time, the cadets were credits to the school and learned a lot for next time, when victory will surely be ours.
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CCF OCTOBER CAMP
Saint Martin’s Plain, Folkestone
CAPT MATHEW OWEN
BRIMMING WITH ENTHUSIASM AND SMILED UPON BY UNSEASONABLE SUNSHINE, A PARTY OF 70 CADETS AND STAFF MADE FOR FOLKESTONE IN THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER HALF-TERM.
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he 40 Third Year recruits, plunged into military life and the luxury of billets for the first time, spent three days in basic military training: their programme covered lessons in drill, fieldcraft, campcraft, marksmanship and navigation, all delivered by their stalwart Sixth Form NCOs. There were various special treats too: WO2 Lawson of RAM Sandhurst gave them an expert tutorial in fire and movement; all recruits
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tried their hand at SMP’s obstacle course; and competitive spirits were aroused in two firing packages on the laser DCCT range and a .22 live shoot with the L98 A2 rifle. Meanwhile, twenty Fifth Year cadets were being stretched to their limits on the JNCO Cadre, honing their advanced skills, delivering orders, navigating at night and practising leading a section into a contact amid the fire and smoke of Exercise Overhill.
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Most demanding of all, they led a section of exuberant recruits in a species of stealth during Exercise Wet Feet, negotiating a devastating enemy ambush and gathering intelligence from around the undulating training area as they strove to keep the ruthless enemy at bay. The three 17-hour days flew by, oiled by the gusto and positivity with which all the cadets entered into their activities and the skill and dedication of their NCO instructors.
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REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY OLD CATERHAMIANS REMEMBERED A THE EXTENDED SCHOOL COMMUNITY GATHERED FOR THE TRADITIONAL REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY SERVICE AT THE FRONT OF SCHOOL ON SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER.
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he service began with a guard of honour, who rested on arms reversed as the Roll of Honour of Old Caterhamians who fell in the First World War was read out by the Head Boy. The Corps then marched on in full, almost 200 cadets accompanied beautifully by Mr Hill’s Wind Band and the Corps of Drums. The service was followed by a recital of reflection and contemplation in the Wilberforce Hall with Eric Thiman Singers (Chapel Choir) and Chamber Choir giving an outstanding performance. In his address, Headmaster Ceri
Jones paid particular mention to one of our most senior Old Caterhamians Geoffrey Pidgeon (OC 1936-1940) who recently received France’s highest civil and military honour for his work with MI6 during the Second World War in setting up wireless communications for the D-Day landings. Geoffrey’s time in MI6 included covert missions across the Channel and working in Winston Churchill’s ‘most secret airfield’ in Tempsford. He was part of MI6’s Section VIII, and has since written a book about his unit’s work, The Secret Wireless War.
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LT ALANNA NORTH
ARMY SECTION FIELD DAY
Cadets Meet the Parachute Regiment Our termly Army Section Field Days offer opportunities to experience life in the regular and reserve Army.
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n November, cadets in the Army Section were fortunate to be invited to visit the Parachute Regiment as very grateful guests of B Coy 4PARA. As well as hearing from the soldiers and officers about life in the regiment, cadets were shown some of the arms and equipment it uses and training it conducts. A particular favourite was the 81mm mortar: in teams the excited cadets learned to use the mortar’s sights and to load and fire the mortar with drill ammunition, with the instructors commenting that they performed better in one day than some of the reserves manage after several weeks. Our large group of Army cadets as ever thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see something well beyond our usual training syllabus and to interact with the reserve Army, reaffirming our links to the wider military family.
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CORPS DINNER Cadets remember their foundations
In its 78th year, the Contingent marked its foundation as tradition demands with the annual Corps Dinner. 150 cadets were joined by officers, representatives of the School including the Headmaster, and guests from the regular and reserve Armed Forces. After a fine three-course meal, prepared by Mr Ahern and his incomparable team and served by the Fifth Year JNCO Cadre, the CO reminded the cadets of their history before introducing the Senior NCO team to give an irreverent review of the year. The Headmaster responded in more sober fashion, praising the cadets for what their commitment and values bring to School life in the liminal ground between formal classes and unstructured recreation. It was as ever a very pleasant evening and a chance for cadets both to learn the etiquette of a mess dinner and to dine together in fraternity and friendship. CAPT MATHEW OWEN
CPL MARTIN, LOWER SIXTH
AIR EXPERIENCE FLYING
CADETS TAKE TO THE SKIES ABOVE OXFORDSHIRE In February, five cadets had the chance to take part in some Air Experience Flying at RAF Benson, led by Flt Lt Arrol-Barker. The fog in the morning caused some concern over whether the conditions were fit for flying, but at Benson the weather soon cleared up, with plenty of gaps in the cloud cover to allow for aerobatics. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience as we got to take control of the aircraft and fly through some extreme manoeuvres unassisted. The pilots were keen to share their experience in the RAF and teach us some flying techniques. Overall it was a fantastic day, thanks to those who helped organise it.
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CCF Ex WYE WANDERER Three Days of Adventure Training CAPT MATHEW OWEN
Storm Dennis was just warming himself up as 43 members of the Corps bused out to Gloucestershire for Ex ‘Wye Wanderer’.
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ased at Cinderford in the heart of the Forest of Dean, the programme began with a therapeutic dip in a torrenting river. Despite the execrable weather, cadets donned warming wetsuits and waded, scrambled and floundered their way upstream, climbing a waterfall and making their way in pitch-black through a subterranean tunnel. Conditions could scarcely have been more difficult, and it is a credit to the hardiness of the cadets that all made the thrilling but blood-freezing course undaunted. After a night of laser tag, Sunday’s training began as planned with some abseiling on an imposing limestone face: some came charging down in a flurry of arms and legs; some tested the durability of the ancient cliff and of their helmets with rather unorthodox moves; some overcame nasty bouts of queasy colon, conquering their fears in admirable fashion.
But the demonic Dennis was by now making all useful training impossible, and so the contingent repaired for an evening’s go-karting and bowling – the former a riotous demolition derby, the latter won, of course, by the officers’ mess. Our final day, already brightened by a bizarrely early night, dawned with a strange yellow sphere overhead. In fear of this celestial oddity, we went underground, crawling deep into the ancient caves of South Wales,
avoiding flocks of bats and wading chest-deep through a rarely-seen world. And so the exercise came to an end, one which had seen cadets from five year-groups meet the great challenges of weather, face up to some demanding training, and prevail with a positivity and esprit de corps which did all involved very proud indeed. (Remember to follow the Corps on Twitter @CaterhamCCF and Instagram @CaterhamSchoolCCF.)
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CCF
JNCO CADRE PASSING OUT PARADE New Leaders Win Promotion The Autumn Term of the Fifth Year is the most demanding in a cadet’s career as they undertake their junior NCO Cadre. A rigorous camp in October is followed by instruction in how to teach, and preparation for lessons in skill at arms and drill, observed and assessed by military examiners. At the end of this first stage of their NCO training, 28 Fifth Year cadets were promoted to Lance Corporal on 12 February in front of the cadets and officers of the Corps and proud parents. Certificates of Merit were awarded to those who particularly excelled in elements of the course: in Skill at Arms to LCpl Brand; in drill to LCpl James; and in fieldcraft to LCpl Ramsden-Board. The most improved cadet was LCpl Masters, while LCpl MacDonald took the shield for Cadre Best Cadet 2020. Congratulations to these and to all who passed so stern a test of character and cadetship and who represent the bright future of the Corps. LT ALANNA NORTH
Air Experience Flying CADETS ON CLOUD NINE CDT NOAD, THIRD YEAR
The Air Experience Flight (AEF) day in March was simply amazing - there’s no other way to describe it.
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he ability to go and have such an experience is great. The day had a distinct structure – firstly, after we arrived at RAF Benson and were issued flight suits. We then went over to a common room, in which we went through drills, involving abandoning the aircraft. After being individually tested, everyone had some spare time before the RAF pilots were ready to fly us cadets. Soon, the pilots were ready to begin, and so we went back to the kit room to receive flight helmets and parachutes. A small wait ensured, in which a queue of people next to fly was established. Eventually, my turn came, and I was escorted to the aircraft, a Grob Tutor. The
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feeling accompanying lifting off the ground was ecstatic. The cloud level unfortunately forced us to fly lower than usual, but despite this, the cadets still all had a chance to fly the aircraft themselves, these minutes being the best in my opinion. We also got the chance to
experience the effects of a few G. Eventually, my turn was over, and so we landed back at RAF Benson. Finally, we took off our kit, and prepared for the return journey. The trip as a whole was spectacular, and I would happily do it a hundred times over.
CCF
CAPT MATHEW OWEN
CCF IN LOCKDOWN The show must go on...
For the most physically active of all Caterham’s clubs, Corps could manage little of its usual high-octane way of life during lockdown. But that did not stop CCF keeping busy with virtual training and competitions during the fallow time.
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lt Off Bovet-White’s Corps Quiz, live on Instagram, was a great success, as was a series of talks from regular service personnel with links to the unit, kicked off by the most senior Old Caterhamian in the Armed Forces, Brigadier Oliver Stokes MBE. But the cadets were in on the act too. Not only did they produce a moving VE Day tribute and a very professional recruiting video for the new Third Years (both of which can be seen on YouTube and Twitter), but they also threw themselves into Lt North’s Lockdown Photo Competition. There were some
amazing entries as the cadets appeared in extraordinary places in their uniform – in hot tubs, in comic books, on bikes or cars and doing the hoovering! It takes more than a global pandemic to dull the enthusiasm of our stalwart cadets.
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VE DAY MESSAGE Cadets Pay Tribute to Mark
VE Day 2020
The Cadets of Caterham School CCF made a splendid video tribute of gratitude to all the servicemen and women, past, present and future, on whose mighty sacrifices our peace and freedom are founded. You can see this video, and many more videos of Corps in action, by searching “Caterham School CCF” on YouTube or by following us on Twitter (@CaterhamCCF). They shall not grow old.
WG CDR KEVIN BAGE
OCs Return to Corps Corps was delighted to welcome back two Old Caterhamians and ex-cadets to the Officers’ Mess this year.
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r Richard Webb (OC 2016), recent graduate of the University of Swansea, has joined the Army Section as an Under Officer as he waits for his space at RMA Sandhurst and for commissioning into the Royal Engineers. Mr Max Carracher (OC 2006), having worked as a police officer, prisoner officer and most recently as High Court Enforcement
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Officer, brings a touch of showbiz to Corps from his regular appearances on television. Mr Carracher intends to commission into the Army Section in 2021. Both have already brought tremendous enthusiasm, professionalism and knowledge to the cadets and join three other Old Caterhamians among the Corps’ adult staff – a small indication of the strong ties of affection life as a cadet inspires.
