The Hallifordian 2023-2024

Foreword

by The Headmaster

It could be that I am getting older, or perhaps it is because I am now entering my eighth year as Headmaster at Halliford School, but this year seems to have flown by! Yet, once again, we have managed to achieve so much as proud members of the Halliford School community. The Hallifordian offers a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the highlights of the year, and I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who contributed to this fantastic publication.

This year holds special significance for me as I bid farewell to those who began their Halliford journey alongside me in 2017. I remember asking our Head Prefect, Max Xander-Holder, for advice on starting my headship. He wisely said, ‘Just get to know us and show us you care, and you’ll be on a winner.’ With some trepidation, I delivered my first assembly, and sitting before me were the remarkable young people we honoured in July at Speech Day—students who have taught me so much and have led our school so brilliantly over the past year.

One standout memory from that first morning is of a young Louie Paterson, who sat in front of the lectern. Watching him claim victory at his final Sports Day and break the school record for the 100m with a stunning time of 10.92 seconds, cheered on by the entire school from the stands, was one of those moments that reminded me exactly why I do this crazy job!

Being a Hallifordian truly matters. As word has spread about the values we stand for, our school numbers have grown year on year. I believe this is down to three factors: the wonderful ambassadors our students have become, the exceptional work my colleagues do each day under the guidance of our governors,

and the incredible support from parents and friends of the school who help us daily to proudly share the Halliford story. For this, I offer my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. There is no doubt that following a change in government, the coming year will bring many challenges. But, as those who were here during the pandemic know, I love a challenge. I am immensely proud of the strong position we find ourselves in as a school at the end of the 2023/24 academic year, and I am confident that, thanks to our collective efforts, we are wellprepared for whatever lies ahead.

One of the year’s highlights was the privilege of joining a group of our Year 8 students, along with Madame Lamy, during the 80th anniversary D-Day celebrations in Normandy. The image on our cover shows us at the British Normandy Memorial, where the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy are inscribed. Listening to the veterans’ stories was a stark reminder of the fragility of peace, and it struck me that many of the soldiers we were honouring were the same age as our Upper Sixth students and only five years older than the Year 8 students on the trip.

Ultimately, none of us know what lies around the corner, and perhaps that is a good thing. But this experience made me reflect on the journey ahead for all of us and the importance of helping our young people prepare for a world that can change in an instant.

As a school, we pride ourselves on enabling every young person to achieve their best possible academic results and I am delighted that A Level results from this year just gone were the strongest on record for some time. But, just as importantly, we strive to equip Hallifordians with the values and skills they will need for future success as they leave us - the very best versions of themselves. The Hallifordian celebrates so much of what happens beyond the classroom—the magnificent opportunities available to our students and the remarkable successes they achieve.

I hope you enjoy this edition of The Hallifordian, and I send you my very best wishes for the year ahead.

James Davies Headmaster

Jivraj Singh Head Prefect

You may be familiar with the quote ‘time flies’. I often heard people saying this, but back when I was in Year 7, I paid little attention to this quote. I never thought time would pass so quickly, and yet it has. I could not have been more glad to have spent seven years at this school. I still remember in Year 7 how nervous I was, coming into a new school with my shiny shoes and incredibly large backpack. It only took a few days of meeting new students and teachers, and I felt settled in as if I had been at this school for a long time. That is what makes this school so special to me. The community, the family of staff and students make the environment and allow for relationships to be built and developed.

The opportunities the school has provided me have been some of the highlights of my time here. Whether it was going on a ski trip, competing at an Oxford Schools Debating Competition, a cricket tour to Jersey, or so much more, all of it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible body of staff helping. They are the reason that Hallifordians are able to experience so many new opportunities, working tirelessly inside and outside the classroom.

As Head Prefect this year, I was given the platform to do such a wide variety of things, and for this, I will always remain incredibly grateful. Being able to deliver whole school assemblies, raise record-breaking amounts of money for charities, spearhead the school council committee, and much more have been but a few of the many highlights in my role. However, all my achievements this year were only possible thanks to the help of the Senior Management Team and the amazing team of prefects working alongside me to run and carry out the numerous ideas and activities.

The support I have had coming into Sixth Form has been incredibly helpful. I greatly appreciate having the chance to work with Mr Fulford on Oxbridge preparation, sit down with Mr Davies and Mr Carroll to work on my personal statement, or just have general support from my teachers in my journey of four A Levels. Thanks to their support, the university process felt like a breeze!

Looking to the future, I feel confident about whatever challenges lie ahead. Halliford has given me a platform and the skills necessary to excel in whatever I pursue, and I certainly look forward to it!

Will Shanley

Deputy Head Prefect

Before I begin, I would like to thank the Head Prefect, Jivraj Singh. You have been a great leader, role model and overall decent bloke. Thanks also to Mr Davies for giving me this opportunity to be Deputy Head Prefect. You have believed in me, guided me, and been kind when times have been hard and I needed support, as well as shared in and celebrated my successes. You have helped me develop immensely as an individual. So now I am at the end of my Halliford journey, let me tell you what it has been like.

I joined Halliford in Year 9 and didn’t know many people, so I was beyond nervous. On my first day and my first bus ride, I remember many mixed feelings as I came closer to school, a bit like Macbeth’s attitude towards murdering people - initial doubts, followed by cautious enthusiasm and then greater and greater alarm at the sheer scale of the task in hand! But, unlike tragic Macbeth, all my worries melted away when I arrived and sat in my new form room. On that very first day, I experienced the warmth and kindness of the Halliford community, of the lads who would grow to be close friends and who instantly welcomed me into the group. This sense of community at the heart of Halliford has always been its most striking quality for me. That’s the perk of it being smaller: you have to get to know people better. Whether it be teachers, staff, or students, you get to know everyone.

As a Deputy Head Prefect, I love the responsibility that comes with my job. When people think about Deputy Head Prefects and what it is they actually contribute, they might think (consciously or not) of what is called the ‘Four Step Protocol’, which goes as follows: Step 1, do nothing; Step 2, think about doing something, but still do nothing; Step 3, try doing something but let someone else do the work; and Step 4, oh well, we tried doing something

but now it’s too late (can you spot any uncanny parallels with political parties?). However, here at Halliford, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I have had the opportunity to be actively involved in making a difference at school, including organising events, speech days, parent evenings, open days, and generally being trusted to help. This has given me self-confidence and taught me leadership lessons, which will be invaluable for future careers and life in general.

At Halliford, I have tried to immerse myself in all aspects of school life. Co-curricular activities such as rugby, school plays, LAMDA, and art have played a fundamental and integral part in my journey, as well as many other activities like house band competitions, talent shows, and playing trombone. My goal when trying these things has been to attack everything with a mixture of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence (though to an observer it might be difficult to differentiate between the two!). All jokes aside, you wouldn’t believe, for a small school, just how much we excel in so many different areas. I believe teamwork is key to our success. On the rugby pitch I have had the honour of representing the school, training and playing alongside both older and younger teammates. Our team ethos, demonstrating grit, resilience, bravery and kindness to one another, has allowed us to achieve victories that have blindsided many opponents who completely underestimated our ambition. I will really miss match reports and shouting ‘Up the Ford’, though I still plan to support from the sidelines and hope I will be able to play as an Old Hallifordian.

As well as developing skills I knew I possessed, I discovered new things, including a passion for art that I never knew existed. Now I am going to pursue that passion at university which is very exciting. This wouldn’t have happened without the care and dedication of my teachers who gave their all to help me succeed. In Art, my amazing (and patient!) teacher Ms Hetherington gave me freedom to fly with my crazy imagination and ideas, and in particular the technician Ms Aung sacrificed her personal time even when she didn’t have to, in order to teach, mentor and inspire me to try and follow her footsteps in the film industry.

I can’t believe how amazing the past five years have been for me at Halliford. If you had told my 13-year-old self about the journey I was about to embark on, the personal risks I would take, and the rich rewards in personal growth, I would never have believed it. But here I am, with a huge debt of gratitude to the school that has supported me unwaveringly all the way. The result is perhaps an unusual combination - a rugby player, a sculptor and someone who just loves to perform. Halliford is the place that has nurtured and valued such diverse skills. So why Halliford? All I can say is that Halliford is a small school with a massive heart. A place where you can try something new, be happy to be yourself, have lots of fun and have the chance to push yourself to be the best person you can be. I can say I am proud to have had the opportunity to do these things and I am proud to say I am a Hallifordian.

Editorial

by Mrs Olivia Oakley Marketing & Communications Manager

This past year at Halliford has been filled with countless student accomplishments and milestones that truly embody the spirit of our school. We have witnessed incredible sports victories, superb musical performances, the Drama & Music Department’s outstanding production of Les Misérables, and our inaugural Talent Show, a testament to the diverse talents that thrive within our community.

Our students have ventured beyond the classroom, embarking on enriching international trips to Italy, Greece, America, France, Belgium and Argentina. These experiences have broadened their horizons and cultivated a global perspective while fostering camaraderie and unforgettable memories.

Furthermore, our school’s commitment to making a positive impact has shone through in our highly successful and enjoyable fundraising activities. From Harvest Festival to Movember and Charities Week, we have come together to support causes dear to our hearts and had great fun in the process.

We are honoured to share that, for the fourth consecutive year, Halliford has been shortlisted for the prestigious Independent School of the Year Awards, this time in the category of London Independent School of the Year. We are delighted to be recognised for our unwavering dedication to providing an exceptional educational experience for our students. We eagerly anticipate the announcement of the finalists in September. We were also delighted to receive the news that we were selected as a Finalist in the Education Choices Awards in the category of Developing Student Voice. At Halliford School, we place significant importance on nurturing an environment where our students’ voices are not only heard but actively contribute to shaping our school community.

On a personal note, it has been a privilege to witness my eldest son join the Halliford community. I am extremely grateful for the amazing and unwavering support he has received from every member of staff as he embarked on his journey in Year 7.

As Editor of The Hallifordian, it is my pleasure to share these incredible stories and reflect on the memories we have created as a community throughout the year. None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of our exceptional teaching and support staff, ably led by Mr Davies and the Senior Management Team.

Please enjoy this edition of The Hallifordian

Welcome to New Staff

Mr Jonathan Bignall takes up the role of Head of Business and Economics. Mr Bignall has been a head of department for the past 13 years, and for the last six, he was the Head of Economics at The Tiffin Girls’ School. He has two young boys who like to take up most of his spare time and when he gets the opportunity, he plays football and golf and also just completed the Brighton marathon this year.

Mr Richard Cook joins us as Director of Sport. With a background in sports leadership and education, he has experience working in independent education as Head of PE at Cokethorpe School and, more recently, Assistant Director of Sport at Pangbourne College. Mr Cook has coached cricket, football and rugby at high levels, and he is passionate about helping students thrive both in the classroom and on the sports pitch. His hobbies include playing sport (mostly cricket & golf), exploring the outdoors and taking his dog (Kobe) on long walks, whatever the weather.

Mr Moumin Qureshi joins us as Teacher of Design and Technology. Mr Qureshi graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Product Design & Technology and worked briefly in the interior design and architecture industries. In 2018, he began his teaching career at The Winston Churchill School in Woking, where he gained six years of experience teaching Design Technology, which expanded to Engineering, Business Studies, Mathematics and Art. Outside of work, he enjoys travelling, trekking, playing football and designing.

Mr Dev Patel joins us as Teacher of Art. With six years of experience in the fashion industry and fine art world, he arrives at Halliford School with a post-graduate degree in Teaching from Goldsmith’s University. Mr Patel has a particular interest in embroidery to enhance dexterity and mindfulness, and to build community. His free time exists between visiting galleries, going to the gym, and spending time in his garden.

Miss Sophie Jenkins joins us as Teacher of English. Originally from Australia, Miss Jenkins has a Masters in Secondary Education, majoring in English and Drama and has been teaching for six years. She moved to the UK from Australia to be with her partner (an Old Hallifordian) and to live out a lifelong dream of living in the UK. Her goal is to make English lessons something our students look forward to in their timetable. The students may not always get it right the first time, but as William Blake states, ‘The true method of knowledge is experiment’.

We welcome Mrs Georgia Gillies as Teacher of English. Having taught all over the world and in the British system since 2005, Mrs Gillies loves teaching English and Drama and took a group to perform at the Edinburgh Festival this summer, where they did very well. She loves running, reading, murder mysteries and walking a dog. Any dog will do, but she only has a very unfriendly cat!

Mrs Chloe Moore joins Halliford as Head of Futures and Exceptional Performers and Teacher of Physics and Chemistry. Mrs Moore joins us from Surbiton High School where she was Director of Houses, Charity and Social Enterprise, having previously worked at St George’s College and Teddington School. Prior to teaching, she was a research scientist for Cancer Research investigating Lipid Mass Spectroscopy into colorectal cancer cell lines. Her hobbies include running, leading a Beavers group and speaking sign language, and she has been a national and international rower in the past representing England, and GB as a junior.

Miss Hannah Jones joins the Science Department as Teacher of Chemistry. Miss Jones came from Ruislip High School in Hillingdon and has been a teacher for four years teaching Combined Science, separate Chemistry and A Level Chemistry. She went to university at Liverpool John Moores University, studying Biochemistry for three years, then her PGCE for one year. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to the theatre and trying new restaurants and cafes.

Mrs Sabrina Hinde-Brown joins us on maternity cover from King Edward’s School as Teacher of MFL, where she taught German, Spanish and French for 16 years across the ability range. Mrs Hinde-Brown was also subject coordinator for German. Sabrina is particularly enthusiastic about Germany and has spent much time working and travelling there. In her spare time, Sabrina participates in organised running events and goes on ‘Swim Trek’ adventures.

We welcome Mrs Ellie Morris as an additional Learning Support Assistant. Her career in education started in Abu Dhabi, back in 2010. Since then, Mrs Morris has worked in a mixture of primary and secondary settings within the Middle East and the UK, with her favourite qualification being Forest School as she has the most uplifting experiences while teaching it. Her personal passions include reading and cooking, and as a local resident with a young family, she is fully involved in the community.

New Responsibilities

Mr Vince Harden-Chaters has been appointed Head of Science, alongside his role as Head of Physics

Miss Helen Foster has been appointed Head of Chemistry

Dr Simon Brooks has been appointed Head of Biology

Mr Harry Churchill has been promoted as the new Head of Desborough House

Mr Matthew Fieldhouse takes over as Head of Year 7.

Staff Farewells

2008 saw Miss Donna Weyman join Halliford School as a Chemist, rising to become Head of Science in 2014. Ms Weyman has led her department magnificently, and it has been a real privilege for her to welcome back one of our former students Mr Ollie Hackland-Crowther, to train under her as a newly qualified Chemistry teacher this year and to see him go off to his first teaching position at LVS. Ms Weyman has not only transformed the day-to-day teaching of Science in the school but her transformation of her department at Open Days is a sight to behold, with everything from murder on the lab floor to detailed dissection and potions of Hogwarts on offer to our visitors. We wish her well in her new role at Canbury School.

We bid farewell to Mr James Greggor, who has been our Director of Sport since 2018. The sporting success we enjoy as a school is down to the superb leadership talents that James possesses, and it therefore came as no surprise to see that Gordon’s School were quick to snap him up as he gained promotion into senior leadership as their new Assistant Head last term.

We said goodbye to Mrs Leila Brown, who joined in 2018 and since 2021 has been Head of Economics and Business Studies, as she takes the decision to retire. The impact she has had on results has been nothing short of remarkable. Her infectious laughter and ability to take even the most reluctant of students to levels of achievement they could never dream of will be her legacy, as will her huge success with her Young Enterprise teams. We are delighted that she will come back as a public examinations invigilator next year.

The final member of the class of 2018 to be moving on this year is Mr Joe McElroy. Mr McElroy graciously described coming to join Halliford as career-defining. Mr McElroy has set high standards for his students from the start and has gone on to lead new members to the profession. We know that Mr Hoare has put much of his success in transitioning from the stage to the classroom down to Mr McElroy’s mentorship. Mr McElroy took on the challenge of introducing the accelerated reader programme as we moved the department to the Woodward Building, and he has led our most able students magnificently as our PHA Co-ordinator. We wish him and his family every success as they move out of the suburbs to the beautiful surroundings of Wellington College.

During lockdown, the English department welcomed Mr Ciaran Lee. Mr Lee has been a quiet and dedicated member of the staff and modelled academic curiosity to our students and encouraged them to express themselves in the now well-established art of debate. Despite leading the students to victory on many occasions, he is yet to win the staff debate. We wish him well as he heads into London to teach in the much larger surroundings of Latymer Upper School.

Having served a remarkable 19 years initially as a Lab Technician and since 2009 as our adaptable Design Technology Technician, Mr Bob Weidermann has decided it is time to hang up his saw and retire. Bob loves all things engineering, and we will remember finding him hard at work with a group of students building miniature steam engines in the model engineering club. Bob is an immensely kind and warm-hearted member of the team who would do anything for anyone, and his physical legacy will live on in many areas of school life, including his bag racks in the courtyard that are so well made they will more than likely outlive us all. We send you our best wishes for an incredibly well-deserved retirement and time out on your motorbike and with your dogs.

Mrs Helen Head joined Halliford in 2009 and during this time she has brought her creative talents to share with generations of Hallifordians in our Music Department. Helen has inspired generations of young people to pursue a love of music, and we will be forever grateful to her for organising many successful trips to see live music in London, including two truly memorable occasions where members of the Chamber Choir performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Helen has also organised and presented more lunchtime

concerts than we can ever remember, but it is these initial opportunities to perform in the safer surroundings of the Recital Hall that have given so many of our students the chance to go on to perform in much larger events. We are delighted to say that Helen will not be leaving us completely, as she will continue to share her talents as a member of our superb team of peripatetic musicians.

Miss Lauren Ferreira has been with us for a relatively short period of time, but such is the level of her contribution to life at Halliford School that it seems she has been here for considerably longer. She has transformed the teaching of Religious Studies or as she hopes we will restyle it one day – Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. Her results are remarkable, but they are also testament to the warmth of relations she builds with her students and the dedication to her craft. She has made her classroom a place of inclusion and a space where students can think beyond the day-to-day and her beautiful ‘philosotree’ will hopefully continue to flourish after she leaves us to join Wellington College.

Finally, we bid farewell to Mr Ben Hyde who joined us this year to teach Science whilst we gave space to Dr Brooks for his recovery from Long Covid. Mr Hyde has worked hard for our students and seemingly has a quote for every occasion, often related to his love of the gym. We wish Mr Hyde well as he moves to The Royal School in Haslemere.

Staff News

Congratulations to Mr David Morriss and his wife, Laura, on the birth of their son, Otis.

Congratulations to Mr Richard Fulford and his wife, Gemma, on the birth of their son, Cameron James.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Connor Ritchie, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford School because I loved the friendly and supportive learning environment I could see when I first looked around the school. My mentor in Year 8 was really kind and caring and he helped me settle into Halliford so much. I was a mix of nervous and excited but mostly excited! Also, Mr Watson (my form tutor) really helped me settle into life at Halliford. I enjoy Maths the most because I feel I am at a level where it’s not too difficult but at a level where I’m challenged enough so I can learn from my mistakes and improve. Also, at my old school I had a bigger class so I felt I didn’t get the help I needed when I needed it but at Halliford because the classes are a lot smaller I feel I get the attention I need to help me if I am stuck and confused on something. I enjoy Year 7 Rock Band the most because I love playing music with my friends and I feel like anything is possible with the caring support of my teachers and my friends. I also enjoy the after-school clubs and the rugby and football training. My favourite memory is competing in the Halliford Battle of the Bands in which we won Best Song and Best Dressed! I felt so proud to be able to stand up on stage and step out of my comfort zone and perform in front of parents, my friends and my teachers. I am really pleased I came to Halliford as I have met some really nice friends and teachers who I would have never met if I hadn’t come to Halliford. Also, I have really been able to become the person I want to be. UP THE FORD!!!!!!

Speech Day 2024

Prize Winners

Achievement Prize

7D Archie Smith

7G Monty Pailthorpe

7R.................................... Harry Farrow

7W ...................................... Sam Elliott

8D

Dylan Hayes Garcia

8G Arjan Thandi

8R

Elliott Hague

8W Charlie Hoyne

9D George Clark

9G .................................. Samuel Renno

9R Hayden Sanghera

9W Joshua Oldham

10D

Rohan Needs

10G Ryan Mills

10R Ethan Smith

10W ................................. Lucas Bullen

11D ................................... Rui Amoroso

11G Louis Clark

11R Dion Henderson

11W Jakob Holder

––

7D

7G

Progress Prize

Ralph Balmond

Charlie Rodger

7R................................... Krrish Patel

7W ............................... Charlie Freer

8D AJ Scott

8G Barney Edwards

8R Sam Devereux

8W Oliver Vamvadelis

9D Xander Gavey

9G ................................... Theo Fuller

9R Henry Breslin

9W Matthew Cummings

10D Sam Eaton

10G Zac Jacques

10R James Dow

10W ................................... Ewan Hill

11D .......................... Freddie Golding

11G Leo Hobbs

11R Oliver Taylor

11W Henry Crowther

Year 11 Prize Winners

–

Art ................................................................................................... Aaric Thomas

Biology......................................................................................... Max Burchmore

Business Studies ................................................................................... Oscar Luiz

Chemistry .................................................................................. Alexander White

Classical Civilisation Humphrey Pedlar

Computer Science ........................................................................ William Marten

Ken Russell Prize for Design Technology ......................................... Miles Cobley

Drama .................................................................................................. Joe Arbiter

English .................................................................................................... Toby Hill

French Hector Rutter

Geography ................................................................................... Alex Ampleford

German .............................................................................................. Harry Baker

Valerie Brooking History Prize ................................................... Theo Maroussas

Norma Cook Prize for Latin .............................................................. Oliver Taylor

Mathematics ....................................................................................... Louis Clark

Sally Crosby Prize for the Most Improved Mathematician ............ Charles French

Music ......................................................................................... Laurence Hodson

Physical Education ........................................................................... Oliver White

Physics ........................................................................................... Josh Hawksley

Religious Studies ............................................................................ Charlie Walsh

Guy Valadon Prize for Science .......................................................... Bill Ferguson

Spanish ............................................................................................... Jack Farrow –

– Upper Sixth Prize Winners –

Jonathan Hobbs Memorial Prize for Art Will Shanley

Biology............................................................................................... Harry Neale

Business Studies ........................................................................ Matthew Jackson

Chemistry ...................................................................................... Theo Marshall

Classical Civilisation ...................................................................... Calam Sharma

Computer Science ............................................................................ Nathan Linde

Design Technology ................................................................. William O’Loughlin

Drama George O’Loughlin

Economics Connor Foote

Oliver Griffin Prize for Politics ..................................................... Reece Pittaluga

Neil Jones Memorial Prize for English Literature ................................Oscar Wort

Wendy Simmons Prize for French................................................... Tommy Moody

Geography ............................................................................................ Josh Guild

John Lewis Prize for History ................................................... Cosmo Chippindale

Mathematics ............................................................................. Calvin Harrington

Bahadur Sunderji Prize for Further Mathematics Harry Neale

Music Technology ...............................................................................Oscar Wort

Physical Education ........................................................................ Harry Tuckman

Physics ...................................................................................... Calvin Harrington

Psychology ............................................................................ Daniel Hurlock-Bow

Religious Studies .......................................................................... Tommy Ballard

Spanish .......................................................................................... Matteo Biscoe

School Prizes

Blakeney Shield for Best Sporting Newcomer ...................................................Ahi Lloyd

Hardy Shield for Junior Rugby ....................................................................Ethan Johnson

Etherton Shield for Outstanding Sportsman ......................................... Harley Reynolds

Football Captains Cup .............................................................................. Harry Tuckman

Nauticalia Bat for Cricket ................................................................................ Jivraj Singh

Nicks Plate for Sportsmanship Freddie Scott

Owen Cup for Rugby .......................................................................................Zach Smith

Richard Talbot Tankards .................................................. Felix Porter & Theo Maroussas

Junior Drama Award ............................................................................. Alessandro Faccio

Senior Drama Award .......................................................................... George O’Loughlin

Phil Abbott Award for Outstanding Contribution to Technical Theatre .... Cosmo Sumner

Junior Music Award ...................................................................................... Raphie Scott

Senior Music Award Josh Guild

Alexis Hitchens Prize for Creative Writing ........................................................Ryan Choi

Shepperton Aurora Rotary Community Service Shield ........................ Matthew Sanders

Trophy for Service to the School .................................................................. Mannat Virk

John Crook Prize for Improvement ......................................................... William Mardon

Headmaster’s Prize ......................................................................................... Jivraj Singh

Upper Sixth Leavers - University Places

University Course

University of the Arts London

Technical Arts for Theatre and Performance

University of Bath Mathematics

Birmingham City University

Bournemouth University

University of Brighton

Cardiff University

Art and Design

Law, Psychology, Sport Management

Business Management with Economics

Business Management, Business Economics, History

University of Leicester Psychology

Loughborough University

Manchester Metropolitan University

Newcastle University

Nottingham Trent University

Oxford Brookes University

University of Plymouth

University of Reading

University of Roehampton

Royal Holloway, University of London

University of Southampton

St Mary’s University, Twickenham

Swansea University

University of Warwick

Physics with Theoretical Physics, Sport Management

International Business Management, Philosophy

Marketing

History, Product Design, Property Development and Planning, Property Finance and Investment

Automotive Engineering with Electric Vehicles

Maritime Business

Building Surveying, Modern Languages and Business

Film Production

Computer Science with Integrated Foundation Year

Aeronautics & Astronautics / Spacecraft Engineering

Psychology

Sport & Exercise Science

Classical Civilisation, Mathematics and Physics

European Day of Languages

by Mr Mike Gruner, Head of MFL

The European Day of Languages (EDL) was first celebrated in 2001 during the European Year of Languages. Since then, it has been an annual event celebrated every year on 26 September. Every year, millions of people organise or take part in activities to promote linguistic diversity and the ability to speak other languages.

The general aim is to draw attention to Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity, which has to be encouraged and maintained, but also to extend the range of languages that people learn throughout their lives in order to develop their linguistic skills and reinforce intercultural understanding.

The MFL Department at Halliford raises awareness of the importance of language acquisition every year. In an assembly, Mr Gruner explained how language shapes our identity and influences our worldview. The department organised a variety of activities throughout the day. The Year 7 students completed a treasure hunt navigating the school grounds with the help of QR codes. A Spelling Bee competition was organised for Year 8 which tested their vocabulary and spelling proficiency adding a competitive dimension. All students took part in a language quiz during form time.

The European Day of Languages is an opportunity to celebrate all of Europe’s languages. It serves as a reminder of the beauty and significance of every language, including those that are less widely spoken. Keep learning foreign languages!

Trip to Hampton Court Palace

by Mrs Fenella Wilbraham, Teacher of History & Politics

Our annual Year 8 trip to Hampton Court Palace got off to a good start as wind and rain turned to brilliant sunshine by the time we reached the Palace in the middle of the morning.

After checking in at the Clore Education Centre and posing for a whole-year group shot in front of the stunning Tudor façade of the Palace, we divided into two groups. Desborough and Greville were first up to attend the Religious Rollercoaster workshop whilst Russell and Wadham completed the ghostly apparitions trail and explored the Tudor part of the Palace before swapping over with much waving in the Great Hall when the two groups briefly overlapped.

After a well-earned lunch break, the students continued their exploration of the Tudor kitchens and the Georgian part of the Palace before being unleashed on the gardens and the maze.

Year 8 proved to be worthy participants in the now traditional Halliford Maze Race. Mr Perks gamely joined in the laps, completing it in under two minutes despite being blocked at every turn by clusters of boys. However, he was not even close to the top time of 1 minute 19 seconds. The gauntlet has been thrown down for next year’s boys to try to beat this phenomenal time…

You can read extracts from the students’ reports on their day at Hampton Court below.

Leon Bleach, 8W

On our trip to Hampton Court, we visited the kitchens, the chapel (where I was surprised to learn that Masses still go on in there), and the Great Hall. After the quick tour of the Palace, we took part in a Religious Rollercoaster workshop. There, I learned precisely which monarchs and wives of Henry VIII were Protestant or Catholic. I also learned that the Palace was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey. Henry VIII then took it over for his wife Ann Boleyn.

Josh Cain, 8G

We arrived at Hampton Court in the rain on Friday morning after a short walk from the coach park. The workshop discussed the different kings and queens changing between Protestant and Catholic. Once we had finished the workshop, we went around the place and completed a worksheet. We went through all the elaborate rooms and halls with massive tapestries that were the second most precious royal treasure after the Crown Jewels. There were lots of paintings of almost all the monarchs. We then had lunch and finished the tour by looking in the kitchen and the bedrooms and making a quick trip to the gift shop.

Sam Dence, 8W

On our trip to Hampton Court Palace, we first went into the courtyards and learned about all the ghost sightings at the Palace over the years. Then we went to Henry VIII’s apartments and down into the gardens. After lunch, we had a Religious Rollercoaster workshop where we learnt about the different religions of all the Tudor monarchs, followed by a trip to the kitchens. Finally, we went to the maze before returning to school on the coach. In the religious workshop, we learned about England changing religion from Catholic to Protestant and back to Catholic before becoming Protestant again. This links back to what we have been learning about Henry’s break with Rome in our History lessons this term. The best bit would definitely be the maze.

Sam Devereux, 8R

On Friday, we went to Hampton Court as part of our Tudor topic in History. We went on a ghost adventure and learned about all the ghost sightings at the Palace. Our workshop taught us which Tudor Monarch followed which type of Christianity and how it affected everybody’s lives. What I know about the Tudor period is that there were a lot of changes to the country’s religion and way of life. It was a difficult time to stay true to your branch of Christianity. My favourite part of this trip was the maze since it was a lot of fun trying to figure out which of us could complete it the fastest. It was a great day since I got to spend time with my friends and learn about one of my favourite pieces of history. I also really enjoyed the ghost adventure

because it was interesting to discover what experiences occurred over the years at Hampton Court Palace.

Barney Edwards, 8G

At Hampton Court, we learned how England’s monarchs changed the religion of the country many, many times over only 50 years during the Tudor period. This was always between the monarch being a Catholic or a Protestant. Some examples are: Henry VIII was Catholic until he wanted a divorce because then he was in the middle, Edward VI was a Protestant, Mary I tried to make the country Catholic again and Elizabeth I was Protestant. This relates to our learning about Henry’s break with Rome and Edward’s and Mary’s religious changes because Hampton Court Palace was where the Tudors stayed for a long time and told us a lot about the Tudor monarchs’ views on religion.

Ed Goy, 8D

At Hampton Court Palace, we did many things, like visit the palace kitchens and see the great hall with tapestries worth millions of pounds! Also, we went to the Hampton Court maze, which was very fun and confusing, and we did a Religious Rollercoaster workshop with a lady who looked like an actual Tudor! The workshop showed that when the Tudor monarchs changed their religion, which forced the entire country to change, it caused some rebellions. For example, when Edward changed the country to Protestant, the Catholics rebelled.

Trip to the MINI Plant in Oxford

by Mr Tony Lyons, Head of Computer Science

As valuable as an environment like a Halliford is for education, it is always useful to step outside to see where academic theory meets practice. With that in mind, the Year 11 Computer Science students set off to visit the BMW MINI manufacturing plant in Oxford in October. Imagining a more fitting place to see Computer Science in action is difficult. There is a lot to see with over 1,200 robots on view and sophisticated CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) that allows petrol-driven cars to be manufactured on the same production line as the electric variant.

The MINI factory, having received a recent injection of £600 million, is considered one of the foremost manufacturing plants in Europe, with welding robots no longer throwing out showers of sparks but benefitting from precise temperature control and being able to complete their own maintenance schedules. Autonomous vehicles follow lines on the ground to get to their appointed station with safety interlocks, ensuring that priority is always given to any human that might get in their way. We did see a few humans working in the factory, but not many. Here some of our students recall their highlights:

Charles French, 11R

In Year 11, Computer Science students enjoyed a MINI car factory experience, and when I say MINI, I am referring to the car company rather than the length of the tour, as that was quite extensive. Most, when recalling the trip, will include

comments about the bus and lunch. However, I would like to focus primarily on the tour itself. Firstly, stepping off the bus, we entered a small museum focused on the evolution of the car model and its history. Although the museum is small, unlike the tour itself, the information that can be found is also very extensive, adding to the experience and acting as a brief introduction to the brand of MINI.

After a quick look around, our class was split up into two groups. The groups, one at a time, were loaded onto coaches to transport them to the main factory, one group leaving a few minutes before the next, allowing for a smooth touring experience. Once we entered the factory, the subtle sound of machines moving and the sight of mechanical arms manoeuvring was in every direction, and for a Computer Science student, it was a sight to be seen. Within the first five minutes, I had bombarded

Mr Lyons with questions about how the robots move and the code behind them. I can honestly say it was one of the most interesting school trips of my life, experiencing computer science, engineering, and manufacturing first-hand.

While in the factory, the thing that interested me most was that with almost no human labourers working within the factory, productivity would be at a stable rate, unlike with human workers, where we can commonly express productivity as a diminishing factor of production. Additionally, it amazed me that the machinery never breaks down or stops working, negating the need for contingency machinery. Thank you to the school, Mr Lyons, and Mr Slocock for providing us with this experience.

Rafferty Dinnen, 11R

In October, we went on a day trip to the MINI Factory in Oxford. Despite the long coach journey, we were not disappointed when we arrived as we instantly went into a display of MINIs throughout the years and the evolution of this car. Next, we were introduced to our tour guide, put on our safety glasses, hi-vis vests, and earpieces, and headed to the factory, where we were introduced to a huge production line of robots working effortlessly to manufacture certain parts of the car.

Ryan Choi, 11W

My recent visit to this iconic factory was nothing short of aweinspiring, leaving me with a profound appreciation for the art of automobile craftsmanship and the sheer innovation that goes

into every MINI vehicle. From the moment I stepped onto the factory premises, I was greeted with a palpable sense of history. The Oxford plant has been a hub of automotive production since 1913, and it was amazing to witness how it has evolved over the years.

Jake Goodman, 11D

A competent and interesting guide gave the tour, sharing a plethora of information about the history of MINI, the production process, and the cutting-edge technology employed. The tour guide’s obvious love for MINI made the tour more compelling. When the door opened to the factory, our faces lit up with amazement. The factory was enormous! It was truly an incredible experience first entering the factory. We started walking down the factory, looking at how the robots are programmed and what they do. The experience of seeing how the cars are made was incredible.

Dayan Nana, 11G

One of the tour’s highlights was observing the body assembly phase. The aluminium structures of MINI cars are a marvel of engineering, designed for both strength and weight reduction. Watching skilled technicians manipulate aluminium sheets into the unmistakable MINI shape was a remarkable sight. I was really impressed with the factory’s organisation and cuttingedge technology.

Ahi Lloyd, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford School because it is a strong sports school, and everyone on the open day was so nice and welcoming. On the first day, I was excited to be in the school, and all the teachers and older students helped me find my way around the school. We had barely any homework in the first half term, which was very nice. It was easy to make friends in my form room and with the other students in Year 7. The biggest difference between this school and my old school is that Halliford is more interactive with the students, and we have amazing lunches. At lunchtime, we have school clubs like basketball, futsal and badminton where you get to have a lot of fun and at the same time play a competitive game. The lessons I like the most are PE, Spanish, Maths and Drama. I am lucky to be on the A teams for rugby, football and cricket. I enjoy sports here because you get really involved in it.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

French Exchange Trip

by Mr Mike Gruner, Head of MFL

While many British schools have phased out school exchanges, the MFL Department at Halliford offers three exchange programs for all the languages taught at our institution.

In October, marking the first post-pandemic exchange with a new partner school, 12 students from Years 9 and 10 visited the Collège St. Louis in Viry-Chatillon, located on the outskirts of Paris. Accompanied by Mme Lamy, we took our students on a journey of cultural discovery and new experiences.

Paris, renowned for its monumental beauty and rich architectural heritage, was an exciting destination for our students. The journey was seamless; we boarded the Eurostar and in just 2 hours and 35 minutes, we arrived in the French capital. Though the Parisian Metro proved less reliable than the Eurostar, we eventually reached Viry, where we were welcomed by our host families and exchange partners at the station.

Every day, our students immersed themselves in the exciting streets of Paris. The adventure began with a boat ride on the River Seine, offering a spectacular introduction to the city. As we travelled past iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and under numerous bridges, we were amazed to witness speedboats escorting the French National Rugby team to the Town Hall. It seemed too incredible to be true until confirmed by the evening news. This was a special time to be in France, as the country was hosting the Rugby World Cup, and many students enjoyed watching the England and France matches with their host families in the evenings.

The following day brought a new experience to most students: a 360° immersive journey through France and its capital, viewed through state-of-the-art VR headsets with special effects and 3D animations. Throughout the week, we also explored the majestic Musée du Louvre, home to masterpieces by Van Gogh and Monet.We discovered Paris on foot, by boat, in virtual reality, individually, and with expert tour guides.

The Parisian café culture captivated our students, who also loved shopping in the fashion capital of the world. A particular highlight was discovering a small shop selling vintage football shirts, a unique find that excited many of our young travellers. On the final day, we joined our exchange partners at school, attending lessons and gaining insight into the French education system. The afternoon was dedicated to an exhilarating High Rope Course, culminating in a breathtaking 400-meter zip line over a lake.

As our intense, fun-packed week drew to a close, we were sad to leave behind the host families who had so warmly welcomed and cared for our students. Their hospitality and kindness were key in making this exchange a unique experience. We are very grateful and look forward to future exchanges. Merci Paris et à bientôt!

Inter-House Pumpkin Carving Competition

by Ms Tamarind Hetherington, Head of Art

To promote both creativity and environmental awareness, the Halliford Art Department launched the InterHouse Pumpkin Carving Competition in October with a sustainability focus. Students were challenged to design and create imaginative pumpkin carvings while adhering to eco-friendly practices, and were encouraged to carve, cook and grow for a greener tomorrow.

Students minimised waste by utilising the entire pumpkin, including the seeds and flesh. We shared a link to an array of pumpkin recipes so those tasty pumpkin insides could be turned into delicious dishes the whole family would love. Students were encouraged to save the seeds and dry them out to grow their very own pumpkin patch for next year’s competition.

The submissions showcased a wide range of thought-provoking and imaginative concepts, and the competition culminated in a spectacular display of the students’ artwork in the courtyard, which was admired by the entire school community. The event served as a fun and engaging way to raise awareness about the importance of sustainability and inspire students to consider their impact on the environment. With prizes awaiting the most creative and sustainable entry, who was crowned the pumpking?

The winners of the Inter-House Pumpkin Carving Contest were…

1st – Jenson Waite in 10D for his Haunted Halloween House pumpkin

2nd – Corey Pyke in 10G for his Hilarious Hair pumpkin

3rd – William Oakley in 7D for his Halliford Crest pumpkin

Sustainability Prize – Henry Jones in 11W for his delicious seeded pumpkin cupcakes

Congratulations to our students, and well done to Desborough House.

Music Tour to Sorrento

by James Grant, 10R

The Music tour to Sorrento in October 2023 was very enjoyable for all involved. Despite the early departure of 4:30am and some questionable tour guides, the opportunity to perform in beautiful cathedrals along the Amalfi Coast was worth it for everyone.

