Sherborne News - Michaelmas 2022

SHERBORNE N E W S

Michaelmas 2022

ISSUE 41

A note from the Head of School

The final Michaelmas Term I will spend at Sherborne has been one of immense enjoyment for me personally and one of significant achievement for the School Coming into the Head of School role was something that I was excited and nervous about at the same time The beginning of the term was marked by the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen and the ascension of the King, I was glad that the whole School was able to mark this momentous change in national life together.

As the term has gone on, I have settled into the role I feel that the Prefect team and I are in a good place to make sure the School continues to be a welcoming, caring and enjoyable place to live and work during the first half of the coming term and to help improve school life for the boys

It has been a joy for me to be involved in so much of school life this term, especially now COVID-19 is no longer a major factor in determining what the School can and cannot do As Christmas approaches we are all tired and we all know just how significant the past three months have been, not only for the country, but also for ourselves and the shaping of our futures. Finally, I would like to wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2023

William Waters (U6b)

Academic Enrichment

Box Clever Theatre comes to Sherbor ne

This term, the Fourth Form have been exploring Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as part of their GCSE English Literature studies The novel details the tragedy of Dr Jekyll’s inability to reconcile the two sides of his personality: his public, respectable façade and his true, darker self

On the 8 November, the Fourth Form welcomed Box Clever Theatre to Sherborne for a performance of the novel that saw the characters of Dr Jekyll and his sinister counterpart Mr Hyde brought to life before their eyes Following the show, the boys undertook a short workshop with the company to explore how the actors bring characters to life on stage W ith the help of a few props and costumes, the boys worked together to realise the archetype of a Victorian gentleman on stage, culminating in a short scene between Gerald Asafo-Adjei (4e) and Henry May (4d) that depicted the events described in Chapter 9: Dr Lanyon’s horrified reaction to witnessing Hyde’s transformation into Jekyll

Biology

Our biology lessons have been extremely interesting this term We are currently studying genetics and evolution which I find fascinating as I am extremely interested in wildlife and hope to study zoology at university. Becoming a conservationist is a possible option for me and I am interested in how genomes influence the distribution, specificity and abundance of organisms in their local environment

Biology lessons are always engaging and I find that doing exam-style questions in the context of lessons and Hall extremely useful as it helps us to practice our exam technique given that our GCSEs are at the end of the year They are also useful as they help to get a basic understanding of the topic and then stretch our knowledge which is important for Paper 2 of the Triple Science course

When we are not practicing these skills, we use a range of different activities to aid our learning and extend our appreciation of the natural world I find the help that my teacher offers to direct me to the highest levels of GCSE study invaluable Having only joined Sherborne in the Fifth Form this year, choosing to come to Sherborne from another Independent School, what really stands out to me is that we do not rush through topics The department always makes sure that everyone understands the topic before moving on, meaning that no one gets left behind allowing every individual the opportunity to reach his potential

Harriet Cant, Head of English

Charlie, (5b)

Chemistry Symposiums and Competitions

It’s been another busy term in the Chemistry Department with faceto-face Chemistry Symposiums restarting, the junior boys entering the Top of the Bench Chemistry Competition and, just round the corner in January, the Chemistry Olympiad

The first of these has seen topics as diverse as: wine, the chemistry behind its taste; the chemistry of the contraceptive pill and nanomedicines and their effect on the metabolism of cancer cells. Presenting for Sherborne School have been Sebastian Stannah (U6m), Ottokar Denham (U6m) and Tommy Guy (U6e)

The Top of the Bench team travelled to Portsmouth Grammar School to compete for a place in the next round Well done to

Bright Historians

The History Extension Group exists to give keen historians a chance to look beyond the GCSE and A Level syllabus at issues of historical, political and social interest. We have had 18 boys from the three senior years in the School attend and discuss topics of interest.

Freddie Hope-Hawkins (5e), Caio Waters (4b), Benji Rimington (3c) and Ian Liu (3d), for all their efforts

And finally, the Chemistry Olympiad; the Upper Sixth will be invited to sit for this competition, as will the Lower Sixth, but there is also a member of the Fifth Form who has been limbering up for this competition; no names at this stage, but watch this space for the next bulletin when I shall report on his progress Whatever the outcome, however, it is heartening that academic ambition is alive and thriving in the School

William Buckley Head of Chemistry

This term we have ranged widely, looking at iconic photographs on the politics of protest, discussing the proposition that historians should not be political pundits, considering how to reform effectively using the Reformation as a case study, and analysing what fascism means with an eye on Italian fascism (the thought of looking at Hitler again was too much and Italy’s new government provided an opportunity too good to miss) Finally we looked at the concept of Exceptionalism and how valid it might be, with a sideways look at the lyrics of National Anthems

There has also been some fun with a closely contested History quiz in which the Fifth Form/Upper Sixth team narrowly triumphed over the might of the Lower Sixth Finally, we have looked at how to write a good essay by focusing on the range of university history essay competitions on offer and considering the merits of some winning entries from last year

What has been a particular joy is that boys from all three years have had the opportunity to rub shoulders and in some cases lock intellectual horns with other bright historians from different years It has provided a freshness to the debate and hopefully has inspired boys to want to study History at a higher level

Giles Reynolds History Teacher

Theology Trip to New York

After a long wait, the highly anticipated Theology trip went ahead with great success

Arriving on Sunday night, we settled into our accommodation (YMCA, West 63rd), then headed for a night walk accompanied with supper at an Italian restaurant, after we headed back to our accommodation for rest before the next day The following day we started by taking the subway to China Town for our first theological experience, a Mahayana Buddhist Temple, after having had a look around, we had a Q&A session with a member of staff who works there She invited us to join in a prayer chant, a very new and different experience for all In the afternoon we took an interesting and eye-opening trip to the 911 memorial museum, then we headed back to the accommodation to grab some rest before the evening’s entertainment Before the game we stopped at an American burger joint for some incredible burgers, then we headed downtown to watch Nicks Vs Magics, we witnessed a rare victory for the Nicks with a 115 point against Magics 106!

