The Churcherian 2022

Headmaster’s Foreword

When the world seems topsy-turvy, stability is such a treasured respite. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was that dependable, solid foundation, and provided a sense of security as we were battered by pandemics, war, climate catastrophes, economic collapse, and much more.

The steadfastness of Her Majesty’s reign has been extraordinary. It was an absolute joy to be able to share our tercentenary celebration along with her Platinum Jubilee - a double cause for celebration. 2022 will always remain in our hearts as the year we lost something and someone extra special, but her legacy will undoubtedly live on.

This 300th year for Churcher’s College was similarly about celebration of what has passed, but also about a legacy for the future, as the school reinforces its connections with past and present to strengthen its charitable purpose for the future, guiding children through their formative years.

This momentous year has seen some memorable moments. The opening of the new Music School and Goodfield, housing Design & Technology, Maths, and Classics, was a brilliant and ambitious curtain-raiser to the year. Celebrations continued with the magnificent ‘300’ photo on Memorial Field, and the Junior School unveiling of their commemorative tree mosaic, culminating with the Summer Concert weekend at the end of the academic year. This was a weekend of connection and reconnection not only for those involved with the School, but also the wider community at the delightful Community Fair, which brought together the Mayor of Petersfield and forty local community groups.

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Well before Her Majesty The Queen encouraged the country to plant trees as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, we had begun the process of creating Tercentenary Wood, where all children, from Nursery to the Upper Sixth, and all the adults associated with the school, have planted 1,800 trees for generations in the future to enjoy.

As the first year since 2019, when A Level and GCSE exams were actually sat, rather than simply calculated, this summer was certainly one full of anxious moments, but the strength of all here shone through with some extraordinary results:

2018  22.2  55.8  87.8  97.7  100.0  100.0  99

2019  26.3  63.2  85.8  96.8  98.8  100.0  113

2020  36.0  70.9  93.7  99.5  100.0  100.0  130

2021  30.8  70.7  91.5  98.9  100.0  100.0  122

2022 41.9 73.3 92.5 97.2 99.4 100.0 150

GCSE  9 9-8 9-7 9-6 9-5 9-4 9-3

2018 22.0  43.5  65.7  83.9  94.2  98.5  98.6

26.0  49.8  71.2  88.9  98.3  99.8  99.8

35.5  62.5  85.0  95.7  99.6  100.0  100.0

2021 30.3  56.4  79.2  93.5  99.1  100.0  100.0

2022  25.6 49.2 73.7 88.7 97.4 99.3 99.9

There is much to bemoan about the Covid times, but one ‘left-over’ that we have noticed this year is that the level of enthusiasm and involvement in anything and for everything has been higher than ever. One often doesn’t really appreciate what one has got until one no longer has it, and Covid deprived us of much, which we are now so grateful to have back. It is possible that our superlative exam results are a consequence of this realisation and new appreciation.

The publication of this Churcherian magazine, a chronicle of the academic year just past, has coincided with the sad end to an era, but much as Her Majesty would want us to celebrate all she has achieved, and her huge contribution to all our lives, so this magazine is also a celebration of all that the children of Churcher’s College have achieved over this last year.

Simon Williams

Junior School

What do you remember about this academic year? The easing in Covid restrictions, or perhaps the 300th anniversary celebrations? Either way, it’s been an unforgettable year full of successes and achievements.

It’s a particular joy to reflect on the tercentenary year of Churcher’s College. After the turbulent years of lockdowns and a life full of restrictions, the whole community rose triumphantly to enjoy a return to activities and whole school gatherings, and we all rejoiced to the popping of ‘bubbles’. Helping the school celebrate 300 years was an unforgettable privilege, and we will all remember the whole school photograph, the mosaic project and its unveiling, and the tree planting.

This year was also an opportunity to join in with national Platinum Jubilee celebrations too – we had our own bake-off competition with a red, white, and blue picnic on the field, to which parents and family members were invited. There was live music and barn dancing, and no-one will forget the long queue for the ice cream!

We all felt absolute delight when live concerts and productions were back on the performing arts menu. From nativities, tea time concerts, and assemblies, to full-on productions, any nerves felt at the beginning of the year

as a result of missed opportunities due to Covid, were quickly forgotten by the end of the academic year and showed the children’s great ability to rise to the challenges.

Despite all these wonderful events, resilience continued to be a vital attribute for all members of the community, as many of us, at one time or another, were rendered in isolation at home with Covid. Where a pupil normally sat, it was commonplace instead to see a screen with their face on their desk in class, either participating in a group activity or in paired work. The creativity of the teachers knew no bounds with ways

in which to include pupils, who were isolating at home, in the learning activities happening at school. Even in assembly, the teachers often sat with a laptop and a pupil’s face on it so that they could be involved. We really understood how much the pupils missed these activities, and acknowledge how far these small acts of kindness went in helping pupils feel valued.

Whatever you remember of this year, Churcher’s College will no doubt continue to sail on ahead for another 300 years!

Ffion Robinson

Nursery

What an exciting year it has been in the Nursery, and it’s certainly been a year of celebrations! Not only did we have the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but also our own school’s tercentenary! As always, the Nursery children were fully involved in the festivities; they planted trees and enjoyed a birthday picnic for the school, helping to blow out 300 (well, nearly!) candles on the big birthday cake. They also helped create

the beautiful mosaic in the quad, representing the youngest children in the school. A little later in the year, we joined the country in honouring the Queen in the Jubilee, with red, white, and blue bunting, and learning about London. They even entered a fabulous cake into the Jubilee cake competition! The children have been a joy to teach this year, with their energy and enthusiasm. Well done everyone!

Infants

Reception

Four and five-year olds are full of life, curiosity, and enthusiasm, eager to explore the world around them. The children’s opportunities and parameters were reduced for a while, but their natural curiosity and creative thinking has endured the ‘Covid pause’, and won through! Having faced the challenge, we are looking forward to life after the pandemic.

This years’ Reception class are a testament to this, and they have had a wonderful year! In spite of previous restrictions, they have embraced every opportunity with a freshness that is so special in the very young! We have really loved every opportunity to get outside, and explore nature and the natural world using all of our senses with never-ending enthusiasm. After being encouraged to stay indoors, it has made us appreciate our wonderful world even more. Our photo selection shows just how much we love getting outdoors and taking our learning outside… making new and precious memories!

Interlaced within our Reception curriculum, we have had several

special events that have inspired the children further. A farm visit, a crazy scientist, and tercentenary treeplanting session are all among the many experiences that have enriched our little-ones’ understanding. It’s all fun and games!

Towards the end of the year, as the sad circumstances in Ukraine evolved, we were stunned by the empathy and understanding that our Reception class showed. The children have clearly talked about it at some level at home, and as we welcomed new students from Ukraine to our class and school, they embraced the moment and did what children do bestshowing us that regardless of where we are from, we are all accepting of each other and wanting the world to be a better place.

Year 1

“This year has just flown by...” is often heard, but it is absolutely true this year! Looking back on the photographs of the children, you can see how much they have grown. It has been lovely to see the children recognising their own hard work and achievements this year, as they

have looked back at their books when taking them home at the end of Year 1.

The Autumn Term was busy, with the children finding their feet and learning to be a little more independent. They loved turning the role play area in the classroom into a toy museum, and greatly enjoyed visiting the Toy Museum and School Room in Guildford. Being Victorian children for a day was fun, but the children decided they much preferred our lovely classroom and outdoor space!

Our Nativity was highly anticipated, but because of another Covid outbreak, we had to perform this as individual classes. The children, however, were amazing, and turned the whole Nativity around in a matter of four days, with new roles to play, different lines to learn - still the show went on! The children’s motivation and resilience were incredible to see.

The Spring Term had the children trekking across the school grounds, wind blowing a gale, as they followed in the footsteps of the explorer Captain Scott. Unfortunately, this year, the snow didn’t arrive as hoped,

but the children still had a tough journey and battled hard to make secure dens. Teamwork was an absolute must here, as we chased after our den building sheets, as they were blown away by the wind!

A day spent in the woods near school offered a wonderful day of adventure in the Summer Term. We discovered that den building with Mr Forbes is really on a different level! But 21st century children as they are, the children still managed to make a television, iPad, television remotes, and mobile phones from pieces of bark, twigs, and leaves! We also managed another trip, this time with Year R, to Haslemere Museum and a separate one to Petersfield Museum, where we saw the exhibit to mark the 300th anniversary of Churcher’s College.

It is always a sad time when you lose a class, but the children are ready to move up into Year 2 and enjoy all the new experiences that await them. Class 1, you will be greatly missed, and I thank you for all your fun and laughter this year, and of course all your hard work. Enjoy being ‘Top

Infants’, and I know you’ll be happy to look after the ‘little ones’ for us.

Year 2

This year has continued to see the classroom evolve, with home learning still a feature, albeit often only for one or two children at a time rather than the whole class. This meant children dropping into class lessons from home and adapting to a new way of learning for a few days at a time. For most of the time, however, we have all enjoyed being back in a normal classroom together and getting to engage with learning as a class.

In the Spring Term, Year 2 learned about Florence Nightingale, as we continued to study the past and compare it with our own lives. We had an amazing virtual meeting with Mary Seacole, another hero of the Crimean War, who shared her life story and captivated us all. The topic was great fun and we particularly enjoying dressing up and performing the roles of the nurses and soldiers in the Crimean War.

Year 2 enjoyed a wonderfully busy

day at the Winchester Science Centre, including a visit to the Planetarium where we looked at the different constellations, the planets, and explored the universe, flying around through space with help from our guide. We then learnt about matter, and saw some exceptions to the normal rules by experimenting with dry ice and slime. The class then explored the rest of the centre, trying on space suits, building bridges, and playing giant musical instruments.

The Summer Term was jam-packed, with preparations for an assembly all about recycling and the environment, an Infant concert, and a sports day. Year 2 also enjoyed a Victorian summer holiday on Hayling Island, as we found out what it was like to be on holiday in the past. We played on the sand, built sandcastles, went on a train ride, and walked along the sea front. Learning from our recycling assembly, the children enthusiastically worked together to collect every piece of rubbish they could find, before enjoying an ice cream as their reward. Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day!

Middle School

Year 3

From the start of the year, it was clear that this was a class of very happy and enthusiastic learners - a theme that has continued throughout the year. Whatever the weather, and whatever challenges came their way, this Year 3 cohort have smiled their way through each day. We have loved getting to know them and see them grow.

The Autumn Term began with a fantastic day of team-building fun and activities in the outdoor classroom. We travelled to the Senior School on a glorious late summer morning, to have our whole school photo taken to celebrate 300 years of Churcher’s and our year has had a celebratory theme running through it ever since. This first term was filled with so many highlights, including a tour at Butser Ancient Farm to learn about the Romans, our history topic for this term, and learning about forces and magnets in science, developing real strength in all our investigations. The children loved learning to swim at the Senior School, and couldn’t have been more excited to return in the new year for their gala. Term concluded with two brilliant assemblies: the theme for 3P was advent, and on the final day, there was a Christmas bonanza by 3G, with parents watching and the school joining in the merriment from their classrooms, carols reverberating down the corridors!

In Spring, a trip to see a full orchestra at G Live in Guildford saw much awe and wonder on the children’s faces, as many experienced live music for the first time. The children showed huge interest in our Stone Age topic in history, fully embracing the era during our Camp Fire Day. Mr. Forbes helped us start the fire, we weaved and modelled clay pots, and role-played hunting for food typical of these hunter gatherers. With restrictions lifting, we were finally able to enjoy meeting schools on the rugby and hockey pitches in team matches. Earth Song came to visit for an amazing Chinese New Year workshop - the lion dance was so impressive, and the drums were very loud! Assemblies completed another active term, along with International Women and Mother’s Day for 3P, and poetry for 3G.

At the start of the Summer Term, we began learning about mountains,

culminating in a fantastic project to create some impressive models and collages. We enjoyed experiments and demonstrations to see how mountains were formed, and were completely focused when creating our own mountains out of kindly donated recycling. Every child was so proud of their models.

Artful flowers, fruits, and seeds in science, brought creations of beautiful watercolour studies of flowers, as we all learnt about the production of fruits and seeds. This moved neatly to understanding our own changes as part of our PSHE unit on ‘Changing Me.’

The children also loved learning about light and shadow in science this term, even working in the dark at times to investigate some theories.

A trip to the Sustainability Centre enhanced the children’s understanding of the natural world around them, and how to help sustain it, as well as making sensory art pieces. Adventure day at Barfield pushed the children out of their comfort zones, as they scaled new heights and tried new challenges. And finally, our special assembly, ‘UNITY’, well, what can we say! Whilst watching the children sing and dance and perform, it became very apparent to any member of staff who has had the pleasure of being around them, that they had come a long way since September 2021. What a confident and dazzling performance by every single Year 3 child, showing us they are very ready for Year 4!

Year 4

September seems a long time ago, and gosh, how Year 4 have grown up and matured since then! There were certainly a few nervous smiles coming into school in those early autumn mornings, as we were very pleased to welcome back existing pupils and say hello to a few new faces in Year 4. We all love the grown-up classrooms upstairs, and were extremely pleased to see our pupils back in class with no restrictions or covid rules - freedom at last! Nerves didn’t last long and soon it felt as if we hadn’t been away, the summer holiday but a distant memory. Our first trip was linked to our Geography topic on the rainforest, and this was really brought alive for us at the Living Rainforest experience, near Reading. The chance to experience

rare and exotic animals was not to be missed and the children especially enjoyed seeing toucans, turtles, and the Madagascan hissing cockroach, which was quite a sight to behold!

We also focused on getting to know each other again after holidays and lockdowns. The children used their PSHE lessons to think about kindness, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. Christmas comes around so quickly and is always a chance to have as much fun as possible. Year 4 loved their Christmas jumpers and enjoyed wearing them for our final day of term!

Spring Term brought its own delights, and the cold weather and dreary lunchtimes never stopped Year 4 getting out in the fresh air! A highlight was the bonfire afternoon run by Mr Forbes - a chance to learn about fire safety, play campfire games, and do some outdoor art. In Geography, we learnt about volcanoes and made our own explosions on the last day of term, using vinegar, bicarbonate, and washing up liquid. What fun!

Summer Term at last provided a chance to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. The first half was dominated with rehearsals for our fabulous show: 1722

The Musical Junior - a spectacular celebration of 300 years of Churcher’s College; singing, dancing, acting, and a very important message – Work Hard and Be Kind. This was followed by the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, where the children enjoyed a fabulous afternoon with their families and ate their own body weight in cake!

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our Bushcraft trip to Meon Springs. As well as fabulous food and great activities, we had the joy of a sleepless night under the stars. Year 4 decided they had had enough sleep by the 4.15am sunrise, and got up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to start a new day, much to the teaching staff’s delight!

What a fabulous Year 4 this year has been. Working together and working hard has been their mantra, and it has paid off with great progress and a superb cohort of young people. Well done to everybody involved.

Upper School

What an action-packed year it has been in Year 5, where the children have thrived and grown, physically, emotionally, and academically. A year full of trips and themed days, residentials and drama workshops, and assemblies and concerts; wonderful opportunities for all the children, whatever their talents, to shine and build their confidence.

The year started with a challenging residential at Cobnor, challenging because, thanks to covid, this was the first overnight school trip for many. The children faced their fears of heights or water, and tested their resilience as the wind blew and the spray flew. The children thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and range of activities - canoeing, kayaking, sailing, problem solving, low ropes, and climbing, to name but a few. They supported and encouraged each other throughout the trip, and although tired, they all had a great sense of achievement on the coach home.

Later in the term, they spent an exciting day at Gilbert White Field Study Centre, where they increased

their knowledge of the lifecycle of plants and developed their investigation skills. In the afternoon, they developed their group work skills, by devising hypotheses and analysing the flora using quadrats.

Spring Term had a history twist, with a trip to see the Mary Rose at the historic dockyard in Portsmouth as part of the Tudor topic. The children spent an informative session in the science labs, investigating replica and genuine artifacts from the recovery of the ship. They thought about the practicality of the materials used and whether there would be a modern-day replacement. They were introduced to the wonders of King Henry’s flagship, and toured the museum, topping up their knowledge and understanding for work back in class.

Continuing with our Tudor theme, The Young Shakespeare Company returned and enthralled the children with their rendition of The Tempest. The actors brought the story to life for the children by performing sections of the play, and explaining the characters and plot as they went along. The children were completely absorbed and contributed to key parts

of the play as directed by the cast.

Another welcome return after covid was the Petersfield Music Festival; a wonderful experience, singing alongside other schools with an orchestra, and being part of the local community. The concerts took place over two evenings at The Festival Hall. The children were fantastic ambassadors for the school, performing a selection of songs to raise awareness of important environmental issues of our time. Well done Year 5!

Our assembly highlights have included a presentation by 5R about the solar system, linked to the Y5 book, The Darkest Dark, written by Chris Hadfield, the world-renowned astronaut. 5B have presented an assembly about The Platinum Jubilee in this year of celebration, and celebrated the life of Rosa Parks, the American civil rights campaigner. The children were able to speak with Rosa remotely to ask her about her fascinating life and times. The growth of the children through the year was clear to see, as was their excellent delivery and calm and confident attitude shining out. What a year!