MONDAY

We arrived in Naples in the morning and met with our tour guide, Ernesto. While his ability to guide a tour was somewhat questionable, he certainly entertained us over the two days he served as our guide. After driving from the airport to the centre of Naples, we immediately made a beeline for lunch, which turned out to be pizza in the ‘Ristorante Pizzeria Capasso’, situated just outside a magnificently painted stone archway. After enjoying some delicious pizza, we moved on to the Naples Archaeological Museum, where Ernesto explained important and interesting facts about the artefacts inside, for example ‘these ancient musical instruments were used for music’, a fragment of wisdom which surprised many of us. Following this, we departed and drove to our hotel, the Eden Blue, which was situated in Vico Equense. This was very comfortable and met all our needs. Our evening meal was enjoyed at a local restaurant, and all agreed it was exceptional.

TUESDAY

The following day saw an early breakfast at the hotel, before driving to Herculaneum. While the place was very interesting, our guided tour by Ernesto was not. He seemed to have a knack

for rambling about all the uninteresting bits and walking past all the more intriguing sections of the site without batting an eyelid. We then returned to the hotel after another wonderful lunch and changed into concert dress before departing for the ‘Chiesa Arciconfraternita del Rosario’ in Sorrento, where we were to perform that evening. After some rehearsals and free time in the town, during which some questionable purchases were made, performances commenced, with particularly notable ones from Dr Yacoot on the clarinet, Louis Clark on the trumpet, and the chamber choir, as well as a string duet between Raphie Scott and Monty Savarino.

WEDNESDAY

After another wonderful hotel breakfast, we left for the famous archaeological site of Pompeii. We had been informed that we would have a new tour guide for the day, so hopes were high that they might be more interesting. Martina turned out to be an improvement but still could have been better. Pompeii was deemed by most to be fascinating, with particularly interesting sections including the Amphitheatre and the Roman Baths. We then travelled to Sorrento cathedral to sing Evening Mass

before performing in a brief concert. Mass went smoothly for the most part, although if Martina hadn’t abandoned us during the rehearsal, some confusion may have been avoided. The following concert was a big success, with notable performers including Hector Rutter on the flute, Tom Lever on the guitar, and even Mr Wright himself.

THURSDAY

We departed at 9am for Ravello to perform our last concert in the town’s cathedral. After traversing some very precipitous mountain roads in our coach, we eventually arrived, and this time, a decent tour guide accompanied us. The concert commenced at midday, with many exceptional performances, including from Monty Savarino on the violin and Mr Davies on the organ. Once the performances had concluded, we left the cathedral and ate lunch before many enjoyed a gelato paid for by the Headmaster. We then drove to Vico Equense to finish the day with a pizzamaking workshop at the famous ‘University of Pizza Making’, home of the metre-long pizza. After making and eating our own pizzas, we were treated to magnificent, much nicer ones made by the establishment’s professionals. We then enjoyed a selection of different puddings, including a very tasty lemon cake. Following this, we returned to the hotel for a quiz and for an awards ceremony.

FRIDAY

On the last day, we checked out of the hotel for the final time before departing for Mount Vesuvius. Many found this a tiring climb, and some grumbled about it not being worth the effort. However, upon reaching the summit, it became extremely clear that such ideas were obviously nonsense, as we were greeted with a sight that filled many weary hearts with joy. A gift shop selling rubbish for exorbitant prices! There was also a fabulous view across the Bay of Naples and Naples itself, as well as an even better view of the volcanic crater. After ogling at the view for a while, we walked back down to the coach park, and after encountering some market stalls selling rubbish for extortionate

prices, we left and, after a brief stop at the archaeological site of Oplontis, reached the airport. The home flight went smoothly, rounding off a very successful trip. We would like to thank Mr Wright, Mr Davies and Dr Yacoot for putting up with us over the week, and especially to Mr Wright for organising such a wonderful experience!

Chamber Choir Singing for their Supper

By Arthur Hetherington-Johns, 9D

In Italia, ready for adventure, the teachers, the choir, all of us. No floods, no fires to be seen here from view perfect Vesuvius.

No stormy seas, no burned land and barren trees but glorious green grass, fragrant flowers and pristine, blue seas.

Happy houses, bustling businesses nestled below.

This is the earth, the land the people here know.

Protected sea life, bountiful birds, healthy mammals defeating the climate change echoing on all our news channels.

Volatile Vesuvius hosted a natural disaster way back in 79AD burying a city, Herculaneum, now restored for us all to see.

Young eyes looking at broken buildings where many lives were lost seeing that beauty often comes with a crushing cost.

Italy, a land of plenty, heaps of dough.

Pizzas kneaded lovingly, ready to go. No shortage of food, no hunger, no strife.

Workers, families, visiting choirs all living a healthy life.

Sorrento Cathedral stands proud, filled with excitement, noise and buzz.

Thirsty for music, it’s calling to us to raise the rafters, raise the steeple delight, astound and amaze its people.

Songs well practiced, voices pitch perfect, a pleasure to hear. A brilliant performance and visit sprinkled with memories to hold dear. Arrivederci Sorrento, you were a beautiful sight.

Molte Grazie, Mr Davies and Mr Wright.

Movember

by Mr Harry Churchill, Movember Coordinator

This year, as autumn turned to winter, November turned to Movember again. Following the campaign’s success last year, there was excitement around the school to see what strange and wacky challenges would emerge this year, all in aid of this fantastic cause.

Our in-school challenges proved so popular last year that it felt only right to bring them back again! Week one saw the return of fan favourite ‘Whack a MO’. This provided students with the opportunity to take out any pent-up frustrations by whacking teachers on the head as we raised awareness of men’s mental health. ‘MO Darts’ returned for week two, with the Halliford courtyard once again rivalling Alexandra Palace for the crown of the UK’s home of darts.

Our big charity day was held on the last Friday of ‘Movember’ this year. This saw students rocking their finest ‘MOfti’, with some sporting truly excellent moustaches. This year’s ‘MOnut’ sale was one of the biggest yet, with Freddie Scott and the Prefect team selling at a level rivalling even the finest applicants to BBC One’s The Apprentice and completely selling out of their wares before the bell rang to mark the end of morning break. Then, it was the dawn of a new game, ‘AlaMO,’ which involved students testing their marksmanship skills and firing Nerf bullets at teachers with varying levels of success. All told, our events in school across the month managed to raise £1,766 for Movember this year, surpassing our previous total.

Alongside all these fantastic events, we were incredibly fortunate to have the support of an anonymous donor this year, who offered the students a tantalising incentive. For every point the school scored throughout the second half of term, £5 would be donated to Movember, and thus, the ‘Trying for Movember’ initiative came to life. The students took to the idea brilliantly and, throughout the term, have been frantically accumulating points, with every try eliciting the same response: ‘Does that count towards the total?’

As the dust settled on another incredibly busy rugby term, we were thrilled that the students scored a whopping 1,051 points this half term, nearly double that of the last half term! This resulted in a donation of £5,255. An absolutely incredible amount for such an amazing cause. None of this would have been possible, however, without the support of our anonymous donor, so from all at the school, our massive thanks to you.

Those keen mathematicians will have totalled up and currently be at a figure of £7,021, but wait, there’s more! Away from school, our students have been working hard, completing chores,

getting involved in charity events and supporting Movember in a whole host of ways! These amazing efforts have added another £2,000 to the total in online donations, bringing this year’s final figure to an astounding £9,021!

This means that of the current 32,193 schools registered in the UK, Halliford School has raised the third most funds of any school in the country this year, a truly phenomenal achievement. This money will help change the lives of people facing diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer, as well as help to change the face of men’s mental health across the UK.

A massive thank you to everybody who has played a part in Movember this year. You are all honorary MoBros and MoSistas, and I cannot wait to see what we can achieve next year!

Milan Sangha, 7G

My Halliford Story has been amazing! I started it when I had my interview with Mr Davies in January, and I did really well. I passed the entrance exam and decided to come to Halliford because of how good it looked. My highlights so far are winning the Middlesex rugby, being chosen for the A teams and receiving my first ever Bene of the year. I am really pleased I came to Halliford because of how many friends I have made and also how good the school is academically. I have a lot of fun, but I learn a lot, and I really enjoy the sport here because it is wonderful. I am also really pleased with my progress in subjects such as Science, Maths and Latin.

Remembrance Assembly

by Mrs Fenella Wilbraham, Teacher

of History & Politics

For my Remembrance Assembly this year, I talked to the school about my grandfather, Major Richmond Edwards, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Second World War.

The Royal Army Medical Corps essentially exists to maintain the health of the men and women of the British army. Their numbers include doctors, nurses, stretcher-bearers, ambulance drivers and all associated healthcare workers. They are classified as non-combatants, meaning they take no part in fighting. However, it does not mean they are immune from the dangers of war. In the First World War, the first war in which the Corps played a significant role, 6,873 members of the RAMC died – that’s a casualty rate of 4% for people who did not take an active role in battle.

My grandfather, Major Richmond Edwards, joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in early 1940. He was a surgeon at Guy’s Hospital before the war started and married my grandmother, Molly, a nurse, in September 1940, a year after the war broke out. Richmond was initially assigned to anti-aircraft batteries in the Docklands during the Blitz of London, but in June 1942 – two months after the birth of my father Jonathan – he was assigned to troopships travelling to and from South Africa,

looking after the men returning from battle in the Africa campaign. In September 1943, he was reassigned to HMT Rohna during the invasion of Sicily by the Allies.

On 25 November 1943, 163 British troops together with 2,000 US troops, embarked onto the ship, which was crewed by members of the Indian Merchant Navy. The ship joined a convoy of 24 ships and eight destroyer escorts bound for the Eastern Mediterranean, heading for a stretch of sea between Algeria and Tunis known as ‘Suicide Alley’ due to the number of successful German attacks on Allied shipping.

On 26 November, the convoy was attacked by up to 30 aircraft, some armed with radio-controlled glider bombs – only the second time they had been used in action. The ship was directly hit at 5.30pm and started to go down. Many had been killed in the initial explosion, but many were evacuated either into lifeboats or jumped into the cold dark sea, where they were rescued over the next eleven hours by the other ships in the convoy.

The ship was sinking very gradually, and nearly an hour after the bomb had hit, almost all the troops and crew were off the ship. However, the captain and officers, including Richmond, who was the senior medical officer, remained on board. They were trying to dislodge the remaining life rafts and boats for the men in the water.

According to the second officer, who survived the attack, Richmond, although injured, stayed on board the longest as he was trying to persuade the very few soldiers on board who couldn’t swim to jump into the water. He succeeded in this as the four men he stayed to persuade survived. They were the last to have seen him alive as the ship suddenly sank at 6.30pm, taking him with it. The tragedy of the sinking of the HMT Rohna remains the greatest loss of life at sea in the history of the US Navy as just over 1,000 US soldiers died alongside 31 British men, including my grandfather, and 108 of the Indian crew.

We have very few pictures of my father with my grandfather, as they only met twice when Richmond was home on leave. When my grandfather died, my father, Jonathan, was 18 months old. My grandfather’s family were informed in a telegram a month after the ship had sunk that he was missing – it took until March 1944 for the War Office to confirm that he was presumed to have died on 26 November. They were left without the certainty of how and when he had died and had no grave which they could visit.

My grandfather’s name appears on many memorials: at his school, Repton, Cambridge College, and Guy’s Hospital in London. Perhaps the most moving memorial is the one in Brookwood Cemetery just down the road from here, which is the memorial to the missing of the Second World War. An entire panel on the memorial is dedicated to the missing of the Royal Army Medical Corps. On this huge memorial to the missing, my grandfather’s name appears alongside those of 3,500 men and women who gave their lives in their own country and in foreign lands and distant waters and to whom the fortune of war denied a known and honoured grave. When we stand out in the courtyard later and have our Remembrance Service, please think about my grandfather and other men and women like him. He became a doctor to save lives and gave his own life in the service of his country.

Archie Smith, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford School because the teachers were really nice and it seemed like I could thrive here. I had been to two open days and because I really liked the school I sat the entrance exam. The exam went pretty well so then I made the decision to come to Halliford. I was really surprised about how easy it was to make friends since I had made a group of three in the first week. I take part in many clubs here like Chess Club, Coding Club and Badminton Club. I have thrived at this school already and I am really pleased about how nurturing the teachers are and I am enjoying the opportunities I have been given at this school. I think that I have definitely made the right decision to come here.

World War I GCSE History Workshop

by Mrs Fenella Wilbraham, Teacher of History & Politics

On Monday 13 November, we welcomed David and Richard from Frontline Living History to run an interactive workshop for our GCSE History students.

We study the ‘Medicine Through Time’ unit at GCSE, which includes a sources depth study into the British sector of the Western Front during the First World War. For Year 10, this was an introduction to the topic, which they have just started studying, whilst for Year 11, it was great revision just before December mocks.

The day began with David and Richard explaining the difference in their attire to the boys. Both were dressed as members of the Royal Army Military Corps, but as you can see from the accompanying pictures, Richard was significantly smarter and more tailored than David, who was the Sergeant in this scenario.

The workshop covered all aspects of medicine on the Western Front, from the problems with the evacuation route to the terrible wounds inflicted by modern weaponry. There were plenty of hands-on experiences, including the correct application of the field dressings and the complexities of the Thomas Splint, which dealt with femur fractures. The boys got to examine the vast array

of weaponry used, including grenades, shrapnel shells, rifles and bayonets, looked at gas masks and different types of stretchers. We even filled the Recital Room with the smell of mustard gas, much to the perplexity of the Chamber Choir who were using the room for rehearsals after us!

In the words of one delighted Year 10 student, ‘That was the best thing we’ve ever done at school, ever!’ High praise indeed.

Inter-House Song Contest

by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

Perhaps inspired by a desire for change, but more likely owing to multiple requests from staff and students, a change was afoot for this year’s Inter-House Song Contest.

Tinkering with an established format is always a risk, so when it was decided that there would be a theme, many ideas were considered but promptly disregarded. However, how can you possibly go wrong with the decade that included doing ‘the Macarena’, having a bowl haircut, Carol Vorderman releasing a Pop Music Times Tables video, and Mr Blobby standing in a by-election? So, it was decided that the 90s would be the theme.

As usual, the Year 7 classes were first up, and suitably it was with the music of the Gallagher brothers. 7J performed a passionate rendition of Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis, with the class belting out the rousing choruses with aplomb. A delightful contrast was created at the end of the song, with a solo from the talented William Pascoe-Watson, which was a highlight of the performance. 7K followed with another Britpop number with Good Enough by Dodgy. This was another energetic performance, with a load of solos underlining the exuberance of the class. 7L was the last of the Year 7 classes, and they performed the wellknown Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. Some lovely solos, especially from Cairbre Smith French, did this soulful ballad justice and they were announced by our returning judge, Mr Chris Wray, as the winners of the Year 7 classes.

A big feature of music from the 90s was the introduction of the classic ‘boy band’, with bands such as Take That, The Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, NSYNC, Westlife and East 17 storming to the top of the charts on a regular basis. The opportunity for a ‘Battle of the Boybands’ between the Year 8 classes seemed too good an opportunity to miss, and the Year 8 boys revelled in this extra bit of competition. 8J was the first of the boybands, performing the heartfelt As Long as You Love Me by The Backstreet Boys. This was a tuneful performance, with some nice harmonies and a good sense of timing throughout. 8K followed with Stay Another Day by East 17, a well-known Christmas song purely owing to the use of church bells and a bit of snow tenuously shoehorned into the music video. Unfortunately, buying a professional set of chromatic hand bells (and then teaching the class how to use them) seemed a little over ambitious, so we made do without for the performance. Despite the absence of both ‘Christmassy’ elements of the song, 8K performed the song admirably, with lovely solos from Leon Bleach and Edward Lamb, as well as an effective echo of the ‘Stay now’ multiple times in each chorus. 8L had possibly the most well-known of the boyband songs, performing I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys. The song,

recently popularised by a cold open in the American comedy show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, was a hit with the audience owing to 8L’s exuberant singing during the choruses and some great duets in the verses. It was obviously the year for the Ls, with 8L being announced as the winners of the Year 8 class performances.

Moving onto the House songs, we started with the highly anticipated performance of Desborough’s Wannabe by The Spice Girls. Mr Harden-Chaters was confident beforehand when saying, ‘We’re not going to win, but we’re going to have a good time’, and he could not have been more spot on. What was lacking in musicality was made up for in enthusiasm and stage presence with five ‘Spice Boys’ donning some amazing outfits leading the song. Greville followed with their performance of All Star by Smash Mouth. This was an energetic performance by Greville, who despite some minor timing issues in the verses sang their hearts out in the choruses. Admirably, it was the whole House performing, and the wall of sound that greeted the audience for each chorus was a real highlight of the whole event. For the second year in a row, we had Shrek masks on stage, apparently as the song was used in Mr Howard’s favourite movie, Shrek

Russell was next with their performance of Life by Des’ree, a song possibly more famous for its appallingly bad lyrics. ‘I’m afraid of the dark, especially when I’m in a park’ and ‘I don’t want to see a ghost, it’s a sight I fear the most, I’d rather have a piece of toast’ being the worst offenders. Superbly led by James Grant in Year 10, who just about managed to cover his utter disdain for popular music, Russell continued their upward curve in performances these last two years and remarkably stood a chance of winning. Whilst the choruses were a tad repetitive, that being the nature of the song, the individual year groups stood up to the challenge

in the verses and delivered a confident performance. The last of the House songs was Wadham’s performance of the iconic Angels by Robbie Williams. Led by solos from Joshua Turley and Leon Bleach, Wadham delivered an accomplished performance that was up there with their winning performance of the previous year. Their tone quality was precise throughout, whilst the bonus of having the entire House perform made the sound that extra bit more impressive.

Unfortunately, owing to illness in Wadham we only had three out of the four Houses perform a band song. Desborough’s performance of Smooth by Santana kicked off the band performances superbly, with Billy Dobby displaying what an impressive frontman he has become in recent years. Tom Lever wowed the audience with his guitar solos, and the sheer number of quality musicians in the Desborough band more than made up for their slight lack of musicality in the House performance. Greville was next up with their performance of What’s My Age Again by Blink 182. James McCummiskey again led the Greville band well and whilst the punk rock style wasn’t quite conveyed as well as it could have been, their performance displayed high quality musicianship and band members Tobi Adeseun and Laurence Hodson showcased their impeccable timing. The competition closed with what was undeniably the best performance of the afternoon by the Russell House band. Their performance of Life Is a Highway by Tom Cochrane was effortlessly impressive and quite rightly won them the cup for best band performance. Will Shanley oozed confidence as the frontman, whilst the outstanding band of Josh Guild on drums, Josh Newlands on bass and Will O’Loughlin and Theo Howard on guitar were impeccably tight whilst also managing to show off their natural abilities on each instrument.

Whilst Mr Wray was deliberating over his decisions, the audience was treated to a surprise performance by the newly formed Halliford staff boyband (suitably named TW17 postperformance by Mr Bruno). Tackling Take That’s classic Back for Good, Mr Churchill, Mr Hoare, Mr Shales and myself performed seated on stools for the first couple of verses, as per usual for 90s boybands, before aptly standing for the climax of the song. This simple, yet so effective, minute movement coupled with a solo from the popular Mr Churchill had the audience in raptures. Finishing with the dulcet tones of Mr Shales, the reception from the audience proved that the band were a hit.

Once this performance was over, all eyes and ears were back on judge Mr Wray for his verdict on the House songs. Three out of the four Houses (sorry Desborough) stood a chance of winning. Would it be Greville with their impressive wall of sound, Russell with their James Grant inspired performance of dodgy lyrics, or would it be favourites Wadham for a second year in a row? Remarkably, after so many years of hurt and disappointment under Mr Shales, Russell was announced as the winner, with Mr Morriss achieving a double triumph in his first year as Head of House. Congratulations to Russell for their win and to all the Heads of Houses, House Captains and students for what was a highly enjoyable afternoon of singing.

HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Monty Pailthorpe, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because all the teachers are really kind and the students are inquisitive. I came to two different open days, which I really enjoyed. I found that the entrance exams were not very difficult, and the interview was very calm and relaxed. All the students and teachers have been very welcoming, and I am glad I came here. I was nervous and excited on my first day, but everyone helped me settle in, and I met many nice people and made friends quickly. My favourite subjects here are Science because we do lots of awesome experiments and DT because I like building things. The teachers here are much more knowledgeable and understanding than at my old school. I have been attending many clubs such as Brass Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Science Club, and Chamber Choir. I love music, and Halliford has opened up these opportunities for me. I am not a particularly sporty person, but I have been involved in C team rugby matches. I really enjoy the PE lessons and games sessions and the sports teachers are funny and supportive. A memorable moment was when I played in a lunchtime concert, playing Somewhere from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein on my trumpet. I am really pleased that I came to Halliford because it is not too big, so all the teachers know you. I find that I am learning a lot and the amount of homework we receive is manageable. The teachers make lessons fun. The food here is incredible, and that is important because you are tired and hungry by the time you get to lunch, so it is vital to have good food. If you need help, the teachers are always there to help you.

Inter-House Christmas Card Design Competition

by Ms Tamarind Hetherington, Head of Art

As students returned to school after the October half term, our Head of Art, Ms Hetherington launched the Art Department’s Inter-House Christmas Card Design Competition with the theme ‘A very Halliford Christmas’.

Students were invited to design festive and unique Christmas cards to showcase their creativity and artistic talents in various artistic mediums, including drawing, painting, collage, and digital art, to create their Christmas-inspired masterpieces.

Students submitted their designs to Ms Hetherington and then Mr Davies evaluated the entries based on creativity, originality, and overall aesthetic appeal. The competition was fierce, with numerous outstanding designs submitted by students across our four houses.

The winner of the Inter-House Christmas Card Design Competition was Dexter Perkins in 7R with his stunning watercolour of the Halliford Georgian House. As first prize, Dexter had the honour of his design being used for the Halliford Christmas Card this year, which were sold by our Young Enterprise team, The Woodcrafters, this year. This provides a unique opportunity for students to have their artwork showcased and appreciated by a wider audience.

The Headmaster awarded Chris Ritchie in 8W a runner-up prize for his Halliford Hound design. Both students also received Amazon gift vouchers for their efforts.

The Winter Concert

by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

This year’s Winter Concert was a popular event, with the theatre packed and tickets sold out. Families were treated to a diverse programme, mixing Christmas numbers with pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Schubert, Herbie Hancock, David Bowie, Queen and Coldplay.

First up were the Year 7 classes with their songs from the Inter-House Song Contest. With many Year 7 parents in attendance, the students were understandably a little nervous about performing, though this did not detract from their enthusiasm and volume in performance. Following their performances, the newly formed percussion ensemble performed for the first time at Halliford. Led by the exuberant Mr Balecke, this was a real highlight of the evening, with the performers displaying their rhythmic and timing capabilities in an impressive performance of Matt Curley’s 5 + 5 = 55 . Our first Christmas number of the evening was performed by the Brass Ensemble, who despite running out of ‘puff’ at the end of the performance, delivered a lovely rendition of Coventry Carol .

Louis Clark, a seasoned performer on the trumpet, then performed Red, White & Blues by Bernstein with Mr Davies accompanying on piano. Louis’s breath control, tone and musicality shone through in a suitably jazzy performance. String Ensemble followed, adorned in Christmas hats and

tinsel for their joyful performance of Sleigh Ride. Two of the more established members of the String Ensemble, Monty Savarino and Raphie Scott, joined together for a string duet with a lively performance of Dance of the Comedians by Smetana, containing some highly musical dynamic contrasts. James Grant followed with an accomplished performance of Where’er You Walk by Handel, his rich baritone voice displaying a great vibrato across an impressive range. Chamber Choir then performed two pieces that they had performed so admirably during their tour to Sorrento in October, Agnus Dei by Thorne & Laudamus Te by Vivaldi. The choir dealt with the opposing styles of the pieces well, with the beautiful and quieter Agnus Dei offset with the faster and more boisterous Laudamus Te.

Monty Savarino returned to the stage to perform Schubert’s Allegro Molto in D major, as ever accompanied by Mr Davies on piano. The combination worked wonders again, with the two complementing each other’s musical phrasing well. Barbershop were the last of the ‘Classical’ ensembles to

perform, performing the contrasting The Battle of Jericho and We Meet Again Tonight The Battle of Jericho was energetic and full of exquisite dynamic changes, whilst the more delicate We Meet Again Tonight showcased the tone qualities of each individual voice, with Josh Turley particularly impressing with his bass voice. Moving on to jazz, we then heard the Jazz Band perform the classic Herbie Hancock hit Watermelon Man. The band did the piece justice, with some excellent solos from Louis Clark and Hector Rutter, accompanied by some precise drumming from Seb Roberts.

Moving on to the rock set, Tom Lever kicked us off with a solo on bass guitar of Anesthesia by Cliff Burton. As a huge Metallica/ Cliff Burton fan, Tom regaled the audience with facts about the great bassist, before displaying his virtuosity and immense skill on the bass guitar in a captivating performance. We then progressed on to the bands, with the Year 8/9 rock band giving us two excellent performances of Mr Brightside by The Killers and Yellow by Coldplay. Tobi Smith’s voice complemented the Coldplay style well, whilst The Killers song showcased the talents of new band members Tristan Bush on drums and Henry

Lucas Sullivan, 7G

Sykes on guitar. They were followed by the Senior Rock Band, who performed Somebody by The Strokes and Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5. Oscar Wort’s vocals were on fine form as the band nailed the languid American rock style of The Strokes, whilst the Maroon 5 performance was one of the strongest performances of the night. Fresh from their win in the House Song Contest, the Russell House band treated us to another excellent rendition of Tom Cochrane’s Life is a Highway. The night finished with the Lower Sixth Rock Band, who performed The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac and Somebody to Love by Queen. Rosanna Sessions led the band superbly, with her melodious voice particularly impressing in the Fleetwood Mac hit. James McCummiskey and Tom Lever were superb on bass and lead guitar, whilst Laith Shafighian again provided excellent support and flair on drums.

As ever, my thanks to my colleagues in the music department, all the students involved, the PTA and the catering staff for providing such a superb evening of music and near Christmas cheer.

I came to Halliford because I loved the facilities and teachers. I enjoy English the most because our teacher, Mr Hoare, is so nice yet still gets us to do all our work. I am involved in many clubs, such as table tennis, self-defence, and basketball, and I enjoy playing football, rugby, cricket, athletics, and cross country. My highlight so far is receiving my Bene in Religious Studies. I am really pleased I came to Halliford because I love the facilities, the teachers are great, I have made loads of friends here, and I enjoy the fact that it is a small school.

Outreach at St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School

By Samraj Satha, L6W

On 28 November 2023, four other L6W students and I started volunteering at St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School. Upon arrival, we were taken to various classrooms to help the students and teachers with their sessions. When I arrived, I was taken to the Year 5 class, 5C, to help the pupils during their grammar and spelling lessons. In the beginning, I was given a very warm welcome by those in 5C and sat in the class with the children and teacher and watched the introduction of their lesson. The children were learning about the use of adjectives, their effect in sentences, and the relevance of specific adjectives in sentences. Once the class was assigned work to do in their grammar booklets, the teacher asked me to help three boys who needed some extra support with their grammar. I happily took on the task, sat down with the boys, and began to help them with their work. We noted descriptions of some photos, including who they were, what they were doing, what they had, any conjunctions relevant to the picture, where they were, and whether we could think of any adjectives for these images. The boys did well with their first attempts, and I was able to assist them when their answers were not necessarily relevant to the picture. As a group, we completed the task early and used the spell checker to check our spelling. The boys completed their spellings amazingly, with only a few minor errors here and there. Afterwards, we moved on to spelling and made some word pyramids to help them learn their spellings. Yet again, the boys were very keen to complete the task and finished early, in which case they were allowed to write the words in the colours of the rainbows. The lesson then ended, and the students had their prayer for the day and listened to an audio of Daniel In

The Lions’ Den. It was then my time to leave, and I was given a very polite thank you and goodbye from the class. It was a very eyeopening experience to work with the children and help them finish their tasks. I was immediately taken back to when I was in primary school and my lessons there. I developed my communication and leadership skills during my first week, which will hopefully help me in the foreseeable future. Lastly, I was impressed by the politeness and warm hospitality of those in 5C, and I am looking forward to the weeks ahead helping at St. Nicks.

By Olivia Baker, L6W

In November, four fellow Sixth Formers and I went to the local primary school, St. Nicholas, to help with younger pupils in Years 5 and 6. The school was very welcoming, and the students were pleased to see us. In the Year 5 class, I helped the students with spelling and took them out of the classroom individually to help with their reading. I helped small groups of people to pronounce words they found hard and explained their meanings to them. This was a great experience because I am thinking of possibly having a career in education after university, so it helped me understand what primary school teachers do and how engaging they are with the students. Previously, I have helped out at my local primary school at the after-school club. However, this was more interactive as I could see what a day in the life was like for a teacher, and I could help the children with their learning. Each week at St. Nicholas, I am able to do different things with children of various ages, like maths, reading, phonics, and more. The staff were also very welcoming and supportive of the Halliford students being there, and we were a great help to them. We will be doing this for a few weeks each Tuesday morning.

Navigating Success: A Level Geography

Revision Soars at the Royal Geographical Society

by Mr Miles Aarons, Head of Geography

We are thrilled to attend the A Level Geography revision event held at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London. The event, designed specifically for our Upper Sixth A Level students, provided a unique opportunity for them to delve deeper into key areas of the curriculum.

The Royal Geographical Society welcomed many schools to participate in three subject knowledgefocused lectures covering the core topics of Hazards, Changing Places, and the Carbon Cycle. Our students had the privilege of learning from experts in the field, gaining valuable insights into these significant geographical topics. The format allowed for an interactive experience, with students given the chance to pose questions after each lecture, fostering a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

The event concluded with a short but impactful session on exam techniques, providing students with essential tools to succeed in their A Level examinations. The Royal Geographical Society’s commitment to education and excellence was evident throughout the day, leaving our students inspired and well-prepared for the challenges ahead.

My Visit to the Palace of Westminster

by Freddie Keane-Brown, 11R

In December, I had the privilege of receiving a tour of the Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, and House of Lords and had an opportunity to watch our parliament in session.

The tour I received was very interesting, providing an insight into the inner workings of our representatives, key events in English history and, surprisingly, how the Covid-19 pandemic had helped modernise aspects of the parliamentary system.

Later in the day, I watched the Speaker’s Procession leading into the opening of a parliamentary session in the Commons. I watched as Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education, took on questions from fellow MPs regarding local issues, regional funding and areas relating to school provisions for students with special needs. It, at the very least to me, displayed that the Department of Education is informed of many issues affecting schools alongside their respective students, and it was reassuring and inspiring that so many MPs were clearly invested in the care of the students in their constituencies. The pace of questions was fast, and it was good to witness how the Speaker kept the momentum moving in the Commons.

Lastly, I watched the opening of the Israel-Hamas conflict discussion in the Commons. Many answers were quite grey, and both the government and the opposition seemed invested in sending aid to Gaza and the return of any hostages. Overall, the experience was highly insightful and enjoyable, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in current affairs.

King, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford School because it is small and there is no hiding from all the fun activities here. I have made loads of friends. It is impossible not to have any friends here. I love Maths and Games because the teachers are really fun and it brightens up my day. I go to Anime Club as I have always loved cartoon characters. My highlight was when I received a Bene. That is one of the best things I have achieved at Halliford so far.

Carol Singing & Carol Service

by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

This year the Halliford Chamber Choir was busy again at Christmas time, with two lots of carol singing at Squires Garden Centre and The Burlington Care Home, as well as the usual three Carol Services.

The Chamber Choir, following on from their recent successful tour of Sorrento, were in fine voice and delighted onlookers at Squires and the residents in The Burlington. As usual, the residents at The Burlington joined in enthusiastically with the well-known numbers, whilst merrily sipping on their glasses of cherry and mulled wine. Classics such as Jingle Bells, White Christmas and Joy to the World were well received, and the boys enjoyed their hot chocolate and selection of biscuits and cakes that the Burlington kindly puts on each year.

A week later, it was time for the Carol Service down at St. Nicholas Church in Shepperton. After a winter of the treble line becoming vastly depleted, with many a student having to move down from the treble line to alto/tenor (or even bass), it was very welcome to be able to count on some strong treble/soprano voices new to Halliford. Year 7 music scholars William Pascoe-Watson and Monty Pailthorpe, new Year 9 student Joshua Oldham and Lower Sixth soprano Rosanna Sessions added a great deal of experience and expertise to the ever-changing treble line. After a delightful string interlude by Monty Savarino and Raphie Scott, the Carol Service started with one of the new additions, Joshua Oldham, performing the Once in Royal David City solo. This is a daunting task for any singer, no matter how experienced you are, and Joshua’s tone, breath control and tuning were all spot on in a confident performance.

A Halliford Carol Service would not be complete without a rousing rendition of Gaudete, after which came a supremely joyful and rhythmic performance of A Maiden Most Gentle. Rosanna Sessions, James Grant and Billy Dobby all performed excellent solos during The Holly and The Ivy before a particularly majestic singing of the O Little Town of Bethlehem descant from the trebles/sopranos. The staff choir were put to the test this year with a tricky arrangement of Ding Dong Merrily on High, in particular the sopranos who don’t get much of a chance to breathe. Thankfully, Mrs Wilbraham and Mrs Crosbie navigated the challenging moments like seasoned pros, and this was as good as I have heard the staff choir sing during my time at Halliford.

The musical highlight of the service followed, with the choir performing a fabulous rendition of O Holy Night. James Grant and Joshua Turley excelled with their solos and duet parts, whilst the dynamic contrasts and lyrical phrasing from the choir made this a performance to remember. We were treated to another Mr Hoare masterclass in reading, complete with impressions of Father Christmas, before the trebles and sopranos sang a touching performance of Rutter’s Star Carol. The final choir intercession of Laudamus Te by Vivaldi was performed with vigour whilst we were led on our merry way into the Christmas holidays with another rousing descant of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

As ever, thank you to Mr Davies for accompanying on the organ and to Reverend Carole George for leading the Carol Service.

HALLIFORD LIFE HALLIFORD LIFE

Courtyard Cricket

Movember Madness! Physical Theatre Drama Workshop

New Year 7 Sports Morning

Student Voice

1XI match against King Edwards Southampton

Autumn Term Sports Report

by Mr James Greggor, Director

of Sport

Rugby Season 2023

It has once again been an extremely busy term in the PE and Games department, full of lunchtime and after-school practices, Ibstock Place Football tournaments, Independent Schools association golf, rugby fixtures, Middlesex County age group rugby festivals and inter-house competitions.

RUGBY

U12 RUGBY

Mr Greggor and Mr Perks

Halliford students have attended sporting fixtures in outstanding numbers and we continue to provide a huge amount of opportunity and success on the sports field for a school of our size. 90+ rugby fixtures have been played this term across multiple age groups, highlighting what a strong place rugby is in at the school. This was further demonstrated last Saturday in the last rugby weekend of the term, where Halliford fielded twelve teams against St. George’s College, meaning roughly 190 students in our community were out on Saturday representing the school. Great thanks must go to the Halliford students for their engagement with the sporting programme and the PE and Games staff who work extremely hard and give time at weekends to put these opportunities on for Halliford students.

Year 7 has taken to rugby superbly, with many never playing before joining Halliford this year. Fast forward to the end of the season, and we have successfully fielded A, B and C squads against opponents. The A team almost went unbeaten, beating all opponents apart from Churcher’s College and were crowned Middlesex Cup Champions at the County Festival. The A team have really developed this

term. They are a cohesive team with a strong pack and fast, agile back line. Impressive wins have come against Tiffin, Hampton, and St. George’s College, with many of these schools much larger than ours. Captain Ahi Lloyd has been outstanding, providing superb service from fly-half and being one of the top performers throughout the season. Centre Ben Slater has also impressed with his ferocious tackling and strong ball carrying. A strong, mobile pack has also contributed to success this season. Alex Kent has been very influential in the front row, and Charlie Freer has also been a dominant ball carrier.

Both B and C teams have continued to develop. Many had not previously played rugby before joining Halliford and have really made excellent progress this year. Training numbers have been fantastic, and the boys have worked hard to improve their knowledge of the game and skill level. I am hopeful they continue to maintain their involvement in the rugby programme next year. Squads have evolved as the season has gone on and will continue to do so as the boys advance through the year groups.

Year 7 has made such good progress this term, and we are excited to see how they continue to develop when they advance into Year 8 and 13-aside rugby next year.

U13 RUGBY

Mr Morriss and Mr Watson

The U13s have been a fabulous year group to work with this season and show huge promise for years to come. Training numbers have been quite unbelievable, with over two-thirds of the year group out on a weekly basis. This was emphasised with 25+ boys out for the last training session of just over 20 minutes before absolute darkness in preparation for the season finale against St. George’s.

Competition for places has been fierce, and boys have certainly had to work hard to keep their places in the starting team or matchday squad. The fact we have put out competitive sides down to C-team on more than one occasion demonstrates the commitment this year group has shown.

Sam Jones captained the side with consistent performances in the centres, demonstrating his tackling prowess and leadership qualities. He was ably supported in this role by vice-captain, Zac Wiffen, who has been outstanding all season in his position at scrum-half and thoroughly deserves his spot in the Headmaster’s XV.

The A-team perhaps saw the most changes early on in the season as players settled in to positions and a few different combinations were tried, before settling on a squad of around 20 players for the second half of the season. The first few games against Claremont and Claires Court were steep learning curves, and despite losses in both, the boys showed progress and a willingness to turn this around. This was evidenced in the next match versus Tiffin School, where despite some big players breaking the line, we stuck in for a brilliant display of both defensive and attacking play. A huge crowd of parental support highlighted this as one of the performances of the season, and despite falling to a 20-25 loss, the boys left the pitch to rapturous applause.

Special mentions must go here to the forward pack, who despite several personnel changes, were ever dependable and fantastic at working together as a team within a team. Zain Abou Hasan and Nathan Farquharson were ever-present in the front row and ably supported by Tobi Smith, Tom Aynge and Dylan Hayes Garcia. Barney Edwards was the biggest change in the pack as he moved from the wing to hooker and started to make this position his own before an unfortunate injury saw his season curtailed. Lewis Cain started the season as more of a novice performer, but quickly turned into one of the standout players this season. Lewis learned the game incredibly quickly alongside Charlie Hoyne, one of the most consistent performers all season, and they became a formidable second row partnership. Both boys showed their qualities in the County tournament at St. James’ School on their way to winning the Plate competition.

The boys worked hard in training all season and thanks must go to Mr Churchill, who added a dynamism to their play in my absence on paternity leave. The outcome of this input was a superb attacking display, beating Hampton 20-5. They followed this up with a comfortable win against Wallington, led by the calm and intelligent Samir Al-Falaki, pulling the strings at fly-half. The structure Mr Fieldhouse has introduced and filtered down to each age group was well received by this group and will no doubt continue to go from strength to strength as they move up the school.

