Contents
Page 1
Middle Sixth Interviews
Page 2
Trip to Vietnam
Page 3
Modern Foreign Languages
Page 4
A2 English Trip to Stratford-upon-Avon Model United Nations Conference
Page 5
Visit to Oxford The School Shop
Page 6
Girls’ Sport
Page 7
Girls’ Sport
Page 8
Boys’ Sport
Page 9
Boys’ Sport
Page 10
Page 12
Boys’ Sport Visit of David Auborn The Annual Eren Pars Football Match School Choir Brings Festive Cheer To Dream Factory Children Remembrance
Page 13
Drama
Page 14
Friends of Chigwell – A message from Purnima Sen (Chair of FoC)
Page 15
Les Misérables
Page 16
French Play Epping Forest Debating Competition
Page 11
Staff News Bad Weather Page 17
Read to Feed
Page 18
Evensong at Westminster Abbey Higher and Extended Project Qualification Projects
Page 19 Page 20
Junior School Concert Reminder - Start of Term
Page 21
Chapel
Middle Sixth Interviews Chigwell hosted mock interviews for Middle Sixth students recently.
Over
thirty parents, Old Chigwellians and friends carried out the interviews and every effort was made to ensure that they were as realistic as possible. The feedback from all concerned was very positive. The following week we were joined by students from Beal School for the second year of mock medical interviews. Beal and Chigwell staff, and O.C.s with medical backgrounds spent a busy evening interviewing medical applicants from both schools. Again both interviewers and interviewees very much enjoyed the process and took a great deal away from the event. Mr Andrew Long, Head of Sixth Form, has asked me to pass on his thanks to all those who helped by acting as interviewers.
1
Trip to Vietnam A number of Lower Sixth students,
village lived underground to escape the
together with Reverend Simon Paul and
bombing.
Mr and Mrs Boughton, spent part of half
wonders of Halong Bay and they travelled
term travelling through Vietnam on a
to Hoi An, stopping at American machine
history tour to widen their understanding
gun posts and then on to Ho Chi Minh
of the country.
City. Here they travelled to the
They also experienced the
spectacular Mekong Delta where they In Hanoi they visited the “Hanoi Hilton�,
journeyed by boat up the river for lunch
where American airmen who were shot
and a visit to a local market. The final visit
down during bombing raids, were held in
was to the War Remnants Museum. The
a former French prison. The students
pupils learnt that Vietnam is a stunningly
experienced Hue, the ancient capital of
beautiful country, the people are warm
Vietnam, the 17th Parallel, the border
and welcoming, the culture is rich and
between North and South Vietnam, and
varied, and the country is changing and
the Vinh Moc Tunnels where a whole
developing rapidly.
2
Modern Foreign Languages It has been a very busy term in the modern languages department. In the first week of half term, the Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth hispanists visited sunny Benalmádena on a tuition homestay trip. There has also been a trip to the European Parliament’s London offices with the Upper Fifth and Middle Sixth modern linguists for a talk and activities about the role of modern languages in the organisation’s work. And finally, this year’s
Mandarin
clubs
started
in
November, for Lower One and Upper One and the Lower Sixth, on Thursday afternoons.
3
A2 English Trip to Stratford-upon-Avon Fourteen Middle Sixth English students
thinking that things could only really get
travelled by train to Stratford-Upon-Avon
worse. Organised by Ms Sarah Bell, the
to see John Webster’s “The White Devil”,
trip was most successful with the
an A2 set text, at the RSC Swan Theatre.
performance being both lively and
For the examination, students have to
provocative. As well as being able to soak
compare this dark and bloody Jacobean
up the ambience of Shakespeare’s
revenge tragedy with Milton’s Paradise
birthplace, students will be so much
Lost, and the production certainly
better prepared to be able to write about
conveyed the fallen world of the Italian
the play in the final exams.
court.
