Sherborne School Newsletter Michaelmas 2019

SHERBORNE NEWS Michaelmas 2019 ISSUE 32

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What is the most important feature of a Sixth Form education? Academic success? A varied co-curricular programme? The opportunity to socialise with a mix of girls and boys while maintaining focus in the classroom?

Encouragement and empowerment to pursue your ambitions, to become the person you long to be?..

The answer is “all of these things”. I strongly believe a 16+ education is about building foundations for a successful future. My focus as Assistant Head (Sixth Form) is on preparing the boys at Sherborne for whatever they feel is their perfect next step.

You could say we reverse engineer our offer to pupils, depending on their hopes and aspirations upon leaving School. We help boys discern what they want to achieve, then ensure the building blocks are in place for them to get there. With a number of bursaries and scholarships available, we’re attentive to the particular needs of every pupil.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach at Sherborne.

We recognise that every boy is different, that a successful education is one that prepares them for a future only they will pursue, because it is their future, their life.

A number of our boys go onto Oxbridge or Russell Group universities, and our academic standards reflect that aspiration. However, that is by no means the only route they follow. Some go to prestigious art colleges, others enter industry with top-flight employers, and others choose to pursue creative careers as writers, actors, musicians and entrepreneurs.

Alongside our academic prowess, we have an extraordinarily varied co-curricular offer. This encompasses sport, music and drama, art, and a variety of societies and clubs. A Sixth Form boy could be fly-fishing one day then representing the School on the fives court the next day. In between, he may well have sung in the chapel choir, practised for a House Play or enjoyed a social gathering with pupils from Sherborne Girls.

This sums up the range on offer at Sherborne and speaks of an important feature of the Sixth Form experience. The School enjoys a close partnership with Sherborne Girls, bringing the social opportunities of a co-educational setting along with the benefits of single-sex teaching – offering the best of both worlds.

Of course, the focus on next steps is a key part of life in the Sixth Form. Sherborne’s Higher Education and Careers Department plays an important role in helping pupils work out what they want to do after School, and supporting with UCAS or job applications, or year-out arrangements.

Our Sixth Formers know that they are being prepared for their lives beyond School. At the same time, we expect them to set an example for their younger peers and take leadership responsibility within Sherborne’s structures, ensuring they have a fitting ending to their time with us. It can be a busy and occasionally challenging period, so our pastoral care system ensures boys are given all the support they need to thrive.

All of which answers the question of what Sherborne regards as a good Sixth Form experience: a world of opportunity and responsibility, held together by a genuine commitment to every pupil’s success.

Rob Marston, Assistant Head (Sixth Form)

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Academic Enrichme GOLD CERTIFICATES IN THE UK SENIOR MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE We have some excellent results in the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge (SMC) this year despite not entering our main group of top Upper Sixth Mathematicians owing to their internal examinations. The SMC is a national competition aimed at all 16 - 19 year olds studying mathematics in the country. It is a 90minutes, multiple-choice competition that encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.

SHARES4SCHOOLS REGIONAL WINNERS Sherborne School were crowned regional winners of the Shares4School competition this year and were invited to Mansion House in the City of London to collect their award. A team of Economics A level students managed to generate an impressive 29.5% return on a £2,000 investment and elected to donate their winnings to ‘The Rendevous’, a local charity that provides counselling and support for young people.

The boys were presented their award by The Lord Lee of Trafford and had a unique opportunity to network with top fund managers and share investment tips.

Chris O’Donnell, Teacher of Business and Economics

With an impressive haul of 7 Gold, 11 Silver and 14 Bronze certificates respectively, our boys have made themselves and us proud. Many congratulations to our Gold certificate winners this year: Abdulla Ahmadi (U6e), Aaron Kim (U6b), Henry Le-Cornu (U6f), Nicholas Morris (L6a), Simeon Davchev (L6e), Marius Cotorobai (L6e) and Jack Wang (5e). Along with other top scorers nationally, all seven were invited to take part in the Senior Kangaroo Competition. Abdulla Ahmadi and Aaron Kim also qualified for the prestigious BMO (British Mathematical Olympiad).

On a separate front, following a successful trip to the Senior Mathematics Team Challenge (STMC) National Final in London last year where our boys won the 3rd Place in the Poster Round, we are delighted to share the news that our team made it to the National Final again this year. This is a competition testing mathematical, communication and teamwork skills, and we are pleased that our team, consisting of Abdulla Ahmadi, Aaron Kim, Nicholas Morris and Simeon Davchev, won the Regional Tournament and will be flying our flag in the National Final in London.