Year 6 have had a wonderful yearchallenging themselves to go further and be better with each passing term. It began with a test of resilience, visiting PGL on the Isle of Wight to participate in some challenging team-building activities. Heights were the order of the day as they scaled huge structures, and were pinged into the air on the giant swing. It certainly pushed some to their limit, but after taking a deep breath, they all overcame their fears to have a truly exhilarating experience.

As the Autumn Term progressed, Year 6 enjoyed finding out about the lives of the Victorians, reflecting on how the lives of children have changed so dramatically over the past 150 years. This included a trip to Milestones Museum, where the children got to experience life in a Victorian school and find out about the amazing mechanical feats of the industrial revolution.

During spring, Year 6 learnt about how to be a good citizen, looking at the UK values of democracy, individual liberty, rule of law, tolerance, and mutual respect of different beliefs and backgrounds. They were led through some basic first aid training by the fabulous Nurse Julia, experienced a virtual tour of the Houses of Parliament, and learnt some water survival skills. This topic culminated in a fantastic trip to London, visiting the Tower of London, as well as Westminster Abbey.

Special mention should be given to MasterChef, which put the children’s teamwork, creativity, and culinary skills to the test. In groups, they chose a recipe, researched and shopped for ingredients on a budget, and completed a workshop on basic food preparation and hygiene. The children blew the teachers away with sizzling steak, spicy fajitas, homemade meatballs, and exotic katsu curry. Needless to say, these were some very impressive dishes created by a team on a tight budget!

As the Spring term drew to the close, Year 6 enjoyed their Swimming Gala, competitively racing each other and having fun earning lots of points for their various houses.

The Summer Term was dominated by some main events: the boy’s football team attending the IFSA National Competition at St George’s Park, the one-week residential to Land and Wave in Bournemouth, the Year 6

end-of-year production, a visit and workshop from author Vashti Hardy, and getting ready for their transition to senior school.

After a fantastic football season, U11s CCJS qualified to attend the IFSA National Tournament at St George’s Park. For many of the boys who had the opportunity, it has become a standout memory of their time at the Junior School, highlighting their resilience, teamwork, and maturity as they travelled to stay overnight and represent the school at a national level. We are all so proud of you!

Year 6 set off on their longest residential, spending five days, four nights away from home at Land and Wave in Bournemouth. Resilience, resourcefulness, responsibility, and teamwork were all key skills needed throughout: hiking in the rain, climbing cliffs and inventive indoor climbing walls, swimming in the sea and balancing together on jumbo paddle boards, lighting

fires, preparing grouse and trout for cooking, and so much more. Nevertheless, the most impressive aspect of the trip had to be the pupils unflagging support and encouragement of each other throughout, looking out for those who felt home-sick, or cheering someone on who did not think they could climb to the top. All of the pupils should be extremely proud of this achievement, and take the confidence they built during the week forward with them.

Throughout the final term, Year 6 were extremely busy practising for their wonderful end of year production - Darwin Rocks! There are some extremely talented actors who performed with confidence in front of their enraptured audiences. The songs had to be a standout part of the production, as the whole year group were on stage singing and dancing.

Well done Year 6 on a hugely successful year, and the best of luck in your new schools!

Junior Music

We have had another busy year in the music department, with lots going on, and lots of which we can be proud. We have had three successful ABRSM sittings, where many children were delighted to receive their certificates, and we have had busy, happy children taking part in the many music clubs that run here at CCJS.

Our usual informal Tea Time concerts have run throughout the year, which are a platform for

everyone to have the opportunity to play a solo to their parents and peers.

On 20 June we held a special edition Tea Time Concert, which saw performances from our Instrumental music clubs. The show opened with a bang, with our Year 6 rock band performing an Oasis number and getting everyone in the mood! We then saw wonderful musical items from Miss Cartwright’s wind groups, Mrs Happel’s guitars, Miss Kimber’s lower string ensemble, and Mr Sykes Jazz Band. Our fantastic CCJS school

Orchestra closed the show with a compelling rendition of ‘Shotgun’. It was lovely to see such a wide range of instruments on display, especially some more endangered instruments such as trombone, oboe, and double bass, which we feel is important to the culture of our music department. Well done everyone!

The highlight of the year was most definitely our Easter Service. On 29 March, CCJS held its first ever Easter Service in St Peter’s Church

in Petersfield, organised because the previous Carol Service had been cancelled due to Covid. We wanted to ensure the children of Year 6 had the opportunity to do their readings and lead a service, as was their rite of passage. The service was a roaring success with some parents even saying they preferred it to the traditional Carol Service!

The children entered in procession to a joyous chorus of ‘Shine Jesus Shine’, led by soloist Cecily

Nanovich-Walker, and the Church was filled with song. What followed was a truly spectacular occasion where the singing of our young children from Big Sing and Chamber Choir really wowed the audience. The Year 6 readers delivered their lines with poise and grace, and Poetry Club also performed, to help create a varied and enriching programme of celebration. We thank Reverend Will Hughes and organist Mark Dancer for helping to make the evening truly special for all.

Junior Sport

What a fantastic year of sport it has been at the Junior School. Whether it be PE, games lessons, clubs and sports fixtures, House Swimming Galas, Sports Day, U7 Festivals, or U11 National Finals, the children have given their all! With Upper School and Middle School match afternoons in full swing, we could not be prouder of our 100% participation stats in competitive sport from U7 to U11.

Returning to school in September to a brand new MUGA surface on the double courts, provided by the Parents’ Association, was a fantastic way to start the year. Not only has the new area been an excellent surface for all sports on offer, it has

also allowed us to continue our drive on hockey with the introduction of full-size hockey goals, and the ability to train and play with goalkeepers.

To further enhance the new match afternoons, this year saw the introduction of the Churcher’s Development Squad (CDS). Not only providing an additional programme of competitive internal matches to boost the inter-school fixtures, but also an opportunity to work on additional areas of sport, such as teamwork and leadership. The CDS has proved hugely successful, although the jury is still out on whether this is because of the activities on offer, or the match tea at the end!

In October, the U11A Football Team competed in the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) regional qualifiers, in the hope of making it through to the National Finals. For the fourth year in a row, Churcher’s came runners up, but with Hampshire being such a big qualifier the decision was made to put two teams through to the finals - we’d made it! Having to wait until March for the finals, the team kept up their training before heading off to St George’s Park and the home of English football. Although Churcher’s didn’t make it out of the group stages, the whole experience was one the team will never forget.

The Summer Term saw cricket take off in a big way, and having found

their feet over the last few years, the girls really showed what they were capable of this year. We are continually working hard to get away from gender stereotyping in sport, and so to see both boys and girls playing cricket together right through the school, including some hardball cricket in years 5 and 6, was fantastic to see.

Finally, finishing off the year in the usual style and bringing the school community together for a whole day of sport, it was the perfect end to the year to, once again, be back to a full Sports Day programme.

Senior School

Vice Captains of College

Flohr, Olivia Knowles, Amy Gaisford and Alex Lambrianou

Collingwood House

Reflecting on this year, it has been a pleasure to see almost a complete return to normality after the disruption of the last couple of years. There has still been the odd casualty of Covid, but seeing the House work hard and compete together has felt like we were returning to PC, or PreCovid. The House has continued to compete and work hard, and while there have been a number of successes such as victory in the House Cricket and House Netball, we have not managed to find overall success in the House Cup. We will need to work hard at this over the next year to return the Palatinate to its rightful place.

Over the last year, the House has been ably led by Matilda Shapland and Sam Hibberd with their House Vice-Captains of Alice Robinson, Kim Monkman, George Feeney, and Jamie Willson. They have been a massive support, and whilst they have not been allowed the opportunity to get around the House as much have normal, they have had a massive impact on the House and its spirit. They and all the departing Upper Sixth will be missed, and the House will not be the same without them in it. You are all amazing and you and the rest of the House have my Seal of Approval.

Ben Seal

Drake House

This academic year has been busy and action-packed, perhaps more so than usual, as we have embraced the end of Covid the restrictions that separated year groups and meant several annual events had to put on hold for the last two years.

One Covid keeper that has very quickly proved to be a huge success, is the move away from one wholeschool Sports Day to five separate Sports Days for the different year groups. With 2D, 3D, 4D, and L6D all winning their respective events, as well as 2D and 4D coming second and first respectively in the House Tennis Competitions, and a whitewash in every swimming gala, winning the Sports Cup on the last day of term was not only unsurprising, but thoroughly deserved. Every pupil in the House has, in some way, played their part in the Sports Cup victory, and whilst it was Sandy, one of next year’s House Captains, who lifted the cup in the final assembly of the year, it’s most definitely a cup that belongs to everyone in the House.

Of course, my job is made so much easier by the fantastic support of my Form Tutors, as well as the House Captains and Vice Captains who have also played their part this year, gamely taking House Assemblies, organising

teams (with some considerable cajoling of certain individuals), and stepping up to the plate themselves across the House competitions. Beth Lewis and Mattie Wagstaff have led a dedicated team of Vice Captains made up of Holly Humberstone, Adie Matson, Henry Plewes, Kai Jackson, and Matthew Hodges. It is not only in the Sixth Form that these individuals have impressed; their commitment to the House for the last seven years has been second-to-none, and they are going to be sorely missed next year.

As I move onto a new role and reflect on my 17 years as Head of Drake, many things have changed at Churcher’s, not least the number of grey hairs on my head and the number of wrinkles on my forehead. But what hasn’t changed is the spirit of Drake, the friendliness and havea-go-attitude, and the enthusiasm, commitment, and competitive nature of the pupils. Being a Head of House is, unquestionably, a busy job, but it’s also a really satisfying and rewarding role - one that has enabled me to see a huge number of pupils through their seven years at the school, and enjoy the way in which they change and mature from rather timid First Years to confident, eloquent and wellrounded 18-year-olds. I feel privileged to have played a small part in the life of so many Churcher’s students.

Leaving Drake behind will most

definitely be a wrench, but I leave you in the capable hands of Mr Daniel, and will certainly be rooting for Team Drake from the sidelines.

Suzanne Herrington

Grenville House

In the words of Aristotle, “Quality is not an act, it is a habit”, and it would appear to be a habit that the Grenville pupils have adopted, showing true quality throughout the year, starting strongly and maintaining an impressive pace throughout! This saw them excel in the termly ‘Attitude to Learning’ totals in the classroom, with 3G being the Best Form in School, as well as winning many of the sports trophies (especially the Grenville girls) – so many, in fact, that it was difficult for me to think of the best way to collate their myriad successes! No matter – a huge well done for winning the following sports trophies:

Hockey, both girls and boys in Second, Third, and Fourth Years (helping us win the overall Hockey Cup); Second and Fourth Year Netball; First and Second Year Girls’ Swim Gala; Girls’ Cricket; and the overall Tennis Cup. With the help of 2G and 4G both winning their respective House Quizzes, Grenville were joint winners of the overall

House Quiz Cup (tied with Rodney). This meant Team Grenville had a clean sweep of the major trophies (the Academic Cup and the Sports Cup), which saw them retain the overall House Cup at the end of the year.

I am delighted with the Herculean efforts and enthusiasm that Grenville pupils show, whether it be with their studies in the classroom, in their extra-curricular pursuits, or with the trips we go on. Grenville pupils are always so willing to take that step forward when asked to participate, and I truly appreciate this wonderful spirit within the House. This ethos of working hard, putting yourself forward, and then enjoying the outcome - no matter if it is winning, coming last, or somewhere in between - has been modelled by those in the upper years, so a big thank you to all of them! The departing Upper Sixth have been great Grenville ambassadors, so thanks also to the House Captains (Amy, Ben, and Holly) and all the others that have gone the extra mile for Grenville.

Outside of daily routines, Grenville pupils have welcomed the chances to let their hair down with their form mates. Whether it be the outdoor games evening, laser quest, the boardgames evening, exit puzzle rooms in Portsmouth, or scaling the high ropes at Wild Wood, there

has been much fun and laughter throughout the year.

Jon Seaton Nelson House

My second year as Head of Nelson House has seen the welcome of restoration of normality. Nelsonians new and old have competed in the pool, on the sports field, and in the classroom, as well as supporting each other and our chosen charities, to the very best of their abilities. Calshot, as always, provided an early opportunity for our newest intake to enter into the Churcher’s spirit and get to know their new Housemates. They worked together fabulously as a House to support our Dogathlon and raise almost £1,000 for the Pets As Therapy charity, with major fundraising efforts from Maisie Bowman (1N), Theo Murdoch (2N), and Fred Hughes and Marna Stirling (3N).

Although Covid still lingered, we managed a flurry of House trips, combining with Rodney for a Rodson ice-skating outing, although sadly the Sixth Form curry night had to be cancelled. Our pupils knuckled down to the 300 pennies challenge in the Spring Term, and House sporting competitions culminated in the Summer Term with great participation at Sports Day, where there was notable

success for 1N in the tennis - special mention goes to 4N’s prize-winning Poppy Kilpatrick and Luke Wilkinson.

In her final hurrah as Assistant Head of House, Mrs Daniel, henceforth known as ‘Little Mrs D’, launched our very own Nelson Taskmaster, in honour of our combined love of the TV show where celebrities compete and complete a series of random and utterly pointless tasks. This year, the Nelson tutor groups have staged Christmas tableaus, recorded videos for aliens, and, in the final ‘live’ task, made a member of their form appear MUCH bigger. We told you it was pointless. Up for grabs was the coveted Taskmaster trophy, a golden Mr Harris: Nelson Taskmaster himself. In a closely fought contest, 1N and 3N were the frontrunners throughout the year, despite Benji Hutchinson’s best efforts (best forgotten now) for the Sixth Form. In the end though, it was 3N who lifted the golden bonce and won the 2022 Taskmaster Competition.

Jeremy Harris Rodney House

As September approached, there were many unanswered questions going through my mind. Would we remain open for the full year? What

adjustments would we have to make to keep Covid at bay? And what impact would the new normal have on the year to come? Now that I look back, what is evident, is that despite the small numbers of pupils self-isolating at home, school life was very normal. Rodney pupils were happy to be back at school with face-to-face contact, assemblies, concerts, and stage performances. Ski trips, and both the First and World Challenges took place, as did D of E and DW. It was great to see so many Rodney pupils involved in these activities and I am glad that they were able to catch up on some missed activities, which had been cancelled over the lock downs.

It was great to be able to welcome the new 1R intake to a social event in the last week of the summer holidays. Their enthusiasm and energy were evident from the outset and they continued to demonstrate their determination to take full advantage of being back at school throughout the year. The Autumn Term saw Calshot, Bowling trips, a combined BBQ and Swim, and a whole House trip to ice skate in Portsmouth’s Guild Hall square.

Having come second in last year’s House Cup, I had hoped we could have gone one better this year, but unfortunately, we did not manage that

this time. We did, however, manage to narrow the margin and came a very close second to Grenville. This was testimony to the effort and enthusiasm of the members of Rodney House.

Rodney boys won the rugby with three first places, and also won the overall swimming competition, whilst the girls came second in netball and also came second in the swimming galas.

Rodney also came equal top of the House Quizzes. It was great to see we were once again at the top of the quiz table, but Rodney’s performance in the pool this year is worthy of a special mention. While there were some outstanding individual contributions, it was the combined efforts of all that produced the final points.

I would like to thank all the Rodney staff, and Zac and Avril, our House Captains, for their help and support throughout the year. Let’s hope that next year is even more successful!

John Yugin-Power

Sixth Form

After the last two disrupted years, it was lovely to welcome the Sixth Form to Ramshill this year, in particular, the new Lower Sixth, our biggest year ever. The Upper Sixth returned to the toughest term of their school life, where the workload increases at the same time as UCAS applications need completing. The role of the Personal Tutors is central to ensuring the students’ university applications are as good as they can be, and I must thank them for their hard work on behalf of the students. The hard work paid off with some excellent university offers in an extremely competitive year, and despite the forecast that results would be down after the last wo years of CAGs and TAGs, the students achieved our best results ever - a phenomenal achievement. The students were fully deserving of their outstanding results, and I wish them every success for the future.

The new social space in Ramshill proved to be a big hit, with more toast than ever being served at break time. The new MUGA also came into its own, with football, volleyball, and cricket taking place, as well as the usual dodgeball tournaments organised by the committee; the most recent one was won by the team dressed as dinosaurs.

The students worked as hard as ever, impressing us all with their wide range of interests and the extent of

their endeavour. It’s a truism to say that busy students often achieve better, and it is always amazing to see how well the students juggle their many commitments. It was great to see many of them take opportunities to attend talks and lectures, including those given by high profile speakers

such as Vince Cable and Floella Benjamin. It’s these extra things beyond the classroom that are so important in making competitive applications to university, as well as being valuable in their own right.

