Harrow Hong Kong The Harrovian Issue 1

THE HARROVIAN

Student Newspaper

Issue 1

Leadership for a better world

Exploring the History of The Harrovian

by Madeleine Duperouzel (Y12, Brooking)

October 2014

that we can add this publication to the long list of Harrow International School Hong Kong’s achievements. It is hoped that through the newspaper we can involve the parents and community of Harrow more in our day to day lives, through the opinions and ideas of the students, and also inspire many more students to take part and share perspectives on every aspect of the School. Perhaps one day they may look back upon articles and columns with the same fondness that old Harrovians in England do, and through this share their experiences with their future families.

Sports News

by Jonathan Liu Billow (Y12, Nightingale)

Harrow School, United Kingdom

It is fair to say that inspiration for this publication derives mainly from Harrow School’s original newspaper, The Harrovian. The Harrovian is written by the boys of Harrow School, and contains articles covering all areas – from societies, school trips, and sporting results to recipes and announcements about Old Harrovian activities.

The Harrovian’s first issue dates back to 1828, although prior to being called ‘The Harrovian’ it was listed under many different names. The Harrovian can be found listed in the Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: 1800-1900, quite an extraordinary feat for a paper written for the school by students! The Harrovian is considered a valuable resource tool for historians – it provides news not only about the school but also about events taking place at the time, through anecdotes, letters, and comments. This provides important historical insight into the lives of people living in particular time periods: their opinions, their commentary, and their satire. It is a collection of writing that is key not only for the school’s archives but also for England’s.

While The Harrovian is published and printed weekly – onto cream paper and taking up eight A4 pages on average, no less – it can also be found online. The entire archive of old issues has been uploaded onto the web, where they can be found in a huge online database. While a password and username are required to access some of the older issues, recent issues from the past year or so are all available for public viewing, useful for parents and relatives of the boys who are interested in the current events, and also for the local Harrow community, to see what is going on with the school located in the heart of the town.

The Harrovian Hong Kong may not quite have the same gravitas as the original, but we hope that one day it may provide a perspective from the other members of the Harrow Family to be added to the Harrow archives.

The journey that the School has made since opening in 2012 has been truly remarkable, and it is delightful

Harrow International 1st XV After the gruelling season which took place last year, our team had begun to prepare for the intense battle which lay ahead. By effectively studying gameplay and honing our individual and team skills, we were well prepared for the season: an unmatched chemistry, sheer pride and a champion’s mentality. This season took off with fixtures against our two arguably closest competitors, KGV and South Island. These hard-fought matches resulted in losses, 60-12 and 38-0; however, there were tremendous improvements.

Despite the initial disappointment, our team regrouped and heads were held high, quite simply because every one of us knew what we were capable of. We then put this on full display against Kellett School, producing a comfortable victory with the score line, 19-0. Unfortunately, the team endured a setback while losing team captain Vincent Tang to an injury.

However, as a team, we only grew hungrier for success; this inspiring victory is undoubtedly going to be the first of many.

Harrow Girls’ U20 Rugby The U20 girls have done well in the past two seasons, landing us high expectations for the coming season. It began with highly competitive matches against KGV and Canadian International School, earning us a split with a 22-5 victory over the latter team and a difficult test against the former, 25-5.

Throughout the two matches, the girls produced sparks of brilliance, highlighted by the crunching tackles, the lightning runs down the wing and well executed passes. The fast-paced 7-a-side fixtures demand high levels of fitness and as a result, we have been working tirelessly each week to strive to play our very best. With the addition of several new players, combined with the powerful existing core, we are determined to fight for consistent and positive performances week in and week out. Despite the fixtures being played away from home, the U20 girls’ rugby team have competed with utmost pride and pleasure, most importantly being great competitors both on and off the field.

U14 Football: Boys and Girls The U14 football season has kicked off in an entertaining fashion, with high-scoring results. The U14 boys have shown immense potential and terrific team play led by team captain, Harwood Lee (Y9, Lloyd). Our team have produced results, which we can only hope to continue, a 10-1 win against Renaissance College, 3-0 win against Australian International School and a 14-0 win against American International School. The U14 girls have been equally impressive with their displays, marking our School as tough competitors in the football department. With a 4-1 victory against Kellett School, the girls are rapidly improving their skillsets and look to continue their good results.

