Skylight - Spring 2022

Skylight Spring 2022

Image shortlisted for the Natural History Museum’s Young Photographer of the Year

Featured in this issue

The Aske Level prize ceremony Dragons’ Den 2022 HabsMUN 2022 Fraser Bird competition 2022 Prep Young Musician of the Year 2022 Habs Giving Day 2022

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The Headmaster’s

End of term letter

Dear Parents and Guardians, It has been a glorious term and we can also look back on an action-packed, fun-filled few months which have seen the school excelling in a vast array of activities and endeavours and I hope you enjoy reading all that follows.

I wrote last term about our four values (Ambition, Curiosity, Courage and Community) and these values have very much defined the Spring Term too. They have been in constant evidence in our academic lives, never more so than in the fabulous projects completed by the Upper Sixth cohorts at both schools. The Aske Level celebration assembly was as powerful a demonstration of intellectual curiosity and emotional courage as I have ever witnessed in a school. The brilliant McLaren F1 day, the many successes in Olympiads, debating, American university applications and so much more also attest to the vibrant intellectual life of our school.

It was no wonder that the team of ISI inspectors who visited us for a week in January commended the pupils’ ‘innate, driving curiosity and zest for learning’.

An outstanding education prepares young people for their futures, reaching outside the classroom to nurture those many qualities that are essential to thrive in the modern world. More than anything, this has been a term of teamwork. A succession of musical recitals provided platforms for any number of ensembles, leading up to the quite stupendous Orchestral Concert, bringing together boys and girls and a guest conductor to deliver a recital that blew the audience away. Our actors came together to deliver a sparkling Julius Caesar in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival as well as the deeply introspective and moving Middle School Play. The Prep production, ‘A Night at the Musicals’ was a sensation. The teamwork (as well as the fabulous inventiveness) of our Dragons’ Den teams provided another highlight and the students who faced the Dragons did themselves very proud indeed.

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It has been a particularly outstanding term on the sports pitch. Having lost almost two seasons, Hockey came back with a bang and the consistent performances of many junior sides bode very well for the future. Our U15 Rugby side pushed on to the later stages of the national bowl contest before teaming up with the U13 to win the Habs Fraser Bird 7s Cup for the first time since 2003! In the pool, our senior Water Polo sides acquitted themselves well in the national finals and if our junior sides continue their current trajectory, they will be very serious contenders in the coming years. Our Bridge players won the national Schools Bridge Cup (again!), whilst the Chess team have made it through to national finals next term. One of the greatest highlights of term was the success of our Vex Robotics teams, with more in store as two teams travel to Texas in May to compete on the international stage!

As ever, none of this would work without the strong underpinning of a caring and united school community. After an eternity of divisive zones or events being cancelled or moved online, opportunities to come together in person have felt very special this term. Against an alarming international backdrop, HabsMUN 2022 will long be remembered as a weekend of extraordinary togetherness and debate, whilst the celebration of LGBT+ History Month, Neurodiversity Week and the joint Giving Day brought us all together around the things that we stand for as a school and a community. The inspection team summed it up perfectly: ‘A community that celebrates diversity but at the same time acknowledges that there are core values that bind the community together and this helps to make them stronger individuals.’ Fabulous.

I must end by offering particular thanks to my friend and colleague Matteo Rossetti who leaves the Prep School after nearly four years of exceptional leadership. Not only has he brought tangible advances through improved

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digital provision and the building of an onsite Pre-Prep with our first ever Reception class, but he also leaves behind a culture that is committed to educational breath, intellectual curiosity and emotional courage. We all wish him the best for this exciting new role over the seas. We will miss him.

I wish you and your loved ones health and happiness for the weeks ahead.

Gus Lock Headmaster

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Success Stories SCS Recycling Group plans for a greener 2022

The School Community Service (SCS) recycling group have been busy planning and setting up plastics recycling for 2022. The Year 11 students recycle the school’s paper on Friday afternoons, then come back to the Design and Technology department to plan the reduction and responsible disposal of plastic in the school. Their long-term goal is to reduce the amount of plastic the school brings onto the site by stopping the use of plastic milk bottles and single use plastics such as water bottles and pudding containers. The group aim to

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educate their peers to refuse single use plastic, reduce their consumption and recycle plastic correctly. Hopefully, in the future, the 85 Habs bins will be replaced with modern recycling bins so that hundreds of kilos of plastic waste will not end up in landfill. Until then, a shredder is being built, so that our micro-recycling centre will be up and running.

The SCS recycling group will turn the school’s waste plastic into useful products that can be sold to highlight how precious a resource plastic is!

VEX robotics world qualifying event

On the weekend beginning Saturday 6 March, the Bourne Hall hosted VEX robotics teams from around the UK for the World Championships qualifying event. The VEX EDR competition took place on Saturday where our Year 10 and Year 12 teams were competing. TheNonRoutineMachines (Year 12) and HABS_Dynamics (Year 10) performed brilliantly all day but unfortunately lost out in the quarter finals. Both teams recorded excellent driver skills scores that were the 5th and 9th highest scores in the UK. On Sunday 7 March, Habs hosted the VEX IQ world qualifying event. This was an exciting competition held in great spirit. Once again, Habs had two teams

competing, our Year 8 HABS_SciClones and our Year 9 HABS_Critical Speed, with both teams consistently scoring highly all day.

When it came to awards, HABS_Critical Speed were announced as Innovate Winners, qualifying them for the World VEX championships. These take place in Dallas, Texas, this coming May. The judges were impressed with the team’s design booklet, which showed their progression and innovative alterations to their robot. They also mentioned the team’s enthusiasm and passion for robotics, as well as wanting to continually develop their robot design. Well done to all involved!

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Success Stories Student shortlisted for the Natural History Museum’s Young Photographer of the Year Joshua (L6S2) was recently shortlisted for Wildlife Photographer of the Year in a competition run by the Natural History Museum.

Joshua entered the ‘Young Photographers’ category and had two entries shortlisted for the final round. Joshua’s first entry was taken in Norfolk whilst on a two-day photography trip and his second photograph was taken as part of a sunset series in Richmond Park, London. Joshua currently runs Habs Photography Society, has won the Habs Photography Competition twice, and helps photograph key community events as part of his School Community Service.

Congratulations to Joshua for this brilliant achievement - and for nurturing the next generation of Habs photographers!

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Schools Bridge Cup 2022 On Saturday 5 March, the Schools Bridge Cup took place. With the event taking place online, Habs was able to enter five teams. Our A team of James (L6J1), Zack (9R2), Rufus (11M2) and Marco (11J2) started well, but qualification for the semi-finals looked in doubt after a heavy defeat to Loughborough. A win in the next match took them through to meet Westminster. After a comfortable win in the semi-final, Habs faced a rematch against Loughborough in the final. After falling 5-0 behind after the first board, all four players played excellent bridge to turn it around and win with ease 44-5.

For James, who also plays for England Under 21, this was his second win and makes up for the

disappointment of losing in last year’s final. For Rufus, Marco and Zack, it is their first win. Overall, this is the school’s 10th win in 13 years.

Sixth Form students make it to final of French Debating competition at the French Institute Congratulations to Jonathan (U6H2), Ozair (L6S1) and Param (L6H2) who made it through a prestigious national French Debating competition at the French Institute of the United Kingdom in Kensington and made it through to the grand finals! The school would like to thank Mr Walter for preparing the students and accompanying them to the event.

Sixth Former accepted into the University of Chicago Congratulations to Benjy (U6J1) who has been accepted into the University of Chicago. The university is ranked number six in the US! Early Action acceptance rate this year was around 3% and we are delighted to hear that Benjy has been selected. Well done, Benjy!

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Success Stories Aske Level 2022 On Wednesday 9 February, Haberdashers’ Boys’ School and Haberdashers’ Girls’ School came together for our first collaborative Aske Level prize giving ceremony.