Siew-Chiang Lim, Head of Mathematics

EPQ This term has been a triumphant one for the Sherborne EPQ 2019 cohort, who finished off an exciting set of 11 research projects with a fantastic marketplace joint presentation evening with Sherborne Girls in November. At the event their Course Co-ordinator (2018-19) Shoshana Mertens paid tribute to their dedication, creativity and resilience in completing their projects to such high standards, and in particular noted the impressive extent and depth of their research, including some original primary data analysis. As they hand over their finished Projects and anxiously await their results, the candidates can take heart in knowing that their supervisors are justifiably proud of their achievements; for many the EPQ journey was a challenging one, taking them far out of their comfort zones, and was completed alongside a full academic curriculum and many additional commitments.

Projects this year were , as always a fascinating cornucopia ranging from "An evaluation into the use of bacteriophages as a replacement for antibiotics within the future of modern medicine" and "Is Pirenne’s thesis of a stable Belgian national identity viable in light of its current cultural and institutional divisions?" to "Cinematography's Role in Furthering the Narrative in the Films of Wes Anderson and Denis Villeneuve" via "To what extent did the Good Friday Agreement solve Irish problems?". As one cycle ends, the next begins, and the 2019-20 Cohort have just submitted their Project proposals. They certainly have a lot to live up to, but are ready to take on the challenge: roll on EPQ 2020!

Charlotte Allen, Head of History and EPQ Co-ordinator

nt News

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FOLLOW MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES In the MFL Department we want our pupils to be actively engaged in their learning and Michaelmas Term presents such opportunities. The year started with our annual celebration of the European Day of Languages. The Third Form responded enthusiastically to the chance to learn a new language, be taught French, German or Spanish by the Upper Sixth linguists and learn about the history of the School through a multilingual treasure hunt.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY

The Upper Sixth participated in the European Commission’s Juvenes Translatores Competition, enjoying a translation workshop with the Gryphon School, where they were challenged to think about idiomatic translation which captures the tone of the piece as well as the meaning. New to the MFL Department this term is the launch of a Twitter account, which aims to share new teaching and learning ideas, promoting pupil engagement. The MFL Department can be followed using: @SherborneMFL, where you can see what is happening in MFL lessons, find out about next term’s UK Linguistics Challenge and the interschools debating competition.

Judy Thurman, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

With the start of a new School year, we are delighted that we have a new library, coupled with an extension to opening hours.

Over the course of the summer break the library has been completely refurbished with purpose made handcrafted furniture and lighting. With colour schemes running through the different rooms it carefully highlights the surrounding architecture and provides an environment conducive to studying.

The first Thursday of October every year is National Poetry day, with the theme this year being: Truth.

We were lucky enough to

have local poet Liv Torc who was this year’s BBC Local Radio chosen poet for the Somerset Region, spend the morning with us. The Third Form were treated to a showcase of some of Liv’s poems ranging from difficult subjects such as Homelessness to much lighter subjects, including one about a Super-Secret Roller-Skating Club, there was something for everyone.

At lunchtime there was a chance for our shortlisted finalists of the Third Form Poetry Competition to sit down and have a more detailed question and answer session.

James Curtis, Assistant Librarian

Co-curricular News CCF HIGHLIGHTS HISTORY SOCIETY Sherborne School History Society has had a successful and varied term. The first meeting involved an analysis of Medals of Dishonour, a series of propaganda medals which elicited a thoughtful and stimulating discussion. Two contrasting lectures by Miss Allen and Mr Reynolds followed, the former on how science helped with the discovery of the body of Richard III and the latter on the assassination of the last British Field Marshal to die in uniform. Ms Pearson began the Film Club with a viewing of Cabaret, and the final meeting of the term was a book club discussion of the Vietnam War classic ‘Dispatches’. A debate involving the History and Philosophy departments provided a cross-curricular element to the Society.

Attendance at the Society has been encouraging, ranging from the Upper Sixth to the Fourth Form. Plans are on track to link up with Sherborne Girls’ History Department next term.

Giles Reynolds, History Teacher

‘I am delighted to have had such a successful relaunch of the Sherborne School History Society and I am especially excited about the opportunities to share our programme with Sherborne Girls in the coming terms’.

Charlotte Allen, Head of History

It has been a typically busy Michaelmas term for the CCF. The Army section entered the Rifles National Cadet Cup and almost won coming a superb second. The Royal Marines’ Pringle Trophy saw our RM cadets secure their highest place finish in years in this prestigious national event. It was wonderful to see the motivation of the boys who trained in the evenings after Hall, doing boot runs and hill reps in the dark with head torches, practising drill before breakfast, and working on tactics on Sunday.