Bill Baker

Fifth Year

This academic year has flown by for the Fifth Year. Their resilience, hard work, and determination to succeed is even more impressive given the previous two years of disruption they experienced as a result of Covid. This year group have excelled through the various challenges that the GCSE year poses, and they should all be very proud of their achievements.

Despite the additional stress that the exam year poses, our pupils have not let this affect their devotion to extracurricular activities! On stage, many participated as actors,

musicians, or technical crew in the Senior Production ‘1722: The Musical’. Our musicians and singers also performed beautifully at the Christmas Carol Service, and wowed audiences at Senior Cabaret in the Spring. On the sports fields, the Fifth Year have continued to be model Churcherians in their success and sporting attitude. This year group has been particularly successful on the hockey pitch, with several players being selected for Performance Centre and playing for their club teams at the National Tier 2 Championship. The girls have done Mrs Higgins proud

with their ferocious play during the netball season, and the U16 7s rugby squad won the Hampshire Rugby 7s Plate during the Spring Term; a fantastic end to the season.

A return to a more normal school year has enabled the resumption of trips. Students celebrated the end of their mock exams in January with a bowling trip, topped off by a very generous supply of cupcakes in honour of a birthday. A highlight of the year has to be the giant ‘final football match’ of the year between 50 or so of the Fifth Year boys, watched with fascination

by all the younger year groups! In a change to the normal routine, pupils voted to celebrate their official last day of school with a trip to Thorpe Park after enjoying a full English breakfast at school. Both pupils and staff made the most of it being a less busy day to visit by cramming in as many rides as possible.

We have been hugely impressed with the dedication and hard work from the Committee volunteers this year. They have ensured that all the year groups were represented and had their voice heard, with regards

to all the activities and support put in place. They have also improved the comfort and aesthetics of the Pavilion, by designing a special neon sign and ordering eight ‘FatBoy’ beanbags, which pupils have been able to use both inside and outside the Pavilion to relax on during breaks and lunchtimes. A special thank you must also go to the Committee and Prom set-up volunteers, who helped to ensure that the Prom at Lythe Hill Hotel was a huge success. It was fantastic to see all of you dressed so smartly and enjoying spending one final evening as a year group. Most

of you were surprisingly good at trying your luck on the casino tables, and it was also great to see the majority of you take to the dance floor at the end of the evening.

Congratulations to all for getting through a tough academic year and doing so with such aplomb. We very much look forward to seeing your success continue as you head into the Sixth Form and beyond.

Ben Skirving

Art & Design

Creativity doesn’t always just happen in the timetable. Since September, the Art Department has been busy trying to give students the opportunity to express themselves and experience new skills in many ways, during lunchtimes, after school, and through whole-school competitions. For example, many pupils have wanted to join the Pottery Club on Wednesday, Drawing Club on Tuesday, or attend an architecture lecture during Tuesday lunchtimes. These are just a few of the opportunities pupils have had to either extend their understanding of art or just to have fun with friends. Many of us in lockdown relied on art to give us a moment of escape and tranquillity, often finding ways to express ourselves, or explore and record our experiences.

The pupils in the Art Department have clearly enjoyed being back at school and are once again thriving together in a creative hub of production. The lower school classes have explored painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and using digital media. The Third Years were introduced to a more textiles-based sculpture project, which experimented visually with the challenges asylum seekers face whilst travelling to a safe place. This culminated in a wonderful trip to West Wittering beach to install the temporary art work. A number of different year groups were also able

to extend their experience of art in a live context by visiting The Pallant Gallery, Newlands House Gallery, Chichester Cathedral, Petworth House, and the Petersfield Museum.

At GCSE, students explored a number of diverse issues that society currently seems to be facing. Notably, these explorations include: Louisa Moor and her immersive paintings; Beth Thorpe’s outstanding painting on feeling constrained; Thea Swarbrick’s painting that questions how society perceives beauty; and Nieve Carson’s animation that explores how women don’t always feel safe. There are just too many examples to mention.

A highlight of the year was being able to host guests, once again, for the exceptional showcase of both GCSE and A-Level work.

The success of the Upper Sixth is shown within the depth of the students’ personal portfolios and the concepts that have been explored: moving sculptures of physical form by Mara James; paintings on deconstructed canvases by Souki Faulkner; and exceptional drawings by Sophie König, Katharine Leyshon, and Lucy Steiner, to name but a few. We now have successful university progression routes gained, studying fashion styling and promotion, architecture, fine art, contour fashion, and more.

Tim Strange

English

It is only fitting to begin this year’s English Department round-up with a tribute to Dr David Cave, Head of Department for 24 years. Having sadly passed away at the start of the school year following his retirement, the department put on a ‘poetry and prose’ evening, with pupils and staff reading and reciting nature-themed works of literature, such as W.H. Davies’s ‘Leisure’. It was a beautiful evening, and a fitting celebration for Dr Cave’s legacy.

No longer in the thick of Covid and lockdowns, it was an absolute joy to return to the lively and vibrant, extracurricular programme the English Department has always run, including the likes of the Book Club, Literacy Club, Oxbridge English, English Speaking Union, competitions, and LitSoc events. The Autumn Term saw a Gothic themed LitSoc event for Sixth Formers, to complement their study of Gothic literature. Joined by author Nick Johnston-Jones, the students

delivered dramatic readings of famous Gothic texts, had the opportunity to ask questions about his writing, and undertook a series of gothic-inspired literary quizzes and activities. The younger years, meanwhile, delighted in Mrs Daniel’s ‘Haunted Library’ event, with some pupils loving it so much they sneaked in for a second go!

The Autumn Term, into the Spring Term, also saw the English Speaking Union competition take place. Our teams did remarkably well, and Team 2 even made it to the Regional Final, held here at Churcher’s College. A huge well done to our ESU team on their amazing achievements!

Later in the Spring Term, the Fourth Year were visited by a theatre company who performed Macbeth, one of their coursework texts, providing a starting point for excellent class discussion and debate. A few weeks later, it was World Book Day – as well as a big celebration in the library,

form groups also got involved through a ‘decorate your door’ competition, in which pupils competed to create the best literary representation on their form room doors. Most creative, was 1D with ‘The Northern Lights’; cleverest, was 3R with ‘Where’s Wally’; most visually appealing, was 1N with ‘the Explorer’; and closest link to classroom subject, was 2R with ‘The Life of Pi’.

In the Summer Term, a group of Sixth Form students attended a production of ‘The Bloody Chamber’, one of their set texts. Two of our A Level students were selected to attend a prestigious taster day at St. John’s College, Oxford. Finally, the year was topped off by finding that Churcher’s College had been selected for the runner up award in the Young Writers’ creative writing competition, and had won an enormous pile of books for the school library! Congratulations to all!

Charlotte Unsworth-Hughes

Mathematics

It has been a fantastic year in the Mathematics Department – our first full year in the new Goodfield Building. This building, with its modern architecture, inspired us to try and create a challenging mathematical sculpture.

Our research into mathematical sculptures, for ideas and inspiration, eventually led us to a mathematician called George Hart. He has published more than 60 academic articles and his geometric sculptures are recognized for their mathematical depth and creative use of materials. They can be seen at locations around the world, including MIT, U.C. Berkeley, and Princeton University. We contacted George directly for permission to make one of his sculptures, called ‘Ambagesque’, from the Latin word for ‘tangle’. Initially, it appears like a confusing tangle, hence its name, however, the shape actually consists of 60 copies of a single flat shape. The shape is carefully designed to exactly meet with itself in many ways. Each part connects to other parts in six places, so it is highly interconnected and rigid. The structure has icosahedral symmetry, with 2-fold, 3-fold, and 5-fold rotational axes.

The study of platonic shapes has fascinated philosophers and mathematicians for centuries. The study of the possible sets of symmetries is what mathematicians call group theory. The Lower Sixth had to work as a team over several hours thinking about the symmetry, in order to construct this very modern and eye-catching sculpture, which now has pride of place in the Mathematics Department in the Goodfield Centre.

Further examples of pupils creating art using straight lines are also now displayed around the Maths Department. As well as enjoying some time to be creative with Maths, many students have taken part in the all the UKMT Maths Challenges again this year and have been very successful once again. In the Intermediate Maths Challenge alone we had 10 pupils who qualified for kangaroos and Evan Cockworth-Jones qualified for the Olympiad.

It has been a fantastic year and I look forward to see what 2022-23 will bring!

Tracey Greenaway

Humanities

A Business Purpose: Necessity or Nonsense?

By Tom Hall

Business

Twenty-two Upper Sixth Formers took our Business A Level this year. Despite a disrupted Lower Sixth year, the students rose to the challenge of revision, exam technique, and hard work. For the first time, we also had a cohort of Fifth Years taking the Business GCSE exam. These 12 students worked with enthusiasm, showing a keen interest in the world of business throughout the year.

Thankfully, we were able to restart our Business CCALS speaker programme this year, with Martin Perry, Senior Trader at Bartholomews, joining us in November to talk about about trading in agricultural commodities. We also welcomed Tom Hall, Managing Director of Alitex, to discuss the importance of values, mission, and vision in business when he spoke in September.

As ever, a number of our Upper Sixth Formers intend to continue their study of Business at university. Whatever they choose to do next, they leave us with our very best wishes for the future.

Rick West

Trading in Commodities

Martin

Classics

The Classics Department celebrated the new year by moving into our new classrooms and office in Goodfield, with two fantastic rooms for teaching Latin, Classical Civilisation, and Ancient History. In the classroom we have introduced a new Second Year Latin course, De Romanis, giving pupils a flavour of Greek and Roman life as well as building their proficiency and confidence with the language. In the Third Year, the popular Classical Civilisation course has introduced new topics on Myth and the gods. Numbers have remained high for both Latin and Classical Civilisation at GCSE, with two sets of Classical Civilisation and one of Latin.

In the Sixth Form, our A Level courses have also enjoyed an enthusiastic following, with four Latinists and eight Ancient Historians in the current Lower Sixth. As well as attending an excellent lecture on Augustus and Aeneas by Dr Tristan Franklinos from Oxford University in March, they are all joining the department for our Greece tour next October.

Ms Elson and Mr Gibbins have taken a committed group of Fourth and Fifth Years through an Ancient Greek language course after school throughout the year, leading to an exam in May - the new Intermediate Certificate in Greek Language. It is great to see some of the pupils taking up GCSE Greek next year as a result.

In June, our Fourth Year Latin and Classical Civilisation pupils took part in a trip to the British Museum, examining many of the artefacts that they have studied over the year. They then enjoyed the annual King’s College Greek play, the Plague at Thebes - a dynamic reworking of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos and Antigone.

Jon Hegan Economics

As the influential US Economist, Ezra Soloman, once said, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” We are living in extraordinary times. Twelve months ago, who would have predicted a cost-of-living crisis with

inflation reaching a 40-year high?

Who could have foreseen a war on European soil with reconstruction costs estimated to be upward of $750bn? In recent weeks, we have also witnessed 50 Conservative MP’s resigning in the space of 48 hours, and been saddened by the tragic and senseless death of the former Japanese leader, Shinzo Abe, whose economic legacy is defined by his namesake strategy, ‘Abenomics’. Never before has there been a more pertinent time to be studying this discipline. Future generations need to be equipped with the skills to confront global issues, to be analytical and evaluative, to think creatively and conceptually, and to be strong-minded and solution-focused.

At Churcher’s, the students stay abreast of all the latest developments across the global economy through their subscriptions to the Financial Times and the Economics Today journal. With a strong interest in society and values, they are wellversed in current affairs. They revel in academic debate, where views are expressed in an eloquent and persuasive manner. Despite the challenges and disruptions of the

pandemic, the students’ impressive commitment and passion for Economics is unrelenting.

The Economics Department has undergone a period of transition in recent times, with the departure of Martin Hill, the Head of Department, and the arrival of myself and Karen Naylor, however, there is plenty to look forward to on the horizon. I would like to congratulate Alice Wadley Stroud, Joe McLarnon, Frank Hodges, and Ollie Bowen on their recent appointments as Economics prefects. The standard of applications was exceptionally high and we look forward to working closely with them next year to improve the department.

Steve Huckle

Geography

ADespite covid, our GCSE and A Level exam cohorts have both been able to complete their respective specifications in full, and benefitted from the narrower revision focus. After two years of disruption, it has been wonderful to get back to unmasked, face-to-face teaching

in the classroom, and fieldwork in the real world, free from groupsize restrictions, social-distancing, and PPE.

This year’s fieldwork has included two trips to Highcliffe, with the Fifth Year visiting in September, postponed from last summer, and the Fourth Year visiting in June. The sun shone on both occasions, and the pupils were able to collect primary data on the causes and impacts of the contrasting coastal management strategies at Highcliffe Town and the adjoining holiday park at Naish Farm. The Second Years were also able to travel to sunny West Dorset to explore the roles of geology and erosional processes in the sequence of landform development at Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.

In June, 22 Lower Sixth geographers returned to the Field Study Council’s centre at Nettlecombe Court in Somerset. In three and a half days of gloriously sunny weather, the students were able to investigate beach morphology in Porlock Bay, appraise contrasting places at the villages of Exford and Dunster, and assess the

impact of coastal management at Minehead. The purpose of the trip was for the students to practise fieldwork data-collection, presentation and analysis techniques in a variety of environments, and to help them choose a focus for their own NEA titles once back in Petersfield. This year’s Upper Sixth NEA submissions comprised a real breadth of foci and locations, ranging from groyne effectiveness on the Isle of Wight, to the impact of wave energy on beach profiles in Cornwall, and differences in place perception by age in Hambledon. The best investigation was judged to be Adie Matson’s assessment of the extent to which, the presence of national multiple stores along the High Street rendered Chichester a “clone town”.

The sun-soaked fieldwork year ended with the First Years investigating biogeography at Marwell Zoo, exploring the Tropical Rainforest and Savanna Grassland biomes, and conducting individual investigations into species adaptations to habitat in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

We were delighted to welcome Sacha Neill of Coastal Partners in October

2021 to deliver an online lecture on coastal management at Hurst Spit.

Aimed at GCSE and A Level students, Sasha’s excellent presentation covered coastal processes, and monitoring, management, and funding for this geomorphologically and culturally significant landform.

With COP 26 in Glasgow, floods and heatwaves across the globe,

conflict in Ukraine, a hotly debated UK migration policy, a volcanic eruption in Tonga, and an earthquake in Afghanistan, geography has been prominent in the news throughout the year. This has catalysed some heated discussion in the classroom and, reportedly, over quite a few family dining tables!

David Nighy

History

The Eurostar to Paris, the train up to the Cabinet war rooms, coach trips to Hampton Court, The Tower of London, and Suffolk ‘trenches’, as well as a multitude of live lectures: it’s good to be back to the norm! We have had a fantastic year getting back into our stride.

Paris with the Sixth Form

There was a sense of euphoria as we stepped into the Gard du Nord and headed for two days of “living history lessons”, as one student put it. Seeing the Palace of Versailles, and following in the steps of the revolutionaries in Paris with the indomitable Mr McLearie as our guide, was both amusing and enjoyable.

The Houses of Parliament and the War rooms with our Upper Sixth

We had a fantastic day exploring the underground bunkers where Churchill led the strategic war effort, and then had a highly informative tour around the Houses of Parliament, which included seeing the Commons in action and chatting to our local MP.

The ‘Trench experience’ with the Third Years

We headed to Suffolk where pupils

tried on military uniforms, toured WW1 graves, and went into trenches had been used in film sets, replete with barbed wire, shell holes etc…

The Tower of London and the Docklands Museum with the Second Years

We were treated to a Norman or Elizabethan workshop, and then toured the Docklands Museum to see the slavery galleries and focus on the Transatlantic trade.

Hampton Court Palace with the First Years

We had a fun-filled day touring the Tudor palace and being enlightened by experts about the Tudor religious rollercoaster and life at the Tudor court. The maze also proved to be a fun diversion.

We have also had some excellent CCALS lectures which have consolidated class work:

• From hope to terror: the French revolutionary rollercoaster, 1789-94, Prof David Andress

• Mrs Thatcher and me, Tim Flesher: Private secretary between 1982-86

• Holocaust Memorial Day: HET lecture to all the Fourth Years

• The inexorable rise of Napoleon, Prof William Doyle

Once again, the Third Years produced some magnificent pieces of art work and poetry, for our annual World War 1 competition.

To enrich our students’ knowledge, enthusiasm, and curiosity of many things historical has been a real delight, and one which the History Department has relished. We are busily plotting more enriching experiences for next year…

Helen Jolliffe

Politics

How wonderful to return to a sense of normality this year, with students able to enjoy the usual smorgasbord of trips and lectures in the flesh. It was wonderful for the Upper Sixth to make it to Westminster to see the Houses of Parliament, Supreme Court, and to meet Damian Hinds MP, as well as take in the newly refurbished Big Ben.

