The Aske Report 2020

Aske Report the

the newsletter of the habs foundation

2020 (number 8)

It is a pleasure to introduce this year’s Aske Report and I hope very much that you will enjoy reading the reviews enclosed within these pages. It has been the most extraordinary of years, a year that no one was expecting. What follows celebrates the resilience, positivity and creativity of our pupils and staff who have adapted superbly to unique circumstances.

I have been enormously proud of them all and have enjoyed watching them rise to new challenges and do things they did not believe they could, or would ever have to, do.

The year started so very brightly, full of hope and ambition, with the unveiling of our new strategic plan, devised in collaboration with the Girls’ School. For the first time in our histories, our Schools envision our futures together and have started to define how we can work together in order to prepare, as meaningfully as possible, our young men and women for the fast-changing, global community that they will inhabit. This energy, sense of aspiration and willingness to collaborate was evident in so much that followed.

The love of scholarship and intellectual challenge sits at the heart of our School. Our pupils enjoyed fabulous academic success, be it in the form of public examination results or the more demanding and stimulating independent research projects they undertake for their Aske and Dawson Projects. An array of speakers brought new ideas and perspectives, from author Michael Morpurgo or campaigner Marina Litvinenko to poet Karl Nova and LSE’s Director, Baroness Shafik. Sharp minds were very much on display in the final of the Dragons’ Den competition, in which our boys and, for the first time, girls tested their creative and entrepreneurial thinking against a star-studded panel of ‘Dragons’.

We continue to pride ourselves on breadth and excellence. Before lockdown hit, our bridge team had just enough time to regain the Bridge Schools Cup, the ninth win in 11 years! Our tennis players won a national title in the LTA Schools Team Tennis Competition, our gymnasts won silver in the Trio National Finals and our U15 rugby team reached a national quarter final. The institution that is HabsDash (our weekly 3.5 km community run) continued to grow and evolve, engaging students, staff Aske Report

and runners from the Girls’ School too – about 250 people run together every Tuesday and it is quite simply magnificent.

Our musicians have been no less busy and brilliant. Last November witnessed a soaked but stunning performance by the Big Band in Paternoster Square as part of the Lord Mayor’s Show, and Kielan Sheard, one of this year’s Sixth Form leavers, reached the final of the 2020 Young Jazz Musician of the Year. Among the very greatest successes of 2020 was the Student Council securing the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. The students worked incredibly hard to win this prestigious accolade and it reflects how very concerned, committed and determined they are to engage with this most crucial of issues.

Since March, however, we have learnt to communicate and connect in very different ways.

With the School site shut down and with pupils and staff sent home, Zoom replaced classrooms; assemblies became short films; traditional Inter House competitions morphed into House Bake Off contests and the like. We have all learned so much and will, no doubt, retain a good deal of these innovations even when the pandemic has passed. That said, I do not think I can possibly convey the sense of unalloyed joy that everyone felt as we re-opened fully in September.

Throughout the pandemic, we have been humbled to see just how many OHs are serving in the front line of the NHS every day and were so proud to be able to help them and others as our Design and Technology department produced thousands of pieces of PPE at the height of the pandemic. Many of our community, both OHs and current families, have suffered terribly this year; it has taken lives and livelihoods and changed the landscape for so many. Thanks to the generous support of a large number of parents and alumni, we have been able to provide hardship funding for many pupils whose parents have lost their incomes this year.

In so many different ways, 2020 will be a year we will never forget. The School has faced an array of very real and significant challenges and no one can pretend it has been easy. However, that we have persevered, made real progress and remained both optimistic and true to our aims is a great testament to the School, our pupils, staff and the fabulous community that surround us. Thank you, as ever, and more than ever, for your continued support.

Gus Lock Headmaster 1

Habs Community during Lockdown The duration of the Covid pandemic has, and continues to be, an uncertain and testing time for all members of the wide Haberdashers Community but one to which many have risen to the challenge for the greater good in sometimes tragic circumstances.

When the last pupils left Habs for lockdown on 20 March, the School remained open throughout the holidays and summer term for the care of sons and daughters of keyworkers and Old Haberdashers, such that 99 different children from 22 separate schools were looked after and educated during this time. Meanwhile the School’s D&T department (and other

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volunteer members of staff ) produced and assembled over 4,000 pieces of PPE equipment to be used by NHS frontline workers in over 30 hospitals and surgeries around and in London.

and being looked after. As PHE and government guidelines have changed through the autumn term, this work has continued and strong cross-generational friendships have blossomed as a result.

The wider Haberdashers community was not slow to show its commitment to alleviating the stress and distress of those more vulnerable OHs. Via the Habs Foundation, networks of Old Boys queued at 7.00am at the local supermarket to buy groceries for their shielding neighbours; collected and delivered prescriptions to those who would be unable to do so themselves and made phone calls to other OHs to check that they were comfortable

Another initiative during the autumn term has been that of the Schools SCS (School Community Service) initiating a ‘pen pal’ service, whereby current pupils have been in regular contact with OHs who may not be on email. Not only has this helped to alleviate any remoteness from the School felt by some OHs, but also enabled our current pupils to learn more about the School and its history.

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Frontline workers During this year’s pandemic, members of the Haberdashers Community of all ages, skills and experience have been at the fore working tirelessly to alleviate distress and ensure that society copes with the effects of the Coronavirus as best as is possible. The following accounts are of OHs who shared their experiences of working on the front line during the first wave of the pandemic.

Brett Bernstein (OH 2010) When the Covid-19 pandemic began, I was working as an NHS junior doctor at Barnet Hospital, with time split between gastroenterology and general medicine.

Quickly, our existing rota was scrapped, and we were placed onto a ‘battle rota’, working three days on then three days off for a total of 120 days. All shifts became 12 hours long, with time split between staffing the Covid-19 wards, and seeing Covid patients in A&E and treating patients if possible, and, unfortunately, palliating many elderly people who were already dying of the infection upon presentation. I have now moved on to work as Cardiology registrar at Northwick Park, and although the number of patients presenting with Covid has reduced, the pandemic has changed the way we work significantly, screening all patients on admission and prior to all procedures, limiting visitors, and masks for all. These changes will likely be long term, and will help us to deal with the possibility of a second wave.

Mufaddal Trunkwala (OH 2006) I am an Acute Neurosurgical Occupational Therapist. I work at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, London. Ordinarily, my role involves assessing patients following different types of neurosurgery, which include patients suffering from spinal impairments, brain tumours and acute haemorrhages amongst a host of others.

We would then provide support in forms of rehabilitation, community therapy, care packages and more depending on the patient's impairments.

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During the pandemic my role was similar to as described above, however it also included proning (a positioning programme to help patients with breathing) patients who were intubated. I was working with Covid positive patients who required support to go home safely and with patients that had presented with neurological symptoms after brain hypoxia due to Covid.

Regards to all at Habs!

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Niraj Doshi (OH 2017) I am a fourth year medical student at UCL and contacted the Elliott Hall Medical Centre and Patients' Association, in Hatch End, Middlesex, at the beginning of lockdown. I helped set up the "Patient Heroes" initiative to help recruit volunteers and pair them with patients to help with chores as well as being a friendly contact.

Under the supervision of Dr Chris Jenner, this team of medical students and Elliott Hall Medical Centre Patients' Association members managed a team of 268 volunteers. This inspiring squad of helpers have been shopping and collecting medication for the most vulnerable patients, who otherwise would have struggled to access essential supplies.

The medical students have also been supporting the administration team when staff were short on numbers having to self-isolate. The team, which is still going strong and celebrated their 100-day mark recently, have been warmly thanked by patients and staff alike who have recognised the amazing contribution the Patient Heroes volunteers have made to the lives of those isolated by the pandemic.

Dev Joshi (OH 2008) This required a change in years of engrained clinical practice to keep patients safe. Our GP team continued face to face consultations for patients who needed it throughout the pandemic. As such, I was grateful to local initiatives, including Tom Hardman's team at Habs, who kindly made PPE during the shortage so we could continue to safely see the sickest patients in person. When the need arose, I moved to work in Acute Medicine at the local hospital for a few months. The most challenging part was the volume of end of life conversations I had with patients. Delivering sad news is tough, but was even harder over the phone to families who remained away to limit the spread of the virus. Volunteers did their best to connect patients separated from their loved ones, boosting morale and providing more holistic care. Despite the challenges, the public were understanding and supportive. The local community really came together to deliver medications and support those most at risk.

Colleagues were housed for free in local hotels and private accommodation, allowing them to continue working whilst keeping their own shielded family members safe with local organisations and community kitchens donating food.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I have worked both in General Practice and later in the hospital setting when extra doctors were needed. Despite all the challenges faced, I've focussed on the positivity and community spirit that emerged in the face of adversity and have never been prouder to work in the NHS.

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“ In General Practice, innovation

accelerated and traditional face to face consultations were replaced almost overnight by telephone and video consultations.�

Hopefully the worst has passed, but it seems the challenges will continue for the foreseeable future. I am sure our community spirit will tide us through as we persevere with our efforts to keep each other safe.

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Farewell to the Class of 2020 We would usually feature here the Founder’s Celebration which would have taken place at the end of June for our departing Upper Sixth. This year of course the Covid-19 pandemic not only affected the Class of 2020’s exams but also their farewell from the School.

An excerpt from the letter which was sent to the Sixth Form perhaps sums up our disappointment:

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We are now in the final 10 days of term and normally, for the Upper Sixth, this is a time for post-exam fun, relaxation and some poignancy as you leave the School after five, seven or in some cases 13 years.

Your year group will have a unique place in Habs history. You have lived through unprecedented times: ‘the year they didn’t do public exams and the year they weren’t at School for the summer term’.

In normal circumstances we would have held the Founder’s Evening last week to celebrate your time at Habs in the proper fashion. None of us wanted your final two weeks of school to be at home and it is a huge disappointment that we all feel. We are committed to offer you all the chance to be together at Habs again and to give you the proper send-off that you deserve with your parents and teachers’. We will be organising this event for as soon as possible in September (and before university terms commence) as long as it is safe to do so and more details will follow. Each one of you has been part of a House, tutor group, teaching set, school trips, sports teams, activities, music and friendship groups and each are deserving of celebration.

As the School opened for pupils in September, it became clear that Government guidelines meant large gatherings continued to be prohibited and we were unable to welcome the Class of 2020 back to the School. It has therefore been particularly wonderful to meet our newest Old Haberdashers, as they come back to school to collect their Leaver’s hoodies.