MR MAX CARRACHER
MR RICHARD WEBB
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SPORT Dubai Rugby & Netball Tour During the February half-term, 39 intrepid U13 rugby and netball players left Storm Dennis behind and headed off to the much sunnier climes of the United Arab Emirates. This being our fifth sports tour to the UAE, the staff were very confident in just how fantastic the week ahead was going to be. As the week progressed, the pupils played their part exceptionally well in ensuring that this tour was just as superb as each one that has gone before it.
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n arrival in Dubai we enjoyed the first of our many brilliant buffet breakfasts, with that traditional elite athlete meal of waffles and pancakes proving to be the most popular choice by far. Then it was straight off for an acclimatisation training session, with the pupils enjoying the heat and realising straight away just how important hydration really is. During the tour we had three rugby fixtures and three netball fixtures, all against top UAE sides: rugby and netball against the Dubai Hurricanes at the incredible Sevens stadium, netball against Abu Dhabi
Capitals and Abu Dhabi Cranleigh; and rugby against BSAK and Abu Dhabi Hurricanes. The venues that we experienced playing in were exceptional: the most immaculate grass, and ‘clean’ netball courts (which are courts with only netball lines – unheard of in the UK!) The temperatures proved a real test, however, it was a test that our guys passed with flying colours as they showed incredible resilience and character to keep going despite the leg-sapping sun. The list of activities and adventures aside from the sport is what makes this tour such a unique
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one: bartering at Dubai Souk, shopping at Dubai Mall, marvelling at just how huge the Burj Khalifa really is; a full day at the Atlantis Waterpark; a mass throw-around on the world-renowned Sheik Zayed Cricket Stadium, a morning of R&R at the simply outstanding Yas Beach, a once in a lifetime whizz around the desert in crazy jeeps, and finally, the jewel in the Abu Dhabi crown – the Grand Mosque. The pupils were exceptional in every respect during the tour: they played their absolute hearts out on the field, and off the field were fantastic company. As many have said, they created memories to last a lifetime. Well done to every one of them – you did yourselves and Caterham extremely proud.
Memories that last a lifetime
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CAP VIRTUAL TALK:
GB Hockey International Jack Waller Throughout this online learning period, our CAP athletes have pushed on with their programme and each Monday over sixty pupils meet with their mentors to continue their learning and application of exactly what it takes to become the best athlete that you can be.
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e have seized the ‘opportunity’ of this lockdown to really push on with our knowledge and understanding of topics such as coping strategies, nutrition, ‘at home’ fitness testing, prehab and recovery, as well as continuing to ensure we focus keeping on top of our own motivation to train at this tricky time. On Monday 8 June we were extremely lucky to welcome GB hockey international Jack Waller into our virtual meeting. With 43 caps for GB, a World Cup, a EuroHockey Championship as well as playing EHL Hockey for Wimbledon at the age of just 23, Jack was as impressive in person as he is on paper. Jack was on track for selection for the Tokyo Olympics, which of course were postponed to 2021. Our CAP pupils main source of interest was therefore in how he has mentally been able to cope with this disappointment, as well as exactly how he has adjusted to maintaining his training during this lockdown period. Our pupils asked some incredibly insightful questions, which Jack answered with some superb responses which really can serve to motivate us all at this time.
1. Use this period as an opportunity to pay attention to some of the things that you might not normally focus on: stretching, nutrition, extra individual skills work - focus on the ability that you have to actually emerge from lockdown a stronger, fitter and more skilful athlete.
2. This also applies to a period in your future where you may suffer an injury setback - vow to emerge from rehab an even stronger athlete than you were before.
3. Whatever sport you play, play the game how you want to play it. Back yourself!
4. Be true to yourself and do not worry about what other people think of your game - find your very own ‘x’ factor that makes you different from everyone else.
We would welcome Jack back to Caterham at any time and we wish him luck in preparing for Tokyo 2021. Special thanks must go to Mr Friend for organising the visit.
TEAM GB’S FRAZIER CHAMBERLAIN VISITS
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ur CAP pupils were treated to lunchtime judo training in the first week of February with visiting Team GB athlete, Frazer Chamberlain. The session gave a real insight into the strength, balance, agility and ‘never say die’ attitude that is required to get to the top of the sport. Also during the week, sports psychologist Jo Davies made a welcome return for a session focusing on: l How to prepare to go
into competition with confidence. l How to use our skills
& values to keep performance momentum in our favour. l How to get tricky
situations back under our control…
LAE NETBALL & FOOTBALL FIXTURES We were delighted to be host to LAE Stratford teams in Netball and Football this week. This is fast becoming one of the big fixtures in the calendar!
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RUGBY REPORT
The C team enjoyed their rugby more than any other team in the school with the inexperienced players in particular showing extraordinary improvement. Our newbies, the U12s, again had an amazing year of development under Mr Taylor, Mr Ware and Mr Parker. Introduced to the ‘Caterham Rugby Way’ for the first time, the players took to every opportunity to better n just our second season of split term’s rugby, we themselves with tremendous gusto. have seen the full benefit of our leading coaches The A team uncovered some unique talent whilst being consistently on hand to really develop the absolutely loving their rugby. Some of the talent, tries youngest players in the senior school. and defence they produced catching the eye of all After a sensational start under Mr Clarke, the senior coaches in the rugby program. Mr Taylor and Mr Fahey last season, the The B team also improved at a rapid rate U13s stepped up another level this with many completely new to the game. year to play some of the best rugby The A Team set The final games were streaks ahead Caterham has seen. With tremendous of their earlier matches which is the the bar high, with depth right through the year group, absolute aim of all coaches. powerful contact, each player had to constantly The C team were pure joy. If they improve to keep up with the talented crisp skills and a could have played eight games on a herd. Coaches Mr Kelly, Mr Wagstaff team first Saturday they would have. Again with and Mr Fahey forever debating on the attitude a lot completely new to the game, this talent in their teams to come up with year of development will be so beneficial the squads for each match. and no doubt as always players from this The A Team set the bar high, with group will play 1st XV 100% powerful contact, crisp skills and a team first In summary, we are extremely excited about the attitude with every single player expressing their talent foundations these early year groups have laid and we whilst celebrating their team-mates success. can’t wait to see their progression along our pathway The B team were superbly lead by their halves, with to 1st XV in the coming years. each and every player demonstrating high skill across
Luckily for the Caterham Rugby Programme we got our full season in for all ages this year, albeit with plenty of disruptions form the weather this term, before the challenging situation we are in now in kicked in.
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the major fundamentals of the game. Two last play draws v KCS were very memorable.
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MR KELLY
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RUGBY 1ST XV
RUGBY 2ND XV
RUGBY 3RD XV
RUGBY U16A XV
RUGBY U16B XV
RUGBY U15A XV
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RUGBY U15B XV
RUGBY U15C XV
RUGBY U14A XV
RUGBY U14B XV
RUGBY U14C XV
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HOCKEY REPORT During the autumn term our indoor hockey program took a huge step, with teams at U13, U14, U16 and 1st VII levels working hard across the term.
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he U13 and U14 gained some impressive results v Trinity and Oxted HC. The U16s narrowly missed out on qualification to the south pool stages, but it was out 1st VII who really impressed this year. After some great results they narrowly missed out on qualification to the south finals in the final game of the day. Our girls entered tournaments at U14 and U13 level this year. Players from Third, Second and First Year all came together to put in some fantastic performances. A number of girls represented our A teams across the boys’ term with distinction with special mention to Jemima C (U15A), Charlotte W (U16A) and Kirsty D(1st XI). Our Hockey Academy continues to go from strength to strength with a group of around 40 keen young players from the local community attending our Junior Academy every Monday night and 18 of our top players for U13-U16 every Wednesday night at our Performance Academy.
U12As Finish Second in Surrey Competition Spring term saw the U12s improve steadily throughout the season and the U12As finished second in their Surrey competition to win through to the South Finals.
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he U13s produced some stunning displays throughout the season and they narrowly lost out in the semi-finals of the Surrey competition, eventually finishing fourth, capping off an impressive season. The U13Bs have grown as a team through the year and produced some of the season’s most eye-catching results including fantastic away wins v Kingson Grammar and Whitgift. It is great to see so many playing across our Inters age groups, allowing us to put out U14 and U15C teams which means more players can get involved. The U14As produced some quality displays in the Surrey Tournament, winning through to the South Tier 2 finals. The U15s have put in some spirited performances this year and made massive improvements with A and B playing some lovely hockey. Our U14 and U15s wen to the Hague in Holland over February half term and played against some top club sides. They bonded as a team and made massive improvements throughout the trip.
Another Strong Season for U16A & B Our U16A and B teams have had another strong season as they prepare for their transition to the senior teams.
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he 2nd XI have also had a solid season, with a huge number of players to choose from as all are keen to work hard and keep improving. The 1st XI had a good season and the team have taken huge steps in their leadership on the field. Particular mention must go to Freddie H who has led the team with distinction as Captain. Congratulations must also go to Ollie H after his selection to the England U18 side as well as Fraser B, Will S and Conor G who have all represented the 1st XI ans U16s.
Early End to the Season The COVID19 outbreak cruelly put an early end to the season robbing the U12 and U14s the chance to compete at the South finals stage of their competitions.
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he final action of the term saw the annual staff v U6 game. It was a great event and a fitting way to say thank you and good luck to all of those players who have given so much to the hockey program over the years. We wish you all the very best for the future. MR FRIEND
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U12 HOCKEY SOUTH FINALS
U12s Come 2nd in Surrey and Qualify for the South Finals! On a sunny Monday morning the U12A team arrived at Reigate Grammar School ready to compete in the U12 Surrey Cup.
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ur first game was against a industrious Hoebridge side. The game ebbed and flowed but it was Caterham who ended up victorious 3-1 with a couple of excellent counter attack goals. Next up was St George’s, who in truth were a class outfit. The boys worked hard and should be pleased with their efforts despite the score line. Our 3rd game was against local rivals Reigate. The boys worked tirelessly throughout the match. Both teams played some excellent stuff but it was Caterham who took home the victory in what was a very competitive game. Our last game was against Reeds. The boys knew a positive result here would see them through to the next round. From the first whistle it was Caterham who exerted their dominance on the match. The boys’ effort was tremendous and their determination to win was excellent to see. This meant it was Caterham who ran out 3-0 winners. The final stands meant that we had come 2nd in Surrey and achieved qualification to the South finals! Throughout the day it was their defensive effort and willingness to work for each other that really stood out and was key to their success!
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U10 HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
Inaugral Caterham School U10 Hockey Tournament The inaugural Caterham School U10 hockey tournament took place on Friday 28 February.
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he tournament played host to six schools including Shrewsbury House, Caterham Prep, Rokeby, Homefield and Aldro and was deservedly won by Cranmore Prep School. The standard of hockey shown by all schools, in what were very testing weather conditions was very impressive. The tournament was very professionally run by Academy Director, Peter Friend and sincere thanks must go to him and the Sixth Form pupils from the School’s 1st XI side which helped out.