Over the last year, our Sixth Form students created an independent project to deepen their learning experiences. With titles ranging from “Should gene drive technology be used to eradicate malaria?” to “Parallel autobiographies in The Rabbit Catcher and Wuthering Heights – Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes,” the curiosity and ambition shown by students knew no limits as a vast variety of subjects and topics were explored so diligently.

Headmistress at Habs Girls, Mrs Rose Hardy, said: “The sheer breadth of projects submitted was very impressive. The idea of cultivating many interests as a way of deepening the capacity for learning and becoming more well-rounded is inspiring.

Our students have inspired me with all they have achieved with their projects.”

Mr Gus Lock, Headmaster at Habs Boys, agreed: “The projects and presentations were nothing short of humbling. Our students have worked incredibly hard, overcoming challenges and difficulties with perseverance and resilience. More than this, they have been motivated by, and in turn fed, their innate love for learning to discover and explore areas which truly inspire them. Perhaps most impressive of all was the intellectual and emotional courage on display, whether defending their arguments or sharing experiences with amazing honesty. It was a privilege to share this with them.”

This year’s winners included Edan (U6S1) who took first prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences category. The Sixth Former said: “The Aske Level gave me the perfect opportunity to further explore development economics and, in particular, Gerschenkron’s theory of economic backwardness. The data gathering and quantitative analysis involved complemented my A Levels perfectly. The project has also played a significant role in my decision to study economics

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Events at university.”

Sarina (U6DHH) won the STEM prize while the Creative prize was shared between Neeve (U6RS) and Oluwademilade (U6M2).

Neeve, whose project was shown through a screening at the prize giving ceremony, commented: “Using my knowledge of fundamental truths, I created a short film depicting the daily life of my Nonna, highlighting the extent of her loneliness. While the film is incredibly personal to me, it also allows the audience to relate to the experiences shown in the film, empathising due to the recent pandemic. I was honoured to be awarded joint first place and it was so special to see my work bringing members of the audience to tears as they connected with the film. It was, overall, an incredible and emotional experience to share my work, one I would not have had without participating in the Aske Level.”

Oluwademilade, the joint winner of the Creative prize, performed a monologue of his own creation at the prize giving. He said: “The Aske Level facilitated my pooling together of all aspects I enjoy from my A Levels. The project’s flexibility was its greatest strength, allowing me to ask and answer my project question ‘why do we tell stories?’ in a medium that best suited me:

drama. Winning the prize was a true honour and performing for so many people was surreal! With the themes my monologue tackles, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to share it with the audience that attended the prize giving ceremony.”

The schools would like to thank all those involved in organising such a successful Aske Level.

Congratulations to all the prize winners and well done to all those involved!

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Success Stories Habs Schools’ Challenge Quiz team through to regionals Congratulations to our Habs Challenge Quiz team, who won their second round Schools’ Challenge match defeating Merchant Taylor’s School, and then a very strong City of London School side! The team of Scott (Captain) (L6M1), Ben (L6C1), William (10S2) and Saul (9M1) worked extremely well together, answering questions ranging from Scottish history to geology to ophthalmology. The team went on to the inter regional round as the London area champions to compete against schools from the wider Home Counties.

The students faced a very strong Magdalen College School from Oxford, who were the Oxfordshire regional champions and recent national runners-up. Despite their fantastic effort, the team was defeated 420 to 570, narrowly missing out on a spot in the national finals.

Given the relative youth of the Habs team and the knowledge that the quiz club has only been running again since late December, we’re very excited for the future of quizzing at Habs!

Joblings winter coat collection Well done to members of Joblings, who have been continuing to work with Goods4Good. This is a local charity who support the homeless in Watford, as well as refugees coming into the area.

Ayman Khan (OH 2020) has been liaising between Joblings and Goods4Good. He came to collect a packed car loaded with winter coats, which have been given by the wider school community in support. Our thanks go out to the Joblings community and the wider school community for all the donations.

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Events Dragons’ Den Final 2022 Avi (11J1), Matthew (11H2) and Fola (11M2) from the Boys’ School and Nodpods, comprising Ameya (M5 Aesc), Anaya (M5 Aesc) and Ananya (M5 Aske) from the Girls’ School.

As he announced the winners, Mr Campbell said: “Collectively as judges we agreed that if we were in your position at your age, we would not have been able to do this to such a high level.

Thank you for putting so much time, diligence and effort into that, we are humbled to be on the receiving end.”

The Grand Final of Habs Dragons’ Den 2022, a biennial competition which runs across the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, took place on the morning of Wednesday 9 March in the Bourne Hall to an audience made up of students, staff, governors, parents and alumni, as well as a high-profile panel of ‘Dragons’.

The Final takes place during National Careers Week, with the aim of the initiative being to encourage creativity and entrepreneurial spirit amongst the students.

The Dragons’ Den competition was launched in the Autumn Term, when students in Years 10 and 11 across both schools were invited to work in teams and submit a business idea. From the initial entries, 12 teams were selected to pitch to a panel of external judges in three after-school heats, after which five teams were invited to pitch in the Grand Final. The teams pitched their ideas to a high-profile panel of ‘Dragons’ comprising Ms Nica Burns OBE, CEO of Nimax Theatres (OH 1973), Mr Tim Campbell MBE, successful businessman and aide to Lord Sugar on BBC’s The Apprentice, Mr Shobi Khan, CEO of the Canary Wharf Group, and Ms Emma Woods, former CEO of Wagamama.

After the event, finalists were able to network with the judges as well as receive informal feedback and take some photos.

The competition is supported by Mr Khilan Dodhia (1992) and Mr Rajesh Shah (1992), partners at investment firm Encore Capital. Speaking at the start of the event, Mr Dodhia explained that he hopes initiatives like Dragons’ Den will encourage the students to take risks, consider a broader range of careers and possibly to start their own businesses.

Students taking part in the competition have benefitted from pitching workshops, expert coaching and feedback; and guidance on putting together a business plan.

We are extremely grateful to Mr Dodhia, Mr Shah and their colleagues at Encore Capital for their ongoing support with this exciting competition; as well as to the Dragons and Ms Shah for giving up their time to attend, and to alumni and friends of the school who support this initiative.

The Final was once again introduced and chaired by television and radio presenter Ms Sonali Shah, who expertly kept things moving. After five outstanding pitches, the judges picked two winning teams – Wastigator, comprising Eshan (11H2),

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Events HabsMUN 2022 From Friday 11 to Sunday 13 March, Habs students delivered a fantastic Model United Nations Conference (HabsMUN). What is remarkable about this event is that it is entirely student-led, with only admin support from the school. Ambitious in scope and serious in content, HabsMUN provides topical debate in a social atmosphere. The two-year hiatus due to Covid meant that, more than ever, it was important for students to make new friends and enjoy themselves.

The school hosted 20 schools, with 300 delegates representing 59 nations of the UN. Topics ranged from the Question of Child Labour to Preparation for Future Pandemics, the Question of the War in Tigray to the Return of Cultural Artefacts. In total, 23 Questions

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were considered, and resolutions were passed on nine topics at the General Assembly on the final day.

Our student leaders were superb, made up of Aryan (U6J1), George (U6J1), Julien (U6H1) Lucas (U6H1), Kazim (U6C2), Talia, Temi and Lauren (all U6 Girls’ School). They were supported by 13 Boys’ School Chairs, four Girls’ School Chairs and a team of 35 helpers without whom the conference could not have run. Thank you to the Heads of Departments Anurag (L6J1), Kai (L6J2), Noah (U6J1), Oliver (L6H2) and Stefano (U6C1).

New friends were made and the personal, political and fun-filled fruitful debates contributed to our special weekend of HabsMUN 2022. Thank you everyone!

Habs welcomes Deloitte and McLaren Racing world’s airspace, or simulating and optimising the operations of one of the biggest container ports in the world.

Mr Gordon was accompanied by Mr Ronan Bradley, Ms Charlen Hughes and Mr Suresh Kanwar. Ronan has over 16 years’ experience working in Formula 1 racing teams and has come to Deloitte as a manager of simulations.