They often catch up with their teachers and the School Office staff (maintaining social distance of course) and we are proud to hear their news as they prepare to go onto university or a gap year. We will organise a proper farewell for this special year group as soon as it is safe to do so.

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The Aske Project Awards 2020 On Wednesday 29 January 2020, the School was delighted to celebrate the considerable academic endeavour and achievements of our Aske Project prize winners at a special assembly held in the Bourne Hall.

With academic enquiry that readily reaches far above A Level standard and even into original research, our students explored questions of anti-zionism in orthodox Jewish communities, identifying fake news using machine learning, campaign finance reform and the thought of John Locke, curing heart disease using C-Cure, an analysis of circadian rhythms and the school day and the geometry of circles, to name but a few.

We are very proud of all of our students, both for their commitment to academic enquiry and for the stunning results that their hard work achieves. Many congratulations to them all.

Humanities Prize: Economics: Ashley Turner

Aske Project Prize Winners 2020

Humanities Prize: History: Jake Charnley

First Prize: Joshua Birns Maths: Investigation of Circle Geometry.

Second Prize: Abhisekh Chatterjee Medicine: The elimination of senescent cell as a novel treatment for Alzheimer's Disease.

The Aske Project requires that students independently research a question of their own choosing over a period of six months.

As verified by our external markers and viva examiners, our students achieve undergraduate standards of research and their projects demonstrate their curiosity, innovative and critical thinking, all framed within high standards of research methodology. The process, alongside their A Level studies, prepares them exceptionally well for university.

Tietz STEM Prize: Biology: James Levy

All our Lower Sixth students undertake an Aske Project and, with the guidance of an advisor, students present work that makes logical and judicious use of a wide range of sources to which our Library team provides extensive access. Many also undertake primary research or produce original pieces of writing or multi-media presentations.

Using machine learning to differentiate between real and fake news articles.

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Time in the Environmental Kuznets Curve Model: Theory and Discussion.

The 17th Century experienced a general political crisis.

Humanities Prize: Politics: Sam Grankin How can campaign finance reform align the US with Locke's ideal of democracy.

Humanities Prize: Theology and Philosophy: Eli Tapnack Is Zionism or Anti-Zionism the more authentic expression?

Do schools begin too early?

Tietz STEM Prize: Biology: Yuta Sato Can we mend heart break? Assessing the efficacy of C_Cure in patients with heart failure of ischaemic origin.

Tietz STEM Prize: Computer Science: Shanai Nair

Prize for Original Writing: Aaron Garland "On, Heritage." A poetry anthology deliberating heritage and immigration.

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Virtual Keith Dawson Prize Assembly 2020 Wednesday 17 June 2020 marked the fourth Keith Dawson Independent Learning Project Prize Giving Assembly, albeit virtually. The Dawson Project, named in honour of the School’s much loved former Head of History and Headmaster (1987-96) provides an opportunity for Year 9 boys at Habs to pursue a subject of special interest. Over a period of five months pupils research, engage with, and delve into a question of their choosing before presenting their project in any format they think suitable.

Haberdashers’ students are rightly known for their intellectual energy. It is this fact, along with the passion that Habs boys possess to explore new ideas, concepts and theories and to discuss these with their peers, that is fundamental to the vision of the project.

This year’s prize winners reflect the outstanding quality of projects, academic engagement and intellectual accomplishments of our Year 9 students.

It is especially pleasing to see projects in fields not usually considered on a Year 9 curriculum, such as Psychology, Sports Science, Economics and Law. We hope that this spirit of enquiry and the sense of achievement it brings will stay with our pupils for years to come.

Keith Dawson Project Prize Winners 2020 Humanities

Slava Bulin How did the battle of Stalingrad become the turning point of World War Two? (History) Yonel Perera Is a ‘global country’ feasible? (Politics) Aryan Janjale How will AI affect Religion and Morals?

(Theology and Philosophy) Nikhil Shah The World’s population is increasing; resources are depleting. Was Thanos right?

(Geography)

Maths/Economics Rishi Shah Can technical analysis help your investment trading? (Economics) Sai Mehta Mathematical Paradoxes: Friends or Foes?

(Maths)

Science Kavin Kandeepan Is Synesthesia the ‘Sixth Sense’? (Biology) Sohan Das An investigation into the significance of HHV-6 in Catatonia and Mental Health Disorders. (Biology) James Kaye How to best optimise performance in endurance sport through nutrition. (Sports Science)

Creatives Christopher Pigott Composing a Fugue. (Music) Fraser Hauser Is Jazz once again the music of the people?

(Music)

ICT & Computing Asher Nagler What does the future of AI hold for us - Can we trust it?

Faraz Ahmad What significant influences will Artificial Intelligence establish in regards concerning our jobs, businesses and economies?

Former Headmaster Keith Dawson Aske Report

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Outreach Scrub Bashers Clear Old Haberdashers’ Sports Ground The fine weather just before March’s lockdown allowed the Scrub Bashers to tackle the bramble and hawthorn surrounding the Old Habs sports ground at Croxdale Road, Borehamwood. 24 boys and seven staff equipped with shears, loppers and rakes threw themselves into the activity with some impressive results. There was a great spirit amongst the pupils, who worked well within their groups to clear a very large area. Breaks were short and few, and everyone stuck to the task at hand.

Habs Maths Masterclass On the morning of Thursday 30 January, three Lower Sixth Further Mathematicians accompanied Mrs Harte to Radlett Preparatory School as part of the Habs Maths Outreach Programme.

Charlie, Akira and Jay, who is a former Radlett Prep Pupil (Class of 2014), spent the morning working with Year 5 students, leading them through activities based on mathematical topics the pupils had recently studied. The

students were led through various group tasks in a fun and imaginative way, developed

by Habs’ Maths teacher, Mrs Harte.

Jay commented: “It was a wonderful opportunity returning to my old school and seeing some of my old teachers and friends.

I think the Habs Maths Outreach programme is an excellent idea.”

“It was nice to give something back to my old school that I wasn’t lucky enough to be

able to experience during my time there. Mrs Harte really does something special for the children and it was so encouraging to see them actively taking part and enjoying every moment of the morning.”

Year 12 Outreach Reading Mentors Every year, around 50 Sixth Form students become reading mentors for children in Borehamwood primary schools as part of the Reader Partner Programme. This year, while not able to run the normal visits, the pupils still wanted to find some way to keep children reading.

Year 12 boys recently chose high quality books to share with children at the partner schools, working with Mr Plotkin to create packs of resources and reading guides to go with them. The pupils then recorded themselves reading, came up with discussion questions, and all sorts of different activities to help bring their book choices to life!

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SPORTS ACTIVITIES HabsDashGO! HabsDash has now become an established weekly occurrence in the School’s calendar, with hundreds of boys, girls and staff taking part in the Tuesday lunchtime run three times around the campus.

When the School and the rest of the UK went into lockdown, Mr Broadwith and the HabsDash committee were not to be deterred and introduced HabsDashGO! whereby members of the Haberdashers community were encouraged to run the HabsDash distance wherever possible, and then submit a screenshot of their time and distance to the organisers.

The School was delighted to see this newest form of HabsDash receive an overwhelming response, with even more members of the community (including Old Boys, mothers and fathers) participating over the summer term.

Senior Tennis Champions On Thursday 12 March 2020, the School's senior tennis team was victorious in dramatic circumstances in the final of the prestigious LTA Schools Team Tennis Competition.

The team, consisting of Arjun (U6R1), Joe (L6S1), Freddie (L6J1) and Joseph (L6H1) was crowned champion after an epic journey which started back in September with over 80 schools in the draw. In previous years the team had barely progressed beyond the preliminary group stages, so it was a major achievement to even reach the finals day, and testament to the boys' hard work and dedication to school tennis over the last six years.

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The morning semi-final saw the team battle past Eastbourne College winning four matches to two after initially going 2-0 down.

The afternoon final pitted Habs against a strong Bradfield College team. After the initial four singles and two doubles matches, we were all square at 3-3 after superb wins for Arjun, Joe and Joseph. Arjun and Joe then bravely stepped up to play a final shoot-out tie-break up to 10 points. They held their nerve superbly to win 10-4, hitting some outstanding winners under immense pressure. The great sportsmanship and integrity displayed by the boys throughout the day was second to none.

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SPORTS ACTIVITIES Habs succumb to agonising defeat

Our U15 rugby team produced a performance that will go down as one of the finest in the School's recent history in pushing Marlborough College to the absolute limit in the quarter final of the NatWest Plate competition.

Prior to the match, it was generally considered that the strong wind, allied to heavy underfoot conditions, would suit the stronger Marlborough forwards and as the teams ran out there appeared to be a distinct size difference that would surely favour our visitors. However, Habs soon proved that you can’t measure the size of someone’s heart,

and they tore into their illustrious visitors with gusto. They dominated the contact area and made huge inroads when carrying the ball down the middle of the pitch.

off the canvas to unleash a sustained final assault that was so fierce and determined that it came within a whisker of changing the outcome of this titanic tussle.

This early pressure was rewarded when the elusive scrumhalf, Jesse T, dummied and side stepped his way to the try line to make it 5-0 to Habs. Marlborough, as one might have anticipated, were soon stung into action. The opposition scored a try of their own before Josh L made it 10-5 with a forceful run down the left flank after a series of strong carries by the Habs forwards.

With five minutes left on the clock, Max N scored from a lineout drive. This was superbly converted by the impressive Keelan F. Two minutes left. Habs carried the ball deep into Marlborough territory after line breaks by James W and Malcolm P. Habs were awarded a penalty after Marlborough illegally used a hand in the ruck. Habs were five metres out, slap bang in front of the posts. The three points from the kick would have drawn the game but would not have seen Habs go through to the semi-final so the players needed to run the ball. Alas, the heavy conditions under foot resulted in a slip and the chance was lost.

A desperately disappointing end to a quite magnificent effort from the boys in the blue quartered shirts.

A late try by Marlborough on the right wing made it 10-10 at the break. We had dominated possession and expended a lot of energy in keeping the ball in hand. It looked as if Marlborough were going to make Habs pay for failing to use the wind effectively, as they scored two tries in quick succession by kicking for position and exerting pressure.

And with 15 minutes to go, it looked certain that the ten-point deficit, alongside an everstrengthening wind, would be too high a mountain to climb.