The preparation as well as the participation in these events develops great camaraderie amongst the boys, but also teaches them the importance of commitment, attention to detail, and the need to strive to improve. Our overnight Field Trip saw our Royal Navy section go to Yeovilton, and our Army and Royal Marines go to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The boys were treated to a night exercise and our older cadets attacked and defended buildings using blank ammunition.

We were superbly hosted by former Sherborne Biology teacher and CCF volunteer, Capt Sam Daly, who took the boys on a tour of Old College. The boys were also put through their paces by a Sandhurst drill instructor. We hope this will help the boys march in time during our forthcoming Biennial Inspection in March where our Guest of Honour will be the Commander Sandhurst Group, Brigadier Carr-Smith.

The CCF also had the duty of marking the School’s and the Town’s Remembrance events which they did with due solemnity with Cadet RSM Tom Dubois (U6a) leading the entire parade. The intersection Sherborne Shield trophy has started with the drill competition and will hot up next term.

Rob Le Poidevin, Housemaster of The Digby and CCF Contingent Commander

-7THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD This term has seen a great start to boys completing their DofE awards in all three levels.

Twenty seven certificates have been awarded since our Commemoration Service in June and others are continuing to complete each section in turn.

OFFSITE ACTIVITIES/TRIPS Offsite activities offer wide-ranging benefits from improving social skills and well-being to placing learning into context in the world around us.

We are so fortunate to have such a close relationship with Sherborne, our ‘local learning environment’, which includes such a wealth of opportunity to engage with the community within shops, the High Street and indeed other schools too.

That said, we all enjoy visiting areas further afield and this term we have run over sixty trips from House trips to the cinema, bowling, Splashdown and a number of museums to our

TEN TORS 2020 This year Sherborne School will be entering a Lower Sixth team to complete the 45-mile challenge to compliment the two Fourth Form teams completing the 35-mile challenge. Selection is underway and began on 15 September with a walk from Sherborne School to Cadbury Castle. The Lower Sixth visited the Brecon Beacons on Sunday 10 November and managed to include a visit to the wreckage site of a WWII Wellington Bomber on Carreg Goch, participating in the Remembrance service with other hillwalkers.

Chris O’Donnell, Teacher of Business and Economics and CCF Royal Marines

larger trips abroad. Our Geography, Drama and English departments have participated in curriculum focused trips whilst our Outdoor and CCF teams have been out in the field learning navigation, leadership and military skills. Other highlights of this term would be the Ski Race training in Holland making use of the largest ski village in Europe and the Classics trip to Greece visiting many of the historic sites around Athens.

James Hull, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Educational Visits Co-ordinator

We have had only one trip to the hills this term as much of the expedition sections are completed in the warmer summer months, but it was great to see the Gold group out and about in the Brecon Beacons. We joined the Ten Tors 45 mile teams at the ‘Remembrance in the Mountains Day’ to take part in a service at the memorial cairn below Cwar y Gigfran. The boy’s had plenty of time to practise their navigation skills and even enjoyed a scattering of snow on the ground. We have also started the year with the next wave of boys signing up to the award: Bronze in the Third Form, Silver in the Fourth Form and Gold in the Lower Sixth. For some this is a new challenge and for others, it’s a chance to start the next level. Either way it is pleasing to see the award continue to flourish as a co-curricular activity.

James Hull, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Educational Visits Co-ordinator

Music

The Swing Band started the year’s performances early when they performed at the Cerne Abbas Festival on Thursday 3 October. Vocalists Sam Reynolds (U6c) and James Miller (U6a) delighted the packed audience with Bobby Darin’s La Mer and Michael Bublé’s The Lady is a Tramp and the band went on to give another stellar ‘sold out’ All Stars in the School Dining Hall on Friday 22 November.

The Strings Festival and Masterclass on Sunday 10 November provided a valuable opportunity for musicians to learn from, and be inspired by professional violinist Sophie Langdon. A day of hard work, and some very good performances by the strings players, led to Barney Crawford

(4b, double bass), Kevin Li (3g, violin), Kit Hobbs (Sch.Mus 4c, cello) and Jay Chan (Sch.Mus 3b, viola) being awarded signed certificates of significant progress. All of these players have great potential for the future, whilst meanwhile the Chamber Orchestra performed superbly, under Head of Strings Lucy Allen, during the annual ‘Mince Pies Recital’ in the Tindall Recital Hall in J S Bach’s Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 with some very impressive solo playing from Alexander Hobbs (Sch.Mus L6c, violin), Jay Chan and Jack Pyman (Sch.Mus 5e, violin). In the same concert Isaac Bingley (Sch.Mus L6e) was the outstanding guitar soloist in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Guitar, RV 93.

