The Standard - Autumn 2022

THE STANDARD

AUTUMN TERM 2022

International collaboration with friends at Harrow School Hong Kong Harrow 450 seal is now on display in the New Memorial Dining Hall

Success for first cohort of Dillon Diploma pupils Mock COP 27 event in Northwood

Year 9 Geography excellence visit to the Royal Geographical Society Spanish Word Challenge Poetry Day

IN CONVERSATION WITH… Head Boy Youki and Dr Lynne Guyton

The Sound of Music

Kartik Udhas Artists visit Venice An inspiring visit to Kew Gardens SPORT

Girls hockey

Borough badminton champions Top 100 Cricketing School

Football round up

Cross country competitions

Finn’s GB European Gold in foil fencing Mr Clarke secures Gold Medal in Wales OLD LYONIANS & CAREERS

Royal Academy of Music Concerts Motet Choir in Tuscany

House Photography Competition

Old Lyonian reunions

Goldhawk Lecture Series Becoming a pilot

Careers in Law Careers in Classics

Head Boy Lunch

Reflection, progress and the road ahead

Miss Katherine Haynes, Head

As we reflect on another eventful and successful term here at John Lyon, we look back at some historic moments as well as positive and heart-warming news from inside and beyond the classroom. Autumn 2022 has been full of success stories for our John Lyon community, with new initiatives and much more besides. We were deeply saddened back in September to learn of the passing of HM The Queen.This term’s issue of The Standard, which covers the opportunities pupils had to reflect on the news, features a purple colour theme in Her late Majesty’s honour. Progress with UCAS applications has been encouraging across the board. Oxbridge interviews are coming up and we wait with bated breath to hear how our six candidates got on – but in any event, to have secured an interview at Oxford or Cambridge is in itself a superb achievement.Talking of Oxbridge news, this term saw two events associated with the universities: one Upper Sixth student came in the top 0.7% of the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge – a simply phenomenal result – while two Lower Sixth students attended a Gore Lecture delivered by the Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford. Our charity programme continues to gather pace. At this important time of year, when giving back is perhaps more important than ever, I am proud that our pupils and staff raised a very impressive £1,400 with a Macmillan Coffee Morning, supported a local nursery by collecting over 1,000 foodbank donations and organised a charity ‘mufti day’. I am also delighted to report that 85% of our Sixth Form students participate in some form of weekly community service. Together, we will continue to promote charitable initiatives supporting a range of good causes.

In keeping with our tradition and heritage, we held our Founder’s Day celebration at St Mary’s Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill. It was a wonderful occasion and we were honoured to have in attendance The Mayor of Harrow, along with Old Lyonians. Newer events such as Familiarisation Days continue to provide our

Prep pupils at Quainton Hall with ‘tasters’ of life and work at the Senior School site.They took part in a carousel of activities, including a virtual swimming with sharks experience!

It has been lovely to see our pupils benefit from the growing number of collaboration opportunities across our Harrow Family of Schools. This term alone, there was a Commemoration Concert at Harrow School, international collaboration with Harrow School, Hong Kong through a joint lesson on values and community and a music concert featuring a number of our Foundation’s schools as well as meaningful conversations with John Lyon’s Charity. Looking ahead to our Fifth Form Family Conference with the Harrow International Schools and a joint USA golf tour with Harrow School next year, we are reminded once again how, as part of the Harrow Family of Schools, we belong to a very special and truly unique international community. Our Excellence, Goldhawk and Careers programmes have been highly productive with pupils and parents alike enjoying insightful and impressive talks from our high-profile visitors. Among others, we welcomed BBC’s Mishal Husain, Professor Nicola Rollock and Governor Anup Vyas (OL).These events would not be possible without the support of the Lyonian Association, who fund a number of such initiatives that benefit our pupils directly.

There have been tremendous outcomes across our Sports teams, and our creatives too have enjoyed a fruitful autumn, with perhaps the busiest term for Art, Drama and Music.

At the time of writing, we look forward to three consecutive nights’ performances of The Sound of Music at Harrow School’s Ryan Theatre.We are very proud that thespians often say that our musicals are of a standard akin to the West End’s fully professional productions.