But, under the leadership of the outstanding Malcolm P, assisted by several senior players, Habs somehow dragged themselves

Despite the result, the U15 rugby team has provided the School with a genuine sense of excitement and anticipation throughout its cup run. The boys played as one body: united and together, and have extolled the virtues of selflessness, effective leadership, and perseverance over the course of the rugby season.

Bridge Schools Cup Winner On Saturday 7 March 2020, Habs sent three teams of four bridge players to the Schools Cup Finals. Having had to find a late replacement due to illness and having experienced severe traffic problems, the teams arrived slightly late and had no time to settle, but Habs A team which included Kavinthan, Aniket, Ben and James, remained calm and proceeded serenely through the qualifier to the semi-final. A comfortable victory over St. Pauls meant the team met last year’s winners, Loughborough, in the final.

focused. They played some outstanding bridge to come from 0-10 down to win 38-10.

This is the ninth win in 11 years for Habs. Ben and Kavinthan were also in the last team

which won the competition two years ago.

The boys in all the teams thoroughly enjoyed the day.

In the first hand, Loughborough took an early lead, but the boys remained calm and

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Happening at Habs

Habs UK Election Hustings and Mock Elections

n Conservative n Lib Dems n Green n Labour n Brexit n Spoiled ballot

General Election fever reached Habs at the end of last year. We have held a series of hustings events for our mock election candidates to debate topical issues such as Brexit, the UK economy, climate change, education, the NHS and how to restore public confidence in the political process.

Passion, eloquence and political knowledge were all on display throughout the debate.

Congratulations to Krish and all the candidates who took part.

The School then held a mock election to take place on the same day as the UK General Election on Thursday 12 December 2019 with the following results.

Conservative Party = 32.4%

The final debate took place at lunchtime on Friday 6 December 2019 with Rohan, Krish, Sam, Ethan and George representing the Brexit Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and the Labour Party respectively.

Brexit Party: Rohan = 40 votes

The lively 40-minute debate was well attended by a large crowd of students and staff from the Boys' and Girls' Schools.

Conservative Party: Krish = 169 votes (winning candidate) Green Party: Ethan = 107 votes Labour Party: George = 9 votes

Liberal Democrats = 29.9% Green Party = 20.5% Labour Party = 9.4% Brexit Party

7.7%

Engagement with the democratic process is very much evident within our School community.

Liberal Democrats: Sam = 156 votes

Mock Super Tuesday Presidential Debate 2020 With 2020 being a US Presidential election year, the Habs Politics Society held a mock Presidential debate to coincide with the contest, a tradition that has been going as far back as 2004. The pupils arranged their debate to take place on Tuesday 3 March, which in the US was Super Tuesday.

No fewer than 14 US States held their primaries that day, including the two most populous: California and Texas. Over 120

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students, teachers and Support Staff from both the Boys’ and Girls’ School attended the debate at lunchtime in the Boys’ School library. It covered several issues including the US economy, women's rights, gun control, climate change, impeachment and healthcare. The School congratulates the students who took a leading role in the debate for a lunchtime of high-quality political discussion and argument.

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Habs Trump v Biden debate The Politics Society at Habs has a long tradition of holding mock debates ahead of major elections. We were delighted at lunchtime on Thursday 15 October to hold in the Bourne Hall a mock Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, US Presidential Debate 2020.

To take account of current public health restrictions and the current year group bubbles, the candidates and the moderator were more than two metres apart, with the Lower Sixth audience watching downstairs in the Bourne Hall, a large number of Upper

Sixth students watching from the Balcony and a small group of Year 11 students watching via video link from Room BO8.

The two candidates on the stage, Sean as Joe Biden, Sam as Donald Trump and Oliver as the Moderator, handled their roles with aplomb. Sean and Sam eloquently and in character debated issues such as the COVID-19 crisis, the US Economy, the US Supreme Court, violence in US cities, as well as the past records and statements of Vice President Biden and President Trump.

The debate was lively and engaged considerable reaction from the audience.

Fortunately, the tone was much more civil than the actual, infamous first debate between the two candidates. At Habs we believe in listening to different political opinions and disagreeing well, rather than talking over each other. Oliver proved to be a firm and fair moderator.

The final vote by a show of hands from the audience, perhaps surprisingly, was a 50-50 share between Trump and Biden.

Virtual Questioning with Local MP The Habs Politics Society hosted their first remote, online event on Thursday 7 May 2020. Dean Russell, who was elected Conservative MP for the bellwether seat of Watford in December 2019, spoke about how the Government had to react quickly to the health and economic challenges of Covid-19, as well as what he had seen of the local impact as a volunteer with the Salvation Army and at Watford General Hospital.

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He paid tribute to the heroic work of NHS staff and the strong sense of community he has witnessed in Watford. The School are grateful to Mr Russell for giving his time so generously to answer questions.

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Happening at Habs

The Lord Mayor’s Show Habs Big Band was honoured to perform as part of the celebrations for the 804th Lord Mayor’s Show on Saturday 9 November 2019, welcoming the appointment of the 692nd Lord Mayor of London, William Russell (a Liveryman of the Haberdashers Company).

Led by Mr Simm and performing in the Show Zone in Paternoster Square, Habs Big Band closed the afternoon performance set in style, joining fellow ensembles from the family of Haberdashers' Schools: the Abraham Darby Show Band and Monmouth Jazz Orchestra.

Inspite of the torrential rain and the sound of the nearby bells of St Paul’s Cathedral pealing, the energy, punch and swing of the

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Habs Big Band powerfully emerged, wowing the audience that had amassed around the stage. From their opening number, Buddy Rich’s version of Love for Sale, through to their closing item, Count Bubba by Gordon Goodwin, the energy in the Band was mirrored by the whooping and warm applause from our audience who braved the elements to enjoy a terrific afternoon of jazz and Big Band playing.

Virtuosic improvised solos rang out around the square from the offset and the appreciative crowd broke into rapturous applause at the conclusion of each solo offering. It was a pleasure to witness such remarkable skill and control from such

young and talented musicians and a real demonstration of the strength and quality of music making at Habs.

Habs Big Band was once again on top form and the pupils were, typically, terrific ambassadors for the music department and our wider school community. It was a great privilege for the School to be invited to perform and share in a wonderful and memorable day.

NB In September 2020, William Russell was re-elected to serve as the Lord Mayor for a second consecutive year, but no 2020 Show was possible due to regulations in place relating to the pandemic.

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Happening at Habs Global Youth Award and delivery of two talks at London Climate Action Week Ishaan was then invited to speak at the Mayor of London’s ‘Climate Action Week’ about efforts in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking. He focused on ‘No Poverty’ and ‘Climate Action’.

He explored the links between poverty and human trafficking, highlighting that: “traffickers will prey on vulnerability and often, that is economic vulnerability.

Especially during this Covid-19 crisis, we can see that people are becoming increasingly economically vulnerable and traffickers are taking advantage of this.”

At the age of 14, Ishaan (now Upper Sixth) watched a documentary which changed his life. He learned how children around the world were being exploited and forced into slavery. After talking about the programme at school, Ishaan committed to raising awareness of slavery and human trafficking in a way young people would engage with.

In 2017 Ishaan founded Stolen Dreams, a website and communications organisation to get young people involved with, and driving, positive action around human trafficking. Since then, he has spread his message widely across social media, podcasts and through public speaking,

especially at other schools. Ishaan’s work has displayed real impact as it encourages young people to discuss human trafficking, a tremendously sensitive topic, with warmth and compassion.

As a result of this work, Ishaan was awarded a Global Youth Award – Empowering Leadership award for his anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking efforts by Round Table Global, providing him with access to a global talent bank that offers opportunities for collaboration and creation between young people and forward thinking organisations; a true global hub of remarkably inspiring youth, innovations and ideas.

In his second talk, he highlighted that the links between poverty and human trafficking are not just occurring in faraway communities and countries, but also here in the UK, “27% of victims referred to the UK Modern Slavery Helpline in 2019 were UK nationals themselves”.

Ishaan concluded by urging young people across the globe to take action on these very important issues. He said: “Do not be afraid to speak out if you see something that needs to be changed”.

The whole School community is very proud of Ishaan and his commitment to such important issues.

Julia Wood Essay Prize 2020 Rohan Thandi (OH 2020) has been awarded St Hugh's College, Oxford's Julia Wood Essay Prize 2020 for his piece on Gladstone's Toryism. This is an exceptional achievement as there were 374 entries to the competition this year. Rohan is currently on a gap year and is going to Durham next academic year.

Sincere thanks must go to Rohan's History teachers (Dr St John, Mrs Turbett and Mr Simm) for the outstanding support they have given him and so many others during the two years of his Sixth Form historical studies.

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Inaugural House Bake Off During lockdown (and before OH Matt Lucas was named as the latest presenter for the TV version) a large number of boys and staff competed in the inaugural House Bake Off competition, with entries including pain au chocolat, macaroons, stir frys, cookies dedicated to the NHS and dishes from around the world.

In true Haberdashers' fashion, the standard

was extremely high and competitive. It was lovely to see the faces of those who submitted photos smiling and proud of their exploits in the kitchen and it gave a sense of community in these difficult times. The winning House was Russells and the Star Baker Award went to Rafferty (Year 9) and Nicole Brown from the Finance department for making an incredible replica of Aldenham House out of gingerbread!

Dragons’ Den

The Lord Bilimoria CBE, DL:

“ I strongly believe that what

I have witnessed at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School is the type of thing that every school in Britain should be doing.”

On Wednesday 4 March 2020, The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School hosted the grand final of its own Dragons’ Den competition. The competition ran for the first time in 2016 and this year ran in partnership with the neighbouring Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls. The final took place as part of National Careers Week, and the aim of the initiative is to encourage creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and to help pupils refine their presentation skills and ability to think on their feet.

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As in previous years, the School encouraged teams of pupils to explore their entrepreneurial instincts and submit a business idea. Ten teams were selected to pitch to a specially invited panel of Dragons in two after-school heats; after which four teams were invited to pitch in the grand final. The teams of students, all in Years 10 and 11, pitched their ideas to a star-studded panel of judges comprising Claude Littner, successful entrepreneur and celebrated aide to Lord Sugar on BBC’s The Apprentice; former TV Dragon Nick Jenkins, Founder of Moonpig; Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL, Founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer; and Shivani Shah, UK General Manager of cosmetics brands Maybelline, Essie and NYX Professional Make Up.