On Monday 21 March, we welcomed Mr Jason Gordon (OH 1992) who is the lead partner for private sector clients in Deloitte’s Strategy, Analytics and M&A business. Jason gave a series of talks to Design and Technology and Computer Science students from Habs Boys’ and Habs Girls’ Schools.

As the Lead Client Service Partner for McLaren, Mr Gordon leads Deloitte’s alliance with McLaren Racing where he and the Deloitte team help McLaren make the car go faster and take thinking, methodologies and technologies from F1 and apply them to business problems outside of motorsport such as advising air traffic controllers how to decrease delays and carbon emissions in half the

Ms Hughes is the senior specialist in events management at McLaren Racing. She was able to answer all the McLaren specific questions and give guidance on career routes. Mr Kanwar, a senior Partner at Deloitte, joined Mr Gordon in the talks and encouraged students, making sure everyone was included and provided some highly coveted Deloitte McLaren merchandise!

The students from the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools were enthralled and entertained by Mr Gordon’s insights, knowledge, and humour throughout the day. He was so generous with his time and energy during and after each session, making sure he got to speak to everyone that had a question.

We hope to continue to arrange inspiring talks to benefit the students in the coming years.

Habs hosts Wilberforce Professor of Slavery and Emancipation On Monday 24 January, we were delighted to host on Zoom a talk by Professor Trevor Burnard, of the Wilberforce Professor of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull, and Director of the Wilberforce Institute. The talk was entitled ‘Slavery, Capitalism and Antislavery in Britain and its Empire in the Long Eighteenth Century’. It was a fascinating talk and discussed so many relevant issues in its historical context.

Thank you to Professor Burnard for providing such an interesting and engaging talk.

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Events Habs Boys and Habs Girls participate in the regional forum of the European Youth Parliament On Friday 4 March, two joint teams of Year 12 students from Haberdashers’ Boys’ School and Haberdashers’ Girls’ School took part in the South East and London Regional Forum of the European Youth Parliament at St Pauls’ School in Barnes.

Our delegates were Aditya (L6C1), Anant (L6J2), Anjali (L6ADL), Arjun (L6H2), Betsey (L6RDD), Claudia (L6GAM), Evie (L6GAM), Helena (L6LC), Ishaani (L6TD), Jesse (L6R1), Josh (L6S2), Joystna (L6SP), Maddie (L6LC), Molie (L6ADL), Max (L6H2) and Rohan (L6R1).

Both of our teams were commended for their teamwork, as well as the strong quality of their research and public-speaking skills. One of the teams (ITRE) was declared as co-winner and will be invited to take part in the Summer EYPUK National Forum in Liverpool, which takes place in June and July. The students found this a very informative and useful day, acquiring new skills, as

well as having fun working in teams. We would like to thank the organisers who arranged this event, not to mention the volunteers who chaired the debates.

Habs Jain committee welcomes Kuntal Joisher via Zoom On Thursday 10 February 2022, the Habs Jain Committee was delighted to welcome Mr Kuntal Joisher to speak to a hall full of inspired students and teachers. Mr Joisherl was the world’s first vegan to climb Mount Everest and combines the distinction of being an accomplished mountaineer, a high-end computer science professional, and a nutrition and fitness coach.

Mr Joisher described his motivation to climb Mount Everest, as well as the challenges he faced along each stage of the journey. He explained how the fundamental tenets of Jainism, including Ahimsa (non-violence) and Jivdaya (compassion to all living beings), inspired him to embrace veganism, which he has been for over 19 years. His message to Habs students was that each and everyone

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can find their own Everest by pursuing their own dreams and ambitions.

Habs welcomes Chatham House Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme, John Lough Our Politics Society were delighted to host on Friday 18 March Mr John Lough, Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and a consultant with Highgate, a Londonbased strategy advisory firm. Mr Lough spent six years with NATO’s Office of Information and Press, including a posting to Moscow where he set up NATO’s Information Office. He later managed NATO’s information programmes aimed at Central and Eastern Europe. He is the author of ‘Germany’s Russia Problem’ published in July 2021.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would flee Kyiv and that there would be little international support for Ukraine. Mr Lough was asked questions about the likelihood of peace negotiations achieving a break through soon, the possibility of the current conflict escalating or intensifying and the likely impact of sanctions on Russia.

We thank Mr Lough for speaking to our students with such knowledge and expertise about a matter of ongoing international importance.

Mr Lough spoke about ‘Putin’s miscalculation in Ukraine: the outlook for Russia’ to an audience of Sixth Form students and staff from Habs Boys and Habs Girls.

He summarised the history of Ukraine since independence in 1992 and how events had led to the state’s strong sense of nationhood, independence and identity as a democratic society. He outlined several miscalculations and incorrect assumptions that Vladimir Putin made in his invasion strategy, such as assuming that the Russian army would be treated as liberators by the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, that

Neurodiversity Week Senior School students across both Habs Boys and Habs Girls came together to get involved in a number of activities for Neurodiversity week this year, including a brightly coloured Neurodiversity HabsDash.

The Prep School pupils celebrated Neurodiversity week earlier in the academic year, participating in a number of activities including code-breaking, building brains and an optical illusion treasure hunt.

The week fulfilled its aim in raising awareness and enabling pupils to consider ‘thinking differently’ and discover new perspectives.

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Events Old Haberdashers provide insight into Oxbridge On Monday 31 January, 230 students and parents joined a Zoom call to listen to five Old Haberdashers talk about studying at Oxbridge.

The Old Haberdashers, Ben Shuker (OH 2016, University of Oxford, Physics), Rohan Oyewole (OH 2020, University of Oxford, Politics, Philosophy and Economics), Krish Nanavati (OH 2021, University of Cambridge, Mathematics), Shrey Shah (OH 2020,

University of Cambridge, Engineering) and Sam Grankin (OH 2020, University of Cambridge, History and Politics), answered a variety of questions.

These ranged from how they fell in love with their subject to whether they had time for a social life.

It was an informative and enjoyable event that we hope will encourage our current students to make applications to study at Oxford and Cambridge.

Habs students compete in the UCL Schools’ Debating Competition On Saturday 19 February, three teams, comprising three Year 11 students Alex (11M1), Fola (11M2) and Toby (11R2), and three Year 12 students Keshav (L6H2), Zuhair (L6M1) and James (L6J1), competed in the UCL Schools’ Debating Competition, held at the Institute of Education near Russell Square. Big congratulations to Alex and Fola, who got through to the Gold Final, where they came second, and to Keshav and Zuhair, who got through to the Silver Final and won.

We have such a depth of talent at Habs and it’s a tribute to the fantastic work that the students are putting in each week.

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Sixth Form trip to Berlin building, the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Wall Memorial and many other locations. Everyone made the absolute most of the opportunity to put their language skills to good use, even speaking to each other in German as much as possible. It was a very fitting way to bring seven years of studying German at Habs to a close - and was an unforgettable experience.

During February half term, 10 Upper Sixth students from Habs Boys and Habs Girls went to Berlin to bring to life everything they have learned in both their German and History classes. The group enjoyed an action-packed four days, visiting the DDR and Stasi museums, the Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag

Mencap’s Got Talent We were delighted to welcome back Mencap’s Got Talent on Friday 15 March after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Excitement for the day had been building over the course of the half term with some 20 acts applying to participate. Auditions took place over several weeks and tickets for the event sold out rapidly with an overflow area needed in the Aske Hall where a live stream was set up. Five acts were selected for the finals to perform in front of the large audience that had gathered for the event, including four judges.

The five final performers ranged from Year 8 to Year 13 and included solo singers, a contortionist and an 80s tribute band! The winner was Girls’ School student Abigail (U5Aesc) with her fantastic rendition of Riptide by Vance Joy.

The show created a wonderful amount of joy and the emphatic rendition of Jerusalem by the audience at the end was a delightful show of community and spirit. Mencap’s Got Talent is the main fundraising event for our annual Habs Mencap Funday which is the schools’ biggest annual key outreach event. We welcome up to 80 children and young people with learning disabilities aged between five and 19 for a day of fun activities. They are all looked after by about 200 volunteer pupils in Years 10 to 12 from Habs Boys and Habs Girls.