The next day we headed to lower Manhattan for a church service in the W illiamsburg Pentecostal Church, in which Alex ended up accompanying the Hymns in the

service After the service the pastor took us to his favourite pizza place which was around the corner Then after lunch we headed to T imes Square for some sightseeing

The next day we had an early morning trip down to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for a bit of American history Then we headed back to JFK for an overnight flight back

We managed to pack a great deal into a very short amount of time and everyone (including the teachers) said they had an amazing trip Next year there is talk of going to Nepal, or even Japan both of which sound very exciting

James Crawford Head of Theology

Classics Trip to Greece

Lured by the promise of being able to speak ancient Greek in three days and write Linear B in five, a small band of Sherborne Grecophiles, an enthusiastic and excitable cacophony of intellectual anarchy, set out on an epic adventure.

A 30-minute walk from our hotel, what better place to start our two-day stay in Athens than the stunning Acropolis Museum Processing over the glass floor, beneath which lie the ruins of an ancient Athenian neighbourhood, up the entrance steps that emulate the climb up to the acropolis, alongside ceiling-high displays of some of the finest Athenian pottery, and past carvings of heads, shins, ears and feet, votive dedications to Asclepius, the god of healing, we wound our way amongst the myriad of statues, of calf-bearers, korai and kouroi, all bathed in natural light, before we reached the museum ’ s crowning glory, the top-floor Parthenon Gallery, a glass atrium housing the temple’s 160m-long frieze, mounted as it once was on the outside of the internal building Here, strolling along as though atop the columns themselves, looking out towards the majestic greatness of the Acropolis, our YouTube wannabes first stood in awe of the Greeks

For a tour of the Acropolis itself, we were entrusted to the enthusiastic and thorough Nikos, who showed us around a windswept Acropolis, imparting all he could in the limited time available and answering everything our keen students asked, including information on the fascinating choragic monument of Thrasyllos, before leaving us in a restaurant in the back streets of the Plaka, gorging ourselves on lamb chops This was followed by a visit to the evocative Athenian agora and the Pnyx, the birthplace of democracy, where our boys were captivated by Socrates’ prison and the ostraka, the shards of pottery with names inscribed on them that were used to exile unpopular politicians, before a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, one of the largest and richest museums in Greece ‘I have looked on

the face of Agamemnon ’ No, not the cry of 19th century archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, but that of the Fifth Form looking on the gold funeral mask of Agamemnon, one of the many prescribed sources that before now they had seen only in their textbooks

Day four and we were driving into the mountains, past ski resorts towards ancient Delphi, hidden in the folds of Mount Parnassus Standing at the very top of the Pythian stadium, looking down over the theatre and temple towards the sea below, it is not difficult to wonder why the god Apollo chose to site his oracle in this most stunning of landscapes or to understand why Zeus himself, as well as the Greeks, believed that this was the very centre of the mythical and spiritual world Scattered around the site are the remains of many statues, offerings and temple-like treasuries that mark the importance of Delphi in the ancient world Inscribed on the walls of the temple of Apollo are said to have been hundreds of ‘maxims’ (a moral rule or principle), such as the famous ‘Know thyself ’

and ‘Nothing in excess ’ , but also the less well-known, but equally appealing ‘Never tire of learning’ and ‘Complete the race and don’t chicken out’, all of which were supposedly attributed to Apollo and designed to be copied down by students to improve their moral core

Day five involved walking in the footsteps of the greats First, we visited Mycenae, palace of Agamemnon, looking up at the ‘Cyclopean’ walls and passing beneath the great Lion Gate, before standing on the highest point of the palace and listening to stories of how Agamemnon was not buried in one of the massive tholos tombs below, but had been absorbed into the very rocks of the Greek landscape that surrounded us T iryns was no less splendorous, as we imagined how the great heroes of the Mycenaean world had lived, hunting out his megaron, his baths (and his fish tanks?) Our day ended as we sat in the theatron of the theatre of Epidaurus, awestruck again by the breath-taking beauty of the site and by the technological ingenuity

of the Greeks, before being routed by a screaming horde of even more enthusiastic children

Looking down from the plane on the sprawling metropolis that is Athens as we flew back home, I pondered once again the value of such trips, this one shorter, but no less successful than the many Classics trips I have led in the past For many, a trip such as this brings to life the ancient world, forms an important backdrop to the culture of a civilisation very different from our own and offers a greater depth of understanding of their GCSE and A level courses They are also great fun!

Stephen Heath Head of Classics

Spanish Trip to Granada

Fourth and Fifth Form pupils of Spanish enjoyed a fantastic trip to Granada during October half term They stayed with host families in the city and got a chance to really immerse themselves in the language and the culture During the day they attended Spanish lessons at a local language school as well as out and about in the city In the afternoons they got to explore the old town of Granada as well as take in the scale and history of the Alhambra palace, built by the Nasrid rulers of the city who were the last muslim rulers in Spain when the south of Spain was part of the Arabic speaking world

T ime was found to hit the Science Museum as well as the biggest shopping centre in Andalusia

The highlight for many was the food, not only the food enjoyed by them in their host families but tapas in the city!