SPORT U14 AT STOWE SCHOOL
U14 Road Trip to Stowe School
HOCKEY U13A XI
Tuesday 10 March saw an early meet for our U14A road trip to Stowe School who were hosting the U14 South pools stage of the England Hockey Tier 2 cup.
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he boys had battled through two rounds of top quality opposition in order to reach this stage and were full of excitement and anticipation for the challenge ahead. First up were Stowe school themselves. After dominating the opening stages our boys found themselves 1-0 down. Showing great grit and character the boys battled back, eventually sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw. Next up was Pangbourne College and after a tight opening half the boys ran out 2-1 winners before producing an impressively clinical display to take a 6-0 win vs St James. A tight but high quality match vs Trinity followed with the boys narrowly losing out 1-0 to set up a winner takes all encounter with Portsmouth Grammar. In the past the boys may have been nervous but recently the boys have started to show a real belief in their ability and they were able to stand up to the challenge and produce a determined performance in a 1-1 draw which was enough to see them progress to the Tier 2 South finals. The most pleasing aspect of the day was the contribution from everyone involved in the squad and the team spirit the boys showed to get through some really close games.
The boys have started to show a real belief in their ability and stand up to the challenge
HOCKEY U13B XI
HOCKEY U13C XI
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HOCKEY U12A XI
HOCKEY U12B XI
HOCKEY U12C XI
HOCKEY U12D XI
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LACROSSE REPORT have even had their own mini-nationals within the school grounds – a first at Caterham School. I have been extremely proud of the number of girls involved in lacrosse this year, showing the depth and growth of the lacrosse program. We have had the highest number of girls participating in clubs across lunch times. We have even had our first mixed Senior House Lacrosse. What a season it has been. We have recorded There have been fifteen lacrosse teams in action, with a 4th X participating in the Senior Surrey County fabulous results and shown great team spirit Tournament for the second year running. Every First and in training, matches and tournaments, despite Second Year girl has represented Caterham and 100% of one of the highest rain falls the country has our Third Year girls have continued with lacrosse in the seen in years! games sessions with over 75% participating in a match this season. Our U15s have had a continuous group of here have been many awards, achievements nineteen girls come to training and play in matches for and selections throughout the school showing the B team showing that the dedication and love of how talented and dedicated our Caterham lacrosse is growing up the school. lacrosse community really is. Caterham has There has also been some incredible individual proven to be a huge threat in the County and also in recognition. Seven pupils were selected to represent the Nation, which the Surrey comes down to Seven pupils were selected to represent the Surrey County in the the hard work and Super Counties commitment of the County in the Super Counties Tournament, eighteen Tournament, pupils. A big highlight has pupils are actively involved in the England or Wales eighteen pupils are actively to be our U13A team Lacrosse Academies and an incredible five pupils are involved in the winning their County England or Cup. This is the involved in an International Lacrosse Program. Wales Lacrosse second year in a row Academies and Caterham have won an incredible five pupils are involved in an International at U13 level. One key aspect to their success was the 8 Lacrosse Program. All five of these pupils were different goal scorers on the day, showing that it was selected to represent their country in the Junior Home truly a team effort. International Lacrosse Tournament this year. Zara R The girls have also placed well nationally in various will represent England; Lottie M and Mina D have been competitions. Having had the first day on National selected to represent Scotland and Georgie Y and Nell Schools cancelled, and gone to paint some pottery J have been selected to play for Wales. We are looking instead, our 1st X finished in the top 16. Our U15s forward to seeing them all battle it out on the pitch. stepped up a gear for their day of National Schools A special thanks to all the staff for making this season and were unstoppable in the group stages. The U14s a successful as it has been. Congratulations to all pupils had another stormer of a day, they endued up with the who have participated and represented Caterham highest goal difference of every team and ploughed lacrosse this season. all the way to the semi-finals. We were unfortunately Finally, a special mention must go out to the Upper knocked out by Wycombe Abbey, but crowned the top Sixth. Your commitment, leadership and dedication Co-educational school in the Nation. Again, the U14s to lacrosse has laid a foundation and legacy for the had 11 different goal scorers on the day of Nationals, upcoming years. I am so proud of all that of you have showing how well they worked as a team. accomplished during your time at Caterham. Thank you The end of the season say so many cancellations; – you will be greatly missed. however, they have continued to train hard and show incredibly positive attitudes. Certain age groups MISS WATERMAN
A big highlight has to be our U13A team winning their County Cup
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CATERHAM TOP LAX CO-ED SCHOOL!
LACROSSE 1ST X
Caterham qualified for this tournament for being in the top 8 at the National Schools tournament last year.
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n the first round they took on Bedford girls and won 9 - 8. Then they matched up against Guildford High school for their second match. At half-time they were 7 - 3 down but with some excellent facemarking from Maddie they were able to bring the score back to 10 - 9 turning the ball over in the last 2 minutes, but unfortunately not being able to finish it. The third, fourth play-off saw them take on Wycombe Abbey and win 4 - 3 in a nail biting last 30 seconds, when Wycombe turned over the ball and sprinted down the pitch. Fortunately, Yuka made the most incredible save to give us the bronze medal. This ranks Caterham as the third best lacrosse school in the country and the top Co-Ed school. Maddie was made player of the tournament and Lottie came out as the top goal scorer, scoring eight goals in the entire tournament. The whole team showed massive passion and grit and determination throughout the day and should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
LACROSSE 2ND X
Under 15s Show Grit The U15s took part in their county tournament on Monday. The B team saw their first nail biting win of the season. The A team came top of their group and qualified for the semi- finals where they saw St. Cats. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Caterham’s day, but the girls played with an enormous team effort and should be proud of their achievements.
England Academy Selection: Congratulations Zara! A huge congratulations to Zara who has been selected for the England National Academy. She has shown huge dedication to the sport over the years and thoroughly deserves her spot on this squad.
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LACROSSE 3RD X
ZARA
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LACROSSE U15A
LACROSSE U15B
LACROSSE U14A
LACROSSE U14B
LACROSSE U14C
LACROSSE U13A
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LACROSSE U13B
LACROSSE U13C
LACROSSE U12A
LACROSSE U12B
LACROSSE U12C
LACROSSE U12D
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NETBALL REPORT
Before joining Caterham I was aware that the netball here was great, in no small part due to Miss Leach and her fantastic team and the reputation Caterham has always had for the importance they play on physical activity and school sport.
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hat I discovered on my arrival, however, was not only a great coaching team and ethos, but the most fantastic set of netballers. The NetCats really are the best in the land! From our U12 KittyCats who took to the court for the first time in our InterCats’ Versatility Tournament at the start of our season, right up to our 1st VII TopCats wearing their black and gold dresses for the very last time at the Surrey Netball finals. These girls have made us proud. Their conduct, their effort and their attitude is always of the highest standard. They listen in games, put skills into practice during turnouts and then are able to play with confidence and style during matches. The 2019/2020 season saw us put out 22 teams and take part in 232 fixtures. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 14 netball coaches and academic staff who have allowed these girls to shine on the court both during the mid-week matches and during our block fixtures at the weekend. Our win percentage, although never the most important figure, speaks volumes this season; it sits on exactly 50% which means
The NetCats really are the best in the land!
our athletes have had the opportunity to win games, draw games but also to lose games. This allows us to develop well-rounded athletes who can celebrate their successes, but who are also thirsty to improve their performance both as individuals and as a team. Whilst we remain proud of all our NetCats, this season a few highlights that stand our are: l Every single KittyCat U12 representing Caterham in full blocks against schools such as St George’s College and Sevenoaks l Our U14A, U15A, U16A VII and 1st VII qualifying for Surrey Finals day in top position. l U12B, U13B, U14B, U15B and U16B VIIs all playing some high quality netball in the District League against other schools’ A teams (and recording some epic wins in the process). l Our ‘Back 2 Netball’ parents playing against our Caterham staff team in a thrilling battle of high skills and great spirit. l Ronnie T, Lucy B and Rianna R continuing to make enormous strides as part of Surrey County and Surrey Storm Academy sides; as well as Lucy L plying her trade for Kent County. A special shout-out must go to the 1st VII. These girls are absolute role models in every way and it is has been nothing but an absolute privilege to work with them. Huddy, Gale, Russell, McDonald, Triple Watsons and Lindo; keep playing netball girls, at any level – any team would be lucky to have you. Finally, it wouldn’t feel right finishing this without mentioning our ‘Queen of Netball’ – Miss Leach. She has been instrumental in the netball at Caterham for so many years and we will miss her immensely. We wish her all the luck in the world as she relocates up to the Lake District. MRS McCARTNEY
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NETBALL 1ST VII
NETBALL 2ND VII
NETBALL 3RD VII
NETBALL U16A VII
NETBALL U16B VII
NETBALL U15A VII
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NETBALL U15B VII
NETBALL U15C VII
NETBALL U15C&D VII
NETBALL U14A VII
NETBALL U14B VII
NETBALL U13A VII
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NETBALL U13B VII
NETBALL U13C VII
NETBALL U12A VII
NETBALL U12B VII
NETBALL U12C&D VII
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INDIVIDUAL SPORTING SUCCESS
Go Kart Season British Champion Oliver in Fourth Year has had a hugely successful 2019 go-karting season ending as British Champion in three separate racing categories: l
2019 Motorsport UK British Champion
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2019 Kartmasters Gran Prix Winner
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2019 Iame EuroSeries Vice Champion
Ollie also raced in the Iame World Finals which is an eight day race meet in LeMans. He qualified Pole out of 120 drivers, and did very well in his heats winning 3 out of five but unfortunately engine trouble in the final race prevented his dream of world champion. This has been a fantastic season for Ollie and we look forward to watching him progress next year.
GIRLS GOLF Junior Open Winner MILI (FOURTH YEAR) ENJOYED A SUCCESSFUL SUMMER WITH THE HIGHLIGHT UNDOUBTEDLY BEING HER VICTORY AT THE WEST BYFLEET JUNIOR OPEN (UNDER 18), A DAILY TELEGRAPH JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING EVENT.
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ili’s handicap was reduced from 21 to 12.5 due to good showings at both club (Walton Heath) and county level leading to her qualification again for the ‘Race to the Stars’ Surrey Rookie Tour finals (Under 14) which was held at Kingswood Golf Club on Sunday 29 September. This is for the leading six players in Surrey through various categories both boys and girls. Throughout the summer period Mili was a regular
in her clubs Junior side (mixed) playing in events at places such as St.Georges Hill, Royal Wimbledon and West Sussex with the team reaching the quarter finals of the county club competition for under 14s sadly the team lost but during the competition Mili only recorded one lost match.