The Mencap Committee consists of Krish (L6C1), Tabby (L6RDD), Alexandra (L6RDD), Eden (U5Aleph), Kishan (11J2), Michael (L6J2), Arun (L6J1), Tanush (L6M2), Ishaani (L6TD), Sienna (U5A), Dylan (11S1) and Evie (L6GAM).

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Trips Army Section Field Day

On Thursday 3 March, the cadets and officers of Habs CCF Army Section, aided by SqnLdr Pearson, Cpl Maj Sandercock, Mr Letts, and Mr Simm of the History department, deployed to RAF Barnham Training Area for a fantastic Field Training Exercise.

Preparations began before half term, with RSM Stefano Cappelli and his team of SNCO’s producing orders for the Lower Sixth to plan a fantastic set of activities for the younger cadets. At the same time, the Year 10 cadre were practising their skills lessons. The Year 11 cadre, ably commanded by Cpls Rohan (L6C2) and Sai (L6R1), moved into known enemy territory, and executed a tactical harbour occupation in a well-chosen wooded copse, while the Year 10, under their Lower Sixth section commanders, enjoyed a more relaxed first

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experience of a night under a basha.

The morning dawned clear and cold as training began. The Year 10 cadets undertook a rotation of navigation, obstacle drills, stalking and other activities. The Year 11 cadets performed a casualty handling exercise, an orienteering course, and so on. This was a truly fantastic experience, and a credit to the hard work of all the cadets.

Thanks to all involved: UOff McEwan-Cox, 2Lt Akhtar, Lt Geering, Lt McLarin, Mr Letts, Mr A P A Simm, SqnLdr Pearson, CplMaj Sandercock, and the SNCO Dream Team. A special mention goes to the co-curricular team of Mr Simm and Mrs Adams for their stalwart support.

CCF Royal Navy Field Day to Ampthill Park

The Royal Navy section of the school’s CCF spent their Field Day at Ampthill Park this term.

After making their way through the Bedfordshire countryside, the students located their campsite, breaking out into a verse of Jerusalem as they walked over the hill.

A day of walking ended with the strong encouragement to get established with a tent and make up some hot food. There was a display of some of the finest banquet/festival style camping by the Upper Sixth as they tucked into their evening meals. Members of the camp indulged in a sing along, vintage tunes seeming to be the choice of the day.

Such moments do not happen without appropriate and proper preparation and the 80 cadets experienced weeks of training, led by senior cadets,

in the lead up to the trip. They were taught what correct kit to bring, how to pitch a tent, use a cooker and to navigate correctly with a map and compass.

The Upper Sixth had further prepared by going on a practice trip in January while the Lower Sixth had all prepared activities for while they were away at Ampthill.

Leadership, teamwork, good spirit and a sense of belonging to a wider community outside of your year group bubble were all values on display during this trip.

The school would like to thank Lt Chapman (OiC CCF RN Section), Lt Hall, SLt Willows, SLt Redfern, LtCdr Hardman, Miss Harrison and Mr Guthrie for accompanying the trip, braving the cold and getting stuck in.

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Trips Outdoor and Leadership Field Day

The Year 10 and Year 12 groups from the Outdoor and Leadership (OL) program participated in the annual OL Brecon Beacons Field Day Trip on Saturday 5 March. We had 33 students from Year 10, 23 students in Year 12, and seven members of staff attend the trip. The Year 10s were on the trip for the first time and experienced the best of the activities that the Brecon Beacons have to offer, including hiking up the various peaks in the area, building up to climbing Pen Y Fan, the highest peak, gorge scrambling and caving. The Year 12 students were travelling here for the second time, so the centre put on new activities for them, including a more challenging gorge scramble and a rafted canoe orienteering challenge.

The trip would not have happened, or been the success it was, without the enthusiasm, energy

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and positivity of the accompanying staff. The school would like to thank Miss Von Truchsess, Mrs Hanlon, Mr Wheeler, Dr Chapman, Dr Hobbs and Mr Lunn for being such fantastic members of the team.

SCS Field Day Between Friday 4 March to Sunday 6 March, there were multiple activities going on across the school site for our School Community Service members.

Wildlife Support: Here the students spent the day making and varnishing swift boxes which we hope to have put up around the school site. We were so pleased to see just how enthusiastic the pupils were about this: their finished boxes were very impressive! Many thanks to Mr Ryan, Mr Roncarati, Oliver (L6C2) and Kairav (L6C2) for leading on this.

Recycling: Mr Hughes-Caley put together a brilliant programme aimed to inspire the group and enable them to move forward with their whole school plastic recycling initiative. Mr Hughes-Caley and the pupils have big plans for this which will have a huge impact on our school community and environment. Thank you to Mr Hughes-Caley for organising the day, as well as to Adi (11S1) for the fantastic photos!

Scrub Bashing at Old Habs Sports Ground: A group of Year 12 students, led by Mr Haring, helped to clear the overgrowth at Old Habs Sports Ground. This is something we have supported for a few years now and they are always extremely grateful. It was wonderful to see good attendance from our Year 12 students and all had an enjoyable day.

Forty Hall Community Work: Many thanks to Miss Drake, who led a group of Year 10 and 11 students. The group spent the day

with community volunteers at Forty Hall working in the vineyard.

Outgrown Uniform Sale Preparations: Mrs Haria’s group spent the day sorting and organising the many bundles of donated school uniform and continued with their preparations for the sale. All profit will go to the school’s bursary funds and we hope to have smashed the total raised by the very first Boys’ Senior School sale back in the Autumn Term.

Inter House Football: Mr Hails leads our Sports SCS group. Not only did they receive very positive feedback for their refereeing, but they also help set up and run the inter house football competition on Friday. Thank you to Mr Hails and all involved.

Lost Property: Mrs West spent Friday and Saturday sorting through and washing the huge back log of lost property. On Wednesday afternoon, Mrs West delivered many school coats, shoes, football boots, shirts, water bottles and pencil cases to a local secondary school. They were extremely grateful for our support.

All unnamed Habs branded clothing went into the Outgrown Uniform Sale and we plan to donate unusable clothing items to Mencap, since the charity receives money for rags. We will also donate a large number of towels to a local animal rescue centre once these have been sorted.

Meanwhile, Mr Hughes-Caley and his recycling group have taken care of the recycling of unusable water bottles.

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Trips

Geography Field Day trip For Field Day this year, the Year 13 Geography students went out on a field trip to the Jurassic Coast. While they were there, the students studied coastal landforms, coastal management and rural settlements. The weather was brilliant and the

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UNESCO site was looking fantastic. The students visited multiple locations, including Swanage Bay, Durdle Door, Stair Hole, Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle and Studland Dunes.

Year 8 visit Kew Gardens On Friday 4 March, three Year 8 Houses went to Kew Gardens for an exciting trip, learning about plants and biodiversity. They visited many different greenhouses, as well as the treetop walk.

In the afternoon, they were given a workshop on biodiversity and the importance of organisms to

the world around them. They studied plants and small invertebrates. The workshop taught them how important it was to retain the biodiversity of the world, as well as the challenges posed by climate change and fossil fuel emissions. Many thanks to all staff and students involved

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Art, Drama and Orchestral concert One of our final big occasions of the term was our Orchestral Concert, a showcase of our larger ensembles and featuring the Habs Symphony Orchestra.

Leading up to this concert our orchestra have been working with guest conductor Jack Sheen. Jack is a new face to the department and has had an immediate impact on our musicians. Tackling a challenging programme of Hebrides Overture and Billy the Kid Suite, the orchestra rose to the challenge, giving an incredible performance alongside the Concert Band, Guitar Orchestra and

String Orchestra.

It was a fantastic evening and one in which we said goodbye to some of our senior musicians. For the Upper Sixth it was their last major concert. We thank them for their talent, hard work and sense of fun over their years at Habs and in all they have given to the music school.