You will have seen that our Governors have appointed Mrs Rose Hardy as our new Head.We are delighted that she will take up her post from September 2023 and I look forward to working with her during a close and thorough handover.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all a very Happy Christmas from all at John Lyon.We hope you, together with your loved ones, have a restful and enjoyable festive period and a Happy New Year. n

FRONT COVER

The John Lyon School 2021/22 show, The Sound of Music

Founder’s Day

On Friday 30th October pupils and staff gathered together to pay tribute to the School’s founder John Lyon at St Mary’s Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill, where John is buried with his wife Joan.

join us for this annual ceremony, along with fellow Old Lyonians.

We were honoured to have Cllr. Jane Motte, The Mayor of Harrow,

In keeping with tradition, this year’s ceremony was one of reflection and celebration. The Reverend James Power, the Vicar of St Mary’s, reflected on the life and legacy of John Lyon, before a reading of The Charter by our Head Boy Youki (U6RS) and further readings by pupils from the bible. The ceremony concluded with a hymn, the school song – Stet Fortuna Domus – and

the National Anthem as well as a special performance of Beatus Vir - Monteverdi by the Motet Choir. Following the ceremony, back at school, pupils and staff enjoyed a special Founder’s Day themed lunch, with food similar to what would have been served in John Lyon’s time. n

Pupils lay flowers in honor of John Lyon.

Familiarisation day with Quainton Hall, as pupils swim with sharks

Year 5 pupils from our prep school, Quainton Hall, thoroughly enjoyed their Familiarisation Day visit to the school in November.

t was the very first visit for the pupils and they welcomed the opportunity to see the School and take part in an exciting carousel of activities including kayaking, virtual reality and languages (French and Spanish). Kayaking in the pool was certainly a highlight for many, while swimming with virtual sharks in the VR session was almost certainly the day’s scariest moment! The day concluded with an informative session talking through John Lyon in general and, in particular for parents and guardians, the transition to senior school.

These Familiarisation Days provide families with an invaluable opportunity to see John Lyon’s exceptional site, meet with pupils and staff and get a real sense of the School’s community, culture and values in action, all of which are shared by Quainton Hall. We look forward to hosting more opportunities as this in the future. n

Quainton Hall pupil enjoys the VR experience.

Oxbridge events

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge

Congratulations to Josh (U6PWM) who came in the top 0.7% of the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge – and earnt a place at the University of Cambridge “chemistry focused” residential camp this year.

This challenge, involving a 90-minute written paper, stretches students with an interest in chemistry and takes them significantly beyond the Sixth Form syllabus. The best performers are invited to a residential camp for the opportunity to meet other like-minded students and to hone their chemistry skills.

“The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge provided a taster into university style chemistry concepts, such as the idea of double bond equivalents. The questions posed both a mathematical and conceptual challenge, and we had to apply our current A-Level knowledge to more complex problems. During the summer camp for the Roentgenium award winners, I was given lectures by Dr Peter Wothers who introduced me to functional group levels, the Schrodinger equation and more. I was even able to undergo a series of practicals in the Cambridge Chemistry laboratories and had a tour of all the facilities. It was a great experience and I encourage future Lower Sixth students to take this opportunity as well.”

Josh (U6PWM) n

Gore Lecture

On Thursday 3rd November, Jay (L6QAC) and Aayan (L6RSK) attended a Gore lecture at Harrow School delivered by the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. Professor Ward spoke about “Queers and colonialism: writing Christian theology today.” The talk was interesting and topical as the speaker discussed the enduring negative legacy of colonialism. He discussed this in the variety of contexts in which he had been invited to speak, including China and South Africa. He observed that inter-faith activities were key to recognising human commonalities and building more just communities. The students had the opportunity to meet with Professor Ward after the session and very much enjoyed the stimulating conversation. n

Excellence Events

Professor Nicola Rollock: The Racial Code

On Thursday 24th November, in a packed Boyd Campbell Hall, we were honoured to welcome Professor Nicola Rollock, Professor of Social Policy and race at King’s College London and author of ‘The Racial Code: Tales of resistance and survival’.

Professor Rollock was ‘in conversation’ with Krish (U6JCC) and Rafi (U6NGA), both Upper Sixth students, discussing key issues around

racism. The talk was followed by a Q&A session, where pupils and parents were given the opportunity to ask questions to Professor Nicola Rollock.