Undoubtedly, the standout moment of the year was the headline guest lecture from Sir Vince Cable, the former Liberal Democrat leader and cabinet minister. The department has been extremely lucky to welcome some high-profile speakers in recent years, but Sir Vince certainly represents a major coup. The lecture, entitled ‘Money and Power’, covered the influence of famous politicians on economics, and how their policies reflected the work of major economic figures. To close, Sir Vince took a range of questions from students and audience members and was happy to spar with those of all political persuasion. Sir Vince also graciously agreed to meet with Sixth Form Politics students prior to the talk, to pass on his advice, experiences, and thoughts about the current political landscape, and even how some might pursue their own dreams of standing at the ballot box. It was a fantastic evening and the students did the department proud. The event, in conjunction with One Tree Books, who organised a book signing afterwards, was able to raise a substantial sum for the charity Off

the Record, a young people’s mental health charity in Twickenham, as well as sending Sir Vince on his way with a bottle of Churcher’s own tercentenary fizz.

OC, Lt Col Chris Parker, kindly returned to give the students his thoughts on the state on global politics from a military perspective, as well as touching on the political challenges faced in combat zones and the human cost of the elites’ political machinations. We also shared a fantastic lecture with the History department, ‘Mrs Thatcher and Me’, by Tim Flesher, who served as private secretary to Margaret Thatcher. Tim discussed the challenges of prepping for PMQs and what it was like to go for dinner with the Iron Lady!

A new venture for the department this year, saw our first group of students enter the John Locke Essay

Competition - an international essaywriting competition organized by Oxford and Princeton Universities. Of the five Churcherians who entered, we were thrilled to find that two of our students were shortlisted in their category for the top prize; Adam Smith for his essay on political donations and party funding, and James Restell for his piece on the Metaverse. Both essays were chosen from over 7,000 submissions and they have been invited to attend gala dinners in Oxford where the winning essays will be announced. An outstanding achievement!

In the annual Great Debate assembly, Lower Sixth students devise a title and select speakers to perform a public debate to the Third and Fourth Years, before inviting them to have their say at the ballot box. This year’s title was, ‘The United Kingdom should introduce an elected President

as Head of State’. Sophie Knowles and Luke Watson made passionate cases for introducing an elected President, focusing heavily on their perceived failings of Boris Johnson’s government, whilst Adam Smith and Lizzie Scrutton provided a compelling case for keeping both a Prime Minister and Monarch. Ultimately, Adam and Lizzie’s case won the day, with 67% to 33% in favour of retaining the current system. With news that Boris Johnson was to step down following only days afterwards, we hope that the students will continue to display such exceptional powers of prescience and foresight in the coming year.

Patrick Cheshire Psychology

This year, we welcomed Amanda Bridger into the department, and whilst we can’t really call ourselves the ‘new kids on the block’ anymore, we can continue to boast about how popular we are! That there are now 10 sets across the Sixth Form is just one indicator of the rude good health of Psychology at Churcher’s College. Psychology is also enjoying a popularity boom across the country, with students recognising its value as a discipline that goes well with most other subjects.

Our students have been fantastic. Engaged and hardworking, they have prepared themselves well for the exam hall (something we haven’t done in a while), with some super days around school collecting data on helping

behaviour and social media use. It was great to see our young psychologists out and about collecting data and interacting with their participants. For many, we know it will be the start of a long journey of research, especially if they’ve made the decision to read Psychology at university.

Many of our students have also become published authors in the ATP Psychology magazine, on topics from phobias to the mind of psychopaths. The drive our students demonstrate to get up and write is indicative of the fabulous students we have in our department, and they are the reason for our continued success.

Gary Glasspool

Religion & Philosophy

For years, the R&P Department has been the pillar of stability in terms of staff. Mr Baker, Mr Lofthouse, and Mr Ostersen have made up the core for the last 10 years. This year, however, something new happened - we gained

Mrs Wilson. She has joined us from Horndean Technology College and we have welcomed all her new ideas, resources, and enthusiasm.

In addition to the change in staff, we added a new trip to our curriculum: a tour around the churches of Petersfield for our Fourth Year GCSE class. It was the brainchild of Mr Lofthouse, which meant the trip included a scheduled stop in Café Nero. We had a great time discussing the moral issues of the day with the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, and then ended up at St. Peter’s Church. At the end of the trip, Mr Baker gave us a guided tour of Petersfield cemetery and we finally all got to see where Sir Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars) is buried.

This year’s A-Level leavers chose the Sermon of the Mount as their leaving picture. We are looking forward to next year where we once again will be enjoying two Lower Sixth classes.

Tony Ostersen

Modern Foreign Languages

French

What a fantastic feeling to have had a “near-normal” academic year! Except for our trips abroad, which had to be postponed, we were able to have a schooling experience as we have always known them here at Churcher’s - full of excitement, with lots to learn and experience. We even managed to sneak in the odd “boules” or “pétanque” competition at lunch time! There have been some amazing essays from our Sixth Formers, as well as some impressive written paragraphs from our Fifth Years, and I am delighted to be able to say that quite a few of them have decided to pursue French at A Level. Lisa, our French assistant, worked tirelessly to make them feel confident in holding varied discussions in French, using a plethora of idiomatic expressions. We said “au revoir” to her last May, and look forward to welcoming Thomas, our new assistant, for the next academic year.

Our year finished in style during Open Day, with amazing-looking cakes entered for our International Bake Off competition, as well as our buzzing Continental Café, for which the Languages Department, our Lower Sixth students, and many Second Year pupils worked very hard indeed. It was a real success and showcased the Department at its best.

We are saying a huge heart felt “merci” to Madame Shaw, who after nine years of leading the Modern Languages Department with panache and total dedication, has decided to remain very much a key Languages teacher with us, but spend more quality time with her family. Madame Shaw’s leadership is a hard act to follow, and I am very much looking forward to stepping up to the challenge of being Head of Faculty.

Nicole Sparks

German

The German Department had a very successful year, focusing on combining language learning with the all-important cultural aspects, which are part of learning a foreign language. More than ever, we were determined to engage our students with German culture due to the fact that the regular exchange to Warendorf and the Christmas Market trip to Cologne remained on hold due to covid restrictions.

Our enthusiastic Language Assistant, Norman, ran the Oxford-German Olympiad for students from the Second to Fourth Year, and the UKGerman Connection project for Third Year students of German. The topic of the Oxford-German Olympiad was Der Rhein. Tasks included drawing or painting a picture of creatures that live in and by the Rhine, and writing a short text describing them for our younger participants. Our

Fourth Year students chose to draw and write a story inspired by the Nibelung treasure, and one of the Third Year groups created a website about the historical importance of the Rhine. We were very proud of Laetitia Nickols, Abigail Harrison, Jessie Lofthouse, and Cecily Morrogh when their work was announced as being highly commended by the OxfordGerman Olympiad. The UK-German Connection project consisted of a cultural exchange, where students from a school in Augsburg and our Third Year students exchanged information about their schools, their towns, and their favourite songs and festivals via a live and colourful padlet board.

We celebrated St. Nikolaustag on 6 December with our First Years, where they merrily sang the song Lasst uns froh und munter sein. They were excited to receive delicious German biscuits, Lebkuchen, and chocolates in their shoes just like German children do on

the morning of St. Nikolaustag. Our Second and Third Year students were able to go on a virtual trip to Berlin and Munich, finding out information about these places and experiencing life in both cities. We were delighted with the way our students were able to experience German culture as closely as possible during the year, however, we cannot wait to go on the exchange to Warendorf, and the Christmas Market trip to Cologne in person again.

Ariane Broomfield

Spanish

Looking back on another year in the Spanish Department, it never ceases to amaze all of us, as language teachers, just how much our students accomplish both in and out of the classroom. The First Years starting Spanish were fully engaged in songs and games, sorely missed the year

before. The Second Years were confident, and many eagerly signed up for the trip to Barcelona in October 2022 to experience the cultural sights and Catalan gastronomy.

It was with enthusiasm, that we welcomed back the Onatti theatre to perform their fun Spanish play for the Third Years. The Upper Sixth, were equally able to enjoy a performance of La Casa de Bernarda Alba, by the Cervantes Theatre. With lots of trips and activities completed or on the horizon, it is fantastic and rewarding to see our linguists actively involved in their language learning. As a teacher who went on the World Challenge trip to Peru and Bolivia this summer, I was very proud of our young GCSE and A Level students, whom I witnessed really using their Spanish skills and communicating with the local communities, conversing with confidence and spontaneity.

Anna-Maria Giffin

Science

Biology

Finally, a full three terms in school meant that our pupils conducted the full range of laboratory work and experiments! From investigations of brine shrimp behaviour with the First Years, to genetic modification of bacteria using fluorescent genes in the Upper Sixth, we have all thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the swing of proper Biology practical work after the disruption wrought by the lockdowns of the last two years.

The Sixth Form residential trip to Slapton Ley in South Devon was a highlight. In sunny weather over the May half term, they honed their sampling and statistics skills studying ecological energetics, biodiversity, and zonation. We also found time for mammal trapping, in which we secured a beautiful field mouse, and identification of native moths from the overnight light trap. A particular highlight was the evening bat walk, where we were lucky to see the emergence of a large number of horseshoe bats from a roost in the village. Another day for the Sixth Form at the beach in West Wittering, conducting their Required Practical on sand dune succession, gave a jolly end to a successful year.

Mandy Westwood

Chemistry

It has been great to get back to some normality this year, and to plan practical work in person again, although the pupils have proved to be very adaptable over the last two years. Our Upper Sixth students have needed to work particularly hard this year, as they were the year group who not only had their GCSE exams cancelled, but also missed the consolidation that goes with preparing for external exams. To their credit, they have overcome the difficulties caused by this, and achieved an outstanding set of results.

Although the Chemistry Olympiad competition is aimed at the most able Upper Sixth students, a significant number of Lower Sixth students asked to enter this year, following the trend started last year. In all, more than 20 students opted to take the exam, and they continued the success of the last few years. Our two Gold Certificate winners, Ellie Houghton and Emily Killing, were placed in the top 771 students in the country, while our seven Silver Certificate winners (including two Lower Sixth) were placed in the top 30%.

A further 14 students, 11 of whom were Lower Sixth, were awarded a Bronze Certificate. Congratulations go to all of the students - these are significant achievements.

Cosmetics Club continues to be very popular. Mr Chen and Mrs Dannatt were helped in running activities by Sixth Former Arwen Jones and Fifth Year Ben Dakin. They not only helped during the sessions, but also trialled new techniques and products. An extra burst of production in the Summer Term, led by former members of the Club, enabled them to have enough products to be able to stock a stand on Open Day, as well as offer visitors the chance to make their own bath bombs.

Chemsoc has continued to thrive under the guidance of Mr Chen on a Wednesday lunchtime, intended to provide the Sixth Form with a forum to investigate, present, and discuss chemistry ideas beyond the scope of the A-Level course. Students presented and discussed topics ranging from the chemistry of poisons, to the chemistry of painkillers, and the structure of glass. Tom Bowling did an excellent job as chairperson, helping to organise the sessions and widening the membership. The enthusiasm of the students was delightful to see.

In the Spring Term, the Second Year Academy group learnt about gunpowder and other explosives. Pupils were able to investigate aspects of explosives such as the role of

oxidising agents, the difference between substances burning and exploding, and the difference in power output when the same fuel burns or detonates. Sadly, they were not able to make their own fireworks for obvious safety reasons! Despite this, the sessions were a very popular part of the Academy programme and we look forward to running them again.

David Dunster Physics

It was a welcome return to the classroom for the Physics Department this year, bringing an end to the fun of practical experiments in students’ kitchens!

While our in-school studies have returned to normality, it has been outside the classroom that we have found some of the highlights of the year. In the SATRO challenge, our team were regional heat winners, and indeed were awarded the highest regional heat score across the UK, ending up with a very respectable fifth place in the final. The challenge had involved the construction of a device to roll a marble down a ramp in exactly 10 seconds.

The British Physics Olympiad is an annual test of the calibre of the

Churcher’s Physics students. And again, this year we can be proud, with 10 bronze awards placing those students in the top third in the country, and six students achieving Silver (top 16%). Congratulations to our departing Physicists Isabelle Whittle, George Feeney, James Medley, Oliver Fogelin, James Hill, and Emily Killing.

No academic year in the Physics Department feels complete without the rite of passage that is a visit to the Planetarium. We had two occasions to be wowed by the majesty of the Solar System as both First and Third Years took advantage of the end of restrictions.

Our Physics Society lectures (FizzSoc) continued on a Monday lunchtime, and comprised of a series of student and teacher led lectures, covering a range of different topics from colour centres to the Apollo Space missions. Our own OC, Harry Payne, returned to share his PhD studies in materials science at Imperial. In total, we held some 20 lectures this year.

A new venture for the department has been the launch of the Schrödinger Projects for the Fifth Form. This is a six-week programme to help inspire, encourage, and develop skills for independent science projects, which

will provide a foundation to build upon in the Sixth Form. At the core of the programme was a five-week project chosen by the students, for example, investigating the underlying physics behind earthquake resistant buildings or bike suspension. There were also opportunities to attend talks and take part in other enrichment activities to support and extend the GCSE Physics curriculum. We were delighted that almost 30 students chose to participate in this extracurricular club, culminating in a presentation evening for their fellow students, teachers, and parents.

Matthew Kelly

Technology

Computing

Lessons in Computer Science never stand still, it is what keeps the subject such fun to teach. Innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are in the tech news all the time, as is the impact on society of using technology brought about by these advances. This year we had a power outage at school for a couple of hours, it made us all stop and think how reliant we are on technology. In the current climate of energy supply issues and price hikes, a potential scenario of scheduled power outages like we had in the 70s would fill most students with horror. However, like all crisis situations, it accelerates the invention and uptake of new technologies.

It is important therefore to graduate students with the desire and abilities to be at the forefront of our next wave. Our Computer Science A Level students finished with an impressive 43% A* and most are off to study Computer related degrees at University, making our small contribution to the numbers required in this subject. They have left their mark on Churcher’s with their contribution to our trophy cabinet,

winning the 2021 UK Lockheed Martin Coding Competition Advanced section. Next year’s Upper Sixth have amazingly retained our exalted position winning the 2022 Advanced section, with Ed Jackson, James Restell and Kit Matthewson being awarded two weeks work experience at the Lockheed Martin facility in Whitely. Lockheed Martin came to Churcher’s to present the prize and to deliver a most inspiring lecture on careers which included a fascinating insight into their involvement in the new Top Gun: Maverick film.

It was great to once again participate and host events in person and our line-up included a talk on IT Careers by OC Chris Parker OBE, who is involved in the Cyber Security sector; our usual trip to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park for our GCSE students and a trip to London for our Sixth Form to hear inspiring lectures on ‘Computing in Action’, including talks on using collaborative robots to solve problems, the power of algorithms to cure cancer or cause financial markets to crash.

Our competitions help our Computer Scientists realise how talented they are, and our successes inspire

younger students, so we entered our Third Years and above into the Bebras Challenge. Off the back of that performance, a number of students were invited to sit the Oxford University Coding Challenge. With several Merits and Distinctions, they did Churcher’s proud and Oliver Fogelin once again was invited to the final for the top 20 in the country.

Internally we ran a competition for Second Years to design and pitch an App to help the community. This type of challenge requires team work and allows students to identify their talents which may not be just coding solutions. The team ‘Sign Lingo’ won with an original idea to help deaf people communicate with other people who don’t understand sign language but have a desire to learn how to communicate better with the deaf community. The App uses the camera feature on a phone, along with a program to recognise signs and speak or text the translation. Congratulations to the winning team of Charlotte Green, Rosie North, Jasmin Pearson and Lizzie Regan.

Karen McCathie

Design & Technology

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, we were still in the midst of setting up the department, awaiting the delivery of equipment and getting to grips with a brand-new building. Twelve months on, and we are firmly established with all facilities up and running.

We have always endeavoured to create a curriculum that blends traditional skills alongside newer technology. To achieve this, our equipment and schemes of work are continually being updated. We have introduced a fidget spinner project in the Third Year, bringing CAD modelling into the lower school where students are now able to independently design and rapid prototype their ideas using our bank of 3D printers. Our textiles project in the Second Year, creates a new softshell phone case which students can use during their participation in OSCA. In the First Year, we have expanded the skills involved in our night light project with a bespoke project developed in-house.

Our students are once again back in the workshop after the disruption of Covid. Last year our GCSE students had the choice of three different design contexts to choose between: multifunctional living, teenage lifestyles, and nature and the environment. Over the two-

month period they have in which to manufacture, all turned their design concepts into tangible prototypes, manufactured to exacting standards. The Music Auditorium was the perfect backdrop to display these, and in May we enjoyed the Fifth Year and Upper Sixth Design Showcase for the first time since 2019.

We have introduced a Lower School showcase in the Third Year, to allow students who may, at the end of their D&T studies, wish to present some of their work. We chose contemporary chair designs as our focus for the aptly named ‘Edge of your Seat’ challenge. All students in the Third Year created a selection of research, design, and development pages, along with a scaled model constructed in card, foam, and spar wood. The evening of the presentation saw 450 design pages displayed and a broad selection of models on display. A range of GCSE and A-Level work was also set out in order to allow students and parents see the progression from lower school, through GCSE, and on to A-Level. The evening was a great success and proved a useful recruitment tool with a number of students being inspired to follow D&T through into GCSE.