Collaboration with Sherborne Girls, The Gryphon and Leweston resulted in two largescale concerts: the first was on Friday 15 November in the Big School Room with the Sinfonia and Sinfonietta, and featuring performances by Sherborne Prep, and the second was on Sunday 17 November in the Merritt Centre at Sherborne Girls, featuring the Wind Band on startlingly good form, with particularly outstanding brass playing, under the direction of new Head of Brass, Hugh Davies, and Head of Instrumental, Studies, Clare Jackson.

Sherborne Schools’ Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Jenkins, excelled in repertoire by Schubert, Brahms, Glazunov and Vaughan Williams.

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Cheap Street Church Recitals on Friday lunchtimes at 1.45pm continue to draw an audience which is both large and appreciative. Showcasing the increasing excellence of their musical performances each week, the musicians have given both solo and ensemble performances in woodwind, brass, strings, piano, voice and the ubiquitous jazz.

The Choir has been on the finest form this term that it has been for some time. 104 singers have led the Abbey services on Wednesdays and Sundays each week, and an outstanding candle-lit Advent Carol Service on Sunday 1 December was followed by a superb Carol Service (again the brass shone) on the last day of term. Early in the term, the Chamber Choir – which has an excellent line-up of ex-cathedral treble voices in it – hosted the Sølvguttene Choir from Norway in the School Chapel and they also performed ‘Carols and Readings for Christmas’ in the Chapel raising money for the homeless charity – Crisis.

James Henderson, Director of Music

Design & Technology

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A level Design and Technology students travelled to London for a Product Design in Action enrichment day comprising of inspirational talks and activities from practising designers.

Highlights of the day included hearing from Dr Anna Ploszajski, an awards-winning materials engineer, science communicator and selfdescribed ‘maker on a mission to get people fascinated by the ordinary stuff which makes up the world around us’! Dr Ploszajski describes materials engineering as all about looking at stuff and trying to understand what makes these materials hard, soft, fluffy, squidgy, heavy, elastic or tasty so we can start building things and solving problems.

The lecture ‘Broken gears and no ideas’ described the progression of Dr Ploszajski’s career from an interest which developed into a passion which she then pursued with no obvious linear path. The underlying message to our pupils was that they need to be bold and brave, to be open to take up opportunities as they arise and not to be surprised by where these take them. Dr Ploszajski’s studies into how ripe pine cones opened and closed in wet and dry weather led to a phone call from NASA who were trying to determine how it might be possible to assemble habitation modules on the surface of Mars ahead of the arrival of its astronauts! When offered six months work in Hertfordshire Dr Ploszajski explained she would be more interested in their facilities in Houston and has now worked in The States developing prototype geodesic structures which could

‘grow’ when exposed to a Martian atmosphere. The sentiment to our pupils was certainly inspiring in a year where we celebrated fifty years since Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the Moon and all the technological developments that delivered him there.

‘A design for living’ workshop was delivered by Wayne Hemingway, MBE who reflected on his fascinating and diverse journey from thrifty market staller to international and morally-responsible designer.

Funny, inspirational and thoughtprovoking, Wayne’s talk showed how self-belief and passion can be the keys to creative success. The pupils learned how fashion designer, Wayne set up Hemingway Design with his wife, Gerardine, after they sold Red or Dead.

Wayne’s design vision, to ‘improve things that matter in life’ has taken him from fashion to affordable housing and interior and furniture ranges. Currently a Youth Ambassador for the Mayor of London’s Team London project and chairman of Building for Life, Wayne was a very frank and charismatic speaker who implored pupils to look at the built environment with a

critical eye and to work to drive the changes forward that society needs.

The event closed with a look at the work of ‘Fixperts’, a learning programme that challenged young people to use their imagination and skills to create ingenious solutions for those who need individual solutions rather than mass produced products. Their rather lovely first illustration of the work of ‘Fixperts’ saw a large image of a former pupil, James Calwell (OS 2015), beaming out at the audience from the screen. James, who graduated in Product Design from Kingston University this year, had successfully worked as part of a team helping the elderly to dress more easily and independently.