Philip Morrow Deputy Head of Modern Foreign Languages

Thriving Computer Science Clubs

The Computer Science Department has been busy with multiple co-curricular clubs this term. The largest of these is the new Student Robotics club where a collection of boys are designing, building coding and entering a fully-autonomous robot into the National Student Robotics competition which takes place in April next year

The Bebras Challenge took place this term This is an international competition in which more than 360,000 students enter in order to prove themselves capable of solving interesting computational puzzles and think algorithmically The following boys achieved their highest scores in their respective year-groups

Third Form:

Marley Mighty (3e)

Chun Lok Choy (3f)

Pablo Martinez Dovale (3m)

Fourth Form: Reuben Catovsky (4d)

Charles Millar (4d)

Guillaume Sagnes (4e)

Fifth Form:

Thomas O’Sullivan (5b)

Arthur Wright (5b)

Joonsang Hyun (5f)

Lower Sixth Form: Best Bebras Challenge results:

Andy Chung (L6b)

Alexander Swann (L6m)

Hector Kennerley (L6g)

Upper Sixth Form

Aleksandr Grabski (U6e)

From Left to Right: Yan Taborov (L6f), Jack W ills (L6f), Aleksandr Grabski (U6e)

David Wild Head of Computer Science

Extended Project Qualification

This term has seen members of the Upper Sixth reaching the end of their EPQ journeys while boys in the Lower Sixth take their first steps on the same path. The projects being completed have covered an incredible array of topics and academic disciplines, ranging from the significance of the threat posed by the Soviet Navy during the Cold War, to the conceptual framing of justice in Agatha Christie novels, to the factors influencing stock market volatility In the process of putting these projects together, boys have sifted through academic journals, performed action research, interviewed public figures including former politicians and admirals, and documented their findings in exhaustive detail.

The culmination of some of these projects came on the afternoon of Friday 18 November, when 12 boys from the Upper Sixth delivered their EPQ Presentations They spoke with authority on their subject matter and the lessons they had learned from completing the project, and responded well to probing questions from their audiences, which included friends, tutors, teachers, and parents in addition to their EPQ supervisors The quality of the presentations on show was testament to the fantastic support and encouragement the supervisors have provided to the boys, both by consulting on their plans and ideas for the duration of the EPQ, and by rehearsing with them and supporting them on the day The spirit and endeavour which this programme has brought out in the boys has been emblematic of the level of academic achievement which can be attained at Sherborne

Nick Hall Teacher of Classics and EPQ Co-ordinator

News from the Library

From debating to quizzing, lessons to exams, so much has been going on within the library this term New this year, the library has dedicated their main display board in the Undercroft to showcase clubs and societies within the School, together with providing links to accompanying resources that go alongside it found within the library

So far, we have highlighted the Dungeons and Dragons Club, the wide range of Art Clubs, the Model United Nations Club and finally the Warhammer Club – with many more planned to go up in the future

In other news the Inter-House Literary quiz has started with the first-round knockout competitions in full swing We shall find out the overall winning House in the new year

In other displays around the library we have highlighted National Poetry Day which was on Thursday 6 October with an inspired Environment/Poetry book selection In November, we saw the return of a World War 1 display

New graphic novels have entered our stock with one major difference – all of them are in a language other than English We will over time endeavour to increase this selection but from our initial pick (with help from the Modern Foreign Languages department), we have made an excellent start!

Finally, I leave you with a photo from a display recently put up which already have had a number of students taking books from the selection highlighted What was the theme I hear you ask?

None other than Zombies Verses Aliens!

James Curtis Assistant Librarian

Co-curricular New s

Combined Cadet Force

The CCF has enjoyed a customarily busy term. Our Army section entered the Rifles Cadet Cup and our Royal Marines entered the Pringle Trophy and both teams did superbly in these gruelling competitions – both came third and were the highest place teams consisting of male and female cadets I would like to congratulate the Army team of (Caspar Bridge (L6f); Charlie Wilson (L6d); Freddie May (L6a); Dorian Gottardello Bodnar (U6f); Mikail Albakov (U6f). Our Royal Marines cadets will now also receive their ties and certificates (Lars Ropeid (L6g); Jake Windham and Max Windham both (L6c); Freddie Hope-Hawkins (5e); Henry Cole (5g); Jack Fletcher (5d); Alex Gledhill (5f); Will Wilson (5a).

The highlight for many cadets is the termly Field Trip and this term our Army and RM sections spent an overnight trip on Salisbury Plain sampling rations and learning fieldcraft, whilst our Fifth Form cadets fired 6,000 rounds of blank ammunition Our Royal Navy cadets went sailing The CCF then turned its attention to the solemn duty of preparing for the School’s Remembrance events and the Town Remembrance Parade which had our Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major and Head of School, W illiam

Waters (U6b), as a Standard Bearer

Our Fourth Form cadets then prepared for and passed their beret tests which allows them to ‘graduate’ to wear the beret of their chosen section The term ended with events in the fiercely contested inter-section Sherborne Shield drill competition

Next term for our Field Trips we hope that our Royal Navy section get to fly in a helicopter at RNAS Yeovilton with 846 Naval Air Squadron, whilst our Army and Royal Marines are hosted by 6 Rifles

Rob Le Poidevin CCF Contingent Commander

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Mark Stuart DofE and Outdoor Education Assistant

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has started again for the year with a successful sign-up of another 167 boys. We now have just over 400 participants across the three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The Lower Sixth Gold Walking participants undertook a training walk in the Brecon Beacons National Park, where, joined by Sherborne Girls, they attended a mountaintop Remembrance Service at a war memorial

This term we have awarded 19 Bronze and six Silver awards. Congratulations to James Miles (e 22) and James Burton (a 22) for completing the prestigious Gold Award this term and a special mention to Ben SmithBingham, (U6d), Freddie Cole (g 22) and William Sowerbutts (U6g) who have completed all three levels during their time at Sherborne Good luck to all these who are participating in the scheme and we look forward to another successful year of DofE at Sherborne.

Music

Ensemble music thrived in this first term of the new academic year with the Choirs, Swing Band, Wind Band, Chamber Ensembles, Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia, Unplugged and RocSoc all returning to full strength with impressive speed.