Pedal Power invented a system whereby kinaesthetic energy from riding a bike, as well as solar energy, was used to charge a mobile device.

After the event all finalists were lucky enough to network with the judges, and also receive one to one informal feedback and take some photos with them!

Claude Littner said: “I must congratulate all of the teams. It is clear that the Habs pupils have worked tremendously hard. They have surpassed my expectations and certainly are all winners to me! Huge congratulations to all at Haberdashers for putting on this fantastic event.”

The event was once again introduced and chaired by television presenter Sonali Shah, who expertly kept proceedings to time.

After four excellent pitches, the judges were unable to pick just one winner. HydroClean, comprising Athavan, Anish, Keshav, Erekle and Yash in Year 10 from the Boys’ School and Pedal Power’s Phoebe and Tanya from the Girls’ School were declared joint winners.

HydroClean came up with a solution to clear seas, rivers and lakes from plastic by collecting the waste in a mobile bin system.

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Happening at Habs

Green Flag Award “ The Earth is what we all have in common.”

Wendell Berry.

The School is delighted that, with the help of our Sixth Formers, Habs has secured the prestigious Green Flag Award.

From the hundreds of species of flora and fauna to the vast expanses of open green land in our School, we value the conservation of the environment. At a time where tackling climate change has become more vital than ever, the School strongly believes that as individuals, everyone has an important part to play in rehabilitating ecosystems.

Last year, the School embarked on a journey to become increasingly eco-friendlier. Habs

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is taking a three-pronged approach towards this journey; awareness, proposal and action. Through student led assemblies, pupils have raised awareness about water scarcity, plastic pollution and the impacts of climate change on children across the globe.

Within the student body, Habs has a group of 10 pupils which form the ‘Eco-Committee’; a think-tank that meets bi-weekly and formulates ideas and concepts that will make the School greener.

Finally, three students, Gabriel, Akash and Ishaan pushed through any tangible ideas to the Senior Leadership Team in an effort to implement these proposals and drive positive climate action. From reducing plastic usage and implementing a pen recycling scheme to ensuring waste is properly

collected, Habs has made many changes to become greener.

Simultaneously, Habs has been working towards an Eco-Schools Award. The School was recently awarded the highest of honours, the Green Flag Award for dedication to conserving the environment.

Individual choices can make a difference to the environment and it is hoped that we can encourage other schools and students to help drive climate action in their communities.

Habs would like to thank the whole school community for working together to help make this achievement possible.

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National Youth Theatre Success

The School is delighted to share the news that both Manish (Year 11) and Sam (Year 10) have been accepted into the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, after successfully auditioning earlier this year. This is a remarkable achievement, with over 6,000 young people between 14-26 auditioning this year.

The National Youth Theatre is a fantastic training ground, with a very similar ethos to what we aim to create here at Habs. It

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has produced some of the most celebrated actors, directors and writers in the country and is a wonderful opportunity not only for the boys to challenge themselves and receive training from industry professionals but also a chance to work with other amazingly diverse and talented young people from around the country. It is a great experience and the skills gained will hopefully serve them in whatever they choose to do in the future. Congratulations to Manish and Sam!

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Happening at Habs Habs raises over ÂŁ1000 for Young Minds charity #HelloYellow! Young Minds World Mental Health Day 2020 was celebrated by pupils and staff with a great charity mufti day.

Many variations of yellow apparel were in evidence, from hoodies to t-shirts, socks and trainers, ties, splendid shorts, and old sports kits!

The School raised ÂŁ1,150 for Young Minds, the organisation leading the fight for a future where all young minds are supported and empowered, whatever the challenges.

Our donation helps achieve this by providing expert knowledge through a free and confidential Parents Helpline, participation with young people, professional training, work in schools and ensuring mental health is placed firmly on the public and political agenda.

Thank you to all the generous Habs parents and pupils!

OH selected for Final of BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2020 Many congratulations to Kielan Sheard (OH 2020) who has progressed through to the finals of the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2020.

The competition is open to instrumentalists aged 22 and under.

The final took place as the Aske Report was going to press.

Good luck, Kielan!

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Speakers Dame Minouche Shafik On Friday 31 January, the Habs Economics Society was delighted to welcome its first high-profile speaker of the decade, Dame Minouche Shafik.

Dame Minouche, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, former Vice President of the World Bank and current Director of LSE (to name but a few of her outstanding achievements), visited Habs to speak to students from the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools.

The talk began with the Chairman of the Economics Society asking a series of questions to Dame Minouche, about various aspects of her career. Some of the questions asked included: what inspired Dame Minouche to study three economics-related degrees at different universities? What was her time like whilst Vice President of the World Bank? Would she have voted for an interest rate cut at the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting? How can we stimulate economic growth in the UK following Brexit?

The audience were then invited to ask questions to Dame Minouche, where she offered insightful and thought-provoking responses to some very interesting and challenging questions. These questions were based on an array of topics including climate change, gender equality in financial and economics-related professions, Islamic financing, and her work on the Oslo Peace Accords.

A huge thank you to Dame Minouche for taking time out of her busy schedule to visit Habs, and we look forward to inviting her back to the School to talk again soon.

We are very pleased to note that since her visit to Habs, in the 2020 Political Honours List, Dame Minouche was made a life peer as Baroness Shafik of Camden and Alexandria, and took her place in the House of Lords on 15 October 2020. Very many congratulations to Baroness Shafik from all at Haberdashers!

Award-winning poet Karl Nova visits Prep School The School was delighted to welcome award-winning poet, hip-hop artist and author Karl Nova recently. His first book of poetry, Rhythm and Poetry, won the 2018 CLiPPA award from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education.

This led to a memorable highlight where he asked the Year 5 pupils to give him a selection of random words which he then set to music, improvising on the spot and displaying a remarkable and versatile talent.

Karl ran workshops throughout the day for Years 3 - 6 which included engaging and enchanting stories from his childhood, interspersing thoughtful and hilarious observations on favourite nursery rhymes and astounding hip-hop performances of his own work.

The energy in the Prep Hall was electric throughout each session, and the smiles on pupils’ faces said it all: they were captivated! It was a day that will live long in the memories both of pupils and staff.

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Speakers Sir Michael Morpurgo On the evening of Friday 18 October, Habs had the tremendous pleasure of welcoming celebrated children’s author, poet, playwright, and librettist Sir Michael Morpurgo to give a much anticipated talk to pupils, parents and staff in a packed Bourne Hall.

The author of 140 books, Sir Michael Morpurgo, began by explaining that his visit to Habs felt very much like coming home as he had spent the first months of his life in ‘a little-known place called Radlett’ having been born up the road in St Albans.

He then plunged into the rich history of his storytelling career, touching upon moments in his life which had inspired his countless books. He reflected that his latest work ‘Boy Giant: Son of Gulliver’ while being influenced by Jonathan Swift’s classic story, was ultimately inspired by the lives of modern-day migrants trying to find their way to safer lands.

After reading an extract from ‘Boy Giant’, Sir Michael told the rapt audience how stories and tales came to him from a myriad of places and often unsolicited sources. ‘Butterfly Lion’ had begun as a memory of his unhappy time as a boarding school pupil in Sussex and how he had once tried to abscond to return to his home 100 miles away. Then, an overheard story at a dinner party centring on a convalescing soldier who witnessed the slaughter of a circus train of animals combined with a chance meeting with Virginia McKenna of the Born Free Foundation to cement the nascent theme for Sir Michael’s prizewinning book.

enjoyment of live theatre (on the occasions he visits dramatic productions of his epic tale of Joey the horse and Albert his owner, he often finds himself on stage singing in the chorus) and what had fired him to write ‘Meeting Cezanne’ and ‘Mr Skip’. After such a thrilling and captivating hour in Sir Michael’s company it was no surprise to be told, when asked: ‘If he wasn’t an author, what would he be?’ The response came, “an actor”.

Sir Michael was full of wit and humour throughout the evening, entertaining parents and children alike with his tales from real life and fiction. The Question and Answer section at the end of the evening allowed Sir Michael to explore in greater detail more specific moments of his life including the writing of ‘War Horse’ and his

Before he left, Habs was honoured to provide Sir Michael with a cheque for £2,000 which will be donated to his charity ‘Farms for City Children’. Founded by Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Lady Clare, the charity offers urban children across the country the opportunity to live and work together for a week on a real farm in the

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countryside. The charity, which has been running since 1976, currently has three working farms welcoming 3,200 children and 400 teachers every year.

It was a fantastic opportunity for all to witness Sir Michael live. As Manav from Year 6 said: “It was not only enjoyable, but informative and inspiring.”

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Marina Litvinenko On Thursday 21 November 2019 the Habs Politics Society was privileged to host Marina Litvinenko.

Mrs Litvinenko gave a deeply moving, informative and fascinating talk on the events that led to the poisoning of her husband, Alexander, the consequences

and where she sees Russia heading into the future.

Nearly 200 pupils from the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools packed the Bourne Hall and listened spellbound to a balanced, hopeful and personal account of the family’s fight for truth and justice.

Jeffrey Weinberg The School was delighted to welcome Mr Jeffrey Weinberg on Monday 25 November 2019. His lunchtime talk in the Aske Hall to the Politics Society was attended by over 150 students and staff from the Boys' and Girls’ Schools.

Jeffrey served each of the last nine Presidents of the United States as a legislative attorney at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. He was assigned to the White House’s National Economic Council during the administration of President George W Bush. He recently retired from the Office of Management and

Budget after forty-five years distinguished service. He is currently adjunct Professor for the Washington Campus, a consortium of 16 universities.

Mr Weinberg is widely respected on both sides of the Atlantic for his unique perspective on the contemporary U.S. presidency as both a practitioner and an academic. His presentation 'The View from the Oval Office: Insights into the legislative presidency' examined the tools available to contemporary Presidents and was enthusiastically appreciated by all lucky enough to be there.

Eve Kugler visits Habs on behalf of March of the Living important story of Mrs Kugler and her family on their escape from the Holocaust.

On Thursday 12 March 2020, the School was honoured to have the incredible Mrs Eve Kugler come in to speak on behalf of March of the Living. Students and teachers from the Boys and Girls School attended the lunchtime JSOC event to hear the

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Mrs Kugler was born in Germany and was seven years old in 1938 when Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, took place. Her entire family was torn apart by the Nazis and miraculously her parents survived several concentration camps, with her younger sister forced into hiding. Mrs Kugler and her other sister managed to escape to America and live in a foster home. Remarkably, Mrs Kugler was reunited with her parents and younger sister in 1946.