Looking at whether organisations promote diversity, Professor Rollock explained the key difference between positive discrimination and positive action. The former is when employers specifically hire a candidate due to their race, however, this is unlawful. The latter is when researchers explore fields with under-represented minority groups. She argues that positive action is vital to promote diversity in the workplace such as through scholarships, and

BBC’s Mishal Husain

As part of our Excellence Programme, we welcomed BBC news journalist and presenter Mishal Husain to the school in October.

Mishal has recently written ‘The Skills’, a book about how to succeed in the workplace, and she spoke to Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils on the same theme.

It was a real privilege to hear from Mishal

about her first-hand experiences. Her guidance on how to succeed in life beyond

the long-term goal should be equality of opportunity.

Professor Rollock went on to discuss her book, which highlights the forms of racism she has encountered throughout her life. She explained that by being only one of 40 black professors has meant she has had to work twice as hard compared to her colleagues and her work has often been overlooked.

The event concluded on a poignant message: we need to discuss racism in a mature manner, and this will move us a step closer to equality. We would like to thank Professor Rollock for a thought-provoking talk. n

school and university was extremely valuable for everyone present. n

Prestigious Engineering Experience at RAL

On Wednesday 9th November, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories (RAL) in Oxfordshire hosted the launch of the Engineering Experience Programme EEP 2022-23.

ix Lower Sixth students – Caelum (L6EMM), Basel (L6SJA), Felix (L6MEW), Leo (L6REM), Marcus (L6QAC), Shyam (L6RSK) – attended this launch with their teachers Dr ChoudhuryFieret and Mr Gilbey.

John Lyon was selected nationally to be one of only five schools hand-picked to join this highly prestigious programme, mentored and funded by the Science and Technology and Facilities Council (STFC).

STFC programme organisers said: “The programme is very oversubscribed, but we felt that your application was a really good fit and so would be delighted if a team of students from John Lyon could take part.”

Each of the six students was then selected by the School on the merit of their individual applications.

The project’s fascinating brief is: “Extraterrestrial Habitat Development” and it will involve considerable research on the part of students, using this brief as a guide. The background provides a summary of underlying physics, engineering and computer science ideas: considerations when creating an extra-terrestrial habitat and how elements of this project relate to real projects. During the launch of the project at RAL, our students also had the opportunity to meet members of the team who worked on the James Webb telescope, from conception to launch. n

VEX Robotics successes

This year we are delighted to have expanded our Robotics provision for pupils and are now competing at two levels: VEX IQ (Years 7-9) and VEX VRC (Years 10-Upper Sixth).

Both our teams have had successes at competitions with our younger team securing 2nd place in teamwork and 4th place in driver skills at the VEX IQ Season Opener competition at Greig City Academy, London on Saturday 5th November.

Congratulations must also go to the VEX VRC group comprising Hemang (10RMC), Yash (10CKL), Tarun (10RMC) and Rafay (10CKL). The team has won two trophies already: The Innovate Award in the Coventry Regional competition and The Tournament Champions Award at the Canterbury Regional competition. The team has now qualified for the VEX VRXC National Championship, which is incredible as this is the first year we competed in this category, thanks to the newly purchased VEX VRC equipment.

1876 Fund

All of the equipment used throughout the School’s successes in robotics has been purchased thanks to the generous donations of members of our community through the 1876 Fund.

Robotics equipment and travelling to competitions is not cheap, and it is through generous donations that we are able to offer our students such incredible opportunities. Should you wish to fund a

robotics kit or robotics trip to a Regional or National competition for one of our teams, please contact the Lyonian office: LyonianAssociation@johnlyon.org. n

Debating success

On Tuesday 15th November, Krish (U6JCC), Lucas (U6TCF) and Vikram (U6RS) qualified for the second round of the English Speaking Union Mace Competition. They were in a strong heat that also included Harrow School, Swakeleys School for Girls, Whitmore High School, Hewens College and Featherstone High School. They opposed the motion: “This house would ban the use of digital manipulation in advertising, including social media ad content.”