Tough fixtures again followed with defeats at the hands of Churcher’s College and Salesians. Despite our tactics being up to the task and playing some great rugby, the boys could not deal with some of the opposition who it was felt were surely playing in the wrong age group. Losing by a free-kick on our own 5m with the final play of the game was a little sickening, but the boys once again held their heads up high as they left the field to another applauded effort. This was rectified at the Middlesex County Tournament though, where, despite losing to Oratory (who went on to win the whole thing), the boys fronted up in true Halliford fashion and went on to win the Plate competition. Here it was the unbelievable tackling of Niam Thakrar-Vara, the slight feet of Luca Brief and the mini-man mountain that is Henry Sykes. Player of the day though went to Will Andrews, who barely missed a tackle all season, had great feet in attack and silky handling skills when linking the backline together. He continued this with a Player of the Match performance in the final game of the season tackling almost every single one of the St. George’s team.

The U13Bs were a fantastic team this season and performed admirably in every single fixture. Many of the regular players featured in the A-team this season and spent training sessions as one group. The core players throughout the season ensured that despite changes in personnel on a weekly basis, they sorted out positions swiftly and got on with the task at hand.

Many thanks once again to Mr Watson, who regularly helped coach this team and was always enthusiastic to learn our patterns and systems to ensure consistency across both teams. The main players on this team who deserve the highest accolades are Gus Matthews, Ollie Browning, and Oscar Squibb. Gus led the way in the forwards and, more than often, was the wall behind which the rest of the forwards rallied. Ollie pulled the strings on more than one occasion and was especially influential during training sessions, often playing well above his stature. Another player who deserves a huge amount of credit for his versatility, resilience and determination was Aron Drishti. He bounced between the two squads and performed admirably in whichever team or position he was asked to do so.

Unfortunately, the Bs did not get quite as many games as several schools had to withdraw from the fixture, citing a lack of players. That was never going to be an issue with our students, who trained twice weekly and on more than one occasion, had enough depth to put out a C-team as well. The first two fixtures of the season were tightly fought contests against Claires Court and Tiffin, but attacking rugby being the name of the game and nine tries being scored.

They then enjoyed a triangular series with City of London Freemans, where Halliford provided 45 of the 60 boys playing and ended up scoring against themselves. A few of the players demonstrated the Halliford value of being a team player, by offering to play for the opposition and being rewarded as Players of the Match. Elliott Hague was a great find this season having not represented the school on many occasions. He was then rewarded with a Players of the Match performance in his debut game and subsequently enjoyed a string of strong performances.

There was then a superb run of victories against St. George’s, Wallington and Salesians before an error-strewn loss against Churcher’s College and then a superb season finale win against St. George’s for the second time this season. Leon Bleach was one of the players of the season due to devastating running with the ball, almost scoring at will when running through the opposition. Another player who impressed both in attack and defence, was the standout full-back Ruark MacDonald. His performances were praised by Mr Watson and his presence was certainly appreciated by the team as the last man back and always taking his man if needed. Ruark came back from injury with a lot of promise, made an A-team appearance and can certainly be one to watch in the future years with boundless energy and attitude.

This season has been a challenging one for the boys. If games were decided on effort, work rate and heart, they would be unbeaten for sure. Unfortunately, we have come up against several teams with a distinct size advantage and this, along with a lot of long-term injuries, has affected the team’s results. The season started with the visit of Claremont to Vandals. With a very large squad and multiple rotations, we found our feet early in the contest and played some good free-flowing rugby winning 56-12.

Next came a trip to Claires Court. After confirming that we were playing their U14s and not their U15s, we put in a very dogged display from the outset. We were combative at the breakdown and defended with great tenacity, however, the fatigue of constant tackling eventually set in, and we lost 34-12. Tiffin was our first visitor at Church Road, and this game followed a very similar pattern to the Claires Court game, and we found ourselves 15-0 down at half time. The second half, however saw us match their physicality blow for blow, and we drew that half 7-7, resulting in a 22-7 defeat.

Next, we hosted Gunnersbury. This match was a real dog fight, and one in which we showed real grit and determination. In the end, our superior game management was the difference in a 10-7 victory. We then travelled to Grasshoppers RFC for the Middlesex Tournament. A 0-0 draw with Orleans was followed by a narrow loss to Latymer (the eventual winners). This put us into the Shield competition. We started with a 28-0 victory over Christs and an 8-7 win over Enfield. Sadly, a 7-5 loss to Isleworth meant we ended runners up.

U14 RUGBY

Mr Shales and Mr Hewitt

After half term, we started with a trip to Wallington. This was a very tight and tense contest. Despite having more possession and territory, we were unable to convert our chances and suffered a cruel 17-14 defeat. Next followed the trek to Churcher’s College on a very wet morning. A competitive first half saw us stay in the contest. However, the quality of their backline got the better of us in the second half, with the final score of a 38-10 loss. The visit of Salesians followed on a freezing morning. In a very tight encounter, injuries took their toll, with the team finishing with only 13 players left fit and standing. They battled incredibly hard, but sadly, it was not enough to prevent an 8-0 loss.

The season finished with a trip to St. George’s. A slightly depleted squad took to the field in monsoon like conditions. The effort and endeavour on show was superb and summed up how hard the boys have worked all season. Sadly, the game was a snapshot of the term, and with size eventually beating heart, we lost a narrow game. The team has been very well led this season, both on and off the pitch, by Ethan Johnson, Theo Fuller and Harvey Connop. Lagan Gomez-Moore has been a constant threat with ball in hand and in defence. Tom Aris has proven a great addition to the forward pack. George Clark and Leo Smith have been very consistent in their performances.

The B Team has worked hard this season to develop individual skills and team structure. The season started away at Claires Court. The opposition was a few players short and so our boys offered to rotate in for them. This provided a very enjoyable and close encounter with Halliford eventually coming out 21-15 winners. The visit of Tiffin followed. From the first whistle, the boys hit their straps, playing with great structure and attacking flair. This allowed the boys to come away with a fairly comfortable 49-15 victory. After half term, the team travelled to Wallington. This was a very tight and physical encounter but unfortunately the pace of a couple of the opposition players proved the difference in a 26-12 defeat. The season finished away at St. George’s. The boys battled hard in the tricky conditions, but sadly, this was not enough to overcome a team that looked more like a U15A side rather than a U14B team.

James O’Connor has led from the front with his performances and Zac Spencer and Dino Barton have been dominant in the forward pack throughout the season. Jamie Lewis and Xander Gavey have also offered a good attacking threat, along with Oliver Atkin.

U15 RUGBY

Mr Slocock and Mr Taylor

The U15 rugby season has been one of ups and downs, with some stellar performances that have shown what the team could be capable of with consistency in personnel and performance. The season started well with back-to-back victories against Claremont Fan Court (31-19) and our old rivals Claires Court (2410). However, a head knock or two and the loss of a couple of players for football or injury saw the team depleted somewhat as they came up against three of the toughest oppositions they would have all season.

First up was a motivated Tiffin Team who responded well to conditions and secured a flattering 32-10 victory. This was followed by Hampton in the National Cup Competition. Whilst the better team on the day, Hampton deserved their victory, however, the 12-57 score line flattered the opposition as Halliford only really started to play in the second half. The perennial, start late and improve as the game goes on that epitomised the rugby season for the Halliford U15A side was brushed aside in their game against Richard Reynolds in the National Plate Competition. Having been soundly beaten by this team when at full strength last year, the boys had learned from their lesson. Strong performances all around by Corey Pyke, Josh Gusterson and Jack Giddens saw Halliford race into the lead and put Richard Reynolds under

pressure. However, this team was well drilled, and they slowly clawed their way back into the game to run out 20-38 victors.

A nothing game against Gunnersbury showed what true Hallifordians are about as the boys created a BaaBaas team to play in the farcical Gunnersbury match before half term. Half term was followed by the return of the ‘slow-start-lurgy’ that epitomised the team in the first half of the season. Heading into the Middlesex tournament, Halliford went down against eventual tournament winners – Grey Court, after letting in two quick and easy tries before they started to play. Whilst they bounced back to score victories in their next two matches, another slow start against St. James saw them pipped to the runner-up spot in the plate competition. However, Halliford U15s showed their true mettle with another brace of victories when playing against the other two most difficult teams in our fixture list.

Resounding victories against Wallington Grammar School (34-17) and Churcher’s College (38-19), one of only two teams in the whole school to beat Churcher’s this year, showed what this team was capable of. But just as this game showed how good the team could be, the game against Salesians showed what a lapse in concentration does. The euphoria of the highs evident against Churcher’s College was counterbalanced by a devastating performance against Salesians, who unexpectedly pulled through to beat Halliford with a 29-34 victory in icy conditions. The final game of the season was held in the balance with rain causing havoc preceding the match. The continued absence of previously key players to the team progressed into the last match of the season and included Dexter Lee who had shown his natural athletic ability whenever given the opportunity to play. St. George’s College was going to be a difficult team to beat having beaten Tiffin soundly earlier in the season and being coached by none other than Halliford rugby royalty, George Edgson. The game started well with some of the best pattern play all season on display. Hard runs from the forwards were only countered by the mobility and speed from St. George’s at the breakdown. Corey Pyke, Veer Gill and Josh Gusterson sliced through the defence whilst Jack Giddens, Harry Jennings and Will Slater led the defence. The conditions became incredibly slippery as the game progressed with both sides showing impeccable handling. Like two heavyweight giants in a ring, Halliford and St. George’s traded scores with Halliford leading the game going into the second half. A lapse of concentration early in the second half led to two quick tries by St. George’s before Halliford started to play again. Once again, the forward onslaught began with deft kicks from George Bellis and good chases mixing up the play. In the end, though, it wasn’t meant to be as St. George’s pulled off the narrowest of victories to end the season 29-27. Another great season for U15A with a number of players making the Headmaster’s XV.

The U15B team had few opportunities this season, but the opportunities they did have, they took with both hands. That said, it was somewhat of an inauspicious start when the team came up against a formidable Tiffin side. Battered in the forwards and outplayed in the backs, the trip to Tiffin yielded a hard-fought 0-17 loss. Undeterred and ably led by Jacob Hollyhead, Charlie Powell and Finley Camino players turned up week in and week out to training. As the season progressed, new players such as George Cotton, Nic Bennett and Joseph Kalenderidis joined the ranks of the faithful and the fruits of their labour paid incredible dividends. In the eleven occasions that Halliford School faced Churcher’s College, they had only tasted victory twice and the playing record was an incredible -339 points difference, but this was not to be and on Saturday 18 November, the current crop of U15B players made history as they played Churcher’s to an epic draw. One of only two teams in the school to have a positive result against this rugby powerhouse. With games being cancelled left and right, it came down to the final game of the season. Up against the odds, with no Halliford U15B team ever having beaten St. George’s a tired but jubilant team turned up to Vandals on a very cold and wet Saturday. Sadly, stalwart and talisman Jacob was ill, and the captaincy fell to Charlie Powell. In the end, St. George’s had no answer for the mighty Halliford, who romped through with an impressive 32-17 victory, the first in U15B history and a deserved win to finish the season.

U16 RUGBY

Mr Shales and Mr Churchill

This season has been an excellent one for the U16s, seeing the success of previous years continue. The season started with the knowledge that many key players who had been so influential in the past would be unavailable for selection owing to their inclusion in the first-team squad. This however presented an opportunity to those who remained to solidify starting positions and take on the mantel of those who had moved on.

The season started brightly with some excellently attended pre-season sessions, allowing for structure and continuity to be brought in right from the outset. This solid foundation was exemplified by an excellent 36-5 win over a strong Claires Court side on the opening day of the season. Shortly following this however, the boys tasted defeat in what was to be their first setback of the season. A tough trip to Tiffin and some availability issues across the senior sides meant leaving with a 27-12 loss in a very hardfought contest. Following this defeat, the side rallied brilliantly and went on to win all their remaining fixtures up to the point this report was written. Some of the season highlights have to be the convincing win away at a large and imposing Windsor Boys, the desire and resilience shown to get past a tenacious Wallington at Weybridge Vandals, and a smash and grab final day win away at City of London Freemans to seal an unbeaten season in the league.

Along the way, there have been setbacks, such as the injuries to JJ Lan-Denham in the Tiffin fixture and playmaker Josh Stimson in our first trip to City of London Freemans this year. In every instance, however the boys have rallied and gone again. This is thanks in no small part to the exemplary leadership of captain Josh Morrison, who has led from the front both on and off the pitch this year. Other notable performers in the back line have been Austin Johnson in the centres, Theo Maroussas at full-back and Ethan Wilkin at scrum-half.

As is often the way in senior rugby, the forwards have driven the team on in countless games, often for little recognition. Up front there have been numerous stand out performances. One of the finest has been Thomas Robinson, the talismanic front row has had an excellent season and if not for rules around scrummaging would no doubt have earned a place in the first XV this year. Alongside him, Hamish Greany and Billy Dobby have also been outstanding performers, doing phenomenal amounts of unselfish work around the breakdown, and always driving the boys on even when the side have been up against it. It is difficult to summarise in a few words the immense pride and enjoyment Mr Shales and I will take from this group. A series of excellent performances put in by an outstanding group of true Hallifordians who, with time, have huge potential to turn into some outstanding first-team players. Well done to all involved, and we hope to see the same levels of success from the next group of U16s coming through.

Season 2023 1XV Captain Zach Smith. After a back-to-back Super 8 league success last season, we started this year with an experienced spine to the 2023-24 1XV squad, who assembled in late August for pre-season. Under new guidance in the form of Head of Rugby Mr Fieldhouse and 1XV Captain

(tighthead prop) Zach Smith, this year’s 1XV squad was littered with experience and was itching to get started. The first game was on 9 September against Claremont Fan Court.

This opening weekend fixture for the season saw a large squad of players start with a bang, running out 50-0 winners. The day was dominated by the power of our pack and strong carries from Zach Smith, Will Shanley and Sam Griffiths, who left their mark on opposition tacklers. This dominant display was underpinned by the performance of eight Year 11 students stepping up to the 1XV senior squad for the first time.

Four days later the 1XV had their first taste of National Cup action against local rival Windsor Boys in the National Vase Round 1. Up front our strong start to the season continued, dominating the contact area and executing some slick handling across the pitch. Inside centre and new recruit to Halliford School, George Long, received MoM on the day for giving the team superb go forward and a platform to play off in attack. The 41-5 victory set the team up for their first league game of the season a week later against Leighton Park School away from home.

This year’s Super 8 league competition got underway in an extremely wet and windy trip to Leighton Park School. Playing into the wind first half, the team fronted up exceptionally well and our second-row partnership of Upper Sixth Students, Josh Guild and William O’Loughlin, set the standard in terms of physicality on the pitch. Up at half-time and with the wind at our backs, Year 11 Oliver White put on an excellent territory kicking display to put the pressure on Leighton Park at every opportunity. That pressure eventually told in the second half with some key scores from George Long and Louie Paterson giving us a comfortable 35-7 victory on the road. Number nine Max Smith picked up MoM on the day for his control and experience shown in some tough conditions.

After starting our league season in impressive fashion, the squad’s first big test of the year came away in a tough block of fixtures at Tiffin School in late September. An extremely tight game with several missed opportunities close to the line, the game ran away from us in the second half, losing out 20-10 to a wellorganised outfit. Whilst the result did not go in our favour, there were several strong performances on the day. Full back Felix Porter continued his strong start to the season under the high ball, and back row Barney Connop made a name for himself on both sides of the ball, with his physicality and contact skills.

Four days later, we were back in Cup action in Round 2 of the National Schools Vase, with a tough trip to Reeds School. The physicality brought to the first ten minutes of the game was a credit to both teams, and with neither team willing to take a backward step, we knew the match was going to be a real war of attrition. However, costly errors in the attacking 22 left us with nothing to show for all our hard work on the day. These errors compounded by several key injuries in our backline and Halliford having to ref the game in the absence of a society referee, left us up against it against a classy outfit, eventually losing out 55-0.

Dusting ourselves off after back-to-back losses, we were back to winning ways four days later at home against LVS Ascot in the league 55-5. Throughout the season, our maul had been a huge attacking weapon against the opposition, and this was a standout strength against LVS Ascot, with the pack getting over the line 3 times on the day. The following Saturday, we came up against Gunnersbury Catholic School at Vandals RFC. A physically tough first half saw the team go into half-time break 5-0 up. Continued pressure up front and some slick handling in the backs allowed us to come out on top 19-5.

The physical test against Gunnersbury Catholic School is just what the group needed going back into the league on Wednesday 18 October 2023, in a top of the table showdown against league rivals Claires

Court. We knew this fixture would go a long way to deciding the top spot in the league and with a full squad fit for the fixture, we were confident going into the game. Of course, the British weather decided to throw us a curve ball on the day and playing conditions resembled a grade one hurricane. Playing with the wind at our back, our decision-makers ensured we played in the right areas of the pitch from minute one, putting pressure on the Claires Court back three with some excellent testing kicks. This was backed up by huge physicality in the contact area from our back five in the scrum, racing us into a 17-5 lead at half-time. Playing into the wind second half was tough and felt like a constant uphill battle, but our boys dug deep and came out with the all-important win, 17-13. Will Shanley was the stand-out performer on the day, bringing huge physicality on both sides of the ball.

A comfortable 55-5 away win at Ranelagh School saw continued success in the league four days later. MoM Oliver White demonstrated the importance of playing in the right areas of the pitch and our forward pack being too big and too strong for the opposition.

After a comfortable win during the week at Ranelagh School, expectations were high going into another tough block of Saturday fixtures against Wallington County Grammar. Having done our research before the game, we knew the school had an impressive win record this season and that we needed to put together a complete performance to get over the line. Racing into a 14-0 lead and playing some of the best rugby we had played this season saw an excellent start to the game for Halliford 1XV. 14-7 up at half-time, we knew we were in for a real battle in the second half and sure enough, Wallington County Grammar did not disappoint. One penalty kick in the second half was all Halliford could show for their efforts in the game, but that was just enough to secure 17-14 home win.

In the final league game of the season, we saw a visit from Reddam House School to Church Road. As a team we knew a win would secure top spot in the league and that all important home Semi Final spot. Tries from Sam Griffiths, Zach Smith and Felix Porter laid the foundations for the win, but lack of concentration allowed Reddam House back into the game. The game was however finished off by a solo effort from inside centre George Long, which sealed the victory 25-22 and the top spot in the Super 8 league.

Over the years, Churcher’s College has been one of our tougher 1st XV fixtures on the rugby calendar, and this year was no different. Going into the fixture with several key personnel missing, we knew we would be up against it from the get-go. With the great British weather affecting both sides, an inconsistent first half hampered our attacking flow and costly errors in defence at key times meant we went into half-time 28-0 down. The momentum of the game unfortunately never shifted in the second half and for all the guts and determination shown by the players, the game ended 40-0. A tough loss against a very good opposition and one we reflected on as a collective.

This season, we have seen real growth in our Year 11 cohort of players with Lucas Hayes Garcia, Felix Porter and Barney Connop all cementing their places in starting shirts across this season. This has been backed up by several other talented U16 players gaining invaluable experience in the team and demonstrating what quality of rugby player Halliford School has coming through to the first team next season. As we went into our home play-off semi-final against Leighton Park School on Wednesday 22 November, five of our starting 15 jerseys were filled by Year 11 students and eight players in total across the squad. Developing several strong attacking facets of our game across the season, the team were looking for a 70-minute performance. Dominance up front from our pack was matched by some slick back interplay and Leighton Park could not live with us on the day. The final score was 53-5 to Halliford.

The 2023-2024 senior rugby season came to a climax at home on Wednesday 5 December in the Super 8 Rugby Final against Claires Court. Having squeaked over the line in a close-fought victory in our league fixture earlier in the season, the team knew we would have to be at our best to retain this year’s Super 8 rugby title. Led by 1st XV Captain Zach Smith, the team flew out of the blocks in the opening minutes of the game and immediately applied pressure to the opposition through our power game and set piece. The first half was a physical encounter with both teams exchanging penalties off some good attacking intent. Endeavouring to play in the right areas of the pitch, Halliford continued to put boot to ball in the first half and backed their kick

chase and physicality in the tackle. Whilst playing much of the game in the middle third of the pitch, Halliford were able to gain a foot hold in to the Claires Court 22 towards the end of the first half and, after some big carries from our front five, Sam Griffiths was able to batter his way down a short side to get the vital opening score. 8-0 up at half time, a refocus was needed from the group in terms of our attacking intent and shift in our indiscipline at the breakdown. In the second half our set piece was able to apply continued pressure to the opposition and it wasn’t long before our driving maul was speeding towards the Claires Court try line. Brought down illegally by a Claires Court player one metre short of the line, the referee awarded a penalty try and this was the confidence boost we needed to go on to win the game. Final score, 29-15. MoM was shared by double-try scorer Sam Griffiths and Mr Physicality, Josh Guild. A huge effort put in by both players.

The Senior 1XV rugby season will continue into 2024 with several regional and national 7s competitions in the Spring Term, including Surrey 7s and Rosslyn Park 7s. We also have our long-awaited senior rugby tour to Argentina where 32 players and staff will be heading to South America on a twelve day tour in July.

Headmaster’s XV 2023

Each year Halliford’s rugby coaching staff sit down to agree the Headmaster’s XV. Each age group is considered, staff take into account who has impressed, influenced games, remained committed to training and shown an excellent work ethic throughout the season. As ever some very tough decisions are made and many redrafts of the final squad take place. Below shows what was agreed for the 2023 season.

Rugby Colours Ties

Colours ties are presented to senior students who have performed regularly for and impressed in our first XV this term.

Year 11 1st XV Colours ties are awarded to: Barney Connop, Lucas Hayes Garcia, Theo Maroussas, Josh Morrison, Felix Porter, Oliver White

Lower Sixth 1st XV Colours ties are awarded to: Zach Johnson, George Long, Federico Polosa, Charlie Thorpe

Inter-House Rugby Results

In the final weeks of the Autumn Term, each age group plays their Inter-House Rugby Competition in their games afternoon. These competitions are always keenly anticipated by the boys and again reinforce our philosophy of mass participation as the majority of the year group offer themselves for selection by their House Captain.

Winner’s Categories

Junior (Years 7 and 8) - Greville

Intermediate (Years 9 and 10) - Russell Greville & Russell come joint first Overall winners: Greville

Hallifordian Sporting Achievements

London South Central DPP

Oliver has had an extremely successful senior rugby season at Halliford. As a Year 11, he has cemented a starting position in the school’s 1XV U18 side. Outside school also continues to go well. For the past two years he has been involved with London South Central DPP (Formerly London Irish DPP). Oliver has attended weekly sessions and feels these have continued to develop his game. In May, he was selected to play against Bristol DPP, and London South Central were comfortable winners.

Harlequins DPP

Barney attended weekly training sessions at Surrey Sports Park with the Harlequins U16 DPP squad over the summer break. On U16 selection day 30% of the squad was dropped, with the remaining boys to continue weekly training in the U16 DPP until Jan 2024. Barney was selected to continue his DPP journey. He continues to enjoy the training sessions and feels they benefit his performance on the pitch. We have certainly seen this in our first XV. Barney has been another Year 11 to cement a starting position in the school’s 1XV.

Surrey County

Felix has been a county cricketer for Surrey since the U10 age group and is now currently in the U16 set up. He also had the opportunity to bowl in the warm up nets for the Ashes series in the summer, however a back injury prevented him from doing this. His summer was a little disrupted by injury, however he is now fully recovered and has been putting some extra sessions in before school to be as sharp as he can going into the winter training period.

The winter programme is working towards summer county matches against other age group counties. We look forward to seeing how the season goes.

RUGBY

Oliver White, Year 11

RUGBY

Barney Connop, Year 11

CRICKET

Felix Porter, Year 11

All my teachers helped me out in the first few days and made me feel part of the Hallifordian community. Here at Halliford the teachers get to know you like a brother or sister would. They understand how you feel and what you could do better with your mental thinking and physical actions. My highlights have been getting into the Headmaster’s 11 for football and winning the rugby Middlesex Cup tournament. I am really pleased I came to Halliford School because lots of my sporting passions are possible in this school and I get to see lots of new friends and study even harder in a fun way because the teachers try and make every lesson fun.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY Nicholas Shahverdian, 7D

FOOTBALL

Dexter Lee, Year 10

ISFA, Academy trailing and acceptance by Portsmouth FC

In July, Dexter went to Gothia, Sweden, for the World Youth Cup with a mixed Josh Evans Academy U14/U15 team. There were over 1800 teams attending and 262 were in his age category. They ended up going as far as the quarterfinals and losing to the eventual winners in a closely fought match. They were the last English team standing and beat Liverpool Schools on the way which was no mean feat. Dexter was joint top goal scorer.

He then had a match for Southampton against Manchester United which ended in a 3-3 draw and Dexter scored 2 of the goals after coming on as a sub. He went straight from that onto a Premier League DofE expedition with Southampton in the Lake District with other football academies. Dexter then immediately flew out to Sardinia on his family holiday. He played in the adult football matches there, including the big tournament they hold once a year. His team came 3rd overall, and Dexter got the tournament trophy for Best Young Player. He was top goal scorer for the tournament too.

Dexter then flew back early from the holiday as he has the start of the ISFA U15 selection camp which went on until 20 August. After the selection camp in August, Dexter was selected for the National U15 ISFA team. Throughout last year, Dexter was on trial at a number of clubs, including Chelsea and Southampton. Following four weeks of trialling at Portsmouth, Dexter received the amazing news that Portsmouth would offer him a contract. This is thoroughly deserved after the resilience he showed through the trial processes at a number of clubs.

FOOTBALL

Jack Giddens, Year 10

Academy Trials

Jack is a very talented goalkeeper who is started to get noticed. He has been on a number of trials with clubs towards the end of the last academic year and into this year. Some of those have included Sutton United, Charlton, AFC Wimbledon and currently Luton Town.

Jack has shown excellent determination and resilience to go through the intense trial process and has enjoyed working at a high level with the academy coaches. We hope his hard work pays off and a contract is not far away. We are monitoring his progress at Luton and hope his hard work gets rewarded with a contract offer in the near future.

Josh Hayes, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford as the teachers seemed nice and the school had very good facilities. I had been to one open day and really enjoyed the science experiments we did as I had never seen them before. I think the biggest difference between Halliford and my previous school is the fact my class is so much smaller and there are fewer people here. I attend Chess Club and I enjoy the strategy side of it plus I also sometimes do table tennis. When I came to Halliford I started getting involved with rugby, which I had never played before. I managed to work my way up to the B team which I was happy with and I have really enjoyed playing. My memorable moment is the school trip to Oxford as I had never been to Oxford before and I liked The Story Museum. I’m really pleased I came to Halliford School. I have had a lot of fun so far, I have made friends, improved academically and I am enjoying getting into a wider variety of sports.

It has been a very busy autumn for Sam and Harry with most weekends taken up with driving to different venues for regattas. Seven of those regattas have made up the Autumn Series. The ITCA Autumn London & South East Topper 2023 Traveller Series concluded with Harry Dence taking 1st place and Sam Dence 2nd place. They have both shown an ability and a determination to cope with different weather and sea conditions which has led to consistently good results over the seven events that make up the series and plenty of appearances in the top three between them. The seven events have been at various venues across the south east and generally consist of four races taking place on one day or seven races over two days.

Sam Dence, Harry Dence and Lucas Symons competed in the Topper World Championships and Topper National Championships this summer as part of Team London and South East. All three qualified for the gold fleet finals in their classes in the five-day World Championship regatta in Cork with Lucas finishing 61st and Harry 68th in the 195 strong 5.3 class and Sam a brilliant 14th from 60 in the smaller 4.2 class. With just a few days’ rest, Harry then had a great result in the National Championships in Pwllheli placing 34th in gold fleet with Lucas 17th in silver fleet and Sam 11th in the 4.2 fleet.

Artistic Gymnastics

Alex Brati, 7W, competed at the London Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Novice Championships earlier in the school year. He had a great competition, winning a total of six medals:

• Silver All Around with a combined score of 62.15 (a new personal best)

• Individual Golds in Rings and Parallel Bars

• Individual Silvers in Pommel and High Bar

• Individual Bronze on Floor

Middlesex County

Rajveer finished his cricket season with Middlesex CCC under 14s in the summer. He was selected to play in all games throughout a relentless summer fixture list.

He had a very successful season and finished second highest wickettaker of the year with a total of 33 wickets from 95 overs bowled (highest wicket-taker took 34 wickets from 145 overs).

Following this success, he was selected to continue with Middlesex U15s throughout the winter training programme, which started in November.

SAILING

Lucas Symons, Year 10, Harry Dence, Year 9 & Sam Dence, Year 8

CRICKET

Rajveer Johal, Year 10

County Water Polo

Earlier this year, George was successful in his country trial and was selected to represent Surrey U14s for water polo. Following the successful trial, he competed for Surrey U14 at Whitgift and had a great time! They came 4th but equal points for 2nd-4th place, so it was a tight competition.

WATER POLO

George Thorpe, Year 9

RUGBY

Harvey Connop, Year 9

Harlequins DPP

Harvey is a fantastic young rugby player. Following a school nomination to trial for Harlequins DPP, Harvey was accepted into the U14 programme. We are delighted at school for him. Harvey has enjoyed the training sessions, and we continue to track his progress.

RUGBY

Tom Aris, Year 9

Harlequins DPP

Tom has really impressed on the rugby field since joining Halliford in September. He took no time to cement his place in the A-team squad.

Following a club nomination for Harlequins DPP programme and a successful trial, Tom was selected for a position in Harlequins DPP programme, and will attend weekly training sessions.

Surrey County and ISFA

Earlier this year, Zack was selected for the Surrey County U14 squad. He also made the ISFA U14 squad back in August. In October, Zack played for ISFA against Brighton & Hove, and the Surrey fixtures. He also remains in the Fulham FC U14 academy. We are looking forward to seeing the impact he has in the Spring Term football season.

FOOTBALL

Zack Brief, Year 9

Ealing Trailfinders

Sam has been a key performer in the pack for Halliford’s 1XV this season. In October half term, Sam was invited to travel to Edinburgh with the U18 Ealing Trailfinders Academy to play Edinburgh Rugby Club at the University of Edinburgh. It was a great first match for Sam, resulting in a win and an invite to join the squad permanently. Sam continues to train and play for Ealing Trailfinders Academy, we look forward to monitoring his progress and seeing where this leads.

Jakob continues to train hard with many before and after-school training slots throughout the week. Earlier this term, Jakob swum in the London Winter Regional Championships held at the London Aquatic Centre. This is the highest level gala in London, bringing together the best swimmers from across the region.

He qualified for eleven events, setting some great times and enjoyed the most success in his favourite stroke, back stroke. He set PBs for 50, 100 and 200m - including a top 20 time for the 200, which meant he competed in the meeting final with the very best of his rivals. He continues to train hard with 17 hours a week in the water, including three 5am starts.

RUGBY

Sam Griffiths, Year 12

Earlier this term, Josh captained West Byfleet Golf Club’s junior team in the final of the Christie’s Cup to a win. For the first time they are Surrey County Champions.

The match was tied after the first two matches were complete, so Josh’s par on the last hole clinched the match. It is worth noting that Josh played despite the stitches in his leg following an injury playing rugby against City of London Freemans School.

SWIMMING Jakob Holder, Year 11

GOLF

Josh Stimson, Year 11

I decided to come to Halliford because it is small, and it seemed like a very good school. Plus, many of my friends were joining the school. On my first day, I was half nervous as I didn’t know my way around, but I was also half excited. I enjoy Computer Science and DT the most, and my favourite sport is basketball. My highlight so far was the English trip to The Story Museum in Oxford. I am really pleased I came to Halliford School because I realised that Halliford is way better in every way than all the other schools I looked at.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Sixth Form Politics Trip to Parliament and the Supreme Court

by Mrs Fenella Wilbraham, Teacher of History & Politics

In January, Mr McMillan and I arranged for the Upper and Lower Sixth Politics students to visit the Houses of Parliament and the Supreme Court – the first time we have been able to run this trip post-Covid.

We began our day with a tour of Parliament, led by a guide from the Parliamentary Education Service, who was incredibly knowledgeable and really engaged with our students’ questions. Our route took us through the Sovereign’s Entrance, through the King’s Robing Chamber and into the House of Lords, where we were able to admire the splendour of the chamber and discuss the role of an unelected legislative chamber in the 21st century. We progressed through to Central Lobby but were unable to go into the House of Commons as an emergency debate was due to start shortly. We finished our tour in the splendid Westminster Hall, with our guide pointing out not only where the late Queen had lain in state before her funeral, but also the spot where Charles I stood while on trial for treason.

Following the tour, we returned to the Education Centre for a workshop on the making of laws and were lucky enough to be

joined briefly by our local MP, Kwasi Kwarteng. Mr Kwarteng answered several questions from our students (and their teachers!) and we all appreciated his very honest assessment both of his brief time as Chancellor, and the prospects of his party at the next election.

We then had time to wander up towards Horse Guards, past Downing Street and the great offices of state, ending up at the Supreme Court in time for lunch followed by a workshop on its workings. The Court was not in session on the day of our visit, so we got to tour all three courtrooms, which differed in their décor but not their layout. Unlike traditional courtrooms, there is no dock or witness stand because the Supreme Court does not hold trials where guilt or innocence are decided. Instead, points of law are discussed, so the courtrooms are specifically designed to encourage an atmosphere of learned debate. In this spirit,

we ran through several recent high-profile cases which have been settled by the Court. The students got to sit in the chairs normally occupied by the justices, although there was much disappointment when the boys discovered the microphones were not on, and therefore, the ‘mute’ buttons could not be used to dismiss each other’s arguments. After much discussion, everyone had to put aside personal beliefs to make a ruling based on the law, with some interesting results.

The day linked well to the UK aspect of the Politics course, and it was enormously helpful to visit the places we spend so much time learning about in the classroom.

‘The best parts were the tour of Parliament and finding out that anyone can go into Parliament at any time and watch the debates

Austin Gardner, 7G

in the Lords and the Commons. Also, I enjoyed the debate between our teachers and Mr Kwarteng.’ - Ethan Goncalves Wilton, L6W

‘I enjoyed the laws workshop where we debated lowering the voting age to 16.’ - Charlie Thorpe, L6D

‘My favourite part of the day was seeing the architecture of Parliament. As a History student as well as a Politics student it was really interesting to see the statues and paintings of former monarchs and leaders.’ – Jack Warren, L6R

‘The best part was learning the interesting facts that our Parliament tour guide told us, such as Michael Jackson wanting to buy the King’s throne and being firmly told it was not for sale, or that it is illegal to die in Parliament.’ - Scott Smith, L6R

I decided to come to Halliford School because it sounded fun and friendly. I attended one of the open days and the activities were brilliant and encouraged me to come. The entrance exams were nerveracking, and I was very happy when I found out I got a place here. I was nervous on my first day but made friends quickly, and my form tutor helped me get used to things. I was also pleased that we did not receive too much homework in the first couple of weeks.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Trip to the Design Museum

by Mr Sam Watson, Head of Design and Technology

We took our Year 10 Design and Technology students on a school trip to the London Design Museum in January. We arrived at school ready for an exciting day looking at iconic design work and taking part in a hands-on workshop, looking at smart and modern materials.

After a short coach ride, we arrived at the museum ready to explore some of the most iconic design work of the 21st century. Our trip started with a workshop where students got some hands-on time exploring smart and modern materials and how they respond to external stimuli. The staff got the students to think about the use of smart and modern materials and how they might work in everyday situations and products. After a quick lunch, it was time to explore the Designer, Maker, User exhibition, where the boys explored the museum’s many displays, ranging from the iconic London Underground Map by Harry Beck to the Juicy Salif by Philippe Starck. After a quick stop by the gift shop, everyone was back on coach home to start thinking about how the iconic design work on display could inspire them in their own design work. The boys enjoyed seeing some of the products they regularly research in Design and Technology. They found the opportunity to experiment with and use some smart and modern materials in the workshop interesting, fun and extremely rewarding.

Harry Price, 7G

I joined Halliford because I was very interested in the sports and the many different clubs we could do, plus they have excellent coaching here. I joined Halliford not knowing how to play rugby but managed to get into the A team. I also joined Halliford because of the amazing facilities such as the whole DT workshop and the equipment in the science labs. On the first day, I was a bit nervous but also excited. I was very relieved when I learned that for the first half term, I would only get homework in the three main subjects: Science, Maths and English.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Halliford School’s Youth Speaks Team Triumphs in Rotary Club Debating Competition

by Mr James Hoare, Teacher of English

Halliford School’s Youth Speaks team, comprising Lucas Bullen in 10W, Nicky Bootle-Wilbraham in 9D, and Hayden Sanghera in 9R, has emerged victorious in the prestigious Rotary Club Debating Competition, showcasing not only their eloquence but also their exceptional teamwork and intellectual prowess.

Their journey to success commenced with a resounding victory at the Regional heat, where they demonstrated their adeptness at articulating complex ideas with clarity and conviction. Undeterred by the competition’s intensity, the team’s remarkable synergy propelled them through each round, earning them well-deserved recognition.

As they progressed to the Regional final, their determination remained unwavering. With meticulous preparation and unwavering confidence, they outshone their opponents, securing another triumph and advancing to the next level of the competition.

The District final proved to be yet another opportunity for the Halliford School team to showcase their exceptional debating skills. With their persuasive arguments and compelling delivery, they once again captivated the judges, earning the coveted title and cementing their status as formidable contenders.

It has been a pleasure to coach our students and watch them

hone their abilities as they prepared for the challenges ahead. The unwavering support of the Headmaster provided the team with the encouragement and resources necessary to excel on the national stage.

Now, as national finalists, Lucas, Nicky, and Hayden have etched their names in Halliford School’s history books, symbolising the school’s commitment to nurturing academic excellence and fostering the talents of its students. Their journey exemplifies the power of collaboration, determination, and the pursuit of excellence, inspiring their peers and the wider community.

As they prepare to represent their school on the national platform, the entire Halliford School community rallies behind them, cheering for their continued success and applauding their exemplary achievement in the competition. With their unwavering dedication and exceptional abilities, the future shines bright for Lucas, Nicky, Hayden, and the entire Youth Speaks team at Halliford School.

The Halliford School Production Of Les Misérables School Edition

by Mr Roberto Bruno, Head of Drama

Last week, the John Crook Theatre was filled with the sound of music and applause as our students took the stage for their production of the beloved musical Les Misérables School Edition. Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict who seeks redemption, and the struggles of the working class in 19th-century France. The production was a showcase of the school’s Drama and Music Departments and the talented performers, crew, and band who worked tirelessly to bring this epic story to life.

The audience was immediately drawn into the world of Les Misérables as the curtain opened on the set, designed and constructed by the Premises team with the help of the Halliford Art Department. The stage was transformed into a realistic depiction of the streets of Paris, complete with two rotating staircases that allowed for seamless transitions between scenes. Our thanks to Ms Gilhooly for all her help supplying furniture and props for the barricade and to the Head of DT, Mr Watson, for the brilliant props.

The cast delivered powerful and emotive performances that captured the essence of the characters and the complexities of the story. Laurence Hodson in Year 11 was particularly memorable

as Jean Valjean, conveying the character’s journey from despair to hope with nuance and depth. Rosanna Sessions in Lower Sixth also delivered a standout performance as Fantine, her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream bringing many in the audience to tears. Joshua Oldham in Year 9, Elijah Wilkinson in Year 10 and Billy Dobby in Year 11 also shone in their roles playing Eponine, Javert and Marius, respectively.

The ensemble cast delivered energetic and passionate performances that kept the audience engaged throughout. Their rendition of One Day More was a highlight of the show, showcasing the impressive vocal abilities of the students and the strong sense of community and camaraderie among the cast.