This first term of School has already provided us a glimpse of our School’s and constantly developing sports teams. Although we have seen great successes on the pitch, perhaps what is most impressive is the way our teams have participated despite the outcome of the match. From prep students to senior students, we have consistently given everything on the pitch and this is what is so impressive. In essence, the sportsmanship, which our teams have shown, is what makes sport so beautiful and this ultimately highlights what Harrow Hong Kong is all about.

Level Achieved: Prep to Senior

by Chloe Deng (Y12, Tutt)

Transition. What does this word really mean? The exact definition of transition is the process or a period of changing from one condition to another. In this case, it refers to the process by which Year 8s in the Prep School move up and become Year 9s in the Senior School.

Some say it’s a rite of passage, while others view

it as less dramatic. However, there isn’t one simple answer as to what it really means to move from the Prep School to the Senior School. Is it a whole new level of education?

Possibly. Is it an achievement that all Year 8s look forward to ‘unlocking’? It depends.

Let’s have a look at what the transition is thought to entail. Arthur Summers, a Year 8 from Morris House, said that he is most looking forward to the additional amount of freedom that he will hopefully get when he enters the Senior House.

Coincidentally, a Year 9 from Tutt House, Louisa Cho, said that when she was still in the Prep School, she looked forward to more freedom as well. Although there are many definitions to freedom, it is certainly not the case that you have absolute freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want in a Senior House. One of the more distinguishable differences between a Prep House and a Senior House is the amount of times you need to report to your House Mistress or House Master. For us Senior School students, when we first started studying here, we found that we had a countless number of Call-Overs.

However, once we spoke to some students in the Prep Houses, we realised that they probably have more Call-Overs than we do. One really good thing about moving into the Senior Houses from the Prep Houses is that you get a chance to mix with students who used to be in a different House. For instance, Arthur is currently in Morris House and he has a friend who arrived at our School with him, but he is now in Downes House. One perk of moving into a Senior House is that there is a chance that Arthur and his friend could end up in the same House, enhancing their boarding experience.

With all the talk about coming up to the Senior School, there is no doubt that one of the hot topics among

“It’s probably better if you don’t (get to pick) because it encourages cliques.”

Year 8s is which House they will be put into. Whilst some may say that it is actually a good thing that the School helps you decide which House you advance into, there are contrasting arguments. Siblings tend to follow their older sibling’s footsteps and end up in the same Senior House, but is that the best thing? After asking around, some claimed that there should be an option to not go into the same House as your sibling. Although pupils don’t get to pick which House they go into, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing.

Daniel Bristow, a Year 9 from Cale House said: “It is probably better if you don’t because it encourages cliques.” In contrast, another Year 9 said: “Definitely, because each House has a different character.”

Academically, there are obvious differences between the Prep School and the Senior School. The Prep School

is perceived to be primarily more relaxed than the Senior School. As you level up, things get harder, as with academic work. The thought of getting more academic work makes Arthur nervous, but he thinks that he will do fine when he gets to the Senior School. What makes Arthur even more nervous is the fact that he doesn’t know many people in the Senior Houses. He suggested that there should be some more interaction between the Prep School and the Senior School so that Year 8s will get a chance to get to know their possible future Housemates. Maybe the Senior School should have lunch with the Prep School at some point so that the transition is made much easier for the Year 8s.

Louisa actually didn’t expect to be pushed so hard and says that the jump is a bit too big. The expectation was that Year 9s would be pushed, but slowly and more gradually.

and they are always happy to help a Year 9 in need. Therefore, if you are a Year 9 and you need help with anything, just go up to one of the older Housemates and ask; they will be glad to help you out.

Louisa: “I like the fact that teachers trust students more in the Senior School and how I am not ‘highly advised’ to drop my prep and abandon my work on a Wednesday evening. There is more time to work, which is a good thing.”

There are many ways to view the transition, but one important part of it all is that the Year 8s know what it is like being in the Senior School because each House has a varied structure. Year 8s hope that the Housemistress or Housemaster take the time to meet their newest House members prior to the transition, so that they get an insight into the House structure and general House rules.