Having been to Barbados in the summer, the Swing Band and its Captain, Max Lewis Exh Mus (U6a), found itself quite heavily depleted of many of its stalwart members as they moved on to university, but a brand new trombone section, playing with sparkling brilliance and not a little hard work to boot, featuring Karl Ng (L6b), Archie Spenlove-Brown Sch Mus (4f) and Jasper Beardsell Sch Mus (4f), lifted the band quickly back to former standards Along with its newest Third Form saxophonist Ben Hunt Sch Mus (3b) and, as ever, the stunning Grade 8 Distinction drummer Alex O’Sullivan Exh.Mus (5d) leading the rhythm section, the Swing Band gave several performances throughout the term with two being available on YouTube for Christmas The W ind Band, led by Angus W illiams ATCL Sch Mus (U6c), this term numbers some 60 players, and recorded an e-Christmas Card (also on YouTube) and is in tremendous form for its big concert early next term The orchestras, joint with Sherborne

Girls and The Gryphon, are this year being conducted and run by Sherborne Girl’s new Director of Music Mark Cracknell, with first public appearances next term Chamber music is flourishing amongst the particularly talented Sixth Form musicians and there are several trios and quartets that have been rehearsing weekly for concerts and competitions next term

Solo music of a very high standard has taken place in Cheap Street Church every Friday lunchtime, to a local audience that has now returned to pre-Covid size, with some stellar individual performances from musicians who exhibit impressive stamina in providing the audience with major concert repertoire All performances are available for watching and listening on YouTube alongside Barbershop/Close Harmony sung in front of the enormous Music School Christmas tree.

Choral music flourished with a Chamber Choir visit to sing an Evensong in Bath Abbey and two outstanding Carol Services in Sherborne Abbey The academic year started with 16 trebles, but by the time the Advent Carol Service was being sung at the end of November there was, to all intents and purposes, just one remaining treble (Benji Rimington Sch Mus 3c) who featured heavily in solo work but was accompanied by the ubiquitous Sherborne TTBB male voice choirs!

The term finished in traditional style with a wonderful Service of Nine Lessons and Carols where both choirs (one hundred singers), brass players, percussionist, readers and congregation were on fine form Special mention should be made of the sonorous tones of soloists

Nico Beeny (U6c) in Cornelius

The Three Kings; Angus W illiams (U6c), James Coleman (L6a), Hector Kennerley (L6g), Hendrik Ashbrooke (U6g) and Alex Biddulph (5d) in Ríu Ríu Chíu and Freddie Folkes (U6a) in a vocal quartet for Darke’s In the bleak midwinter Other carols included Henderson arrangements for TTBB of Gardner’s Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, Ledger’s Sussex Carol, Rutter’s Sans Day

Carol and Vaughan W illiams This is the truth sent from above.

James Henderson Director of Music, Sherborne School and Sherborne Abbey

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Spor t

The Michaelmas Term st ar ted with the opening of our new Spor ts Hall and Climbing Centre. A shor t time later the pool re-opened af ter having a major facelif t and not long af ter the fitness suite returned af ter a temporar y re-location.

As expected, the boys are making fant astic use of the new facilities and are looking for ward to later this year, when we will have full use of the second phase including the new squash cour ts, per formance gym, studios and golf simulator. We are ver y grateful for the suppor t of all involved in the project and watch eagerly as the new building t akes shape.

David Guy, Director of Spor t

Rugby

Rugby has had a positive term. It was so pleasing to see boys representing the School and numbers back up over 300 following the COVID Restrictions.

The Mini Colts have had a very good start to their rugby career with lots of good performances The U14A find themselves in the fifth round of the School Sports Magazine National Cup – a fantastic achievement after a tough start

The Junior Colts age group are a talented bunch, with lots of potential W ins against Marlborough and Cheltenham being the season highlights

The Colts, with 11 boys currently involved with Bath Rugby Academy, have shown some fantastic performances, with wins over Marlborough, Abingdon, Millfield and Canford

The 1st XV has been decimated by injuries, that meant the second half of the season was a real battle They demonstrated a never say die attitude throughout and came away with much learning in the process

There have been several representative honours, from all ages:

U15s

Albi Robinson (4m)

Jake Bamford (4b)

Charlie W ilson (4m)

Jem Lye (4g)

Ben Lacey (4a)

Arlo Findlater (4m)

U16s

Ralph Lewis (5m)

Archie Nash (5g)

Ali Reid Thomas (5m)

Hamish Kerr (5d)

Freddie Griffith (5c)

Piers Langley (5e)

Ed Scougall (5d)

Myles Boardman-Hirst (5e)

David Affram (5g)

Rory Gledhill (5f)

Charlie Sclater (5m)

Bath Under 18

Harry Bedford (U6c)

Hugo Swann (U6m)

Cassian Mcloughlin (U6g)

Luke Reeve (U6f)

Charlie Westmacott (U6c)

Finn Watson (L6a)

Toby Bemand (L6a)

Joe Mackenzie (L6m)

Football

The U18 Football squad progressed through to the 3rd round of the ISFA National Cup and the U15 squad will continue to play in their National Shield after Christmas

Allied to this, boys have once again competed in the highly competitive House Futsal competition in the new sports hall, which saw The Digby win for the Juniors and Lyon House for the Seniors

It was also an exciting conclusion once again to the Wessex Independent Schools League this term with the winning school once again being decided on the last day of the season Just like last year, Sherborne were crowned Champions, on this occasion managing to beat a spirited Millfield team

Ski Racing

During October half term, mainly junior members of the Sherborne Ski Racing Squad travelled to Kaprun, Austria for 4 days training on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. Under the instruction of coaches from Precise Racing, the boys tackled Slalom and Giant Slalom courses with nightly video analysis of their progress. The boys are now looking forward to a trip to Wengen, Switzerland in January to compete at the DHO British Schoolboys Championships

Hockey

In the Michaelmas Term the main focus for hockey is the indoor programme in our brand new sports hall Three groups of boys were getting their first chance to play on the new surface, with the U18s preparing to play in the County tournament at Canford, the U16s qualifying to play at the Regionals, and a mixed Junior group of U15s and U14s gaining their first experience of indoor hockey The new hall has also played host to players from Sherborne Girls and Yeovil & Sherborne Hockey Club, and hopefully will provide a fantastic base for the development of indoor hockey in Dorset A number of boys have selected Hockey for their games option this term, and they have once again had the opportunity to play Men’s League hockey with Yeovil & Sherborne Hockey Club

