SHERBORNE NEWS Michaelmas 2020 ISSUE 35
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Despite having toiled, occasionally triumphed and sometimes failed in them for nigh on 15 years now – by far the longest period of my entire working life to date – there is no question that independent education still seems to me to be something of a strange beast, particularly in its boarding incarnations. Perhaps it is because I suffer somewhat from what the psychiatrists call “Imposter Syndrome.” Despite the mysteries, I can whole heartedly say that I am glad to be a small part of it. In these extraordinary days through which we have been living and working this term, and perhaps because of them, I certainly feel myself to have been privileged in the extreme to have been here and to have done my bit along with everyone else at this time in the School’s long and storied history. It has certainly been a time that will not easily and quietly pass into the annals of that history as instantly forgettable. Yet, for all that notoriety, and if things did seem more than a touch bleak at times, it has somewhat oddly but truly, as Dickens would have said, been the best of times and the worst of times. In my little corner of the good ship Sherborne, this time has opened up all kinds of new, genuine and exciting, if at times daunting, challenges, even if for the first time in my working life I felt somewhat illequipped and inadequate to deal with them. In particular of course, and no doubt for many of us of my vintage who communicate and teach others, the challenges of technology have necessitated a steep learning curve. Computer programs and applications that were once names to me, now comprise a necessary part of life and work. Although for me it remains a truism that often I could only stand back and admire the ingenuity, intellectual and technological grasp and ability of colleagues and of course the boys themselves to whom these varied adaptations seem as natural as the air they breathed.
Perhaps the stiffest challenge many of us have faced though has been the lack of opportunity for gathering as a whole School community. Isolation and loneliness are such frightful enemies and many of us will have experienced both as we adapted to what became the new normal. Instead of seeing real friends and colleagues, it was the camera and the recording studio which became my friend and for me that also entailed spending a great deal of time recording and re-recording parts of homilies and services which would be broadcast online. This term that meant our New Boys’ Service, the Harvest Thanksgiving, Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day as well as the well-loved and lamented Christmas Carols. Perhaps it is not too much to say in this regard that we never really know what we have until it is taken away from us? Perhaps I am not alone in thinking, as some of the boys have bravely (not to mention generously) said to me, that it will indeed be a great day when we can be together all again in the Abbey to hear our wonderful choir, and each other, sing, as only we can. There is no doubt that in togetherness there is strength and I would venture to suggest that in these weeks something of our strength has been drained. Donne was surely right when he reflected that, “No man is an island…”
It is a harsh world, indescribably cruel. It is a gentle world, unbelievably beautiful. It is a world that can make us bitter, hateful, rabid, destroyers of joy. It is a world that can draw forth tenderness from us, as we lean towards one another over broken gates. It is a world of monsters and saints, a mutilated world, but it is the only one we have been given. We should let it shock us not into hatred or anxiety, but into unconditional love.
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Richard Holloway
Although things have not been as any of us would have wished, it was at Harvest time that we showed ourselves to be at our best. It was with some trepidation that we launched an appeal for donations for the Sherborne Foodbank, not really knowing what the response would be. As things turned out I need not have been concerned in the slightest. Our community responded magnificently to the appeal and it was a wonderful pleasure, combined with some quiet and rightly understated pride, that I was able to deliver all we had collected to the Foodbank’s storage facility, from which along with the gifts of so many others, it would be distributed to those in need. The gratitude of those who volunteer there was touching beyond measure. We had given freely of our compassion and it was appreciated. My theological hero, Richard Holloway, wrote the following in his wonderful exposition of human nature and the human condition, “Between the Monster and the Saint:” It is a harsh world, indescribably cruel. It is a gentle world, unbelievably beautiful. It is a world that can make us bitter, hateful, rabid, destroyers of joy. It is a world that can draw forth tenderness from us, as we lean towards one another over broken gates. It is a world of monsters and saints, a mutilated world, but it is the only one we have been given. We should let it shock us not into hatred or anxiety, but into unconditional love. Perhaps it has been the unconditional love of friend and stranger that has best marked these days? Perhaps we should look to it to enable us to flourish more and more in the days to come? Revd Dr David Campbell School Chaplain
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
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The constraints of the COVID-19 classroom have not deterred the MFL Department from providing a variety of learning opportunities this term. The annual celebration of the European Day of Languages provided the Third Form with the experience of learning a new language, inspired by their teachers, who shared their enthusiasm for Italian, Russian, Arabic, Swahili and Portuguese. This was followed by an online languages quiz which had pupils guessing the language based on a series of linguistic clues.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
New this year was a guess the language spoken in the song quiz Langston Hughes done through QR codes, which was # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ## won by Freddie Hope-Hawkins (3e) Over the course of a worldwriters have created a space in & ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Freddie ( and Fineman (3e). changing (summer, cultural heritage that is truly ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Language ( ( society meetings have #BlackLivesMatter ( ( ( ( ( protests ( ( inspiring: ( ( a( way to celebrate ( ( ( worked well as online Microsoft around the world sparked diversity, to be proud of Black Teams events this term, highlights ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( widespread pledges from boys( at( ( (heritage and (to tell unique, vitally ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (being( two ( talks by Old Shirburnians Sherborne stories. ( ( to educate ( ( ( ( ( important ( ( ( ( ( ( ( on the ( ( Catalan crisis of 2017 and themselves about ( ( (Black history, ( ( ( (( ( ( ( ( ( ( language ( ( careers in business. ( ( culture ( ( ( part (of( ( ( ( word ( ( ( ( ( heritage and – as The spoken poems of( ( ( ( ( racism ( ( and( ( ( George ( ( ( The Lower Sixth Oxbridge understanding the( Poet( framed many of( potentials have engaged standing in solidarity against it. the boys’ Creative Writing pieces. enthusiastically in their weekly jointThey responded openly and with schools discussion groups, looking October saw the advent of Black complete honesty about their at topics such as machine History Month, a crucial time to roles in the movement. What translation vs people translation explore our shared British history became most evident from each and how metaphors shape the and tell stories from the piece, was the insistence that world. perspective of all. In honour of Black History Month 2020 was
“When starts ! a man ! !! out to build a world, He starts first with himself.”