Some advice from Louisa to all the Year 8s: “Enjoy the last year in Prep, have fun and get ready to be serious in

“I like the fact that teachers trust students more in the Senior School”

Is it possible that the expectations in Year 8 should be higher so that when the Year 8s become Year 9s they would be more prepared for the workload? Our school sure met Daniel’s (a completely new student) academic expectations: a very competitive environment.

As Year 8s in the Prep School, a student is essentially the oldest, but in the Senior School, the fresh Year 9s are in fact the youngest in the House. Fortunately, the current Year 8s were the first Year 6s of our School, so they have already been through the stage of when they are the youngest in the House. The situation was different for the current Year 9s. It seems normal that they were scared when they first came into the Senior School because they didn’t really know anyone in the Senior Houses. Also, the Year 9s had no idea about how high the expectation was in the Senior School, as well as how a Senior House actually functioned because each House probably has a slightly different system and arrangement.

Daniel is a new student at our school and was never in a Prep House. His vision of the Senior School was that pupils would be more quiet and hardworking, but he has discovered that people in the Senior Houses are in fact quite loud, which isn’t a bad thing.

One of the major challenges that Year 9s are facing is getting to know the people in their respective Houses.

Many have said that there is very limited interaction between the Prep and Senior School, which makes the transition a rather difficult thing because the fresh Year 9s are put into an environment where they don’t really know anybody yet.

Even though the transition may seem like a horrible process, it actually isn’t. Senior students aren’t intimidating

Year 9.” Here is some additional advice from Arthur to his year: “Give a good impression to the people in the House you move into.”

Transition: the process by which Year 8s in the Prep School level up and become Year 9s in the Senior School. It isn’t just a process; it is a new chapter of their life.

I wish all Year 8s the best of luck when the time comes for them to move into the Senior School and on behalf of the Senior student body, we warmly welcome you all next year.

Harrow Hosts: Mr Chandran Nair

by Anastasia Groenestijn (Y13, Kingston)

Mr Chandran Nair, Guest Speaker

On Wednesday, 24th September, Harrow International School Hong Kong had the pleasure of hosting Mr Chandran Nair as our guest speaker, who lectured under the stimulating title of “Your 21st Century: Face Life or Facebook?” The contents of his speech proved as inflammatory as his heading had promised. A representative from the organisation Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT), Mr Nair discussed the need

for a radical change in approach to the basic way in which we, and indeed the human race in its entirety, regarded our basic right to reckless consumption. This extended to issues of a future population peak, ever-present climate change, a so-called ‘crisis of capitalism’ and an overreach of technology.

The talk ended on the idea that the world population would most likely see a 1.5-2 billion decline by the end of the century, a comment that was met by a broad spectrum of emotions ranging from shock to helpful suggestions. The speech was certainly discussed in great depth by all students for several days afterwards (perhaps being the most debated talk given at this School to date), and was described with an exceptional diversity of terms and opinions. The School is proud to have hosted such a stimulating speaker. If his intention was to make us all passionate, he certainly succeeded.

The commentary of students following the talk can be broadly divided into two categories: the first dismissed the talk as being nothing more than deliberately provocative.

The second group was more piqued by the generalisations made over the question of eventual population collapse, and the implied possibility of us all going to live in underground mine shafts à la Dr Strangelove. To be fair, Mr Nair’s goal does not appear to be handling our precious teenage minds with kidskin gloves; rather, it was to place us face to face with the alarming consequences of our own lifestyles, and the dangerous implications of the basic assumptions we make about our rights. His talk brought up a basic issue: that we, as members of a capitalist society, were grounded in the belief that our basic human rights extended to consuming whatever we want, provided we have the means to pay for it. Living as we are in a world of iPhone 6s, immaculate uniforms and universal laptop use, it’s easy to become immersed in this sense of complacency. To be frank, few found the speaker’s rhetoric to their taste – but then it was not meant to be.

Whether we liked it or not, it was impossible to ignore the speaker’s message – or indeed to stop discussing it-and this perhaps made Mr Nair’s speech as successful as it could have been.