One of our aims in taking this day out from our studies is to help lift the heads of the pupils to see what is possible. From family and homelife to off-world exploration and living. This year’s lectures have certainly challenged our pupils to lift their heads, take the initiative and steer the talent they are developing to help shape tomorrow’s world.

Peter Chillingworth, Head of Design and Technology

The Drama Department has seen some excellent work this term with two fantastic house plays in the Powell and a really stunning Joint Schools Play, produced at Sherborne Girls in their brand new Merritt Centre.

Drama Both “Unman, Wittering and Zigo”, performed by Wallace House and “The Cripple Of Inishmaan”, performed by Digby House were wonderfully realised and hugely well performed by all concerned. It was wonderful to see Billy Mutoti (L6e) performing his heart out once more on the Powell stage in the lead role of the former, and Harry Boulton (U6m) completely stealing the show on the latter.

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The Joint Schools’ Play was a real triumph of design, performance and direction. It was plain to see the huge amount of work which had gone into all the aspects of the very demanding script, such as the stage fighting and choreography. It was also a real testament to the director’s abilities to see the interactive nature of the production so well realised. Pupils are not generally very used to this kind of performance work, and it must have been a huge challenge for them, but they overcame it with skill and alacrity.

Members of all three casts deserve a huge round of applause. Very well done!

Ian Reade, Head of Drama

Art

The academic year started with the opening of the new dedicated Sixth Form Art studio in the Carrington building and our GCSE Art, A level Art, History of Art and Photography pupils headed off on a number of different educational visits. In September Fourth Form and Lower Sixth pupils researched Islamic pattern and did observational drawing in the sculpture gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum; later the same day pupils had the opportunity to visit the Gillian Ayers exhibition at Tate Britain. Closer to home, A level Photographers visited Haynes Motor Museum while A level Artists attended a drawing workshop at the Hauser and Wirth exhibition of David Smith’s work.

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Working with the Marketing Department, Creative Media pupils have created a documentary about boarding school life and worked with the First XI Football team to create twitter motion graphics. Our SCAD Foundation Fellow, Braden Maxwell, has been leading the Life Drawing sessions in the Oliver Holt Gallery this term. His Portraiture lecture, at Sherborne Girls proved very popular with Sixth Form pupils from both Schools.

Building on the success of the Printmaking CPD workshop for prep school Art teachers and the Year Six Art experience for Perrott Hill pupils, next year the Art department will be hosting visiting artist workshops, History of Art lectures and the first UK exhibition of work by Braden Maxwell.

Emma Drake and Matt Bone, Art Teachers

WELCOMING MIROSLAV POMICHAL TO HISTORY OF ART We are pleased to welcome Miroslav Pomichal, who has recently joined as a teacher of Art. Miroslav is an art historian as well as a practising artist and is currently working with Tate Modern and the Estate of Maria Bartuszova, translating the major monograph of this artist prior to her retrospective exhibition.

He has found the School history astonishingly rich. As such, he is working on a talk on the Sherborne Missal (the most sumptuous late medieval book made in England, in the cloisters of Sherborne Abbey) for the School, as well as the architectural contributions of Arthur Blomfield to Sherborne.

Miroslav has exhibited internationally, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Saatchi Gallery, London, the Leopold Museum, Vienna, and Bratislava City Gallery. He will have a solo show at Three Works, Scarborough, in February 2020, which is hugely inspiring for the boys.

WELCOMING BRADEN MAXWELL TO THE ART DEPARTMENT This term we also warmly welcome Braden Maxwell. Braden is the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) Foundation Fellow at Sherborne where he is spending a year teaching pupils whilst working on his MFA in Illustration as an award-winning illustrator.

Since graduating from BYU-Idaho, he has worked as a professional freelance illustrator and as an educator focusing primarily on drawing fundamentals, painting, and digital techniques. A defining attribute of his work is the prominent use of the figure throughout his paintings and illustrations. Braden has shown his work in multiple juried shows in Galleries across the United States, gaining acclaim from Illustration publications such as 3x3 Magazine and will be exhibiting his work in the Oliver Holt Gallery in January.

Braden’s exhibition ‘Process’ in the Oliver Holt Gallery, is open to the public from 1.30pm-4.30pm, on Tuesday 28 January, Thursday 30 January, Tuesday 4 February, Thursday 6 February, Tuesday 11 February and Thursday 13 February.

PROCESS The Oliver Holt Gallery

Public Viewing

A Braden Maxwell Exhibition

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THE BIG SLEEP OUT “It’s been an experience I couldn’t have imagined before taking part.”

“I learned so much about how easy it is to become homeless.”