In modern dress and with a
decidedly feminist agenda, they watched the story of Vittoria Corombona’s adultery and subsequent death, acted out in a world spinning out of control. The last laugh was, literally, given to the chilling child-prince, all set to take over the throne; he prodded the corpses on stagewith his foot, leaving the audience
Model United Nations Conference Eight Chigwell students from the Upper Fifth and above attended the annual Model United Nations Conference at Benenden School recently. The two School delegations represented Iran and Luxembourg, and our students were with over two hundred others from a wide variety of schools. The conference is a role-playing exercise that simulates the day-to-day work of the UN.
4
Visit to Oxford A group of Upper Fifth GCSE German
two professors from Oxford University
pupils visited Oxford recently. They
before watching a film about the
started with a tour of St. John's College
'Kindertransport',
with two current Oxford students and in
German and Austrian Jews in the build-up
the afternoon they were invited to visit
to WW2. The film was introduced by the
the exhibition 'Germans in Britain', which
producer himself, whose father was on
gives an overview of German migrants in
one of these trains. The main theme of
the UK and their contribution to British
the afternoon was the question of
society. Our pupils then had a chance
identity and how far this is an issue for all
to discuss the issue of migration with
migrants in our globalised world.
The School Shop The School Shop will close on Wednesday 17th December and re-open on Monday 5th January 2015. From Monday 5th January to Wednesday 7th January the shop will be open from 10am to 3pm, and thereafter the normal opening hours will be 12 noon to 5pm.
5
trains
evacuating
Girls’ Sport Chigwell girls have enjoyed one of their
therefore it was great to finish the
most successful seasons of hockey. The
season with a victory.
1st XI achieved their best ever finish at
The U14As have been undefeated all
the U18 Essex tournament, only losing
season, winning eight out of nine
out to Coopers, when they conceded a
matches and a 2-2 draw. The girls have
single goal in the last thirty seconds of
notched up a staggering thirty-three
the match. Following this, confidence
goals and only conceded five. The A
in the squad was high and the girls went
team has been regularly rotated with a
on to beat Bancroft’s, Brentwood and
large squad playing every fixture. They
St Edmund’s, they drew against Forest,
travelled to Bedford to represent Essex
and have only lost one match since the
at the East of England round.
October break, which was against Mill
beat Kings Ely 2-1, Sutton Valence 2-0
Hill. Notable performances have come
and drew 1-1 with Bedford Girls’ School.
from keeper Hannah Leiper, Captain
They faced Felsted in the final and lost
Georgia O’Connor and midfielders Alice
3-1 in a well-fought match.
Melvin and Megan Wells. We also must
were
congratulate Hannah, Alice and Megan
disappointed
not
The girls to
have
progressed to the Nationals, but were
on their continued involvement with
extremely pleased with their efforts
their respective age groups of Tier 1 JRPC.
They
and achievement at such a prestigious
The 1st XI finished off their
tournament. Many girls have alternated
season with the annual match against
between the U14 A and B sides which
the staff team, when the result was a
has developed the standard of their
respectable 2-2 draw, pleasing for all
hockey. The B side had a number of
those involved!
fixtures throughout the term and made
The 2nd XI girls finished the season on a
fantastic progress throughout the
high with a win against Forest. They
season as a squad.
have made significant progress and
honours outside of school go to Venetia
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Further hockey
Girls’ Sport Bailey, Charlotte James-Pajwani, Chloe Stack, and Stevie Southall who have all been selected for U14 JRPC Tier 1, and Zoe Wright who has been selected for the county side, U14 JAC. In the Junior School, hockey continues to go from strength to strength with both the U13s and U12s doing very well at the IAPS tournaments. The U13 squads have always been a keen and enthusiastic bunch of girls but have recently added an element of strength and competitive drive to their game too. They have had a good run of results recently and we are proud to have two girls involved with county from this year group, Eleanor Ahern (U13 JAC) and Kitty Howson (U13 JDC). At U12 level, the school regularly had twenty or more girls turning out for after-school training.