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INDIVIDUAL SPORTING SUCCESS
Life in the Fast Lane Grand Prix Win for Ollie Caterham driver Ollie G (Fourth Year) enjoyed a successful couple of months at the wheel. Ollie raced in two main Championships – The European Series and The British Championships and travelled as far afield as Wackersdorf in Germany, Salbris in France and the delights of the Lake District in Cumbria across the summer.
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n the European Series Ollie had a great four days in Germany at the start of the summer holiday winning both races. This put him in the lead of the European Series going into the final round in France. Alas the race didn’t go as planned, after three days of testing and racing in the heats , Ollie was to line up the first Final from third on the grid (38 drivers) knowing that two top three finishes would be enough to give him the overall Championship. However, a catastrophic error by Ollie’s mechanic on the Grid when they were lining up for the first final
CHESS SUCCESS for BENJAMIN
Congratulations Ollie on a very mature performance.
meant he was punished by having to start from the pit lane flat last instead of third. Essentially this meant his chances of overall victory were taken away. Doing his best to fight through to success Ollie managed to move up to thirteen place meaning he had to win the last final to have any chance. In this last final he managed to drive from thirteenth to fifth place but this was not enough, so a great disappointment but a fine show of resilience in a difficult situation. Ollie finished the Euro Series as Vice Champion so a good result but not where he had wanted to be.
In the British Championship Ollie is currently leading with two more rounds to go. He has won over the summer in Scotland and Wigan giving him a slender lead. British Kartmasters GP is the largest one off race in the Europe attracting over 300 drivers competing during five days with previous winners including Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button amongst others. Ollie came first winning the 2019 Grand Prix securing a prize which included a fully paid entry to the World Finals in LeMans!
The Summer Adventures of WATERPOLO AND NETBALL LUCY BULLOCK (UNDER 15) HAD THE MOST INCREDIBLE SUMMER OF SPORT, ACHIEVING FANTASTIC SUCCESS IN BOTH NETBALL AND WATERPOLO.
L At the beginning of October Benjamin (First Year) took part in the All Surrey Chess Championships and won four out of five matches, and was the runner up in the Under 12 section. Benjamin was also declared the Hundred (Borough) Champion for the Borough which covers the area from Norbury to Coulsdon, and Morden to Addington.
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ucy was selected to represent the Surrey Storm U15 team at the highly prestigious England Netball Performance Competition at the University of Wolverhampton back in August. All ten Superleague Netball franchises were represented at the competition, meaning that Lucy was able to test herself against the best players of her age in the country. The Surrey Storm team had an outstanding tournament, finishing as runners-up to Manchester Thunder. Lucy has now been selected for the Surrey Storm South U17 Academy, which is a remarkable achievement.
Amongst of these netballing achievements, requiring huge commitment and dedication, Lucy has also found the time (and the talent!) to represent the England U19 Water Polo team, competing at the North Sea Cup the beginning of September. We are very proud of Lucy and we are very excited for what her sporting future holds.
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YEAR 6 LEAVERS’ SERVICE & PRIZE GIVING Thursday 2 July 2020
SO LONG FAREWELL GOOD LUCK CATERHAM PREP Welcome and Opening Prayer: Annie Ingrassia, Deputy Head Reading: John 15: 9 - 17 from The Message Read by: Jackie Driscoll, Form Tutor 6D
Psalm 119: 1 - 8 and John 15: 9 17 from The Message Read by: Daniel Taylor, Form Tutor 6T
Jesus says:
You’re blessed when you stay on course,
“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love. “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
walking steadily on the road revealed by GOD You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, GOD, prescribed the right way to now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.
“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. “But remember the root command: Love one another.”
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PREP SCHOOL LEAVERS’ SERVICE
rld I Go
One more step along the world I go One more step along the world I go; From the old things to the new
ew;
Keep me traveling along with you And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
n, rn;
Keep me traveling along with you. Round the corners of the world I turn, More and more about the world I learn;
ew;
And the new things that I see You’ll be looking at along with me
d,
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; Keep me traveling along with you. As I travel through the bad and good,
ew;
Keep me traveling the way I should; Where I see no way to go You’ll be telling me the way, I know And it’s from the old I travel to the new; Keep me traveling along with you. One More Step Along the World I Go.
Address: Ben Purkiss, Headmaster
6D
6T
Subject Prizes
Rosie Butler Austin Carpenter Ava Dubell Francesca Dunn Annabella Fletcher Messenger Roman Gaudoin Elizabeth Goodlad Louie Janes Poppy Laffey Saffron Lambert Lucy Lomas Oliver Mason Alexander Mirza Rhys Patel Noah Purkiss Daniel Roberts Keyan Shah Rory Wallace Francesca Wallis Skye Wilkinson
Maisie Baker Krishan Bathia Hannah Broughton Orin Denton Harry Elston Fionn Flaherty Emma Forde Leo Hollidge Grace Howe Abirami Kumar Zac Lauder Anya Nicholls Roisin O’Donovan Yannick Parker Daisy Parsons Ava Paul Arthur Peachey Alex Starodubtsev Oscar Terrell Rehan Young
English Prize Mathematics Prize Science Prize Geography Prize History Prize Computing Prize Latin Prize Mandarin Prize Modern Foreign Languages Prize Music Prize Religious Studies Prize Art Prize Theatre Arts Prize
Presentation of: Sports Prizes Performing Arts Prizes Service and Personal Achievement Awards Personal Achievement Prizes
Final Blessing: Reverand Julian Thomas, Chaplain, Caterham School
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COME BACK AND SEE US SOON CATERHAM PREP
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NATIVITY
In December, pupils in Pre-Prep gave enthusiastic performances of their annual Nativity Plays. There was some amazing acting, superb singing and all the children delivered their lines with loud, clear voices. A fantastic team effort – thanks and well done to everyone involved!
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PREP SCHOOL CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
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PREP SCHOOL OUTDOOR LEARNING
EXPLORING OUTDOORS RC have been enjoying their sessions in the woods. The children have had great fun exploring and finding interesting treasures! They particularly enjoyed hunting for bugs and collected spiders, slugs, woodlice and beetles. There was great interest in the many worms hiding under logs and in the wet soil. The children were keen to pick them up and look at them in their magnification pots.
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PREP SCHOOL OUTDOOR LEARNING
Things that make you go OOH!
IN THE WOODS In September 1M visited the woods. We enjoyed exploring the changes in the plants and trees as well as the sunny weather! We explored things that made us go ‘ooh!’ Whilst investigating the wider woods the children enjoyed making musical instruments out of natural objects found along the way. Finally the children created a class band and put on a show. A fantastic time was had by all.
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PREP SCHOOL OUTDOOR LEARNING
FOREST SCHOOL IN THE SUNSHINE 1D took advantage of the glorious weather in September and had a fantastic time checking out forest school and seeing how it has changed over the summer. We were surprised at how tall the plants had grown!
1D WARMING BY THE FIRE 1D had a fantastic afternoon warming up by the fire in Forest School! The children enjoyed collecting sticks to burn and thoroughly loved roasting marshmallows over the fire. They even managed to complete their Art activity by the warmth of the fire! A wonderful afternoon!
2R MAPPING IN THE FOREST Class 2R had a fabulous time at Forest School with Mr Wilkinson. In Geography we have been looking at aerial and side views of maps so Mr Wilkinson set the class a challenge.to make an aerial view map of the Forest School area. The children had to use natural resources to create their maps. They did a great job and were able to use the resources to represent things like the outside toilet, the teaching area and the stepping stones. Well done 2R and thank you Mr Wilkinson.
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PREP SCHOOL OUTDOOR LEARNING
HOW OLD ARE THE TREES? 2M enjoyed a cold but sunny afternoon exploring the woods with Mr Wilkinson. We learned that the Ash trees in the woods were having to be cut down because they have a disease, and we were able to look at the felled trees to find out how old they were by counting the rings on the inside of the trunk. Mr Wilkinson also explained how you can tell what the weather has been like in the past by looking at how close or apart the rings are to each other. We saw where the chopped wood could be burned to make charcoal and went on a leaf hunt to find as many different leaves as possible and then identified the trees they came from.
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PREP SCHOOL COME AND PLAY
Parents
CAME to PLAY...
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PREP SCHOOL COME AND PLAY
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
People who HELP US The Reception classes thoroughly enjoyed their topic on ‘People who help us’.
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e were very lucky to have lots of visitors, who told them about their jobs and how they help people! Nurse Lesley, our school Nurse, involved the children in some role play and bandaged up some wounded children. They were then taken on a tour around the Health Centre over in the Senior School. Graham, a member of the maintenance team at school, taught the children how to build small wooden boats which they were then able to take home! The Godstone Firefighters arrived with their fire engine and talked to the children about fire safety. The children were lucky enough to go on the engine and look at the equipment! The Police showed the children lots of different tools they use and the uniform they wear which the children were able to try on. The children also got to meet a very clever police dog, go inside
a police van and hear the siren! Mrs Taylor a Vet from a Surgery in Nutfield came in to tell the children about the animals she looks after and kindly brought some guinea pigs, rabbits and a tortoise with her for the children to meet! Dr Srirajaskanthan visited the children
to talk about her role as a GP and showed us the tools she uses to help her make people better. We would like to thank all the visitors involved as the children had a wonderful time and will hopefully remember the experience for many years to come!
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Special Effects Magic at Pre-Prep
1D
amazed Mrs Dyer and Mrs Kulp with their skills in using the Green Screen within their computing lessons. All the children had clear ideas of how they wanted their picture to look and giggled a lot as they added in the backgrounds. We can’t wait to see what the following weeks will bring!
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
Our GROWING Topic Pre-School children learnt about ‘summer’.
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hey were all given the opportunity to colour a summer tree. The children all worked so well on this and produced some brilliant trees. Reception children have been enjoying their ‘Growing’ topic. At home, some children have been planting beans and seeds! They have been waiting patiently for them to grow and have been recording what they see in a plant diary, also writing instructions on how to plant a seed. Children have been finding out about the life cycles of a frog and butterfly with some children looking after their own caterpillars at home and also finding frogs in their gardens or on walks! Well done everyone!
Reception children have thoroughly enjoyed their latest Fairytale topic. They have participated in a range of writing, creative and speaking and listening activities at home.
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hotos and videos shared on Tapestry show children have been very busy acting out the stories, constructing troll bridges, drawing Little Red Riding Hood maps, performing puppet shows, making masks, enjoying teddy bear picnics, making porridge and baking gingerbread men! The list goes on! It has been great to see the children having so much fun while learning - well done RC and RK!
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Life in YEAR 1 1D welcomed their parents into their class and enjoyed sharing all of their fabulous work. Their parents were incredibly excited to take home an African clay pot and enjoyed seeing the children’s green screen creations via a QR code. AFRICAN ASSEMBLY The Year 1 children have all come together to put on a spectacular African assembly for their parents. They ‘wowed’ everyone with their fantastic singing and dancing as well as learning some very tricky lines. There was drumming, stories, colourful clothes, musical dance, marvellous masks and even some animal riddles. Very well done Year 1!!!