“It was amazing to think that 55,000 others were also sleeping out like us tonight.”

These were just three of the responses from the nearly 40 boys who took part in our inaugural Big Sleepout – a little iteration of the World’s Biggest Sleepout which took place on a mild but extremely blustery Saturday 7 December. By any measure it was an extraordinary gathering of different sections of the School community, united in hearing more about the issue of homelessness and experiencing for one night what it is to sleep outdoors with only the most primitive of shelters.

The Cloisters certainly buzzed with excitement as we gathered for the event. There was a great sense of expectation of being able to do just a little to educate ourselves more and to share in an event which was replete with meaning.

We were the lucky ones – provided as we were with a fine supper thanks to the generosity and kindness of Trish and Harriet Cant, Wendy Brock and Cathie Graham and a much-needed breakfast thanks to the pre-dawn efforts of Tim Bennett, Lindsey Miller and Tim Filtness.

In between were readings from the lived experience of homeless people, the fits and starts of attempts at sleep, the almost inevitable fun and camaraderie and moments of profound reflection and frankly gratitude that when all was done we could return to our homes in peace and to the comforts we so enjoy and perhaps often take somewhat for granted.

The Revd Dr David Campbell Chaplain, Sherborne School Image credit: Zac Gantlett (L6c)

Sport

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, father of the Modern Olympic Games, believed that “The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete” and whilst a huge number of Sherborne boys might not entirely agree that winning isn’t important, they would agree that taking part and giving it your all is central to their view of school sport. No player pulling on a Sherborne 1st XI Football or Hockey shirt will want to lose on a Saturday afternoon but hopefully they will have been part of an environment where the process is more important, and enjoyment significant. They may want a successful outcome, but that does not just rely on the final result, which particularly in team sports is often beyond their individual control.

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So what of the rest of us? If the boys are able to approach sport in a more rounded manner and deal with positive and unsuccessful outcomes, how do we as adults behave around them?

Teachers and school coaches have complicated roles to perform; instructors, mentors, administrators, first aiders, minibus drivers, bagmen, analysts, and although there is inevitably a huge investment in time and energy, we, as educators and schoolmasters work hard to see things in a considered and long term developmental way.

Gone are the days, for most school staff, when it is acceptable to direct from the touchline and feel it necessary to intervene and instruct. Long term, deep seated learning often benefits from less rather than more intervention.

The same can be said of parents. Awareness of the importance of appropriate behaviour before, during and after competition is growing. The ideas of speakers such as Richard Shorter – Nonperfect Dad – about how as parents we interact with our children in relation to their sporting lives has really hit home for many. Richard has spoken to parents of our Third Form entrants for the past few years and I am certain that most present for his talks will have reflected at length about the really simple messages which help create the best outcomes for our children. https://non-perfectdad.co.uk/about-me/

David Guy, Director of Sport

SQUASH

RUGBY This Michaelmas Term has been a productive one for Sherborne Rugby with successes at a number of age groups. The U14’s are through to the Dorset and Wiltshire Cup final after beating Marlborough in the semi-finals. The U15’s reached round four of the Schools’ Cup before losing out to a strong Beechen Cliff side.

The U16’s reached the semi-final of the Dorset and Wiltshire Cup. Huge congratulations to our 1st XV who progress through to the Schools’ Cup semi-final with a 26-8 win over King’s College School, Wimbledon. It was a tough match and a brilliant game to watch.

Seventeen boys have represented Bath Academy, plus one player for Harlequins and another player for Exeter Chiefs. Lorcan McLoughlin (U6g) achieved an U18 Ireland Cap in November playing against Italy.

BADMINTON It has been a promising start to the year for the School’s badminton team. Multiple fixtures against Sherborne Girls have resulted in some highly contested matches, but the boys have been consistently strong and secured convincing wins on each occasion.

The team are now looking forward to the Lent Term fixtures against Ferndown and Sherborne International as well as the potential of competitive combined matches in collaboration with Sherborne Girls.

We had a very tough match against Millfield at the beginning of this term, although David Martyr (U6m) had a terrific game, winning against his opponent. David’s 3-0 victory is a precious experience for him. In the next two games against Sherborne Girls’ and Bryanston, our newest 1st V player Toby Talbot-Williams (5a) performed sensationally. He won 3-0 against the Sherborne Girls first seed and in the game against Bryanston’s number 3, he showed his iron spirit, winning 3-2 in a closely fought battle. On the week before half term we played Canford, where each member of the team: Dylan Sun (U6e), Ollie Lampert (U6g), SamTalbot-Williams (U6a) and Joseph Eaton-Parker (U6b) all won at least one match and usually both of them. In the penultimate match of the term against The Jesters, we were astonished by the skills of these high level players; all members of the team learned to respect the experience that age bestows; it was quite an afternoon, which ended in some fast pace doubles play! In the last match of the term, a return fixture against Sherborne Girls, we fielded a second-string V, who acquitted themselves well, winning 4-1 in some highly competitive and enjoyable matches.