Our Green Power car has been back on track at Goodwood with varying degrees of success, the storage in our, somewhat outdated, Green Power shed having taken its toll over the

winter months. All change here too as we await a new Green Power and wood store building to be able to develop our existing car, whilst slowly working towards a new build car. We have rewired the current vehicle, which should see it run with far greater consistency.

Open Day saw the department take over the Sports Hall with our Pinewood derby. Our Second Year students spent time during their lessons manufacturing their cars to race against each other throughout the morning. Also in the hall, we had our Green Power car and, keeping with the spirit of motor sport, were kindly loaned a McClaren 720S by Lanzante McClaren Petersfield, which took pole position outside the Hall for the duration of the weekend.

As ever, we strive to push our students to reach their full potential within the subject, both as designers and to be skilled in manufacturing. We look forward to welcoming students back in the new academic year and the resumption of business as usual.

Steve Edington

Music

Following the pandemic, my ambition for this year was to return to the glory of having hundreds of pupils involved in a wide variety of ensembles, concerts, and events. If the 300 singers and large instrumental ensembles on display at the Grand Summer Open Air Concert is anything to go by, I feel happy that we achieved our aim! Some may have been wondering if the high standard of music Churcher’s College has become known for in recent years, had dipped at all during the pandemic, but the Open Air Concert demonstrated that Churcher’s music is very much riding high.

At the start of the academic year, we resumed all of our large and smaller ensemble rehearsals, and it was a great feeling to be able to rehearse all together once again. A large part of the enjoyment of music making comes with being able to join together with many other people that share the same passion. It is a tribute to our musicians that they were soon making the most of all the opportunities on offer and showing a remarkable standard of playing and singing.

Soon into the new term, our Rock School was once again encouraging

the runners up the Butser Hill course, the music A Level students were enjoying a conducting masterclass, various soloists and ensembles were producing high quality concerts in St. Peter’s Church and the Assembly Hall, and it was fantastic to have the Remembrance Concert back at St. Peter’s - a highlight of the year for many people.

Then came the moment just before Christmas that we had all be waiting for - the opening of the new music school! I will never forget the look on everybody’s face as they entered the new building, looking into the auditorium for the first time. It really is an awe-inspiring sight, and it meant that, finally, the whole Music Department was under one roof. Walking along the instrumental corridor, with music seeping out from all sides, brought the wonderful realisation that music was entering a new era at Churcher’s College. We haven’t looked back since then and both staff and pupils alike have been enjoying the wonderful facilities. Gone are the days of setting out 90 seats ready for a choir rehearsal –the seats now move out at the touch of a button!

Demonstrating our enthusiasm to perform in the new auditorium, the Senior Recital in November took place even before the rest of the department and equipment had moved in. It was a joy to hear our Senior musicians perform in a wonderful acoustic, to have the audience sitting on tiered seating, and for the first time we had room for the Senior Wind Band to perform in an evening concert. Since then, we have enjoyed numerous concerts in the auditorium, including a Rock Showcase evening, a Brass and Woodwind evening, in which, for the first time, we were able to have both the Junior and Senior Wind Band’s performing in the same concert, a Strings and Piano evening, and a Junior Concert to showcase our amazing musicians in the First to Fourth Year. We have continued to use

St. Peter’s Church for our lunchtime concerts, a fantastic evensong by the Senior Chamber Choir, and the annual Spring concert, which this year featured a performance of the Mozart Requiem, sung by the Senior Choir.

Cabaret nights have been a popular evening on the calendar for a number of years, and to kick start this wonderful event after a hiatus, we had

not one, but two Cabaret’s to enjoy this year. It is heart–warming to see so much talent on display!

To complement their studies, our A Level musicians have attended several enrichment events, including attending a conducting workshop with distinguished local conductor, Robin Browning, followed by a trip to Poole Lighthouse to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) perform, analyse, and discuss two of the A Level set works. A fantastic day in London in March started with a piano masterclass at the Royal College of Music, followed by evensong at Westminster Abbey, and concluding with a ‘Classical Spectacular’ Concert featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, complete with a laser light show and pyrotechnics. The GCSE pupils also joined the A Level pupils for a trip to Portsmouth to hear the BSO play an entire concert devoted to the music of John Williams’ film scores, from the excitement of Indiana Jones to the thought–provoking Schindler’s List.

All these rehearsals, concerts, and events through the year were building up to a Summer Concert

like no other. Two previous Open Air Summer Concerts in 2011 and 2014 had been lucky with the weather and we were fortunate once again, enabling a fantastic evening to take place! The concert was a celebration of the Tercentenary, together with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, combining both elements into a ‘Last Night of the Proms’ style event. Whether you were a pupil or adult on stage, this would have been a once in a life time experience, performing on a truly massive stage of Glastonbury proportions to an audience of 1,650. There was a real festival atmosphere amongst the audience, with food and drink outlets serving throughout the evening. The concert featured our large ensembles, from the professional sounding Senior Wind Band, to the lively Jazz Band, the talented Junior Orchestra (Junior Wind Band and Junior Strings), the entertaining Rock School, and the main college orchestra, with Jonas Flohr playing a flute concerto amongst other popular pieces such as the ‘Superman March’ by John Williams.

The Tercentenary Chorus consisted of four different choirs. It was a delight to welcome our youngest singers from

the Junior School, who joined with our Junior Choir, Senior Choir, and Adult Choral Society, making around 300 singers in total. Accompanied by a professional orchestra, some of whom were OC musicians, the choir sang entertaining choruses from The Pirates of Penzance. The evening would not have been complete without a performance of Carmen Collehii Churcher’s (the school song). Other classics such as, ‘O Fortuna’ from Carmina Burana, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from the Messiah, and Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’ were accompanied by flames and sparkles, adding to the grandeur of the evening. The audience were in fine voice as they joined the performers to sing the National Anthem, Rule Britannia, and finally ending the evening with ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, accompanied by some stunning fireworks.

The concert marked the end of an era for some of our musicians, with 30 of our Upper Sixth musicians on stage taking part in their final performance. I would like to pay tribute to them and thank them for seven glorious years of music making.

Helen Purchase

After a somewhat disrupted previous year, it has been especially pleasing to see our Churcherian stars back where they belong, on the big stage, performing in front of a live audience! The aim this year was provide our young actors with as many performance opportunities as possible, to make up for lost time, therefore, the Drama Department’s programme of events has been bigger than ever before.

The Autumn Term saw the return of our much-loved Panto Week, where our First Year students took to the stage to perform their very own mini-Pantomimes. As always, we were bowled over by their creativity and humour, with some even designing and making their own props and costume!

At the end of the Autumn Term, our senior students celebrated the tercentenary with an original production, 1722: The Musical, which depicted the journey of Fin and Theo, two naughty Churcherians, who are sent back in time to learn the allimportant value of education. Our amazing cast sang, danced, and acted

their way through the decades as the audience tapped their feet to some of the most well-known pop and rock classics! This was a truly unique experience for everyone involved, after all, it’s not every day you get to perform in a bespoke musical!

Before our students had the chance to put their feet back on the ground, the Spring Term commenced with the hilarious production of ‘It Runs in the Family’. The cast were superb in re-telling this story of the farcical antics occurring in a doctor’s common room. The pace was brilliantly exhausting, and the comic timing was just outstanding, so much so that the production later went out on tour, providing our students with the added opportunity of living the life of a professional actor on the road, an experience they will remember for years to come!

The Spring Term concluded with our Lower School production of Annie. Our talented young cast magnificently brought the story of one of musical theatres best-loved characters to life. With such brilliant direction and great efforts from the backstage and

technical crew, this really was an example of the high standard we have come to expect from our students, and it was great to see some stars of the future taking to the stage for the very first time.

The creativity of our students wasn’t limited to outside of the classroom. This year saw the return of our GCSE and A Level practical pieces, with some astonishing work being created. Our A Level students so brilliantly utilised the methodologies of theatre practitioners, including Frantic Assembly and Bertolt Brecht, to create some very sophisticated and thought-provoking work. Our GCSE students cleverly explored some of the important social issues affecting teenagers, when responding practically to their stimuli.

After a very difficult couple of years, we are absolutely blown away by how our students have bounced back and displayed their many talents on and off stage. A huge congratulations to all involved!

Stacey Carty

The Dance programme at Churcher’s has undergone some rapid expansion this year: we now have both Junior and Senior clubs, and the students try out Dance in their PE lessons in the Fourth Year. This expansion has required investment in some topnotch equipment, and we now have four portable mirrors that help perfect the lines of the dancers and help all dancers improve their learning and understanding of the routines.

In PE lessons, we have explored cheerleading routines, group dances, partner work, and they also choreographed their own routine in the last week of the year. In the Lower

Sixth enrichment programme, we explored Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and tap-dancing styles. It showed some students who have never danced before, the value of dance and its effect on coordination and flexibility, which can help them in their competitive sports.

Our Junior Dance squad have had a busy year: in the Autumn Term they performed at the Junior Cabaret, and in the Spring Term they learnt a dance for the Modern Languages performance evening – ‘Bella Ciao’. This pushed them to their limits as they had to adapt to the use of a tambourine prop. In the

Summer Term, they performed not only at Open Day but also at the Community Fair celebrating, 300 years of Churcher’s.

The Senior Dance group had a similar experience. They also learnt a musical theatre number, ‘America’ from West Side Story, for the Senior Cabaret in the Spring Term, and learnt an upbeat Jazz number to ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody’, to perform at the mega weekend – Open day and the Community Fair.

Paige Elson

Dance

EPQ

One benefit of the changes to the academic year brought on by covid, was the chance to launch the EPQ programme earlier in the year. Upper SIxth students, James Hill and Jonas Flohr, took advantage of this last year, and both achieved an impressive A* with an early November 2021 entry.

It was wonderful to be able to have our Upper Sixth students presenting their EPQs in the Sports Hall again in the Autumn Term. For all our students, this marketplace evening was an opportunity to showcase all their hard work and dedication in overcoming the challenges of covid throughout their EPQ process, to their peers, parents, and teachers. I congratulate them all. This year, we have seen a growth in the number of students choosing to produce an artefact for their project: Sophie König made a wearable pair of Palazzo Pants and had to teach herself to sew as part of the process; Megan Hassanali designed and produced an oil painting based on the ‘antisocialist’ realism movement that influenced China during and after the cultural revolution; Seb Royds made

an 1830’s cricket bat. You can read all about Seb’s EPQ journey by scanning the QR code. Next year’s Upper Sixth are equally as creative: Robert Lewis is producing a conceptual design and manufacturing plan of a drone, for the delivery of medicine to isolated communities; Liv Sexton is producing three paintings that depict memory decline from the eyes of an individual with Alzheimer’s disease, to help family members visualise the experience.

As the new coordinator of EPQ, I would like to thank all the supervisors who give up so much time to support students. I am looking forward to working with the prospective 65 Lower Sixth students on all their new projects.

Amanda Bridger

Sports Science

It has been another busy year for the Sports Science students. Our annual Eaton Games always provides entertainment, and this year was no different. The mixed hockey tournament saw plenty of fancy dress on display but also plenty of talent, with some closely contested games and

some outstanding penalty shuffles. The mixed netball was an opportunity for the girls to showcase their skills.

A trip to Chichester University allowed an escape for the day for our Lower Sixth students. Here, they listened to lecturers and

participated in workshops on the following areas: Biomechanics, Performance Analysis, Physiotherapy, Sports Psychology and Sport and Exercise Science.

Kelly Higgins

CLUBS & EVENTS

STEAM

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) extracurricular activities have continued to thrive at Churcher’s, helping students to look beyond their academic studies to discover the realworld applications of the skills learned in class. A glance at the current roster of clubs and events reveals both the breadth of activities on offer and a pleasing number of opportunities for pupils to mix with like-minded individuals from other year groups, none more so than our vibrant Greenpower team which returned to action at the Goodwood Motor circuit.

The Third Year STEAM Day made a welcome return in the Summer Term, with the whole year group taking a day away from the normal timetable to complete a series of activities and challenges set by the Science, Design & Technology, Maths and Art Departments. The theme, Bridge Design, provided ample opportunity to explore the technical, aesthetic and practical aspects of this discipline, whether working in pairs or larger teams.

Nearly 30 Fifth Years completed a science project of their own choosing as part of the Schrödinger Programme, a new initiative designed to develop independent scientific research skills and to help the students make their first steps towards a successful application to a top university for a Science or Engineering degree. This proved to be a lot of fun and the students impressed with both the quality of their experiments and their ability to present their findings to an audience of parents and teachers. STEAM project work was also carried out by lower years in STEAMship and by a dedicated Lower Sixth team who, at the time of writing, were edging ever closer to measuring the speed of light. This is indeed as hard as it sounds!

Churcher’s has an excellent track record in STEAM competitions. Successes in the field of Computing are documented elsewhere in this issue and we welcomed the return of the SATRO Problem Solving Challenge in its usual format. Schools compete directly against each other to complete a tricky Engineering

task, and this year’s competition was greatly enjoyed by our Second Year, Fourth Year and Sixth Form teams. The Sixth Form team (Tobias Bower, Elliot Medley, James Moses, Liv Sexton, Daisy Taylor and Jess Watling) achieved the highest score of any team in the regional heat and went on to compete in the national final.

Our students enjoyed a number of STEAM-related careers talks and special thanks are due to Andrew Knight, who followed up an insightful presentation on the challenges of preparing the EnMAP Earth Observation satellite for launch with a live stream from Cape Canaveral to our classrooms on the day that SpaceX launched it into orbit.

It is a pleasure to see so many of our students carrying their enthusiasm for these disciplines into their future studies. This year, and for the second year in a row, more than half of our leavers chose to further their studies of a STEAM subject.

Richard Whittle

Sport Athletics

It is wonderful to have athletics and cross-country events back in full flow, and what a welcome back our athletes have provided us with! As ever, the cross-country season kicked off in style with the annual Butser Hill Challenge, back in all of its glory after an enforced break. A fantastic 44 Churcherian’s, and staff from the Senior School, took on this famous and challenging grade A fell run, and all runners should be rightly proud of their efforts.

Continuing into the Autumn Term, students were able to represent the school as part of a team or as individuals in both national and county competitions, and did so with a huge amount of success. In the English Schools’ Cross-Country Championships, both the junior girls’ and senior boys’ teams qualified from our area to compete at regional final level - a very tough ask, given only two out of up to 18 senior schools compete in the first round. Our junior girls

must hold the title of cross-country team of the year – as well as qualifying for the regional English finals, they also won the Hampshire Inter Schools Championships as a team, and followed this up shortly afterwards by winning the Highfield School cross country event. At Highfield, all our teams came in the top three; not only is this testament to their commitment and effort, but there is certainly something to be said for Mr and Mrs Daniel’s running club on a Wednesday morning. To have one of our junior girls qualify to run at the national championships continues encourage younger runners – what a role model!

Athletics always comes thick and fast in the short Summer Term, but our students were no less successful. Lunchtime clubs, which gave the opportunity to run, jump, and throw outside of the curriculum PE lessons, helped produce and support athletes that were very competitive at regional level. Our First Year boys, as a team, performed exceptionally well, winning each of

their rounds to get to the Hampshire track finals, and it will be exciting to follow their progress alongside our individual athletes. I was so pleased that the College continues to have representation at national level in athletics, and watching all of our year groups enjoying their sports days shows that there is a huge appetite to develop in the sport.

Kevin Maguire

Cricket

2022 has been a fine vintage of cricketing success for Churcher’s College. The number of girls and boys playing cricket for the school has toppled new heights, with the College typically putting out more than 20 teams on a Saturday.

Among the highlights of the year have been an outstanding win for our 1st XI against Abingdon in the National Cup and an amazing (albeit rained out) fixture celebrating our

300th anniversary against the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Clubfrom Lords).

Over the season, our U13 girls and U14 and U15 boys reached the County Cup semi-finals, while two of our teams went that step further to be crowned Hampshire Cup winnersthe U13 boys, who rallied themselves and played their best game of the season to beat a good KES team. The boys showed they are capable of playing some brilliant cricket and this will undoubtedly motivate them to continue to build on this excellent performance and go on to bigger and better things. Also, the cream of the crop, our U15 girls, who followed up on their amazing indoor success (Hampshire champions and Regional runners up) by being crowned Hampshire champions, with a brilliant win against Priestlands. This has been a champagne team and an outstanding group of committed and very talented girls.

Rob Maier

Hampshire Champions 2022 Hampshire Champions 2022

Hockey

It has been an extremely rewarding first year as Head of Hockey. We held our own against some of biggest names on the school hockey circuit, and grew from strength to strength playing an exciting brand of hockey. Our teams scored an impressive 571 goals across the fixtures they played this season, which is testament to our positive gameplay style and attacking flair.

We pride ourselves on our participation-based approach to player development, with a programme that nearly every pupil will engage with throughout their time at College. This mass participation is best demonstrated by our current Third Year, where over 140 pupils played hockey during their Games lessons this year. It is no coincidence that this age group has seen competitive success, with both U14A teams qualifying for their respective regional tournaments.