this, the English Department were proud to present a special edition of Creative Writing Club, focusing on taking inspiration from the work of Black authors, poets, journalists and musicians. From J Hus to Maya Angelou, Achebe to Brit Bennett, Black
also a time to look forward and celebrate– imagining the future possibilities for exploring Black voices all year-round. Bryony Watts Teacher of English
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A final highlight of the term was hosting 168 pupils from 16 Prep Schools on the first virtual Cracking the Code Day, where Year Sixes decoded West African and South Pacific language challenges. Judy Thurman Head of Modern Foreign Languages
MATHEMATICS We have had a relatively busy time outside the classroom despite the restrictions that was foisted upon us by COVID-19. On Monday evenings this term, for example, we ran the Mathematics Challenge Club for keen mathematicians from the Third and the Fourth Forms. These often involved a mixture of mathematical themed enrichment activities such as cross numbers, investigations, problem solving, as well as occasional chocolates. One of the questions they have had to deal with this term included: You meet two strangers: a good guy who always tells the truth, and a bad guy who always lies. You ask the first guy if he is a truth-teller, and he mumbles an answer that you can’t quite make out. The second guy then looks at you and says, “ He said yes, but he’s a liar.” Which one is the good guy who always tells the truth?
Do you know the answer? A small group of our Fifth and Sixth Formers took part in the Senior Mathematical Challenge on 2 November. We were pleased by the 29 certificates they achieved between them – four Gold, six Silver and 19 Bronze. Nicholas Morris (U6a), Mike Yu (L6g), Jack Wang (L6e) and Dimitri Popa (L6e) deserve special mention as all won Gold certificates. Meanwhile, in the HAP activities this term, James Fielding (3a) and Tommy Guy (5e) did well to put on excellent presentations in their respective sessions. James gave an interesting talk about Fibonacci Series, while Tommy gave his friends insight into Alan Turing’s life and the Enigma machine. Both sessions were enthusiastically attended. Siew-Chiang Lim Head of Mathematics
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COMPUTER SCIENCE The Department continues to go from strength to strength with the introduction of Sarah Broughton into the teaching staff. In the Third Form, the boys have been embarking on their iDEA badges (bronze) as well as learning the basics of algorithmic thought and programming. The boys have also been doing some touch-typing and writing some code for BBC MicroBits this term. The Fourth Form are beginning to develop a greater understanding of algorithms and have been writing code in Python a well as programmable flow-charts. In the Fifth Form, a lot of work has been done on their programming project which asks them to write a program to simulate the administration of airports and flights from airports. The Lower Sixth have been learning about networking from a theoretical and practical standpoint as well as looking at the ever-increasing issue of ethics in computing. They have also been doing some programming in Python, Flow-charts and assembly instructions and also on Object-Oriented Programming in Python. The Upper Sixth are working hard on their major project (NEA). The programs being built this year range from a Doctor’s Appointment system, a graphical calculator, a MIDI file editor and player, a WhatsApp clone and a
program to help delivery ( ( companies take(the most efficient route.
( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( run Each month the Department ( ( ( one( for the ( ( two(competitions,
juniors and one for the seniors entitled “Algorithm of the Month”. The purpose of this is to encourage boys to take on a project which is much larger than the bitesize exercises that they are looking at in class or Hall. In October Kohki Hatori (5e) and Sam Berry (L6a) were the respective winners. Kohki investigated Dijkstra’s Shunting Yard algorithm to turn an infix expression into a postfix one (and added pre-fix into the bargain). He identified that a stack data structure was required and implemented a great solution. The boys were asked to write an algorithm to best-fit a circle to random points in a 2D-plane. Sam created an insightful report about how he tackled this problem and produced a neat graphical output which illustrated his numerical solution. Commenting, Sam said that he loved the challenge of
turning what was a mathematical ( problem outside of his mathematical abilities into a ( numerical ( approximation ( ( ( and ( simulation. ( ( ( ( ( (
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The November problem involved boys having to solve problems about colliding balls in a rectangular room or about converting between different number-bases. The Computer Science Department are embarking on an ambitious project to turn Alan Turing’s Sherborne School into a Virtual Reality program, using the Oculus Quest headset. The boys will create a virtual model of the School’s library and display virtual objects relating to Alan Turing. In the program, we plan on enabling users of the headsets to pick up and examine objects. We are also planning on publishing the program to the Oculus Quest App store - perhaps even making a small amount of money for associated charities. David Wild Head of Computer Science
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AWARD WINNING COMPUTER SCIENTISTS Bebras is an annual computational thinking challenge for school children, run in conjunction with Oxford University and the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This was the first year that Sherborne has taken part and we are very pleased to report that 15 of our boys achieved scores in the top 10% in the country. These boys will now be put forward for the Oxford University Computing Challenge, which takes place in February. They are:
EXTENDED PROJECT QUALIFICATION The 2020 ‘lockdown’ Accelerated EPQ in quotes... This term almost 70 boys submitted their EPQ Projects for marking, the culmination of a process born in lockdown to run an accelerated version of the course online. A complete ‘first’ for Sherborne, here’s what some of those involved had to say about it:
Fifth Form: • Kohki Hatori (5e) • Tom Ke (5e) Fourth Form: • Rudi Beard (4e) • Hector Kennerley (4g) • Douglas Groves (4c) Third Form: • Ray Ling (3a) • Oscar Willsher (3m) • Minsang Ryu (3a) • Will Wilson (3a) • Arthur Wright (3b) • Toby Kilmartin (3e) • Thomas O’Sullivan (3b) • William Allen (3g) • Henry Holme (3b) • Tom Foster (3a) • Nicholas Riley (3c) • Will Tatham (3d) In total 154 Sherborne boys took part: all Third Form boys, 18 Fourth Form and 16 Fifth Form Computer Scientists. Thank you to Sarah Broughton for putting in a lot of work coordinating it all. David Wild Head of Computer Science
Harry Murray (L6c) Title: Why are footballers paid more than rugby players? ‘The approach I have taken to the EPQ is that it is a good opportunity to shine and learn, rather than treating it like an academic chore. It has helped give me greater perspective to my work whilst also refining and improving my ideas. The EPQ has also helped me in the following areas: • Business calculations • Meeting deadlines
• Changed mindset – academic
tasks can be interesting and fun if you’re studying topics which you have a natural interest in and enjoy!’