The technical aspects of the production were equally impressive. The lighting design created a moody and evocative atmosphere, while the sound design ensured that every word and note was clearly heard. The costume design was also noteworthy, accurately capturing the look and feel of 19th-century France. Madame Wain has always excelled in this area with her passion and creativity.

The cast has worked extremely hard on their performances, and we often left the rehearsal space singing sections of the songs. Their hard work and dedication are infectious and make me want to work even harder to make this a success. They have been a joy to work with, and I could not be more pleased with what they have achieved.

Director of Music, Mr Wright, added, ‘I was equally excited and nervous when Mr Bruno suggested doing Les Misérables for the school show. Les Misérables is a huge show to take on for a school for many reasons. Not only is it almost entirely sung, with constant music from the orchestra, but the set and costumes are a mammoth task, and some of the roles – in particular Valjean and Cosette – require a huge and extremely high vocal range. I was, however, quietly confident that we had the cast and the staff to pull off such a show. I am immensely grateful to the cast and the orchestra for being a pleasure to work with and for their amazing effort during rehearsals.’

Overall, Halliford’s production of Les Misérables School Edition was a triumph, showcasing our students’ talent, dedication, and passion. It was a night to remember and a testament to the power of live theatre to move and inspire.

A Level Biology Field Trip

by Dr Simon Brooks, Teacher of Biology

Our Upper Sixth Biology students spent two days at Bushy Park in March as part of their A Level course. The Field Studies Council (FSC) run an enhanced field work technique workshop, which enables students to complete one of their Required Practicals.

With thanks to a very knowledgeable FSC tutor, our students were taught various field study techniques before being tasked with planning and executing their own investigation into the biodiversity of different ponds. They learnt about random and systematic sampling, used identification keys to identify different species of plant and invertebrates, measured density and percentage cover of various species, and investigated a number of abiotic factors using light intensity metres and temperature probes.

There were opportunities for the students to carry out in-depth statistical analyses on the data collected, extending them beyond the Biology syllabus. They were able to use previously taught maths skills to calculate species diversity in two different habitats, allowing them to put theory into practise. The students were also asked to conduct risk assessments and evaluate their methods, further developing their working scientifically skills.

There were further opportunities to learn beyond the A Level Biology syllabus. Being greeted every morning by the resident woodpecker had led to conversations about specific adaptations.

Our students were amazed to learn that a woodpecker’s tongue is an incredible 30% of its total body length, providing a cushion for their brain as it pecks at high speed. They also learnt how the evolution of lignin, a plant scaffold, led to trees not being broken down for 50 million years until a fungus evolved to break down this organic compound during the Carboniferous period. It was moments like these and the teamwork required to collect data out in the field that helped the students appreciate taking their learning outside of the classroom.

Battle of the Bands

by Mr St.John DeZilva, Teacher of Music Technology

If you wander down the corridors of the Music Department on any given day, but especially on a Wednesday or Thursday, you can witness the smorgasbord of sound emitting from the Rock Band practice sessions. Mr Savides dons his ear protection and puts the range of bands through their paces as they learn, interpret, and refine their craft.

The riotous and nonetheless appealing canon of work is put to the test at the annual Battle of the Bands. With nerves tingling and soundchecks accomplished, it is entertaining to see the performers of all year groups in their rock star attire and assume their characters for the night.

Year 7, now under the tutelage of Mr Watson, started the evening with their rendition of the well-worn Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. The familiar five-note bass line heralding the backbeat and the vocals of shade-wearing Adam Povey echoing warmth and familiarity around the packed theatre. They had been practising diligently, and despite some stage nerves sailed through the performance, maintaining a steady pulse throughout. So very well accomplished on their first outing all looking suitably cool in shades and the band walking away with the best dressed band accolade. Encouraging performances from everyone involved, namely Arlo West on bass, Connor Ritchie on guitar, and Zaid Vink and Ralph Balmond on drums.

The audience duly voted their song as best song of the night. This was keenly followed by the Year 8/9 band, now more familiar and confident in their approach on stage in full rock attire, and despite a hiccough in the soundcheck with an acoustic guitar suffering the fate of rock star fury and being smashed to the floor, the trusted electric guitar came to the rescue. In any event, this will now go into the myth-making of their ensuing Halliford fame to mask an innocuous dropping of the guitar. With Hector Buckle-Wright on lead vocals, who in a year has taken on the mantle of frontman with increasing fortitude and flair, featuring Alfie Westen on guitar, Denis Lynch on bass, Henry Sykes on guitar and Harry Woodward and Tristan Bush with drumming duties.

Year 10/11 Rock Band came next resplendent with wigs and costumes and a theatrical and energetic performance of Teenage Dirtbag with a duet between Billy Dobby and Laurence Hodson

Year 7 Rock Band

drawing a huge response from the audience ably supported by the rhythm section talents of Seb Roberts on drums, Josh Newlands on bass and Jake Goodman on guitar. It was no surprise then that they claimed the top spot for an exuberant performance as well as Billy winning best frontman and collectively for best stage presence.

The Lower Sixth Rock Band accomplished an excellent performance full of ebb and flow and vocal harmonies. Featuring the singing talents of Rosanna Sessions who vibed well off her two other front people, Tom Lever on bass and James McCummiskey on lead guitar, amply supported by Laith Shafighian on drums, who were also tipped as contenders. It was a close-run thing.

Also in the running for the final honours were Senior Rock band which featured the strong stage presence and vocal prowess of Oscar Wort as he delivered a tour de force with their rendition of Muse’s Plug In Baby. The rhythm section of Daniel Hurlock-Bow and Josh Guild provided the bedrock for the band with guitarist Will playing an engaging and flowing topline for Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits to collect the best solo gong - well deserved.

However, the true spirit of the event was about more than just winning. It was about the celebration of music and the fostering of a supportive community. As Mr Wright, Director of Music, so aptly put it, ‘Battle of the Bands is about giving our students a platform to express themselves, share their talent and come together through the power of music.’

The Battle of the Bands has become a highly anticipated tradition at Halliford, not only for the entertainment it provides but also for the opportunities it creates for students to explore their musical talents, build confidence, and forge lasting friendships. A sure sign that rock music is alive and well at Halliford with unwavering guidance from Mr Savides and support from the Music Department.

Oscar Wort, U6

Billy Dobby, Year 11

Rosanna Sessions, L6

Year 10&11 Rock Band

The Elmbridge Literary Competition

by Mr Joe McElroy, Teacher of English

Every year, the English Department enters every Year 7 and Year 8 student into the Elmbridge Literary Competition 11-13 category. Run by The R C Sherriff Trust, this international competition is an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their imagination and enhance their creative writing skills. This year, the theme was ‘Fame’ and Halliford students did brilliantly once again.

Congratulations to all our students, particularly Harry Farrow in Year 7, who was awarded second prize for his poem Fame Is Not A Game, and Monty Pailthorpe in Year 7 who was awarded first place for his story The Musician and the Devil. You can enjoy their entries below. We would also like to mention Year 7 students Ahi Lloyd, Zaaim Chaudhary, Finlay Lehunte and William PascoeWatson, for being commended on their entries.

This year’s competition received the highest number of entries in its history and was extremely competitive, so our students did incredibly well.

Fame Is Not A Game by Harry Farrow, 7R

This is the tale of Harry, a boy just 13 years old, He claimed his life was dull and boring, nothing to behold.

He lived with mum and dad, his brother and his dog, School, homework, sleep and chores, his life was one big slog.

Harry craved fame and stardom, subscribers, likes and views, YouTube, TikTok or Twitch, which platform would he choose?

“Are you absolutely sure?” said mum “I can’t emphasise enough, Be careful what you post online, or your life could be quite tough.

If people don’t like what you say, they’ll criticise and mock, It could turn nasty quickly, and crush you like a rock.”

But he ignored his mum’s advice, persisting with his dream, Watching his beloved on-screen stars and learning how to stream.

Late one evening, he set to work, he had a plan in mind, Prime was the latest fad online and bottles were hard to find.

He sourced the newest flavours in his local corner store, Completing the full collection (until of course they brought out more).

He reviewed the Prime on YouTube shorts, some flavours were divine,

And when he woke next morning, of course went straight online. An overnight sensation, half a million new subscribers,

Thumbs up, smileys, follows, “you’re so clever”, happy vibes.

Boosted by this new-found thrill, Harry was elated, He stayed up later every night, those million views awaited. Videos of his dog doing tricks, they were really trending, The number of subscribers did not stop ascending.

A TikTok dance soon followed, inspired by Baby Shark, Harry’s fanbase doubled, he’d smashed it out the park. This new-found fame made Harry feel initially so proud, Walking with a swagger, chest puffed out, tall and loud.

Kids pointed to him in the street, whispering to each other, “Did you see his latest vid? When will he make another?”

He reached celebrity status in his local secondary school, Students in every year group acknowledged he was cool. Back home his mum was worried, she feared he’d soon get bored, Of the constant praise and admiration and being so adored. And sure enough, it wasn’t long before clouds began to gather, Thinking of more new content got him worked into a lather.

But it wasn’t just the concepts that were difficult to ponder, Harry had quickly found that fame wasn’t that big a wonder. Hurtful comments, online trolls, jealous friends and foe, This is not much fun he thought, feeling full of woe. Instead of feeling happy, the attention drove him mad, Being online every night just left him feeling sad.

The online world isn’t a friendly place he had now discovered, Just the same as IRL, he had enemies uncovered.

“There are always those who can’t be nice,” his brother said to him, “In fact, in some ways I would say the Internet is more grim.

But don’t worry, the world’s a fickle place and people soon get jaded,

They’ll find a new target soon enough, once your fame has faded.”

So Harry posted less and less, his screens no more appealing, He decided that he’d had enough and just what he was feeling.

Fame isn’t all he thought it’d be, it wasn’t that alluring, A fanbase is unfaithful, celebrity is not enduring.

Thinking if he had a Tardis, Harry would go back in time, To the evening long before he wasted £30 on Prime.

The Musician and the Devil by Monty

Pailthorpe,

7G

There was once a passionate musician who, more than anything, loved to play his old father’s harp under the old cypress tree just outside his town. Sometimes people passing would stop and listen to him and he always enjoyed sharing his playing with them.

One day, after several visitors had left, he found himself wishing he could play his harp for more people. The more he thought about it, the more the idea started to form; he wanted to share his music and perhaps even become a renowned harpist.

As he started to strum another piece on the aged harp, a tall stranger ambled towards him. The stranger’s face was partially covered by the shadow of the tree and a long hood he wore over his head. All he could see was two thin eyes which twinkled red. The stranger spoke with a hushed voice which sounded like the snow falling in winter and the leaves blowing in autumn. The musician shivered despite the warm summer’s day.

“What a shame that people aren’t listening to your incredible musical talent.”

“Do you not wish to play for everyone?”

“Yes, I do” answered the musician in a hesitant voice.

“Then take this harp; when you play it, you will become the best harpist in the world and everyone will want to hear you” said the stranger in a coaxing voice as he took a glittering gold harp from his charcoal black cloak.

“I am sorry,” said the musician “I have no money to pay for this magnificent harp.”

“This harp has no price,” said the stranger. “Only if you should stop playing it, you will pay dearly.”

“That is a reasonable price” thought the musician. “I will not have to pay anything if I keep this harp.”

The musician reached out and took the harp with an eager hand. In his excitement he did not notice that the harp was unusually light for its size. Nor did he see the stranger turn and walk away, leaving hoof prints in his wake.

The next day, the musician took out the golden harp and started to pluck a melodic folk tune. A group of passing peddlers with their wagons stopped and sat down in front of the musician listening intently.

As the hours passed, more and more people stopped to listen to the musician. As the day went on, the small clearing became crowded. When a circus troop travelling out of town stopped,

there was no room for them to listen. The musician looked down at the glistening harp and noticed three intricate golden tendrils growing out of it with each passing note. When the music died, the crowd went silent. Then suddenly they burst into applause and the musician was showered with coins and flowers. He laughed for joy as they all cheered him and his harp.

The musician stood up and began to stroll over to his cabin. There were shouts of protest behind him and people began to get up and run after him trying to pull him back to the clearing. He began to run as the crowd of impatient spectators flocked after him. He rushed into his cabin and slammed the door behind himself. He felt a twinge of pain and he looked down at the harp and was horrified to see that the tendrils had grown and coiled up his arm. He began to pull at them but felt a searing pain as they gripped tighter.

Suddenly, the harp began to play by itself playing the most outlandish but beautiful piece of music the musician had ever heard. Outside, the crowd began to bang on his windows and kick his door as the music crescendoed. The tendrils wrapped themselves around his shoulders reaching for his neck.

He heard a crash as the crowd broke through one of the windows in his bedroom. He threw open the door and ran for the tree. He ran like he had never before. He reached the tree and collapsed. He then felt unbelievable agony in his chest, and he realised the tendrils were reaching for his heart. He tore at the tendrils and pulled them as hard as he could. One by one the tendrils began to pull back and wither away. Suddenly all the tendrils were gone but the musician felt empty and half dead. With a sudden sting of realisation, the musician knew that the harp had taken his soul. As his world went black, he found his old father’s harp in the grass beside him. With his dying breath, he played one last song on his harp, finally at peace.

A tall stranger in a charcoal black cloak appeared from behind the tree and took the golden harp and tucked it into his cloak. He gazed down at the lifeless body in front of him and smirked. People can be very foolish he thought as he walked away with yet another victim’s soul.

The Halliford School Talent Show

by Mr Sean Slocock, Assistant Head

Co-Curricular

During the Spring Term, the John Crook Theatre buzzed with excitement as students took to the stage for our inaugural Talent Show, showcasing a diverse array of incredible talents. The event, organised by our exceptional Charity Prefect Freddie Scott, featured performances ranging from drawing and tap dancing to magic, poetry, and singing, leaving the audience in awe.

The evening began with a breathtaking live art demonstration by Upper Sixth student Will Shanley, who amazed everyone with his speed drawing, transforming a blank canvas into a stunning caricature of the Headmaster’s dog, Bracken. The magic continued with Year 7’s Leandro Hall, whose series of illusions captivated the audience while a musical trio of performances from Lower Sixth students—Scott Smith, Tom Lever, and Theo Howard—followed. Scott, who began learning drums at age eight, spearheaded their performances. Tom Lever, known for his bass guitar skills, impressed the audience with a guitar solo, while Theo Howard delivered an outstanding rendition of Hotel California

Next, Joshua Turley wowed the audience with his spinning, jumping, and dancing. Upper Sixth students Jivraj Singh and Tommy Ballard then performed Radiohead’s Creep, with Jiv on piano and vocals and Tommy on drums. Theo Wilson, another Upper Sixth performer, astonished the audience with his knowledge of Liverpool football scores since the 2016/17 season.

Year 7’s Ethan Parker took a more introspective turn, moving the audience with his recitation of Roger McGough’s poem The Lesson. Joshua Oldham then dazzled with his rhythmic tap dancing, his synchronised moves and infectious energy prompting the audience to tap their feet along.

Monty Savarino, typically known for his violin skills, surprised everyone by singing and playing the piano for the first time in public, followed by Felix Farrant, singing a song from his favourite musical, before Monty Pailthorpe left the audience astounded with his magical performance.

The event culminated in powerful vocal performances by the Year 10/11 Rock Band, winners of the Battle of the Bands, who sang their hearts out before Mr Hoare delivered a soulful melody, and the Staff Band, TW17, closed the night with a rousing rendition of Take That’s Back For Good, bringing the audience to their feet.

The Talent Show was a true testament to the diverse talents and dedication of our students and staff. Each performance showcased their incredible abilities and their courage to share their passions on stage. The event was a resounding success, fostering unity and pride within our school community.

Our House Captains judged the Talent Show and awarded Joshua Oldham the top prize for his tap dancing routine. Fresh from his role as Eponine in Les Misérables, Josh delivered a jaw-dropping performance from his medal-winning world championship routine—bravo!

EPQ Poster Presentation Evening

by Mrs Jennifer Piddock, Teacher of MFL & EPQ Coordinator

In March, Halliford School hosted the EPQ Poster Presentation Evening. All Lower Sixth students sitting three A Levels (plus several of the students sitting four A Levels) at Halliford School work towards the Extended Project Qualification, as we believe that the benefits to students’ research, organisation and essay-writing skills are so great.

The qualification is greatly respected by universities, who agree that students with an EPQ have a noticeable edge over students who do not. Mrs Piddock and the EPQ supervisors have been very impressed this year by the attitude of our students towards the projects they have chosen and were very pleased to be able to invite parents and members of staff to find out more about what students have been investigating. Mr Fulford awarded Ethan Drimmer-Kline the Best Poster Presentation Award and the Runner-Up Award to Samraj Satha. Theo Howard won an award for Best Presentation Patter, and Cosmo Sumner won Best Artefact Presentation for a fascinating presentation on the creation of his short film inspired by Wes Anderson. The Parents’ Choice Award went to Park Jones, and honourable mentions went to Lewis Gomez-Moore, Cameron Bird, and Claudia Frasik.

Inter-House Photography Competition

by Ms Tamarind Hetherington, Head of Art

As the winter months give way to the blossoming of spring, the Halliford Art Department organised an Inter-House Photography Competition, encouraging students to capture the ‘First Signs of Spring’ through their lenses. This Inter-House event brought together students from each of our four Houses, providing them with an opportunity to showcase their photography skills and unique perspectives on the changing season.

Over the course of two weeks, participants ventured into their surroundings, seeking out and capturing images that embodied the essence of spring’s arrival. From budding flowers and animals to longer days and brighter skies, students were tasked with encapsulating the rejuvenation and renewal that spring brings.

The competition not only allowed students to practice their technical photography skills but also encouraged them to develop a deeper connection with the natural world and appreciate the beauty of the season’s transformation. This theme aimed to inspire a sense of hope and optimism, as spring often symbolises new beginnings and growth.

The submissions were judged by the Headmaster who evaluated the entries based on creativity, technical skill, and their ability to capture the essence of the ‘First Signs of Spring’ theme. Mr Davies was impressed by the quality of the images submitted and the diverse interpretations of the theme.

Congratulations to Aaric Thomas in 11W on his winning entry and to Sam Kinmont in L6R and Hayden Sanghera in 9R on their highly commended entries.

Aaric commented, ‘In the photo I wanted to capture the feeling of spring emerging through the colourful flowers growing from the bleak ground. I also wanted to use the depth of field to focus on the nearby snowdrops in more detail.’

1st - Aaric Thomas, 11W

Highly Commended - Sam Kinmont, L6R

Highly Commended - Hayden Sanghera, 9R

Sixth Form History and French Trip to Paris

by Mr Luke McMillan, Head of History & Politics

In March, our Sixth Form History and French students took part in a joint trip to Paris, offering them the chance to expand their learning beyond the classroom. After an early evening Eurostar from St. Pancras, the group dropped their bags at the hotel and jumped on the metro for the last entry to the Eiffel Tower.

Visiting the Eiffel Tower at night was a magical experience as we were almost the only visitors there. The Tower was lit up beautifully, and the views of Paris at night were spectacular.

The following morning, we took full advantage of the hotel breakfast before heading to the statue of Danton to start our French Revolution walking tour. This took place mainly around the Latin Quarter and took in a number of very interesting and important revolutionary sites. We visited the oldest café in Paris, Le Procope, where the Cordeliers Club and other groups met to discuss revolutionary politics. We also visited the places where Danton had lived and where Marat had lived and died after being stabbed in the bath by Charlotte Corday. After finishing the walking tour, we stayed in the Latin Quarter for an excellent three-course lunch before Madame Wain led us to the Louvre

Museum via the spectacular Place du Vosges. At the Louvre, the group had the chance to see a good section of its collection, including the famous Mona Lisa and some famous revolutionary and Napoleonic art painted by Jacques-Louis David.

After checking out of our hotel on the third and final day, we visited the spectacular Palace of Versailles. For all the students, it was a fascinating place to tour. For our A Level History students in particular, the chance to see such an important site in the early part of the French Revolution was especially interesting. We then headed back into Paris for a boat trip down the Seine, which was the perfect way to round off an excellent three-day trip. We then headed back to the Eurostar, the group enthused by the trip and everything they had seen and learnt.

The Halliford Ski & Snowboard Trip to Passo Tonale

by Mr Sean Slocock, Assistant Head Co-Curricular

The ski and snowboard trip 2024 found its way to the amazing resort of Passo Tonale in Italy. This was the second time Halliford School has made the journey to this incredible resort and once again, it did not disappoint!

One of Italy’s highest resorts, Passo Tonale, is located on the pass linking the regions of Trentino and Lombardy. It has a compact lift system, guaranteed snow, runs mainly above the tree line, and, usually, long hours of sunshine. There are 30 runs in total, including a good range for beginners to intermediate skiers and snowboarders, starting at an altitude of 1,883m and rising to a height of 3,010m. The longest run is 7km long, adding to the impressive total of 100km of pisted runs.

103 students attended the trip this year, ranging from Year 7 to Lower Sixth. The trip had an auspicious start with the group being divided into two and, due to the size of the touring party, were split between two hotels. Group B left from Heathrow, whilst group A, led by Mr Shales, had a very early morning meet at school to get to Gatwick. This was reversed on the return journey where Group B returned via Gatwick and Group A

returned via Heathrow, albeit much later in the evening. Despite the complicated travel arrangements, it was a huge bonus considering all the many horror stories from other schools and their coaches stuck at Dover when travelling to their ski resorts! That said, we found a few Oompa Loompahs who tagged along on the flight back after there was an apparent accident with a couple of Sixth formers using fake tan.

Our accommodation was the Hotel Miramonti and the Hotel Dolomiti, a mere 200m apart. For the most part, students in Year 10, 11 and Lower Sixth were in the Hotel Miramonti whilst the remaining students were in the Hotel Dolomiti.

As usual, our staff and students had differing degrees of mountain experience. Therefore, everyone was put into their designated experience groups and the battle between the slopes and Halliford began. Many students completed black runs on the

first day, while some of our beginners learned the fundamentals of using a snowplough on the beginner slopes. The first day set the standard for the week and as is always the case, dinner was devoured with gusto. Laughter could be heard as stories of each other’s successes and mishaps on the slopes were exchanged.

The food in the hotels was exactly what everyone needed before, halfway through and at the end of a long day on the slopes. Rumour had it that the Hotel Dolomiti offered larger quantities even if the food at the Hotel Miramonti was arguably better tasting. Either way, the food was carbohydrate-fuelled, deliciously tasty Italian food. With the option of a salad bar, dessert, and pudding, Mr Watson and his infamous large appetite were kept well-fed.

The weather in Italy did not disappoint with the first couple of days being bright and sunny before the clouds rolled in and over 30cm of snow was dumped on the slopes. Each day, there was fresh powder and almost off-piste conditions in which to ski. Although poor visibility led to the third day afternoon session beginning with students wiping out every 5m down the mountain, some deciding to stay indoors and others making spontaneous moves to other groups, the result was some fantastic conditions on which to ski and board. The fact that the sun returned on the final afternoon topped off what was a fantastic week of skiing and meant the whole resort was accessible for the most experienced skiers. A particular highlight for many of the beginner ski groups was ‘The Husky Run’, which was a long cruisy blue that took you past a hut that looked after a pack of local huskies.

The snowboarders also enjoyed an excellent week. Even if they did lose one of their own after a mishap on the first day left Ethan Ladyman with a broken arm. Throughout the week, each member of the group demonstrated exceptional progress in their snowboarding skills. Under the guidance of their experienced instructor, Hugo, the boys improved their techniques in various aspects of snowboarding, including carving and edge control, terrain adaptability and freestyle tricks.

Off the slopes, students and staff were kept busy and entertained. Sadly, the night skiing we had planned was abandoned due to weather conditions, and only one activity group was able to take part in the sledging. It was unclear who enjoyed this activity the most, the students or Mr Boyes!

The après ski included another brilliant trip quiz set by Mr Wright and the introduction of a fantastic new activity, music bingo, created by Mrs Wilbraham. The quiz night was completed on our first full night, featuring Mr Wright as the special guest quizmaster. For the evening, every travel group and its staff member turned into a team. This unleashed the competitive spirit, with friends becoming rivals. The quiz was completed in a good spirit and allowed pupils from different years to learn more about each other. After the final round, the answers were revealed, and marks were counted, with Mr Boyes’ team, led by Ed Gentle, being victorious. This was a great end to the first full day of our trip! The music bingo also proved to be hugely popular as students realised just how well they knew different songs and lyrics. No more so than George Bellis in Year 10, who even credited his mum for helping him recognise a wide range of songs and artists.

As usual, there were many highlights, and the trip created some memories that will be recanted for generations to come. Whether it was a weird Italian disco for the Sixth Formers or countless jumps and falls, all in all the 2024 ski trip was a resounding success as students were amazed at how quickly their five hours a day of skiing disappeared.

Throughout the trip, our Halliford values were constantly displayed, and the hotel staff commented on this. Whether it was the value of resilience with students getting up time after time after the tough conditions caused multiple falls or the values of being warm-hearted and team players as the students were always supportive of each other, especially if one was having a bad day, everyone worked on helping them get over it. Awards

were given at the end of the trip for the Halliford values shown throughout the trip and these included:

• Resilience: Ethan Ladyman

• Team Player: Drew Jones

• Warm Hearted: Zac Spencer

• Intellectually Curious: Will Andrews

• Respect: Freddie Nash

• Creativity: George Regan

All the students truly represented Halliford School well, but special mention must go to Year 10 and the Lower Sixth students who impressed the teachers with their leadership and as role models.

On each ski trip, there are always a myriad of awards for actions and events ranging from big falls to lost helmets, poles or skis, an essential part of your skiing equipment! The Most Forgetful Student was Maxi Docherty, although special mention must go to Abs Sardana who even forgot his ski boots on the first day. Ben Slater produced the Best Comedy Moment of the trip whilst Toby Groombridge in Year 10 was always perpetually late! Fraser Greany described himself as a peregrine falcon but could be found falling off ski lifts or just randomly falling on the floor and earned the Dopiest Tourist Award for the trip.

There were many candidates for the Worst Lift Etiquette Award, as the emergency stop button needed to be used on numerous occasions. Monty Savarino in Lower Sixth really should be better after all his years skiing, but Sam Eaton in Year 10 couldn’t master the lift on this occasion and earned the Worst Lift Etiquette Award.

The Biggest Crash Award also had many candidates. Mrs Wilbraham had a particularly big crash where she flipped head over heels off the slope and even had Mr Howard wondering if she was still alive. Sam Walker, Sam Eaton, Zac Spencer, Max Smith and I were contenders, but it was Sam Griffiths trying (or not trying, but very nearly) decapitating Scott Smith who won

the Biggest Crash Award.

The Tidiest Tourist was Thiago Martins, for the second trip running! With Nicky Bootle-Wilbraham, Tristan Bush and Teddy Docherty winning the Neatest Room Award. The Most Improved Skier was Harry Palmer and the Best Newcomer to a school ski trip was Austin Gardner.

A Halliford tradition is always to have fancy dress or underwear on the outside of your salopettes on the last day, and this year, there were plenty of contenders, from pizza slices to Superman outfits, Faf De Klerk and Halliford School budgie smugglers and even an inflatable dinosaur. However, the best outfit was undoubtedly from Alex Kent.

Congratulations must be given to our numerous Ski Patrol nominations as there were plenty of students who were always on hand to help those in their group who had fallen over or who were struggling in the ski conditions. The main nominees were Tristan Bush, Alex Kent, Henry Breslin and Ewan Hill, but the winner for this year was the indomitable Louis Brati.

The Best Tourist Award is always the hardest to judge as students at Halliford School are always so good and this year was no different. In the end, with two different hotels, it was decided that there were two Best Tourists and these were Ed Gentle and Ewan Hill.

The last award is the MOSS Award, which stands for the Most Outstanding Skier or Snowboarder. The recipient receives this trophy, and in 2024, the award went to the magnificent Finn Llewellyn.

All in all, this was another fantastic ski trip, thanks to the wonderful students, the great snow and venue, and our ski company Snowtraxx. My thanks also go to Mr Howard, Mr Shales, Mr Watson, Mr Macefield, Mr Wright, Mr Churchill, Mr Boyes, Mrs Wilbraham, Mrs Turner-Smith, and Miss Head for giving up their time over the holidays. See you all next year in Canada!

Classics Trip to Greece

Introduction by Humphrey Pedlar, 11W

During the first week of the Easter holidays, Halliford GCSE Classics students journeyed to Greece. Our trip took us from the majestic Acropolis overlooking the city of Athens to the sanctuary of Delphi, offering ancient stories and some spectacular views of the Greek countryside.

Then, a long coach journey to Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, where we saw the original running track and even had a few competitions ourselves! Finally, we journeyed to Tolon, where we were treated to one of the trip highlightsthe ancient citadels of Tiryns and Mycenae. Throughout all of this, we were lucky enough to experience true Greek sunshine and some truly incredible views. Highlights of the trip include the Acropolis, Mycenae, and Tiryns, as well as exploring Greek culture in the evening.

Days 1-3 by Hugo Franklin, 11W

We arrived in Athens on a Tuesday morning and spent two nights there. One of our first sights was the breathtaking Acropolis. At 150 metres high, we all felt connected to the gods. Upon entering, the astounding Parthenon stood proud and tall. With a height of 14 metres, the Doric and Ionic temple is dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. It would have been used to hold the city’s treasury and intended to showcase the almighty power of Athens. The temple was built sometime between 470BC – 432BC out of marble. It was commissioned by

Pericles and built by Phideas. The chryselephantine cult statue of Athena is no longer around but it had several depictions on it: The Amazonomachy, shown on her shield, Nike, the goddess of victory, Medusa, shown on her aegis and snakes close to her shield (representing wisdom in addition to a Sphinx and Griffins). The birth of Athena is displayed on the east pediment, where the chariots of Selene and Helios are shown to struggle as they do not remain on the pediment because Athena’s birth is so powerful that nature became fearful of her. The naming contest of Athens is shown on the west pediment, where she and Poseidon both have supporters, and there are water deities and an olive tree present.

The metopes on the Parthenon include the Gigantomachy, the Centauromachy, the Amazonomachy, the Sacking of Troy which all exhibit civilisation triumphing against barbarism. They show the intelligence and strength of the Athenians to overcome such immortal foes. The Panathenaic Procession is illustrated on its frieze. An alter also sat outside of the temple as sacrifices did not occur inside the temple to prevent bloodshed and guts spilling everywhere. The Erechtheion was to the left on entering

and detailed the Naming Contest of Athens as it has a hole in the roof from where Poseidon supposedly charged his trident through to grant saltwater spring to the Athenians whilst a verdure olive tree remains outside from where Athena planted it for the Athenians.

Next, we travelled to Delphi, where we all visited the temple of Apollo. Delphi was an important ancient Greek religious sanctuary sacred to Apollo, the god of prophecy, archery, music and poetry. There is not much left of the temple, but you can see the theatre and get a glimpse of where the Pythian Games would have been held. For me, the most outstanding monument was the Serpent Column, which the Greeks built in 479BC to commemorate their hard-fought win over the Persian Empire. We then all headed for a nearby site with an unknown Tholos Temple with an altar outside.

Days 4-6 by Liam Nicklette-Doyle, 10G

The fourth day began with a now usual early wake-up, breakfast, and back on the bus, kissing goodbye to our hotel in Olympia. After a short bus ride, we had our first stop at the sanctuary of Zeus, also located in Olympia. We saw the treasuries, crypt, workshop of Phidias (who was an ancient architect), and the gymnasium, among many other minor buildings. The more interesting buildings came in the form of the temple of Hera, Zeus’s wife, a temple to Zeus’s mother, Rhea, and the remains of the temple of Zeus that was unfortunately destroyed in an earthquake. The temple would have contained the massive cult statue to Zeus, made of ivory and gold with an olive oil pool in front of it to make it appear to glow and shimmer. We also saw a tholos, a type of circular temple located in many places in the

ancient world, most notably in Delphi. The interesting thing about them was that we still do not have a clear idea of what they were used for. The last thing we visited at the sanctuary was the old track used by the ancient Greeks as a running track in the first Olympics, enacting our own race won by Ryan Mills. We then finished by visiting the museum where many of the artefacts found at the site resided. Finally, after a not so short coach ride, we arrived at our hotel in Tolo where we explored the local area and had a well-deserved dinner and rest.

Day five marked our final day, packing our bags and doing a sweep of the room one last time. We took a short coach ride from our hotel in Tolo to the citadel in Tirins. There, we could observe key elements of the citadel, including the hearth, tight entrances to slow down an invasion, and the sally port, which is used to allow a few people to exit the citadel, usually to ambush any attackers. After exploring the citadel, we travelled to the coastal town of Nafplio, taking in the views and exploring the town. We also visited a local museum, where we saw artefacts from Tirins and the Dendra tomb, like the Dendra armour, one of our sources for GCSE Classics. After some souvenir shopping and lunch, we set off to see the Dendra tomb, which was located along with many other tombs of the same size. Next, we went to the treasury of Atreus, more commonly known as the tomb of Agamemnon. Finally, we went to the last place on the trip, the citadel at Mycenae. We spent some time marvelling at its size before moving onto the main citadel, seeing grave circle B just outside the gates and the huge lioness statue held atop the main entrance. Once at the top, we could see grave circle A, where many artefacts were found, and the underground cistern, which is a well. This marked the end of our trip, as our next bus ride was to the airport, which took us home.

HALLIFORD LIFE

Lego Club

The Halliford Netball Team

Year 8 Religious Studies trip to Khalsa Jatha Gurdwara

Onatti Productions put on the German Play ‘Der Babysitter’ at Halliford

HALLIFORD LIFE

International Women’s Day Assembly

Aviation Club

Welcoming our French Exchange Students to Halliford

Medical Ethics Workshop for PHA Students

Spring Term Sports Report

by

Mr James Greggor, Director of Sport

The PE and Games Department continues to be extremely busy this term providing as many sporting opportunities for our students as possible. We have had Spring Term football training and competitive fixtures, cricket nets in preparation for the Summer Term, rugby sevens, Inter-House cross country and football competitions. Despite some challenging weather at times, a wide range of provision has been maintained. Training numbers have been outstanding and we have consistently fielded A and B teams, and we have a growing fixture list for opportunities at C and D team level also. My gratitude goes to the students for engaging with our programme, attending training in fantastic numbers and making themselves available to play mid-week and at weekends. Thanks must also be given to those dedicated members of staff who give their time after school and at weekends to provide these opportunities for our students.

Football Season 2024

The U12s have had competitive seasons as the results above show. They have attended training in outstanding numbers with over 40 students turning out each week to train. As a result of this we have made great progress this term.

The A team, captained by Sam Elliott, have had a strong season. They have impressed on the pitch with their determination and hard-working attitude. Ben Slater has provided great stability at the back coupled with Rajan Deol at right back who has also been a fantastic threat going forward. Sam Sloman up front has maintained an excellent goal conversion ratio, and worked incredibly hard to close opposing defenders down. Finn Baker and Sam Elliott have been superb in midfield, being tenacious in winning the ball back for the side and having calmness in possession of the ball to get the team passing it around well. There have been some fantastic results this season. Wins against Latymer and Claires Court saw us play some of our best football of the season. However staying in games and finding a way to get results was also a key feature of this team, highlighted with a win against LVS and against Glyn after going behind.

YEAR 8

Mr Fieldhouse

A football season of hard work and growth for the U13As saw the team deliver their best performance of the season away to Salesian College on the last Saturday of the season. After a strong Year 7 football campaign, our Year 8 football squad demonstrated plenty of enthusiasm and drive to succeed from moment one this season and performances have improved as we have gone through our campaign. The group’s training numbers have been excellent all season, with an average of 34+ attending every session. The ability to field A to C teams in Year 8 has created a strong pool of football players across the year group and real competition for places across all three squads.

The U13As started their season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home to Thamesmead School in early January. As a team, they didn’t get everything their own way on the day and at times looked a little disjointed. However, a first goal of the season for Ruark MacDonald and a brilliant MoM performance saw Halliford walk away with the victory.

As we moved into the first Saturday block of the season against Emanuel School, all three Halliford teams knew they would be in for a stern test against a much larger school. Results didn’t go our way on

the day against tough opposition, but having 40 students represent the school on a Saturday morning in early January was a true credit to the year group and football was the major winner on the day.

1XI match against King Edwards Southampton

A week later, we were on the road again to Latymer School. After a slow start to the game, we were able to put some better football together towards the end of the first half, but after switching off in midfield, we went behind 1-0 and 5 minutes later, 2-0 down. At half time, the group were frustrated with the final ten minutes of the first half and knew they had to take the game by the scruff of the neck to have a chance of coming away with a victory. A tactical reshuffle and a new spring in our step, the team were outstanding in the second half and got the game back to 2-2, with goals from Luca Brief and Ruark MacDonald. As we went into the final few minutes, the game was on a knife edge and both teams pressed forward in large numbers. After a half chance for Halliford ended in a free kick to Latymer, the ball was launched forward by Latymer’s last play. The first ball was dealt with brilliantly by Halliford centre-halves, but the ball unfortunately landed to a Latymer player who tucked home the winner.

Three days later, we were on the road again to Grey Court. We did not start well and the team found themselves 2-0 down within 15 minutes. After a first half to forget, the team knew they needed to right a few wrongs in the second half and take their chances when they came. Our back four were outstanding on the day, led by centre halves Samir Al-Falaki and Will Andrews who kept us in the second half amongst constant pressure from the opposition. As we went into the last five minutes, the game looked to be heading for another defeat, but all of a sudden, we were thrown a lifeline by top scorer Ruark MacDonald, who got us on the score sheet from outside the box. He only went and did it again two minutes later with a long-range effort from the other side of the 18-yard box! Full time score 2-2.

After the comeback of all comebacks against Grey Court, the U13As went into another tough Saturday block of fixtures against LVS at home in early February. Coming up against a physical team it was a true test for the U13As and one they took by the scruff of the neck. Down early to a well-taken goal from the LVS number 9 early, Halliford got back into the game through a penalty from Ruark MacDonald for a handball in the LVS box. Confidence was high after the penalty and we were playing some nice football across the team going into the break. The midfield was the engine room of the performance on the day with MoM Ollie Browning the pick of the bunch. Into the second half we pressed forward in numbers and caught LVS on the counterattack, which made the score 2-0 to Halliford.

After a season of mixed results but improved performances, the U13As finished the season at Salesian College on a wet Saturday morning in early March. After several cancelled games and a little bit of a break, the team were keen to finish the season on a high. To say we saved the best to last would be an understatement. We started the game brightly with some excellent one touch football and controlled possession of the ball in the middle of the park. A first-half own goal by Salesian College after pressure at a corner meant it was 1-0 to Halliford after 15 minutes and that was just the start. A few minutes later, Zac Wiffen appeared at the back post from a second excellent corner by Bobby Nash to send a volley into the top right-hand corner of the net from six yards out, possibly one of the goals of the season. In control of the game going into the second half, we pushed forward and managed to bag another from a corner scored by right-back Lewis Cain. The game looked comfortable at this point, with big impacts from the bench helping us continue to apply pressure on the opposition. Overconfidence in sport does funny things to you however, and after a counterattack following a corner, their number 10 slotted one into the top corner of our goal from a narrow angle. Two minutes later we again switched off in midfield, which brought about the same result, bringing the score to 3-2. A nervy last two minutes was navigated by the team; full time score 3-2. An excellent performance by the team and a great way to finish up the season. A special mention to MoM Zain Abou Hasan for an MoM performance in his first game for the U13As this season.