Mrs Kugler is a huge inspiration to us all and we are extremely grateful for her time and educating us on such a harrowing, historical event. Mrs Kugler is now 89 and is still travelling up and down the country visiting schools and educational trusts, sharing her story.

Once again, on behalf of Habs and the JSOC team, the School would like to thank Mrs Kugler for providing us with her precious time and the School acknowledges the privilege to have heard her speak.

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OH IN THE NEWS Old Haberdashers ‘Feed the NHS’ In these challenging times, it is wonderful to hear about the many members of the wide Habs community who have been doing their bit to ensure that society copes as best as is possible with the effects of the Coronavirus.

While it is unfair to single out anyone in particular, we were especially pleased to note the fundraising campaign initiated

by John Vincent (OH 1990), Matt Lucas (OH 1990) and their actor friends, Helen McCrory and Damian Lewis. Simply titled ‘Feed the NHS’, the campaign aimed to get 6,000 meals a day supplied by John’s LEON

restaurant chain into London hospitals for critical care staff. This target was quickly met and having raised near £2million through crowdfunding, 40,000 meals are now being served by a coalition of restaurants to 88 hospitals nationwide.

In addition, Matt updated his 20-year-old ‘Baked Potato’ song from the TV series ‘Shooting Stars’ to include advice about avoiding Coronavirus, and having been watched 3 million times on Twitter, he released the song with all proceeds going to ‘Feed the NHS’.

OH participates in British Athletics Championships with the Hertfordshire Schools Athletics Association and in the Track and Field Cup. I can still remember in Year 8 travelling to Newcastle for the National Schools Finals and the Habs team securing a fourth place finish. If it wasn’t for my introduction to athletics in the Prep School from teachers such as Mr Lowe and then Mr Keenleyside later on in my Middle School years, I would likely never have fallen into this sport. I am ever so grateful for those opportunities I had when I was young.”

“ I would hugely recommend The School was delighted to learn that Miguel Perera (OH 2015) participated in the British Athletics Championships in Manchester. Miguel competed in the 110m Hurdles and came third with a season best of 14.68s!

Having obtained a place at top sports university Loughborough, Miguel has been given numerous opportunities to participate Aske Report

in high-level competitions, competing in Poland during his first year and later receiving a call-up to represent England in the World University Games in Italy in his third year.

Of his time at School, Miguel said: “I certainly have many fond memories of athletics from my time at Habs, where the bulk of my athletics experience was gained

Habs athletics to any pupil interested. The opportunities and coaching has really developed many top-class athletes, such as Efe Uwaifo, Darius Price and Max Marmor from my generation of OHs.” 22

Matt Lucas (OH 1990) Viewers of social media or television will know that Matt Lucas was not idle during lockdown. Whether launching the Feed the NHS initiative with fellow OH John Vincent, updating and recording his ‘Baked Potato’ song with lyrics giving advice about avoiding coronavirus or filming his new role as presenter on The Great British Bake Off, he has not been far from our screens.

Especially for Habs however, in April he recorded a special greetings message for the Prep and a valedictory message to the Class of 2020 (this year’s School leavers) congratulating them on negotiating a Habs education and exhorting them to come and say ‘hello’ were they to see him in the future.

But not all at once!

Ishan Gandhi (OH 2019) raises $50,000 in funding for dating startup ‘Link’ Having headed over to the States last year to start studying Computer Science at Stanford University, Ishan found himself making an immediate impact on his new environment through the release of his algorithmic dating matching platform ‘Link’. The platform had 2,250 Stanford undergrads sign up for its beta within 4 days of launch, and received local and national news coverage across the U.S. Ishan credits his Economics studies at HABS for exposing him to the behavioural underpinnings of ‘Link’ specifically learning about decision theory, and the psychological

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heuristics people rely on when making day-to-day choices (including those in the romantic sphere).

Having raised $50,000 in pre-seed funding from an LA-based angel investor, Ishan will be taking time off from Stanford to expand ‘Link’ to over a hundred colleges across the country over the next year. In the long-run, he wants ‘Link’ in the hands of every single socially-interlinked community in the world; every high school, every college, every members’ club and to “permanently change our cultural paradigm around romantic expression”.

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The Foundation and the OHA The HABS Foundation works closely with the Old Haberdashers’ Association (OHA) to keep Old Boys and their families in touch with the Habs community in the UK and throughout the world. Membership of the OHA is open to all members of this community via an annual subscription and enables all to join a number

of sports clubs (rugby, cricket, golf, football, rifle shooting) while also providing the facility to enjoy the pre- and post-match social activities in the Croxdale Road Clubhouse in Borehamwood. Impromptu meetings, gatherings and reunions are held in London and the highlight of the year is the Spring/

Summer black-tie Annual Dinner held at the School or Haberdashers’ Hall. Regular e-newsletters also keep members up to date with OH news and events. For further details, please contact the OHA Administrator Richard Carlowe (administrator@oldhabs.com).

Old Haberdashers Rifle Club The Rifle Club normally organises a series of shoots, usually on Sundays, throughout the year from March through September. Shooting takes place using full-bore rifles (7.62mm / .308”) out of doors at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley in Surrey (GU24 OPB). It is a mixture of Open Days and team matches, with the highlight being the Schools Veterans Match held on a Thursday in July as a prelude to the British Full-bore Rifle Championships; the club Annual Dinner then takes place at the London & Middlesex Rifle Association clubhouse.

This year, it was all change! We managed to get in the season opener on March 22nd , but then everything closed down for the Covid-19 lockdown. Fortunately, being an outdoor individual sport, we were able to recommence on June 21st and were able to fit in a monthly shoot from then until September. Instead of our annual dinner at the LMRA we had a socially distanced curry lunch round a caravan – see alternative pictures from 2019 and 2020: Hopefully, next year will bring a return to normality and we will be able to resume a normal programme and invite visitors to our ‘open days’ at which people can be coached on a one-to-one basis by our experts. An unusual thing about shooting is that you can go on getting better and better (up to a point).

The two most successful Old Habs. shooters peaked 15-20 years after they left school. Chris Fitzpatrick matured while flying an unarmed VC10, re-fuelling fighter-bombers in the Gulf war and then won the Queens Prize in 1991.

Similarly, Barry Davison was a member of the

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English team that won gold medals at the World Skeet Championships in 1993 at San Antonio in Texas. My favourite champion, however, was Alistair Munroe, who designed and built the scenic range at Blair Athol - he scored 75 out of 75 on his 75th birthday and continued to shoot

competitively at small-bore until he was 80! We are always looking to introduce new members and should you be interested please contact me at rwinney@compuserve.com.

Dick Winney (OH 1960)

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Old Haberdashers Rugby In 2019/20, Old Haberdashers RFC enjoyed its best season ever. In keeping with its 100% amateur ethos, they don't train or have any formal coaching set up, the Blue, White & Magenta continue to defy gravity in London 1 North, or the sixth level in English rugby. As the season was so unfortunately curtailed, the 1st XV sat in third, only one point from a play-off place and a record high in terms of finishing position for the club.

As well as keeping it amateur, the team is renowned for its champagne rugby style of play, evidenced by the 16 Try bonus points earned from the 22 matches played (second only to the runaway league leaders). The club is also growing with three full squads put out on three Saturdays in the season; the first time that has happened for over 20 years. Haberdashers run through all teams with 10 OHs regularly starting for the 1st XV and AXV (2nd XV). The Extra AXV is bolstered by some proper old boys with the

front row’s combined age being as high as 170 years. Onwards and upwards the mighty B,W&M!

If you are interested in playing for OHRFC, please contact James Clarke (1st XV Captain) james.w.clarke@hotmail.com

Old Haberdashers Football Club It has been an encouraging start to an odd OHFC season, including some great victories such as a 4-1 victory over Old Merchant Taylors and a 7-0 drubbing of Pembroke Old Boys. However, a few one-goal defeats mean that we need to put together a run of wins to challenge for the promotion spots.

Meanwhile, it is great to be back at Habs for our home games after a fantastic summer of recruitment - especially with the Class of 2016 bringing youth and ability to the squad.

If you have any interest in putting on an OHFC shirt, please contact OHFCfixtures@gmail.com Joe Stolerman (OH 2006)

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Old Haberdashers Cricket Club Season’s Report With the green light from the ECB and the Hertfordshire Cricket League for the 2020 cricket season to begin on 11 July, it was all hands-on deck from OHCC. A gaping chasm having been left by the sad passing of OHCC legend and President Simon Gelber (OH 1972) during the off season, it was with some apprehension that former 2nd XI Captain Shajeen Shailendra took up the role as new club President.

After an outstanding first win, the 1st XI under the captainship of Rhys Jenkins (OH 2013) ended the season winning only three matches, losing four, and having two abandoned. This meant the 1st XI finished mid-table in their division, but they can take many positives out of the fact that some players and combinations were tested out in season where all the games were effectively friendlies.

The 2nd XI started the season with an unlucky loss but then went on somewhat of a dream run, finishing the season winning five matches, losing just one and having three abandoned. This meant the 2nd XI finished as winners of their division and when promotions and relegations are re-instated next year, it is hoped they can repeat this feat to get promoted! Great competition for places and an excellent squad depth bodes very well for the 2021 season.

Away from league cricket, OHCC has been able to provide opportunities for many OHs to play and have some much needed fun in these unprecedented times with friends.

The 3rd XI enjoyed three friendly fixtures and there is a clear roadmap and plan for a 3rd XI to be playing league cricket very soon. The Sunday XI had only won one match all season but provided players with opportunities to fill roles they may not have been able to try before. With such a short season, the Sunday XI has been a boon for many players wishing to fit as much cricket into the summer as possible.

A great addition to this season has been the T20 friendlies organised on Wednesday evenings for current Habs boys, Old Haberdashers and our friends at Belmont Aske Report

and Edgware Cricket Club.

Much credit must go to Stuart Haring (OH 2001 and current Habs Maths teacher) who coordinated these fixtures and gave as many of the boys as possible a chance to play some cricket over the summer. We ended up having five weeks of fixtures with some exciting finishes and memorable performances. We also had numerous schoolboys make their debuts for OHCC this season and show their ability to make the transition to adult cricket. We hope to see many of these boys join OHCC in the future and drive the club forward.