Tennis

Tennis has had exceedingly high numbers of boys playing this term Our highlight has been winning the Regional Finals which took place on Friday 14 October; the boys fought valiantly and surpassed some tough competition We are also currently competing in the Year 11 – 13 LTA competition where our A and B teams had a tough start against Bishops Wordsworth’s School but are looking to bounce back against some equally tough teams Alongside these competitions, the boys have been working hard to improve their game We are seeing an increasing number of boys wanting to play tennis throughout the year which gives lots of opportunity to continue to develop the sport at Sherborne

Squash

It was always going to be a challenge playing squash when the School courts had been razed to the ground, following the refit of the old part of the School Sports Centre, but fortunately the Oxley Centre found some time for us on their courts and the boys have been able to play for 1½hrs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a lavish 3½hrs each Saturday As a result of this, skills were a little slower to develop than has usually been the case and this resulted in defeats at the hands of Canford, The Jesters, Bryanston and King’s Taunton Morale is high, however, with able leadership being supplied by Zac Banks (U6b), who, in turn, has been ably supported by Jamie Hurrell (U6g), Lucas Tavares (5f), Yu Heng Choo (U6e), Archie Beardsell (L6f) and Hendrick Ashbrooke (U6g). Although we have had a run of second places, our opposing schools have been run close and can never have come through the experience feeling it was easy When the wrecking ball has done its worst and the four new squash courts have risen from the rubble, Sherborne School will then have the facilities to fly high!

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 two teams and in total there were 29 boys’ teams of 4 guns

In the main “Sporting “ team event Sherborne A team was placed fifth out of the 29 teams Whilst Millfield A and the Marlborough teams Maxis and Mavericks won the trophies, Sherborne A team beat, W inchester, Eton, and Radley overall

In the Individual event, Harry Thomson (U6e) was placed seventh out of 100 guns

In November, at the Millfield School Invitational Clay Challenge at Mendip Shooting Grounds, Sherborne entered one team for each course and in total there were seven boys’ teams of four guns for the A course and 24 boys’ teams of four guns for the B course

In the main “Sporting“ team event Sherborne A team was placed sixth out of the seven teams for the A course with strong teams from Millfield A, Cheltenham A and Marlborough on the podium, whereas Sherborne B team was placed tenth out of the 24 teams for the less tricky B course.

In the individual event for the A course, Percy Tylor (U6g) came joint fifth out of 110 guns competing with other 27 entrants

Golf

The golfers have enjoyed another superb season, so far, reaching the area final of the ISGA Singles competition, and the semi-finals of the HMC Foursomes The next round matches will be played in the New Year. They are also undefeated in the Western Schools’ Golf League In the West of England Public Schools’ competition at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club, a semi-final match that went down the 18th with the final pairing, was frustratingly lost against Marlborough (2-3)

For the first time there has been an Under 16 golf team who have enjoyed some exciting matches with draws against Milton Abbey and Canford and a victory against Downside School Captain Tom Stephens (U6d) also did superbly well in the HMC Singles competition at The Berkshire scoring level par to finish eleventh out of a very strong field of 63 Meanwhile, Theo Anderson Gannon (L6e) has had considerable success playing for the full Mens’ 1st’s Somerset Golf team and coming fourteenth in the European Junior Open

Target Shooting

After some recent equipment upgrades, Target Shooting training this term has been attended by a good number of both returning and novice shooters On Saturday 12 November, a team of four junior boys from Sherborne competed in the English Schools Long Range Challenge at the National Shooting Centre, Bisley This was their first experience of shoulder-to-shoulder match shooting and of shooting at 50m, which brought additional complications such as wind into play Under this pressure, the boys worked really well as a team to put personal best scores on the board

In the final standings, strong squads from Gresham’s, Wellington, and Bradfield dominated a field of 167 shooters drawn from 15 schools, but our boys’ outperformed teams from Westminster, Abingdon, and Pate’s Grammar, and are keen to return to Bisley at the next opportunity

Polo

After a few sunny weeks on grass in September we went straight into training each Thursday in the arena for the winter season Boys from each year group from Fourth Form upwards have enjoyed training together at Druids Lodge Polo Club Each week boys experience a mixture of some theory, drills and an instructional chukka which always brings out their competitive side

On Sunday 13 November we defeated Millfield 13-8 in a friendly 4-chukka game at Vaux Park Ben Spencer (L6g) was a deserving recipient of the Most Valuable Player award and is a great asset to the teams as a new entrant to the Sixth Form this year Algy Lindsay-Fynn (5b) was also able to play his first competitive match from which he gained a huge amount of experience

On Thursday 24 November a team of mainly novices played against a much more experienced Marlborough side They held their own really well which wasn’t reflected in the loss on the scoreboard of 15-4 Mustafa Cheshti (U6g) played really well to support the inexperienced team and was awarded Most Valuable Player despite being on the losing side

Water Polo

The King’s Taunton team enjoyed a 15-8 win in a friendly and spirited first match of the season Sherborne remained competitive throughout, with three goals from Thomas Lamb (Captain) (U6e) and two apiece from Douglas Groves (L6c) and Akila Bakrie (4b).

A very closely fought match saw Sherborne narrowly defeated by Clifton College Despite goals from Alfie Reynolds (L6c) and W ill Frost (Captain) (U6b), Clifton’s stronger swimmers meant they were 5-2 up by the end of the third quarter Akila Bakrie scored two superb goals in the final quarter, leaving Sherborne with a respectable 5-4 defeat Sherborne enjoyed their first win of the season in a nail-bitingly close match against Marlborough. There was some superb play from Zac Banks (U6b) and Tom Stephens (U6d), and Zander Lacy-Smith (5d) defended the goal impeccably W ill Frost scored the only goal of the match, for a 1-0 win

The first round of the Senior House Tournament has seen early wins for Abbey House, Abbeylands and The Green

Ar t & Histor y of Ar t

Sherbor ne Prep Ceramic Poppies

Mid-October saw the Art Department reaching out to Sherborne Prep with the offer to host a collaborative project to make ceramic poppies for this year ’ s Remembrance Day What initially started as a simple idea to working with the pre-prep pupils, very quickly cascaded into a school-wide project which saw waves of pupils crossing the road to come into Art to make several poppies each W ith 210 pupils at Sherborne prep, very soon there were simple ceramic poppies everywhere in the department!