THE LAST SUPPER As part of their RE lesson, the Year 1 children re-enacted the Last Supper! The children made their own sandwiches, choosing which yummy fillings to add. Then they had a lovely time chatting until the guards arrived to arrest Jesus! Well done Year 1, you sensibly and respectfully played your roles well.
SPRING SPOTTERS Year 1 were excited to dodge the rain and get outside and become Spring Spotters! Wandering around the school the children looked for signs that Spring had arrived. Snow drops, catkins, blossom, daffodils and primroses were all present around the school meaning Spring is finally here!
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African Creations
1D have gone from green screen whizzes to clay modelling masters! They all produced an African water jug from clay and some children even extended this to make their jug replicate an African animal. Wow!
Happy New Year! PRE-SCHOOL have had such a busy week this week! We have been celebrating the Chinese New Year! We made a stir fry so we could taste some Chinese food. We started by looking at the ingredients and then the adults cut them up. Thomas our chef very kindly cooked our stir fry and we enjoyed eating it for our snack. There was a lot of excitement when it was time to open a fortune cookie!
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
INSPIRED BY ‘SPRINGWATCH’ After watching Springwatch we learnt about the declining hedgehog numbers in our country. Our keyworker pupils have been out and about in our woods building some homes for any local hedgehogs. Hope we get some visitors to these fantastic abodes!
Pre School Children Enjoyed Learning About the Frog Life Cycle. This linked to the Monet Lily Pad theme. Some of the children created wonderful lifecycles using egg boxes, green paint and pipe cleaners. Well done everybody.
YEAR 1 SHIELD CHALLENGE YEAR 1 were given the challenge of designing a shield with an emblem on the front. Adam 3T, undertook some of his own practical History tasks. He dyed cloth and dressed like a Celt. Fabulous!
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
CATERHA SCHOOL
Year 1 VISIT THE SENIOR SCHOOL
From the Headmaster
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ear 1 children bumped into the lovely Rue, Dear Parents our well-being dog, during their exciting trip exploring all thatspoke our school I recently to the children has to offer. They visited the has on the peo every one of us Girls’ Boarding House, the thoughts, words and actions ca library, Mr Gabriele’s office and on, not only those close to us, the Health Centre and enjoyed This theme continu chatting community. to staff and other pupils. to fun, Years However,Assembly despite all this the 5 and 6, wh Month, and the actions children History still felt that lunchtime in the Refectory wasand the most Mandela Barack Obama. memorable! Year very 1 would like positive action pupils’ own to say a massive thankFoodbank you to Caterham explained everyone who chatted to us.
people in our community and m real life example of our pupils “
As we look ahead to next week Theatre for Group 2 on Tuesda Thursday, the Swimming Gala takes place after school on Tue children are looking forward to Friday. We are also looking for sports’ fixtures taking place thro Best wishes B D Purkiss BSc Headmaster
Sincerely yours
O
th Smi Mrs y Lane 5 Iv am OBH R3 rh Cate urrey C S
ld fashioned as it may seem, children in Year 1 geography class have been learning all about addresses by writing and sending letters. The children eagerly wrote a letter home to their family and added on their address and a stamp. Armed with their letters, the children walked to the post box at the end of Dome Hill on a Friday and posted their letters. They were incredibly excited on Monday to find their hand-penned correspondence waiting at home for them.
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HEADER PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
Ab
ra
b r a a ! d a c
Magic Science with Michael Land
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can of coke was transformed into a much healthier cup of English breakfast tea during assembly. Mr Dyer dedicated the gathering to ‘making the impossible possible’. Michael Land, an ex-prep pupil, joined from the senior school to prove this assertion was true with a fantastic magic performance leaving the pupils and staff in awe. Other tricks included a classic, knowing which card Mrs Taylor had picked from a pack of word cards.
FOOTLIGHTS DRAMA FESTIVAL Now in its second year, the Footlights Drama Festival got off to a cracking start with our Theatre Cats performing Be Careful What You Wish. They were joined by casts from St John C of E Primary School with The Rosa Parks Story and St Francis’ Catholic Primary School who performed their version of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
3D DESIGN EARLY IN THE SPRING TERM, we took the wraps off our new 3D printer and began putting it through its paces. Children from Years 3-6 learnt the basics of 3D design look forward to more opportunities for learning through design and 3D printing as the year goes on.
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The festival brings together children from different school communities, giving them an opportunity to share their love of drama and performance, learning from each other and building friendships along the way. The children worked extremely hard to give such fine performances. Well done to all who you took part!
A thunderous firework display was the just reward for our fulsome crowd who were undaunted by heavy downpours.
TOASTY BY THE FIRE GLOBES
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he rain did not spoil the fun of Caterhamians young and old who enjoyed a wonderful evening and kept toasty by the fire globes and with lashings of mulled wine so cheerfully supplied by the Parents’ Association. The youngest faces in the crowd lit up with the glow of luminous toys and yummy sweets from the Prep PA stalls. ACDC got the fireworks party started – the track chosen specially for Head Grounds-man John Dodwell who, with his team, worked so hard to enable the event set up. Thank you to our many volunteers and to all who made our fireworks night another sparkly, fun evening.
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
Year 5 GEOGRAPHY QUIZ For the first time, we took two teams to compete in the Year 5 Geography Quiz at Feltonfleet School on Friday 8 November.
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tarting the adventure with a picnic in the headmaster’s office put the children into great spirits. It was wonderful that so many of them had been revising during the half term and were ready for the big challenge. Once we arrived at Feltonfleet School, the children were split randomly into two teams and set to work competing against quite a few
other local independent schools – thirteen in total. The quiz consisted of a number of rounds and our teams did very well indeed. Our Caterham B team came 4th in the quiz and were only 2 points behind the winning team. It was such a lovely afternoon and was an absolute delight to take such a lovely group of children to this quiz.
CSS Bonarjee Lecture The annual CSS Bonarjee Lecture took place in the Humphreys Theatre. John Humphrys, renowned journalist and broadcaster was guest speaker and entertained the audience with tales from his career before taking a round of questions. The evening ended with a book signing of his latest book.
MANDARIN LESSONS BEGIN FOR YEAR 6 Amid much excitement and anticipation, Year 6 began their innovative Mandarin language course, using the DragonsConnect learning platform. As well as their teachers in the classroom, children worked live via webcam in small groups with specialist language teachers, all of whom were either native Mandarin speakers or fully fluent. The children and teachers shared their workbooks and were able to work individually or in groups on language tasks. In future sessions, they will also divide into ‘breakout groups’ to work in partners or even smaller teams to practise and develop their speech and writing skills. In between direct teaching sessions, they worked on an interactive language program online, with lessons that they are able to continue and develop at home, via their personal logins. Pupils commented ... “I liked it because you learn so much from a teacher who speaks the language every day.” “That was so much fun!”
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MAKING A
Splash
Craig from SES Water came to speak to children in years 3-6 about water, where it comes from, how we use it and how we can preserve it to make it last.
Buddy Benches Our new Buddy Benches and Friendship Stops have arrived in the pre-prep and prep playgrounds. As well as a colourful addition to our play spaces children in the Prep School are using them as a space for the older and younger children to meet and play together. We would like to thank the Parents’ Association for funding these.
Did you know that the water on Earth has been around for billions of years and that we’re drinking the same water that was sipped by dinosaurs? Did you know that only 1% of the Earth’s water is available for people to use? Did you know that 65% of our water is used in the bathroom and that a dripping tap could waste 10 full baths of water over a year? Did you know that the average person in the UK uses 160 litres of water every day? Thank you to Craig for an eye-opening and inspirational talk that has left us all with plenty to think about and will hopefully help us to make little changes to preserve our water for years to come.
Colourful Creation To start off the new academic year, during their Art lessons all the children from Year 2 through to Year 6 (as well as some of the staff including Mr Purkiss) have taken part in creating a collaborative mural. Their wonderful colour tile mural is now on display in the Soderberg Hall. All the children should be very proud of their fantastic designs.
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Year 1, are Junk Modelling Masters!!
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ear 1 all wowed their teachers with their fanatic junk model castle creations. The children carefully planned and drew their castle design, collected the resources needed and then magically (with a lot of hard work, patience and care) turned the junk into fabulous castle models. The children even managed to complete Mrs Dyer’s challenge of including a moving drawbridge...amazing!! Then, if that wasn’t enough, they even managed to create a working catapult!!
Years 5 and 6 Discover Pi Year 5 and 6 looked at the properties of circles. Students were asked to measure the diameter, radius and circumference of circular items they could find around the house. They discovered Pi!
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Year 3 Learn about France During Virtual Schooling, Year 3 have been learning about going to France in their MFL lessons. After learning about all the different shops and what they sell, they were tasked with creating a French Market town. Some absolutely brilliant work was created.
Produce Show This year’s produce show was an amazing success with over 115 entries being submitted. The judges had a very tough task in choosing a winner in a variety of classes ranging from largest pumpkin to the most unusual shaped vegetable. Congratulations to all the winners and everyone for taking part.
Year 4’s INSECTS AND BUGS Year 4 have been creating imaginary insects and bugs this week in Art. They have been learning about drawing using symmetry and colour blending during the project. Here are some of their very creative designs.Well done Year 4.
History, Geography and Science teamed up as Year 6 took an in depth look at the historic sinking of the Titanic. With some Maths and Computing added in, the topic was widely investigated with lots of exciting discoveries.
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Year 2 ISLANDS, BEACHES, HABITATS AND MINIBEASTS What an incredible final half term Year 2 have had and what a great job they have done.
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hey have been learning about islands and beaches in geography and habitats and minibeasts in science, creating some amazing artwork along the way. Maths has been full of practical work and in literacy they have made some fabulous mini-beast books. Well done Year 2.
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PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY In May our ‘CHAMPION CHALLENGE’ was about VE Day. Mrs Champion led an assembly to explain to the Pre-Prep children what VE Day means and spoke about her own Grandad who was still fighting in Italy on VE Day. The children have shared some pictures of their VE Day decorations and Eddie has made a beautiful video about his Great Grandma and VE Day. https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/2a40209b-6732-419b-8f64-b74e141eef27
Year 3 go on a
Scavenger Hunt! The Year 3 pods went out and about in our woodland. Pupils went on a scavenger hunt before working in teams to make a person out of natural objects in the woods.
It was very exciting to see the Year 2 ceramic animal faces out of the kiln for the final time. Each of the Year 2 children chose an animal face to make out of clay, then after their first firing they each glazed their animal face. THEY LOOK WONDERFUL, WELL DONE YEAR 2!
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This accolade reflects the hard work and dedication of both our staff and the children...
Caterham Prep School are Finalists in the
Independent Schools of the Year 2019 Pupils and staff are celebrating after being praised by judges for the outstanding student experience we provide to pupils across all years. Eyes are now on the next stage of the Independent Schools of the Year 2019 which would see us being crowned winners at the finals later this month.