Finally, we were incredibly fortunate to hold Old Boys’ Day at the School this year on 27 September. The School triumphed in the 1st XI fixture, whilst OHCC claimed victory in the 2nd XI fixture. 1-1 on the day meant that the cricket club retained the Nobbly Tanner trophy, a fitting end to the season!

OHCC 1st XI

We have seen some great commitment and performances from everyone involved at OHCC this year. It has been a great year for OHCC in the face of incredibly difficult circumstances, and we hope to build upon this with promotion pushes for the 1st XI and 2nd XI next season whilst continuing the good work on building the 3rd XI, Sunday OHCC XI and Wednesday T20s.

Shajeen Shailendra (OH 2011)

OHCC - Mid week T20

OHCC 2nd XI

OHCC 3rd XI

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The OH Golf Society The Old Habs Golfing Society welcomes golfers of all standards, whether members of a golf club with an official handicap or occasional social players.

In usual times we have Spring, Summer and Autumn meetings open to all, as well as fixtures against other Old Boys’ teams. For example, we play a triangular match against Old Lyonians and Old Millhillians, as well as a fixture against Old Cholmeleians.

All the golf is fairly relaxed and enjoyable, and the events are usually on a weekday.

Courses played include Porters Park, Moor Park, Harleyford and Brookmans Park and course locations are sometimes varied from year to year.

The low handicapped members also play in the annual national Public Schools Old Boys competition, the Grafton Morrish.

In addition, the ‘Dr Alan Morris Matchplay Championship’ was introduced in 2016, in memory of our former President and Secretary who passed away in December 2015.

If you are interested in playing please contact Robert Clarke (robertc.clarke@ btopenworld.com) or Peter Mackie (peter@ petermackie.co.uk)

Habscommunity

The Habscommunity online platform was launched in December 2017, and three years later we have almost 2,000 Old Boys registered on the network and it is still growing. It is a free platform that allows Alumni as well as former staff to reconnect with old classmates and colleagues, keep in touch with friends, share photos, hear about reunions and find out what is going on at Habs. The site offers opportunities for mentoring and professional advice with over 75% of our members willing to offer help. It also enables you to use the

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Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School’s series of networks, spanning over 30 countries and 5 continents to contact and build on your career and social connections.

This year, via Habscommunity we also launched a brand new, free, online business directory allowing OHs to promote their business and make special offers to other members of the Haberdashers community. Please see the platform for further details.

In summary, the network has been designed for you, the Old Boys, so please do share your thoughts of what you would like to see, whether it is current School news, memories of the times gone by, or up to date current affairs, we can tailor it to your needs. Once you have registered, the site is yours to use, so get involved; start a conversation, build a group, reconnect and more.

If you have not registered yet, join us at Habscommunity.org. It’s quick to sign up either via LinkedIn, Facebook or email.

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Reunions The Foundation’s annual series of events and reunions has been inevitably drastically affected by the regulations imposed to combat Covid-19. We do, however, hope to ‘catch up’ as soon as possible with all those gatherings which needfully have had to be postponed.

Before lockdown a few reunions were able to take place in London and at the School (namely those for the Classes of 1969, 1975, 2010 and 2015) , and most especially that for the returning Class of 2019 and the truly joyful occasion which was the Pre-1970 Reunion.

2010 Reunion

1969 Reunion Those who were at Habs in the 1970s and 80s would sometimes hear their teachers wistfully reflect on the ‘young rebels’ they taught at Habs at the end of the ’60s. It was therefore with some trepidation that a Foundation reunion for the Class of 1969 was organised in London to mark the (near) 50th anniversary of their leaving the School and being let loose on an unsuspecting world.

Any fears were quickly dispelled and an excellent evening was enjoyed by all, rolling back the years while sharing details of their post-Elstree lives. It was especially good to be able to welcome to the occasion two of those teachers, Richard Tames and David Griffiths, to verify their former pupils’ reputation!

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Pre-1970 Reunion

The evening of Monday 2 March 2019 witnessed possibly the largest gathering of Old Boys ever to grace the School’s Elstree site, for the unique occasion which was the ‘Pre-1970 reunion’.

Of the 175 attending, some were never taught at the site, others actually helped the School move from Westbere Road to Elstree, while even more formed part of the first cohort of Old Boys to have spent their entire school career in Hertfordshire.

San Francisco (and Radlett…) were given tours of the School by current pupils and treated to a performance by our very own Habs Big Band in the Seldon Hall of the TW Taylor Music School. Then, following a formal welcome by the Headmaster, Mr Lock, all retired to the Aske Hall for more refreshments, glorious conversations and the rekindling of many a friendship.

It was a truly memorable occasion and one that will linger long in the memory.

Old Boys coming from far away as Australia and

2019 Reunion The final Foundation event at the end of the 2019 Winter Term was the first reunion for the Class of 2019, bringing back to the School those who had left the School in July of 2019.

A record number of our newest OHs assembled in the Medburn Centre, not only to share tales of their first term at university, but also of work experience and global travel. All also enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with their former teachers and housemasters.

It was an excellent occasion, and the HABS Foundation looks forward to organising many such events in the future which will bring this group together again.

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Termites & Staff Obituaries

Termites ‘We have termites in Aldenham House!’, Headmaster Keith Dawson announced on a Friday morning in March 1995 to the Staff Common Room as part of his notices. He then explained that a special celebratory lunch was to be held in the Old Refectory for the Termites - those members of staff who had already completed 100 terms of full time service at the School.

11 Termites were celebrated at this first lunch (at which each was awarded a tie embroidered with ‘100T’ designed by Head of Art, Andrew Keenleyside), and this has now become an annual occasion enjoyed by all. More recently, a number of ladies have joined this group,

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which encompasses members of the Teaching and also the Support Staff. Last year the first married couple (John and Janet Swallow) were welcomed to the Termites and in March 2021 we look forward to marking 100 terms of service by Sue Corbould (from the Catering Staff and well known to generations of Sixth Formers for looking after their Common Room).

Keith Cheyney (Honorary Archivist, Head Librarian 1961-1994 and Termite)

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Obituaries Dick Benbow Former Head of Habs’ Practical Design, Dick Benbow died on 13 January 2020, having celebrated his 81st birthday on Christmas Eve. Dick joined Habs in February 1968 from City University where he had been Chief Technician for almost three years, having fulfilled similar roles at Hatfield College of Technology and the Borough Polytechnic (before which he did his National Service as an Armourer attached to the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment).

At Habs, he was initially recruited into the Handiwork Dept, but the then Head of Science, John Bausor, persuaded Dick to use his considerable skills and knowledge to increase the application of practical science in the School's curriculum. When a new block was added for Physics and Geography in 1974, it included a special workshop for the new subject 'Practical Design' and Dick was made Head of this department. The workshop had a range of basic equipment and machinery, including a vehicle inspection pit to teach car design and maintenance. With Dick, the boys also designed and built digital clocks, audio electronics, and the basic electronics of computers and many other items with a technical content, as part of the School's curriculum-broadening X and General Studies periods, with the workshop being open at lunchtimes for keen boys to continue their

individual projects. When Art and Craft moved into what had been the Prep School (in the old BBC Block), Dick's work transferred to the Design and Technology department and electronics became an optionally examined subject in the Science Dept.

Dick was a superb Design & Technology teacher. His technical knowledge across multi materials was vast and though he was a strict disciplinarian in the workshop, he had the most wonderful (and wicked) sense of humour which he generously shared with his colleagues.

and David. Following his heart attack, Lillian nursed him back to rude health and made sure that he kept up his daily exercise and routines, such that he was still playing golf at the beginning of December 2019.

As many of his former colleagues have said already, Dick was equipped with plenty of advice and help to those who were less practically inclined. He was one of the many excellent teachers who did so much for the School's reputation and in the process inspired generations of Habs Boys.

He was also an incredibly loyal supporter of the CCF Navy section, not only running that cohort for a number of years but devoting much of his holiday time accompanying cadets on a number of Adventure Training Expeditions, Range Firing weekends and Sailing Courses.

Dick suffered a heart attack in February 1992 and decided to take early retirement a few months later. Meanwhile, in 1981 his wife Lillian had begun working in the School Shop and remained there until she retired in September 2003.

Dick was a consummate ‘family man’. He cherished his marriage to Lillian and was enormously proud of his children, Stephanie

Dick Benbow

John Carleton It is with great regret that we have to inform the wide Haberdashers community of the passing of John Carleton, the School’s highly respected former Second Master, who passed away peacefully in the early hours of 15 April 2020. He had been suffering from dementia for three years.

John Carleton was born in Paddington Green General Hospital, early in the New Year of 1938. When the Second World War broke out and the Blitz began, John was evacuated with his mother to his grandmother’s house in Wales. Here the family stayed for the duration of the hostilities, before returning to West London but not without John having assimilated a distinctive Welsh accent (at

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times…) which many of his teenage charges at Haberdashers will recall.

He attended St Clement Danes secondary school in Hammersmith and then in 1956 went to Exeter University to read Chemistry and whilst there met his wife Janet.

John was appointed to the role of Chemistry teacher at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, by Headmaster, Tom Taylor in 1960 and very quickly proved himself to be a firstclass educator. Passionate about his subject and an outstanding classroom practitioner, he earned the respect of boys and colleagues alike, while also providing guidance, support and care for those who were lucky enough to

find themselves around him.

In 1966, Tom Taylor approached John to become Head of Chemistry, and never one to shirk a challenge (he was already the School Liaison Manager for the construction of the new Phase Two Science Block – which has since been replaced by the Aske Building) John embraced the opportunity.

In 1970, John became acting Head of Science and was confirmed in this post in 1972.

Under his tutelage, science flourished at Haberdashers with the recruitment of a group of young colleagues whose wish to adopt new methods of teaching was matched by John’s steadfast encouragement of innovation. Many

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Old Haberdashers of that generation owe so much to John and his refusal to settle for second best, always gently coercing his Sixth Form pupils to strive for the ‘outstanding’ and not just for the ‘very good’.

On the retirement of Dai Barling in 1982, John was an immediate first choice for the role of Second Master at Habs. As Bruce McGowan’s right-hand man for five years, he effectively ran the School during Bruce’s Chairmanship of the Headmasters’ Conference in 1985. When Bruce retired in 1987, John again was a great ally, friend and source of support to Keith Dawson, and his wise and sage advice helped to ease Jeremy Goulding (as John’s fourth Headmaster at Haberdashers) into his new position in Aldenham House in 1996, before himself retiring in 1998.