Similarly, we promote high levels of exposure to A team hockey in our younger age groups, where it was not unusual for more than 20 players to represent our U12A and U13A sides. This is particularly impressive,

considering that there are only seven players on the pitch at any one time!

Through this participation focus, we hope to imbue a lifelong passion for hockey in our pupils. We see this paying off already in our older age groups, where we consistently see high levels of attendance at afterschool training and the lunchtime skills sessions run by Mr Wilson.

We are fortunate to be in such a strong area for club hockey, where there are options for all abilities from entry level through to National League.

I am happy to see that many pupils play hockey outside of school and this number grows yearly. These external opportunities have complimented the hard work of our school coaches, and we saw clear development at every age group over the course of the year. Nowhere was this development more evident than at the 1st XI fixtures against the Old Churcherians, during our season finale tournament, Churcher’s Champions. It is safe to say that there was plenty of excitement for the neutral, with a total of 13 goals scored over the two matches. The College 1st XIs finished the day unbeaten against two very tough sides, which was a just reward for their dedication and hard work throughout the season.

We also had plenty of interschool success across all age groups and levels. Our Boys 1st XI reached the last 16 of the Independent School Hockey Cup, narrowly losing to eventual finalists, Bradfield College. Our Boys 2nd XI, U14 Boys A, and U14 Girls A all qualified for their respective South Central Regional finals, with the U14 Boys A finishing an impressive third overall. Not to be outdone, the U16 Boys B, U12 Boys D, U13 Girls B, and U12 Girls A all finished the season with a win rate over 70%.

We also saw plenty of individual success from our pupils involved with the England Hockey Player Pathway. Seventeen pupils were selected to represent either Hampshire or Surrey Junior Academy Centres ,and four attended Performance Centre. Two pupils had the honour to represent their country, with Ben Hegan and Will Porter playing for England U16s and U21s respectively. Will also participated in the Great Britain Hockey Elite Development Programme, which is a phenomenal achievement in and of itself, never minding the fact that he is one of the youngest players involved in the squad.

Toby Blong

Netball

It was very pleasing to see such fantastic numbers (177 in total) at pre-season to kick off the 2022 term – it appeared the girls had very much missed their netball!

Firstly, we saw the introduction of our new Churcher’s netball dress. This new attire was designed to increase the professional image and performance of our teams and was very much welcomed by the girls. Hall of Fame cornerback, Deion Sanders, coined the phrase “If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you play good” – this was certainly true of the season!

Across this year, we have played 160 matches – winning 93, which means a win rate of 58%, a figure that shows our teams achieve winning and losing in fairly equal measure. We have scored 3146 goals, and conceded 2,702 goals, producing a positive goal difference and indicating Churcher’s perform well at both ends of the court.

However, not everything should be driven by statistics. Playing well, that is playing hard, playing with skill, playing with good sportsmanship, and trying to make the right plays as

an individual and as a team, is more important than any specific result.

While we have enjoyed a fair share of big victories and emotional defeats this season, the scores will just become fragmented memories. Therefore, the measure of success is not simply in just the statistics or wins, but rather the teamwork, the lessons learnt, and the maturing that are the results of effort, selfless commitment to the team, and dedication to personal improvement. These attributes were celebrated throughout the season by our nominated teams of the week and our weekly awards boards, which were published on the fixtures board and Churcher’s Netball twitter every Monday.

As always, we enter into national competitions, and our U13 performance this season is worthy of celebrating. The girls produced some incredibly impressive displays of netball to reach the semi-final of the Cup, drawn away against St Alban’s High School. Despite being the best U13 school match I have ever witnessed, the girls sadly lost by one goal in the dying seconds of the game, and although this was incredibly hard to accept at the time,

the girls used it to fuel their fire to keep going, to keep improving, to respect the effort they made, and to keep that effort alive in their training and their next games.

Finally, our annual U12 and U13 PGL residential trip was a huge success –48 girls travelled to Swindon for an action-packed weekend, filled with lots of netball and lots of adventurous activities. Three of our five teams made it through to the semi-final stages of their respective tournaments and came home with medals, with the U13A returning as champions!

Kelly Higgins

Rounders

The Summer Term brought two very enjoyable Rounders Festivals for the First to Fourth Year girls. It was excellent to see more than 60 pupils playing in the tournaments, which took place on Fridays after school. Some brilliant batting and fielding skills were on display, with each tournament finishing with a BBQ and ice-lollies. In addition to the Festivals, the U18 Girls Rounders team had a successful match against local rivals Bedales, winning by 4.5 rounders.

Rugby

What a fantastic term of rugby we had in 2021! Success in abundance in skill development, teamship, and also our results across all age groups. After such a difficult previous year, with no fixtures due to Covid, it has been amazing to see how successful our teams and pupils have been, along with all the enjoyment everyone has had within Churcher’s Rugby.

With an internal term of rugby last year, there was a strong focus on the foundation skills, along with fostering an ambition to try new things, and bring pace, energy, and adventure into our play. It has been so pleasing to see this come to fruition this term as we have returned to a competitive campaign. Traditional fixtures against Portsmouth Grammar School, KES Southampton, Shiplake College, and Reading Blue Coat School, as well as new fixtures versus Sutton Valence School and Wimbledon College, gave the pupils a brilliant platform to showcase their skills and ambition to play adventurously.

Across all age groups, there continues to be a fantastic participation rate, with all pupils wishing to represent the school having the opportunity to do so. Having additional teams at U13C and U14C and playing variations of the game, such as touch, has helped facilitate this. It is great that our programme is beginning to expand due to pupil demand. There have also

been some very strong results with an overall 70% win rate and three of our teams having unbeaten seasons. Our U15As (played 12, won 11, lost 1), U14As (played 9, won 8, drew 1), and 1st XV (played 13, won 9, drew 1, lost 3) all had extremely strong seasons.

The pupils’ ambition to play with high pace and adventure has further been highlighted by the amazing range of tries scored, and also by our strong points difference. Over the term our teams have scored 2,583 points and only conceded 1,406, giving Churcher’s rugby a +1,177 points difference. An extremely pleasing statistic!

This year saw our first ‘Friday Night Lights’ fixtures, with our two senior teams playing Reading Blue Coats School at Petersfield RFC. With a crowd of more than 200, it was a fantastic evening and a special experience for our senior boys. Spectators were treated to two highly competitive fixtures, which were great to watch – the 2nd XV unfortunately losing 7-14, and the 1st XV fixture ending in a thrilling last-minute 21-21 draw. A truly wonderful evening for all involved!

Our U15s and U18s entered the prestigious National School’s Cup and both teams had a very successful run of fixtures. The 1st XV comfortably beat Portsmouth Grammar School (50-0), Peter Symonds’ College (24-7), and KES Southampton (50-0) in the early rounds. Reaching the 4th Round,

they were unfortunately on the wrong side of a very tight fixture, losing 5-7 vs Bryanston School. The U15As went one step further, making the last 16 in the competition. On their way to the 5th Round, they beat Portsmouth Grammar School (50-12), The Mountbatten School (31-7), Oaklands Catholic School (52-5), and Weydon School (7-0). The team then travelled to Gloucester to play St Peter’s RC High School in what was to prove a fantastic fixture. The team worked extremely hard to the final whistle and were so close to snatching victory at the end of the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, and St Peter’s moved onto the quarter-finals, winning 1518. A big congratulations to both teams who performed so well in the tournament.

The term finished with a new endeavour within the community, as all teams travelled the short distance to Petersfield RFC to take part in the new Frank Guy competition. All teams took part in friendly fixtures against our local club teammates, under the lights on the last Friday evening of the term. It was a marvellous way to finish the season as well as a great celebration of rugby within the Petersfield community. Pupils, players, staff, coaches, and supporters all had a fantastic evening and we will look forward to this becoming a long-standing pillar of our fixture card going forward.

Ben Skirving

Swimming

The year kicked off with record numbers hitting the pool for the First Year swimming session, with 75 pupils hoping to join the development or competitive squads. The theme of record numbers continued, with all swim squad sessions proving very popular; more often than not, lanes have been full and the atmosphere buzzing – even the early morning sessions have been well-attended, with 15-20 swimmers taking the opportunity for an early morning set.

Our development galas have once again been very successful, not only in terms of final race results, but also the number of swimmers who have had the opportunity to race in a competitive environment for the very first time. This has allowed confidence to grow and the sense of team spirit to be created.

For our competitive swimmers, it has been another brilliant year! The Hampshire Relay Championships saw 12 relays, 26 swimmers, and 20 golds – a very successful return to racing for Team Churcher’s!

The swimming times produced from our senior boys put them within the top 30 in the country, and

subsequently, they qualified for the National Relay Finals at the Olympic Aquatic Centre. An outstanding day of swimming from this experienced and talented team (Tom Hogg, Alex Sandberg, Kai Jackson, Felix Brockdorff, and Alex Paton) saw them double finalists, finishing 8th and 9th in the country – we couldn’t be prouder of these performances!

The Bath Cup provided another outing for our elite swimmers, this time for the open girls and boys squads. I am delighted to report that, for the first time, the girls team (Lotta Jackson, Kitty Hogg, Isabella Liedtke, and Lily Johnson) reached both relay finals in the small school competition, with Lily (2G) producing the fastest splits in every swim!

This event also felt like the end of an era – it was the last time the trio of Tom Hogg, Kai Jackson, and Alex Sandberg would journey to the Olympic Park to swim as part of Team Churcher’s. Needless to say, emotions were high and the boys gave it their all – reaching the finals in both the 4x100m freestyle and 4x50m medley relay. A fantastic way to finish their Churcher’s swimming careers.

The Henley Classic Open Water swim is always a challenge, but a great

event nonetheless. What should have been a 2.1km swim, was shortened to 1.2km due to extreme fog conditions, but this did not get in the way of our team of young swimmers. Made up of Henry Plewes, James Medley, Isabella Liedtke, Nicole Parker, and Charlie Stevenson, the team weaved their way through the mass start, to all finish with respectable times and collect their medals. Special mention should go to Charlie Stevenson who finished the fastest U14 on his first open water swim!

Water Polo

This year, water polo has seen a wave of enthusiasm throughout the school. Not only have we had great success with the U18 Boys team, but also the formation and growth of our junior teams.

The U18 boys team qualified for The National Plate Competition. In the first round of this competition the boys played some fantastic water polo, with stand-out performances from Alex Sandberg, Tom Hogg, and, competing in his first ever water polo competition, Alex Paton. This put them at the top of their group and saw them proceed through to the final stage of the competition, where they

narrowly lost in the Semi-Finals to St Ambrose. A victorious performance in the third-place playoff ensued; never before has a Churcher’s team made it this far in the competition and to top it off, a podium finish to sign off their time at Churcher’s.

The success of our U18 team has most certainly driven participation in the younger year groups. This year we have formed two excitable U13 mixed water polo teams. Their skill levels have progressed in leaps and bounds, and the team finished the year by competing in their first ever water polo competition. It has been a fantastic year for water polo at Churcher’s and we are already looking forward to the next!

Kelly Higgins Tennis

The tennis tour to Marbella, followed by pre-season training at school, prepared Churcher’s students well for success on the tennis courts, both home and away.

The U12s and U13s have had a successful tennis season this year, with excellent participation levels during games, and all courts being full at after school training and on Saturdays. Several competitive matches have been played against local schools including Seaford, Oaklands, and West Hill Park, with 8 wins, 1 draw, and just 3 losses across this age range.

The U14s have had a tough season but they continued with their great enthusiasm and trained hard to improve their knowledge of doubles games. We have had amazing participation from the Third Years,

with some 50 at training sessions every week. The pupils learnt something new after every match, which showed on their score cards in taking many games to deuce against Charterhouse in their last match of the season.

Well, what a season the U15 boys’ and girls’ teams have had, captained by Jack Douglas and Lexie Oliver, who both proved to be worthy of the role. The boys have had an amazing record and have won 100% of their matches, including some very tough matches against Charterhouse, Worth, and PGS. They also won the Hampshire and Isle of Wight inter schools’ tournament organized by the LTA, and will be playing other counties in September. The girls have had a great season, winning 70% of their matches, and also managing a good cup run, making it to the quarter finals.

The Senior team this year was captained by Evie Davey and Matt Hodges, both having served tennis for a significant amount of time, including many tours away to Spain and Portugal during pre-season training. There have been many memorable moments this year, including a stunning end of season campaign at Lord Wandsworth College, where, 4-2 down after the second round of matches, all three teams playing that day managed to win their final round of matches, some with thrilling tie-breaks, to take the matches to 5-4 overall in sets.

In May, tennis players from all year groups turned out to represent their Davis Cup country. The initial stages were group matches, with the top countries from each group going through to the semi-finals. The Churcher’s Davis Cup was won by

Jack Douglas and Georgia Meredith (Great Britain), in a closely fought and high-quality final against Dan Bennett and Theo Shaw (Netherlands). The winners of the third and fourth place play-off match were Raffy Sharper and Grace Clark (France).

We were certainly blessed with the weather during the annual Parent and Pupil tennis tournament. We had a record number of 62 pairs entering this year, with everyone enjoying a great BBQ and atmosphere, while watching some fabulous tennis played by both parents and pupils. After a highly competitive semi-final, the winners were Cameron JeffriesKeel, (Lower School), Daniel Bennett (Middle School), and Alex Lambrianou all playing with their fathers.

Tina Jenkins

Adventure

CCF: Army

After the frustrations of lockdown, September brought a welcome return to Tuesday evening parades at college and the re-opening of military training areas for field days.

In October, the Army Section conducted its largest ever field day with 95 Third Year cadets and 15 Sixth Form NCOs. Exercise Chameleon took place on an Army training area at Aldershot, and focused on observing others while not being seen yourself. The programme comprised lessons and practise in personal camouflage and concealment, tactical movement and field signals, and observation and judging distance.

In November, 16 Army cadets were able to practice their live-firing on a sunny autumn day at Ash Ranges. The morning shoot comprised group and zero practice, followed by sight adjustment and a 5-round scored group at 100m, using deliberate rates of fire. Later in the afternoon, the cadets were able to experience rapid fire from the prone, sitting, and kneeling positions. In March, having completed their

weapon handling tests, more than 30 Fourth Years took part in Exercise Striking Tiger, blank-firing the L98A2 rifle in a planned section-level ambush, engaging and suppressing an enemy patrol (Sixth Form NCOs), and practising pairs-fire-manoeuvre along a close-quarter battle (CQB) lane, operating as a two-person fire-team.

In March, 10 senior cadets checked onto Longmoor Camp for the 11th Brigade Military Skills Competition. Ably led, by Sgt Major Holly Giles, our cadets operated as a section, organised as two fire teams. Issued with rifles and sustained on dinner from a 24hour Operational Ration Pack, the team bedded down in sleeping bags on the wooden floors of the spartan SF Base accommodation. Reveille at 0600, bergens packed, and ORP breakfasted, the team then patrolled out of the compound and around Longmoor Camp to complete seven one-hour scored activities: casevac (Casualty Evacuation), navigation, air rifle target shooting, command tasks, section attack (blank-firing), paintball CQB lane and shooting gallery, and radios. The cadets finished a superb second, out of 26 CCF and ACF teams in this prestigious regional competition.

Two weeks later, eight cadets represented Churcher’s on a range day at Longmoor, having honed their marksmanship skills the Tuesday before, on the DCCT (Dismounted Close Combat Trainer) virtual range. The cadets were able to group and zero, then fire 20 rounds at 100m and 200m on the ETR (Electronic Target Range).

In June, our Third Year cadets put their year’s training into practice on Exercise Night Owl. Home comforts were left behind as cadets pitched and slept in their bashas, cooked with ORP, and met the challenges of personal and section field administration. Cadets planned and executed a nighttime recce patrol, followed by a light and noise demonstration. In the morning, after an ORP breakfast, the cadets constructed models in order to debrief the officers on their night’s activity and intelligence observations. During the year, our NCOs have been very busy helping run training for the younger cadets and completing military courses. Bo Texier, Elliott Davies, and Rory Hodges all completed their Senior Cadet Instructors Cadre courses.

Capt David Nighy

CCF: Royal Navy

It has been another tremendous year for the Navy section. Our cadets have served with a huge amount of commitment and pride. Central to this, has been the contribution of our senior school cadets, who deserve a special mention, as it is their tireless and positive approach to planning and delivering excellence on a weekly basis that makes the unit the success that it is.

All members of the RN section are encouraged to come out of their comfort zones and lead various parts of the syllabus, including undertaking a lead role in the practical leadership activities. It is these opportunities that will prove incredibly valuable to the individuals as they progress through the school, and develop these outstanding leadership skills and values for the future.

Naval field days are a highlight for the cadets, and we were lucky enough to attend some brilliant outings, with the obstacle course and high ropes at HMS Collingwood testing the teamwork and communication skills to the full! The highlight for the field day outings, was undoubtedly taking the cadets on the water on a beautiful blue-skied summer’s day!