7
Boys’ Sport The second half of the football season
of half term and won 3-0. They then
has continued to be very busy with large
continued in winning fashion after half
numbers of boys involved. The 1st XI
term
played the Corinthian Casuals at the end
Kimbolton (2-1) and Aldenham (5-1)
8
by
beating
Highgate
(3-0),
Boys’ Sport which meant they had won seven
were knocked out of the ISFA Shield in
games in a row, a feat which has not
the second round after they were heavily
occurred for a long time. Unfortunately,
defeated by an impressive Harrodian
a poor performance against Brentwood
side. Senior House football was played in
followed and they were comfortably
a competitive nature with over eighty-
beaten 3-0. Hampton are always one of
five boys representing their House.
the strongest opponents and Chigwell
The U15s have been much more
put in a credible performance losing
competitive this year. The U14A team
4-2 after being 1-0 up. The 1st XI then
have continued to play some fine
hosted a team from Greenhouse, a
football and were involved in an epic 4-4
charity based in South London, which aims
to
give
disadvantaged
opportunities youngsters
draw with City of London which was
to
played in an excellent spirit by both
through
teams. They beat local rivals, Forest,
football. It was a fantastic event which
and also secured a 1-0 victory against a
saw Chigwell run out winners. However,
very strong Hampton side. The U14B
what was more important was the
team have been a credit to the School as
social side, which saw the players
they have had a large number of boys
from very different backgrounds mixing
(and one girl) represent the School. They
freely in the Dining Hall after the match.
have had some great games including
The 1st XI finished the season with a
wins against City of London and
disappointing 1-0 loss to Forest, but
Kimbolton. House football saw every
nonetheless this was a fantastic season.
boy in the Removes and Lower Fifth
The 2nd XI have again been competitive,
represent
securing draws against Highgate and
Lambourne as victors. Alec Osborn, Jake
Kimbolton, fine victories over Aldenham
David and Tommy Redhead attended St
and Forest and a narrow 3-2 defeat in the
George’s Park in the last week of term to
last minute against Brentwood. The U16s
represent the
9
their
House
and
saw
Boys’ Sport
Visit of David Auborn
Independent Schools against academy
Artist David Auborn led a drawing
sides including Watford, Leicester City
workshop as a part of the Art+
and Derby County.
programme. During the session, the pupils learned about different drawing
In the Junior School, the U13s have had
and
lots of football and are certainly making
painting
materials,
practical
approaches and conceptual strategies
improvements as a year group. Both teams
connected to how a drawing may be
try to play the game in the right spirit as
made. Ideas relating to abstraction and
opposed to focussing purely on the
also David’s own work were also
outcome of matches. The vast majority of
explored and the exhibition of David’s
Third Form boys represented the School
work, ‘Micro and Macro’, which is
when we hosted Mossbourne Academy
currently on show in the school gallery,
from Hackney. The Third Form have been
was a great inspiration too. It was a
attending training in droves and they are a
thoroughly exciting and challenging
keen and enthusiastic year who will
day and the pupils made some great
continue to go from strength to strength.
experimental work.
At KS2, a large number of boys were involved in Futsal matches at the Copperbox arena with Woodford Green Prep and Forest schools. Futsal is a game which originates from Brazil and is played with a heavier ball and thus focusses on skill and technique. The Lower One and Upper One boys have been exposed to a number of Futsal sessions during their games lessons and during the KS2 football club which as always is well attended every week.
10
The Annual Eren Pars Football Match The annual Eren Pars football match was
of Eren saw a closely fought game which
played recently in memory of Eren O.C.
the Middle Sixth eventually won on
who passed away in May 2012, when he
penalties.
was just twenty one. He was a keen
presented by Eren’s mother to the
footballer and the match is played in his
winners.
memory each year between two Chigwell
generous donation, £2,500 of which will go
Sixth Form teams. This year, the excited
to the Smiles with Grace Charity which
crowd of pupils, staff, parents and friends
was the one chosen by the winning side.