A big thank you to all the players for their efforts this season. One to remember in terms of growth for the group, backed up by some excellent stand out performances across the season.

A football team is often judged by its results and how many goals it scores in a season, but not this team. The U13B football team’s enthusiasm and energy to take the field and represent Halliford School this season has been nothing short of brilliant. Led by Captain Josh Cain, the players’ commitment to training has been excellent and they have turned up in rain, wind or shine in large numbers every week. Performances on the pitch have improved throughout the season and this was rounded off by an excellent away win at Salesian College on the last day of season.

The U13As started their season with a loss to local rivals Thamesmead School on the opening day of the season at ‘Wembley’. A tough loss provided some focus for areas of improvement for the team, but as always, they came off the field smiling and wanting more.

A few days later, they were on the road to face Emanuel School in what turned out to be an end-to-end thriller, with Halliford drawing level through Nicholas Lam with two minutes to go. An excellent display of courage and resilience shown by the team to get back into the game and a tough one of take by all involved. Special mention to Charlie Watson in goal for keeping Halliford in the game at times, pulling off some excellent saves.

At the end of January, the U13Bs were on the road again, this time to Latymer School. A tough fixture in the Year 8 calendar and this proved to be the case on the day. A dominant performance by Latymer School reduced Halliford to only a handful of chances on the day. Latymer came away with the spoils 2-0 on the day.

Three days later the U13Bs were up against another stern test in Grey Court School away from home. A school with a strong football history, the team knew they were going to have to be at their best to come away with the win. A much-improved performance on the day with several chances in front of goal wasn’t enough to get the win; final score 2-0 Grey Court.

After a couple of tough away fixtures, it was great to be back at home again on the first weekend of February against LVS Ascot. An excellent first half saw the team grow in confidence. A much-improved team performance saw the U13Bs go into the last ten minutes 2-0 up with goals from Leon Bleach and centre-back Zain Abou Hasan. But football isn’t always a fairy tale and two goals from LVS in the last 10 minutes of the game meant Halliford had to settle for a 2-2 draw on the final whistle.

To round off the 2023-24 season, the U13Bs travelled to Salesian College on the last day of the season looking to finish the season with a victory. To say they saved the best to last would be an understatement and with some strong individual performances, Halliford were able to dominate possession and had a couple of early chances to take the lead. Goals from Leon Bleach, Barney Edwards and Fraser Greany on the day rounded off an excellent 3-1 victory and a fantastic way to finish the season.

The U13Cs have had a frustrating season with several cancelled games due to poor weather. Halliford, unlike many of its local counterparts, can produce three Year 8 football teams and this energy and motivation to play football is what sets apart this U13C team. The squad has shown excellent commitment to co-curricular training this season and several players have played up in the U13B team across the season. The team had a tough away fixture on the opening weekend of the season away to Emanuel School. In terms of results, Halliford scored two goals on the day, Emanuel School a few more. But football was the winner and to produce of squad of 14 players on the opening game of the season, captained by Tobi Smith was hugely pleasing. After poor weather cancelled the team’s next fixture away to Wimbledon College, the team were on the road to Grey Court in late January. An end-to-end match saw plenty of chances for both teams, but an improved performance by the team resulted in a thrilling 3-3 draw on the day, with big performances from Leon Bleach and Nicholas Lam. A big thank you to all players who played in this year’s U13C team and good luck to all players moving into the Year 9 football teams next year.

YEAR 9

Mr Churchill

This season has been one of mixed fortune for the Year 9 As. With injuries to key players, some change in personnel and difficult opponents, the season was set up to be a tough one. Despite all of the obvious challenges, the squad rose to the challenge excellently, putting in a solid performance in the first game of the season resulting in a one-nil win against a talented Wimbledon College side. The games that followed saw a string of performances which showed promise in places but too often exhibited an openness in defence and lack of a clinical finish in the final third.

Half term marked a turning point for the squad who began to gel together and in turn put in some positive performances, securing results in their final few games of the season. In the midst of a difficult season, there were still some outstanding performers. Will Friend, in the centre of midfield, was a mainstay in the team, and was frequently the reason for much of the positive play. Around him Baxter Bell, Lagan Gomez-Moore and Jamie Lewis all put in some excellent performances, creating a formidable spine for the team. With the season now concluded attention can turn to the upcoming Netherlands tour which offers the squad an opportunity to finish the year on a real high!

Despite the struggles of the A team, the Bs in contrast have had an excellent year, stringing together an impressive run of results following early disappointments. Wins in the final two games against Salesian College and Glyn have given the side real momentum as they approach the European tour. There have been a host of outstanding performances in the B team, none more so than centre-back Charlie Crawford, who earned himself a call-up to the A team for the latter stages of the season. In addition to this, Theo Fuller, Tom Aris, Harvey Connop and Joshua Crook have all been essential personnel for the side offering a rigid defensive record and formidable scoring record to match.

Overall, this year has been one of progression, both in the way the sides have played on the pitch and in the way they have acted off it. With the excitement of a tour on the horizon, the side will be hungry to continue improving and hope this translates into four big wins on the continent!

Year 10 has been a wonderful squad to work with this year, continuously improving throughout the season and saw the result of all their hard work with a fantastic performance in their final game. Despite going unbeaten in Year 9, the first game of the season for the Under 15As was a tough opening friendly against neighbours Thamesmead, with a 0-4 result clearly highlighting the lack of preparation and self-confidence throughout the team when they were missing some key players.

This was discussed openly though, and after a few permanent changes made for the season ahead, the team rallied together behind captain Alfie Saunders. The boys put together a very solid display in a 0-0 result against Emanuel, where the score didn’t quite reflect the level of effort put in by the team. The defensive unit of Alfie, Finley Camino and Luke Golding were solid in this game and throughout the season, swapping positions whenever required.

There was then a series of cancelled matches due to the heavy rain and waterlogged pitches. This gave the squad opportunities to train and put tactics in place ahead of a tough away fixture against Latymer Upper School. Harry Jennings, Sam Walker, and Joseph Kalenderidis were especially impressive in these sessions, showing lots of improvement and trying to play to the system put in place. Mr Shales then covered this fixture and reported back that the team looked far more like their previous seasons, putting on a superb display of football and only coming away with a 2-2 due to a last-minute equaliser. On the scoresheet for his first of the season was Freddie Nash, along with Natty Schofield, who was enjoying his free role in the number 10 shirt.

Freddie led the team in their resurgent form, as this continued into the next game at home against Grey Court. This was an end-to-end match which finished in a 4-3 win. Freddie, with another two to add to his tally, Andrew Razza opened his account, as well as Jack Giddens, who enjoyed getting to play outfield rather than his usual stock position of goalkeeper. At this point, the decision had been made to make Max Hurn the number 1 goalkeeper and he did not let us down once throughout the season, performing admirably in every game, making important saves, and becoming a penalty-stopping expert. The team then travelled to LVS in Ascot and welcomed back Dexter Lee, who due to club commitments, was unavailable for most of the season.

The players saw this as a challenge to their position though and all showed determination not to give up their place in the team. Energy was high and this turned out to be a very well-deserved 4-2 victory, having to come from behind twice. There were four different scorers this match in the form of Dexter Lee, Freddie Nash, Andrew Razza and Jonty Wright. This showed the team spirit and willingness to work for one another all over the pitch.

Unfortunately, the team’s momentum was halted with another series of cancellations due to more persistent heavy rain across the area. There were more opportunities to train though, and this was demonstrated with continued high numbers at training, all with a willingness to listen to feedback and adopt to the style we were trying to play. This led to the final match of the season against Salesian College, who are always strong when it comes to the football season.

This particular team won the County Cup last season and had all the boys talking ahead of the fixture. This, however, simply turned out to be the motivation the team needed, and they were rewarded with everything they had trained for throughout the season, culminating in a 5-0 victory. This was as close to the ‘perfect’ game as everyone could have hoped.

Defensively solid, working as a unit in the middle of the pitch, playing in the right attacking areas and taking their opportunities to score. Andrew Razza was Player of the match with a superb attacking display and a brace of goals. Harry Jennings added two spectacular finishes to his previous excellent displays, rounded off by Adam Claudet, who unfortunately missed much of the season due to Drama commitments. This in itself demonstrated how the Halliford students are involved in as many co-curricular offerings as possible, but will always try and find a way to do as much as possible. It was truly a pleasure to work with these boys this year, and I look forward to integrating them into the Senior setup next year.

SENIOR FOOTBALL

Mr Morriss, Mr Churchill, Mr Greggor

‘To lead the team this year has been a privilege. We have worked hard for each other, but most importantly, we have enjoyed the season. After last year and our unbeaten record, we needed to have a big season and to compete. This can be seen in the increasingly better scorelines as the season went on, fighting hard in each game for a result. Thanks to Mr Morriss and our coaches for the support throughout the season, and thanks to all the lads for putting in a great effort.’ - Alfie Saunders, U15’s Captain 2024

The U15Bs were a fantastic group of students this season. They took it upon themselves to organise their squads for almost every match and sort out replacements for any injuries or illness. Almost the whole squad attended weekly training sessions and many of them enjoyed the competition these sessions offered.

Several of the squad also had an opportunity to represent the A-team throughout the season with players such as George Regan, George Bellis, Toby Groombridge and Stanley Goddard bouncing between the squads. Unfortunately, the weather, playing conditions and opponents’ inability to field a team regularly meant that their season was limited to just five fixtures.

The fixtures themselves were always competitive, and all of them were won or lost by a single goal. Caleb Baker was a tremendous captain this season and the epitome of this squad. He trained brilliantly and always came with solutions rather than problems ahead of fixtures. He was ably helped by Ewan Hill and George Dwyer to ensure that all positions were filled, and they could compete as best they could every match. An example of this is George Thompson who stepped in to play in goal and was one of very few students across the school who can claim a clean sheet. This also came in their only win of the season, which was a tightly fought 1- 0 victory against Emanuel School.

saw the

The start of the season looked promising with large numbers at training and the most competition for places we have had in a few years. This season saw the same coaching line-up, but with Mr Churchill coming into the firsts to add some youth and enthusiasm.

It also saw a change to selecting all four senior teams based on training and ability, and thus creating a genuine competition for places. The opening match of the season was a friendly fixture against Emanuel School, which could be argued as one of the best team performances of the season.

The boys kept it simple and played some nice football as they got to know their new teammates and really grew into the game. Theo Maroussas scored on his debut for the 1st team and vice-captain, Harley Reynolds, was Player of the match.

This epitomised the balance that this team had with a good mix of Year 11, and Sixth Form students. Despite several training sessions and trying to get the squad playing in a particular style and using the talent that was available to us, there were two heavy defeats to follow at the hands of Salesian College and Latymer Upper.

This gave the boys an opportunity to reflect on the start of the season and make some changes to the personnel, formation, and line-up. A player who exemplified this was Charlie Thorpe, who having

This season

highest number of students represent the senior football teams across 1st to 4th XI.

been moved between the top two teams in the opening fixtures, showed a great resilience and trained incredibly hard to win his place back and cement this position for the remainder of the season.

An away fixture against Burnham Grammar was up next and the squad knew it would be tough on their big, fast-paced 4G Astro. Despite going behind to an early goal, which was created through a very rare error from Year 11 and ever-present goalkeeper, Dan Gray, the boys didn’t let their heads go down.

An unfortunate penalty incident was then converted by captain, Harry Tuckman, and the team saw this as an opportunity to support one another and work even harder to help each other win. It was a brilliant display and their hard work paid off with a great counterattack, finished off by Felix Porter. Jake Symington pulled the strings in midfield and was instrumental in almost every game this season, thoroughly deserving his place in the number 10 role for the headmaster’s XI.

The positivity was unfortunately short lived though, as in the next match and final one before the halfterm break ended in a 0-3 loss to Claires Court and an opponent the boys would have felt confident about beating. Another senior player, Freddie Scott was voted Player of the match, but it felt that this was probably a reflection of his consistency throughout the season in the centre-back position. Halfterm came at an appropriate time in the season, and it gave everyone an opportunity to reflect and refresh for the challenges ahead.

This was met head on with a fixture against Shiplake College and it was a great display of character in what was the final home game of the season. Coming from behind twice and conceding two penalties added to the drama in what was a must-not-lose match. Lewis Gomez-Moore capped off a fantastic season with a wonderous strike from outside the box and Josh Rowe was always dangerous in attack. Unfortunately, despite getting back to 3-3, the boys conceded two sloppy goals whilst pushing hard for the win. This ultimately meant that the postponed game against Claremont the following week was a dead rubber, and became simply playing for local pride.

Without the added pressure, this did indeed turn out to be the game of the season and was quite the performance. Many senior players were selected for this in what turned out, for some, to be their last game representing Halliford. George O’Loughlin added some physicality at the back, while Matthew Jackson and Tommy Ballard were threatening going forward with the ball.

Tommy Moody was the pick of the seniors though with two outstanding strikes to both open and close his account for the Senior 1st XI. The game was end-to-end and the boys really got going in the second half, with the third goal involving almost every outfield player in the build-up and finished beautifully. It ended 4-4 and ultimately summed up the season of what ifs, buts and maybes. The boys were always a pleasure to coach though and their commitment never wavered. There is a way of winning, but also losing, and the Halliford values shone brightly for all of those who represented the team this season. We wish Upper Sixth all the best in the future and hope that they continue playing.

‘This season hasn’t been the best for the Halliford 1st XI, with some heavy defeats and several close games that we should have won. There were however many positives to take away from our season, including a win away at Burnham Grammar and an amazing comeback away at local rivals, Claremont. There is also a lot of talent within the squad with many of the team coming from Year 11 and Lower Sixth, which will be great for the upcoming season, as they can take the senior team to the next level and future success.’

- Harry Tuckman, 1st XI Captain 2024

Headmaster’s Select Football Squad 2024

Halliford’s football coaching staff sit down and review the season to pick a Headmaster’s XI. This is always a very tough decision and is not taken lightly. Students are selected based on a number of criteria including their commitment to training, influence in competitive fixtures and attitude.

Football Colours Ties

Colours ties are presented to senior students who have performed regularly for and impressed in our first XI this term. They were awarded to the following students:

11: Daniel Gray, Jack Gyles, Theo Maroussas, Felix Porter, Jake Symington

Lower Sixth: Lewis Gomez-Moore, Sammi Matoorian-Pour, Charlie Thorpe

Upper Sixth: Freddie Scott, Oliver Wingrove

Ruark MacDonald Year 8 11

Freddie Nash Year 10 8

Harry Jennings Year 10 5

Sam Sloman Year 7

Samir Al-Falaki

Symington Year 11

Shahverdian

Alfie Saunders

Gillam

8

Inter-House Cross Country

The junior competition comprises a 3.3K route along the towpath by Walton Bridge, onto Desborough Island and finishing at Weybridge Vandals RFC. Seniors run 4.2K with a perimeter around Vandals being added to the junior route. The scenery by the river is stunning and pupils competed in their games afternoons. Due to poor weather, Year 7 and Year 10 did an adapted format using the beep test as the course was under water from heavy rain on the days they were due to run their cross-country.

Despite some challenging weather all Inter-House cross country competitions went ahead:

Winner’s Categories

Junior (U12 and U13) - Wadham

Intermediate (U14) - Wadham

Senior (U15) - Desborough

Overall Winners:

Wadham House

Charlie Rodger, 7G

I wanted to come to Halliford as it seemed like a nice school that fit all my needs, and when I visited on an open day, it seemed even better. All the teachers were friendly, and everyone seemed welcoming. On the first day, I was quite nervous as I almost took the wrong bus and thought I had lost my phone, but fortunately, my friend Tom told me I was on the wrong bus. I made three friends in the first week. The lesson I enjoy the most is Drama and the difference from my old school is that Halliford has much better school lunches!

Inter-House Football

Students always look forward to this competition, and it achieves true mass participation from the House teams. Below shows the competition for each age group. The winners are listed as the top House in each column.

1st

Winner’s Categories

Junior (U12 & U13) - Greville

Intermediate (U14) - Desborough

Senior (U15) - Desborough

Overall Winners:

Desborough and Greville

Tom Jackson, 7G

I have enjoyed my time here so far and have tried many different clubs. My favourite clubs are DT, Badminton and Scratch Club. I am in Greville House, and we can call ourselves the best at sport as we have won the Inter-House rugby and football competitions. My favourite lesson is Computer Science as I have always had a passion for it. My most memorable moment was winning the football Inter-House tournament.

Zaid Vink, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because it offers loads of sporting and academic opportunities and sports teams for all levels of experience. Personally, I don’t think that the entrance exams were worrying, as you just have to lock in and focus. On the first day of school, I was so excited to make new friends and be a sponge for new subjects. Plus, all the teachers were so friendly and helped us through our first day.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

RUGBY SEVENS

Rugby sevens season is always greatly anticipated by Halliford staff and students. We always aim to get year groups at least two tournaments in the half term to complement the football season. Lunchtime practices proved to be popular among the boys.

This term we have entered Surrey Sevens competitions in U12, U13, U14, U15, U16 and U18 age groups. The U13s also entered the Millfield Prep School tournament, spending a Saturday in Somerset. Halliford have entered Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens Competitions at U14 and U18. John Fisher Rugby Sevens were also entered by the U15 age group in addition to their Surrey competitions.

Although plenty of tournaments went ahead, sadly due to the heavy rain experienced in March, this did see some cancellations to age group tournaments. The U12s was the key one as preparations for Surreys had been going very well. The season concluded with Halliford’s annual U18 floodlit sevens competition. This is always a superb whole school event with great support from parents, current students and Old Hallifordians.

William Oakley, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford because I loved the school when I looked around it, and my mum works here too. I felt nervous on my first day, but my form tutor, Mr Watson, helped me to settle in, and I made two new friends, Archie and Dexter, in my first week. I enjoy PE and Art the most out of all the lessons, and we do lots of fun things at Halliford compared to my previous school. I attend the Climbing Club in the sports hall after school which is great fun. I also play football on the C team. Unfortunately, I haven’t scored any goals in our matches, but I made a difference. I am really pleased I came to Halliford as it is really fun and there are kind people everywhere including my teachers who are very caring.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

CRICKET

Felix Porter, Year 11

Hallifordian Sporting Achievements

Surrey County

Following a back injury, Felix has resumed the winter training programme with Surrey. He has received positive feedback from his initial sessions and is feeling back to his best, able to bowl with some venom. The winter programme is working towards summer county matches against other age group counties. We look forward to seeing how the season goes now Felix’s fitness has returned.

CRICKET

Nathan Farquharson, Year 8

RUGBY

Oliver White, Year 11

Nathan has been part of Halliford’s junior elite cricket group which works with Ed Young on Fridays after school. Following a trial period, he was selected for the U13 boys London Youth Games indoor cricket tournament to be held in the spring. Only nine boys were selected from the squad so this is a fantastic achievement, and we look forward to seeing how he gets on.

London South Central DPP

Oliver has recently received confirmation of making the U16 Academy squad at London & South Central, which has been his main goal in the last few years of attending the DPP. He has played in a couple of fixtures against other academies and is now looking forward to playing in the Warwick RFU Festival over the Easter break. This is a significant achievement as selection is highly competitive. We look forward to hearing how the fixtures go.

RUGBY

Zach Smith and Will Shanley, Year 13

Surrey County

Both Zach and William have enjoyed another season playing Surrey County level rugby. The boys complete their A Levels in the Summer and intend on going to university where they hope to continue playing rugby. The Surrey County side has had an unbeaten season this campaign, a fantastic achievement!

After working really hard, competing in the 2022 season at regional and national levels, and riding at the 2022 British Championships, Ted ranked high enough to qualify for last year’s 2023 World Championships, which were held in Glasgow, riding as a member of Team GB. It was his first time competing at the highest level of BMX racing and, whilst he didn’t make it out of the motos (heats), he was ranked a fairly decent 57th in the world in his age category. It was an amazing, awe-inspiring experience for him, riding on the world stage, after only really having raced for one qualifying season beforehand.

Ted has just resumed racing in the 2024 Regional and National competitions and will be striving for qualification for the 2025 World Championships in Denmark. He is also in the British Cycling Talent Development Scheme for BMX, and has a training session with them once a month to further improve racing techniques.

LSFA & Portsmouth Academy

Dexter is enjoying his time at the Portsmouth Academy and has been playing regular fixtures at this level. He is really enjoying the training and has said the level of coaching he is receiving is excellent and that this is really developing his game. In the Christmas holidays, Dexter played for the National U15 ISFA team against Chelsea FC. He played right back this time and had a great game. The match finished 4-2 to ISFA!

BMX

Ted Young, Year 7

FOOTBALL

Dexter Lee, Year 10

Showcase Academy Football

Rocco has recently played some exciting showcase matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers at their ground and against Arsenal and Luton. Rocco often plays these matches mid-week so has certainly been racking up lots of miles with the travelling!

FOOTBALL

Rocco

Maroussas, Year 9

A talented sportsman, Nicholas has represented A teams in both rugby and football since joining Halliford in September. Outside school, he is also a talented hockey player. Recently, Nicholas took part in the Chiltern Challenge U12 Indoor Hockey Tournament in Marlow for Old Cranleighans and they were winners, coming first out of eight teams!

HOCKEY

Nicholas Shahverdian, Year 7

Laptop Donations for Level Up by

Mr James Davies, Headmaster

As we continue with our Microsoft Surface Go 1:1 digital device strategy, we were very pleased to have the opportunity to donate 40 laptops to Level Up.

Level Up Reigate & Banstead is a project that provides refurbished laptops for children and young people who need them for home study. The devices are cleansed and refurbished by technical volunteers before being distributed to children and young people via local schools and charities.

The charity was delighted to receive the donation and sent a message of thanks advising us that the laptops would be used to support disadvantaged children and children of parents escaping domestic violence with 15 laptops being donated to East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (ESDAS).

My thanks to Mrs Julie McRobb, our IT Technician, for coordinating the donation of behalf of the school.

Dear Halliford School,

On behalf of the Level Up Laptop Appeal, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your recent donation of 40 Asus laptops. Your generosity will have a profound impact on the lives of disadvantaged young people in the East Surrey area.

Your contribution goes beyond the hardware itself. These laptops are not just devices; they are gateways to education, opportunity, and empowerment. Here’s how your donation will make a difference:

Education Access: Many of the recipients come from families with limited resources. With these laptops, they can access online learning platforms, research materials, and collaborate with their peers. Education becomes more accessible, regardless of their circumstances.

Supporting those fleeing domestic abuse: Many survivors flee abusive situations with little more than the clothes on their backs. Your laptops provide a lifeline allowing them to access resources, connect with support networks, and plan their next steps. With a secure device, survivors can research legal rights, find safe housing, and communicate discreetly.

Skills Development: These laptops enable young people to acquire essential digital skills. From coding to graphic design, they’ll have the tools to explore their interests and prepare for the future job market.

Social Connection: In an increasingly digital world, connectivity matters. Your laptops will allow these students to stay connected with friends, mentors, and support networks.

Career Opportunities: Armed with technology, these young individuals can explore career paths, apply for jobs, and participate in online workshops.

Once again, thank you for your commitment to empowering the next generation. We appreciate your partnership in creating positive change.

With sincere appreciation,

Martin Saunders of Level Up Laptop Appeal

The Halliford Young Musician Competition

by

Mrs Helen Head, Teacher of Music

In May, we hosted the 2024 Halliford Young Musician Competition in the John Crook Theatre. This year’s competition was particularly strong in the Newcomer category (Year 7) and in the Junior category (Years 8 and 9) which was dominated by Year 8 students.

As always, there was a wide range of styles and genres on show, from Jimi Hendrix to Franz Schubert. All performers deserve credit for performing to a very high standard in front of an audience. Our adjudicator, Mr Richard Dacey, gave extremely helpful feedback to each performer and awarded the students as follows:

Newcomer (Year 7)

Winner: Leo John - Trumpet

Highly Commended: William Pascoe-Watson - Voice

Junior (Years 8 and 9)

Winner: Samir Al-Falaki - Piano

Highly Commended: Tobi Adeseun - Drums

Intermediate (Years 10 and 11)

Winner: Raphie Scott - Cello

Highly Commended: James Grant - Voice

Senior (Sixth Form)

Winner: Theo Howard - Electric Guitar

Highly Commended: Monty Savarino - Violin

Year 11 Celebration Day

by Mr Sean Slocock, Assistant Head Co-Curricular

On a warm and slightly overcast morning, Halliford students gathered to celebrate their final moments as a Year 11 cohort. Facing the day’s challenge head-on, they joined forces in an exhilarating Inter-House paintball battle designed to test their teamwork and camaraderie.

Before the day’s events began, students and staff enjoyed a hearty breakfast provided by our dedicated catering team, where the traditional signing of shirts took place. A short trip to Campaign Paintballing Centre in nearby Cobham brought a tangible sense of anticipation and excitement among the students. As they donned their camouflage coveralls and protective gear, the atmosphere buzzed with the promise of friendly competition and shared experiences.

Our students were split into form groups, each battling against the others in a series of adrenaline-pumping challenges. As they raced, hid, and strategically navigated the paintball arena, the spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship was evident in every student.

The day culminated in a thrilling mass game, where students had one last opportunity to demonstrate their skills and determination. Stories of jamming guns, dwindling pellet supplies, and evasive manoeuvres filled the air, highlighting the day’s exhilarating intensity.

While this fun-filled adventure provided a brief respite from the looming GCSE examinations, the shared memories and strengthened bonds among the Year 11 students will undoubtedly prove invaluable as they embark on this next chapter of their academic careers. We hope this unforgettable paintball experience served as a fitting conclusion to the students’ time in Year 11, marking the end of formal lessons and the start of their study leave.

Upper Sixth Celebration Day

by Mr Andy Carroll, Head of Sixth Form

On Friday 10 May, Upper Sixth students celebrated their last day of formal lessons before starting study leave ahead of their A Level examinations. The day started with an Upper Sixth Year Group Meeting and a chance for some words of encouragement.

This was followed by a Kahoot organised by the House Captains that focused on questions connected with the time that students have spent at Halliford. It was an indication of how well they knew each other that they could easily identify who ate Matteo’s KFC in Year 8 and who is the biggest Love Island fan. The quiz finished with ten minutes to go, so Head Prefect, Jivraj Singh, organised a singalong as he played Skyfall on the piano. He was then joined by Tommy Ballard on the drums as the year group enthusiastically sang Creep by Radiohead.

As always, the catering team did an amazing job, providing a fantastic breakfast as the boys listened to speeches and moments of reflection by each of the House Captains. The year group then moved into the theatre for their final assembly, where Mr Fulford and I provided some words of wisdom and presented them with their leavers hoodies, kindly provided by the PTA. The formal proceedings ended with an excellent speech from Jivraj, who struck the right balance between amusing and nostalgic. The students then returned to the Sixth Form Cafe for a formal farewell to their teachers, accompanied by tea and cakes.

Students then made their way to Thorpe Lakes for an afternoon of watersports in 23-degree heat under the beautiful Surrey sky. Activities included two Total Wipeout style inflatable obstacle courses interspersed with a high-speed doughnut ride pulled across the lake by the ski cable.

This was a fantastic, memorable day, and I am sure they will all look back fondly on it long after their time at Halliford ends.

Mental Health Awareness Week

by Dominic Connor and Cosmo Sumner, Lower Sixth

For Mental Health Awareness Week, which ran from 13-19 May, along with Manav Varma, Amelia MorganEvans and Scott Smith, we presented a whole school assembly to help spread awareness about mental health issues worldwide.

Mental health problems affect over 20% of young people. The week is held annually in May to highlight the importance of achieving good mental health, and this year’s theme was ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’.

The presentation included what mental health awareness is, what mental health means, misconceptions about mental health and how to promote positive mental health. It is important to promote positive mental health as it helps reduce the stigma around mental health. The assembly also wanted to highlight how important it is to break the stigma around mental health, as many people have the wrong idea, which is that speaking about mental health means you are weak or a burden. Instead, we wanted to show that talking about your mental health can help build a more supportive community and talking openly about it (should you feel comfortable doing so) can raise encouragement. The assembly also mentioned celebrities who have experienced or talked about mental health problems and covered who you can talk to inside and outside of school.

As the theme for this year’s mental health awareness week was ‘Movement’, the school created an Inter-House Rowing Competition during the first half of each lunchtime with different year groups taking part each day across the week. Each

year group rowed for 20 minutes and competed for which team could travel the furthest distance. With a variety of different techniques, teamwork and pit stops, some more successful than others, the results of the competition were:

Year Desborough Greville Russell Wadham Winners

7 3038 3257 3069 3407 Wadham

8 3482 3892 3167 3839 Greville

9 4111 4166 4028 3678 Greville

10 4551 4528 4548 4553 Wadham

Sixth Form 2956 2763 2505 2468 Desborough

Total 18138 18606 17317 17945 Greville

The ‘Wear it Green’ mufti day was a significant part of our Mental Health Awareness Week. Students donated £2 to wear mufti, with the added encouragement to wear something green to show support for mental health awareness. This initiative, along with other activities, successfully raised attention to the many aspects of mental health and encouraged others to take action to help, whether that be by looking into their own mental health, helping friends and family out, or promoting the messages the Mental Health Foundation and the school were hoping to carry across.

Lower Sixth visit the National Archives

by Mrs Fenella Wilbraham, Teacher of History & Politics

Our Lower Sixth History students had the opportunity in May to visit the National Archives in Kew. This is the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and it acts as the guardian of over 1,000 years of iconic documents from the Domesday Book of 1086 to the latest tweets from the Prime Minister. Over 40 million boxes are stored at Kew, containing possibly billions of papers, many of which remain unexamined by historians.

The workshop supported the students’ learning about the Mid-Tudor Crisis as they looked at the original Tudor State Papers from the reign of Queen Mary Tudor and considered what is meant by the word ‘crisis’. We were taught how to handle the original documents with enormous care and were intrigued to learn that white gloves are no longer used in the Archives as the risk of damage to the papers is reduced if done with (freshly washed!) bare hands.

Once we started looking at the papers, it turned out that 16th century handwriting is a lot harder to read than the transcribed sources printed in A Level textbooks. After a period of acclimatisation, everyone rose to the challenge and by the end of the workshop, they were confidently deciphering sources ranging from Mary’s coronation plans, including who would be wearing what, her plans for building more ships for the royal navy, to the tragic draft of a birth announcement for a baby which never came for the childless Mary. We were particularly excited to look at the original marriage contract between Mary I and Philip II of Spain, which the students had recently analysed in class. It was incredible to see the original written text, knowing with the benefit of hindsight all the ways in which the marriage would go wrong.

At the end of the workshop, we were treated to the sight of two of the rarest documents in the Tudor State Papers, which are kept under lock and key in a special safe and can only be handled by the archivists. This includes the famous ‘Tide Letter’, written to Mary I by her sister, the then Princess Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth I), before she was imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicion of her involvement in a plot led by Sir Thomas Wyatt to make her queen in her sister’s place. Elizabeth inserted lines between where her text finished and her signature to ensure that her enemies could not add any more writing. The archivist pointed out how her writing became less neat as the letter went on, perhaps indicating the stress she was under as she faced a possible treason charge and the fact that the letter shows she was left-handed, which we can infer from the placement of the lines drawn on the page. We also saw the will of Henry VIII, which the students have studied extensively in their A Level classes, which settled the matter of the succession of his son and daughters, as well as the seal subsequently used by his closest advisers to alter the will to give them more power in the minority of his son, Edward VI. Again, it was amazing to see the actual written documents and artefacts used by Henry himself more than 450 years ago.

The students learned an enormous amount from their trip to the Archives, cementing the importance of returning to the original sources to understand how history can be interpreted by whom and with what underlying agenda.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Jack Littlechild, 7D

I decided to come to Halliford because I had come to many open days and on all of them the tour guides had said that the best part of the school was the food (which is my main thing to look for when touring a new school) but that wasn’t the only reason, as Halliford is a very well rounded school with lots of clubs. I was so nervous on my first day and had trouble finding my way to lessons and getting the right books but some students in the older years helped me out and I eventually got the hang of it and fully memorised my timetable. I love sports and I am involved with D team football, C team rugby and C team cricket. I also do volleyball, netball, badminton and basketball. I’m really pleased I came to Halliford School because I feel that I fit in here and probably wouldn’t have at the other schools I sat the exam for.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Alex Kent, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because of the warm feeling I got while walking around with my parents. I also really enjoyed the open days, and the taster days were great as we had a chance to learn Spanish and we did PE on the back field. The exam day went well because we were in small groups and the staff were really kind. I also decided to join because of the vast amount of sporting opportunities at Halliford. On the first day, I was very nervous because I wanted to make a good impression, but all the staff were helpful in telling me where to go and what to do. I was happy that we only had homework in the major subjects for the first half term. The biggest difference between Halliford and my previous school is the Drama lessons. I love the Drama we do here at Halliford!

Year 10 GCSE GeographyExploring the River Tillingbourne

by Jacob Hollyhead, 10R

Picture this: a sunny summer day, a group of curious Year 10 Geography students, and a river waiting to spill its secrets. That’s right, we embarked on an epic day trip to the River Tillingbourne and let me tell you - it was a wild ride!

Our mission? To unravel the mysteries of downstream changes and witness the processes we had studied in class. Armed with measuring tapes, notebooks, and a healthy dose of enthusiasm, we hit not one but two sites: Crossways Farm and Abinger Hammer. There, we measured everything - the width, the depth, and the velocity of the water. And yes, we got a little wet in the process.

But wait, it gets better! After our watery escapades, we hiked to the source of the River Tillingbourne - Leith Hill. Imagine standing there, surrounded by nature’s whispers, feeling like true explorers. It was like finding the X on a treasure map!

Back in the classroom, armed with our data, we plotted scatter graphs and analysed the results. We compared our findings to our original hypotheses, and guess what? We cracked the code! Overall, we found that there were distinct changes in the river as we moved downstream. This linked well to the Bradshaw Model we studied in class.

Now, here’s the cherry on top: this adventure wasn’t just a fun day out. Nope, it was directly relevant to our Geography GCSE.

Imagine the examiner raising an eyebrow and asking, ‘Hey, tell me about that Tillingbourne field trip.’ Boom! We’d ace it.

So, shout out to our awesome teachers, Mr Aarons and Mr Boyes, for organising this mind-blowing experience. They turned a regular day into a memory we’ll cherish forever. And that, my friends, is how Geography becomes an adventure. Stay curious.

The D-Day Commemoration Visit to Normandy

by Mr James Davies, Headmaster

Along with Madame Lamy from our French Department, I was pleased to take nine students from Year 8 to Normandy for a truly unique experience as we took part in the events to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. We were hosted by the village of Rots just outside Caen.

Rots was liberated by 46 Royal Marine Commando alongside members of the Canadian Forces on 11 June 1944 as part of the D-Day Landings. 33 Canadians and 22 British soldiers lost their lives in freeing the village, and ever since 2004, a group of villagers have organised every five years special celebrations to bring together veterans and young people from the UK, Germany, France, Canada and the US to share in a series of special events to mark the liberation of their village and to honour the memory of those who gave their lives during the D-Day campaign and to focus on a message of enduring peace.

Our stay in the village, generously hosted by its members, was a unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in French culture and significantly enhance our language skills. We had the privilege of engaging with the events of 1944 from diverse perspectives, conversing with local youth, village residents, and families of the veterans. Although the veterans who liberated Rots are no longer with us, our discussions with their families offered a

profound understanding of these extraordinary individuals and their heroic deeds.

Each day, we engaged in some truly memorable visits to various memorials and sites in and around the village. We witnessed a re-enactment of the D-Day landings on Gold Beach from current members of the Royal Marine Commandos. Seeing them wading through the sea to make it to shore was a stark reminder of the incredible bravery of those who landed 80 years ago in somewhat different circumstances.

Each of our students had researched a soldier who was honoured at the new British Memorial in Normandy. We spent a very moving day finding their names and leaving a personal message to each of them, thanks to wooden crosses provided by our local British Legion branch. The British Memorial is currently hosting the incredible ‘standing with giants’ display of 1,475 metal figures looking out to sea in honour of the servicemen

and two nurses who fell on D-Day itself. We ended our visit by laying a wreath at the foot of the names of those soldiers who died liberating the village of Rots alongside flowers from the children of Rots.

We enjoyed many impressive displays of military aircraft along the coast both historic and modern, including the memorable sight of the Red Arrows over the top of Bayeux Cathedral. Every road seemed to be filled with jeeps, troop transporters and tanks of all shapes and sizes, and many a fond beep of the horn was exchanged as we travelled around the area. Perhaps our most hair-raising moment, though, was being pulled over at the side of the road by the French Police only to discover that seconds later, the vast Presidential Motorcade of President Joe Biden passed within touching distance of our minibus.

The highlight of the trip was our final parade through the village with all the young people from the different countries alongside over 200 friends and family members of the veterans from 46 Royal Marine Commando. Following a pipe and drums band and the amazing standard bearers of Les Drapeaux de France we marched solemnly through the tiny roads and lanes of Rots first to the Canadian Memorial. Here, accompanied by members of the Canadian Embassy, it was a proud moment for one of our students, Ben, who has a Canadian mother, as he laid the wreath to remember the 33 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives freeing the village.

After this, we witnessed the unveiling of a plaque marking the incredible life of the last surviving veteran from 46 Royal Marine Commandos, John Harrison. His son and daughter spoke emotionally to us all and gave our boys a unique insight

into their incredible father, who clearly holds a very special place in the heart of the people of Rots.

We then gathered at the memorial to 46 Royal Marine Commando to honour the memory of the 22 young men, some only 18, who gave their lives to liberate the village. The mayor spoke movingly and was followed by family members of those who are remembered at this memorial who recounted the stories of the liberation of the village 80 years ago. As their names were read out, a vintage aircraft flew overhead as we held our two minutes silence.

The day was concluded with a unique ceremony where we placed messages of peace that we had written into a special wooden tree earlier in the day. Messages have been placed in the tree every five years and will be opened and read again in 2044 at the 100th anniversary. The day was concluded with a folk ball as all of us gathered together for a final evening of dancing and reminiscing on what had been the most incredible week of memories that will last forever as we all dedicate ourselves to honour the memories of the brave young soldiers in the words, ‘we will remember them’.

German Exchange Trip

by Mr Mike Gruner, Head of MFL

After five years without a residential trip to Germany due to the pandemic, the MFL Department was keen to revive the long-standing exchange program with our partner school, Hostenschule, in Neumünster. Nine students from Years 9 and 10, accompanied by Mr Gruner, set off for almost a week in the beautiful region of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost German Bundesland.

Our adventure began with a very early meet at Halliford School. We factored in ample travel time to account for potential traffic delays en route to Stansted Airport. However, the roads were unexpectedly clear, and we arrived four hours before our scheduled flight to Hamburg. After a long and weary morning, we were welcomed by our German host families in Neumünster. We spent the rest of the day acclimating to our new surroundings, getting to know our host families, and enjoying traditional German cuisine. Most students met at Hansa Park, a nearby theme park, the following day for a great start to our week.