Dylan Sun (U6e) Captain of Squash

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GOLF The golf team have enjoyed a really successful first half of the season.

They reached the final of the West of England Public Schools’ Competition at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, beating Marlborough and Taunton before losing a very tight game 2-3 against Canford in the final. Whilst this was still a good performance in a very competitive competition, it was disappointing to lose to a strong Canford side having beaten them earlier in the term in the first round of the HMC Foursomes Competition.

Unfortunately, the draw in the HMC event didn’t favour us and we lost our next match to Millfield, who fielded a side entirely made up of low singlefigure handicap golfers. Nonetheless, we pushed them very close indeed.

The team also enjoyed a very entertaining match against the OSGS at Sherborne, sharing the honours 2-2. The team, made up of boys from Third Form to Upper Sixth, has done superbly well, playing some good competitive golf and with a great team spirit.

STOP PRESS INDOOR HOCKEY: After winning the local county round, our U16 Indoor Hockey squad were runners up in the South West Regional round of the Super 6 Competition and qualify for the National Finals at Whitgift School in January.

FOOTBALL Michaelmas has been a really positive term for Sherborne Football.

We welcomed Mr Chris Weale at the start of term as our Director of Football Coaching. Using his professional mindset, he has continued to improve the standard of coaching and ability of the boys, but has also been busy building stronger links with our feeder prep schools.

As many of you will be aware, our U18A team enters the Wessex Independent Schools League (WISL) this term and therefore competes in home and away fixtures against Millfield, Canford, Clayesmore, Wells Cathedral School and Taunton School.

Sherborne has only been defeated once, and, given the most recent results, we have now built an unassailable lead, and as such have been crowned Football WISL Champions once again. This is a fantastic achievement for the boys and it has certainly generated a great deal of anticipation for next term, when all of our 14 football teams will represent the School.

SKI RACING The annual ski racing training camp this year visited Holland, one of the flattest countries imaginable, to one of the world’s largest indoor snow centres; SnowWorld in Landgraaf near the Belgium/Germany border. After three days of intense slalom training with the coaches from Precise Racing, all the boys made significant progress with a number of the newcomers impressing sufficiently to be considered for selection for the DHO British Schoolboys Championships in Switzerland in January. As well as ski racing the group also enjoyed some downtime on a high ropes course and on the Alpine Coaster. Next stop Wengen!

Congratulations to Jackson Wallace (4e) on his selection in the Australian National Junior Ski Racing Squad to compete in the FIS Junior World Championships next term.

SWIMMING

WATER POLO In a friendly match against Dauntsey’s, a superb long shot from Marius Cotorobai (L6e) ended the first quarter 1-1. Both teams upped their game in the second quarter, with two opposition goals matched by goals from Hugo Harding (4a) and Henry Le Cornu (U6f). In the third quarter, the Sherborne team gained the upper hand, with Theo Jarratt (5b) and Marius both scoring, and excellent saves by Johnny Kirkwood (5b). Although the opposition rallied in the final quarter, Hugo and Henry scored again, ending the match 10-5 to Sherborne.

In a fast-paced match against Bradfield Juniors, Marius Cotorobai and Daniel Hixson (L6g) scored, winning the game 3-0. Against Marlborough Juniors, although Sherborne dominated, with several near misses, Marlborough triumphed with a 1-0 win. The game against Bradfield Seniors was tightly fought, with Theo Jarratt valiant in goal, however, Bradfield won 2-0. Marlborough Seniors proved more challenging and the score was 5-0 to Marlborough.

In the home match v Dauntsey’s, Henry Le Cornu captained superbly, scoring 11 goals. Daniel Hixson, Freddie Banks (L6b) and Theo Jarratt scored two each, with further goals from Marius Cotorobai and Hugo Harding. Theo Jarratt made some outstanding saves in the deep end. Myles Harrison (L6f), George Xiao (L6b) and Johnny Kirkwood contributed excellent play throughout the match, which ended with a 19-2 victory for Sherborne.