In retirement, John and Janet kept in close contact with Habs and were enthusiastic supporters of School Music and Drama as well as attending the near annual gathering of the Termites (Habs members of staff who had spent 100 terms or more at the School). They also enjoyed travel and spent much time in France, a country they loved and knew very well.

A dedicated family man, John was intensely proud of his children Andrew and Louise (who both attended the Schools at Elstree) and their own families, based in the UK and Germany.

In Keith Dawson’s own words: “He was one of the best friends the School

can have had in its long history. John had the essence of Habs in his bones and he gave more than a professional lifetime to serving and supporting it. He was straight as a die, a firm and trusty friend who could be relied on to speak difficult truth when necessary.

The boys he taught admired him and spoke of him decades later with warm affection; those he hadn’t taught respected him as an understated but resolute disciplinary rock who kept a tight ship without any hint of vindictiveness.

John was also a man of rare, hidden talents.

My wife, Marjorie, vividly remembers his coming to the rescue when someone helping in the Head’s House had locked her car keys in her car. With deft, and evidently practiced, use of a credit card John had the driver’s door open within 20 seconds. Jaws dropped, awestruck.”

David Lindsay, Habs former School Chaplain, recalls: “John gave his life to Habs – a fine teacher, a superb administrator, but, more than that, a thoroughly decent man with a caring and compassionate heart”.

Finally, for those of us who were fortunate enough to be taught at Habs during John’s long time there, the words of David Thomas, his erstwhile colleague at Westbere Road, ring clear.

(With thanks to the late Simon Boyes on whose valedictory piece in 1998’s Skylark this tribute is based)

“He was all that a schoolmaster should be.”

Margaret Flashman Margaret, the wife of Basil Flashman, the much respected and fondly remembered Headmaster of the Habs’ Prep. School, passed away on 8 May 2020. She was 91 years old.

Having spent the War years as pupil at the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, Margaret re-joined the School at Acton in 1968 proving to be a popular and inspirational teacher of Domestic Science, as well as an appreciated and approachable colleague.

For a number of years, she also taught the joint Boys’ and Girls’ Schools Sixth Form General Studies (now termed ‘Enhancement & Enrichment’) Domestic Science course. After 20 years sterling service to the Girls School, Margaret retired in 1988.

Basil, meanwhile, had been made Headmaster of the Boys’ Prep School in 1966

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and, as the Head’s wife, Margaret was in her element. She maintained a great enthusiasm for meeting people, hosting School occasions and making new Prep parents feel welcome via newly initiated cheese and wine parties and coffee mornings with mothers – all vital to the building of the Prep School’s reputation as a caring and sociable institution. Margaret was a wonderful ambassadress for the School and was known as such throughout the Habs community. Such was the affection for the Flashmans that when Basil retired in 1989 the Prep parents gave them a superb evening reception, which they were driven to and from in a specially provided Rolls Royce.

Basil died in March 2014. Margaret is survived by her son David and daughter Geraldine (both of whom were educated at Elstree) and 10 grandchildren.

Margaret Flashman 2332

Michael Levin Michael Levin who died on Wednesday 22 January 2020 aged 86 after a long illness, taught Physics with great accomplishment at Habs from 1972 to 1997, and for those of us who were taught by him his enthusiasm and knowledge of his subject was second to none.

He also was a vitally important member of the Careers department as well as overseeing a very successful generation of Habs Chess players.

such (as with a number of OHs) that in 1972 he returned to teach – having been recruited by the then Headmaster, Tom Taylor.

Michael’s sons Jonathan (OH 1980) and David (OH 1982) both came to Habs, as indeed did a number of his nephews.

Our thoughts and condolences are with his whole family and most especially his widow, Henny.

Michael was himself an Old Haberdasher, joining the School at Westbere Road in 1946 and leaving in 1950. After obtaining excellent degrees from Imperial College, London, and spending some years working for the National Coal Board, the lure of Haberdashers was Michael Levin

Wendy Morelli After a long illness Wendy Morelli passed away on 20 July 2019. Wendy worked at the Prep School for almost 20 years and was at its very heart. Often the first to welcome the boys in the morning and the last to see them on their way home in the afternoon, Wendy knew each boy well, overseeing them in the playground and working with them in the classroom. She not only cared deeply for the boys and had high expectations of them, but was always ready with the right word of praise and was the first to notice anything amiss.

She was a veteran of many Prep School Ski Trips, when boys, often for the first time, would be travelling abroad away from home:

at once able to comfort them and to ensure they took care of their things and (very importantly) remembered their gloves.

Wendy was a key supporter of Art and Drama in the Prep. A member of an amateur dramatics company herself, her enthusiasm and talent for theatre was inspirational for the boys. She worked countless hours in preparing costumes and staging for all Prep plays and supporting in their direction.

A friend to many and full of joy, energy and dedication, Wendy was a popular and approachable colleague to staff in both the Prep and Senior Schools at Habs.

Wendy Morelli

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Foundation Fundraising Since our establishment in 1690 funded by the generous bequest of Robert Aske, The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School has been supported by generation upon generation of Old Haberdashers, parents and friends. Their many gifts (whether large or small, cash or gifts in kind, or bequests and legacies) have allowed us to provide an outstanding educational environment, and though unknown to them, each boy at Habs has thereby been the beneficiary of centuries of philanthropy.

These philanthropic gestures continue to this day. Please see below why one Old Haberdasher chose to support the School in this fashion.

‘ Why I support the HABS Foundation’

by Michael Raw (OH 1973)

I greatly enjoyed my schooldays: not every second, or even every term, but I was very happy at Haberdashers’. My appreciation of my broad, vivacious and rigorous education deepened with the passing of time and in the light of my later experience as a schoolmaster.

I was Head of History at Sedbergh School from 1984 to 2015.

I have recently considered putting something back that would be of value to the School. In early 2019 I arranged with Roger Llewellyn (the Director of the HABS Foundation) financially to support a boy, chosen by the School on account of his academic and other potential, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go through the Senior School at Habs, as I had done some years before, and from which I had benefited so much.

I was a member of Calverts from 1966 to 1973 (Dec.) and captained the House in my final year.

Lunches under the genial eyes of our dinner ladies, Sheila and Floss, were animated social events which involved all year-groups and are perhaps best described in the language

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of the time as ‘happenings’. I was a keen, if somewhat reckless, sportsman. I played for the 1st XV for two hotblooded seasons and was a regular member of the swimming and athletics teams. I boarded in Aldenham House as a Sixth Former and played supporting roles in several theatrical productions, including ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ which was badly disrupted by power cuts in the UK before touring Germany in 1972. I was a keen debater and helped David Griffiths establish the Robert Aske Society with a lecture to my fellow Sixth Formers on ‘Ancient Sparta’. I was on the editorial panel of ‘Skylark’ in 1972-1973 and was elected President for Life of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Club in 1971.

I remember vividly the strong friendships forged in all these activities, and the sheer vibrancy of life in the School’s corridors, playgrounds and playing fields, especially during lunchtime and at break.

I am no doubt just one of thousands of Old Boys who owe a great deal to the dedication, clarity of mind and patience of those who taught them at Haberdashers'. I am still influenced by the spirit of enquiry, scrutiny of evidence and measured judgement that guided me and many others, notably, of course in the Sixth Form.

Michael Fitch’s laser-like attention to any sort of sloppiness had prepared the way for John Mole to take a considerable amount of adolescent posturing in his stride and encourage me to think seriously and for myself. His classroom was no place for easy, preconceived ideas or lazy opinions. I still recall his simple question after our first reading of the opening scene of King Lear. “So, what makes Lear tick?” The floor

was open...John helped me to love Practical Criticism.

Peter Squire and David Griffiths were wellmatched as teachers of History. The one elegantly composed and assured of his grasp of the three hundred years of European history through which we sailed under his watchful, sometimes sardonic eye. The other a past-master at getting his pupils to think for themselves about the problems of the past, and always eager to hear one of them chance his arm in discussion, which was often lively and partisan. It was David who introduced me to medieval history during my final, seventh term in the Sixth Form and thus provided me with a grounding on which I built later at Cambridge.

John Welbourne kindly agreed to oversee my taking of Ancient History as an extra A Level, studied in my own time because of a love of the subject fostered since my childhood.

His approach could accurately be described as ‘light touch,’ but that was just what was required. His occasional, gruff comments were always witty and encouraging.

I feel keen pleasure at the thought that a gifted, well-intentioned 12 year old is now embarking on his second year as a Haberdasher. I wish him every success and happiness at the school, even if he will never wear a School cap, obtained from Pullen’s of Cricklewood and decorated with our coat of arms and that little coloured button, in my case a dark blue button, in the centre of the crown.

Michael (Mick) Raw 1966-73 (Dec.)

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Foundation Bursaries This year (2020/2021) 19 full bursaries were awarded to 11+ and 13+ starters. Another 87 pupils are in receipt of partial bursaries. Funded to a total sum of £1.8 million by the School and The HABS Foundation, these 106 pupils represent almost 10% of the boys in the Senior School.

Please see below how the award of a bursary has transformed the life of one such young man.

Josh Navarajasegaran (OH 2015) explains how receiving a School bursary changed his life I started at Haberdashers in September 2008 and was in Hendersons, where I ended up being House vice-captain. I finished in July 2015 and after a gap year, started studying Medicine at Merton College, Oxford.

“ I was very fortunate to be awarded

a substantial bursary to study at Habs. Without the generosity of the bursary fund, my parents would simply not have been able to send me to the school.”

Throughout my time as a student at Habs, I was lucky enough to have a wide range of opportunities from co-curricular activities to trips abroad and to a high-class education from engaging and fantastic teachers.

The chance to visit other places and countries with the school is something that I look back on very fondly. I went on sport tours to Biarritz (twice), Sri Lanka, Portugal, as well as many trips down to sunny Devon! With the Combined Cadet Force, I enjoyed field days and summer camps to various places including Otterburn and Gare Lochhead. I also participated in a German exchange trip to Offenburg and visited Tanzania with a group to help with and see the work of Kidzcare Tanzania, a charity that Habs raised money and donated to for a time while I was there.