The Holstenschule had meticulously planned a fantastic week for us, balancing cultural discovery and fun. Our good fortune with the weather did not go unnoticed, as many German students and families commented on the unusually sunny days in Northern Germany. The week kicked off with an adventurous day at a High Ropes course. Laughter and shouts echoed through the trees, especially from Rocky, whose pained screams on the black circuit trail were a testament to the challenge. Even Denis, an otherwise skilled mountaineer, had to be rescued when his harness tangled in the treetops.

Later in the week, we explored Hamburg, Germany’s secondlargest city. Our brief visit to the Elbphilharmonie, an architectural concert hall and cultural hub, left us impressed. Next, we ventured to the Miniatur Wunderland, the world’s largest model railway system, which captivated everyone with its clever and dynamic displays. It is no wonder this attraction has been voted Germany’s most popular. Our travels also took us to Flensburg, near the Danish border, where we visited the quirky Phänomenta Science Museum with lots of hands-on exhibits and interactive displays.

At the end of the week, we headed to Kiel to visit a naval memorial and a U-boat along the Baltic Sea coast. The day culminated in a summer BBQ on the school’s playground, where exchange students and German families mingled and enjoyed each other’s company. On our final day, our students attended classes with their exchange partners, providing a glimpse into the German education system. They noted the early start at 8 o’clock and the early finish by 1 o’clock, which allows German students more independence in structuring their free time compared to their UK counterparts.

Throughout the week, our students were impressed by the warmth and hospitality of their German hosts. They now look forward to reciprocating this kindness when their German friends visit England in September. Despite England’s poor performance in the group stages of the Euros, nothing could dampen the spirits of our students. It was a week with sunshine, new friendships, sea, and fun. Special thanks are due to Mrs Piddock, who organised most of the trip but was unable to join us due to her pregnancy.

Academic Collaboration Week

by Mr Guy Boyes, Director of Teaching and Learning

There are not many weeks in school where students get to solve a murder, battle against other countries to control Europe, design their own animation, build robots, and take part in an ‘Apprentice’ style task to design a new cereal box.

We encourage our students to consider sustainability, however, this is not normally from the point of view of having just created a new political party or when trying to locate and design a new classroom. Yet this is what Academic Collaboration Week is all about - developing intellectual curiosity through a range of teamcentred activities. 46% of students said they demonstrated being a team-player ‘a lot’. It is about demonstrating creativity and resilience as problems are encountered during the day – a third of the collaboration day activities had creativity as the value that was developed the most. It is about showing respect and warmheartedness to each other as the days conclude and the wide range of student outcomes are shared.

Despite the media portrayal of Generation Alpha being globalised and technologically obsessed, their outcomes were exceptionally mature and positive. This was demonstrated in the Utopia activity that Year 9 completed. Whilst it is rare, every now and then a student drifts off to picture their own Utopian world where they don’t have to go to school. However, when given a whole day to design such a world, every single group placed huge value on the rule of law, education, farming, and energy. They were happy

to be isolated on an island, to not trade with the wider world and there was almost no mention of WiFi or 5G signal strength. Congratulations to James O’Connor, Will Friend, Kai Scanlen, and George Sanders for winning this day with their Utopian world titled Rango. Similar congratulations must go to Greville House for demonstrating the best application of sustainable ideas in both Halliford Heights and the Sustainable Classroom activities. In Year 7 Robotics, Charlie Rodger, Murdo Thomson and Alex Mcleod came out on top, while the best Crusades group was made up of Cam Jones, Ethan Parker, William Pascoe-Watson and Ted Young. On other days there were multiple winners in different Houses or groups and a number of staff have commented on how impressed they were by the effort of all.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Ryan Sekhon, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because it was my favourite school. This was because the school offers a variety of sports and does very well academically. I had been on an open day here twice and loved it both times. The entrance exam went very well. I was nervous on the first day, but my teachers were very good at making me feel welcome, and I made friends with people in my teaching group and form. There are so many clubs you can do, which my primary school did not offer. My most memorable moment is winning the Inter-House rugby and football. I am really pleased I came to Halliford because I have made so many friends and the teachers are very kind and supportive.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Shantiya Sahiholnasab, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because the sport is really good and everyone was nice to me, including the teachers. Sadly, I never attended an open day here prior to starting even though I really wanted to. I think the entrance exams went alright. I was really nervous but honestly it wasn’t too bad, the main thing is to stay calm and give it your best. My highlight so far was winning the Inter-House football and rugby. I am really pleased I came to Halliford because the teachers are really nice and the clubs and lessons are fun and you learn new things every day. The sport we play is really fun, and if you don’t know how to play, the teachers will help you to do your best.

The Summer Concert

by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

The final musical event of the academic year was the highly anticipated Summer Concert. The courtyard was again packed, with the event having sold out, and the catering team did a superb job with a wonderful meal for the audience, whilst the PTA again kept the drinks flowing.

The Year 7 Rock Band kicked off proceedings with performances of Yellow by Coldplay, and It’s My Life by Bon Jovi. The newest member of the band, William Pascoe-Watson, excelled as the frontman. His voice displayed the warmth needed for Coldplay’s ballad, whilst he showed adaptability in the much more powerful Bon Jovi number. The rest of the band was extremely tight, especially for a band so young, and they clearly have an exciting future. The Percussion Ensemble followed and, after their impressive debut at the Winter Concert, they again displayed all their rhythmical cohesion in two pieces by John Hearnes. The String Ensemble continued the thrilling start to the concert with a suitably dramatic performance of Palladio by Karl Jenkins.

Raphie Scott was the first of the soloists for the evening, showcasing his continued development on the cello with a beautiful performance of Greensleeves by Vaughan-Williams. Raphie’s rich vibrato sound and obvious musicality made for a delightful performance. The audience was then treated to an excellent performance of Sempre Legato by the Year 8 Piano Ensemble, before the Brass Ensemble, featuring newest member Monty Pailthorpe, performed two numbers with appropriate vigour. The second soloist of the evening was the veteran of many

concerts, Monty Savarino, who performed Allegro Moderato from Concertino in G major by Oskar Rieding. Monty was back with his usual accompanist Mr Davies, and the duo showed all their musical experience in a rousing finale.

After performing in class groups at the Winter Concert, the Year 7 classes joined together for a full year group performance of Viva La Vida by Coldplay. Displaying superb energy and exuberance, they delighted the many Year 7 parents in the audience with their performance. The Chamber Choir followed with a gorgeous performance of Life on Mars by David Bowie, with some lovely melodic singing from the baritones and the trebles. Their second piece was a medley of Beach Boys songs. I am in general not a fan of medleys, to put it mildly, though this one was surprisingly well put together by the composer. The choir pulled off what was clearly a challenging piece with aplomb.

Tom Lever was the next soloist, performing Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 in G major on the bass guitar rather than the cello, much to the confusion of compère Mr Shales. Fresh from achieving a distinction in his Grade 8 bass guitar exam, Tom displayed all his virtuosity and skill in almost making it sound

like the piece was composed for the bass guitar. Tom continued his presence on stage with the newly formed Blues Band, led by Old Hallifordian Jules Wain. Their performance of Black Magic Woman by Carlos Santana was a highlight of the entire concert, with immaculate interweaving guitar solos from Jules and the senior winner of the Young Musician Competition, Theo Howard. They followed with an equally impressive and energetic performance of Hard to Handle by The Black Crowes.

Following the Blues Band was a tough ask, though one that the staff boyband, TW17, took in their stride. Unfortunately, the busy summer term meant rehearsal time was sparse, so they plumped for performing Take That’s Back for Good for the third (and thankfully final) time. Whilst Mr Churchill again put all his effort into reaching the impressively high notes and Mr Hoare oozed his usual charisma, it was a case of third time lucky for Mr Shales, who finally got his ending part in tune. After the rapturous reception for TW17, the Chamber Orchestra brought the mood back down to a suitable level with performances of Toreador Song and Habanera from the opera Carmen. Louis Clark excelled on the trumpet with his melodious playing of Toreador Song, making up for the unfortunate loss of James Grant, whose flight had been delayed returning from the German Exchange trip. The cellos were equally impressive with their continuous pizzicato playing of the Habanera. The Orchestra’s third performance was in partnership with Rosanna Sessions, who reprised her role of Fantine in a performance of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables. Rosanna’s stunning voice moved the audience to tears in what was a quite brilliant performance.

Jazz Band were also without an important member of their group with Seb Roberts also being delayed coming back from Germany, though Mr Balecke reliably stood in for their two performances. Their first piece, Music from The Incredibles, was probably the most challenging piece for any of the ensembles, and they impressively followed this up with a rousing performance of National Express by The Divine Comedy. Barbershop followed

with a harmonious performance of De Animals A-Comin’, before Mr Hoare joined them on stage for what was by far the most surreal performance of the evening. Half-way through the performance of I Wan’na Be Like You from The Jungle Book, Mr Hoare unexpectedly left the stage, and returned a minute later adorned in a full gorilla outfit to scat and dance his way through the finale of the piece, much to the amusement of the audience.

Closing the concert were the remaining bands, whose performances made quite the impression on the Shepperton Facebook group, with the local community posting some very supportive comments with many not wanting the music to end. The Year 8/9 Rock Band were the first to perform with performances of Basket Case by Green Day and Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Another band with rich potential, Henry Sykes and Alfie Westen were particularly impressive on the guitar, whilst Tobi Smith and Hector Buckle-Wright ably led the band. The Year 10/11 Rock Band, whose rehearsal time this year had been curtailed considerably owing to Les Misérables and GCSE exams, showed no sign of rustiness with a technically sound performance of Snow by Red Hot Chili Peppers, before having many audience members on their feet with a fantastically energetic performance of Beggin by Måneskin. Billy Dobby again impressed as the frontman, whilst the cohesion of Laurence Hodson, Josh Newlands and Jake Goodman was superb. The evening finished with performances by the Lower Sixth Rock Band, who started with their excellent rendition of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. Swapping lead singers for No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age, James McCummiskey displayed his burgeoning double talents as singer and guitarist in this impressive cover. The band concluded their set with I Want You Back by Jackson 5, with Daniel Bootle-Wilbraham’s piano playing particularly impressive for this number.

My thanks go to all the student performers, the staff members and, of course, the parents in the audience for making this a Summer Concert to remember.

Modern Foreign Languages

by Mrs Jennifer Piddock, Teacher of MFL

GCHQ

In November, teams of Year 9 students took part in the GCHQ National Language Competition, a virtual competition in which teams from schools around the UK compete in their own time during breaks and after school to solve language-based puzzles and score points. Congratulations to Ollie Musgrave, William Stevenson and Leo Pearson, whose team ranked 185th (out of 3,038 teams) in the country.

Goethe Institut Trip

The Year 10 German students visited the Goethe Institut in South Kensington in January for a presentation on German and Music, a treasure hunt around their impressive library and a German movie. ‘Gummibärchen’ prizes were awarded for good participation and top scorers! We watched Goodbye Lenin, a tragicomedy about life in Berlin just before and after ‘Die Wende’, when the Berlin Wall fell and East and West Germany were reunited.

Onatti German Play

In February, the Onatti Production Company visited Halliford School to perform their German-language play Der Babysitter for students of German in Years 7-10. Halliford students were also joined by students from St. George’s, Manor House School and Sir William Perkins’s School and the amusing production was enjoyed by all. The experience was summed up by Denis Lynch in 9D, ‘The German play was very interesting and exciting. Even though it was in German I still understood everything really well. It was also very interactive with the actors asking for help from the other schools there as well as Halliford!’

UKLO

Keen linguistics in Years 9 and 10 were again invited to compete in the UK Linguistics Olympiad in February. Students were presented with puzzles that had nothing to do with their prior knowledge of French, Spanish or German. Instead they had to think like codebreakers to analyse data they were given in an unknown language and work out rules to solve the problems. Congratulations to George Sanders and Keelan Thomas who won Gold Awards.

Roberts

Baker

Jack Giddens

Ollie Musgrave

Thiago Martins

Reading at Halliford

by Mrs Tiffany Howkins, Librarian

Keen to continue the progress we made throughout the last academic year; we kicked off the autumn term with a visit from poet and ‘writer-type’ Dan Simpson to coincide with National Poetry Day. Dan gave an inspirational whole-school assembly and engaged the whole school body sharing his journey to becoming the poet and ‘writer-type’ he is today.

He gave a dynamic performance sharing his memorable poem written about his dad’s experience as a London cabby. The whole poem used consonants and just one vowel throughout, a technique we all learned is called ‘univocalic’ or ‘constrained writing.’

Throughout the day, Dan worked with groups of Year 10 students and guided them in writing their own poetry. There were moments of great hilarity when students compared their voice to being like a stacked burger (made of many layers of course!) to more serious reflection on wanting their voice to be heard in a meaningful way.

For the first time, we took our Year 7 students to The Story Museum in Oxford. As a new trip we weren’t sure what to expect, but it is safe to say that both students and staff were blown away by the experience and we can’t wait to take the new Year 7 back next year. The highlight for many was the Wonder Walk around Oxford where we learned about the different settings that have been the inspiration for many

great authors. From the Narnia lamppost and Alice’s gate to the spires and rooftops of Oxford. The Wonder Walk took us through stunning locations including the Radcliffe Camera and Christ Church, with a few dragons along the way! The students (and some very excited staff) learned about authors past and present who have been inspired by Oxford in some way: Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The Girl of Ink and Stars), C.S. Lewis (the Narnia series), J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit), Lewis Carroll (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Philip Pullman (Northern Lights trilogy), Katherine Rundell (Rooftoppers and Impossible Creatures) and Patience Agbabi (The Infinite).

The reviews of our trip to The Story Museum are in:

‘The Story Museum was amazing! We did so many interesting things including writing a short story using words given to us by other people and incorporating them into the story. We explored areas where we could see things that are used in stories in the gallery area. You could even walk into recreations

Year 7 Trip to The Story Museum

of areas that are from amazing books like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Alice in Wonderland, and The Subtle Knife.’ – Dexter Perkins, 7R

‘The Story Museum was amazing because we learned a lot about old and new stories and their authors in a fun way. There are many experiences including a magical library in which you can walk into stories and interact with the items and scenery inside of them. We also went on a walk around Oxford and went to important locations related to old stories and learned about why authors took inspiration from them. Overall, it was the perfect balance of an enjoyable experience and a fascinating and educational journey through the timeline of stories. In my opinion there is something for everybody and I would definitely go back if I had the chance.’ – William Pascoe-Watson, 7R

‘I thought The Story Museum was great. There were lots of fun activities that were all very entertaining. One of the best parts of the trip would be the time machine, where we went back in time and looked at different authors and their stories, quite fascinating. There are lots of exciting things to do there like walking into a magical forest and an enchanted library. I would definitely go back!’ - Harry

Farrow,

7R

World Book Day has been a low-key affair over the last couple of years. This year, both the library staff and the English Department were keen to use the annual event to promote reading for different purposes (including for enjoyment!) and decided on a week of reading related activities. To kick off the week, Mr McElroy took us on a journey through the history of language in an engaging and informative whole-school

assembly and book swaps were organised throughout the week for both students and staff. The highlight of the week was undoubtedly the World Book Day Quiz hosted by the one and only Mr Hoare. Eight teams took part in a rigorous test that ranged from childhood favourites to my personal favourite round ‘Batman or the Bard?’ It was great to see students from Year 7 to Year 11 taking part in our first (definitely not last) World Book Day Quiz. The jovial atmosphere was made all the more festive when our outstanding host Mr Hoare gave an energetic reading of his own masterpiece, The Tale of Van IceCream, while we hastily marked all the papers. I’m not sure the performance can be topped, but we will of course try again next year! A huge congratulations to all the teams that took part and especially our winners, ‘The Fellowship of the Quiz,’ featuring James Grant, Lucas Bullen, James Dow and Daniel McCrory from Year 10.

To end the week, and to keep staff going (not least the library staff), a staff bake sale was held to raise funds for the World Book Day charity. Madame Lamy stunned with her beautiful cake design inspired by Antoine de St Exupery’s Le Petit Prince. The standard has been set and the cogs are already whirring for next year’s events.

Following our entry into last year’s National Reading Champions Quiz run by the Literacy Trust where our team narrowly missed a spot in the final, we eagerly entered two teams to this year’s competition. Returning students Noah Edwards and Keelan Thomas led their teams in a challenging competition that lasted over two hours and tested the students’ knowledge across a wide range of genres.

World Book Day Quiz - Winning Team with Quizmaster Mr Hoare

While we were unsuccessful at getting a top spot this year, the students were still positive about their experience and are even more determined for victory next year. My thanks to the two team captains, Noah and Keelan, and their teammates Christopher Ellison, Kasper Winterbottom, Oliver Gardner, Barnaby Pedlar, George Sanders and Zachary Markham.

Our Key Stage 3 students have continued to engage with the Accelerated Reader Programme that encourages students to read at an appropriate level that will continue to challenge their vocabulary and understanding while helping them to make accelerated progress. This year, 13 students have become a coveted ‘Word Millionaire’ compared to five last year and on average pupils have made eleven months progress this academic year. We continue to develop and expand our range of physical books on offer to students and encourage students to read widely as well as challenging themselves within their ZPD range.

We say ‘Goodbye,’ and ‘Good luck,’ to our Upper Sixth Student Library Ambassador Cosmo Chippendale at the end of this academic year. We would like to thank Cosmo for giving up his time to support us in the LRC during our busy lunchtimes. We are left with five highly motivated Library Ambassadors who do an excellent job of supporting library staff before school, at break time and during lunch times. Joshua Turley, James Grant, Christopher Ellison, Henry Breslin and AJ Scott bring their enthusiasm for reading and positivity to the role. Our Student Library Ambassadors have learned how to re-shelve books, issue and return books to students using the Library Web App, and help to process new stock. Students in all year groups are welcome to apply for a voluntary role as a Student Library

Ambassador and should speak to library staff, or indeed a current Student Library Ambassador, for further details. Henry, our newest recruit has this to say, ‘I became a Library Ambassador because of my passion for reading, and that is something that all Library Ambassadors share. It feels rewarding when you help somebody find their next reading adventure or help display the books in an ordered way. I look most forward to encouraging the younger years at Halliford to read out of their comfort zone and to help them develop in English.’

We continue to drive a strong reading culture here at Halliford and look forward to repeating some of our successful endeavours in the next academic year. We also have some exciting surprises planned for the autumn term when there will be a real ‘buzz’ in the air!

Visit by the Poet Dan Simpson

Year 7 Trip to The Story Museum

The Duke of Edinburgh Award

Bronze DofE

By Mr Sam Watson, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator

During April and May, I had the great pleasure of accompanying the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh students completing their practice and assessed expeditions in the South Downs. With over 90% of Year 9 taking part, it was a busy weekend of walking, camping and excellent cooking. With fantastic weather, the boys walked many kilometres with their groups, demonstrating the Halliford values of Teamwork and Resilience. Pringles Peaks were delighted with the attitude and conduct of the boys, and the atmosphere at camp was excellent. The leadership and teamwork on display was outstanding with all students rising to the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and I hope all the students taking part in the award this year gain greatly from it.

Silver DofE

By Madame Charlotte Lamy,

Teacher of MFL

22 Year 10 students have embarked on their DofE Silver Journey this year. For their volunteering section, students chose to pick up litter, help in charity shops, and support younger or older people. They also developed a wide range of skills, such as cooking, chess, and photography. Sports chosen by students included football, tennis, swimming, and mountain biking. The pinnacle of the DofE Award

is the expeditions. Following a training day in September, students undertook two expeditions of three days and two nights over the summer. The practice expedition took them through the scenic South Downs, where they spent the first night in the company of the campsite roaster and the second night amidst sheep and lambs. For the Assessment Expeditions, we ventured into the New Forest. Despite the challenging wet conditions, the students’ determination and adaptability shone through, maintaining their high spirits and enthusiasm. A commendable display of resilience!

Gold DofE

By Shreya Mistry, U6W

In the summer break, seven of us took part in our Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition up in the Lake District. Our expedition consisted of stunning views, navigating as a team, some decent weather and a ferry trip across Lake Windemere. It was an expedition packed with kilometres of walking but the campsites and hot showers at the end of each day were the things that kept us going. We also completed a wild camp up in the mountains and it would be something all of us would do again. Now that our expedition is finished, we look to complete our various sections that make up our award and we cannot wait to achieve the final product.

The School Production of DNA

by Mr Roberto Bruno, Head of Drama

This year, we have started a new Halliford Drama tradition of producing and performing the senior play. This is a smaller-scale performance where students from Year 9 upwards can participate and put on an epic show. The casting of these plays is very selective and will take the students who are best suited to play.

The Drama Department selected the play DNA by Dennis Kelly, a play about a group of friends who make some bad choices and give in to peer pressure. Due to the nature of the characters in this play, I opted for a cast with mainly Year 9 and 10 students.

Once the selective cast of eleven was chosen, the team got to work with long rehearsals every chance we could get, and it was a pleasure working with a mix of Halliford Drama professionals, who take to the stage every chance they get alongside some new faces who showcased their debuts on the Halliford stage. Working with a cast like this was a lot of fun, and I admired their dedication to the new project. Now, a show can’t survive on performers alone, and in true Halliford fashion, we had students leading behind the scenes. Arthur Hetherington-Johns was the mastermind behind sound and was partnered with Daniel Wheeler, who created all the lighting states on stage. Joshua Turley helped me direct the play, and I enjoyed his hands-on approach to rehearsals.

The performance of DNA was a success, and the audience was shocked one moment and then laughed the next. I was so pleased with the cast named below. There were some outstanding performances. Elijah Wilkinson, who played the

role of Lee, and is a master of the stage, had the audience engaged with his humorous monologues and exemplary comic timing. Will Friend, for the first time performing on stage, was outstanding playing the quiet leader Phil. His physical comedy was excellent, and despite eating throughout the majority of the play, he was able to make the character of Phil come to life. As the director, I was very proud of the cast, and I look forward to working with these talented individuals on the next Halliford Drama performance. Well done to all involved.

• Charlie Grant - Mark

• Will Bentley - Jan

• Elijah Wilkinson - Lee

• Will Friend - Phil

• Adam Claudet - John Tate

• Nicky Bootle-Wilbraham - Danny

• Ollie Musgrave - Lou

• Ethan Smith - Brian

• George Thorpe - Richard

• Hector Buckle-Wright - Karl

• Lucas Bullen - Adam

Halliford School PTA Year in Review

by Mrs Wendy Ratcliff-Luiz, PTA Chairperson

At the end of year Speech Day, Mr Davies was delighted to highlight the remarkable achievements of Halliford School, especially amidst the current landscape of political and financial challenges. The steadfast support of our parents has been instrumental in this success. This strong sense of community mindedness is reflected in the PTA’s activities and support from parents.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has volunteered at our events, as our pocket-saving pals at Tesco tell us – ‘Every little helps’. Supporting school music or theatre events is always rewarded with being able to enjoy outstanding performances from our students and sometimes, when staff get their hands on a microphone and backing track, we are treated to the staff ‘boy band’.

I know the school will share their appreciation for the PTA presence at open events where prospective parents are greeted with warm smiles and firsthand experiences of joining Halliford. Special thanks go to the parents who have volunteered throughout the year, serving tea and treats. We were also pleased to help welcome new students at the PTA Family Fun Day in September, featuring inflatables and a hit barbeque lunch prepared by our talented chef.

Last year, we spoke of our delight at being able to fund the theatre seating, and we are now even more thrilled that the

works are afoot this summer and we eagerly anticipate enjoying future events in the new theatre.

The PTA is primarily a social enterprise, but we are fortunate that fundraising efforts allow us to enhance the school and it is always a joy to fulfil a wish list of desired items! Once again, the PTA have been able to contribute to the Year 11 Activity Day and the Upper Sixth Leavers Gifts which help celebrate these important milestones for those students. The Lower Sixth students show their appreciation by providing waiter service at PTA events.

In recent years, the school introduced a new sports kit, and over time, we have built a healthy stock of second-hand uniform, including the main school uniform. Managing second-hand uniform is a mammoth task and the dedicated organisation of stock and subsequent funds raised, afford a very special thanks to Sara Grant. Sara, who can sometimes also be spotted in the orchestra at school music events – may be our most talented PTA

member (a sign from the universe for a Parents Talent Show?)

The October Quiz Night saw a radical change of format, which initially concerned some of our traditional quiz challengers. However, a night of high jinx with blindfolded painting, paperclip tossing, and the more cerebral challenges from Mr Chips and Taskmaster meant that all abilities were stretched just enough! Well done to our Year 7 table who won, notwithstanding a contentious push-up challenge decision.

Winter brought the creative and festive joy of wreath-making, paired with a full PTA bar service. Parents enjoyed a memorable evening with the most beautiful wreaths adorning Halliford homes across the county!

A year for change and pushing the boundaries, we transformed our more formal Spring Ball into an Eighties Party. Fancy dress

was optional but an absolutely stellar effort by all resulted in a spectacular old school disco with an impressive live band. Thanks again to chef for a brilliant meal and our Sixth Formers for their waiter service. Well done to Alison Inder-Reiden and the team for a real journey back to the Eighties.

With the Summer Term becoming busier than ever, we did not manage to juggle the diary this time to host our outdoor cinema. Thanks to Yana for leading the Star Wars efforts here but indeed the dark side prevailed and we plan to return next summer with renewed vigour and an impenetrable calendar of steel (is that a Superman reference?)

It is my sincere pleasure to review a wonderful year and Chair the PTA team as we look forward to another year of building our awesome school community but most importantly, having fun.

Year 7 Trip to France

by William Pascoe-Watson, 7R

On Sunday 30 June, Year 7 were treated to a trip to Le Touquet in France. Spirits were high as we all looked forward to the new experiences which lay ahead. After a couple of hours driving, we boarded the ferry, where we had our first meal on our way to Calais. Upon arrival in the French port, we were on the road to Europe’s largest aquarium, Nausicaa.

Many marvellous wonders of the watery world could be seen, and the experience was phenomenal. However, we’d all like to forget the encounter with penguins, who had a specific pungent smell. Some students were trying to name a particularly large sea creature, while others were able to reach out and touch some fish and we were all impressed by the Headmaster’s knowledge of the many marine species. Laughter and interest filled the aquarium. But all good things come to an end, and after a mesmerising few hours, we left for our hotel. However, the coach party to the hotel was soon shaken by the news of England trailing to Slovakia in the Euros.

Now came the important bit: who we would be sharing a room with, and even more crucially, who would get the double bed to themselves! ‘Quiet’ would not be the word to describe the first evening meal as we were allowed to watch the football on the big screen in the restaurant. All the boys went crazy as there was a late turnaround in England’s fortune. Our French hosts were not quite so enthusiastic, it must be said! Jubilant, we finished our meal and went out onto the beach much to the relief of the teachers and fellow diners.

Kite flying lessons from Mr Davies were the evening highlight.

We were surprised at how well they flew, given that many of us were novices. There were many different shapes and colours blazing through the blustery sky. A great way to end our first day.

The following day began with a delicious French breakfast buffet, complete with hot chocolate in a bowl! After a filling meal, we set off for Le Touquet and tried our French language skills in the local shops. The shopping spree resulted in copious amounts of ice cream being consumed and a selection of weird and wonderful souvenirs purchased.

Time allowed for more beach mayhem which left many boys buried in the sand and some enjoying time to paddle in the sea. It was then time to return to the meeting point where we prepared for a visit to the snail farm, a place where some bizarre memories would be made.

It was scorching hot. We drove through fields and the idyllic French landscape to L’Escargotiere du Choquel. Here, we learned fascinating facts about magnificent molluscs, such as the predators they fear and what they eat.

Next, we were allowed to pick them up and place them upon our bodies. Apparently, they have great skin-enhancing properties

in their slime! Some ended up on peoples’ arms, legs and even faces. We then had the opportunity to eat some of the slippery creatures. Some boys judged them to be putrid, while others were begging for more. Personally, I was not a fan.

Dinner was a calmer affair that night. However, as we were bedding down, we received news that France had qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Championships. The French fans poured out into the town and paraded down the street, hanging out of cars, chanting and honking their horns in celebration. You could imagine the teacher’s horror when some of our boys wanted to join the procession through the streets!

With a sense of order restored, we had a relaxing night. The following morning, we boarded the coach and set off to a local market. Whilst on the coach, Mr Davies announced the winners of the ‘cleanest room competition’, and I’m pleased to report that my dorm won and were treated to a selection of amazing patisserie treats.

The market was an emporium of the strange and unfamiliar. Many boys were drawn to a stall that sold chicken, and they were giving out samples to taste.

Our next and final destination was a bakery where we were taught how to make the iconic French croissant. This time it was a lesson that we would never forget as we were greeted by the intimidating yet hilarious baker. He called some boys to the front and made conversation with them in a tone that made it seem like an interrogation. The baker kept everyone in line in his own unique way, and in the end, we learned the ingredients and how to roll our own croissants. We left with huge amounts of beautiful croissants and many happy memories.

But sadly, the time had come for the trip to end, and eventually,

we hopped on the coach and departed to Calais for our ferry. After a smooth journey to the port, we drove onto the ferry and were given the news that we would be home earlier than expected. We left for Dover, bringing with us a heap of great memories, cemented friendships and fun mementos. The trip certainly had its moments of joy and laughter. It’s certainly not one which I will ever forget.

It was early evening when we sailed into Dover and got on dry English land. Each and every one of us was tired after a day of travel, so it wasn’t a surprise that many boys fell asleep. A sign of a fantastic trip. Our thanks go to our wonderful teachers for giving up their time to teach us and to Madame Wain and Mr Davies for organising this magnificent adventure.

Year 8 Residential Trip to Cuffley

by Mr Ciaran Lee, Teacher of English

This year’s Activities Week concluded with an unforgettable adventure for our Year 8 students, who embarked on a residential trip to the picturesque woodlands of Cuffley, Hertfordshire. Over the course of the multi-day excursion, the boys took part in a variety of engaging activities that encouraged teamwork, resilience, and personal growth.

Upon our arrival at the sprawling 96-acre woodland campsite, the students eagerly settled into their tents, brimming with anticipation for the exciting days ahead. The first day kicked off with a thrilling challenge that required the boys to work together, designing and constructing their very own wooden car, followed by a daring ascent up a towering 30-foot climbing wall. These activities not only tested their teamwork and problem-solving skills but also allowed them to confront and overcome their fears, fostering a sense of selfconfidence and accomplishment.

In the afternoon, the Year 8 students further honed their marksmanship and collaboration skills during an exhilarating game of archery tag. Later on, they were given the opportunity to deepen their trust in one another as they guided themselves, blindfolded, through a densely forested obstacle course. This remarkable display of camaraderie and mutual support truly showcased the tight-knit bonds forged throughout their time at Halliford School.

As the sun began to set on the first day, we gathered as a group to cheer on England during their thrilling victory in the Euros. The day came to a close with a peaceful night’s sleep in the tranquil, picturesque woods, providing a welcome respite after an action-packed day.

Day two continued with an impressive line-up of adrenaline-fueled activities, keeping the boys engaged and energised. The day culminated in a cosy campfire gathering, where the group shared stories, sang songs, and played games beneath the twinkling stars.

We were delighted to hear from the Cuffley instructor that our students were ‘the most delightful school group’ they had ever worked with, a true testament to the character and values fostered at Halliford.

One student on the trip, beaming with pride, recounted his personal triumph: ‘I am so proud of myself for climbing right to the top of the wall. I was so scared at first, but I managed to do it!’ Moments like these encapsulate the transformative power of residential trips like Cuffley, where students are given the chance to step out of their comfort zones, discover hidden strengths, and create cherished memories with their peers.

As we reflect on the incredible experiences shared during our Year 8 Residential Trip to Cuffley, it is evident that the bonds formed and lessons learned in the scenic woodlands of South Hertfordshire will remain with our students for years to come.

Year 9 Trip to Ypres

by Mr Luke McMillan, Head of History & Politics

Year 9 enjoyed an excellent trip to Ypres and the World War Battlefields at the start of Activities Week. We had a pleasant coach journey down to Folkestone before taking the Eurostar to France and then on to Belgium. Our first visit was to the Memorial Museum in Passchendaele, close to the site of the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.

The students were very impressed with the museum and, in particular, with the dugout experience. They also enjoyed the new immersive experience, which brought home the horrific conditions during the war’s battles.

We then headed to Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British and Commonwealth cemetery in the world, with 11,961 soldiers buried there. As ever, the group spent some time here in poignant reflection, wandering around and reading the limestone headstones. To contrast the white headstones of the British and Commonwealth cemeteries, we stopped at Langemark German cemetery, where the gravestones are flat granite slabs, and the whole effect is particularly sombre. We finished the day by paying our respects at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, where Nicky and Oliver laid wreaths.

On day two, we made our way to Hill 62 where the students could feel and discover the trenches. They were able to go inside the dugouts, and underground tunnels. They found these fascinating, and this small plot of land, which has been left as it was found at the end of the war in 1918, provides us with a strong sense of how the trenches and the shell craters scarred the landscape.

We finished the trip by heading into Ypres town, where we visited the In Flanders Field Memorial Museum. As with all the activities on the trip, the students’ engagement was superb and showed great interest in all the information and exhibits. Well done all for a really fulfilling trip.

Year 10 Trip to Rockley

by Mr Harry Churchill, Teacher of Mathematics & PE

Our Year 10 students ventured to Rockley Adventure Centre in Kent during their Activities Week this year. Following an early start and coach journey down to the site, the group was greeted by a country haven full of activities to get involved in. All of these sought to take the boys out of their comfort zones and challenge them to discover a range of previously untapped skills.

In typical British summertime style, the group arrived in a steady drizzle and cool 14° breeze. This, however, was not enough to deter them. Following a swift set-up in the provided yurt accommodation, the group embarked on their first activities. The centre offered a wide range of opportunities, including kayaking, archery, paddle boarding, team building and climbing, to name a few. The boys took to these with characteristic enthusiasm, demonstrating the Hallifordian values of resilience and being team players.

The first evening of the trip coincided with England’s duel with Slovakia in this year’s Euros. The game offered the students a chance to unite in support of their country. The centre was excellent in its flexibility and provided a unique and engaging setting for the boys to get behind the team. A close-fought game played out with the group watching in anticipation as England battled to return from a 1-goal deficit. Queue Jude Bellingham, who stepped up and scored an all-time great England goal, which sent the camp into disarray as England equalised deep into added time. This was followed by an extra-time winner, capping off a brilliant first day in camp.

Following a hearty breakfast the following morning, the group threw themselves onto an obstacle course based on a local lake, giving them a chance to perform their own heroics in games such as Last Man Standing and King of the Castle. The lake assault course offered the boys a brilliant

opportunity to let off steam and work together to pull off several impressive feats, including throwing numerous teachers from the inflatables into the chilly lake water!

After a well-deserved lunch, the boys were offered the opportunity to participate in a tough mudder-style event. For those unfamiliar with the concept, this involved completing an obstacle course over two kilometres in mud that was, at points, shoulder-deep! The boys were understandably cautious of this event but, following a group discussion, were keen to work together to give it a go. The next hour was comprised of boys dragging each other through the gruelling course, which left Mr Perks and me in awe of the speed and commitment with which the boys were able to conquer it. This again offered the group the opportunity to demonstrate both resilience and teamwork, which is synonymous with Halliford students. Once clean and dry, the boys returned to camp for another set of activities before Mr Slocock treated them to a campfire before bed.

Day three started with tired bodies and boys having to dig deep to find the motivation to complete the remaining challenges. Each group supported each other brilliantly and repeatedly demonstrated the Hallifordian value of warm-heartedness, working together to complete a series of team-building tasks to cap off an awesome couple of days.

The group then gathered for an awards ceremony to celebrate some of their achievements. While individuals received prizes, the whole group deserves credit for the tenacity and dedication with which they attacked the range of activities offered to them throughout the trip. The coach journey home was littered with bodies catching up on sleep and having a well-earned rest after a weekend filled with demanding activities.

Throughout the trip, the group excelled and regularly reminded us exactly what makes Halliford students such a special group. We look forward to seeing what they are capable of as they take on their GCSEs next year and cannot wait to take a new crop of Year 10 students back to Rockley in 2025!

HALLIFORD LIFE

Enrichment Lecture with Investigative Journalist

Music Technology Trip to Air Studios in Hampstead

Inter-House Rowing Challenge for Mental Health Awareness Week

Upper Sixth Form Leavers’ Prom

Senior Inter-House Drama Competition

Donal MacIntyre

HALLIFORD LIFE

Speech Day

Prefect Team for 2024-2025

Sixth Form students help at the PTA Ball

Halliford School wins the Cop Cup Rounders Competition

Staff vs Students Rugby Match

Summer Term Sports Report

CRICKET

U12

Mr Churchill

by Mr David Morriss, Acting Director of Sport

Cricket Season 2024

Many thanks to all of the students who have persevered with the ‘classic’ British summertime of sunshine and showers. Fixtures were occasionally lost, but on the whole, it proved another fantastic season. Cricket is going from strength to strength and a huge level of commitment is required from the staff and students to overcome the inconsistency of the weather to continue getting fixture blocks on for all age groups.

This included getting four teams out in Year 7 and the quality was there for all to see, including a superb win versus local rivals, St. George’s College for the U12A’s. We wish Mr Greggor all the success as he moves to pastures new and it is because of him, that sport is where it is at Halliford School currently. His philosophy of ‘sport for all’ is so evident during the Summer Term and it is has been with great pleasure to see so many of the students out playing some form of sport in school matches, Inter-House competitions or simply a modified version to get better at one of the skills required. The Physical Education Department have continued to work hard supporting all the students involved and it with great thanks to these members of staff for taking teams on a regular basis at the weekend. Sports Day was another fantastic highlight in the calendar and has more detail later on.

The U12 cricket team have made a strong start to life at Halliford, showcasing their cricket ability on numerous occasions. The season officially started way back in the Autumn Term, with the boys attending a variety of pre- season sessions including winter nets, fielding clinics and an introduction to cricket. This has offered us a great deal of strength in depth this year fielding four teams with upwards of 50 boys having represented Halliford School, an outstanding achievement given the size of the year group.

The A team side have enjoyed a successful season, putting in some excellent performances and winning some very tight encounters. The side is one with a great deal of talent, particularly with the ball. After eleven matches, not a single bowler had an economy rate of more than six, which is almost unheard of

in such a young group. In addition to economy rate, the wicket taking has been a real strength. Krrish Patel, Ahi Lloyd, Zayden Patel and Jasper Burke have all made it into double figures when it comes to wickets and have bowled out some excellent individual spells this year. As a bowling unit, this is one of the strongest groups I have had the pleasure of working with. This was exemplified with the victories at both St. George’s College and Kingston Grammar School, where the side bowled the opposition out for 87 and 64 respectively. In both these cases, the control they demonstrated with the ball was outstanding and highlighted the talent and maturity they have as a bowling attack.

Fortunes have been rather more mixed with the bat in hand. Batting is a difficult skill at any age, but even more so when in your first year at a new school. There have been several good individual performances, such as Thomas Usher’s match winning 33 not out, Jasper Burke’s 25 not out in a close encounter with Claires Court and Cam Jones’ handsome 26 against an outstanding Tiffin attack. The batting, however, has been dominated by the powerful hitting and industrial work rate of Charlie Freer, managing 3 scores in excess of 40 and scoring 210 runs at an average of 34.8. He has been an instrumental part of the batting unit and has played many a match winning knock this year. Overall, the side have made an excellent start to cricket at Halliford and have a bright future ahead if they can continue the level of improvement they have shown this year.