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aterham Prep School is one of a number to make it through to the final stage of the competition, which is run by Independent School Parent magazine and open to schools from across the country. Ben Purkiss, Headmaster said: “We’re thrilled to have been named as finalists. This accolade reflects the hard work and dedication of both our staff and the children, and our commitment to ensuring we provide our pupils with the very best educational experience there is to offer. We look forward now to sharing this success with the whole school community, including our parents, students, and teaching teams.” The awards ask to see evidence of success stories that feature both individuals and innovative practice. The judging panel is made up of heads, governors, parents and representatives of membership associations from across the sector and chaired by Dr Helen Wright,
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former President of the Girls School Association and Vice-Chair of the Independent Schools Council. David Moncrieff is Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board at Independent School Parent magazine, who run the awards . He said: “Following the huge success of the inaugural competition last year, which saw more than 250 entries, we’re thrilled to have surpassed that figure this year. The awards have again been designed with the student experience at their heart and to provide schools with a platform to showcase their stories of innovation and success. The judges now have a tough job on their hands picking the winners from the shortlisted entries that were of such a consistently high standard.” This year saw a record number of entries from a wide range of schools; from tiny rural pre-preps through to large urban secondaries from a broad range of geographical areas. There were 20 different categories, a reflection of the depth and breadth of the independent school experience.
EARLY YEARS PHASE COUNCIL SEAT We are delighted to announce that Mrs Emma Champion, Head of Pre-Prep now sits on the Early Years Phase Council for Surrey.
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ith 18 years experience across six schools in both the state and independent sector, she has a wealth of knowledge in the early years education of children from extended study, training as an EYFS inspector and has delivered national conferences. She was selected to represent Independent Schools within Surrey and will work with Surrey County Council to develop high quality early years and childcare services throughout the county. Mrs Champion commented “I am well equipped to represent providers at such a key moment of national change to ensure that the children in Surrey have the best possible education experiences”
PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
Do you want to build a snowman flowchart? Children in Years 5 and 6 have been using computational thinking in Maths to help them to classify shapes. They have learnt to use flowcharts (as they learnt in Computing previously), to create algorithms to solve complex classification problems using only yes/no answers. If it sounds complicated, maybe a song can help!
HIDDEN ALPHABET YEAR 3 went on hidden alphabet hunt around their houses and gardens looking for letter shapes in their names. Can you see Natasha, Harry, Willow and Olivia?
JUNK ORCHESTRA We welcomed Saul and his Junk Orchestra to the School. Saul gave a lively demonstration in assembly to the whole school using all of the instruments he has made using JUNK! Gas tanks, fire extinguishers, pipes, flip flops, branches, coffee tins, wood, metal, plastic….anything to create a sound. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 4 took part in workshops where they created music using polyrhythms and took turns to really explore the instruments. It was a wonderful day for all and we thank Saul for coming to visit.
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TWO LITTLE WORDS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE Reverend Thomas came to take an assembly at the Prep. He talked about how we show gratitude to the people who help and support it, from clapping for NHS workers to saying ‘Thank you’ when somebody helps with our work, cooks a meal or asks how we’re feeling. Think about all of the little interactions you have had over the
course of a day or a week and think about the little glow we get when somebody shows their appreciation. Especially when we’re all working in difficult circumstances, it’s two little words that can make a big difference to somebody’s day.
Horrible Histories Year 3 enjoyed singing along to the Horrible Histories Boudicca song. Fantastic work by Adam (and his little sister Ayla), Alexander, Harry and Rio who posted back their funny video clips. They have also completed some amazing persuasive writing!
Year 4 have been building structures to investigate strength in a variety of shapes using spaghetti and marshmallows.
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LEADERS IN WELLBEING NATIONAL AWARD
Supporting the
NHS
Visor production Update The production of visors for the NHS continues at school. This week some staff have brought their partners, children and even Old Cats with them to share a table and support the effort. Just under 400 visors have been finished this week on top of 200 last Friday. This means we will have made a total of 900 visors. A tremendous result from a hard-working team of volunteers. THANK YOU!
Caterham Prep and Senior School’s innovative and sector leading approach to Wellbeing has been recognised once again, this time through recognising the contribution that the Senior School Deputy Head (Pastoral & Wellbeing) is making to the independent sector!
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or her work around Wellbeing in education Mrs Sarah Griffiths has made it onto the ‘i25’, a list of the top 25 independent sector’s leading influencers and innovators who have made an impact to pupil experience and independent education in the UK. This latest accolade follows the National Children’s Bureau backed Wellbeing Award for Schools (WAS) which was awarded to Caterham earlier this year. Following a rigorous 16-month-long assessment, which included input from pupils, parents and staff, Caterham’s pioneering approach to Wellbeing was endorsed by the WAS inspector who commented: “Wellbeing is embedded in the curriculum and across the whole school. Pupils and staff have incredibly positive things to say about the climate of the school and how they have been personally supported.” The specialist award recognises the leading whole-school approach at Caterham which promotes mental health and wellbeing across the entire school community. Individuals at every level of the school’s community are proactively involved in supporting Wellbeing: from pupils in Kindergarten up to Sixth Form, to the school’s Trustees, the teaching and support staff and parents.
Katy’s Positivity Wellbeing Challenges Each day Katy is setting the children a little challenge. Her first challenge was to “ask the person next to you to say 3 great things about you” and it has been lovely to see whole families joining in with lovely ideas about each other. There is a new challenge each day on Tapestry and our social media accounts.
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Eco-Warrior News Our newly formed Eco-Warrior club got together one afternoon and took part in the first ever Caterham School litter pick up.
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rmed with litter pick up sticks and black bags, we walked from the Prep School towards our outdoor classroom and into the woodland area and managed to find three full bags of various types of plastic, paper and all sorts of rubbish. The children enjoyed it so much they have asked for the litter pick up to be a regular event! Now that we have a set of litter picking up sticks, we will certainly be planning more events.
SOLAR LIGHTS Our Eco-warriors have been learning about sustainable and renewable energy sources and how this is a better method of energy than non- renewable sources. To this end they made their own set of solar lamps and plan to use them to help light up the school at different events.
Our Eco-Warrior club, for Year 6 pupils, is an environmental group that has been looking at different topics that affect the world we live in. We have some exciting projects lined up including making use of plastic bottle tops to prevent them damaging our precious environment.
ECO-WARRIORS
HEAD TO THE WOOD Year 6 Eco-Warriors took packed lunches out into the woodland and used their iPads to record different parts of the coppicing programme being used to manage the woodland.
LOOKING AFTER
OUR WOODS Our intrepid Prep School Eco-Warriors have been looking at the topic of deforestation and the negative impact it can have on the environment.
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e learnt that it was quite an art to manage a forest successfully so, we invited Jay Needham, our own forester and Woodland Manager to come and talk to our club. He explained about some different methods of managing a forest and how new seeds are regularly planted. He went on to talk about what happens when trees get diseases and how this can be managed. Trees can fall down during storms and Mr Needham told our warriors how
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this can create new habitats. The children were totally engrossed and had many interesting questions to ask him, including whether the school could grow an orchard to supply the children with apples and other fruits. In addition to regular woodland litter picks, our warriors will be going on woodland walks with Mr Needham to cement their knowledge. They are also keen to look at trying to establish links with a developing country to supply seeds to help with growing new trees in places where they are cut down purely for firewood. Good work warriors!!
PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
‘YES CHEF!’ Prep and Pre-Prep with a fun packed interactive session from our school caterers, Chartwells, designed to reinforce the learning within the classroom around eating healthily.
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hef James, our energetic presenter (he had clearly been eating his carbs) invited the children to share their knowledge on food groups before talking about how to structure our diet to keep us and our planet healthier. This led into a ‘Ready Steady Cook’ off with the red team pitted against the green team with pupil chefs and tasters. Green team, led by Mrs Wallis, were triumphant for Prep along with Miss Malcolm’s red team for Pre-Prep. The pupils tucked into the winning meal, vegetarian bolognaise, for their lunch!
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Poetry Live The internal final of the Poetry Live competition took place early in November.
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ll pupils in years 5 and 6 took part in the first round, which involved learning and reciting a poem to their class. The final saw 15 of the most impressive performers compete for the chance to take part in the Grand Final at the Senior School. Mr Crombie, Head of English at the Senior School, judged the competition and said that the standard of performances was excellent and everyone involved should be really proud of their achievements. Well done to all of the finalists. Year 5: Aimee, Sophie C, Sophia, Henry, Will, Reya and Bonnie. Year 6: Orin, Rosie, Emma, Skye, Leo, Oscar, Lucy and Keyan. Special congratulations to the winning four, who went through to the final round on Friday 15 November to represent Caterham Prep: Reya, Sophie, Emma and Rosie.
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Poetry Live FINAL Reya and Sophie from Year 5, along with Emma and Rosie from Year 6, attended the final of the third Poetry Live competition held at the Senior School. Following a workshop led by judge and Young Poet Laureate 2014/15, Aisling Fahey, pupils from seven local schools took to the stage at the Humphreys Theatre to deliver poems by a variety of writers such as Roald Dahl, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Tennyson and Homer. All the children gave such accomplished performances with not one needing a prompt from the side lines! Well done to all the entrants!
PREP SCHOOL MISCELLANY
4H and the
STONE AGE 4H have been learning about the Stone Age in History and have been very creative in making their own ‘round houses’. Some of them were even edible!!
YEAR 5 have been looking at light and how opaque objects block the light rays, causing shadows. They had great fun making their own shadow puppets!
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Daniel Taylor gave a talk to Year 5 and 6 parents about the new problem- PREP NEWS PREP NEWS solving-led Friday 18 October Friday 18 October approach to teaching and PREP NEWS SCHOOL learning in Maths.
CATERHAM PREP SCHOOL CATERHAM PREP SCHOOL CATERHAM PREP Problem Solving
Friday 18 October
Solving
Problem Solving
On Tuesday 15, Daniel Taylor gave a talk to Year 5 and 6 parents about the new problem-solving -led approach to teaching learning in 6 parents about the new problem-solving 15, Daniel Taylor gave a talk and to Year 5 and Problem Solving his event gave parents Here are some photos of Year 5 children in action, Maths. The gavein parents a chance to h to teaching andevent learning as well as a chance to hear hear about, anda take part to in, some of the a photo of the infamous pyramid. event gave parents chance about, and take partgave On Tuesday 15,children Daniel Taylor talk totoYear 5 and 6 parents about the new problem-solving activities that have beenausing apply and take part in, some of the -led approach to teaching and learning in some of the activities theirin, mathematical skills inthat context. Despite the t children have been gave using to apply Maths. The event parents a chance to goodthe turn-out, a number of parents registered children have been using maticalhear skills in context. Despite the of the about, and take part in, some an interest seeing the materials from the to applyin their mathematical t, a number of parents registered activities that children have been using to evening, socontext. these are now available inapply the skills in Despite the theirthe mathematical skills inthe context. Despite the n seeing materials from Parent Portal for Year 5 and good turn-out, a number of 6 parents.