Composers’ concert We celebrated our tremendously talented young composers with an evening of entirely original music. Featuring a particularly diverse programme, we heard pieces written for prepared piano, chamber strings, and an electronic duo bringing together music and film. The composers have been

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meeting each week to workshop and share their ideas and have been collaborating with the Art department throughout the year. This concert was the first of its kind and proved an incredibly exciting showcase of their work.

Music Spotlight Spring concert Tuesday 15 March saw our second Spotlight concert of the year, involving over 150 students.

Our Spotlight series is a chance for the younger musicians to showcase their exciting talent and we heard from HabsBeat, Soul Band, Samba Band, Philomusica, Wind Sinfonia, Jazz Orchestra and Trombone Ensemble.

The standard was incredibly high, with highlights including the music from How to Train Your Dragon, selections from Carmen, and a much-loved Charles Mingus original from the Jazz Orchestra.

Next term we have no less than three Spotlight Concerts, giving focus to each of Strings, Woodwind and Brass and Jazz. These concerts are not to be missed!

Haberdashers’ Schools Music competition success On Tuesday 8 March, musicians from all 10 of the Haberdasher’s Senior Schools competed in the second annual Haberdashers’ Musician of the Year. It was an incredible standard of music making, and a wonderful opportunity for students from all schools to meet and share their experiences. We are delighted to say that our very own Leandro (U6S2) won the competition with a virtuos performance on the flute. More important was the opportunity to reinforce the community of Haberdashers schools, and to celebrate the talent of all the students. Congratulations to all involved!

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Art, Drama and

Habs performs River,

by Joni Mitchell At the end of last term, a special collaboration between the Boys’ and Girls’ schools produced a video that featured a mixed cast, orchestra and band. The song, written and recorded by Joni Mitchell for her 1971 album ‘Blue’, was beautifully arranged by our musician-in-residence, Matthew Herd, and recorded in stages. Once the song was complete, there was a short film made to accompany it, devised and directed by Rich Weinman and shot by a professional camera crew.

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Captured all in one evening, using only the music school and Aldenham House, it aimed to explore how small acts of kindness could bring people together, especially at Christmas time. There were too many musicians and actors to mention everyone, but special thanks to Girls’ School student Amy (U6LWA) for singing the song so wonderfully, as well as to all the other students and staff who gave their time for this project.

Music Year 11 student performs with Guy Barker’s Big Band Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall Congratulations to William (11R1) who performed with the Guy Barker Big Band at the Royal Albert Hall! Director of Co-Curricular, Mr Andrew Simm, said: “His performance was simply breathtaking.”

Two years ago, William wrote directly to Mr Guy Barker to tell him how much he had enjoyed the concert he had just seen. He wished that one day he might get the opportunity to perform with his world class Big Band (featuring some of the world’s very best players). William also attached a clip of him playing with Habs Big Band. Mr Barker was instantly impressed, offering him the chance to play in the 2020 concert. Covid, however, intervened and he was not able to play. However, Mr Barker stuck to his word and kept the slot open for him to perform in the 2021 concert.

It was a stunning concert, but the highlight of the evening was William’s duet, which saw the crowd take to their feet in appreciation – a once in a lifetime experience.

Drama department involved with ‘Complicité does A Level’ project Renowned theatre company Complicité, one of the world’s most ground-breaking and influential devising and physical story-telling theatre companies, recently challenged themselves to devise two pieces of theatre under A Level conditions. They invited our lead teacher of Drama, Mrs Dawn Morris-Wolffe, to take part in the project, to ensure that the company followed A Level requirements in both practical and written work. The resulting pieces toured London schools and colleges to audiences of A Level students and a film was made of the two-week devising process,

which is available to schools.

Mrs Morris-Wollfe said: “The film provides an amazing insight into Complicité’s devising process, their ensemble and physical training and sense of play.”

The methodology of Complicité, with their focus on the ensemble and physical, playful storytelling, is at the heart of what the students do in Drama at Habs.

A Level students frequently choose Complicité as their influential practitioner, most recently in the last A Level devised piece, The Red Ball.

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Art, Drama and Chamber Music concert At the beginning of March we had our first Habs Chamber Music concert. This featured our best small ensembles, culminating in a memorable performance of Shostakovich’s 8th Quartet. A poignant piece of music for the times in which we live.

The evening treated us to a broad selection of music, from Porgy and Bess to Beethoven, and all at a phenomenally high standard.

It is wonderful to see students taking ownership of these ensembles, presenting the music themselves and taking to the stage without a member of staff or conductor to lean on for support. In preparation for this concert, we welcomed leader of the BBC Concert Orchestra, Nathanial Anderson-Frank, to the Music School to work with one of our quartets and piano trios. The sublime performances on the night showed the great ambition and courage of our musicians.

James Lake workshop On Thursday 17 March, our Year 9 Fine Art students spent the day in a workshop with visiting artist James Lake, making sculptural, cardboard heads. Students were fascinated byMr Lake’s techniques and were completely absorbed in the workshop.

Saahil (9M1) said: “It was a new and interesting medium to work with and a fun challenge to try out.

Once we’d built the main structures of the face, Mr Lake allowed us to get on with our work more independently, allowing us to start adding our own ‘character’ and experimenting with techniques.

This personally was my favourite part because it allowed us to individualise our portrait and express our artwork in our own unique way. It was, overall, a memorable and exciting experience for us.”

Drama department visits the Duke of York’s Theatre Just before half term, all 112 Year 9, GCSE and A Level Drama students, as well as 10 teachers, went to the Duke of York’s Theatre to see the thrilling, spellbinding production Ocean at the End of the Lane.

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One of the students commented: “The play was exceptional, and it showed how important teamwork is and how much people can achieve together as a company.”

Music Arts Stars The Art department is delighted to share these wonderful pieces of classwork by their Art and Graphics Stars of the half term.

Rhys (9H)

Noel (7H)

Veer (7H)

Holden (8J)

Shuaib (8C)

Zeeshan (9S)

Meko (9H)

Saul (9M)

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Art, Drama and Year 8 production of Julius Caesar

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The ensemble cast of Julius Caesar brought a genuine sense of anarchy to their energetic production of Shakespeare’s fashionable Roman play. Using an edited version of the script for the Shakespeare Schools Festival, the pupils wanted to focus on visual storytelling, but without distorting the text. The playful opening scenes filled the stage with flags, bunting and balloons.

Crowds danced, chanted and celebrated the return of Caesar (Rishi) – all to the sound of live drumming (Josh and Aarav). Caesar emerged on stage as a charismatic crowd-pleaser whose first instinct was to win over the packed audience at The Shaw Theatre with a routine to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.

Brutus’s (Kian) detached, intellectual demeanour was unnerving, while Cassius (Moksh) displayed an intense political pragmatism. Mark Antony (Murilo) was a cool opportunist as he recklessly ‘let slip the dogs of war’. Best of all was the sense that a group of Year 8 pupils had worked together imaginatively to create something mischievously their own. It was a reminder of how drama has the power to transform.

Year 8 cast list: Obaf (8M2), Kian (8M2), Rav (8M2), Vivaan (8M1), Nithushan (8M1), Murilo (8S), Josh (8H), Moksh (8H), Rishi (8M1), Aarav (8H), Shreyas (8M1).

Music Piano Festival Piano Festival was a new event this year, celebrating the huge number of pianists and keyboard players at Habs.

The first event of the day was an organ recital in the Seldon Hall, given by Alex (10C1). A rare treat to hear a programme of organ music, expertly prepared and performed by one of our most talented young musicians.

of music was performed to an exceptionally high standard before students and audience were treated to a rousing rendition of Alla Turka by our guest pianist, performed to mark Mozart’s birthday which coincided with the day.

During lunch, the school set up four stations for performance, spread across campus. All student pianists were invited to join in and we heard from over 100 performers in one lunchtime! This was a fabulous, community event, a wonderful chance to see students out supporting their peers, enjoying each others talent and hard work.