Krish spoke eloquently, providing philosophical reasons for opposition, while Vikram effectively presented the economic case. Lucas summed up the arguments succinctly and clearly articulated the points of clash with the other team. Well done to our students on what was a very polished performance. n

School caterers achieve certificate of excellence

Holroyd Howe, our school caterers, had a surprise inspection from the European Safety Bureau on Wednesday 9th November. Following an extremely stringent audit, we are pleased to announce that they received 100% for allergen management, an overall 99% score and a 5-star hygiene rating. What a great outcome for the School and our Holroyd Howe team! Many thanks to them for keeping safety high on the list when serving up delicious and nutritious meals each and every day. n

Student Council

There are 41 students involved in the Student Council coming from all year groups in the Senior School. The Student Council is an important and valued way in which students contribute to the life of our school, developing their teamworking and leadership skills. The full council meets once a half-term to receive the reports from its three sub-committees: Student Experience, Sustainability and Charity (also meeting half-termly) providing all members with the opportunity to comment on and contribute to the plans of the committees.

The Student Experience Committee covers the general experience and wellbeing of pupils at the school, including catering, outdoor spaces, and any other changes that pupils wish to see.

The committee is currently working on proposals to put to the School Leadership on developing the Life Skills content of tutor time and student storage around the School. Looking at student wellbeing and fitness they are also exploring a proposal asking for the gym to open after school for students to use.

The Sustainability Committee covers ways in which the School can be made greener, reduce its carbon footprint and any issues to do with school facilities. Students are investigating the possibility of installing solar panels on the Lyon Building roof, the

introduction of smart heaters and lights around school, and raising awareness among parents of the dangers of leaving their engines idling while parked outside of the School. Students are also working on a campaign to raise awareness of the issue of ‘fast fashion’ with the student body in February, encouraging students to buy clothes from sustainable sources and to recycle those that are unwanted in recycling bins sited at school.

The Charity and Events Subcommittee

covers ideas for charitable initiatives as well as whole school and year group events. As the term draws to a close, we are at the end of a series of successful events to raise money for our school charities – St Luke’s Hospice in Harrow and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Among them we have seen a Christmas Fayre run by Lower School students, a football tournament, Head Boy Smoothie events, our annual Macmillan Coffee morning and a collection for a local foodbank. n

HM The Queen

Our School community was deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II and we offered our sincere condolences to His Majesty The King, The Queen Consort and The Royal Family. John Lyon School along with members of the Harrow family of schools mourned with the Nation and the Commonwealth.

e held a special assembly to pay our collective respects to HM The Queen. Assembled on the Red House

lawn, with the entire Senior School in attendance, we reflected on the life and commitment of our monarch Queen Elizabeth and her long reign during a two-minute silence. It was a significant and poignant moment, which set a muted and respectful tone to School life throughout the national period of mourning. Pupils and staff took the opportunity to share their feelings, reflections and memories on a special wall of condolence in The Mall. It was hugely heart-warming to see the wonderful tributes on display.

The School community arranged for a wreath to be laid at Windsor Castle. Our Head Boy Youki (U6RS) wrote a message of condolence on behalf of the School and attached it. Simi (8JOC) collected the wreath and laid it outside the Castle. n

Photograph taken during the visit of HM The Queen Elizabeth II to Harrow School in 1957.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Trees

Earlier this year, the School signed up to The Queen’s Green Canopy, a special tree-planting initiative to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

This project was in conjunction with The Royal British Legion, with 105 saplings kindly donated to the School by The Woodland Trust.

The School received the saplings from the Trust this term and members of the School community, including pupils and staff from both Quainton Hall, our prep school, and John Lyon planted them at Sudbury playing fields.

Our DT department has laser-cut a special plaque for the site where the saplings have been planted, to serve as a wonderful reminder to current and future generations of this historic and significant event. n

Armistice Day

On Friday 11th November, the entire School community observed a two-minute silence on Armistice Day. We remembered all those who have lost their lives in conflict and the names of Old Lyonians who were killed in service were read out. John Lyon School remembers. n

Silver DofE Expedition

Towards the end of the summer holidays, six now Lower Sixth pupils travelled to the Brecon Beacons to complete their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) award expedition.

Having defiantly battled through snow and ice in the Peak District over the Easter break on their practice run, the team welcomed warm and pleasant conditions this time with gratitude and relief!