The Eren Pars trophy was Mr and Mrs Pars made a
School Choir Brings Festive Cheer To Dream Factory Children Members of the Chapel Choir provided festive music when children who have received 'dreams' from The Dream Factory charity were given an extra treat at an early Christmas lunch at The King William IV pub in Chigwell. The charity's founder, Avril Mills commented that: "The Chigwell School Choir were fabulous.”
11
Remembrance The School came together to remember
stories of fourteen Old Chigwellians who
those who died in armed conflict. We do
fought in World War I, most of whom
this each year but as we marked the
died but some who survived.
anniversary of the start of the First World
research has been carried out using
War this year, the act of remembrance
records in the archives, including letters
was particularly important. As always, at
from these young men sent home from
eleven o’clock on the 11th day of
the front.
November, the entire school community
This year, our traditional advent service
observed two minutes’ silence.
We
Her
took a slightly different form, although
remembered all those who were killed in
the contributions by the choir were of the
the two World Wars as well as those who
typically high standard.
continue to die, or indeed to survive with
Through the
service were a mixture of readings,
physical and/or emotional injuries in the
focusing on the tragedy of war and the
cause of peace for others.
lessons that we can learn. Thank you to
As you will know, our Chapel was built as
all of those who supported the occasion.
a memorial to those who were killed in World War I and the names of those who died in that and the 1939-45 conflict are recorded on brass plates. In addition, our School Archivist, Mrs Marian Delfgou, has produced panels which tell the
12
Drama Just after half term, we hosted E15’s
The Lamda Showcase at the end of
Second Year Expressionism performances.
November dazzled us all with some
This was a double bill of truly
fantastically polished monologues and
experimental, modern drama involving
duologues; particularly outstanding
dance, physical theatre, rap and live
were Tess Kelly and Venetia Bailey, and
music. All students taking GCSE and A
Tom Lockley was awarded the prize for
Level drama attended and thoroughly
Highest Lamda Mark 2014.
enjoyed the shows. Following on from
Finally, the Senior School Play, “The
this, the Middle Sixth performed their
School for Scandal”, was performed to
two devised pieces based around the
audiences who enjoyed the flamboyancy
themes of Desensitisation and Ethnic
of the 18th Century with wigs, frills and
Cleansing. These were two highly
snuff taking! This was a marvellously
inventive shows that mixed styles as
staged
diverse as Berkoff, Artaud, Brecht and Le
traditional
drama
that
delightfully recreated an age of wit,
Coq to make a striking double bill of
gossip and scandal.
modern experimental theatre.
13
Friends of Chigwell – A message from Purnima Sen (Chair of FoC) With a fantastically successful Fireworks
– if it’s got to be done then it’s got to be
Night on the 7th of November, a super
done well.
fayre, the school discos in December, the
So, as I write this, we have still three
Memphis show in Town, the drinks bar at
evenings left to serve drinks at the Les
the School Play “School for Scandal”, it
Misérables musical evenings but already
has been an absolute whirlwind of a term
we have made a total profit of about
for the FoC. However, when I reflect on
£8,500 this term alone! We have, also,
what we have achieved, I am really proud
this term donated about £600 towards
that the FoC team has worked so well
the Pre Prep outdoor drawing and picnic
together. We have treated each and
tables, and now look forward to the
every event as a learning curve. We have
Headmaster’s
run retrospectives at meetings and
where he would like the rest of the
drawn educated conclusions on what we
money to be donated at the Junior and
have got right and what we have not. For
Senior Schools, so watch this space.