In the evening, we welcomed concert pianist Simon Watterton to join a recital of our finest young pianists in the school. A remarkable programme

Year 10 Graphics trip: London Transport Museum and Museum of Brands began by exploring the second floor, where they found replicas of trains, collections of old trinkets, and tube posters. After another hour analysing the content on the ground floor of the museum, the students regrouped to head on to the Museum of Brands.

On Friday 28 January, the Year 10 Graphics class went on a trip to the London Transport Museum and the Museum of Brands. The first stop of the trip was the London Transport Museum. The group

There they headed upstairs for the workshop, which included analysing the design of various products, such as a Lucozade bottle or a Smarties tube. The students considered the target audience, along with aspects of the design that made it appealing. At the end of an educational day, with the students ready to use their new knowledge on their London Underground poster projects, they returned to Elstree.

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Sport Fraser Bird Rugby 7s competition

The school recently hosted the Fraser Bird Rugby 7s competition. In recent years, the competition has been dominated by Monmouth and Adams Grammar School. The last time a school outside of these two raised the silver goblet was Haberdashers’ Boys’ School (Elstree), approximately 19 years ago. On Thursday 3 March, Habs saw the Elstree name once again engraved as winners of the Fraser Bird Trophy.

This year’s tournament was formed of a round robin tournament for the U15 teams and a minimum of four matches for the U13s. Our U13s went undefeated in their tournament, while our U15 squad, just a day after their loss to Hill House in the National Bowl semi-final, won every match except one against Monmouth. These sets of results meant that the school had gained more points than any other side in the combined competition and secured the Fraser Bird trophy.

The captain of the U15 squad, Alex (10M2), accepted the trophy from a representative from Haberdashers Hall.

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The school would like to acknowledge the fantastic level of sportsmanship that was shown by the staff of all the participating school. Habs would also like to thank to the ground staff, who worked tirelessly to prepare the pitches despite the heavy rain, the caterers who did a wonderful job in providing brilliant food throughout the day, and the referees, who ranged from members of our 1st XV squad, to the PE department, through to David Reid from Herts Refereeing Society. Well done and congratulations to all involved!

Habs U15A XV make semi-finals of the RFU Bowl competition unrelenting ambition to score again and again, five players scored tries throughout the entire game. Ore (9J1) was virtually unstoppable all afternoon and scored five tries alone! The backline linked up with some superb passes to create the opportunities, sending Habs into the semi-finals where they faced Hill House.

Our U15A XV rugby squad took on Gosforth Academy in the quarter finals of the U15 Bowl.

The away trip to Newcastle Upon Tyne involved an overnight stay, which was a wonderful bonding experience for the team. Habs arrived at the match ready for the challenge and, with their

The team performed courageously in the semifinals, matching Hill House for a full 60 minutes until the opposition gained a critical edge that saw them finishing their chances. Mr Metcalfe said: “The effort that the students put in was unbelievable, particularly in defence close to our line. Each and every player can look back with an immense sense of pride.”

Well done to all those involved. What a fantastic achievement!

U15 7s Rugby team place at London Oratory 7s competition The U15 Rugby 7s team continues to make a significant impression on the South of England 7s circuit with another superb team effort in coming 3rd at the prestigious London Oratory 7’s this term.

Ahead of the tournament, it seemed that the team had been put into a challenging group that involved some great rugby-playing schools. However, the students pushed forward with their courage and, with their growing understanding of the game, beat all three schools to win the pool outright. In the semi-finals, Habs conceded an early try but it was a hotly contested affair with eventual winners, St George’s Weybridge. Tries by Sam (10J1) and Victor (10H1) kept the team within a score throughout the match.

giant – Trinity School Croydon. During the game, the team used their pace to outflank their powerful opponents and deservedly won the match 24-12.

Mr Metcalfe said: “To come 3rd at such a prestigious tournament is a superb effort and we look forward to playing in many more of these fixtures.”

Congratulations to all those involved!

It wasn’t to be when the final whistle went but the team still had a chance to place as they had the 3rd/4th playoff against another Rugby 7s circuit

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Sport Waterpolo National Finals

Friday 26 March was the ESSA water polo national finals in which Haberdashers’ Boys’ School and five of the best water polo teams in the country took part to play for the title of the best team in the country. The Habs team showed fantastic courage and tenacity in the tournament, determined to prove themselves against the likes of Manchester Grammar and Trinity School.

The first game of the tournament was against Manchester Grammar where the team drew 2-2.

The next game was against one of the overall favourites, Trinity, a team that they had come up against before. The squad put in the best performance of the year so far, but even with plenty of strategic plays and strong defence, the team unfortunately lost 3-1. The results in the rest of the

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competition later meant that the squad were put into the 5th/6th playoff.

The opposition in this game was Alleyns who Habs had played throughout the year. Despite being 1-1 at halftime, the squad finished the game with a 5-2 loss. This meant that the team came 6th in the country.

We are very excited about the future of waterpolo at Habs; our junior team are, at the time of writing, undefeated in the first few rounds of the U13 National competition and the U15 team are alsp performing strongly. The school would like to thank Mr Brkovic, Mr Jovanovic and the lifeguards at the school for the time they have put in all year to allow us to compete at the highest level.

Habs student qualifies for national table tennis final Congratulations to Kyal (8M1) who has qualified to play in the Butterfly Individual Championships, the national table tennis final sponsored by Table Tennis England!

This is a fantastic achievement and we wish Kyal all the best of luck in the final.

Year 8 student competes in The Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships Congratulations to Sam (8S) who played in The Junior Orange Bowl in the US before the end of term.

The main draw for the Orange Bowl started Wednesday 15 December and Sam went on to win his first match before facing his next opponent, who was ranked 8th in America. Despite the loss in that match, Sam went on to win his two consolation matches against the US number 107 and the Canadian number 1. The next game was against a player ranked 10th in America and, after a well-fought match, Sam lost 6-2 and 6-4. Sam’s results placed him 32-48th out of 128 players at the tournament. This is a fantastic result on such a big and prestigious stage in the junior division.

Well done, Sam!

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Sport Hockey report

As the dust settles on the first full season since 2019, the hockey club can look back at the 2021/22 season with extreme pride. In total, 181 matches of hockey were played in a term lasting only 10 weeks. The club fielded 21 sides across all age groups, meaning that nearly a quarter of pupils in the Senior School got to represent the club and there were several highlights throughout the course of the season.

The Old Haberdashers’ match saw nearly 30 formers pupils return to take part in our first ‘Club Day’ before playing the 1st XI, a match in which the Old Haberdashers’ won 1-0.

The 1st XI played brilliantly in reaching Round 3 of the England Hockey School Plate competition, only to lose to a strong RGS High Wycombe side.

The U12 and U13 A teams both qualified through to the inaugural London Area Schools Championship finals with the U12 team finishing in 4th position.

This is even more remarkable considering that much of the squad had only started playing hockey nine weeks earlier.

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The specialist goalkeeper lunch session went from strength to strength, culminating in a record turnout of 12 keepers and at least one from each year group. It was quite something to behold. The club also hosted the U15 London Area Finals for the first time with 10 other schools enjoying the use of our fantastic facilities.

There has been an unprecedented commitment to training at every age group with the numbers of pupils turning up to play remaining high but, throughout, the constant at every session has been the staff who have given up their time so freely to ensure that sessions are run, and matches are played.

Football report Haberdashers’ Boys’ School 1st XI football team capped a fantastic season with a brilliant 5-2 victory over Kimbolton School under floodlights and in front of a large crowd at Wingate and Finchley FC’s stadium.

For many of the team it was their last match for Habs and the group have been outstanding ambassadors for Habs football, having been the first year group to play from Year 9.

Gymnastics report This season, the Gymnastics team at Habs has performed admirably in the two major competitions, The Milano Trio and the BSGA Floor and Vault. On Friday 11 March, the U19 Trio team, consisting of Christopher (11C1), Jobe (11S2) and Sudais (11H1) won the bronze medal at the Milano Trio National Finals at Fenton Manor in Stoke-on-Trent. The team competes on Vault, Individual Floor and Group Floor, putting in excellent performances across all three disciplines. Additionally, our U19 BSGA Floor and Vault team consisting of the above three students and Jacob (8M2) also qualified for the national finals.