The naval cadets have amazing opportunities to take advantage of the camps and courses run by the Royal Navy. We encourage our cadets to attend these, particularly the leadership courses, and indeed, many of them do.

I would finally like to thank all of the Upper Sixth cadets who have now left the school, for their excellent contribution to the CCF over the years: Henry Tasker, Josiah Wilson, Matthew Wagstaff, and a special mention to Mark Childs who fronted the entire Churcher’s College CCF.

Lt Rob Maier

CCF: RAF

This year, the RAF section has still experienced the repercussions of the pandemic, with the opportunity to fly still not as readily available as it was pre-Covid. As flying is the main attraction for engaging new cadets, not being able to offer the opportunity has been a challenge. However, cadets have not been short on activities with which to engage on Tuesday night parades. They have been able to experience flying virtually on the new flight simulators donated by the PA last year, allowing them to enhance their flying skills in preparation for when they can, once again, visit Boscombe Down to experience the thrill of flying for real. The more recent tradition of pizza and Top Gun night, was carried on for the second year, where cadets enjoyed a night off to watch the classic aviator film. As well as activity packed evenings, the Third and Fourth Year cadets have also been working towards earning their part 1 and part 2 flying qualifications respectively, and were awarded these towards the end of the Spring Term.

The annual Remembrance Service in Petersfield, showcased the hard work the cadets put into the drill at the start of term. This was also replicated

in the exceptional performance given during the school’s own Remembrance service.

The RAF section organised many field trips this year, the first of which, was a trip to the RAF Hendon Museum where they were able to view many aeroplanes from the past, including a Vulcan, and also try out the Red Arrow simulators. In May, the cadets had the opportunity to visit the RAF base in Odiham where they handled all the weapons in the armoury, including a mini gun. They also acted out a sea rescue, and were able to sit in the pilot seat of a Chinook. The next trip took the cadets to the iFly indoor skydiving in Basingstoke, and was followed by the challenge of WWII themed escape rooms. In the summer, the cadets put their leadership skills to the test as they took to the battlefields with paintballing and laser tag, making the most of the good summer weather.

In the final weeks of the school summer term, the RAF managed to have their first successful flying day of the year, providing hope for the cadets from the pandemic years, that they can experience more frequent flying opportunities in the future.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

The DofE year started with an enjoyable Silver final expedition for the new Fifth Year students on Exmoor, in fine weather. The teams climbed Dunkery Beacon, before finishing near the coast at Minehead. Later that term, two Fourth Year Bronze expeditions were held in the South Downs, followed by the most atrocious weather for the Lower Sixth’s Gold practice expedition in Snowdonia at half-term. Mount Snowdon was invisible due to thick cloud all week. After the first day and night of torrential rain and high winds, a next-day delivery of a complete

set of new tents was required, as the weather had defeated all the old tents, but, fortunately, none of the spirits of the students, who came back declaring that they had had a great time!

In the Spring Term, we saw the first group of Third Years start their Bronze Award with a training day, a navigation hike, and then a May expedition in the South Downs. The Fourth Years headed to the New Forest for their Silver practice in June (one hiking boot lost to a bog!), and the Lower Sixth were back out for their Gold final expedition in the Lake District later in June, this time in good weather, which meant they could access all the high-level routes, including Helvellyn, Scafell Pyke, Skiddaw, Great Gable, etc.

Our overall tally: losses = 30 tents, one rucksack, snack bars stolen by badgers, and one hiking boot swallowed by a bog; gains = character, resilience, teamwork skills, and life-long memories! A marvellous year!

Anne Harris

Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon

On Thursday 14 April, ahead of the Easter Weekend, our squad of 30 Lower Sixth paddlers, plus coaches and parent support crew (making up our largest school team ever!), travelled to Devizes for registration and kit check, ahead of the start of the marathon race early on Friday

15 April. At 7am, along with paddlers from other schools and clubs, our 15 K2 marathon kayak boats departed Devizes on their challenge. Day 1 covered 34 miles and 35 portages, followed by camping overnight at Newbury. Day 2 saw the paddlers travel 36 miles to Marlow for a second overnight camp, and the final day this year, saw the crews finish by paddling 38 miles to the finish line in Teddington.

Supported by parents and staff along the route, all the paddlers successfully completed the marathon in style, with many recording excellent times: second place in the fastest junior team category and first in both the Junior Ladies Team and overall Schools’ Team categories.

Our true measure of success was focused on each individual boat and crew achieving their own personal goals in the marathon. From starting out as novice paddlers in October, where capsizes were aplenty into the chilly waters of the Basingstoke Canal, the crews trained exceptionally hard for six months, building up not only essential techniques, but also stamina, resilience, and team skills. The whole team deserve huge praise for their marvellous achievements. In an event where, over the last 70 years, only slightly more U18 pupils have completed the challenge than adults have climbed Mount Everest, this is no ordinary challenge and thus no small achievement. We were particularly delighted to out-paddle numerous rival schools, such as Lord Wandsworth College, Marlborough College, Dauntseys, Royal Hospital School, and Kimbolton, to win the Schools’ Team Trophy. But, it was in seeing all 30 paddlers glide down the course and across the finish line

in style with smiles on their faces, that gave us the greatest sense of achievement and delight.

Andy Rowley

First Challenge

Croatia

Beginning in Split in the early hours, as our intrepid Fourth Years pitched their tents in a field of wild flowers on the banks of the Zrmanja River; the start of an adventure on Croatia’s

Dalmatian Coast which promised spectacular scenery, friendly locals and challenging trekking for our First Challenge teams. Over the course of the following 10 days, the groups enjoyed kayaking, wild camping and trekking. On to the mountain phase of the trip and Paklenica National Park where they had our first cool wildlife spot: a striking fire salamander. They conquered the Velabits in the snow and disappeared, deep into the gorges of the Velika (Great) Paklenica and the Mala (Small) Paklenica, discovering

houses carved into the landscape as a place to hide when the country was besieged. A last day was spent in Zadar with the teams exploring this small, but perfectly-formed coastal town. Everyone gathered for the sunset, and to listen to the haunting sounds of the ‘sea organ’.

Penny Daniel Norway

It was hard to imagine those struggling in the 40-degree heat wave in the UK as we paddled in the chilled crystal water of the fjord, offering our worn our feet some much needed relief during our four-day hike through the Setesdal Valley. We ascended mountains, strolled through forests and told endless riddles as we navigated our way through the beautiful Norwegian national park. Our bags were heavy, the terrain was rocky and cooking for 13 at the top of a mountain on a stove was definitely challenging but the group did an incredible job. Although the trek was perhaps the most challenging aspect of our trip and in many ways the most rewarding, we all thoroughly enjoyed our two-day canoe adventure along the River Otra. White water rafting was also a huge highlight for all, with many of us conquering our fears by taking part. Norway brought its fair share of challenges, including a few lost luggage issues, but the First Challengers maintained admirable attitudes throughout. The confidence and skills they developed over the 11 days was fascinating to observe. The Challengers persevered through the more challenging and uncertain times to help make the trip adventurous, fun-filled, enjoyable and full of laughter.

Hayley Wilson

OSCA

Our 2021 intake of 125 Oscaneers have puzzled, thought, and performed their way through all the outdoor activities that have been presented to them. With the shadow of Covid behind us, OSCA has returned to its vigorous normality with a wide range of energetic activities designed to challenge and develop our Second Years.

As always, OSCA sessions have been filled with laughter and challenging surprise, as pupils have built chariots to fall off, tsunami towers to avoid ‘sharks’, lit campfires to avoid going hungry, and put up tents to survive the cold. No outdoor activity would be complete without orienteering to prevent themselves getting lost, nor the use of sharp knives to turn branches into cooking forks.

The three-day residential adventure activity in Dorset took the pupils further, by helping them to overcome fear of heights on high rope activities, teaching them how to shinny up a cliff face, abseiling back down (safely!), and instructing them on how to increase the speed of a large canoe, whilst coordinating paddling and working as a team. All the while, having the terrific adventure of being away with their friends for three glorious days! As ever, the gang returned from these activities full of high tales of derringdo, how they overcame adversity, and how much fun they had!

Julian Lucraft Ten Tors

On the first weekend of the Easter holiday, the three Ten Tor Teams (two Fourth Year CCF cadets and one team of Lower Sixth pupils) travelled

down to Dartmoor for the final compulsory training weekend, which included wild camping. The teams then returned to Dartmoor on Friday 6 May, to take part in the main event itself. Lining up on the start line at 0700 on Saturday morning, Churcher’s teams were excited and ready for the demanding challenge that lay ahead of them in this particularly special year, celebrating 60 years of the Ten Tors Challenge.

In completing these long challenge distances, 35 miles for the Fourth Years and 45 for the Lower Sixth, carrying all the necessary kit and food independently of all staff, all three teams performed wonderful well. Navigation was of a very high standard, with the teams confidently planning and executing their own routes. Traversing Dartmoor and visiting the Tors on route is no normal hike, and considering the wild camp and heavy packs, we were all mightily impressed by the endurance and resilience of our teams. Although Ten Tors is most definitely not a race, crossing the finish line with extremely good times on Sunday means our three teams can rightly feel wonderfully proud of themselves for what they achieved.

Anne Harris World Challenge

Peru and Bolivia

We touched down in Lima and were immediately immersed in the vibrant colours and expressive culture of Peru, with everyone excited to explore this incredible continent. Two groups of intrepid explorers spent time in a Quechua community, working on a building project and getting to know the local people. The trek phase

took us up into the Andes, hitting the dizzy heights of almost 5,000 metres, and walking in the footsteps of the Incas, whilst condors soared above. The majestic Machu Picchu was the reward; the jungle-covered mountains looming out of the mist and the ancient ‘ruins’ that still looked like they could house a group of weary teenagers, providing a truly jaw-dropping sight. Crossing the land border into Bolivia was an experience in itself, and what awaited was Lake Titicaca. This immense expanse of water felt more like an ocean and the groups met members of the Uros tribe who permanently inhabit the seventy floating reed islands. Our rest and relaxation phase saw us touring the Salt Flats, posing for perspectivealtering photos with dinosaurs and ‘tiny’ group members. Standing on volcanos in the dark, while the steam rushed past us was an experience none of us would forget. You know you have had an epic expedition when no one wants to go home.

Penny Daniel

Charities

As always, the Charities Committee choose the charities they would like to support through the various nonuniform days held throughout the year. Our first one of the school year on 17 October was for UWS, the school in Mude (Nepal), which we have been supporting for several years. We raised £1,970, with an additional £563.88 for the big fun afternoon, organised for the students for all of their hard work in lockdown with online learning. Another non-uniform day followed in December, for Murray Parish Trust. They support children’s emergency services across the South of England by raising money and awareness to support projects at key trauma centres, to enable pioneering research and provide life-saving equipment.

Back by popular demand, the Haunted Library was very busy this year. Dressed to impress, the Committee and several members of staff spent their lunch time jumping out from behind the book shelves to scare students, and in doing so raised £198 for UWS.

This year’s Christmas Jumper Day for Save the Children was bigger than ever, with the Junior School joining us in wearing their Christmas Jumpers

on the last day of the term and raising £1089, much more than previous years. Alongside this, the Charities Committee also ran the much-loved Reindeer Run for Chestnut Tree House for the First Years, raising a huge £688.

At the start of a new year, in the Spring Term, we beat our everincreasing total of donations for nonuniform days, raising £1,974 for Mind. We were delighted to invite the Head of Communications and Community Engagement for Mind to deliver a whole school assembly on Thursday 3 February, which he delivered via video due to Covid. Recently, we found a photo in the Churcher’s archives from 1968, of a group of Churcher’s pupils participating in a charity walk in aid of the Mental Health Research Fund. It is amazing to see that 54 years later the school is still supporting charities that support mental health and wellbeing. In 1968 the pupils raised an impressive £115 (equivalent to £1,400 today).

Events in Ukraine have been horrifying. The Charities Committee made the call to postpone the scheduled non-uniform day for Water Aid and managed to raise a huge

£10,130.32 for the Disaster Emergency Committee, along with lots of other initiatives that were happening to help Ukraine, for example, sending out a shipping container full of goods, and selling sunflower plants.

The Summer Term rolled around quickly, and the Charities Committee began to plan the big end of year festival. This year was even more special as we were raising money for Maddy’s Mark. This charity was set up in memory of an Old Churcherian, Maddy Lawrence, who very sadly passed away after a rugby injury this year. Maddy left Churcher’s in 2020 to do an Art Foundation course at Oxford Brookes and had moved on to study at Bristol UWE. Maddy’s parents have set up Maddy’s Mark to support her twofold passion for positive mental health and women’s rugby. The festival included a wholeschool mixed rugby touch tournament, a non-uniform day, and stalls to buy smoothies and ice cream. We raised a massive £4,850 for this charity, which is very close to all our hearts.

A wonderful end to a successful year of fundraising.

Cat Sinclair

Mude

Since 2015, Churcher’s College have been supporting United World Schools, Mude. This has been an amazing partnership that has seen our community raise nearly £20,000 to build and maintain a school in rural Nepal. Our fundraising efforts over the years have enabled a remote community to have access to education, despite earthquakes and Covid. At the last count, 343 pupils are enrolled in UWS Mude.

There is little doubt regarding the role education can play in breaking the cycle of poverty experienced by marginalised communities. The benefits are far reaching, especially for young girls, who will have new opportunities beyond the trappings of an agricultural society.

Over the years, the Charities Committee, Miss Evans, and Mrs Yugin Power have organised a plethora of events to raise money, which helps provide training for teachers, books for lessons, bags for pupils, and meals at lunchtime. These events have ranged from activity days, curriculum weeks, art exhibitions, non-uniform days, and so much more.

These events have allowed UWS Mude to survive during the pandemic when UWS trained teachers became pivotal in the community led responses to Covid in Nepal. Equally, teachers were trained to deliver lessons via radio so that pupils could continue to learn.

On Founders Day, it was with great pleasure that I was able to tell the Senior School that UWS Mude has successfully been transitioned to government control, as part of the lifecycle of a UWS school. This means that the school is now sustainable and

will continue to provide an education to the children of Mude, without our support. It seemed fitting that when celebrating the 300th year of Churcher’s, we could celebrate the creation of a new school in Mude.

So, after eight years, 14 assemblies, 26 letters, and £20,000, thank you, to everyone who has been a part of this amazing story. We have truly made a difference.

Jeremy Harris

Community Action Service

This year we finally got the wheelbarrows rolling and the students shovelling, after a two-year long wait. Churcher’s College teamed up with the resident association of Merritt’s Meadow to create a nature reserve in the heart of Petersfield, next to the cemetery. The project involved creating a path of about 185 yards, which will steer local walkers away from the centre of the area giving

nature space to breathe. The project was carried out by our Third Year and Lower Sixth students and is scheduled to last two years. On the final day of path building, the students were addressed by Mayor Peter Clist, who also cut the ribbon to open the path. Once again, our work could not have been carried out without the help and guidance of David Burstall and his band of local volunteers.

Tony Ostersen

The Goodfield Centre & Music Auditorium

2022 began with the opening of the latest addition to the College grounds, The Goodfield Centre & Music Auditorium, our new home for Design and Technology, Music, Maths, and Classics.

This exciting new addition to the school has added 2,500m² across two storeys, incorporating a 250-seater auditorium, 11 classrooms, 15 music instrumental lesson/practice rooms, Design and Technology workshops, design studios, and orchestral rehearsal rooms.

Over the course of it’s inaugural year, it has played host to countless rehearsals, concerts, meetings, and lectures and has become an invaluable space for our largest ever number of pupils and staff.

Development Office

Whilst the pandemic managed to disrupt and derail many plans, it could not stop us from celebrating the 300th anniversary of Churcher’s College! The Development Office has been busier than ever, supported by our whole community – pupils, parents, alumni, staff, local administrators, businesses, charities, community groups, and many others – to help us mark our tercentenary.

Our ultimate goal in planning the anniversary celebrations was to engage the whole school community, recognising the past, where we are today, and taking inspiration for the future.

To kick things off, before we even entered 2022, the whole school, including pupils and staff from both the Junior School and Senior School, came together for the ‘300’ photo on Memorial Field. Twenty-five different year groups of Old Churcherians also helped us get things started, coming together for the Tercentenary Drinks event at the In & Out Club in London.

Continuing in the footsteps of our benefactor, the Senior School pupils were each handed 300 pennies (in pound coins!) and challenged to come up with some inspirational and entrepreneurial ideas to raise funds for the Richard Churcher Foundation. This raised over £5,000 for the provision of bursaries in the process.

Thank you to the many parents, alumni, and other supporters who have also made generous gifts to the Foundation in this special year, not forgetting the profits from sales of Churcher’s 1722 Pale Ale and Classic Cuvée!

Richard Churcher’s impact and the passage of time was recognised brilliantly on the stage by the Senior School pupils, who performed 1722: The Musical. In addition, the Junior School unveiled their amazing ‘300’ mosaic on the very same calendar day that Richard Churcher signed his will 300 years ago. Shortly after this, Petersfield Museum unveiled a special collection of Churcher’s archive items on display to celebrate the tercentenary.