Remembrance Day at Sherborne Prep was a huge success, whilst seeing the contributions of all poppies purchased going to The Royal British Legion

Paint a Poppy

Following the success of the Sherborne Prep ceramic poppies, staff in the Art Department decided that it would be good to mark Remembrance Day by asking staff and boys to produce a collective work of art as an act of remembrance W ith the kind help of the catering team a 10 meter long canvas was set up, with two paint stations ready for the hordes to arrive for their lunch Uptake amongst the School community was excellent and by the end of the lunch service a wall of poppies as a communal act of remembrance art was displayed to recognise the personal sacrifices made by men and women, past and present, to protect freedoms we enjoy today Thank you to one and all

Sherbor ne Prep Experiences Art

Following a successful prep school outreach day which saw 13 local Art Teachers visit Sherborne’s Art Department for our ‘Experience Art’ day, the Art and Admissions Teams combined forces to offer a series of ‘Experience Art’ days for year 5 and 6 pupils from various prep schools. The first of these happened recently as we invited Year 6 Sherborne Prep pupils to join us for an actionpacked day. Arriving early pupils were soon busy beginning their ‘Bug’ themed day by first playing

‘Beetle Drive’ a traditional British party game in which one draws a beetle in parts to create some creepy looking beetles Pupils were then challenged to print their designs using a fairly technical monoprinting process, expertly directed by Art Teacher, Mrs Drake. Chomping through their morning’s work, pupils then used collage to cut and stick paper to their designs to add a splash of iridescent colour. A fantastic (and messy) morning’s work!

Following a scrumptious lunch in the dining room with more jelly than they could shake a spoon at, the prep pupils were treated to a historical and architectural tour of the School by our resident know-it-all, History of Art Teacher, Mr Pomichal. After having their brains crammed with facts, the pupils were back in the Art Department with their aprons on to do battle with balls of clay Our last task of the day was to translate some fantastic 2D beetle designs into truly terrifying,

but awesome 3D beasties. The Year 6 class worked incredibly hard all day and I have to say that we were incredibly impressed with both their stamina, focus and outcomes on each and every task. A great day was had by all, and I must take this opportunity to thank the Art & Admissions Teams for making this happen. We are looking forward to many more like this!

Matt Bone Director of Art

Drama

It has been a very busy and exciting term in the Drama Department - a highlight being the Joint Schools Production of Animal Farm. In September, the wonderful Paper Birds Theatre Company ran a workshop for the Fourth Form GC SE pupils, to kick start their two -year course. The Paper Birds pride themselves on inspiring young people through theatre and enabling them to thrive through participation. They also have a reputation as leaders in the delivery of devised and verbatim theatre workshops throughout the UK . This workshop also inspired the Drama Scholars to commence devising an original piece of drama using the principles of this style of theatre.

Paper Birds will be returning to Sherborne at the end of term, for a two-week residency whilst they devise and rehearse a brand-new production They will be working closely with the Drama Scholars, and they hope to engage a group of Third Form pupils to be members of a Youth Creative Counsel Youth Creative Counsels will advise the Paper Birds throughout the making of the new show, Feel Me, to ensure relevance to the target audience The boys will receive training on the skills required to empower them to provide constructive criticism, and consider how to use their knowledge to challenge systems and ideas around the creation of Feel Me, with an empathetic approach These sessions will include pre-recorded mini masterclasses from visiting speakers, to develop the skills they might need to fulfil their role; such as empowerment, constructive criticism, taking up space, challenging systems/ideas and showing empathy Our hope is that they can then take these

skills into their lives and communities after the project, to use them in the world

We also had a visit from the very talented Emma Earle, who is Director of the Pins and Needles productions and Associate Director of Les Enfants Terribles Emma ran a Character Workshop with the Fifth Form GCSE pupils, which helped them to develop their performances as part of their studies The Third Form have worked tremendously well on the Kneehigh play, Hansel and Gretel, in their lessons and I am delighted that some of these boys have joined Drama Club

The GCSE and A level pupils have also produced some highly creative and original performances for their practical examinations, and we hope this will set them in good stead for their written examination next year Congratulations must be given to Ed Ursell (U6c) who has been awarded his LAMDA Acting Grade 8 Gold Medal

It has been wonderful to return to the theatre, something which the boys really enjoyed The production of Girl From the North Country, at the Theatre Royal Bath was a remarkable fusion of text (about hope and stoic suffering in Depression-era Minnesota) and the glorious music of Bob Dylan We were also fortunate to bump into OS Felix Stickland (08 a) who performed as part of the band on stage

Head of English, Harriet Cant directed the superb Abbey House play One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the cast skillfully handled the various acting challenges faced, performing a play set in a mental institution

The Joint Schools’ Production, Animal Farm (Directed by Katy Scott, Sherborne Girls) was a real triumph at the end of term and completed what has been an extremely rewarding time in the Drama Department for all involved

Vicky Clayton Head of Drama

Sixth Form & Higher Education

The leadership of the Sixth Form is a stimulating and highly engaging challenge With 240 of the oldest boys in the School, we have a diverse and ambitious group of young men who, in their own individual ways, want to progress and leave school on a pathway that excites, fulfils and motivates them to go out and make a positive difference to the wider world. It is therefore the role of the Careers Department, the Tutors, the Housemasters, and all staff, to support the boys in finding the best pathways for each individual. The boys need to be informed, guided and inspired and so we have created a programme designed to do just that.