‘Harry reflected well on all that he did as he went along, adapting and improving as required and recognising the numerous academic and personal skills which he learnt during the project.’ Alistair Hatch Supervisor
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Archie Burton (L6a) Title: Give a recommendation for renewable energy resources supplying a new rural house, using a specific case study. ‘I really enjoyed doing my EPQ. It has helped me in a variety of ways, such as in regards to researching (which has always been a weakness of mine) and planning – I can now plan effectively, instead of doing everything the day before it is due! When I finished my EPQ after a gruelling term, I was very happy, knowing that I could dedicate all of my free time to other activities of my choosing. I was also incredibly pleased that I had managed to finish what, at first, had seemed to be an impossible task.’
‘An outstanding piece of work which is impossible to fault.’ James Henderson Supervisor
Angus Bushby (L6m) Title: Is there a role for selected recreational drugs in therapeutic medicine? ‘I am very happy to be in the position of having an EPQ under my belt; I can definitely say it was an insightful and interesting project which I can take forward into the future. The skills I learned are invaluable and will no doubt help me through future projects of a similar status. Though the project presented its challenges, namely due to lockdown, I am glad I persevered and learnt the importance of determination and dedication.’
‘It is truly remarkable how focussed, organised and motivated Angus was about the project.’
Michael Ewart-Smith Supervisor
Sam Reynolds (c 20) Title: The extension of suffrage in Britain from 1832 to 1918 was mainly a result of the social changes that occurred across the time period. Discuss. ‘I found the EPQ a rewarding process; being able to write a 5000 word essay on a subject I previously knew nearly nothing about was a fantastic achievement. Although I found the Project Q aspect of the EPQ laborious and formulaic, the actual research for my EPQ was extremely interesting, especially trawling through Hansard. Being able to read the exact words of Parliamentary figures from 200 years ago was exciting and brought the project to life for me.’
‘I was particularly pleased with Sam’s understanding of the conceptual nature of this qualification and the clarity and determination with which he set about achieving it.’ Charlotte Allen Supervisor
Billy Stephens (L6d) Title: Have advances in equipment and technology had a positive or negative impact on sport? ‘I have loved completing my EPQ. I felt like it was really important to do it on a topic I really loved which is why I did it on sport! It meant that I was motivated throughout to do my project. I thoroughly enjoyed doing my presentation and realised how much I had learnt! Doing my presentation in lockdown, it was strange not being able to speak to people in the flesh!’
‘He took ownership of all the decision making in this project… the sheer strength of passion for the subject is unmistakable.’ Richard Brown Supervisor
Dan Woodger (L6a) Title: How are John Ruskin’s views on Social Justice and Work relevant to young people today? ‘I feel very happy to have completed an EPQ in lockdown, it will be something that I remember forever. I put a lot of effort into it, lots of hours of research and writing and I think the EPQ really prepared me for the level of work that must be done during the A level courses. I think by doing the EPQ I proved to myself that I was able to do a large piece of work in a short time and I already see the benefits of it in my A levels. My topic was a subject that is very close to me and my family and I found it very interesting learning more about it as I went through the process of completing the EPQ’.
‘Presentation with good tone and energy…Dan answered all questions knowledgeably and with enthusiasm.’
James Walker Supervisor
‘I am immensely proud of the Accelerated Online EPQ Programme and it is a huge understatement to say that it has exceeded expectations. When we began, the idea was to help most boys to just ‘give it a go’, that a few might finish or decide to continue in Lower Sixth and that the others would hopefully enjoy the research and learn something from the process. So, to have almost 70 boys between July and December submit projects which last Easter they had no idea they would even be starting, is nothing short of extraordinary. This achievement represents literally thousands of hours of work for the boys and the staff involved and has been wildly more successful than I think most people imagined. For me, it is a testament to what Sherborne boys can achieve if they put their minds to it, and without a doubt the highlights of the last sixth months for me have been watching the EPQ presentations and hearing so many boys recount their EPQ ‘journey’ with pride. Well done, boys!’ Charlotte Allen EPQ Co-ordinator
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) ( ( ( NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY ( ( ( Although things seem a little different in the library with our social distancing, sanitising on entry and masks to be worn – some things still always stay the same. One case in point is the annual Third Form Poetry Competition which was a part of the National Poetry Day celebrations back in October. Entries were strong again this year with three in particular claiming the main prizes. Congratulations Oscar ! ! Boswall (3f) for Wallet,!Scissors! of Sorrow by Charlie Sclater (3m) and The Spatula by Danny Windle (3d). In other news, “Shelf Help” is a new initiative from the library, designed to give staff and students a one-stop shop for mood boosting and self-help books. A selection of books designed to improve your frame of mind and wellbeing these can be found in the Upper Library under the Dewey Number 152. The aim of this is for staff to ‘prescribe’ one of these books to a student, who can then use it to relate to their own problem. Designed by evidence-based research, all the books have been chosen by experts in their field and have been proven to help people with any issues they may have. We look forward to starting this service.