Outside the classroom, sport defined a lot of my time at Habs, culminating in representing the School at 1st team level for rugby, cricket, and football, which as mentioned included tours abroad as well as playing rugby at Allianz Park. This love of sport nurtured by the Habs

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Sports department is something I have taken forward to university, where I have represented the University 1st Rugby team, enabling me to go on tours to Madagascar and Japan, play international teams such as Canada, and be selected for the historic Varsity Match against Cambridge at Twickenham Stadium in 2018 (although I was sadly ruled out with injury the week before - hopefully I get another chance in the coming year(s).

Another side to my experience at Habs was, in fact, working as a member of staff in the Sports Department. Unfortunately, upon application to university, I had a full set of rejections from four medical schools. On results day, however, I was offered a job working in the department as the ‘gappy’. I will be forever grateful to Ryan McIntosh for giving me that opportunity and to the School for allowing me to join as a member of staff, only a couple of months after leaving as a student. Overnight I went to calling all of my teachers by their first names, which was quite a surreal experience, along with spending break and lunchtimes in the staff room! I had a great year working at Habs. I coached my own rugby (U13A) and cricket (U14B ) teams, helped the department with their PE lessons, led sessions for the Pre-Prep school, and got involved and helped out where I could.

Boys about their time at medical school, and participated in sessions on writing personal statements and mock interviews, I was thrilled to win a place at Oxford to study Medicine.

On top of everything I've already mentioned, I think why I am so glad to have been afforded the opportunity to attend Habs, is the culture of excellence and enjoyment that is promoted and encouraged inside and outside the classroom.

Furthermore, the Habs community carries on even once you have left the School, through Old Boys' teams, reunions, or teachers who keep in contact and are keen to know how you are doing.

“ I am hugely appreciative that I am a member of the lifelong Habs community.”

The School was again on hand to assist with my reapplication to university and guide me through the UCAS process (once more). The assistance and encouragement provided was truly second to none. Having benefited in Sixth Form from enrichment classes, where we explored medical topics way beyond the syllabus, attended many talks from Old

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News from the School Archives Following an appeal by the HABS Foundation, over the first enforced time of self-isolation this year, many members of the Haberdashers community took advantage of time at home to perform belated Spring Cleaning and general clearing out, and in doing so gathered memories, photographs and other pieces of memorabilia to do with the School from the 1930s right up to the present day. Photographs of special guest speakers, recollections of theatrical and musical productions over the years, sporting

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successes and disasters and reflections or fondly remembered former teachers were all then sent in, along with fascinating accounts of the development of the School estate at Elstree and schooldays at Westbere Road and Flower Lane (where the Prep. School was situated until 1961).

Royal Visits were especially remembered and the number of OHs who met HRH Princess Margaret when she came to the School must surely rival the multitude who witnessed Dr Who or The Avengers (original) being filmed in the School’s

grounds in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Our new School Archivist, Mrs Carmel du Parc Braham, is very keen to continue this accumulation of Habs memorabilia in our Archives, as it really will enrich and support the current work of the School, and also ensure its history is available and known for future generations. Please contact Archives at archives@habsboys.org.uk

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Donors & Legacies The Dr TW Taylor Society and The HABS Foundation Bursaries Those who have pledged to leave a gift by bequest to The HABS Foundation become members of the Dr TW Taylor Society. It was Dr Taylor’s vision and imagination that led the School to relocate to its current site in 1961 and which laid the substantial groundwork enabling us to become one of the leading independent schools in the United Kingdom. Not only did he devote a lifetime to making Habs the School it is today, but in his legacy he also provided the School with a gift to help it into the future.

thrive at Habs, but whose families may struggle to afford school fees. He would therefore have fully supported The HABS Foundation’s Bursary Campaign in which we seek to raise £10million by 2024 for the establishment of needs-blind access to our most deserving pupils.

Please pledge your support today to The HABS Foundation in your Will, and share in Dr Taylor’s vision of the future. https://donations.habsboys.org.uk Click here to donate

Dr Taylor also firmly believed in the life transforming nature of a Haberdashers education, and in assisting pupils who have demonstrated the ability to

The Dr TW Taylor Society Bequest gifts fulfilled or pledged

Anonymous Mrs D E Bailey Mr R C Barker Mr N F Barnes Mr M Beaman Professor M A Bennett Anonymous Rev Canon B L Brandie Anonymous Mr C W E Cave Anonymous Mr D A Davidson

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Mr G W Franklin Mr S H Gelber Anonymous Anonymous Mr G C Hickman Mr C J Hogg Dr S J Holt Mr R G Howe Mr J A R Jeffers Anonymous Mr R M Johnson Mr B T Jones

Anonymous Mr J W Lear Dr E L Littauer Mr R de H Llewellyn Anonymous Mr R N Milligan Mr M J Milner Mr B N Parker Mr D R Pearce Professor W Peters Mr M A F Raw Dr D Ridge

Rev J F Risby Dr & Mrs T W Taylor Mr W H Taylor Mr S B Tietz Mr L P Walter Ms M E Warrick Dr D B Webb Mr & Mrs D W Wells Miss A B Wills Mr P G Wulff

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Foundation Philanthropists

Donations received by The HABS Foundation Trustees from June 2019 to November 2020 including those made to the School’s Hardship Fund.

The Ahlborn Family Anonymous Mr N H F Andrews Anonymous Mr E J Banister Mr N F Barnes Mr J Barnett Mr S W Barry Mr J D Bell Mrs Victoria Bell Dr N A Benedikt Mr A D Bennet Mr J M H Benson Mr P Benson & Mrs Lee-Benson Dr Y J Berkowitz Mr R C Berryman Mr H T Bevan Anonymous Anonymous Mr C P Blessley Mr A H Briggs Mr N C Brown Mr Alvar and Mrs Alexandra Chambers Anonymous Anonymous Dr A Chakravorty Mr M H Chalfen

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Mrs M Chaundler Dr A W Cheang Anonymous Mr I H Chu Mr R C Clarke R Colla and M Anderson Mr N K Cooper Dr A P Coral Mr G Cornwel-Smith Mr K B Cranmer Mr D W Curtis Dr I M Dady Mr J M Davis Anonymous Anonymous Mr F Dubignon & Ms S Ghelani Mr S J Duffy Dr & Dr M C Dunitz Mr & Mrs G B Dyan Mr J L Economides Mr J M Edwards Anonymous Anonymous Mr P J Elston Mr A R Evans Dr A S Fielding Mr T C Fotheringham Mr P H Frank

Mr F M Fulton Dr R C Ganatra Mr M D Gansser-Potts Mr K I Gear Simon Gergel & Antonina Heavens Mr P J Goldsmith Mr & Mrs S Grant David & Amelia Granger Mr C C Gray Dr & Mrs M P Grenfell Mr C Griffiths Mr J D M Griffiths Mr J M A Grubb Mr R M Grundy Anonymous Dr G Hakhamaneshi Mr & Mrs Richard Jones Anonymous Mr N S Hamdulay Mr A C Harris Mr G L Hart Mr D B Hassell Mr J S Havardi Mr D A Hochberg Mr C R Hopping Mr R G Howe Mr W J Hurst Dr R C Hutchings

Dr M R Isherwood Mr M O Jacobs Mr A James Mr P A Jardine Jewish Association of Cultural Studies Mill Hill Mrs & Dr Kanakaratnam Mr Z A Karim Mr & Mrs N Kaul Anonymous Mr J Kent Mr R Khanna Mr S J Kirby Dr P D Kraus E Kwok Anonymous Professor R M Langford Mr J P Lansdell Professor F T Last Mr M D Lawton Mr R J A Lee Lt Cdr M J Y J Leong Dr B Leventhal Anonymous Mr J R Levy Dr B M S Li Mr D C Lindsell Mr J C G Lockey Andrea Loveless

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Foundation Philanthropists Continued

Mr J M Lyon Mr W A Mackenzie Mr D J Magrath Dr Shahzad Malik Mr P S Marks Mr D R Medcalf Mr S B Mehta Mr L Meng Mr & Mrs R D Metcalfe Mr R N Milligan Mr M J Milner Professor D M Mond Mr & Mrs D J Mort Mr B A Mosheim Dr & Mrs A S Mushin Mr & Mrs D A Mushin Mr B Narendran Mr Needley and Dr Toh Mr A P S Newman Mr R H Newman Mrs P Newton Mr G R Nunan Mr A J Oddy Old Haberdashers' Association Mr A M Page Anonymous Mr D Parekh Mr C P W Parr

Mr M Patel Dr M S Patel Dr S Patel Anonymous Mr A Pattni Mr M C Pepper Mr & Mrs D I Pereira-Mendoza Rev C B Perkins Anonymous Mr A Purohit Mr T Puvaneswaran Mr M S Radia Anonymous Mr M A F Raw Rev Canon Dr R P Reiss Mr N Ridge Mr J Rolfe Mr M N Rosen Jo and Daniel Rosenthal Anonymous Jonathan and Laura Rudoe Mr A Sachdev Meenal & Rishi Sachdev Mr & Mrs S S M Salam Mr B Sarvananthan Mr K Satheshkumar Mr M R Sayer Anonymous

Anonymous Anonymous Mr & Mrs A Shah Mr J R Shah Mr R C Shah Dr R J Shah Madina & Mario Shamtani Mr C A Slinn Anonymous Mr C J Smith Mr D J Smith Mr N I Somper Mr B Steiner Mary Stringer Anonymous Mr P C Talbot Mr M G Taylor Professor P Tekkis & Mrs P Lanitou-Tekki Mr D Y Thaker Mr R W Thompson Dorothy Toh Professor S B Torrance Dr D R Tsukagoshi Mr M R Tyler Mr A Unadkat Mr S M Usiskin Mr & Mrs S Varathan Mr A J Vardy

Professor D Vayanos Mr & Mrs M Vekaria Mr A S Virani Mr D N Vogel Dr & Mrs J Vyas Mr V K Wagjiani Mr K G L Webb Mr NHS & Mrs DM Wellings Mr & Mrs D W Wells Mr & Mrs J Wheeler Mr J G Whitehead Mr G D L Williams Mr D L Winer Mr P Winney Mr C J Withers Anonymous Mr M L Wratten Mr E R Wright Anonymous Mr A A Yassaee

Please pledge your support today https://donations.habsboys.org.uk Click here to donate

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Visit www.habscommunity.org

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www.habscommunity.org @habsboysschool /habsboys @habsboys Haberdashers’ Aske’s Alumni