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Sport Habs student wins U14 Hertfordshire CCC Bowling Award Congratulations to cricketerHarry (10M1), who has won the U14 Hertfordshire CCC bowling award for being the leading wicket taker in the Royal London 40 over competition 2021. Harry is an exciting leg spinner who has worked hard on his skills and his understanding of the game. We look forward to seeing him break into the school 1XI and continuing his progress for Hertfordshire CCC, as well as his club, Radlett CC. Well done, Harry!

Habs student wins U17 ISKA British Kickboxing Championships Congratulations to Ibrahim (L6S1) who won the U17 ISKA British Championships in the 50 to 55kg category!

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Prep and Pre-Prep Young Musician of the Year 2022

On Tuesday 22 March, the Prep Young Musician of the Year awards for 2022 were held. There was a huge level of interest this year, with 112 pieces of music entered and over 50% of pupils being put through to either a category class final (strings, brass and woodwind, voice and piano) or the grand final.

The standard of musicianship and the sensitivity of communication was, in places, staggeringly high.

A particularly memorable moment was a Year 3 pupil making the finals because he had timed and phrased his music so beautifully, despite not having been playing the instrument for that long. So many of the performers had that precious quality of listening intensely to their own playing.

Congratulations to all performers, accompanists and adjudicators.

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Prep and Pre-Prep Pre-Prep pupil marks Platinum Jubilee celebration with fundraising

Well done to Neil (2JP) who has decided to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration with a series of fundraising events! His first task is to run one lap every day for a year, raising £10 per lap to donate to various charities. For the month of January, he raised £220 which was donated to the neonatal ward at UCLH. For February, he donated to UNICEF after raising £240. On this occasion, he didn’t fundraise alone. Other members of his class, Arthur (2JP), William (2JP), Luca (2JP) and Lorcan (2JP) supported Neil by donating supplies to UNICEF. Well done to all involved!

Collaborative Climbing Club Before half term, we saw the first day of our collaborative climbing club! Pupils from the Girls’ Junior School and the Boys’ Prep School came together to get kitted up and take on the climbing wall in the Medburn Centre. The pupils participated in the climb and also in the opportunity to make new friends. Everyone got involved and those new to climbing thoroughly enjoyed stepping out of their comfort zones to try something that they had never done before.

A big thank you must go to Ms Tersigni from the Girls’ Junior School and Mrs Pullen from the Boys’ Prep School for organising. We are delighted to say that a new club has been born.

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World Book Day 2022

The Pre-Prep had fun celebrating World Book Day. The pupils came into school dressed as their favourite book character. Our visiting illustrator, Garry Parsons, delivered a special assembly where he demonstrated that as long as you have a pencil,

rubber and an imagination, anyone can draw. During the workshops, Garry inspired the pupils to use their imaginations and create their own picture stories to share with the class. They were all treated to a special tea party lunch and much fun was had by all.

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Prep and Pre-Prep Red Nose Day

The Pre-Prep pupils enjoyed dressing up as heroes to celebrate and support Red Nose Day 2022. The pupils learned about the significance of Red Nose Day by watching Teddy’s story and discussed how the money raised in previous years has benefitted children all over the world.

In the afternoon, the school hosted ‘Laugh Out Loud at the Pre-Prep’ where the pupils showed their talents and lifted everyone’s spirits with the power of laughter.

We would like to thank everyone for their generous support and their superb costumes!

Habs+ This year has seen the introduction of an exciting new addition to the Year 5 curriculum known as Habs+. With the aim to inspire curiosity and develop scholarly behaviours, pupils are able to choose one topic per term out of a possible five, resulting in smaller groups that allow pupils to immerse themselves in the subject content and develop a greater cultural understanding. The topics often appear quite narrow initially, however, when discussed in class they are expanded upon in great depth, to reveal a broader significance or

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context that pupils analyse. Examples this year include the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the impact that this and Nelson Mandela had post-Apartheid, justice and reconciliation. Pupils end the module by presenting their findings in a variety of ways, such as delivering a speech as if they were Alexander the Great, or debating who was at fault for the Bhopal disaster. The course has been a great success this year and we look forward to seeing it develop further during the next academic year.

Year 2 Fire Fighter visit

Year 2 had an exciting visit from fire fighters from St Albans Fire Station. They talked to the pupils about the importance of smoke alarms, showed us their uniforms and protective clothing and explained how they help the community in a variety of ways. The highlight was seeing the fire engine. The pupils were amazed to see all the different tools, hoses and ladders the fire fighters use depending on the situation.

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Prep and Pre-Prep Year 1 pupil performs at St James’ Church Congratulations to Evan (1NP) who performed at St James’ Church, Sussex Garden for a concert. He played a piece called ‘At the Ball’ from John Thompson Book Part Four.

Year 1 collaborative Easter Egg hunt The Year 1 pupils were invited to join pupils from Year 1 at Haberdashers’ Girls’ School for their annual Easter Egg hunt. The morning began with the pupils introducing themselves and getting to

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know the girls. Working in pairs, they set off on a mission to find the hidden golden eggs. All are looking forward to meeting up again and spending time together at the summer picnic!

Highgate cross-country competition

On Monday 28 March, the Prep School sent six pupils from each year group to compete in the Highgate Cross Country event. The pupils were beyond excited to be at the event and, after a few encouraging words from Mr Barnett, the runners were relaxed and prepared to give their best effort at the course.

It consisted of 1km laps, with Years 3 and 4 completing two and Years 5 and 6 completing three.

The format of the competition, in which the top four runners all gain points towards an overall total, ensures that, regardless of where a runner finishes,

trying to move up a place or two can make all the difference.

All our pupils performed courageously and with a smile on their face. The Year 4 and Year 6 teams won their competition and the teams for Years 3 and 5 finished 2nd. This gave the Prep School the overall win!

Well done to all those who participated and a special thank you to Mrs Adat for her work on the Prep HabsDash.

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Prep and Pre-Prep Pupils attend Primary Stars Football tournament Habs Prep School attended the Primary Stars Football tournament at Watford Football Club’s training ground and were absolutely fantastic.

Throughout the day, the pupils played seven matches; winning four, drawing two and losing one. They finished 2nd out of eight teams in their group, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals. In total, there were 36 teams participating and it was a brilliant event. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were a credit to the school.

Year 6 A team at U11 Independent Schools Football Association The pupils enjoyed representing Habs Prep School at the U11 ISFA tournament at John Lyons School.

The team came second in a group of four, in which they played three matches, winning one, drawing one and losing one, meaning they qualified for the round of 16 and the knockout stages. There they played Avon House and showed some brilliant football, winning the match. In the quarter finals, they played Berkhamsted, which was a fantastic game of football and very even. Berkhamsted took the lead, however, Habs came back strongly and equalised with a fine finish from Krishan (6NM).

The game finished 1-1, meaning that penalties were up next. It was here that the journey ended for the team. The pupils were a credit to the school and played superbly throughout the morning.

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Year 4 Football Festival

Earlier this term, Habs hosted a Year 4 Football Festival. An overall of 12 teams entered, including two teams from Habs Prep School. Around 120 players took part and represented their schools fantastically. Our A team were unbeaten during the festival, winning three and drawing three of

their games. Habs also put forward a B team, who finished 7th out of 12 teams, despite being the only B team at the tournament! Overall, it was a really successful tournament. Well done to all those involved!

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Habs Community Giving Day 2022

On Tuesday 1 March, Habs Boys and Habs Girls joined forces to host the first ever Habs Giving Day. Over 36 hours, the wider Haberdashers community came together to celebrate Habs and raised vital funds for Bursaries and Scholarships, the Hardship Fund, Capital Projects and the new Student Travel Fund, a student-led initiative chosen by senior school students at both schools.

A total of 642 parents, Old Haberdashers, staff, former staff and friends of the schools made gifts. Together, they contributed £135,309 to support students and important projects at one or both schools.