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Co-curricular News
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CCF HIGHLIGHTS Rather than dwell on the things our usually expeditionary CCF does, but cannot, I would like to focus on the positives of this term and there have been many. Our boys have displayed character, leadership, camaraderie, adaptability, resilience, and good humour in abundance. I have often remarked to our Sixth Form cadets (the NCOs) that a CCF is only as strong as its Sixth Form
and I consider this to be among the strongest Sixth Form CCF cohorts I have witnessed in recent years. After the first week of CCF training the staff left with a collective spring in their step such was the excellence of the lessons delivered by the Sixth Form to the younger cadets. This excellence has now become customary and the younger cadets are to be congratulated
for their enthusiasm and attitude. We were able to put on a CCF Field trip for our older cadets on Carey’s which involved archery, paintball and air rifle ranges, plus a weapons display courtesy of 40 Commando. Our Cadet RSM (Head Boy) Will Loughlin (U6d) is Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Dorset, which marks him out as
a leading cadet in the county. Will has also been awarded The Rifles Adjutant’s Coin in recognition of this appointment and Will is embarking upon the Master Cadet Course – the most senior course any cadet can do. Will was the Standard Bearer for the Sherborne Town Remembrance event in the Abbey, and Sam Hartley (U6f), ( our Head of the Royal Navy ( section, laid a wreath on Remembrance Sunday at the War Memorial. Another huge positive this term has been our partnership with Sherborne Girls who are now part of the CCF. The attitude of their cadets has been wonderful and although we have to train separately they are supported each week by two of our NCOs delivering socially-distanced lessons. When restrictions allow we are very much looking forward to having cadets from both Schools train side-by-side and it was great to be able to hold a Remembrance commemoration on their Astroturf. The cadets will be able to reflect on a number of new skills they have acquired this term including drill, fieldcraft and tactics, an introduction to weapons training, navigation, and instructional techniques.
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Rob Le Poidevin CCF Contingent Commander
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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD
(With so many activities based
around screens, it has been great that a number of Duke of Edinburgh participants have been able to get outdoors during these challenging times. For obvious reasons, the Expedition section was postponed last term and therefore we had some catching up to do! Over 60 boys across four expeditions have wandered through the countryside of Dorset and Somerset.
Although these expeditions were different in many ways, the teams faced many a challenge including the Silver and Gold Qualifiers happening on the wettest weekend in October.
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Alongside Expeditions, the Duke of Edinburgh participants have been working through the other sections of the award (Volunteering, Skills and Physical). The pandemic has allowed the boys to consider a whole range of new activities and opportunities, none more rewarding than the occasions when support has been given to those who are the most vulnerable in our communities.
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Despite the challenges, it has been great to award a further four certificates of achievement, 12 Bronze Awards and seven Silver Awards. The prestigious Gold Award has been achieved by Will Loughlin (U6d) and Zac Gantlett (U6c). Congratulations to you both!
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Duke of Edinburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award and Educational Visits Co-ordinator
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SIXTH FORM NEWS The joy of Sixth Form pupils, on returning to School this term, was palpable. It has been fantastic to see how much they have enjoyed being back in an adjusted ‘normal’ routine: with their friends, in the classroom, on the sports pitch, in the Music School, in various other activities, and in Houses. Although there are inevitably restrictions on life relative to previous years, especially for the Sixth Form (missing Saturday night socials with Sherborne Girls has been mentioned once or twice), the older boys have coped admirably, showing resilience faced with any frustrations, resolve to make the best of School life, and commitment to extracting as much as possible from the range of opportunities still available to them. It has also been fantastic to see the leadership of the Sixth Form pupils at the forefront of life under the adjusted routines. From various responsibilities supporting their Housemasters, to managing the lunch queue system, to the low-level intangibles such as setting the right example for younger years, and supporting them despite the challenges of social distancing. The School Prefects, in particular, have found new ways to support the School’s staff and pupils. They are all leads or co-leads of designated committees (Environmental Action Group, Equality & Diversity Working Group, and the co-curricular, food and academic committees) in addition to their duties in House and for School events. In
these committees, they help with setting the agenda, conducting and writing up meetings and, most importantly, harnessing pupil voice through coordination of committee members from across the Houses and year groups. The Upper Sixth have also gone the extra mile researching, compiling and submitting their UCAS applications: for some this has involved making alternative applications to overseas institutions. 93 members of the Upper Sixth have now submitted a UCAS application and will continue to receive offers potentially as late as May 2021, as deadlines for universities to respond has been extended next year. Choosing universities has been particularly tough with limited scope to visit them, although the institutions have developed their online events and experiences to help inform choices. On behalf of the Upper Sixth applicants, I’d like to thank tutors for their ongoing close support and reference-writing, and particularly the staff who, as members of the wider Higher Education & Careers Team, dedicated much extra time in the Michaelmas Term to consulting the boys, and checking and editing UCAS applications. Good luck to the eight members of the Upper Sixth, and one OS (‘20), who have been interviewed by Oxford or Cambridge and await results in January. But first, a relaxing Christmas break – with maybe just a few days dedicated to study! Robert Marston Assistant Head (Sixth Form)