The B team have enjoyed a similar amount of success, highlighting the depth of talent the group has. The side have regularly demonstrated discipline and ability with the ball, as well as power and finesse with the bat. There have been several outstanding performers, but it is hard to look past those who have scored fifties this year. A half century is an outstanding accomplishment and not often one completed by our B team cricketers. This year however we have had three half centurions in Nicholas Shahverdian, Leo John, and Ben Slater, who have all crashed 50 for the side and must be praised for this achievement. These power hitters have been ably assisted though by a string of consistent innings by those at the top of the order. Archie Smith and Miles King have both been ever present with the bat and have made match winning contributions on multiple occasions this year.

With ball in hand, the side have shown much the same class and consistency as the A team. Again, and again this year the boys have stepped up and bowled some excellent spells against a host of strong oppositions. Tom James, Tommy Bokenham and Miles King have all bowled excellently, with each of them earning a call up to the A team side at points this year. In addition to these three, there have been valuable contributions from a range of bowlers and this wide breadth of talent bodes well for the side going forwards.

Overall, this has been a fantastic year for Year 7 cricket, fielding four teams on occasion and two regularly, winning upwards of 70% of games and demonstrating an abundance of teamwork and resilience whilst doing so. I hope to see the group continue to develop and show the same passion for cricket as they make their way through the school.

After a successful first season of cricket at Halliford, there was a plenty of anticipation for the Year 8 teams this year. With A, B and C teams showing a great account of themselves during every fixture with many going in Halliford’s favour. The cricket season began during the Autumn Term, with high attendance allowing the boys to get back into the rhythm of cricket. This attendance continued into the Summer

U13

Mr Perks

Term with more than 25 students present most weeks at training, allowing for the opportunity to test themselves against each other and work on their game. Attitude at training was always fantastic and it has been clear to see the enthusiasm for cricket during the season. This was emphasised by fielding three teams this year with over 30 boys from Year 8 simultaneously playing cricket!

The A team performed marvellously this season, with several excellent performances. The group’s skill is evident, and it has been wonderful to watch different members of the team contributing match winning efforts. This season, there has been a true sense of camaraderie amongst the boys throughout matches, with constant support given to each other on the pitch. Captain Samir Al-Falaki did a superb job organising his troops and maintaining his own level of performance, whilst also dealing with the wide range of cricketing viewpoints from his teammates.

The combination of excellent fielding and tidy bowling in the first fixture set the standard for the rest of the season. Arjan Thandi and Ed Goy were the spearhead of the bowling attack setting the tone for bowling standards. The key strength of the bowling attack was the ability to create pressure on their opponents thanks to excellent line and length being bowled, often resulting in key wickets. The bowling unit combined well throughout the season and were often the reason for victory. There were also some fantastic individual performances, including Samuel Jones with a magnificent hat-trick against Dunottar School, leading to a comprehensive win. Ollie Browning and Samir Al-Falaki dismantled Harrodian School taking three and four wickets respectively. Tommy Hawksley also bowled the side to victory in the seasonending match, taking 4-12 off three overs against Wallington County Grammar School.

Batting was not a problem for this side either, with a very strong top six along with handy lower order to rely on if required. The opening partnership of Samir Al-Falaki and Nathan Farquharson was the backbone of the batting efforts, often destroying the opposition’s opening bowlers. This was a plan that worked excellently over the season with Samir Al- Falaki scoring a total of 228 runs, with a standout innings of 75 not out against Claires Court. Nathan Farquharson scored 100 runs also and then stepped up to captain the team against Wimbledon College where he hit a masterful 53 not out, propelling the team to post 153. It was not just the opening batsman who made big scores, there were many other contributions, like Bobby Nash making 31 not out against Claires Court and Zain Abou Hasan smashing 31 off 19 balls against Wallington County Grammar School including two monster sixes. Overall, the A team had an excellent season showcasing their cricketing talent with bat and ball. More importantly however, it was great to see the boys play each fixture in the true spirit of the game.

The B team’s season has been less consistent, with a few defeats in some very close encounters. Like the A team, this group was excellent with the ball and frequently forced their opponents to score below par totals. A combination of a strong bowling attack and determination whilst fielding meant for low economy rates for the bowlers. Despite these economy rates, taking wickets was more difficult, with a few dropped catches letting the side down. Tobi Smith, Samuel Jones, and Charlie Watson, three of our fast bowlers, performed admirably all season long. In fact, Samuel Jones made such an impression in his first few games that he broke into the A team and established himself as a regular within that team. Barney Brown was also excellent throughout the season with his off spin often bamboozling the opposition’s batsman. Barney’s bowling also led to him being selected for the A team toward the end of the season.

Batting was more difficult this season with the team often getting off to a slow start. This was not helped by an everchanging batting line-up. Despite this throughout the season, there have been some standout individual performances. Harry King opened the season with a magnificent 32 not out, leading Halliford to a comprehensive win over Ibstock Place. Charlie Watson also showed his determination, scoring 25 not out in a losing battle against Dunottar School. Additionally, I would like to congratulate Ruark MacDonald for an outstanding season in which he opened the batting, one of the most difficult jobs in cricket. It is unfortunate the batting line up were unable to consistently perform to the high standard in these innings, often leaving the team a few runs shy of their chasing target.

Overall, this has been another positive cricket season for Year 8, fielding two teams consistently, with a third team playing on occasion. The A team showed some brilliant teamwork in multiple games, whereas the determination and resilience of the B team was quite outstanding. I look forward to seeing even more cricketing progress being made in Year 9.

U14

Mr Shales

The U14As had to wait until the week before half-term for their first fixture of the season, with the visit of Claires Court to Shepperton CC. Having elected to bat first, Claires Court never managed to break the shackles of our tight bowling. Matthew Cummings and Leo Pearson, both on debut, bowled particularly well in restricting them to 83 for six off their 20 overs. This total was never going to prove a challenge and in fact the boys chased it down inside eight overs for the loss of one wicket, with Archit Dalvi top scoring with 30 not out.

After half-term, we visited Wimbledon College, and again our bowling proved to be the decisive factor in the match. We even managed a full house of using all 10 available bowlers and Wimbledon only managed to reach 50 before being bowled out. A reversal of the batting order added a little jeopardy to the run chase, but the total was ultimately reached after only eight overs. The visit of Latymer Upper followed. Having elected to bat first, scores of 33 from Ben Snowball and 22 not out from Theo Bavister, allowed us to reach a competitive 133 for six off our 20 overs. Once again, our bowling prowess came to the fore, and Latymer’s run chase never really got going. Wickets were evenly shared around and Latymer were dismissed for 67 in the 19th over.

We travelled to Claremont knowing that a monsoon was on the way, and so were desperate to put pressure on the opposition as soon as possible. The tone with the bat was set by George Clark (40) and Will Davies (37no) and we finished our 20 overs on 145 for six. Once again, Aiden Sairanen Fuller and Matthew Cummings got the bowling off to a good start and Claremont’s run chase stuttered. The rain was beginning to fall, and it looked unlikely that the game would be completed. However, Captain James Haines had other ideas. Despite a rain break when the conditions became unplayable, James rattled through the Middle and Lower Order taking six wickets as Claremont were bowled out for 89.

Two days later, Tiffin visited Church Road. The boys knew that this would be the toughest game of the season and were up for the fight. From the off, the bowling and fielding was of a very high standard, with brilliant catches being taken by George Clark, Harry Golding, and James Haines in particular. Tiffin scored at a consistent rate, but never a high scoring one, and eventually then ended their 25 overs on 156 for four, with Theo Fuller picking up two wickets. Tiffin’s bowling was quite simply superb though, and despite a very well made 41 from James Haines and 29 from Harry Golding, wickets fell at regular intervals, and we were bowled out for 126, falling 30 runs short of victory.

The season ended with us hosting Wallington Grammar at Shepperton CC. George Clark (39) and Ben Snowball (60 not out) batted brilliantly putting on 123 for the first wicket and setting the foundations for a total of 162 for three off 20 overs. By far and away the most dominant batting performance of the season. Wallington made a strong fist of the run chase after Aiden Sairanen Fuller had removed both openers, their middle order looked on course to potentially chase the total down, but five wickets from Ben Snowball put pay to their efforts and they fell 14 runs short, meaning the season deservedly ended in victory.

This group have all bases covered and it has been great to see several different individuals putting their hands up to play the key role in victories.

The U14Bs had a disjointed season, with matches lost to weather and opposition cry-offs. The season started with the visit of Dunottar. The boys batted first and compiled a competitive total of 137 for five with George Thorpe top scoring with 32. The extra size and strength of the Dunottar side eventually showed, and despite some tight bowling from William Stevenson and Henry Breslin, they chased down the total, resulting in a loss by three wickets. The visit of Latymer Upper followed and they bowled incredibly tightly, really restricting the scoring rate for the batters. Runs from Jack O’Connor and Eashan Chowdhri enabled the side to post a total of 101 for seven off 20 overs. The Latymer batsmen found scoring equally as difficult. Joshua Crook and Jack Barry bowled particularly well, however the boys were unable to make the key breakthroughs needed and so Latymer chased down the total in the 19th overs, for the loss of two wickets.

The season finished with the visit of Tiffin. Once again, all eleven bowlers did a good job for the side, with George Thorpe and Jamie Lewis taking wickets, and so Tiffin were limited to a very chasable 124. Unfortunately, the batting never got going, and early wickets fell regularly. Despite some lower order hitting from William Stevenson, the side fell well short in their run chase. The results do not accurately portray the effort and enthusiasm that the boys have put in this season. Special mention must go to the leadership of Jack O’Connor this season, who has worked hard to raise sides and has led from the front on the pitch.

The U15 cricket season has certainly had its highs and lows but taking nothing away from the group they have worked hard for each other, and the camaraderie shown on our recent tour to Jersey was brilliant to see.

The open day of the season started with a cold trip to Ibstock School at Barn Elms Sports Ground. Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, the group were confident we could get amongst their top order and start the season with a bang. As sometimes happens in sport, the best laid plans do not always come off. Inaccuracies in the field and more wides than players on the pitch resulted in a poor opening spell from our bowling top order. The result - a tough mountain to climb with the bat, after Ibstock School posted 160/3 after their 20 overs spell. A big score on the opening day of the season to try and chase, but one that had been done before. The innings started with a bang for Halliford, but for the wrong reasons with opening batter Jonty Wright receiving a diamond duck, edging the first ball of the season to the wicketkeeper. In terms of runs on the day there weren’t many to shout about apart from number 3, Ben Chapman who top scored with 34, the team all out for 94. A long way from our best and a lot of hard work to do, the group set some goals and areas of improvement from the game and moved on quickly.

After two cancelled games due to heavy rain, it was May before the U15s got their season going again at home to Dunottar School. Winning the toss and choosing to bat we knew we had to set a big number to get our season back on track. Starting positively our openers took the game to the opposition. Jack Giddens top scored on the day with 30 runs with the team getting to 132 in our 20 overs. After a good start to the game, the team knew they would have to be accurate in the field to come away with the victory. The pick of the bowlers on the day was MoM Jack Giddens taking 2/13 with the ball off just three overs. The game seemed in control going into the last five overs, but down to nine men in the field and with some inaccuracies creeping into our game the game came down to the last over. The opposition needed nine to win off the last over and then just one to win off the last two balls. Two wickets from Halliford with the last two balls of the innings meant the game ended in a very thrilling tie. Wicketkeeper Caleb Baker taking the final wicket of the day,

running out the batter with the final ball of the day. A thrilling end to what was a hard-fought battle and a huge learning curve for the group, having never come across that kind of scenario before.

After a confidence boost from our tie with Dunottar School, we went into our next fixture against St. George’s College Weybridge determined to showcase what the group have to offer. Always a tough fixture in the calendar, we knew would have to be at our best to even have a chance of coming away with a victory away from home. Losing the toss and been asked to bowl first, we knew we would have to be accurate with the ball if we wanted to give ourselves a chance. Starting the game with several silly errors and inaccuracy in our ground fielding allowed the St. George’s openers to rotate the strike and put pressure on our bowlers. After a fast start by their openers St. George’s finished the day on 147/6 off 20 overs. The pick of the Halliford bowlers was spinner Ben Parker who finished on 2/26. Set a target of 147 we knew it was going to be tough to apply pressure to the bowlers and get on top of the game. A fast start by openers Luke Golding and Jack Giddens gave us a glimmer of hope, but after top scorer Luke Golding went for 39 in the 15th over, 147 seemed a long way off. Finishing the innings on 108/5 the group felt a little deflated in their performance, but keen to get back out there to right a few wrongs.

Our next fixture was a cold trip to Claires Court at Phoenix Sports Facility on Saturday 18 May. Losing the toss and put into bat, we started brightly in some cold and wet conditions. This was followed by a solid 38 from middle order batsman George Dwyer allowing us to reach a respectable target of 122/6. It was not a huge target or a magical batting performance by the group, but we felt we had a chance of getting the job done. The Claires Court openers however started with a bang and to be honest never looked back, with the opening pair getting to 100 within ten overs and their opener Evan ending the innings on 74.

The following Thursday the team were back in action at Shepperton CC against Harrodian School. Losing the toss and being put in the field our bowls were quick to get stuck into the top over. Five ducks and 52 runs later the bowling attack had finished off Harrodian in double quick time and our batters were itching to get out into the field. As expected, our batters went out positively and wrapped things up in in less than seven overs with Ben Chapman top scoring with 39 not out. A huge win and a big confidence boost for the group.

A week later we were back at Shepperton CC against Wimbledon College. Winning the toss and choosing to bat, the group bounced onto the field with a spring in their step. The batting performance of the season saw our opening batters Luke Golding and Jack Giddens both raced to 50 inside ten overs and retire to the sideline. But the runs did not stop there with George Dwyer reaching 26 before the end of the innings. A total of 172/3 in 20 overs meant we reached our highest total of the season with the bat and very much thought the job was half done.

We were on the road again a week later, this time to Latymer School at the Kingshouse Sports Ground. Winning the toss and choosing to bat, George Dwyer and Jack Giddens opened the batting. Racing to 40 inside five overs we lost George to an unfortunate run out. A cameo by Freddie Nash was then followed by top scorer Dexter Lee who steered the innings for Halliford whilst others fell around him, finishing with figures of 45 not out. A total of 136/6 was set for Latymer to try and chase down. A slow start to the innings with a wicket in the second over from Captain Rajveer Johal kept the pressure on the Latymer. A second wicket four overs later from Rajveer meant we had both openers gone and things were looking good for the victory. The middle order did put up a good fight, but two wickets from Richard Baker for just 18 runs meant the score board was not going anywhere. The best of the day was still to come with Ben Parker waiting in the wings ready to steal the show with a man of the match performance cleaning up the lower order with some excellent bowling and ending up on figures of 5/4. Next up our tour to Jersey for the group, where the group had three matches in three days, to finish off the season.

After a super early flight and a morning at the beach, Year 10 arrived at their first game of the Jersey tour filled with confidence after recent performances. Up against local school side Victoria College on a plastic wicket they won the toss and elected to bat. After a thundering opening couple of overs, Victoria College were very much on top and putting our bowlers under huge amounts of pressure. Too many short, pitched deliveries and too many dropped catches left the side shell-shocked, with Victoria College closing on 167/6. The pick of the Halliford bowlers Jonty Wright with figures of 2-17. Heading out to bat we knew we would have to be at our best to come away with a victory and provide a run chase never seen by the group this

season. The innings started positively with opener Luke Golding hitting a rapid 50 and demonstrating a full range of hard-hitting shots. Backed up by Jack Giddens, Dexter Lee, and George Dwyer we thought we might have a chance of victory on the day but unfortunately coming up short by 42 runs. The match could have gone either way and after a crucial run out and unbelievable take by the opposition to get rid of Jack Giddens, we knew it was not meant to be our day. Man of the match was Luke Golding for an excellent batting display.

A good night’s rest and a morning swim, the group turned up on day two to right some wrongs from the day before. The Jersey U15 side won the toss and decided to bat, which gave us the perfect opportunity to apply some pressure on the opposition in this longer format of the game. Excellent spells from Luke Golding, Rajveer Johal, Freddie Nash, and Jonty Wright pitching the ball in the right areas allowed the team to create several chances inside the first ten overs. Superb catches from Jack Giddens, Luke Golding and Rajveer Johal meant the opposition had no answer to the Halliford attack and were all out for 114 off just 19 overs.

We went out to bat full of confidence knowing our bowling attack had done its job and we now had to bring home the win in this longer format of the game. However, two early wickets removing Jack Giddens and Luke Golding shunted the flow of the runs and meant we had to regroup. However, a great partnership of 88 and a joint man of the match performance from George Dwyer and Dexter Lee steadied the ship and put us back on track for victory. Disappointingly they both fell short of 50s on the day with Dexter Lee getting 47 and George Dwyer getting 42, but still winning the game by six wickets.

We turned up to our third and final game on tour against Walkovers CC on Sunday with a spring in our step after an excellent performance the previous day. Halliford won the toss and decided to bat first. Freddie Nash and Rajveer Johal opened the batting and put on an opening partnership of 60 to get us underway. After both openers had gone a short cameo by wicket keeper Caleb Baker of 11 and an impressive 37 from spinner Ben Parker took the game to the opposition. Late runs from Harry Jennings and Angus Wilson saw the Halliford total reach 164/4 from our 30 overs. Heading into the field we thought we were confident we could get the job done with the bowl and set an attacking field to give us the best possible chance. Early wickets from Richard Baker, Jonty Wright and Lucas Morgan set us on our way and from then on we never looked back, limiting the opposition to 121 All Out. Winning two out of three games on tour meant the world to the group and demonstrated the progress they had made across the season. The team is made up of some incredibly talented individuals on the cricket pitch, but the best bit about this tour was the victories came from contributions from many players and players adapted to conditions and challenges set to them.

Our final game of the season saw the team travel to Ewell Cricket Club to face Ewell Castle on Thursday 27 June. Losing the toss and being given the ball we bounced on to the field brimming with confidence. A change of order in the bowling attack saw an opening bowling partnership of Richard Baker and Captain Rajveer Johal opening the bowling against Ewell Castle and three wickets in the first six overs got us off to a brilliant start. Huge wicket contributions from Richard Baker 4/32 and 3/18 from Jonty Wright saw the Ewell Castle top order crumble. This was backed up by some very economical bowling from Captain Rajveer Johal and Harry Jennings who bowled two overs for just four runs. Finishing on 120 runs all out, we knew we had a chance of a final day away win. To say we won the game in style would not be far from the truth, with an opening partnership of 60 from Luke Golding and Jack Giddens starting the innings brilliantly. When Jack Giddens went for 15 in over eight, it only took Luke Golding a further five overs to get the job done finishing on an unbeaten 67. A fantastic way to finish the season and truly all-round performance.

I would like to thank the U15 players for their hard work this season and commitment to some excellent cricket being played at times this year. After some memorable games and some outstanding performances with both the bat and ball from individuals within the team, I wish all the players the best as they move into senior cricket next season. The pick of the batters this season was Luke Golding who scored a total of 208 runs in six innings across the season with an average of 52. Those superb runs were backed up brilliantly by the pick of our bowling attack Richard Baker who took 14 wickets across the season for an average of 16.8 runs. Well done to both players and I look forward to seeing several of the group involving our 1XI in the coming years.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Batting:

Luke Golding – 208 Runs / Av 52

Dexter Lee – 109 / Av 33

George Dwyer 108 / 22

Bowling:

Richard Baker – 14 Wickets

Jonty Wright – 12 Wickets

Ben Parker – 9 Wickets

1XI

Mr Shales

This year’s 1st XI have been an absolute pleasure to work with. We have had a large squad to pick from and have therefore had the luxury of being able to rotate players. Jivraj Singh has skippered the side superbly and led from the front on the field. The season started with a trip to Claremont on a perishingly cold afternoon. Having won the toss, Jivraj elected to field first. A strong new ball partnership from Felix Porter and Oliver White put pressure on the Claremont batsmen straight away and restricted scoring. These two were ably backed up by Freddie Golding, Theo Maroussas, Theo Marshall, and Jack Farrow, all of whom made run scoring difficult. Claremont was restricted to 107 for four off 20 overs, with Oliver White, Theo Maroussas and Theo Marshall sharing the wickets. Jivraj Singh (52 not out) and Michael Van Rensburg (32 not out) made light work of the run chase and we were victorious by nine wickets.

With Gordon’s cancelling on us last minute, we travelled over to Ewell Castle. On a tricky batting wicket, we found run scoring a challenge, eventually making 111 for five off our 20 overs, with Jivraj Singh (42) and Felix Porter (21) the leading contributors. Against a couple of county batsmen, we equipped ourselves well with ball in hand, restricting them as much as we could, however we were unable to take the two crucial wickets early enough, and eventually they chased down the total in the last over, leading to an eight wicket loss. Salesians were then the visitors to Shepperton CC. The boys were not quite as fluid with the bat on this day, a combination of tight bowling and poor shot selection, and only managed to post 105 for nine in 20 overs. Mannat Virk (38) and Charlie Scott (18) were the main contributors on this occasion. After the ‘hairdryer treatment’ was delivered in the changing room, a different and motivated side came out to bowl. Pressure was applied straightaway, and wickets fell at regular intervals, with Salesians eventually being bowled out for 69, with Oliver Fenton and Jack Farrow taking three wickets each and Jivraj Singh snaffling five catches.

A visit to St. George’s followed a week later. After two successive victories, the opposition had certainly bolstered their side this year. Once again, Felix Porter and Oliver White bowled very tightly, restricting the St. George’s run rate and they were never able to fully release the shackles, leaving them to finish on 134

for four off their 20 overs. Unfortunately, our run chase never really got out of second gear. Despite Jivraj’s 43, some poor decision making and shot selection led to us being bowled out for 109, losing by 25 runs.

After half term we travelled to Latymer Upper. The scenic location of Wood Lane looked pristine, and the boys were keen to redeem last year’s thrashing. Having chosen to bat, Latymer struggled against the new ball partnership of Freddie Golding and Theo Maroussas, but crucially a couple of dropped catches meant that there was no early breakthrough. This meant that Latymer were able to up the run rate in the middle overs and enabled them to score a competitive 171 for four off their 25 overs. We faced up to their impressive bowling well, however, were never able to get on top of the run rate. Strong performances with the bat from Jivraj Singh, Mannat Virk, and Ethan Wilkin enabled us to make 136 for six and finish 40 runs short. Special mention for the batting cameo of Freddie Scott hitting a big six and scooping the last ball of the game for four, much to the delight of the players on both sides.

The season ended with the annual Richard Talbot Memorial MCC Match. The MCC arrived with a side of very good club cricketers including Old Hallifordian and 1XI Captain Chris Cole. The boys got off to the best possible start with Porter and White removing the stumps of the two opening batsmen. From then on, the boys continued to keep the pressure on, and scoring was not easy for the MCC. The boys kept chipping away at the batting order and eventually the MCC were forced to declare on 220 for eight off 40 overs. This was by far and away the best all-round bowling performance from a Halliford side in this fixture. Oliver White picked up four wickets, Josh Hawksley picked up two wickets, and Theo Marshall took two superb catches. Jivraj Singh and Theo Maroussas got the reply off to a strong start, batting all the way through to Tea. Sadly, a flurry of wickets shortly after the play resumed left the lower middle order to bat out the last 20 overs. Josh Morrison played some very good shots on his way to a score of 29 and Cameron Terry was resolute in defence as we looked to bat out for the draw. Sadly, the return of Chris Cole to the attack proved decisive as he took the final two wickets and the MCC were victorious with balls to spare.

Headmaster’s Select Cricket Squad 2024

As every sporting season draws to a close the PE and Games staff sit down and face the difficult decisions associated with putting Headmaster’s squads together. The cricket season is no different, below is what we have settled on for the Headmaster’s XI this year.

Jivraj Singh / Captain Upper Sixth Batsman

Samir Al-Falaki Year 8 Batsman

Charlie Freer Year 7 Batsman

Ben Snowball Year 9 Batsman

Luke Golding Year 10 All rounder

Jack Giddens (WK) Year 10 Wicketkeeper

James Haines Year 9 All rounder

George Clark Year 9 All rounder

Felix Porter Year 11 Bowler

Oliver White Year 11 Bowler

Richard Baker Year 10 Bowler

Cricket Colours Ties

Dexter Lee Year 11 All rounder

Colours ties are presented to senior students who have performed regularly for and impressed in our first XI this term. They have been awarded to the following students:

Year 11: Jack Farrow, Oli Fenton, Freddie Golding, Josh Hawksley, Josh Morrison, Theo Maroussas, Felix Porter, Charlie Scott, Ethan Wilkin, Oliver White

Sixth Form: Theo Marshall

Inter-House Cricket

Inter–House Cricket takes place during allocated Games afternoons. Houses play each other in eight over innings in an 8-10-a-side format depending on the year group size and availability of cricketers in each form. The competition is always great fun and all Inter-House competitions are popular among the students.

Sports Day 2024

Sports Day took place on Wednesday 3 July this year. It is a favourite event among staff as it achieves a true mass participation element. Throughout the day, students competed in a range of track and field events. There were many excellent performances all around from students. Competition between the four school Houses was very close throughout the day with only a handful of points separating three of the four Houses moving into the final relay events of the day.

Impressive performances came from Adam Claudet in the 800m and Triple Jump. Sam Sloman in Year 7 impressed with his speed on the track, winning the 200m and setting a school record whilst winning the 100m. He also won the High Jump, Long Jump and was ultimately crowned the Junior Sports Champion. Louie Paterson was also superb in the senior 100m, returning in his leaving year to finally claim the coveted 100m school record in a time of 10.92s!

The attitude and effort of the students was commendable and we are very grateful to the Xcel centre for allowing us to rent their outstanding facility. It inspired some excellent performances from the Halliford students. Congratulations to Greville House who were the winners this year.

Prize winners for the day are listed below:

Trophy/Shield Category

Awarded to

Junior Inter-House Relay Race Junior Wadham House

Junior Sports Champion

Polgreen Cup

Ashfield Shield

Intermediate Sports Champion Cup

Grimwade Cup

Carrington Cup

Long Jump Open

Senior Shot

Senior Discus

Senior Javelin

Senior Hurdles

Victor Ludorum

Victrix Ludorum

Inter-House Athletic Cup

Most Successful Junior Athlete Sam Sloman

Fastest Intermediate 400m James Haines

Fastest Intermediate 1500m George Clark

Most Successful Intermediate Athlete Harvey Connop

Fastest Winning 100m Race Time Louie Paterson

Highest Jump of the Day Ben Parker

Furthest Long Jump Finlay Hanna

Furthest Senior Throw Sam Griffiths

Furthest Senior Throw Ryan Mills

Furthest Senior Throw Federico Polosa

Fastest Senior Time Christian Fleming-Jenner

Most Successful Senior Male Athlete Ryan Mills

Most Successful Senior Female Athlete Rosanna Sessions

Overall Sports Day Winner Greville House

GOLF Mr Shales

The first round of the National Knockout was held at Burhill against ACS Cobham. In a scratch matchplay format, the team of Joshua Rowe, Josh Stimson, and Richard Baker found themselves grouped against golfers with lower handicaps overall, and so this was always going to be a challenge. They played very well indeed, with all matches being close, however the match ended 2-1 in ACS’ favour. This meant that we moved into the Plate Competition against Hampton at Fulwell. Toby Chahrvin came in for the injured Josh Stimson, and certainly did not look out of place. The conditions were dreadful, and so it was decided that the match would be played over twelve holes. The format was a Matchplay Stableford, which unfortunately did not play to our advantage as the Hampton Team had some rather generous handicaps. Once again, despite our best efforts, the result went against us, and we suffered another 2-1 defeat.

This year, Toby Chahrvin and Cairbre Smith French have represented the school in two junior competitions. In the ISGA Junior Salver, the boys were up against the best U13 golfers in the country and certainly did themselves justice in their performances. As a team, they finished tied 9th and Toby was tied 11th in the individual rankings. In the Junior, Cairbre finished tied 4th and as a team the boys finished in a very respectable tie for 3rd. They should both be proud of their efforts in these tournaments.

The National Golf Competition was once again held at The Warwickshire Golf and Country Club this year. The team of Joshua Rowe, Toby Chahrvin and Cairbre Smith French competed against the best students from all over the country. In sweltering conditions, the boys stuck to the task very well. They all played to an accurate representation of their handicaps but will rue a couple of costly holes. Overall, we finished 8th in the U18 Team Competition, a superb effort considering we had two Year 7 students playing. The future looks bright for Halliford Golf.

The after-school golf activity at Sunbury GC has again been well attended. The students have approached these sessions with great enthusiasm and have responded to the coaching very well, improving all aspects of their game.

Hallifordian Sporting Accomplishments

Harry Dence (Year 9)

Harry has continued to sail in the Topper 5.3 class this year. He has continued to be a member of the RYA L&SE Regional Training Squad and has also been invited to all the ITCA class association’s invitational training weekends that have taken place this year. The first 24 sailors taking part in the National Series of Regattas are invited to attend these weekends where training is provided by the top coaches in the country. It has also been a busy spring and summer of racing events and Harry has finished 1st in the London & South East Spring Series 2024 with very consistent results through the six contributing events. Harry competed in the 5th Topper National Series event of 23/24 at Derwent Reservoir in County Durham. During the two days of racing, Harry achieved some great race results and finished in 6th place overall. This was the final event in the National Series for 2023/24. Harry achieved 11th place over the whole series with his brother, Sam Dence, finishing in 31st out of a total of 171 sailors.

Sam Dence (Year 8)

Sam moved into the Topper 5.3 class in September and was invited to be a member of the RYA L&SE Regional Training Squad, which is a programme of six focused training weekends following qualification at three events. Sam has had a good season of racing with a few race wins whetting the appetite for more success. With an invite to the selective ITCA class association invitational training weekends, he is looking forward to the Topper Worlds in Spain, a week of racing against sailors from a wide variety of countries, and the Topper Nationals in Weymouth, a week of racing against sailors from across Great Britain and Ireland.

Harry Dence, Year 9 and Sam Dence, Year 8

SAILING

Lucas Symons, Year 10

Lucas has been competing and training over the winter and spring months as part of the ILCA4 National training group based at the National Sailing Academy in Weymouth. Lucas was delighted to qualify to represent GBR in the ILCA4 European Youth Sailing Championships held over Easter in Izola, Slovenia. With over 400 sailors from all over Europe competing it was a fantastic experience on and off the water. Lucas has just returned from the ILCA4 Youth World Championships in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, the largest junior sailing event in the world with 51 countries represented by 427 sailors. Lucas was selected to compete as part of the 20 strong under 18 GBR boys team enjoying the strong winds and swell of the North Atlantic with racing taking place over six days in challenging conditions. It was an amazing experience with Lucas sailing in the fourth-tier emerald final, the highlight being a 16th place finish in one of the final day races before placing 258th overall in the boys event.

SWIMMING

Jakob Holder, Year 11

Jakob once again qualified for the 2024 Middlesex County Championships and the London Regional Competitions swimming predominantly all the Backstroke events and some Front Crawl and Individual Medley events against the best swimmers in his age group. Despite several illnesses leading up to the events, he contested nine events across the two competitions and Jakob managed to achieve several PBs. Throughout June, Jakob was open water training at Heron Lake as well as his usual pool training. In July, Jakob travelled up to Norfolk to compete in the Swim England Open Water Regionals Event. He swam 5K in 56 mins which awarded him with a new open water 5K PB and second place overall in the London region. The water was below 18 degrees (a first for 12 years) so it was wetsuit compulsory and pretty tough! Jakob subsequently qualified for The Swim England Open Water Nationals in Sheffield but for this event he’ll have to race 7.5K! It was his first ever event at a nationals level and a chance to compete against the country’s very best open water swimmers.

In October 2023, Harvey was successful at being offered a place in the Harlequins Academy as part of the U14 - U16 DPP. Training started in March 2024 with the U14 squad in Cobham on Monday evenings. The season has now finished, and he will continue his academy journey next season into the U15 DPP.

Barney played in a total of six games for Harlequins and would participate in training every Monday, as well as strength and conditioning every Wednesday after school. Some of the highlights would be playing against Northampton Saints and Saracens. They won 5/6 games. Barney got asked to try out for the HPP which is a full scholarship to Gordon’s School paid by Harlequins which he was offered from a pool of almost 300 boys.

1st XV Captain, Zach Smith, was invited to the Surrey U20s programme next season after completing his London and Southeast Rugby trials. We wish him well.

RUGBY

Harvey Connop, Year 9

RUGBY

Barney Connop, Year 11

RUGBY

Zach Smith, Upper Sixth

Bertie and his crew won the J14 Coxed 4x at the Walton & Weybridge Regatta beating Henley Rowing Club in the final by two lengths.

After winning the Surrey District Rowing Competition last month, Leon and his teammates represented his unit and the Surrey District in the Southern Area Competition this weekend. They battled to the bronze medal in challenging conditions in Poole Harbour, Dorset, placing them third out of 68 units overall.

ROWING

Bertie Reynolds, Year 9

ROWING

Leon Bleach, Year 8

ROWING

Benjamin Hupe, Year 10

Ben rows competitively for Walbrook Rowing Club based in Teddington. He has rowed for the club for just under two years. Ben performs both sweep (the use of one blade) and scull (the use of two blades) row and has competed in regattas and heads in singles, doubles, quads, and eights. Ben’s most successful competitions have been Danson Dashes, where he won the J14 singles and more recently he competed and won the Thames Ditton Regatta in an eight. Ben has also competed at the National Schools Regatta on Dorney Lake and won the B final in a coxed quad. It is a challenging sport but Ben loves rowing as it is a good way to keep fit, and he loves being part of the rowing community competing alongside his teammates.

GOLF

Toby Chahrvin, Year 7

Toby drove up to North Berwick in Scotland in the half term holiday so he could compete in the US Kids European Championship. Over 500 kids from all over the world descended on this beautiful coastline to play some of the best courses over three days in the challenging Scottish weather.

He played well against some of the best young golfers in the world in tough conditions on a course which is still a little bit long for him. He saved his best round to the last day shooting 79 which moved him from 34th to 27th out of 61 kids in his age group. Toby had a great time in his first European Championships, gaining lots of experience, meeting new friends, and having lots of fun playing golf.

RUGBY

Tom Aris, Year 9

I was lucky enough to be offered places at both Harlequins and London and South-Central rugby U14 DPPs. It was a hard decision, but I accepted London and South Central. Despite having a couple of injuries throughout the season I really enjoyed training with London and South Central. My club side London Irish A team has had a good season reaching the quarter finals of the Surrey Waterfall Cup. This season I enjoyed being given the opportunity to play back row for school, on top of wing and scrum half at club level. After hearing that London and South Central DPP is no longer going to be continued I have decided to dedicate my summer towards improving my fitness and skills to give myself the best chance of securing a place at Harlequins DPP.

GYM Morris Hyde, Year 9

This year has been a good year for me in terms of success. At the start of the year, I was moved up into the elite group with my men’s 4 squad. We prepared our routines ready for the Spelthorne Acro Cup hosted at my own gym Spelthorne. We won the competition with a high score we were not expecting as we hadn’t competed in this partnership. We were then invited to the Turin Acro International Cup but unfortunately my top broke his arm, so we are unable to compete. Despite this setback we have started working hard and we have started to progress very quickly, and we will hopefully be ready for other competitions and the world championships in 2026 which we are excited for and are ready to keep moving forward!

Rajveer had been selected to be part of the U15 Middlesex cricket winter training programme which commenced in October 2023. 24 boys were selected for this programme which concluded in April 2024. From that group, a selection of 15 boys made it to the final summer playing squad. Thankfully, Rajveer was selected for the full U15 Middlesex County Cricket squad to play this summer. He opens the bowling in the side. The season is already underway, and he is playing well having had fixtures against Berkshire, Sussex, Hampshire, and Surrey so far.

CRICKET

Rajveer Johal, Year 10

Dexter was signed as a striker to Portsmouth FC Academy at the end of October. He settled quickly in the team and despite striker being a new position for him, he has had a successful run and scored almost 20 goals since November. Notable highlights include scoring four goals against Wimbledon FC, a hat-trick against QPR and two goals against Fulham FC. He also scored one goal and assisted one against Crystal Palace on the last match of the season. He was selected to play in two U18 matches at the end of the season, scoring in one of them, and is looking forward to the new season. Dexter was selected for the England ISFA (Independent Schools FA) U15 team as a defender this year. They played Chelsea FC in December and won 4-2. In May, he had the honour of captaining the team against Manchester United. Although they lost, Dexter had an excellent performance and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing at Carrington Training Ground. He has been selected for the U16 squad for next year and if he performs well, he will have the opportunity to play against Wales and Australia during the course of the year.

In December 2023, Jack was brought on trial at Luton Town U15s, and after a successful eight week trial period, he was signed on a contract until the end of the U16 season. Since signing, Jack has continued to progress and had plenty of opportunities training with the U21 team during the half-term holidays. His highlight of the season was playing against Leicester but the most memorable was travelling up to Stoke to play their U15s in the Bet365 Stadium in which they won 5-2 and he played the full game and played well. Next year, Jack aims to continue progressing and hopefully get a scholarship to play football for the U18 team after Year 11.

FOOTBALL

Dexter Lee, Year 10 FOOTBALL

Jack Giddens, Year 10

Nicholas recently won the end of season U12s Player of the Year Award at the club he plays for and has been nominated by his club to trial for Surrey County Hockey next month.

HOCKEY

Nicholas Shahverdian, Year 7

RUGBY

Mr Ciaran Lee, Tour Historian

Rugby Tour to Argentina

In a thrilling display of sportsmanship and adventure, our school’s rugby team embarked on a once-ina-lifetime tour to Argentina.

Day 1 – Travel Day

The touring party gathered in Heathrow, buzzing with anticipation. After a smooth transfer through Frankfurt, we settled in for a 13-hour transatlantic flight to Buenos Aires. On arrival, we stopped for a traditional Argentinian breakfast at a restaurant in the main plaza. The breakfast included the Argentinian delicacy ‘medialuna’ with dulce de leche, a delicious, sweet pastry.

After the meal, we walked through a picturesque and historic neighbourhood near the Rio de la Plata. With some free time in the city park, a makeshift game of cricket in the Argentinian sunshine soon unfolded along with frisbee, and a 5-a-side football match against some locals. We then travelled to the El Conquistador Hotel in central Buenos Aires to settle in. In the evening, we ambled to a local grill house for plentiful portions of an Argentinian mixed grill and chips. Exhausted, we turned in for the night after a gruelling day of travelling and a busy day of rugby training ahead.

Day 2 - Outreach

The touring party started our first full day in Argentina with a hearty buffet breakfast in the hotel as the sun rose over the city skyline. We then travelled to a local rugby training facility to prepare for our first match. Mr Fieldhouse organised a fun, intensive session to prepare the team for their first match. While the boys had not played together for many months, they soon familiarised themselves with the game plan and our attacking patterns. Having worked hard in the morning, the boys were treated to a hamburger lunch in the city centre.