At the start of the term, we make sure that all boys are logged in and engaged with Unifrog, our online applications platform The boys are all given training on how to explore subjects and careers in detail This includes creating university shortlists, building CVs and gaining knowledge and skills needed for specific subject/ careers applications This training leads to most of the Upper Sixth boys beginning their UCAS applications, supported by their

Tutors, the Careers Department and, especially, Mrs Keene, our Higher Education and Careers Coordinator

For those applying to elite academic universities, there have been coaching sessions and practice interviews led by a large number of colleagues, overseen by Mrs Thurman, our Oxbridge & Specialist Higher Education Coordinator In addition, those hoping to begin apprenticeships or degree apprenticeships are offered regular 1:1 meetings by Mrs Fraser, our Head of Careers

Early in the term, the Sixth Form boys all experienced a presentation on Global Education from David Hawkins of The University Guys This was then followed up by a Global University Roadshow here at Sherborne School in early November, in which we were visited by delegates from eight different institutions from around the world The event was very exciting for many of our boys: there is a positive culture in place of boys thinking hard about where in the world is the best place for them to study, and what location and institution is best for them to become who they want to be

Mrs Garland, our Overseas Higher Education Co-ordinator, has been working with a large number of boys throughout this term, supporting them with applications to a wide range of US and European colleges In the latter part of term, our Fifth Form pupils have been attending 1:1 Higher Education and Careers Interviews with advisors from Future Smart Careers These interviews have

given the boys a welcome chance to discuss thoughts on A levels, BTECs, Higher Education and Careers with a qualified expert We also arranged a Gap Year Fair for all pupils, which took place in the BSR on Wednesday 7 December.

We have greatly enjoyed meeting and talking with Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth Parents at the

Pathways Talks, given before the respective House lunches at halfterm and Exeat In addition, these talks have also been provided through webinars for parents not able to attend the talks in person These webinars are also available on the School website.This Post18 provision – along with our Weekly Higher Education and Careers Bulletin, and the ongoing opportunity for the boys to book

online to meet the team on an adhoc basis – gives the boys a strong framework to find support, inspiration and belief that there are many exciting pathways open to them We hope to help them find the right one before they leave us and go off to begin the next stage of their lives

Alex Boyd-Williams Deputy Head (Sixth Form)

Clubs & Activities

Maths Club

Some of our top Mathematicians have been attending a club to look at the questions that are asked on Mathematical admissions tests These tests are part of the entry requirements when applying for Maths or a Maths-based subject at several top universities such as Cardiff, Bath, Imperial College, LSE, Nottingham and Warwick We started the term looking at questions from the most challenging of tests, the STEP examination, and have since worked through some questions from a new exam called TMUA. The boys will then be looking at the MAT exam which is a combination of multiple choice questions and longer problem solving questions Approximately fifteen boys have been attending on a Friday lunchtime (mostly Lower Sixth Further Mathematicians) to work through the problems They have enjoyed the challenge offered by these questions and by starting their preparation early they will not only consolidate their learning for A level Maths, but will be prepared to embrace the challenge of the admissions tests, should they need to take them later this year

Katrina Evans Maths Teacher

Archives Club

This term two proud Shirburnians Jake W indham (L6c) and Arthur Shelley (L6c) set up Archives Club with the aim of giving boys the opportunity to explore the School Archives to find out about the history of Sherborne School and its former pupils The club, which held its inaugural meeting in the Beckett Room on 27 September, have this term looked into the history of The Green, identified shrapnel found in The Courts after the bombing of Sherborne in 1940, worked out how to use an early calculating machine, and found out what the School fees were in 1956 (£309 pa, in case you ’ re interested!)

As quoted by Jake: “I have found a great sense of enjoyment in escaping a busy school life and taking time to reflect on the perplexing history of the School”

Rachel Hassall School Archivist

Robotics Club

One of our first meetings of the group charged with entering a robot into the national Student Robotics competition met tonight to discuss strategy and roles Now the group will focus on the areas of chassis design, vision systems, mechanics, programming and electronics in preparation for a visit by one of the organisers’ experts

David Wild Head of Computer Science

Crossfire

Crossfire (The School’s Christian Union) has met most Thursdays at 5 45pm We have enjoyed meeting together regularly to share a meal and listen to a visiting speaker, or to look at a passage from the Bible We have welcomed some pupils for the first time and also had a joint meeting with Sherborne Girls later in the term

Nick Scorer Housemaster, Harper House and Chemistry Teacher

History of Art Club

History of Art Club is proving very popular, with boys creating thoughtful and exciting presentations on subjects, artists or cultures of their choice Recent presentations included W illiam Morris by Rufus Watson (5a), the Alhambra by Lucas Tavares (5f), and the history of Korean art by Joonsang Hyun (5f) Future talks will include the history of Baltic art by Hendrik Ashbrooke (U6g) and potentially an exploration of the Manga phenomenon by Henry Perrin (5m)

On Friday 2 December, the club played host to special guest Fernando Velazquez, the Head of Art at Sherborne Prep He came in as artist rather than teacher, and delivered a stunning talk on contemporary art, linking it to burning current issues such as the environment After supper, Fernando led a painting workshop, where the boys used their hands, brushes, cardboard, and palette knives to produce brilliant, impastoed and mysterious compositions The turnout was extraordinary and the presence of so many boys who have not been in the Art Department since Third Form was very gratifying

“I personally loved the way Fernando weaved ideas about contemporary art generally, and nature and the environment, into his talk and work . It is the big ideas that matter, and this was a unique opportunity for boys to escape the curriculum straitjacket.”