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY Wellbeing has been a central focus for many over recent months and World Mental Health Day was a good opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of looking after our emotional wellbeing. Pupils in the Sixth Form gave up some of their time on World Mental Health day to be available on Microsoft Teams for any pupils wanting to talk to them about anything and everything. Marius Cotorobai (U6e) and Henry Parsons (U6d) also entered into a fantastic discussion on Radio Sherborne prior to World Mental Health Day, discussing their personal experiences and the importance of looking after people’s mental health. Nikola Bowerman Head of Pupil Wellbeing
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Music
When Shirburnians became ‘overnight recording stars’ in the first Lockdown, they got used to the idea that being recorded was a ‘norm’, if only because they were almost continuously recording themselves singing and playing instruments in musical performances which were then woven together back in Sherborne. So it came as little surprise to them, in September, that what had previously been billed as a ‘rehearsal’ was now quite frequently a ‘rehearsal-recording’ — and, where in the past there may have been a nervousness about being recorded, and about whether or not there would be time for a re-recording, there has increasingly been a growing confidence to give a ‘best effort’ and to leave it at that. The many video-recordings that are available on YouTube, then, are in the spirit of ‘live-streams’ rather than ‘recording studio sessions’ where considerable editing has been possible. Indeed, it seems likely that a new era has been born where recordings are much more ‘of the moment’ than of the immaculate perfection that the CD had made possible and which are rarely, if ever, heard ‘live’. Instrumental lessons have remained online, with Shirburnians in the Music School’s small teaching rooms and the Visiting Music Teachers at home. This has worked well and has left the larger rooms for ensembles to use – albeit with having to give them a two hour breathing space between use, and always with having to fog the rooms after every session. With social distancing firmly in place at all times (not to mention detailed and ever-evolving Risk Assessments) the ‘mitigating circumstances’ which have made ensemble performances in the larger rooms possible – whether vocal or instrumental – are the multitude of movable Perspex screens which divide the Music School into individual cubicles, or separate bubbles, or which
enclose those instruments perceived to be the more significant contributors to damaging aerosol. It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to say that the Perspex screen is the friend of the musician in these COVID-19 times! Large-scale ensembles present the greatest challenge, of course and so it was particularly good to hear the Wind Band in the BSR (available to watch here) giving lively and exuberant renditions of Eric Coates’ Dambusters March and of Earth, Wind and Fire. Under the vigorous and animated direction of conductors Clare Jackson (Head of Instrumental Studies) and Hugh Davies (Head of Brass), the band’s performances had a whiff of nostalgia about them. An interesting pairing with a
recording of the Dambusters by the Wind Band in 1957, also in the BSR, and also available on YouTube, no doubt added to that sense. The Choir, which has grown in size slightly despite having no services in which to sing, (no School Service has taken place in the Abbey or Chapel since March) met on five occasions during the term, in a heavily screened and socially distanced Chapel that enabled just enough space for 119 singers! The fruits of their rehearsal-recordings may be heard in the hymns during the Virtual Carol Service, and in Bairstow’s Blessed City, heavenly Salem in Advent ‘broadcast’ of the weekly online Sunday service on eStream.
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Friday lunchtime recitals took place almost every Friday and all are available to watch on YouTube. Many hours of coaching were provided by the three highly skilled accompanists – Benjamin Davey (Head of Keyboard Studies), Martin Walker (School Accompanist) and Daniel Marks (Assistant Director of Music). The recitals are available as follows: Please visit the following web page to view the recitals: https://www.sherborne.org/ne ws/2020-09-24/FridayLunchtime-Recitals-are-back-
Friday 25th September Soloists’ Recital Jack Arnold – Voice (3e, Sch.Mus), Archie Beardsell – Trumpet (4f, Sch.Mus), Isaac Bingley – Piano (U6e, Sch.Mus), Archie Burton – Alto Saxophone (L6a, Sch.Mus), Fergus Burtt – Clarinet (U6c, Sch.Mus), Jay Chan – Violin (4b, Sch.Mus), Jack Pyman – Violin (L6e, Sch.Mus), Angus Williams – Clarinet (5c, Sch.Mus).
Friday 2nd October Singers’ Recital Isaac Bingley (U6e, Sch.Mus), Toby Davies (L6e), Edward Eve (U6c), Will Frost (5b), Kit Hobbs (5c, Sch.Mus), Jonathan Post (U6a, Exh.Mus), Max Pugsley (U6d), Ciaran Smith (U6b, Exh.Mus), Sam Vincent (U6g).
Friday 9th October Pianists’ Recital Fergus Burtt (U6c, Sch.Mus), David Chen (5e, Exh.Mus), James Coleman (4a, Exh.Mus), Theo Jarratt (L6b), Gareth Kwong (4e, Exh.Mus), William Miao (5f, Sch.Mus), Ciaran Smith (U6b, Exh.Mus), Oscar Welchman (L6b), Byron Yang (4d, Sch.Mus).
Friday 16th October – Woodwind I Recital Fergus Burtt – Clarinet (U6c, Sch.Mus), Finn Grammaticas – Flute (L6f), Jack Arnold – Alto Saxophone (3e, Sch.Mus), Ed Brooks – Oboe (U6f, Exh.Mus), Charles Gatti – Alto Saxophone (L6b), Sammy O’Brien – Flute (4e, Sch.Mus), Joseph Page – Treble Recorder (4b, Sch.Mus).
Fourth Form Scholars Wind Ensemble: Thomas Arbon Valderrama – Bassoon (4e, Sch.Mus), James Coleman – Clarinet (4a, Exh.Mus), Hector Kennerley – Oboe (4g, Sch.Mus), Sammy O’Brien – Flute (4e, Sch.Mus), Joseph Page – Flute (4b, Sch.Mus), Byron Yang – Alto Saxophone (4d, Sch.Mus). Clarinet Quartet: Archie Burton (L6a, Sch.Mus), Preston Leung (L6m), Angus Williams (5c, Sch.Mus), Ricky Xu (5a, Sch.Mus).
Friday 6th November Brass Recital Freddie Banks – Trombone (U6b), Nico Beeny – French Horn (5c, Sch.Mus), Charlie Burtt – Trumpet (4c, Sch.Mus), Henry Cannon – Trumpet (4c, Exh.Mus), Matt Findlay – Euphonium (L6a), Jez Meaker (U6d), Fabian Mercer – Bass Trombone (L6b, Sch.Mus). Trumpet Trio: Archie Beardsell (4f, Sch.Mus), Charlie Burtt (4c, Sch.Mus), Henry Cannon (4c, Exh.Mus).
Friday 13th November Woodwind II Recital Ed Brooks – Oboe (U6f, Exh.Mus), Archie Burton – Alto Saxophone (L6a, Sch.Mus), Fergus Burtt – Clarinet (U6c, Sch.Mus), Finn Grammaticas – Flute (L6f), Matt MacDonald – Alto Saxophone (U6c, Sch.Mus), Joseph Page – Treble Recorder (4b, Sch.Mus), Angus Williams – Clarinet (5c, Sch.Mus).