Over the course of three days in February, managing to avoid Storm Eunice by a matter of days, the pupils at both schools all got the chance to plant a tree to create Tercentenary Wood for Petersfield, at Penns Place. This also marked Her Majesty The Queen’s request that we all plant a tree for the Jubilee.

The Old Churcherians came out in force in March, with more than 200 of them coming back to Petersfield for our inaugural OC Day. This included the annual sport fixtures against the pupils, a huge ‘school lunch’ in the dining hall, and the OC Choir and

OC Orchestra making their debuts in the evening, performing alongside current pupils in the new music school.

The Summer Term was wrapped up in style with the Grand Summer Open Air Concert. More than 1,800 people packed Memorial Field to enjoy fantastic performances from the school orchestras and bands, not forgetting the fantastic Tercentenary Chorus, which was made up of hundreds of people from the wider community, including pupils, staff, parents, alumni, and friends.

The very next day, Churcher’s played host to the Petersfield Community Fair, involving more than 40 local charities, community groups, schools, and businesses – whether they were performing on the stage, raising awareness, or selling their products. With a wide range of entertainment, the sun shining, and thousands of people from Petersfield and the surrounding area coming through the school gates, it was a fitting way to end the school year.

Thank you to everyone for getting involved with our 300th anniversary celebrations.

Nick Smith

Staff Departures

Louise Holmes

From the moment she arrived, Lou brought vigour, dynamism and a cheery smile to the Maths Department. A born teacher, Lou had natural empathy in spades and was always willing to go the extra mile to help any student or colleague with any aspect of their life, not just their maths problems. This made her an exceptional tutor as well a fantastic Maths teacher. Lou had exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge making her a wonderful teacher to each and every year group and to all abilities. Self-driven, she was keen to keep progressing herself: she was happy to train herself to teach the Mechanics aspect of the A Level course becoming an integral teacher of this, despite having never studied this previously. A report on Lou would not be complete without mentioning her sociability as Lou always welcomed people with a warm cheery hello. Lou also took on the mantle of Maths Department social secretary, organising lots of dinners and Christmas events. Lou’s brilliance with numbers meant she never forgot a birthday either. Lou also used her experience of working in the city to successfully guide students through their Young Enterprise experience. The children here at Churcher’s have been exceptionally fortunate to have had her wonderful input in the classrooms and wise council out of it. Lou may have “retired” in the loosest sense of the word, but we know Lou will never stop the learning journey taking on new challenges that suit her interests. She was an incredibly kind, generous and supportive colleaguewe miss you loads already, darling!

Martin Hill

The Headmaster, and Martin himself, would both agree that his appointment back in 2011 was a gamble. With no teaching experience at all, he was plucked from the retail world of Marks & Spencer and thrust into the rough and tumble of A-Level Economics teaching at Churcher’s. But he was an instant success. An absolute natural in the classroom, his thorough and meticulous attention to detail and his sense of duty to the pupils, made him a big hit with our Sixth Form Economists. So much so, that when Paul Ratinckx left a year later, Martin applied for the Head of Economics post and was given the job. The Economics Department went from strength to strength under Martin’s leadership. A-Level exam results were strong year after year because Martin made sure that Economics lessons were well resourced, well taught, and that the students could have all the individual help they needed in between lessons.

In his early days at Churcher’s, Martin did his time on banks of canals and rivers training our Devizes to Westminster paddlers, as well as leading several World Challenge expeditions. He was then promoted further to Deputy Head of Sixth Form. Martin brought his typical diligence to this role, and set about introducing numerous new initiatives that benefitted the students. It was here that he discovered his love of spreadsheets and data, which ultimately led him to his appointment as Assistant Head (Pupil Progress) at Portsmouth Grammar School, in January 2022.

In 2018, Martin became Head of EPQ, and within a year he had doubled the number of students not only starting an EPQ, but also completing it. He introduced the EPQ Forum, which brilliantly showcased all of the fantastic projects that the students had done. It was a humbling experience walking around the Sports Hall talking to the students, each one an expert in their field, and each one as enthusiastic and engaging as the last.

Latterly, Martin dusted off his euphonium and it was a lovely sight to see him playing, cheeks puffed out, towering above the other members of the Wind Band.

But amongst all of Martin’s successes and achievements, keeping Mr Shipley on the straight and narrow for ten years must rank as his greatest. Martin was not just a brilliant teacher and an incredibly efficient administrator, he was a people person with impressive soft skills that were often underrated, and he was able to get the very best out of all those who worked with him.

Catherine Murphy

Catherine joined the Junior School teaching team back in September 2014, for just two weeks supply teaching, however, she never left after those first two weeks. Initially joining as a form teacher, Catherine was to stay for many more years and perform a number of roles. Maths was always Catherine’s passion, which she instilled in the children who were lucky enough to be in one of her classes. Graduating in maths from Southampton University, Catherine has a vast wealth of knowledge and skills that she has been able to impart to the children at their level.

Nothing stays the same when teaching, and it wasn’t long before a new middle school was constructed, teachers retired and moved, and the demands on Catherine evolved. As joint maths lead, Catherine introduced maths days to broaden the appeal and highlight the relevance and wonder of maths. She entered the school for maths competitions and challenges, and invited other local schools to come to CCJS&N to do some maths and raise the profile! Maths was cool!

Catherine is a people person; she has been a delightful presence in the staff room and very supportive of her fellow teachers and workers at school. Her sense of fun is evident, and she has often been seen crying with laughter in the staffroom when chatting to colleagues over lunch. Catherine is still very busy, spreading the message of maths. In her other role as educational consultant, Catherine is in the thick of teacher training and curriculum development. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Catherine work at CCJS&N againjust for two weeks!

Andy Rowley

The title of Head of Adventure is a rather rare position within schools. It might even be unique to Churcher’s, but Andy Rowley is the perfect person to hold that title. Not only does he teach it, he lives and breathes it as well. When it comes to a ‘worn that T-shirt’ claim, Andy has more knowledge and experience than the vast majority, having, it seems, climbed, swum, walked, and jumped off almost everything and anything.

Great exam grades may be a key that opens a door beyond school, but once through that door they are largely obsolete. You need other attributes to make a success of life beyond school. If there is one person, more than most, who has been helping the children here develop those skills, it is Andy. Half-way up a mountain with your team, it’s cold and wet, it’s getting dark, you’re lost, and yet you find your way home; there is little better experience that will develop self-confidence, self-esteem, problemsolving, team-work, resilience, perseverance, and a host of other life skills.

PE teacher, Director of Sport, Deputy Head, even Headmaster, Andy has had them all, but being Head of Adventure probably fits his character and personal enthusiasm the best; Andy is happiest up a mountain, or on the water, and even more so when he has a group of children to inspire.

The significance of the Adventure programme here, or the ‘Journey of Adventure’, as a recent publication entitled it, cannot be understated. Andy has brought together the different strands to form a coherent programme of development and enrichment for the children, traveling from Calshot in the First Year, through OSCA, the three Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, First Challenge, the Combined Cadet Force, Ten Tors, and The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon, through to the Sixth Form Adventure Club and World Challenge at the top of the school. Not a school year goes by without Andy offering something to every year group.

Andy has inspired so much and grown so much here at Churcher’s; he may have been responsible for quite a few huddles of chilled children in his time here, but those children have had the experience of a lifetime, and one which has enriched them so much. That Andy’s legacy will remain with them for life is beyond doubt, and it is a great testament to him that he cannot be replaced by just one person alone. That is surely a sign of success. We wish him a happy, actionpacked retirement.

Paul Harris

Paul joined Churcher’s in 2014 as Estates Bursar. Few will appreciate quite how much time, energy, inspiration, and perspiration Paul expended on keeping the fabric of Churcher’s College in one piece. It doesn’t matter how organised or prepared Paul was, when you are running an estate the size of Churcher’s things happen: boilers fail, windows smash, doors jam, toilets block, minibuses break down, and none of them with any pre-determined plan in mind. Paul ensured that he and his team kept all the school facilities working.

During a period of significant growth of the school, Paul played a leading role in countless projects from the very small to the very large, including the new Middle School and Nursery at the Junior School, in recent years the Ramshill/Forrester enlargement, and of course the Goodfield building and new Music School.

Is it any surprise that Paul is looking for an easier life? Paul’s next role is looking after the nursing and residential homes for a hospice organisation, and we wish him well for the future.

Karen McCathie

Karen arrived at Churcher’s from Frensham Heights as the new Head of Computing in January 2016, joining Mr Sangster who had started in the department a term earlier. They immediately established a Computing dream team, and together they have revitalised Computing and ICT at Churcher’s, both in and outside the classroom.

The curriculum was Karen’s first project and she immediately decided upon the pattern of Computing for all in the First and Second Year, with the pupils given the choice of Computing or ICT in the Third Year before they make their GCSE choices. The popularity of Computing has grown hugely under Karen’s leadership, with more and more pupils opting for the subject at GCSE and A Level. Crucially, Karen was a fantastic role model for women in STEM subjects. She recognised the gender imbalance in Computing and, through new initiatives such as the Digital Divas club and by modernising the Key Stage 3 curriculum, girls started to appear in the exam classes, which were previously populated almost entirely by boys. Her last A Level group even contained two girls, which is a fantastic achievement.

Karen also played an important whole-school role in the development of IT at Churcher’s over the last few years. As a key member of the Digital Strategy Group, she bridged the gap between the IT specialists and teachers. She spoke both languages and was therefore able to explain the pros and cons of different technologies to the school decisionmakers, always keeping in mind the potential benefit to the students’ learning. One of her biggest successes was the introduction of Firefly, which revolutionised pupil (and parent!) organisation. She did a huge amount of work to smooth the transition from homework diaries to Firefly tasks and an awful lot of troubleshooting behind the scenes.

If you asked the Headmaster for a Mrs McCathie memory, he would undoubtedly choose the enormous boxing belt trophy that a Churcher’s team brought back after winning the Lockheed Martin Code Quest competition. It remains the largest and most ostentatious trophy any Churcher’s team has ever won, and is still on display in the Computing Department. A fitting legacy for Mrs McCathie who was, in every sense, a game-changer.

John McLearie

The legend that is John McLearie. Where does one begin? A man with encyclopaedic historical knowledge, yet lightly worn; a raconteur who made us all laugh every single day he worked here, a man with a dizzying array of suits that befitted all occasions (including the leather trench coat), and above all someone who was incredibly thoughtful and kind. Our students highly respected John for his erudition, which often took them to the hinterland of topics, making them see History as greater than just the exam board spec. His unswerving dedication to the school was so great that in all his six years with us, he never missed a day, and he braved life in the ‘school house’ in his final six months with us, in order to help cover the Autumn Term. Not only did he throw himself into teaching, but he also camped out for OSCA, by popular demand he ran a weekly History Club with the Sixth form, he was our erudite guide on many school trips, and most memorably, he volunteered a few times to be the fairy in the school panto. His ‘joie de vivre’ was infectious, and it was a true privilege for all of us to have worked with him.

Angie Raven

The profits of the garden centres in South East England will rise significantly now that Angie has retired after 29 years of service! Angie joined initially on a temporary sixweek sickness cover appointment as a cleaner in New College in 1992, working alongside her aunt. In 1995 Angie progressed to Assistant Caretaker, and in 2000 to School Caretaker, working closely with the Estates Office. Angie was a founding member of the ‘Pink Ladies’ Cleaning and Caretaking Site Team in 2005, and their pink polo shirts were an everyday sight around the school.

The school grew significantly over the 29-year period Angie was here, and she fondly remembers cleaning the girls and boys boarding houses alongside Teresa Robins (her partner in crime). The demands that the increase in pupil numbers brought to Angie and her team over the years were significant, but Angie never shied away from the challenge.

Angie and her team regularly had to prepare the Sports Hall for assemblies and other events. No job was too large for Angie. Setting up and down for numerous school events from Speech

Day to Sports Day, and everything in between. A school assembly in the Senior School involved setting up and taking down over 1,100 chairs in a short space of time.

Angie was also a dab hand at skittles, and fended off some serious competition to win the individual tournament at the annual Site and Estates team skittles night. Angie has many plans for her retirement, including trips to the Lake District and a coach tour of northern Scotland later in the year. Angie will be kept busy with her gardening and her many trips to the Garden Centre, and we wish her the very best for her retirement.

Katie Johnson

Katie joined Churcher’s in October 2018 in her role as systems administrator and admissions assistant. Having been a pupil at Churcher’s College herself, she could never get the hang of calling Jane by her first name rather than “Miss Hart”, or calling Mr YuginPower, “John”, who both had been her teachers. Katie felt passionately about many things - one of them was automation and saying good riddance to paper. She was astute in her analysis of systems and processes, but above all, Katie knew how to make everyone laugh. She developed strong relationships with staff and supported them in ways they will never forget. She implemented, and was a strong advocate of, My School Portal. She ran around the school when 2FA went live, ensuring all teachers in their classrooms were setup, and could access iSAMS both at school and at home. Many cried when she left, and she is still missed as such a breath of fresh air. Her IT skills were a key strength, and nothing was too much for her to figure out and dig deeper into, to find a solution. Katie was all about enabling, empowering, and finding a more efficient way of doing things. She has left Churcher’s to work on cyber security projects and further her IT skills and training, not, as many have speculated, counter terrorism security for the government.

Gloria Becker

Gloria joined Churcher’s in September 2018. It seems a lot longer, which is a great testament to Gloria, for all her hard work and efforts as Head of Modern Foreign Languages at the Junior School. She has made learning new languages such fun for the children. At the end of term one, in the middle of our maths lesson, the children suddenly broke into song in Spanish, and the whole class joined in with the greatest of enthusiasm! Gloria, thankfully, has lots of happy memories of the school, with one highlight being the trip to France with Year 6 and doing the Tree Trail with them.

Always smiling, always patient, always enthusiastic about the children and their lessons, Gloria is the teacher every child should have. We wish her well for her future adventures, where she will be spending time in Spain with the aim of moving there permanently in the near future, working on her own holiday rental business.

Jon Branch

Jon worked as part of our Site Maintenance team for four years, and was a skilled and conscientious electrician. A long list of site electrical improvements was successfully completed during Jon’s time at the school, including larger projects such as Baker’s Café, along with countless upgrades, reconfigurations, and repairs throughout the school. Jon was a very friendly, approachable, and reliable team member and we wish him the best for his well-earned retirement.

Kath Tkaczynska

It is hard to imagine the school without Mrs T! Countless numbers of children have benefited from her teaching and high standards and if you bump into an ex-junior school pupil, they invariably ask “How’s Mrs T?”

Her first day at work was the start of the Autumn term, September 2009 as a Year 5 class teacher alongside Alex Greenaway. She formed close relationships with all members of staff who appreciated her wicked sense of humour. Her partnerships with Beccy Stuart (Morris) and Catherine Murphy were highlights for her, and she was very appreciative of the support provided by Sarah Roberts, especially with computing which she considers having been her greatest challenge.

Mrs T particularly loved the excitement and fun of the residential trips where her care and concern for the children really shone through and where she took delight in interacting with them in a relaxed environment. She ensured those feeling homesick got a cuddle and ended up giggling.

With no concrete plans for her time just yet, Mrs T has two young grandsons who she expects to occupy her a lot! She is also taking up life drawing classes – although has no intention of being the model! She will leave a huge hole in the life of the junior school and we wish her all the best for the future.

Freddy Wickham

Freddy bounced in to Churcher’s College having spent a year as a graduate music assistant at his Magdalen College School in Oxford. He had completed his degree the previous year at Magdalen College University of Oxford, specialising in composition. Given his academic experience, we knew from the outset that Freddy would have much to offer our academic musicians. With only one year of assisting in the classroom prior to starting at Churcher’s College, it was always going to be a steep learning curve, but Freddy was more than up for the challenge with his endless enthusiasm, determination, and ability, and he soon became very much at home in the classroom, with a large number of our pupils benefitting from his expertise. To add to the challenge of learning how to teach, much of the work took place during lockdown at home, teaching from a computer, where he even started a YouTube channel dedicated to humorous musical education!

Not only has Freddy made his mark in the classroom, he is an accomplished pianist and vocal specialist, not to mention his double bass playing, violin playing, accordion, banjo, guitar, and generally being able to put his hand to most instruments, including helping out in the percussion section when required! The Tenor section in the Senior Choir will certainly miss his powerful voice next year! He has

coached various choirs, including the SSA girls’ choir, Junior Choir, and Junior Chamber Choir, as well as imparting his jazz skills with the Blues group, and also directing the smaller chamber ensembles, such as the clarinet and recorder ensembles. Not many people could find time to be such a fundamental part of the Music Department at the same time as being involved in the PE department, but Freddy’s energy has also been seen on the sports field, not only teaching PE to the KS3 classes, but playing a high standard of cricket, tennis, and rugby. He will be missed by staff and pupils alike next year, and we wish him all the best as his moves up the career ladder to become Assistant Director of Music at Epsom College.