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Humans of Harrow Hong Kong

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A photographic census of the Harrow community, one story at a time. Inspired by Humans of New York.

by Sophie Yau (Y12, Tutt)

Geoffrey (left) Wah Sook (right)

What do you most look forward to every day?

Geoffrey: To see students enjoy the experiments I prepare.

Wah Sook (Uncle Wah): I worked in my previous school for 20 years until retirement age.

What attracted you to work in our School?

Wah Sook: I really wanted to take up this challenge to work in a new environment.

New Additions

by Isaac Yeung (Y12, Lloyd)

Greetings parents and students of Harrow International School Hong Kong! If you were ever curious about your new teachers or would like to get to know them better, look no further! The Harrovian Team have caught up with a few of our new members of staff and we had conversations over tea and biscuits! They have kindly accepted our offer of providing us with a bit of background. Hopefully by the end of this article, you will feel Miss C. Wu, Economics & Politics that these are new gems added to the Harrow Family.

Miss Wu An Economics and Government and Politics teacher this year at Harrow, Miss Wu is from New Zealand and taught in England in a school called Queen Elizabeth’s School Barnet, which was an all-boys’ school. Her first impression of Hong Kong was the surprising amount of the number of treks and waterfalls that are in Hong Kong. She loves nature!

“I love it and hopefully I’ll get to go hiking sometime.”

Since she had been teaching in an all boys’ school, we jokingly asked her if she found any noticeable differences in Harrow Hong Kong compared to her previous school.

“A difference in students compared to old school: I haven’t taught girls for many years now and its nice to have a change in dynamic from a classroom filled with testosterone.”

One thing that is a recurring theme with all the teachers is that they mentioned the diversity of the school, which is understandable seeing as Harrow has a very diverse environment with students and staff from all over the world.

One thing that did throw me off guard was her Majors in University, which were English Literature and Business Management. One would assume that at least one subject would be related to Politics?

“I’ll tell you one thing I do really like about the school is the variety of ECAs that the students get to do.” She says. “The staff have fun too! I have never seen such a wide range of things you can get into; they’re not all academic, they’re not all sporty, its everything! Hopefully in the future I’ll get to try some of those amazing activities myself.”

Mr Oakes Originally from near Lincoln in the North of England, he lived in Manchester for ten years, and then taught abroad for another ten years and counting, in places like Nanjing and Costa Rica. Mr Oakes has now graced us with his knowledge of the field of physics and is a great addition to the tutor team of Lloyd house.

The first couple of weeks have ‘flown by’ for Mr Oakes. He finds the staff to be great as well as the students, the facilities and of course the Harrow establishment itself.

“It’s just a great part in the world to be living in!”

welcoming everyone is. He also has a love for Asian cuisine!

He has stated quite an interesting claim about Hong Kong as a city: “I know someone who says the world comprises of three cities: London, New York and Hong Kong. Everything else is supposedly a pretend city!”

“This is a great place. You’ve got the massive city line and then you got smaller communities here in Tuen Mun.”

Mr M. Oakes, Physics

In Mr Oakes’ previous school, ninety-percent of the students were Costa Rican but the diversity of Harrow was quite a significant difference for him. He has found the students at Harrow to be pleasant, which also applied to every school he has taught in.

“They’re interesting, fun and studious for the most part. Theres always a mix of characters from all schools but overall very happy to be here. Great bunch of people.”

The newspaper team has asked Mr Oakes about his take on Hong Kong in comparison with his old school in Costa Rica. What he said is most likely to be relatable to all local Cantonese people as well as families that have lived in Hong Kong for an extended period of time:

Mr Strickland has loved his stay in Hong Kong so far. Nothing has really struck him as distasteful or unaccommodating to his needs except for one major issue: “I guess it takes a long time to get between Central station and Admiralty. It’s like an airport. It’s huge!”

Mr Strickland had some interesting final words: “I see this move as a long term one. I don’t plan to go back to England in the foreseeable future. I’m actually getting married this summer! My fiancée and I are going back to England then, but we will be staying here permanently. I wish to explore the asia-pacific region, like Shenzhen or Thailand.

Taiwan and Japan are also places where I’d like to go for a vacation in the future.”