Friday 20th November Jazz Musicians’ Recital Lucas Gardner – Alto Saxophone (L6c, AR.Mus), Matt MacDonald – Tenor Saxophone (U6c, Sch.Mus), Jonathan Post – Trumpet and Voice (U6a, Exh.Mus). Swing Band: Freddie Banks – Trombone (U6b), Giles BlythmanRowe – Alto Saxophone (L6c), Archie Burton – Alto Saxophone (L6a, Sch.Mus), Fergus Burtt – Baritone Saxophone (U6c, Sch.Mus), Tom Ewart-Smith – Trombone (L6d), Freddie Folkes – Trumpet (5a, Sch.Mus), Toby Foulger – Alto Saxophone (L6d), Charles Gatti – Alto Saxophone (L6b), Lucas Gardner – Alto Saxophone (L6c, AR.Mus), Max Lewis – Tenor Saxophone (5a, Exh.Mus), Ranco Liu – Piano (L6e, Sch.Mus), Matt MacDonald – Tenor Saxophone (U6c, Sch.Mus), Jez Meaker – Trumpet (U6d), Fabian Mercer – Bass Trombone (L6b, Sch.Mus), Tom O’Sullivan ATCL – Drums (U6d, Exh.Mus), Ed Pinnock – Bass Guitar (5a), Jonathan Post – Trumpet (U6a, Exh.Mus), Kit Slim – Guitar (5m, Exh.Mus), Toby Talbot-Williams – Trombone (L6a).
Friday 27th November Chamber Music Clarinet Trio: Archie Burton (L6a, Sch.Mus), Angus Williams (5c, Sch.Mus), Ricky Xu (5a, Sch.Mus). Fourth Form Scholars Wind Ensemble: Thomas Arbon Valderrama – Bassoon (4e, Sch.Mus), James Coleman – Clarinet (4a, Exh.Mus), Hector Kennerley – Oboe (4g, Sch.Mus), Sammy O’Brien – Flute (4e, Sch.Mus), Joseph Page – Flute (4b, Sch.Mus), Byron Yang – Alto Saxophone (4d, Sch.Mus). Violin and Piano Duo: Isaac Bingley – Piano (U6e, Sch.Mus), Alexander Hobbs – Violin (U6c, Sch.Mus). String Quartet: Jay Chan – Violin (4b, Sch.Mus), James Herbert – Violin (4a, Sch.Mus), Gareth Kwong – Cello (4e, Exh.Mus), James Herbert – Violin (4a, Sch.Mus). Brass Band: Rufus Austin – Trumpet (4f), Freddie Banks – Trombone (U6b), Archie Beardsell – Trumpet (4f, Sch.Mus), Charlie Burtt – Trumpet (4c, Sch.Mus), Tom Ewart Smith – Trombone (L6d), Matthew Findlay – Euphonium (L6a), Jamie Jones – Tuba (U6b), Jez Meaker – Trumpet (U6d), Fabian Mercer – Bass Trombone (L6b, Sch.Mus), Hanhan Pu – Euphonium (L6f), Alfie Reynolds – Bass Trombone (4c), Alex Upton – Trumpet (4e), Sam Usher – Trumpet (U6m, AR.Mus).
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Friday 4th December, Organists’ Organists’ Recital Isaac Bingley (U6e, Sch.Mus), Freddie Senior (3g, Sch.Mus).
Friday 11th December, “Mince Pies” Strings “Mince Pies” Strings Recital Sam Berry – Cello (L6a, Exh.Mus), James Fielding – Guitar (3a, Exh.Mus), Gareth Kwong – Cello (4e, Exh.Mus), Sam Usher – Guitar (U6m, AR.Mus), William Waters – Guitar (5b), Oscar Welchman – Guitar (L6b). Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Lucy-Anne Allen (Head of Strings): Sam Berry – Cello (L6a, Exh.Mus), Barney Crawford – Double Bass (5b), Cameron Golding – Violin (5f), James Herbert – Violin (4a, Sch.Mus), Alexander Hobbs – Violin (U6c, Sch.Mus), Kit Hobbs – Cello (5c, Sch.Mus), Gareth Kwong – Cello (4e, Exh.Mus), Lawrence NemiClover – Violin (U6b), Jack Pyman – Violin (L6e, Sch.Mus), Ciaran Smith – Violin (U6b, Exh.Mus), Orlando Tavener – Violin (4b, Sch.Mus), Sam Withers – Violin (5f). Soloists: Alexander Hobbs – Violin (U6c, Sch.Mus), Jack Pyman – Violin (L6e, Sch.Mus), Kit Hobbs – Cello (5c, Sch.Mus).
Under the watchful eye of Michael Lehnert (Music Technology and Rock/Pop) RocSoc was re-born in the late evening slot, with an ingenious system of Recording Studio control of bands, invented and implemented by Mr Lehnert for these difficult circumstances, where the bands (on a strict rota) are able to rehearse safely as if in a silent disco! Without performance opportunities, and by necessity having to take longer to make live-stream style performances than chamber music, there are no recordings yet available to be listened to, but watch this space! There are still a number of other performances to be released, not least a few by the Barbershop/ Close Harmony group: unlike the pre-Coronavirus era, there will be performances to look forward to during the holidays as well as during the term!
And so to the Virtual Carol Service itself. There is nothing quite like the ‘real thing’, of course, and only the Headmaster’s reading took place within the Abbey, which is so strongly associated with the magic of Christmas, but there is no doubt that both the Chamber Choir and the readers gave some excellent performances, to the accompaniment not just of some fine organ playing, but also to an overhead drone! The service may be heard at
https://www.sherborne.org/c hristmas-carol-service
James Henderson Director of Music
Virtual Carol Service
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D&T
Design and Technology After the first four weeks of classroom-based theory, the boys were keen to get out into the workshops albeit in reduced numbers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in order to start to rotate around the workshops and apply their knowledge in a more practical learning environment. Typically, the boys have approached this arrangement positively in order to help make it work. The Third Form have been using card modelling to explore the diverse application of levers, linkages and cams. In the latter stage of the term, they have used steel plasma cut natural forms in order to weld and rivet together tealight holders. This skills introduction will help support rapid progress when they return to a more open workshop arrangement.