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available the Parent Portal eek, as well a inphoto ofofthe Here areas some photos Year 5 children in Year 5 and parents. this week, as6 well as a photo of the ramid:actionfor
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PREP SCHOOL DEBATING SOCIETY HOUSE DEBATING SEMI FINAL Congratulations to the Debating Society members who took part in the House Debating Semi-Final. We had wonderful speeches from all teams as well as challenging comments and questions from the audience. Orin and Sophia (Viewpoint) and Elizabeth, Skye and Sophie (Foxburrow) debated whether mobile phones should be banned in all primary schools, with Orin and Sophia winning both the audience and Judge’s vote on this occasion. In a Pilgrims v Pilgrims semi-final, Krishan and Leo argued that residents of the UK should only go on holiday in the UK for environmental reasons, and were narrowly victorious against strong opposition from Alexander and George.
SHOULD ZOOS BE ABOLISHED?
HOUSE DEBATING
Year 5 took on Year 6 to debate whether zoos should be abolished. Speaking for
Grand Final
the motion were Year 6 pupils Orin, Rosie and Francesca who provided many detailed facts and figures to support their well-researched arguments. Speaking against the motion were Sophie, Reya and George who presented passionate and emotive arguments about the good work zoos can do protecting endangered animals. Elizabeth and Alexander provided challenging questions from the audience. Our guest judge was Mr Lang who commented on how impressed he was with the standard of the debate and how eloquently the speakers presented their views. In the end Year 6 won the audience vote but the judges’ vote went to Year 5.
The final week of term saw the long-awaited final of the House Debating competition.
Congratulations to all participants!
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eams from Viewpoint and Pilgrims met (virtually) to debate the motion: This House believes that the UK monarchy should be abolished. They were watched by pupils in school pods and at home, from Year 3 to Year 6. Speaking in favour of the motion, Orin made a strong start for Viewpoint with an extremely well-structured and convincingly argued speech which was delivered with great confidence. His teammate Sophia (the only Year 5 pupil in the final) added to his strong start with some well-researched facts and figures to support their case. Krishan and Leo countered with their compelling points about why the UK monarchy should remain and their speeches conveyed great passion and
emotion as well as convincing evidence. Members of Debating Society were then able to contribute their views and opinions and as always made valuable and insightful comments. The audience vote was cast via school pod votes and an online voting form for those at home. It was a dead-heat with both sides winning an equal share of the vote. Finally Mrs Howden delivered the Judges’ decision on behalf of herself and Mrs Hudson. It was a very hard decision to make but on this occasion Pilgrims ended the Viewpoint reign and were crowned House Debating Champions 2020. Congratulations to all who took part and I look forward to welcoming new members from Year 5 and 6 when Debating Society is able to restart.
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PREP SCHOOL BEBRAS CHALLENGE
BREBAS PROBLEM SOLVING FINALISTS
This year there were three pupils who scored highly enough to be invited to participate in the 2020 Oxford Computing Challenge; Alexander, Emma and Maisie. This is because they were in the top 10% in their age group, the Junior level. A special mention should also go to Isaac, Tiroye, Harry, Cora, Harry and Emma who were awarded best in school certificates for their age level. participants.
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UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge Top scores available in each level are as follows: Juniors 200 Castors 152 Kits 119 Certificates were awarded to all.
BREBAS ‘BEST IN AGE GROUP’
BREBAS YEAR 5 MERITS
BREBAS YEARS 3 & 4 MERITS
BREBAS YEAR 6 MERITS
HEADER
Stars Sparkle IN THE LEARNING DOME Years 2 and 5 were thrilled to be learning about Space in Science this term and to enrich their lessons, the Soderberg Hall was transformed into a Planetarium on Thursday morning. Here are the reports of what went on in the Learning Dome: 2M and 2R had a very exciting visit to the inflatable planetarium to help complete our Space topic.
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e were able to see the night sky and find some of the planets we had been learning about, and Mr Hulme also explained how we get night and day. The children enjoyed the experience very much and here are some of their comments:
Year 5 has an amazing trip into the Learning Dome to learn all about space!
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hey learnt why we have day and night and the phases of the moon. They looked at the constellations of the stars and found out that in 140 years you will be able to see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky all at the same time! All of Year 5 are in agreement that it was ‘really cool!’.
“It was scary when it got very dark but then my eyes got used to it.” “I loved seeing all the stars moving across the sky, it looked beautiful.” “It was funny crawling on our hands and knees to get into the planetarium.” “I liked seeing the patterns that some of the stars make in the sky.” “I didn’t know that stars were different colours.”
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PREP SCHOOL BOOK WEEK
Book Week Caterham Prep was aflutter with pages as Book Week followed hot on the heels of Beliefs Week.
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here were competitions, class readers, library visits, the book fair, lunchbreak storytelling with teachers and senior school pupils, special assemblies and of course the creative explosion of colour that was ‘Dress as a Book Character Day’. It has been fantastic to see how much passion and love for reading has been evident throughout the week, only adding to what we see all through every year. Which books have inspired you in your life, as The Little Prince inspired Mr Jones, the head of the senior school, as a child? Have your children discovered a new favourite from their friends or another child or adult during the week? Pull up a chair, grab a book and have a talk about what you like to read - you’re never too young, or too old, to enjoy a good story.
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PREP SCHOOL BELIEFS WEEK
BELIEFS WEEK
The Prep School were excited to be involved in Beliefs Week as we returned from our break. Each form had a chance to visit the wonderful ‘reflective space’, which had been set up by’ Sparkfish’, where there were activities to complete in a quiet, calm and reflective way.
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here was also a chance to just sit and think underneath the decorative lights, ask questions or write a positive message to themselves or another pupil. The tree was covered with ribbons by the end of the week and these were attached to show that there are so many parts in our lives for which we are thankful. Assemblies were filled with enrichment Mrs Griffiths, Deputy Head, Pastoral and Wellbeing at the Senior School came to talk to us about why she goes to church and illustrated her ideas by reading ‘You Are Special’ which has a lovely
message about not allowing others to judge you and knowing you are special and valued ….. but also two Fourth Year students who talked about the countries their families
come from and some of the beliefs and traditions that come from them. Amongst some of the fascinating cultural traditions that the students shared with us, both important and more light-hearted, it emerged that in both Nigeria and Bulgaria it is said that when you suddenly sneeze, it is because somebody is talking about you elsewhere. Where else in the world might that be true? No matter how far apart we are geographically, people are always people and you can find out all sorts of things if you ask the right questions!
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YEAR 4 HAVE BEEN LEARNING ABOUT BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES IN SCIENCE AND BUILT SOME INCREDIBLE TOWERS, USING ONLY ONE PIECE OF PAPER AND TOWERS USING ANYTHING THEY COULD FIND IN THE HOUSE.
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PREP SCHOOL MUSIC
Chamber Choir & ETS conquer the most prestigious choral venue
ST. PETER’S, VATICAN CITY, ROME On Friday 14 February Caterham School’s two sacred choirs, Chamber Choir and ETS performed as part of a mass in the mighty St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. Their confidence, style and precise singing was highly regarded by the audience and the resident musical director.
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his was their first performance on their tour to Rome; other concerts at St. Paul’s Within the Wall and All Saints’ churches were also highly impressive and demonstrated their choral prowess. It is testament to the dedication, commitment and musical talents of every member that both choirs achieved such commendable performances. The youngest members of the choir are in Year 5 (Prep School) and the oldest in Upper Sixth Form
(Senior School): a shining example of the through-school experience at Caterham School. The younger singers in particular should be congratulated on their maturity and stamina-intense, formal choral recitals and services are demanding for any performer. Our senior pupils should be thanked for modelling such excellent musicianship and professionalism. The choirs presented a programme of British choral music from early composers such as
Purcell to modern composers such as Tavener and Todd. The Chamber Choir’s unaccompanied anthems showed sensitivity and depth which did justice to the stunning acoustics of St. Paul’s. The choirs singing together produced a powerful yet sublime sound; ETS’s soaring descents were effortless and uplifting. From the senior school, Aldi H’s solo, Purcell’s moving ‘Dido’s Lament’ was breath-taking and Raife N’s debut performances of his original composition, on the piano, was met with rapturous applause. Aside from the performances, the choirs enjoyed an itinerary full of wonderful cultural experiences including a visit to the Colosseum and a pizza-making workshop. Gelato and other authentic foods were enjoyed throughout the tour
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and games and quizzes rounded-off each day with much humour, laughter and fun. The boutique hotel, near the centre of Rome, together with the local eatery, Ristorante La Famagilla were all perfectly suited to our particularly stylish ensemble of singers. Chamber Choir and ETS have an impressive musical CV; prestigious venues, recordings and radio appearances as well as stunning performances within the school such as Harvest, Christmas and Remembrance services. This tour to Rome, particularly with the grand highlight of St. Peter’s, marks and celebrates their success over the years. Furthermore, the choirs continue to represent Caterham School impeccably in every respect. Congratulations to every member of Chamber Choir and ETS on another unforgettable experience. Also see page 78.
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BAND OF THE IRISH GUARDS VISIT On Monday 27 January members of Caterham senior school Wind Orchestra were offered a unique experience when they joined 35 members of the Band of the Irish Guards for a four hour rehearsal on Vaughn Williams’s English Folk
MUSIC WEEK GOT OFF TO A BANGING START WITH A VISIT FROM THE SENIOR SCHOOL PERCUSSION GROUP, BRASS ENSEMBLE, FLUTE GROUP PLUS A PERFORMANCE FROM OUR OWN PREP SCHOOL BRASS ENSEMBLE
Song Suite.
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upils were introduced to the life of a professional army musician and were intrigued to hear about their experiences when performing for royal weddings, personal performances for the Queen and at the changing of the guards and Trooping of the Colours. The Music Department have forged strong links with Kneller Hall and the Army School of Music which will benefit our wonderful musicians immensely. Caterham Wind Orchestra makes regular appearances in the school calendar and works closely with CCF events such as Remembrance Sunday and Passing Out Parade. Earlier this year, they performed under the Menin Gate in Ypres in a moving and poignant ceremony of remembrance. Prep pupils from Year 4 were very lucky and walked across to the Humphreys Theatre to watch part of the rehearsal. The children were thrilled to watch and listen to the truly mesmerizing music. They spotted some familiar faces amongst the Prep Oldcats playing with the band!
Spring Concert Thank you to all of the pupils and teachers involved in the Spring Concert.