example, we are constantly trying to
recommendations
of
As always, this year the support from all
make the fireworks event better and
parents attending the events, all the
better, and this year having the food in
teachers and the support and ground
the Dining Room was a huge triumph and
staff has been overwhelming. My team
so was the idea of setting up half of New
has been an absolute triumph and I could
Hall with tables and chairs for people to
not ask for a better group of people who
have a place to sit. Running two bars,
not only give up their time but make it all
two bbq’s and multiple counters for
look so much fun.
coffee and mulled wine, meant that we never had long queues and people did
I would like to finish my 2014 update
not have to wait for ages. I know this
with a big ‘Thank You’ to all involved
seems sometimes like “just a PTA” but
for helping us make the Friends of
we want to practise what we preach to
Chigwell such a successful fund-raising
our children and that is to treat every job
organisation. And to everyone as well – I
with equal importance and no matter
wish you all a very Merry Christmas and
how small or how insignificant it may be
an excellent New Year.
14
Les MisĂŠrables In the last few days of term, the concert production of Les MisĂŠrables, took to the Chigwell School stage.
More than
seventy pupils worked for a large part of the
term
to
produce
stunning
performances in New Hall, superbly decorated to transport the audiences from 21st-century Essex to 19th-century France.
The performances included a
charity matinĂŠe to raise money for Smiles
with
Grace,
and
each
performance had a unique cast in order to offer several pupils the chance to take the principal roles. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make this an excellent production which will undoubtedly be rememberd by all those who saw it or indeed were part of it.
15
French Play The Onatti Production Company visited Chigwell to perform their amusing two-hander ‘Erreur d’Identité’ in which the proprietors of a run-down country hotel receive an unexpected guest and get more than they bargained for. The two principals played all the parts with tremendous energy in a succession of garish wigs and costumes. Despite the sophistication of some of the French, the twists and turns of the plot were surprisingly and delightfully clear, supported as they were by vigorous mime and nonverbal communication. Not a word of English was spoken even by the two audience participants! The play was really well received by the children of Years 7 and 8 and we hope to welcome the company again in the future when they will once again do their bit to promote this beautiful language.
Epping Forest Debating Competition Congratulations to Tom Lockley and Angus Brown who gave a fantastic performance in the recent Epping Forest Debating Competition.
Staff News
Bad Weather
As we reach the end of term, we say
As in previous years, in the event of
farewell to two members of staff. Ms
heavy snow or ice please consult the
Marcia Teichman is leaving us to take up
school website (www.chigwell-school.org)
the post of Head of Chemistry at Bolton
for confirmation of arrangements for the
Boys’ School and we wish her and her
school day. We would always be very
family well in their new home. Ms Andrea
reluctant to close the School, but are
Gehrke is expecting her second baby in
mindful of the safety of pupils and staff.
the New Year and we send her our very best wishes and look forward to hearing news of the new arrival in due course.
16
Read to Feed Pupils from right across the School have
families out of poverty for good by
taken part in Send a Cow’s sponsored
teaching them how to produce food from
reading scheme ‘Read to Feed’. They
small plots of unproductive land and by
spent two weeks being sponsored to read
providing livestock.
for pleasure in order to raise money to
£1,700 which will provide two cows,
provide cows and other farm animals to
goats and chickens; thank you to all
help African families. Send a Cow lifts
families who have helped us achieve this.
17
We have raised
Evensong at Westminster Abbey The Chapel Choir led Evensong at
Howells was unforgettable. Thank you to
Westminster Abbey, which has the
all of those who supported the occasion.
highest gothic vault in England, and they opened with the introit, O bone Jesu, before embarking on the Rose Responses. The coming together of the great Abbey organ and the voices of the Choir in the opening and resulting exclamations of Stanford’s Magnificat in C and later in the Anthem, Like as the Hart, by Herbert
Higher and Extended Project Qualification Projects Members of the Upper Fifth and Middle
Popular Music (Olivia Mendel Portnoy),
Sixth recently presented their Higher
King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Mad or
Project Qualification projects, and
Misunderstood? (Henry Bird), and the
Extended Project Qualification projects.