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Drama Well, what an exciting innovative and ground-breaking Michaelmas Term 2020 has been for us all in the Drama Department! Necessity, as always, is the mother of invention and she certainly has been busy in the Powell and the other classrooms and spaces which service the Drama Department this term. Perhaps the most exciting single idea this term, was Theatre Manager Jim Donnellyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ingenious plan to outwit the social distancing requirements which have flummoxed most Drama Departments up and down the country, by running a number of radio plays from the heyday of radio drama as this termâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drama programme.
ABBEY HOUSE
The first of these was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dick Barton And The Tango Of Terrorâ&#x20AC;? performed by Abbey House. In suitably swashbuckling mode, and under the adept direction of Harriet Cant and the continuous technical guidance of Jim Donnelly, the boys from Abbey House did not let their nerves get the better of them, and performed wonderfully well in this thrilling but firmly tongue-in-cheek adventure.
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LYON HOUSE
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The boys from Lyon House were not to be outdone however, and quickly followed up on Abbey House’s success with a wonderful take on one of the most performed and well-received radio plays of all-time, “The War Of The Worlds”. This is one of my personal favourites, and I enjoyed every second of the boys’ artful rendition of this classic adaptation of HG Wells’ superlative story.
THE SENIOR PLAY The Senior Play this year ended the Michaelmas Term with my absolute favourite radio play, which is “Under Milk Wood” by Dylan Thomas. I was thoroughly thrilled to be able to direct this as a performance mainly because it is so original in both form and content. Despite its uniqueness, or perhaps because of it, “Under Milk Wood”, also offers us an insight into a time and a context which exudes human warmth that it makes it the ideal piece of drama upon which to end the year.
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SPEECH AND DRAMA has also been very busy this term, so busy in fact, that we are very pleased to welcome a new teacher to the Drama School to join Barbara Darnley, Hilary Earle. The LAMDA exams are scheduled to take place for eighteen boys this term, most of whom were unable to take the exams last year. We wish them every success in their assessments and congratulate them on the huge amount of work that has gone into preparing for them. The Department also has another new member of staff in Mary Flanagan, who joins us from Cambridge University. Mary Flanagan is a welcome addition to the Department and is already indispensable in terms of both curricular and co-curricular Drama, with her eagle eye for written detail and innate sense of fun and creativity. Ian Reade Head of Drama
COMPETITION IN TRANSLATION In mid-2019 I was asked to enter an international competition to translate the works of one of my favourite Brazilian writers, Lima Barreto. The competition was being held by one of the top universities in Brazil, Unicamp, which is in the state of São Paulo. The idea was that selected translators of Brazilian Portuguese from around the world, would translate the short stories of the most famous Brazilian authors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These translated works would then be published as anthologies in 2020. I duly entered the competition and was given a very short story of Lima Barreto’s to translate into English. Although it was only two sides long, the task was difficult because it contained some archaic terms which had no modern translation and required quite a lot of calculated guesswork and inference. To cut a long story short (if you’ll forgive the pun), I entered the competition with my best effort and to my surprise, the judges decided that mine was the best. I was therefore elected to translate six of Lima Barreto’s short stories and earlier this year this anthology was published.
On the back of the success of this work, I was then also asked to translate another author’s works, those of the much betterknown author Monteiro Lobato. Although I was not such a huge fan of Lobato, I very much enjoyed the stories in the collection and learned a great deal about Brazil in that period. Lobato is a wry, moralistic writer with a keen eye for human fallibility and his works span an interesting time in the
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Art A new approach to Art Michaelmas has been a term of doing things differently, teaching and learning whilst observing social distancing, when to wear a face mask and when not to wear a face mask, one way systems, signs telling you to read other signs, all awash in a sea of sanitiser. However, the newness hasn’t been limited to the way we work, as the Art Department has seen a great deal of painting – of the decorating kind. The estates team have been hard at work lavishing us with fresh paint as well as new fixtures and fittings, what was beginning to look like an old Art School (not to be confused with The Old Art School) is now looking revived ready for a new approach to Art at Sherborne. For as long as anyone (including Patrick Francis) can remember Sherborne School’s Art focus has been on producing Fine Art. But the way we are approaching Art has been changing over the course of the last couple of years as Photography, Creative Digital Media and History of Art have found themselves a welcome home within the Department.
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Angus Brewster (4b)
- 35 Not only this, but for some time now we have been considering how the Art offering can be diversified further to get the best from our boys as well as attracting others who don’t see themselves as ‘Fine Artists’. This current academic year has seen us make the leap switching both GCSE and A level to study Art, Craft and Design. This is a title which will hopefully promote a breadth of learning across a wide array of complementary media, introducing a raft of new processes and techniques into the department to see Superb Art rather than just Fine Art. To explain further we can focus on the Fourth Form who over the course of the first two terms of their GCSE course will have had the opportunity to explore: drawing, sculpture, painting and photography. Michaelmas has seen one class learning to draw through exploring the use of formal elements (line, shape, tone etc.) found in the marine biological studies of Ernst Haeckel. After some rather wobbly starts and time spent undoing some bad prep school habits the boys have made steady progress and have begun to produce some rather impressive responses. In addition to this, their second area of study has been sculpture seeing pupils working from their Haeckel inspired drawings to inspire building fantastic 3D sculptures as Emma Drake has encouraged them to experiment in a wide range of media such as paper, ceramics and wire. Their ceramic seabed sculptures really are a work of delicacy, vibrance and beauty.