In addition, the day saw 845 students and staff show support by running in the HabsGivingDash and JuniorDash. That is more than four times the turnout for the weekly HabsDash, and it ‘unlocked’ an additional £1,000 in gifts for the Student Travel Fund.

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“This is a remarkable outpouring of support,” said Bill Friar, Director of Development. Mr Friar’s team is responsible for philanthropic fundraising and alumni relations at the two schools. “All of us here are tremendously grateful, and deeply touched by the messages of support we have received,” he added. “We are delighted that so many Habs families share the schools’ conviction that students who would thrive at Habs should be given that opportunity, regardless of financial circumstances.”

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Habs Community We Are Habs podcast series A new podcast series, We are Habs, features interviews with nine prominent Old Haberdashers from Habs Boys and Habs Girls. Hosted by broadcast journalist Elliott Gotkine (OH 1994), each episode includes the guests’ memories of life at school and the path they took from Habs to where they are today.

We Are Habs is available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

•R ish Shah (OH 2006) – actor who features in the summer 2022 TV series Ms Marvel •V anessa Feltz and family – an interview with four generations of Haberdashers from one family: BBC broadcaster Vanessa Feltz (OH 1979), Clive Orton (OH 1958), Marc Joss (OH 2007), Allegra Benitah (OH 2004) and Year 3 Habs student Zekey •P rofessor Penny Endersby (OH 1988) – CEO of the Met Office •D r Mala Mawkin (OH 2013) – Research scientist specialising in chronic pain technology and space medicine. A Forbes ‘30 under 30’ winner in 2018 •S ir Simon Schama (OH 1962) – historian, author and academic •J ohn Vincent MBE (OH 1990) – entrepreneur; cofounder of Leon Restaurants •R oderick Williams OBE (OH 1983) – baritone and composer •S ir Martin Sorrell (OH 1963) – chairman of S4 Capital and founder of WPP, the world’s largest advertising and PR company •E lliott Gotkine (OH 1994) – journalist, presenter and podcast host (including this series of We are Habs)

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1980 Decade Reunion

The evening of Monday 14 March witnessed possibly the largest gathering of Old Haberdashers ever to grace the school’s Elstree site, for the unique occasion which was the 1980s decade reunion.

For this event, over 200 former students who left the school between 1980 and 1989 were joined by several of their evergreen former teachers for a wonderful evening of nostalgia and fun.

Old Haberdashers coming from as far away as Madagascar (and as close as Aldenham House) were given tours of the school by our current prefects and treated to a magnificent performance by our very own Habs Big Band in the Seldon Hall. Then, following a welcome by the Headmaster, Mr Gus Lock, all retired to the Bourne Hall for more refreshments, carefully manoeuvred year photographs, further glorious conversations and the rekindling of many friendships.

It was a truly memorable occasion and excellent to be able to welcome back so many to the school.

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Staff News

LEAVERS LEAVERS

Matt Anderson, Athletic Development Coach leaves after one and a half years. Matt has been instrumental in developing our approach towards developing physical competencies for all pupils from Year 1 to Year 13 as part of our approach to athletic development. He has also played a key role in helping our High Performance Programme in providing Strength and Conditioning and lifestyle support for some of our aspiring sportsmen. We thank him for his hard work and wish him well for the future.

Karen Festa, Exams Administrator leaves after six months to take up a new role in the travel sector. We wish her all the best for the future.

Alina Ghioc, HR Partner leaves us after nearly seven years to become Head of HR at the Royal Masonic School for Girls. Alina is exceptionally dedicated and professional in all she does. Her wisdom, integrity and humility, together with her fantastic sense of humour, have made her a wonderful colleague. We are enormously grateful for everything Alina has done during her time at Habs, she will be sorely missed. We wish her every success in her new position.

Rachel Harvey, Physics Technician leaves the school to begin in a new role working for the Royal Institution as Laboratory Technician at the Young Scientist Centre. She will be much missed by all in the Physics department, where she has provided excellent support for the extensive practical work that students undertake and enjoy.

Susie Howe, Careers Co-Ordinator leaves us after four and a half years during which she has been a much-valued member of the team. Always bright and cheerful, it seems nothing is too much trouble and she is always ready to lend a hand. We thank her for all that she has contributed and wish her well in her new business venture.

Jarryd Myburgh, Sports Centre Assistant/Lifeguard leaves after one and a half years. We thank him for his hard work and wish him well for the future.

Katie Nicholson, Teacher of Art and Design leaves after three years. She has put pupils and excellence in the study of Art and Design at the heart of everything she does. Katie embeds a love of the History of Art in her teaching and inspires through her knowledge and passion for this. She has been a great helping hand in many of our co-curricular initiatives and has brought great pride to the department and the school through her leadership of the Remembrance Day Poppies project. She will be greatly missed by colleagues and pupils, and we wish her every success as Head of Art at Aldenham School.

Jackie Reddin, Lead IT Trainer leaves us after 10 months to take up a new IT Training position with Trowers and Hamlins Law firm. She has helped deliver training across both schools and significantly improved system inductions for new staff. She has been a pleasure to work with and leaves us with a library of helpful training materials. We wish her every success in the future.

Matteo Rossetti, Head of the Prep and Pre-Prep leaves us to take up the founding headship of King’s College School, The Bahamas, a part of Inspired Education. Matteo has had a significant impact since his arrival at Haberdashers’ in 2018, leading with a clear educational vision, cherishing scholarship in its broadest possible sense, celebrating independent thinking, creativity, performance, the arts and sport. He has brought a strong focus on character and the values of decency and kindness, improving pastoral care and open communication with parents. Having steered the school through the challenges of the pandemic and introduced iPads for every Prep pupil, he has also helped secure planning permission to move the Pre-Prep to Elstree and introduce a Reception class from September 2022. His contribution to the wider Joint Schools’ Strategy, forging closer collaborative links with the Girls’ Junior School, has been transformative. Matteo has also been a great colleague and companion through challenging times. We will miss him and wish Matteo and his family every joy and happiness for this new chapter in their lives.

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LEAVERS Hiren Shah, Fees Manager joined the Boys’ School in November 2016, initially as a Management Accountant. Two years later in November 2018, following the merger of the schools’ Finance departments, he became the Fees Manager for both the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools. Hiren also helped to manage the annual assessment of bursaries for the schools and during the pandemic worked with a number of families to ensure they could manage their school fee payments. His contribution has assisted in providing support to families in need and in building the schools’ financial strength. He will be greatly missed and we wish him the best of luck in his new role as Bursar at Holland House Prep School.

Sonia Vithlani, School Office Manager leaves us after 13 years of dedicated service to the school to enjoy her well-deserved retirement. She has thrown herself enthusiastically into school life and you would often see her at a school play, concert or trip supporting the students and staff. Sonia is looking forward to spending her retirement travelling, and we wish her all the very best for the next chapter in her life.

APPOINTMENTS: Sharon Shine, Estates Administrator Basil Letts, Second in Physics Sophie Burfitt Brown, Classroom Teacher Kirsty Law, Teaching Assistant Prep Donna Beazleigh, Head of Libraries and Archives Tanya Webber, Russian Language Assistant Farheen Siddiqui, Teaching Assistant Prep Avril Tooley, Director of Marketing, Communication and Culture Ubaidullah Afridi, AV and IT Support Officer Angharad Newton-Brill, Music School Administrator Nalini Naik, Fees Manager Gordon Esler, Temporary Teacher of Biology Sellathurai Ravichandran, Chemistry Technician Tyler O’Brien, Sports Centre Assistant and Lifeguard Lauren Davidge, PA to COO and Executive Support Team (maternity cover)

INTERNAL APPOINTMENTS (NEW/ADDITIONAL ROLES): Nina Byrom, Part-time Library Assistant move to Prep Librarian Seetal Patel, Chemistry Technician moved to Teaching Assistant Prep Adrian Chapman, Teacher of Chemistry moves to Second in Chemistry

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Stay connected to Habs www.habsboys.org.uk @habsboysschool /habsboys @habsboys Haberdashers’ Boys’ School