Miroslav Pomichal History of Art Teacher

Board Games Club

Board Games Club takes place after school on Mondays and involves a small but friendly cohort of 5 boys who enjoy some of the more weird and wonderful games available Highlights of this term have included Hand-toHand Wombat, Blood on the Clocktower and Battle Sheep

Claire Greenrod English Teacher

Debating Society

This term has seen the Debating Society moving to pastures new, with boys taking part in the ESU Schools’ Mace Debating, a competition that begins at a regional level, and then advances to a national stage In the first heats, Sherborne’s Debating team, consisting of Roman Sexton (L6a), Veljko Kosijer (L6b), Ivo Finney (4d) and Johnny Moesel (4c), were pitted against Canford School, acting as proposition for the motion: ‘This House believes that educational policy should be determined by educational experts rather than politicians ’ Among fierce competition, it became clear that both teams were eager for the win This was perhaps marked most ceremoniously by Johnny’s summarising speech, reimagining Margaret Thatcher’s 1981 policy that allowed education authorities to sell school playing fields for redevelopment as ‘paving paradise to put up a parking lot’ – (thank you, Joni Mitchell!) The boys also witnessed some excellent debate from the five other schools in our heat, something of which they were incredibly grateful

After some tough competition, Sherborne’s team emerged

victorious, and were selected within the heat’s top three schools, who will now advance to the next round of the competition A huge thank you should go out to English Teacher, Mr Payne, who has led the team’s charge with some excellent coaching this term This is a feat of which the boys can be incredibly proud, and long may it continue

Bryony Watts

Deputy Head of English

Creative Writing

This October, I made my way to Cambridge University for the start of a post graduate course in teaching creative writing Arguably, I already know how to do it For over 25 years I have been teaching English, running creative writing societies, hosting writing groups and programming festivals But I have recently begun to think of myself as a writer as well as a teacher and I have come to understand that writing - and enabling others to write - is a more extraordinary business than I had realised Here at Sherborne, on Friday afternoons from 5pm, boys arrive in my classroom and settle down to write As do I No one has told them to, but they want to,

even need to They write poetry and fanzine columns and plays and prose fiction Sometimes they ask me or English Teacher, Miss Watts to read their work and we talk about it a little. Sometimes they ask for an exercise to get them writing It is an honour to be in that classroom and the alchemy that takes place there surprises and delights me every time Some of the pupils who have joined me in the last 15 years, now make their own livings with words, writing books, films, speeches, poetry and even recipes How fantastic is that

Rebecca de Pelet English Teacher

Water Polo Club

Around 20 boys have participated in Friday afternoon’s Junior Water Polo club and enjoyed developing their skills, strategies and swim fitness in this exciting and fast-paced sport Players from this club are occasionally selected for school fixtures, and all boys will have the opportunity to play in the Junior House Tournament later in the year

Claire Greenrod English Teacher

Wellbeing

It has been a busy term in Wellbeing. Pupils have engaged with workshops from the organisation Beyond Equality and received talks from Alex Homes on AntiBullying, Lorraine Lee on Digital Balance and Patrick Foster on Risk Management. Lessons have had a focus on Health and Wellbeing and new Pupil led workshops have taken off in Houses. Heads of Houses were asked to get Prefects and other Lower Sixth involved with leading small discussions with younger years on topics such as Identity and Anti-Bullying. This is part of an exciting initiative to have the older pupils interacting with younger years in new ways, enabling younger boys to discuss ideas with their peers. We look forward to more of these in the Lent Term, plus more talks on Drugs, Online Safety and the use of supplements.

Nikola Bowerman Head of Pupil Wellbeing & Teacher of Theology

Achievements for Ment al Health

This term has seen several achievements for Mental Health We have listened to what boys have asked for through the newly established Mental Health and Wellbeing Pupil Voice Committee, and risen to the challenge Boys asked for more listeners in each year group and as a result training has been provided to lower school, and we have doubled the number of trained pupil listeners in Fifth, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth

World Mental Health Day was celebrated at Sherborne in October This was a great opportunity to raise awareness and start conversations about mental health by wearing yellow Pupils and staff alike came together to wear something yellow, and together we raised £112 50 for Young Minds Charity.

Our focus moving forwards, will be planning events to mark Children’s Mental Health Week in February Our very enthusiastic Mental Health and Wellbeing Prefect will be leading this initiative as he continues to demonstrate his commitment to raising awareness of mental health

Marie Hutchings Nurse Manager & Mental Health Lead

& Charity & Community Outreach

As I write this, there are many exciting plans I am hoping to develop further over the coming weeks, which will offer exciting opportunities for the boys with regard to voluntary projects and addressing social and economic problems facing our country at this current time.

Sherborne is opening up a ‘ Warm Space’ initiative, looking to offer a place for members of the local community to come to for the day to stop them being forced to switch on expensive heating at home, and I am hoping the boys will be able to volunteer We have forged a link with Yeovil Pen Mill Football Club and I am hoping to take some boys from Harper House over to Westfield Academy to have a kickabout with some of the boys from the team.

Wallace House was visited by their House Charity the Sherborne Voluntary Ambulance. The boys and House staff are all very excited to be building their relationship with the charity, supporting such a lifeline for so many in our local community.

We received fantastic support for our Harvest service, supporting Sherborne Foodbank , and I am looking at getting some boys over to the Lord’s Larder (Yeovil Foodbank) for an afternoon to provide support, as well as meeting some clients in the new year.

Other projects in the pipeline are World Aids Day on 1 December, which will be an opportunity for boys to be made more aware of sufferers living with Aids, and Christmas Jumper Day will be in the last week of term, raising funds for Save the Children.

Ruth Chapman Community Engagement Lead/ Co-curricular Co-ordinator

Making History

This term has been momentous as, following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III, we moved from an Elizabethan to a Carolean age.

In a display of historic newspapers from our archives, we reflected on how previous Royal funerals had been reported from that of Queen Victoria in 1901 through to King George VI in 1952 and, with our future historians in mind, we collected for the archives reports of the funeral of our late Queen Elizabeth II.

It was a pleasure to support this term the MFL department’s celebration of the European Day of Languages when we shared with pupils from Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls some of the treasures from our archives, including a collection of maps of various parts of the world dating from 1570 to 1680 and the King of Spain’s polyglot bible produced by Christophe Plantin at Antwerp in 1568-72.

This term also saw the formation of Archives Club by an enthusiastic group of boys interested in using the School archives to explore the history of the School

During half term we ran another successful Open Sherborne week when we shared with over 160 very appreciative members of the local community the School’s historic buildings and collections.

Rachel Hassall School Archivist

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Image credits: Josie Sturgess-Mills and others