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t was a wonderful evening celebrating the talent and dedication of our Caterham Prep musicians. Concert Band, string orchestra, recorder group, flute ensemble, brass ensemble, junior orchestra, string quartets, rock band and three choirs performed in the Humphreys Theatre presenting a huge variety of music from rock classics to Mozart! It was great to see so many pupils fill the stage and give such polished performances. We thank all of the visiting and senior school music teachers for their help in rehearsals and for the performance! Well done to everyone involved.
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We were treated to an evening of magical moments with toe tapping group performances and confident solo recitals. The hall echoed with an assortment of pieces from Bach and Beethoven to Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol. Year 5 you made us proud!
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PREP SCHOOL TRIPS A great opportunity for all the Year 5 children to see the design and engineering that takes place in order for us to have clean water coming out of our taps each and every day.
Year 5 VISIT BOUGH BEECH Year 5 had a fabulous day at Bough Beech Water Reservoir in February.
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hey had already had visiting speakers from Bough Beech in their Geography classes talking them through the importance and processes of cleaning water. This trip consolidated that theory as the children were able to see each of the eight processes in detail. In their respective classes the children were walked and talked through each process and then had a wonderful opportunity to see the reservoir, where the water is collected and stored as well as seeing the valve tower where a lot of amazing engineering feats take
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place. The best part of the day was getting to walk along a tunnel that runs under the actual reservoir until we reached the bottom of the valve tower and were able to look upwards to see where we had been standing about half an hour previously. Apart from being a bit mind-boggling to grasp that we were actually walking under the water, it was a great opportunity for all the Year 5 children to see the design and engineering that takes place in order for us to have clean water coming out of our taps each and every day. Another concept that is incredibly hard to
understand is that this does not happen in many countries and if they lived in a poorer part of the world they might be the member of the family who would have to walk a long way to get water each day before school. Year 5 students were taught a number of water saving techniques and were actively encouraged to teach these to their families. Apparently, in Surrey we use 160 litres of water per person per day and this needs to be reduced. To end the day, each student was given a shower timer to remind them to limit the amount of time they spend taking a shower.
PREP SCHOOL - TRIPS
Year 6
TRIP TO FRANCE A very early start saw 35 Year 6 students climb onto the coach and start the journey to the Opal Coast in France at 5.15 am.
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his must have been quite a record start. We reached Folkestone within an hour, ate our packed breakfast at the Eurotunnel terminal whilst waiting to board our train and then set off. We just missed the rain as we walked around the market at Etaples Sur Mer. The children all had a turn at purchasing something for their lunch
in French. The children were fascinated by the many sights and sounds and hearing French being spoken all around them in the market, and it was a wonderful way to experience a safe market environment. Armed with our tasty lunch, we re-boarded the coach and proceeded to Boulogne, where we were able to have our lunch in the picnic room at Nausicaa Sea Life Centre before touring all around the magnificent aquarium. One of the main attractions was the 4D film which totally enthralled the children as they had to listen in French whilst being rained on, having a breeze blown over them and keeping their 3D glasses on. They also experienced sharks, seals,
jelly-fish, coral, giant tortoises and many more amazing and beautiful fish. Once we had completed our tour of the aquarium, we boarded the bus and headed off to the Boulangerie Ler Fournil where the children were taught, in French, how to make croissants and also how the bread is baked in a wood fired traditional oven. Many tired but excited children then returned to the coach for the return journey to England. We made excellent time and arrived back at Caterham Prep School by 7.30 pm. Many thanks to all the staff who came along on the trip, and to the parents for being willing to drop the children so early and collect them again.
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staff in the Chapel Royal. Pupils behaved impeccably throughout the day. ber. Children were shown different foods and the meals pre PREP NEWS
guests and friends. They were all astounded by the size of t Friday 11 October into view. A quick tour of the courtyards was followed by the Watching Chamber and Processional route. Pupils learnt a through drama, working out how Henry became the king he Firelighting Fun had the opportunity to quiz a Tudor gentleman who was aro tention was turned to the young Henry, thanks to a story fro Children have been learning one staff in the Chapel Royal. Pupils behaved impeccably throug
PREP SCHOOL TRIPS
of the most important life skills how to light a fire. Under careful supervision, they learned how to gather fuel, make sparks and safely enjoy the lovely glow of the open fire.
Year 5
Year 5 trip to Hampton Court Palace
TRIP TO HAMPTON COURT PALACE
Tudor cuisine was on the agenda during a Year 5 History trip to Hampton Court Palace in October. Children were shown different foods and the meals prepared for Henry VIII’s servants, guests and friends. They were all astounded by the size of the Palace and its grounds as it came The yearA 5quick pupils off courtyards for a History into view. tourset of the was followed by the discovery of The Great Hall, Watching Chamber and Processional route. Pupils learnt a lot by looking at Tudor artefacts and trip to Hampton Court Palace in October. through drama, working out how Henry became the king he was known as in later life. They even had the hey opportunity to quiz a Tudor gentleman who was around during the time and later on atwere all astounded by the size of the Palace tention was turned to the young Henry, thanks to a story from a very knowledgeable member of and its grounds as it came staff in the Chapel Royal. Pupils behaved impeccably throughout the day.
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into view. A quick tour of the courtyards was followed by the morning being spent discovering The Great Hall, Watching Chamber and Processional route. The pupils also learnt a lot from becoming Historians looking at Tudor artifacts and through drama, working out how Henry became the king he was known as in later life. They even had the opportunity to quiz a Tudor gentleman who was around during the time! After lunch, the afternoon was spent learning about the Chapel Royal and how it was used and changed throughout the years. The Tudor kitchens were also visited showing different foods, meals and how Henry VIII fed his servants, guests and friends. The pupils then learnt about young Henry’s story from a very knowledgeable member of staff in the Chapel Royal. The trip was enjoyed by all and the pupils behaved impeccably throughout the day.
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Year 4 AT PRESTON MANOR Each of them had applied for a different serving position in the great house at Preston Manor in Brighton, from ladies’ maid to ‘oddman’ (a combined carpenter, porter and general odd jobs person), writing letters to the Housekeeper, the formidable Mrs Storey, who was to appraise each of them for these coveted roles.
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ith fifty-two rooms to clean and maintain in this, the owners’ smallest of five residences, high standards and a hard work-ethic were vital! The children learnt about some of the innovative inventions created for the Victorian household and put in a solid day’s work learning how to make beds, launder clothes, prepare desserts and scrub cutlery sets and cooking utensils until they shone. Amidst all of this, they took the opportunity, with the lord and lady of the house away on business in London, to play on the lawn at the back of the house, organising their own games to play in the sunshine after their picnic.
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PREP SCHOOL TRIPS The children gave an excellent account of themselves as trainee servants and as Caterham Prep pupils, earning high praise from Mrs Storey, who said she’d rarely been harder pressed to choose successful candidates in her twenty years as Housekeeper. It was a great trip, with children working well in different teams throughout the day to independently organise and complete a wide variety of tasks to a high standard, with a team spirit that carried through from chores to playtime. If any of your children ever need references for work in any of the great aristocratic households in the country, Mrs Storey and James, the Head Footman, have said that they will be happy to provide a reference!
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PREP SCHOOL SPORT
PREP SCHOOL SPORT REPORTS Netball INCREDIBLE work from our U11s v Copthorne. As won 30-5, Bs won 6-4, super proud of their performances.
Rugby The boys had a very tough programme of fixtures against Aberdour in January with our U8s leading the way at the away game.
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he A team played some very good rugby and in an end to end game managed an 8 all draw. The B team showed they are making great progress with a 7-5 win and the C team narrowly lost. On Wednesday, the U11A game had to be abandoned because of an injury but not before the boys had shown great spirit and determination in the face of some very physical play. The U10A team lost narrowly away but the PERFORMANCE OF THE 10B team continued WEEK WAS BY THE their brilliant form with a U9A TEAM WHO STILL fantastic win. REMAIN UNBEATEN. Performance of the week was by the U9A team who still remain unbeaten. They started the game with electrifying pace running in 4 tries in the first 10 minutes. Aberdour came back into the game in the second half but Caterham continued to attack with great vigour and were ferocious in defense, resulting in a win 8 tries to 1. More wet and windy weather didn’t stop a team of year 6 boys taking part in the Aberdour U11 sevens tournament. The boys drew a hard-fought match against Willington before beating Micklefield, Ewell Castle and Chinthurst. The boys showed tremendous character and played some brilliant team rugby and should be proud of a great afternoons work.
Swimming The Prep School swim team finished a very successful season with a fantastic win over Reigate St Mary’s.
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oys and girls from Years 3 to 6 competed in their fourth gala of the year and the team continued to impress. The Caterham team were never behind and after the individual they had established a lead of 188 to 151. The team continued to dominate in the relays winning every relay and eventually ended up winning the gala by 286 to 220. Boys and Girls from years 3 -6 competed against Ewell Castle, really emphatic win 286 points to 164. All the swimmers are to be congratulated on their dedication through the year.
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Hockey
Girls Football
Nine boys from year 5 took part in the Caterham School U10 hockey tournament.
The U10 girls continued the Caterham Prep tradition of having great fun at their first ever Football match.
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he boys played some superb hockey, finishing with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses against strong opposition. Well done to all boys involved for showing great resolve in very wet and windy conditions and displaying brilliant teamwork and sportsmanship. The inaugural Caterham School U10 THE STANDARD OF hockey tournament HOCKEY SHOWN BY ALL took place on Friday SCHOOLS, IN WHAT WAS 28 February. The VERY TESTING WEATHER tournament was deservedly won by CONDITIONS WAS VERY Cranmore Prep School. IMPRESSIVE. The other schools that took part were Shrewsbury House; Caterham Prep; Rokeby, Homefield and Aldro. The standard of hockey shown by all schools, in what was very testing weather conditions was very impressive. The tournament was very professionally run by Academy Director Peter Friend and sincere thanks must go to him and the sixth form pupils from the school’s 1st XI side that helped out.
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espite only two practice sessions the girls demonstrated grit, determination and a good level of skill in their fixture against Micklefield School. Congratulations to all girls for their enthusiastic and energetic approach to the afternoon!
Caterham School Harestone Valley Road Caterham School Caterham Harestone Valley Road Surrey CR3 6YA Caterham Surrey CR3 6YA Telephone: +44 (0)1883 343 028 Email: enquiries@caterhamschool.co.uk Telephone: +44 (0)1883 343 028 Web: www.caterhamschool.co.uk Email: enquiries@caterhamschool.co.uk Web: www.caterhamschool.co.uk
Caterham Prep School Harestone Valley Road Caterham Prep School Caterham Harestone Valley Road Surrey CR3 6YB Caterham Surrey CR3 6YB Telephone: +44 (0)1883 342 097 Email: prep.reception@caterhamschool.co.uk Telephone: +44 (0)1883 342 097 Web: www.caterhamprepschool.co.uk Email: prep.reception@caterhamschool.co.uk Web: www.caterhamprepschool.co.uk