“I landed here, got off the plane and you just feel the heat come down on you. The climate does not exactly suit me; however, I’m informed that it gets much more pleasant during NovemMr M. Strickland, History ber, which I look forward to.” First Sixth Form Social

Mr Oakes has found the first month to be very enjoyable and is looking forward to the future.

Mr Strickland This is his first time teaching abroad and in Hong Kong. He is originally from Norfolk, Norwich.

Mr Strickland’s first month has been very enjoyable!

He says the school is situated on a wonderful site. He mentions the crescent shape of the building is truly unique, and that the integration within the student body is what surprised him most. “It’s really unusual to have an Upper School and Lower School all in one building. I’m in Cale House and it’s great adjusting to boarding.”

Mr Strickland has found this a considerable differences in setting. For one, his previous school was predominantly local. He has always wanted to teach in an international context; he had a summer job teaching English to youngsters from around the world.

What Mr Strickland loves about Hong Kong is how

by Agnes Fung (Y12, Kingston)

Our first social evening was held on Wednesday, 10th September. After a pep talk and photos, team leaders led their respective groups on an adventure, featuring station games situated around the School. These ranged from looking for clues in library books, to navigating a minefield. Flustered with adrenaline, the entire Sixth Form then gathered in the multi-purpose room for a quiz and a round of ice cream, provided by Chloe Cheung (Y13, Tutt).

These stations were organised by a team of prefects.

Their role included finding out the interests of sixth formers, thinking of ideas, planning, writing out instruction sheets and preparing necessary material for each team. Sarah Yeow (Y13, Tutt), a team leader, said it was nice mixing with the year below, and talking to people you don’t normally converse with. Brian Lo (Y13, Lloyd), who played ‘mission control’ in managing station times, said he thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the year group had fun.

{ This evening ties in with the School’s vision statement Leadership for a better world. The most obvious is the teamwork that went into problem solving. Different students have different strengths and working together made the whole team stronger. Creativity was also spotted as students came up with out-of-the-box ways of completing tasks in the shortest amount of time possible. During the last quiz round, our sixth formers faced the challenge with utmost determination and racked their brains to answer the questions, which included “How many steps are there in the Learning Lounge stairs?”

Mrs Morris (Sixth Form Co-ordinator), who organised the socials last year, was delighted that our Heads of School Samantha Li (Y13, Brooking) & Akshay Gaur (Y13, Nightingale) were proactive in taking up the job this year.

“You need a teacher onsite as the adult responsible, and that was all I did. Once they showed me what they were going to do, they ran past me!” Mrs Morris also admits she was wary at first because it could have gone wrong, however it was good to see that everyone enjoyed themselves without being ‘very silly’.

This social was evidence of the sixth formers gelling together and becoming a close-knit community; striving to work together to become role models for the rest of the student body. We would like to thank Mrs Morris and the prefectorial board, for putting in tremendous amounts of effort in planning this event and making sure everything ran smoothly. Hopefully throughout the year, similar events will be held across different year groups so that the School’s sense of belonging can be strengthened.

Have a burning question? Got a great idea for an article? Interested in joining? E-mail us at harrovian@harrowschool.hk JOIN THE PERCUSSION BAND! Passionate about music? Excited by rhythms? Come find us at the Music Department! Rehearsals every Wednesday.

MACBETH. Coming Soon. 3rd and 4th December.

Ask the Scholar

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This month’s topic:

THE HARROVIAN NEWSPAPER

by Benjamin Wang (Y10, Nightingale)

What is it?

Our newspaper aims to represent the diverse cultures of Harrow Hong Kong through regular publication. This is a fantastic platform for the expression of ideas; one that any avid writer, critic or commentator will not want to miss.

Why should I join the team?

We report stories and inform the school community. Show your thoughts and talents to the community by becoming one of us. (You don’t have to join the team to have your work published.)

What does it include?

News stories, reports, features, comments, forums for debate, and much more. Simply ask about its viability by emailing harrovian@harrowschool.hk What does the team do?

We meet every week. We brainstorm for creative, suitable ideas for coming editions. We discuss the details and assign duties: everyone has a role! Writer, editor, photographer, interviewer...

Who is it for?

Students, staff, and parents of Harrow Hong Kong alike. The more the merrier!

MEET THE TEAM!