Development and Use of Nail Varnish
These qualifications, taken in addition to
Over the Last Century (Jada Coker).
GCSE or A level subjects, are designed to
Some of this year's EPQs included: The
broaden horizons beyond the confines of
Feasibility of Nuclear Fusion as a Power
the standard curriculum and encourage
Source in Space (Theo Gheorghiu), The
independent research and thought. EPQ
Evaluation of the Duckworth-Lewis
and HPQ students undertake a research
Method in Cricket (Hugo Blogg), and
topic of their choice and they develop
Analysis of the 1945 Labour Government
skills including the use of academic
(Margaret Oki).
journals, keeping an academic log, and formal report writing. HPQ
projects
included:
Recent
Developments in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (Ben Sanders), Women in Physics Professorships (Emma Cadman), the Impact of the Illuminati on
18
Junior School Concert .
The Junior School Michaelmas Concert was enjoyed by a packed audience of parents and pupils and provided us with an opportunity to ease gently into the festive season. There was a performance of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ from the trumpet group and a rousing finale from the Glee Club with their performance of a Christmas Medley, specially arranged by Miss Laura Thomas. The quality of each performance was impressive as each soloist and ensemble took to the stage. The audience enjoyed a rich and varied programme which included works by Telemann and Donizetti, Gershwin, Sondheim and John Williams. Other groups performing were the Cello Group, Saxophone Group, Percussion Groups, the Junior Orchestra and the Second Form Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs. Well done to pupils in the Junior School for a super evening.
19
Reminder - Start of Term Please note that because we end this term midweek and the Lent term starts for pupils on Thursday 8th January, we will be starting with week B when we return.
As all of the above suggests, many pupils have had a very busy term and a large number will be feeling tired. Whilst those facing public exams in the summer will want to use some of the holidays to carry out important revision and consolidation, I hope all pupils manage to have some rest and relaxation too. I also wish you all a very happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing you again in 2015.
With best wishes
Michael Punt
20
Chapel peace and prosperity, large parts of our world do not. Chapel has brought us the silence to think about life, our responsibilities to each other and to the world. We have thought about our words and action and how they can bring peace or conflict to those around us; pupils, parents and staff have responded with great generosity to our charity fundraising
Remembrance has been a central focus to this
appeals in aid of those in need; and, we have
second half of the Michaelmas Term. Our
had time to be still and put into perspective all
Centenary Remembrance has focussed on the
the demands upon our time and talents.
eighty Chigwellians that were killed during the First World War. One of those individuals was
I wonder how the soldiers felt as they returned
Herr Sommermeier, a language teacher who
to their own trenches at the end of that
taught at Chigwell briefly in 1913. He fought
Christmas Day in 1914. The day when 2000
for Germany and was killed in 1914. He clearly
years earlier a baby was born in Bethlehem.
left his mark upon Chigwell as the school had a
The baby they remembered as they sang
day of mourning in memory of him. This death
across no man’s land the words of “Silent
helps us to reflect upon the tragedy of the First
Night or “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”. Perhaps
World War and so many other conflicts. At the
they prayed for peace, for a chance to be with
start of Advent, on 1st December, we
their families again, and that the world might
remembered the moment when on Christmas
learn from this baby that love and peace are
Day 1914 the fighting stopped and along the
the only things that really matter. It is our
Western Front soldiers emerged from the
privilege to enjoy and to work for the same
trenches and greeted each other. It seems that
things in our own lives, in the lives of our loved
they agreed not to begin hostilities again until
ones and in the world today.
the other side started to fire; this meant that Boxing Day was also a day of peace.
May I wish you and your family love and peace this Christmas.
The current generation of pupils and ex-pupils, thankfully, do not face the call to join up and
Father Simon
fight a war; however, they do face challenges and uncertainties. Technology has made the world a smaller place and whilst we enjoy
21