We then went to the Baccigalupo Foundation, a local charity that provides sport and activities for people with intellectual disabilities. The boys played tennis, touch rugby, and football with a group of people who suffer from a variety of intellectual disabilities including Down syndrome. It was a delightful afternoon during which the boys showed the very best of the caring, warm-hearted, respectful Halliford spirit. This was an experience they will treasure forever. With the first match against Club Newman in the morning, we enjoyed a quiet meal out as a squad before heading back to the hotel to rest.

Day 3 Report – Match One - Newman

Following the team announcement and shirt presentation in the evening, we awoke for an early breakfast. With some nervous anticipation and excitement, we travelled to Club Newman for our first match against Club Newman, a rugby club associated with Cardinal Newman College. Cardinal Newman is a prestigious Catholic school, notorious as a breeding ground for Argentinian rugby with alumni including Felipe and Manuel Contepomi, Julian Montoya, as well as former Argentinian president Mauricio Macri. Our 2nd XV challenged Newman in all facets of the match, but, unfortunately, the Argentinian school boys were far too strong and we lost by a significant margin. As it happened to be Argentina’s Independence Day, the 1st XV took the field for a brief ceremony and listened to a stirring rendition of the Argentinian national anthem. We then had our turn and sang God Save the King to the best of our ability in front of a large crowd of Newman supporters.

After a brief pause following the national anthems, it was time to start the school’s first ever South American rugby fixture as Halliford 2xv took on Cardinal Newman 2xv and what was to be a hugely physical encounter. The game started at a very fast pace, and it was clear to see our opponents were a well organised outfit. After a tight opening 15 minutes our opponents ramped up the pressure and put together some nice passages of play and scored a handful of times before halftime. The second half went much the same as the first for our 2xv and whilst the team showed some great character in defence, they could not stop an extremely talented home team continue to add to the scoreboard. Special mentions go to Leo Hobbs, Thomas Robinson, Finlay Hanna and MoM Theo Maroussas for their grit and determination to not take a backward step and guide the team around the pitch.

Cardinal Newman 1xv kicked off and quickly showed their impressive handling and off-loading skills, scoring an early try. Halliford responded immediately with a strong series of attacking phases before the captain Zach Smith powered his way through to score under the posts. Halliford held Cardinal Newman to 7-7 for some time, but eventually they broke down our defences and scored twice more. In the second half, Cardinal Newman scored a string of excellent tries in an astonishing display of fluid attacking rugby. Halliford relished the privilege of playing such a formidable and renowned rugby school. The final score was 64-7. Hallford’s man of the match was Will Shanley for his work rate and physical presence on both sides of the ball.

After the match, we were hosted to a traditional Argentinian asado; enormous plates of steak, sausages, and chicken were served to our very hungry players. Cardinal Newman students performed a few songs while we ate and, luckily, Halliford’s squad included enough musicians to make a band who then performed two more songs in return. We exchanged gifts with Cardinal Newman and enjoyed the company in what was an extraordinary and unforgettable rugby experience. We then returned to the hotel in the evening before venturing out for another sumptuous steak dinner.

Day 4 – The Ranch

We ventured out of the city limits to visit Don Silvano, a traditional Argentinian ‘estancia’ or ‘ranch’ complete with pigs, horses, bulls, chickens, and sheep. The boys enjoyed visiting the various farm animals, carriage and tractor rides, and long walks in the beautiful countryside. As the team were walking wounded after a difficult and physical match, today’s more relaxed pace was very much welcomed.

After exploring the farm, we were invited in for an asado; the boys enjoyed great piles of grilled meats and salads. During lunch, a band performed a variety of Argentinian folk songs from every region of the country. We were then treated to a tango performance which included a brief cameo from Mr Fieldhouse who was invited on stage to show off his fancy footwork.

Later, several boys were also invited up to the front for a lesson in this famous dance that originated in Buenos Aires. As England were due to play the Netherlands in the afternoon, we rushed back to the hotel to watch the match as a squad. The boys supported enthusiastically as England secured an historic victory in this tournament. It was much needed restful and restorative day, allowing the boys to be ready for training and match preparation in the morning.

Day 5 – Training and River Plate

In preparation for our match against Old Georgians, the team returned to our training ground for some rugby fitness and team run through. Mr Fieldhouse ran a light and technical session to accommodate the many sore bodies in our squad. A particular focus was our defensive structure around the breakdown. After a light lunch, we went to the famous Estadio Monumental, the largest stadium in South America and home to the storied River Plate Football Club. We enjoyed a thorough stadium tour which included a pitch-side view, the changing rooms and the club museum. The boys particularly enjoyed the impressively resplendent trophy cabinet.

From here, we travelled back to the hotel for an enforced siesta for match recovery. Many of the boys enjoyed a strict regiment of ice baths and saunas as recommended by the Head of Athletic Performance, Mr Churchill. We then wandered to Microcentral, downtown Buenos Aires, for another asado dinner: steak, sausages, and chicken with a selection of salads. Satisfied, we returned to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before our next match.

Day 6 - Match 2 – Old Georgians

As today’s match was to be a late afternoon kick-off, we spent the morning on an historic city tour of Buenos Aires. The boys learned about Argentina’s war of independence from Spain; its rise to be one of the world’s wealthiest nations in the Belle Epoque; the presidency of Juan Perón and the influence of his wife Eva, known more widely as Evita; and Argentina’s subsequent economic difficulties and the military juntas in the latter half of the 20th century. We ambled around the Plaza de Mayo, admiring the Casa Rosada (presidential palace), national cathedral, and central bank of Argentina.

We then travelled to one of Argentina’s most famous neighbourhoods ‘Boca’. This district was home to many Italian immigrants to Argentina who formed the world-famous Boca Juniors football club. Former players of Boca Juniors include Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Carlos Tevez. The Halliford boys quickly became Boca Junior fans and bought enough official merchandise to keep the club afloat for several decades. We then explored the colourful neighbourhood of Boca which has many murals and monuments to its famous residents and the larger contribution of immigrants to Argentina.

Following this morning of culture and history, the squad made our way to Old Georgians Rugby Club for our second match of the tour. Old Georgians were founded by alumni of St George’s College in Quilmes, one of the most prestigious British schools in South America with an illustrious rugby history. Match one was fiercely contested from the kick off. Old Georgians scored an early try, but Halliford responded with their own try immediately. Halliford then began to control the match, dominating possession and territory for most of the first half and scoring a string of tries, but Old Georgians fought passionately to stay in the game. Their strong pack trundled over the line twice to keep them in the match. In the second half, Old Georgians continued to challenge us across the park, scoring several more tries until they were within 4 points of Halliford. Thankfully, Halliford were able to hold off a spirited Georgian come back. The final score was 27-31 with Halliford School securing its first-ever sporting victory in South America. The man of the match was scrum half Max Smith for his huge work rate and physical presence around the breakdown.

Match two was another tight encounter that went right down to the wire. Stand-out performances from Felix Porter, Thomas Robinson, Josh Morrison and MoM Hamish Greany had put Halliford 12-7 up heading into the final moments of the game. But consistent pressure in the red zone by Old Georgians in the final moments of the game allowed their forwards to rumble over and give them a 14-12 victory. A disappointing result in the end for the players, but a performance to be proud of nevertheless. After the match, we were treated again to typical Argentinian hospitality with empanadas, beef Milanese, and chips for everyone. Not content with a win in rugby alone, the Halliford boys challenged Old Georgians to an arm-wrestling competition (the winners of this are still disputed). In a celebratory mood, we drove back to central Buenos Aires to enjoy another evening together as a squad in Argentina. Day 7 - Los Pumas

vs France

In the morning, we went to Gallerias Pacifica, one of Buenos Aires’ most famous shopping malls. The boys were given a few hours of free time to buy gifts, explore and have lunch. The shopping centre dates from the late 19th century and is lavishly decorated with ornate murals and high windows. After this, we ventured north of the city to Velez Sarfield stadium, where Argentina’s national rugby team, Los Pumas, were hosting France. France had won the first match in Mendoza comfortably, but subsequently were caught up in several scandals off the field. This meant Argentina were especially hungry for a victory with national pride on the line.

After 45 minutes enjoying the festive atmosphere of the fan village, we entered the stadium to take our seats in the South-East corner of the stadium. France took an early lead and seemed to be controlling the match for the first half, but Los Pumas mounted a spirited comeback, putting together a spectacular display of their characteristic attacking flair. Each side exchanged tries and it was very tense until the final five minutes, during which Argentina scored again to secure a historic victory over France, final score 33-25. The Halliford squad were Argentina’s most ardent supporters throughout the match. We wore our Argentina shirts with pride and got involved in chants, Mexican waves, and all sorts of frenzied celebrations. The sun set, rose-red, over the stadium in the second half, providing the most beautiful backdrop to another awesome and unique rugby experience.

Day 8 - Travel to Iguazú

It was a very early start to day 8 as we prepared to travel 2000 km north to Argentina’s Missiones state, a remote sub-tropical region of rainforests and waterfalls. The journey was smooth and, as soon as we were out of the airport, we noticed the stark difference in the landscape to Buenos Aires: flat grasslands and urban centres were replaced by lush jungle and dirt paths. The region is home to the largest indigenous population in Argentina, many of whom continue to uphold an ancient way of life. Iguazu is in an Argentinian enclave bordering both Brazil and Paraguay, home to Iguazu National Park.

After a morning of travelling, we left the airport and headed directly to Las Cataratas Rugby Club for our last training session. It was a light and enjoyable session that ended with a football tournament as Euros 2024 was very much on our minds. We travelled to the centre of Iguazu town for lunch before settling

into the hotel. Mr Churchill insisted that the squad watch England’s crucial football match together. England’s loss was greeted with bitter disappointment and we didn’t hear from Mr Churchill again that evening, but our one Spanish tourist, Lucas Hayes Garcia, was uncharacteristically vocal all evening, making himself very popular with the rest of the group. After a pizza dinner, the boys settled into the rooms to rest before a busy day on the falls.

Day 9 - Iguazu Walks

After a much welcome lie in, we ventured into the Iguazu National Park to see the famous waterfalls. The Iguazu Falls are one of the new seven natural wonders of the world and they certainly did not disappoint. With our two guides, we walked both the upper and lower trails around the falls, stopping frequently to admire the majestic views and, naturally, take many photographs.

The upper walk took us through the sub-tropical rainforest complete with monkeys and coatis (a member of the racoon family native to South America) to a network of bridges that traverse the Iguazu river near the waterfalls. We marvelled at the world’s widest waterfalls: 275 separate falls spread over 1.7 miles, reaching a maximum height of 82 metres. The boys traversed the national park stopping to admire the incomparable views, each one somehow more breath-taking than the last.

After a light lunch, we continued to explore the falls via the lower trail. From this view, one gets a much better sense of the scale of these enormous falls as the water cascades from above. Dizzy in awe of these amazing sights, we returned to our hotel to rest and recover before the final match day.

Day 10 – Boat trip and Final match

Although we had traversed the waterfalls in the National Park, we were told that the best way to see them was from the river. We keenly climbed aboard the jet boat which churned through the rapids upriver into the thick mist of Iguazu Falls. The thrilling ride on the river jutted over wake and rapids, leaving us drenched. The jet boat was a highlight of the trip for most as it provided both thrills and beauty in equal measure. Having now thoroughly explored the falls, it was time to get back to the tour’s purpose: rugby.

The final match of the tour was hosted by Las Cataratas Rugby Club whose pitch seemed to have been carved out of the rainforest. As we were no longer in Argentina’s rugby heartland, we were unsure of what to expect from a rugby club in this deprived and remote region. However, news of Halliford’s tour had spread widely, and another club, Caraya, travelled from over 100km away for the chance to play a visiting team from England. For the final match, Halliford mixed our squad with the aim of giving the Upper Sixth the chance to play together for the final time. Caraya provided tough, physical opposition for our newly named Jaguares squad, keeping us under pressure, especially in the scrum. Still, Halliford’s expansive rugby led to a string of well-worked tries from Henry Crowther, Felix Porter, Carter Green, Tom Blair, Max Smith and a corker by Finlay Hanna. The Jaguares final try of the game saw some individual brilliance from Finlay when he gathered the ball in his own half, evaded tackler after tackler before chipping the ball overhead, recovering it, and scoring in the corner in a wonderful try that he is unlikely to forget especially on his birthday. The final score 40-5 to Halliford Schools Jaguares side with MoM going to William O’Loughlin.

The second game of the evening saw a youthful Halliford Puma’s side take on the hosts Cataratas U18 team in what was to be an exciting end-to-end encounter with lots of free-flowing rugby. A dominant set piece provided an excellent platform for the Puma’s side, and two tries from George Long and one from Austin Johnson gave the Puma’s a 17-0 at half time. A long-range effort from flanker Ollie Hill and a thundering run from captain Sam Griffiths meant we added two more tries to our tally in the second half, final score 27-0 to Halliford Puma’s. The man of the match on the day was JJ Lam-Denham, who demonstrated what an excellent rugby player he is on both sides of the ball, beating defenders for fun.

Following the two matches, we were hosted, once again, to a feast of empanadas and barbecued pork. In Argentina, they refer to the post-match hosting experience as ‘the third half’ and consider it to be just as important as the match itself. We were treated to brilliant hospitality by the players and coaches of Las Cataratas Rugby Club who kindly gifted us a beautiful, cedar wood hand-carved plaque as a memento of this unique rugby experience.

Halliford was happy to end the tour’s final match, having won three of six matches on tour in Argentina and having grown as a group and certainly as individuals. We celebrated this extraordinary tour with an awards presentation back at the hotel after dinner before our last night’s sleep in Argentina.

Day 11 – Travel Home

We rose early for what would be an epic day of travelling. After breakfast, we drove across the Brazilian border to catch a flight to Sao Paulo. From there, we flew overnight to Frankfurt and the following morning, caught a midday flight to London. The boys were glad to be greeted at arrivals by their families after what was an unforgettable and utterly brilliant tour.

Halliford School Argentina Rugby Tour Fixtures 2024

Buenos Aires

Cardinal Newman 1xv (64) vs (7) Halliford School 1xv

Cardinal Newman 2xv vs Halliford School 2xv

Old Georgians RFC 1xv (24) vs (31) Halliford School 1xv

Old Georgians 2xv (14) vs (12) Halliford School 2xv

Iguazu

Las Cataratas RFC (5) vs (45) Halliford Jaguars

Caraya RFC (0) vs (27) Halliford Puma’s

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Humphrey Pedlar GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Aaric Thomas GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Daniel Gray GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Miles Cobley GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

GCSE

Thomas Povey

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Alex Ampleford GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Hector Rutter GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Henry Jones GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Toby Hill GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Toby Hill GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Freddie Lifton GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Freddie Lifton GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024–

Hamish Greany GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024–

Hamish Greany GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Owen Flower

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Owen Flower GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Oscar Luiz GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Oscar Luiz GCSE

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Green A Level

Carter

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Carter Green A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

William Mardon A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

William Mardon A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Jack Hutchinson A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Level

Jack Hutchinson

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Theo Wilson A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Theo Wilson A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Will Shanley A Level

– Art Exhibition 2024 –

Will Shanley A Level

House Captain: Harley Reynolds

DESBOROUGH House Report

by Mr Vincent Harden-Chaters, Head of House

I write this report with a heavy heart as it marks my final contribution as the Head of Desborough House after nine fulfilling years. Reflecting on this journey, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and pride for the incredible support and dedication shown by both my tutor team and the members of Desborough House. Together, we have created a vibrant and spirited community, achieving remarkable success in various Inter-House competitions throughout the years.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to my outstanding tutor team, whose unwavering commitment and guidance have been the backbone of our House. Special recognition is due to Miss Weyman, our longest-serving tutor, whose departure leaves an indelible mark on us all. Miss Weyman’s dedication, wisdom, and compassion have profoundly shaped Desborough House, and her contributions will be dearly missed.

Looking ahead, I wish Mr Churchill all the best as he takes up the stewardship of Desborough House. His enthusiasm and deep understanding of the importance of the House system, stemming from his time as a former student at our school, will undoubtedly underpin his future success. I am confident that under his guidance, Desborough House will continue to thrive and achieve new heights.

This year saw the inauguration of the Inter-House Cup competition, which is the summation of all the academic and sporting contests from throughout the year. With over 30 contests taking place, it was fantastic that every student in the House could contribute in an area where they could excel.

The start of the year was dominated, as ever, by preparations for the song competition. This year’s theme was the 90s, and we opted to replicate one of the biggest hits of 1996 with Wannabe by the Spice Girls. It was a memorable performance with a call-andresponse, questionable dance moves, and outrageous outfits. It was a fantastic effort, and my thanks go to the band and the Spice Boys, particularly Billy Dobby, Harley Reynolds, Edward Gentle, Sam Griffiths and Charlie Thorpe. The band song has now been given its own competition, and we performed a version of Smooth by Santana that was awarded second place in the band

competition. A huge amount of time and dedication was put in by the band, and my thanks to Billy Dobby, Harry Neale, Tom Lever, Monty Savarino, Jake Goodman, Daniel Bootle-Wilbraham, and Ruaridh Bell.

In October, the students were able to put their creative talents on display again with the pumpkin carving competition, with Jenson Waite in Year 10 being crowned the winner of the whole competition, and William Oakley in Year 7 coming third.

The first sporting event of the year was not rugby, as has been the case in years gone by, but a sport created by the students of Halliford. Rusty Pole is a variation of football tennis and has been passed down from the Upper Sixth to the Lower Sixth for the last decade. Desborough was dominant through each round, and with the help of MVP and House Captain Harley Reynolds, we secured first place and the coveted Rusty Pole Trophy.

A flurry of wins followed with Chess, the Christmas Quiz, the Drama poster, and University Challenge all being won convincingly. My thanks for all the efforts shown by the many students involved in helping the House make such a statement during this term. This was capped with the rugby competitions, which saw us finish joint second across all year groups and featured some fantastic individual performances but, most importantly, great teamwork across the year groups.

Moving into the Spring Term, we saw a slowdown in wins, with third-place finishes in Drama, Public Speaking, and Debating, but a fantastic win in the Pétanque contest. My thanks go to all those involved here, and I hope we can continue to see students developing these important skills. Football also saw some dominant performances, with the students managing to finish in second place overall with some phenomenal results in the U14 and U15, both of which won their respective competitions.

The penultimate Inter-House sports event this year was a cracking cricket competition. The U12 and U15 teams finished in third place. The U13 team did one better by coming in second, but the U14 team dominated a very difficult contest to win. This meant we finished in second place overall, and my many thanks go to all for the fantastic sportsmanship on display.

Sports Day was again brimming with examples of sporting excellence within the House. After a tough day of competition on the track and field, we went into the relays within touching distance of first place. A dominant performance by Greville in the U12 and U13 races left us with too much to do, and we finished in second place. Huge thanks to all those who competed, but I would like to single out a few students who were exceptional. First, to George Clark for his running in the 1500m, which was the fastest intermediate time of the day. Ben Parker, who cleared 1.60m in the high jump, achieving the highest of the day. Sam Griffiths, who managed to throw the shot put the furthest distance of the day at 10.84m. Finally, to Christian Fleming-Jenner, who ran the 80m hurdles in 11.86s.

The final competition of the year was the House Merit Shield. After our three-year winning streak finally came to an end last year, we were again crowned winners with 3,623 merits, meaning we have won this competition four out of the last five years.

After all the competitions and contests were tallied, we were in an extremely strong position for the Inter-House Cup but were just pipped to the win and came in a respectable second place. The Inter-House Cup has added a new dynamic to the House system, and I hope that in future years, the students will continue to challenge themselves to try new events and push themselves beyond which they think they are capable.

Finally, I would like to say how much of an honour it has been to lead so many outstanding students throughout my time as Head of House. They have filled me with joy, pride, and at times, exasperation, but I have loved having the opportunity to shape the lives of so many wonderful young people. The school motto, ‘Via firma ad firmiora’ meaning ‘a firm path to firmer things’ has always been the guiding principle I have used to support the students under my care. As I pass the baton to Mr Churchill, I am sure he will continue to instil the lessons of respect, teamwork, and excellence in the members of Desborough House, ensuring they continue to succeed and become the best versions of themselves.

Desborough LEAVERS 2024

Matthew Sanders

Reece Pittaluga Ben Gusterson

Harry Tuckman

Hayden Haslam-Baker

Matthew Jackson

Harley Reynolds House Captain

Harry Neale Calam Sharma

House Captain: Zach Smith

GREVILLE House Report

by Mr Darren Howard, Head of House

This year, the introduction of the InterHouse Cup highlighted the significance of participation in individual House competitions. While the cup would likely be awarded to the House with the most event victories throughout the academic year, the final standings could also depend on the positions achieved in each individual event.

The Inter-House rivalry launched in the Autumn Term with the Song Contest. The song selected was All Star by the American rock band Smash Mouth, widely recognised from the 2001 movie Shrek. This choice encouraged enthusiastic participation across all year groups. Under the capable leadership of Zach Smith, along with Miss Armstrong and Mrs Wilbraham, the House song evolved through numerous practice sessions. Behind the scenes, the House Band, comprising of Tobi Adeseun, Laurence Hodson, and James McCummiskey worked diligently to perfect their rendition of Blink-182’s What’s My Age Again? Despite a commendable performance, Greville’s Band did not win this segment of the competition. However, in the House performance, Greville shone brightly, and although it appeared that the House was a strong contender, a controversial judging decision was made. A heartfelt thank you to all the students involved in both the House song and Band entry for their countless hours of rehearsal.

Throughout the term, other Inter-House competitions, including Senior Debating and Creative Writing, took place. The Senior Debating team, comprised of James McCummiskey, Ben Mills, and Theo Marshall, reached the finals but narrowly missed the victory. In Creative Writing, Charlie Grant triumphed with his imaginative horror story. Congratulations are also due for Greville’s achievement in the Inter-House Geography Competition, where the House secured a win. As the Autumn Term drew near the Christmas break, Greville joined the other Houses in the Inter-House Rugby Competition, showcasing impressive individual and team performances throughout the year groups. Both Year 7 and Year 8 claimed victory in

their respective competitions, leading Greville to win the Junior competition. Year 9 finished third, and Year 10 placed second in their age groups, resulting in Greville being crowned joint winners of the Inter-House Rugby Competition. Thank you to all the participants who tackled in the mud and played with pride. Congratulations to Zach Johnson, Federico Polosa, and Oliver White for earning their 1st XV Rugby Colours ties.

The Spring Term was filled with a flurry of Inter-House competitions. Tobi Adeseun, Monty Pailthorpe, and Arlo West represented Greville in the Inter-House Junior Debating Competition. Although they won one debate, they were unable to advance past the preliminary rounds this year. However, strong performances across all Greville forms earned victory in the InterHouse General Knowledge Quiz.

Before we knew it, the Inter-House Cross-Country Competition arrived. Unfortunately, inclement weather caused flooding on certain days, preventing Year 7 from experiencing this beloved event and impacting the Year 10 race. Both groups completed a challenging beep test instead. In the cross-country races, many Greville runners excelled, with Josh Cain winning the Year 8 race and numerous others finishing in the top ten in the U13 and U14 events. Despite three second-place finishes, no Year group clinched an overall win, emphasising the importance of each runner’s position. A tremendous thank you to all who gave their best in the Cross-Country Competition.

At the end of the Spring Term, the InterHouse Football Competition commenced. All matches were intensely competitive, and this year, the fates favoured us with deflections off the uprights and crossbar. Year 7 and Year 8 emerged victorious in their competitions, while Year 9 and Year 10 both secured second place, resulting in Greville being named joint winners of the overall competition. A huge thank you to all Grevillites who participated in the Inter-House football teams this year. Congratulations to Freddie Scott for earning his 1st XI Football Colours tie.

The Summer Term featured a blend of new

and established Inter-House competitions. In new events like Ultimate Frisbee and Rowing, Greville secured impressive victories. In the intermediate Inter-House Debating final, Dino Barton, Oliver Gardner, and Kai Scanlen delivered compelling arguments that led them to victory. In InterHouse Cricket, only Year 8 excelled with both bat and ball, achieving a clean sweep in the Cricket, Football, and Rugby Inter-House Competitions for the second consecutive year. Congratulations to Oli Fenton, Josh Hawksley, Charlie Scott, and Oliver White for earning their 1st XI Cricket Colours ties.

On a chilly, rainy July day, Sports Day once again took place at the Xcel Centre in Walton. The House demonstrated remarkable teamwork at the start of the day, quickly arranging substitutes for absent teammates—a testament to their commitment. Throughout the day, impressive athletic performances were displayed on the track and field, including Alex Kent in U12 Shot, Ahi Lloyd in the 12A 400M and U12 Triple Jump, Samir Al-Falaki in the U13A 200m and 400m, Barney Brown in the U13 High Jump, Oscar Wintle in the U14 Javelin, Federico Polosa in the U19 Javelin, and James McCummiskey in the U19 Triple Jump. Additionally, Ryan Mills and Rosanna Sessions were honoured with the Victor Ludorum and Victrix Ludorum awards as the most successful senior male and female athletes, respectively. Each Grevillite gave their all, contributing to Greville’s victory in the Inter-House Athletics Cup.

An incredibly successful year could have concluded even more triumphantly if Greville had secured the Merit Shield on Speech Day, rather than finishing as a close second. Nonetheless, we can take pride in knowing that Greville was the most successful House throughout the year and the inaugural winner of the Inter-House Cup. Thank you, Zach, for your invaluable assistance as House Captain this year, and to every Grevillite for your dedication across all Inter-House events, whether academic, creative, or sporting. To the students not returning next term and to Mr Lee, we wish you the best in your future endeavours—please stay in touch.

Greville LEAVERS 2024

Theo Marshall

Tommy Ballard

Calvin Harrington

Freddie Scott

Jack Hutchinson

Oscar Wort

Zach Smith House Captain

Cosmo Chippindale Connor Foote

House Captain: George O’Loughlin

RUSSELL House Report

by Mr David Morriss, Head of House

Welcome to the Russell House Report for the 2023-24 academic year and my first as Head of House. I cannot believe that I was reading Mr Shales’ previous report a year ago, and in that time, a new cohort of Russell students has joined and another has said their goodbyes. It has been a whirlwind journey and a year that has gone by quicker than most. The students have been incredibly welcoming and supportive as I have taken on the role of Head of House.

The Upper Sixth students of U6R have been at the forefront of this and led by example in everything we did as a House. They are a wonderful group of students who will all undoubtedly succeed on their chosen path. House Captain George O’Loughlin was inspirational in cajoling students to participate in all the different events, but not least by putting himself out there in the Senior competitions. The first was the InterHouse Debating Competition, where the students felt a great urge to overturn last year’s controversial result in the final with superbly prepared arguments from George O’Loughlin, Finlay Hanna, Theo Howard, Scott Smith, and Aleana Ivanova. This competitive attitude led them back to the final, where they were up against Greville. In front of the school during assembly, they performed admirably and did not let their desire to win overshadow their performance, coming away as deserved winners.

The next Inter-House competition that the Upper Sixth helped lead so decisively was the Song Contest, which is perhaps seen as the most competitive. William O’Loughlin, Josh Guild, Theo Howard, and Will Shanley made up our House band and absolutely blew the roof off with their rendition of Life Is A Highway by Tom Cochrane and were unequivocally crowned winners! These students will be sorely missed next year, but I have no doubt that L6R will step into this void and lead. Many of them have already stepped up with their Prefect interview preparation, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish the following well in their respective Prefect roles: Theo Howard, Scott Smith, Cosmo Sumner, and Aidan Tattersall.

The Inter-House Song Contest is the first

opportunity for everybody in the House to be represented. Our House, accompanied by James Grant on the piano, performed Life by Des’ree. James introducing the song with a solo was stunning and then the rest of the House delivered a brilliantly constructed performance. Despite the audience vote, the judge delivered his verdict and gave the win to Russell House, with George and James collecting the coveted trophy.

The first sporting Inter-House competition allowed every year group to show their competitive side on the rugby pitch. Whilst this is always competitive, it was 9R and 10R who were crowned winners in their respective competitions and helped Russell House take another overall win to add to what was an excellent start to winning the inaugural House Cup. With Christmas fast approaching and a relentless start to the year, the successful run of form was not to stop here, as Dexter Perkins (7R) won the Christmas Card Design Competition and, with that, had his design feature on the Halliford Christmas card.

The Spring Term starts off with another annual sporting event, in the form of CrossCountry, a tradition that is both loved and hated in equal measure. Congratulations to Finn Baker (7R) who won the Inter-House Multi-Stage Fitness Test version of this.

Next to come on the busy schedule was the University Challenge and Debating Competitions. Students from 8R were sublime in their University Challenge knowledge and won this event comfortably. Maxi Docherty and Harry Farrow were instrumental in the Junior Debating and had a clean sweep of victories. A special mention at this stage also to Hayden Sanghera and James Williams (9R), who also enjoyed several victories on their way to the Intermediate debating final, only to be beaten in the final by an incredibly powerful Greville team.

This shorter term kept the competitions coming thick and fast, with the inclusion of the Halliford Young Musician and the first-ever Halliford Talent Show. William Pascoe-Watson (7R) displayed his impressive musical talent, and was highly commended in the Newcomer category. James Grant (10R)

was highly commended in the Intermediate category, while Theo Howard (12R) won the Senior category. In the Talent Show, Leandro Hall (7R) and Scott Smith (12R) shone but it was Theo Howard who absolutely stunned everyone with his guitar performance.

Sports Day was a huge part of this term, and with the departing Mr Greggor, I agreed to take on the Acting Director of Sport role, meaning that I was leading the charge on more than one front. I would like to commend and congratulate the following students who either won an event or produced a clean sweep of Russell victories. George Regan (hurdles), Adam Claudet and Sammi Matoorian-Pour (800m), Alfie Westen, Charlie Crawford, Ethan Jansen Van Rensburg, Dexter Lee (200m), James Grant, Max Hurn, Dexter Lee (400m), Finlay Hanna (Long Jump), Zac Wiffen (Triple Jump), Demi Akano (Discus). A special mention to the following students who then performed to the absolute top of their discipline. Adam Claudet comfortably won the Year 10 800m and Triple Jump showing what an all-round athlete he is becoming. Dexter Lee impressed by winning the 200m/400m double, which is a feat many an athlete would be afraid to even attempt, but his physical prowess was clearly on show here. Sam Sloman won all four of his events (100m, 200m, High Jump, Long Jump) and was crowned the Junior Athlete of the Day, and we all look forward with anticipation to seeing what this young athlete will go on and achieve.

Louie Paterson came back to have one last attempt at the Senior 100m school record. Only a twentieth of a second prevented him from securing this title last year. He tore off down the track and crossed the line and with a quick time check across the multiple stopwatches, it was confirmed that he had indeed broken that school record. This was especially proud for me as Head of House, for the fact that it was a conversation with Louie just over a year ago which prompted me to apply to be the Head of Russell House, and the rest, they say, is now history.

In the same words as my predecessor, it has been the greatest privilege to be Head of Russell House, and I look forward to seeing past, present, and future Russellites ‘Go as all you can be.’

Russell LEAVERS 2024

Will Shanley

William O’Loughlin

Finlay Hanna

Matteo Biscoe

Oliver Wingrove

Theo Wilson

George O’Loughlin House Captain

Louie Paterson

Josh Guild

House Captain: Mannat Virk

WADHAM House Report

by Mr Roberto Bruno, Head of House

It has been an eventful year for Wadham House. As I look back on the last academic year, I like to take a moment to reflect on our achievements. I have witnessed so many students in the House grow into confident and well-rounded young people who take pride in being a Hallifordian. This year, we have been focusing on our House values and how they apply to our daily lives, as well as looking up to role models who embody these values. Wadham House has showcased its creativity, and what stands out the most to me is the respect and teamwork displayed by the members when representing the House. We bid farewell to the outstanding Upper Sixth members who have shown tremendous growth during their time in Wadham House. Our House Captain, Mannat Virk, has done an exceptional job this year, leading and inspiring the students with his numerous assemblies. Wadham House will miss your leadership, Mannat, and we wish you and the rest of your form the best of luck for the future.

This year has been a mixed bag for Wadham House in the Inter-House competitions. Mr Slocock introduced numerous exciting events for all the Houses to participate in and compete. We thank him for creating so many opportunities for us and aim to win more events next year. We kicked off the year by securing second place in the InterHouse Song Contest, with the theme being the 90s. Mannat, assisted by Head Prefect Jivraj Singh, chose the song Angels by Robbie Williams. We had fantastic solos by Josh Turley and Leon Bleach, accompanied on the piano by Jivraj. It was a proud moment to see every member of Wadham House on stage, singing their hearts out. Despite coming second, we graciously accepted the outcome. There is so much more I could mention about the successes of every House event Wadham participated in, but I will just highlight a few.

The Inter-House Rowing Competition holds a special place in my heart, especially remembering how each form worked together. From the Year 7 team holding each other’s feet to the loud cheers from Year 8 and 9, it brings a smile to my face. Special mention to the Year 10s who quickly ate lunch after rowing for a short time so they could go again, and to the hardworking Lower Sixth, where even I jumped in for a brief stint due to low numbers caused by a trip.

This year marked the start of the InterHouse Drama Competition. While I am not overly competitive, it was important to me as Head of Drama that Wadham House did well in this event. I knew I would be a biased judge, so I asked Mr Carroll to take over and judge so I could wholeheartedly cheer on Wadham. Thanks to the fantastic effort from all our Drama champions – Leon Bleach, Elijah Wilkinson, and Aayush Bathia – we secured first place, and I could not be prouder.

Another significant Inter-House event to highlight is Sports Day. Once again, Wadham showcased its unity and hard work. It is not about winning for me but about supporting each other and giving our best. Were we the overall winners? No. But did Wadham House cheer the loudest? Yes, we did. I spent the entire day with the amazing students in my house, screaming and cheering for every event, showcasing our team spirit. I will always remember how we rallied to support anyone who struggled in a long distance run, encouraging them to do their best. This was not only done by Wadham House, but I looked back at the students in Wadham and thought about what great young people they are. House assemblies are a time for us to come together as a House and reflect on issues that are important to us. This year, we spent each half-term looking at a different Halliford value. What made our House

assemblies really special this year was having Hallifordians take the lead and talk about what the Halliford values mean to them.

Some of the standout assemblies include Dominic Connor’s presentation on intellectual curiosity in sport. He spoke passionately about rugby and how the work on the pitch is only half the job. This year, we also tried a group project where Wadham was tasked to develop ideas on how to make the school more environmentally friendly. In form groups, the students worked together to create a presentation which showcased a whole host of ideas, which they then presented to the whole House. The ideas were judged by Mr Boyes, who was thrilled to see students being environmentally conscious.

We had some fantastic ideas, including an Inter-House Plant Growing Competition, reducing food waste, and even building beehives on site. 7 Wadham won the competition with their passionate presentation led by Rajan Deol, who organised his form to conduct research and create the PowerPoint presentation. I was so proud of the House working together and being more active in assemblies, and I look forward to running more projects next year with more interactive assemblies.

Despite not filling our trophy cabinet this year, I believe it has been a successful year for Wadham House. I look forward to working with our new House Captain, Aayush Bathia. Aayush has the competitive spirit that I lack and has promised to work hard for the House and bring home more victories. I am eager to see how the House will thrive under his positive leadership. Well done, Wadham, for another fantastic year. Let’s work hard and be the best we can be.

Wadham LEAVERS 2024

William Mardon Carter Green

Michael Van Rensburg

Nathan Linde

Tommy Moody

Mannat Virk House Captain

Jivraj Singh Dan Hurlock-Bow

Old Hallifordians News

by Mr Sam Lawrence, Chairman of the Old Hallifordians

The year has flown by once again, and it feels like only five minutes ago that I was asked to surmise the previous year. Nevertheless, there has been plenty to provoke nostalgia.

Unfortunately, not all news can be joyous, and it brings me great sadness to inform you of Jake Nelson’s passing in January. Jake was a Hallifordian until 2017 and the son of Anthony Nelson, the school’s previous Director of Studies. Jake will be fondly remembered as a talented pianist who spent much of his time in the Music Department. Personally, I have fond memories of performing in school shows and events with Jake tinkling the ivories. He will be very sadly missed.

This year has seen fewer events than we would like, but it was a delight to talk to prospective parents about the history of the school at this year’s October Open Morning. Many guests were astounded to see how much Halliford has changed over the years yet still remarkably has kept many of its defining characteristics. It was also a pleasure to see many current Hallifordians take a great interest in the school’s heritage whilst delivering such insightful tours.

It would be remiss not to congratulate the School’s Drama and Music Departments on a highly ambitious school production of Les Misérables in February, which saw a huge cast of performers take to the stage in the John Crook Theatre before ground was broken on new developments this summer. Many will remember the Theatre’s namesake, former Headmaster John Crook, and his passion for the arts so it is fabulous to see the school continuing to invest in first-class facilities for the years ahead.

In December, the inaugural RC Talbot Cup game was played at Weybridge Vandals between Vandals U22s and Halliford Old Boys. The game (rather fittingly) ended 27-27 and was a wonderful evening celebrating Richard’s long-standing contribution to both Halliford and Vandals before his sad death in 2022. Many thanks go to the team at Vandals for hosting the match and to Stu Gulliver and Mark Josse for their organisation of both teams respectively. I am sure 2024’s December fixture will prove to be an astounding success once again.

Continuing the rugby theme, the summer also saw the return of the Old Hallifordian team at this year’s Summer Social 7s tournament at Richmond Athletics Ground. The day would not have been such a success without the input and organisation of Mr Churchill (an Old Hallifordian himself), so many thanks to him for all his hard work.

Finally, as the school becomes ever more modern, so do the Old Hallifordians. This year the OHs launched their first range of Old Hallifordian merchandise and sports kit. The range has been inspired by the school’s previous black, white and red colours which feature heavily with a more modern twist. There are also a variety of leisurewear items such as gilets, hoodies and bucket hats. I am sure we can expect to see a full fashion show at the next get-together.

The Old Hallifordians would like to wish the school’s staff and students all the best for the next academic year. We look forward to welcoming this year’s Upper Sixth into the Old Hallifordians as they progress onto university and beyond. Special thanks go to Mrs Oakley for all her hard work promoting the Old Hallifordians and keeping things ticking over.

We would love to hear all your news and memories on our Facebook page and via email, so please do get in touch.

Old Hallifordian Society

As always, we encourage all Old Hallifordians to get involved and help us to develop the society.

STAY IN TOUCH

Facebook

All Alumni events are published on our Alumni Facebook page. Please visit www.facebook.com/Hallifordalumni. Please like and follow the page.

LinkedIn

Our LinkedIn group can be accessed by visiting: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3929687/

Email

We would like to communicate with you electronically, so please register your details by completing the online form on the Old Hallifordians page on the school website. Please visit: www. hallifordschool.co.uk/about/old-hallifordians

OLD HALLIFORDIAN CONTACTS

Old Hallifordian Committee

Chairman – Mr Sam Lawrence

Committee Members – Mr Joe da Costa, Mr Alex Lenoel, Mr Justin Holder, Mr Ben Connop, Mr Adrian Wetherill

Are you vibrant and enthusiastic?

Then why not come along and join the OH Committee?

For more details, contact the Chairman by email: samjlawrence95@gmail.com or call +44 7917 761 012

OLD HALLIFORDIAN MERCHANDISE & SPORTS KIT

The range of merchandise is available to purchase at the link below: https://halliford-old-hallifordians.surridgesport.com/