Cassius Hammick (4m)
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Equally busy with their Art, Craft and Design GCSE course the other Fourth Form set has been exploring ‘Natural Form’ through painting and photography. Photography with Vickie Fraser has proved a great success too as it has challenged the boys to look at the natural world around them to draw inspiration for their Karl Blossfelt, Edward Weston and Andy Goldsworthy artist studies. They have been busily learning technical elements surrounding composition, lighting and then refining their work with editing skills. Photography has linked seamlessly into providing boys with source material for their painting classes with Miroslav Pomichal. Delving straight into using both acrylics and watercolours the boys have been exploring the rudimentary techniques and approaches, working from their real life photographs as well as studying and being inspired by some historic and contemporary painters. So far, their results have been very promising indeed and we have some fine painters well on their way for GCSE success.
Edward Yorke (4m)
Joey Lye (4g)
The switch to Art, Craft and Design is already proving a hit as we are already seeing some exciting artwork from our Fourth Form pupils, a fraction of their work is evidenced in the pages of this newsletter. Most excitingly for me, however, is that I am seeing boys enjoying art. Matt Bone Director of Art
Joey Lye (4g)
Angus Brewster (4b)
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Cassius Hammick (4m)
Will MacEwan (4d)
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and sold – none more so than the mysterious Guennol Lioness, a 5,000 year old sculpture one could hold in the palm of one’s hand and whose nature, purpose and function are still unknown. It sold for $57 million which is the highest price for any antiquity ever sold. So much for size!
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An OS, Hugh is the Executive Vice President of Sotheby’s in New York, and was for many years the Head of the Old Master Paintings department. Hugh structured his talk to be as informative, exciting, and useful to the boys as possible: from the basics of looking at objects, avenues to study and work after School, the traditional and not so traditional canons of art history, to the way the market or collecting habits change over time.
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A huge thanks goes to Adrian Ballard, Head of The Foundation who made this happen.
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Remembrance
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the ! Community Day, co # # # # #paused # # to# view # # our # virtual # # Armistice # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # minute silence in memory of the fallen. (
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Sport
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For many, sport is an essential release and distraction from the daily stresses and pressures and it is wonderful to see them continuing to relish the opportunities we offer.
In difficult times and very different circumstances, the boys and staff at Sherborne have risen to the challenge of sport under COVID-19 and despite some real concerns about what could be done and how, we have made it through to the end of the Michaelmas Term in one piece. The imagination and resourcefulness of our staff, combined with the positive attitude and resilience of the boys has enabled us to achieve much despite the restrictions and it has been fantastic to watch the weeks unfold with boys, continuing to enjoy their activities. For many, sport is an essential release and distraction from daily stresses and pressures, and it is wonderful to see them continuing to relish the opportunities we offer.
We may not have had traditional inter-school fixtures but in many sports we have provided internal competition which the boys so enjoy. From year group based Super Rugby leagues to the Junior Olympics between Houses, we have been able to offer opportunities for the boys to benefit from some sort of competitive programmes. Even golf, based on Careyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s during the second lockdown, had the daily chipping challenge for the boys to take on. Cricket and Tennis in the September sunshine was a hit and it has certainly prompted some valuable conversations about the possible provision in future years. Whilst we have missed the cut and thrust and traditional rivalry of weekly matches against Marlborough or Millfield, the lack of fixtures has allowed some excellent coaching without the pressure of preparing for Saturdays. With enjoyment as a priority but also with skills and game understanding in tow, there has been real progress made in all age groups and sports. This has been evident
across the board including the gym where the boys have really taken to working on their strength and conditioning. Although we do not know what the future may hold for us next term, we are hopeful that Lent Term will offer some encouragement that gradually we will return to a more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;normalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; programme. However, come what may, we will continue to ensure that the boys at Sherborne will be offered a sporting menu to savour!
Dave Guy Director of Sport
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Whilst we have missed the cut and thrust and traditional
rivalry of weekly matches against Marlborough or Millfield, the lack of fixtures has allowed some excellent coaching without the pressure of preparing for Saturdays.
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JUNIOR OLYMPICS
The boys in the Third and Fourth Forms took part in the Junior Olympics over a two-week period either side of the November Exeat. The boys took on three different challenges: in the swimming pool, the gym and in the multi-event Super Saturdays. Boys undertook the gym and swim challenges, with each of their efforts adding to a House points total, while the Super Saturdays involved each House completing eight different events, from vortex throwing, to a crossbar challenge, and a crossfit relay. It was brilliant to see the boys get stuck in and to hear the chatter around school of how well each House felt they were doing! There were some great performances, with the Harper Fourth Form dominating the gym and swimming, while the Third Form saw success in the pool from Abbeylands and in the gym from The Digby. On Careyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the outstanding individual performance came from Luke Chang (3g) who ran the fastest time in not just the Third Form but also the Fourth Form for the mini-parkrun. The Third Form competition was won narrowly by The Digby, with Lyon House and The Green just missing out, while in the Fourth Form, Harper House just pipped The Digby and The Green for the win. Overall, The Digby took first place with The Green in second and Harper House in third. Tom Scott Deputy Director of Sport
LOOKING AHEAD TERM DATES TRAVELLING DAY Tuesday 5 January (arrive by 7:30pm) TERM BEGINS Wednesday 6 January FIRST EXEAT Friday 22 January (1.35pm) Return 9:00pm Sunday 24 January HALF TERM Friday 12 February (1.35pm) Return 9:00pm Sunday 21 February SECOND EXEAT Friday 12 March (1.35pm) Return 9:00pm Sunday 14 March END OF TERM Friday 26 March after Lists
SHERBORNE SCHOOL ABBEY ROAD SHERBORNE DORSET DT9 3LF T: 01935 812249 E: enquiries@sherborne.org www.sherborne.org facebook.com/SherborneBoysSchool twitter.com/SherborneSchool #sherborneschool youtube.com/user/TheSherborneSchool flickr.com/sherborneschool Thank you to all contributors. Image credits: Josie Sturgess-Mills, Henry Hunt, David Ridgway and others. Registered Charity No. 1081228