To view more of a our sporting photography taken this term, please visit: Facebook: facebook.com/SherborneBoysSchool Instagram: #sherborneschool Flickr: flickr.com/sherborneschool Twitter: @SherbornesSport

The Swim team’s first outing this year was away at Dauntsey’s.

Newly appointed captain, Austin Marsh, (U6f) continued his undefeated streak from last year in the 50m Breaststroke, with a time of 37.68 seconds. While Byron Yang (3d) won the Junior 50m Breaststroke.

Tommy Guy (4e) won both his individual events, the 50m Backstroke and the 25m Fly. Luca Malikov (5f) narrowly lost out, finishing second place by a matter of 10s of a second in both the 25m Fly and the 50m Freestyle.

A special mention must go to Luca Malikov and Finn Grammaticas (5f) for swimming for the Senior Team, despite their age. This was the only fixture scheduled for this term, but it shows much promise for the remaining fixtures of the School year.

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CLAY SHOOTING In addition to the regular Clay Shooting on Thursday afternoons, the Clay Squad competed in two multi-school events during the term. In October, at The Marlborough College Sporting Clay Shield Competition at Barbary Shooting grounds, Sherborne entered one team and in total there were 23 boys’ teams of five guns.

In the main “Sporting“ team event, Sherborne was placed 5th out of the 23 teams. Whilst Millfield, Rugby and Marlborough won the trophies, Sherborne beat, inter alia, Harrow, Radley, Winchester and Cheltenham. In the “Flush” team event Sherborne was placed 4th out of the 23 teams. This competition was highly competitive and just two clays separated 1st and 4th places.

In the Individual event, Cameron Cooper (U6d) was placed 4th out of 115 guns.

In November, at the Millfield School Invitational Clay Challenge at Mendip Shooting Grounds, Sherborne entered two teams and in total there were 23 boys’ teams of 4 guns. In the main “Sporting“ team event, Sherborne was placed 6th out of the 23 teams with strong teams from Millfield, Marlborough and Warwick on the podium. In the individual event, Nico Christensen (5f) came 9th out of 92 guns but the two teams shot well, with special mention also to Cameron Cooper (1st Team Captain), Percy Tylor (4g) and Tom Wood (U6f) (2nd Team Captain).

SAILING The first half of the term was focused on the build up to the RYA Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships held in October at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford. The youth team, captained by Ben Fuller (U6f) with helms William Seabrook (5e) and Andre Cheung (5e), came a creditable 15th out of 24. Given that this event comprised both clubs and schools and given that William and Andre are both still in Fifth Form this shows promise for the future.

The junior team with helms of Harry Wood (5f) and George May (4e) came 21st in their event out of 30 and could have done so much better but for some strategic mistakes near the finish of races – they so nearly came in the top ten.

The second half of term has been plagued by light winds but nevertheless the fleet racing, our focus for the second half of term, has been great fun and a great learning experience for many. After an intra-school event in Picos for the Fifth Form and below, won by William Seabrook, he and two others progressed into the main event contested in 420s and Fireflies. On a difficult and very light wind day, the bookies pre event favourites were usurped by Harry Johnson (L6e) crewed by William Waters (4b) who came second and George May crewed by Ali Covill (Sherborne Girls) who came first.

On the final weekend in November the School entered the Schools’ National Match Racing Championships at Portland in Elliot 6m for the first time. Our team was Ben Fuller as helm, crewed by Sam Talbot-Williams (U6a) and Petar Brinic (U6f). On a bitterly cold, windy day the trio, with next to no experience in keel boats, did fantastically well coming 6th out of the 9. All of the forethought and practice on strategy paid off with the achilles heel not surprisingly being speed upwind.

Finally tribute must be paid to the two members of staff who give of their time on a completely voluntary basis, namely Mike Bowker and Hayley Poulain without whom the sailing experience for the pupils would be severely diminished.

LOOKING AHEAD TERM DATES TRAVELLING DAY Monday 6 January (arrive by 7.30pm) FIRST EXEAT Friday 24 January (1.35pm) – Sunday 26 January (return by 9pm) HALF TERM Friday 14 February (1.35pm) – Sunday 23 February (return by 9pm) END OF TERM Saturday 21 March (after commitments)

SHERBORNE SCHOOL ABBEY ROAD SHERBORNE DORSET DT9 3LF T: 01935 812249 E: enquiries@sherborne.org www.sherborne.org

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Image credits: Josie Sturgess-Mills, Paul Brewer, Matt Bone, Zac Gantlett (L6c) Harry Johnson (L6e) and others.

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