Our pupils worked well as a team, showing considerable independence and navigational skill throughout the expedition. Morale was good from start to finish and everyone met all the challenges, including unexpected low cloud and very limited visibility on the final morning, with calm and effective enthusiasm.

Well done to the group on their success. It’s wonderful to see many of them move on to begin their Gold Awards this year. n

Macmillan Coffee Morning

The School raised over £1,400 at its Macmillan Coffee Morning in September.

There was an amazing spread of treats on hand. The selection included some rather delicious homemade efforts from parents, pupils and staff, alongside some of shop-bought cakes, muffins, cookies and pies. Our community came together for a wonderful morning in a great cause and we were pleased that we sold out! Thank you all for your generous donations. n

Supporting local communities

We are proud to have collected over 1,000 items for Hillview Nursery School and Children’s Centre. Many thanks to all in our community for your kind donations. n

“Overseeing Charity has been very rewarding. Being able to implement events such as monthly smoothie sales, the Christmas Fayre and Lower School football tournament, shows the influence and freedom we have in the Head Boy team. We are able to create events we believe pupils will enjoy, whilst raising money for good causes. The foodbank collection at Hillview Nursery was especially humbling, especially as it is so close to us - a mere 500m away from our campus. The response from the student body has been positive and I look forward to the spring term.”

Lucas (Charities, Head Boy team and U6PKC) n

International collaboration with friends at Harrow School Hong Kong

Thirty John Lyon pupils from Year 7 and 8, along with Mr Golding, hosted a collaboration with students from Harrow International School, Hong Kong as we develop and deepen our relationship with our international school partners.

One session, titled “Friends Across the Harrow World” saw pupils from both schools come together and engage in dialogue online, discussing school values, similarities as well as differences, and what it means to be part of the broader Harrow family of schools.

They used Google Jamboard (Google’s online visual collaboration tool) to share ideas and learn about our two schools’ values. We also learnt that the café in Harrow School, Hong Kong is called the ‘Lyon Café’, which shows Harrow School, Hong Kong’s respect and appreciation for our schools’ shared histories and John Lyon himself.

Our pupils learnt about what school days

are like for children in Hong Kong. This was a wonderful experience. It is hoped this collaboration is the start of an exciting new avenue for the Harrow Family of schools that will give our Harrow-based pupils the unique opportunity to meet fellow students from the other side of the world as well as learn about school life in Hong Kong. Being in the Harrow Family of Schools, we truly are part of such a unique international community. n

Harrow 450 seal is now on display in the New Memorial Dining Hall

The facsimile of the original Harrow School seal from 1572 is now on display in our New Memorial Dining Hall. More information on the seal is available on our website: https://www.johnlyon.org/john-lyon-receives-seal-at-st-pauls-cathedral/ n

Success for first cohort of Dillon Diploma pupils

Our first cohort of Year 9s successfully completed the Dillon Diploma with some spectacular results.

Launched in September 2021, the Dillon Diploma is designed to enhance and develop students as individuals alongside their academic studies, giving them the ability to become more resilient to a variety of different future scenarios.

Pupils were assessed in the Dillon Diploma’s six core areas, including PSCHE and academic studies so pupils who achieved a distinction in this qualification demonstrated how well they were incorporating the eight school values in their work and developing valuable leadership skills too.

Here’s what some of our qualifying pupils had to say about their experiences of the diploma:

“I learnt about my imagination and independence as well as finances and business when we covered enterprise and time management.”

Sonish (10RMC)

“I found the ‘Organisation’ topic particularly useful as it was very handy for me to learn how to organise myself in an effective and productive way. I also enjoyed the fact that I have learnt some useful study skills for my future at the school. Doing my independent study, I used lots of resources effectively to develop an effective presentation.”

Sumeet (10RMC)

“The Dillon Diploma has helped me a lot and I have discovered lots of things that you wouldn’t have covered in normal lessons. I have learnt about important things for the future, including the rule of law and savings.” Muadh (10RMC) n

Mock COP 27 event in

Members of the Sustainability Society attended a Mock COP 27 event at Northwood College. It was

statements, plan for change and work with pupils from schools in the local area.

“It was unforgettable and a fantastic experience. We split into different ‘countries’ and collaborated with other schools including Watford Grammar and Northwood School before coming together with ideas. We debated these suggestions, with someone from each table standing up and putting forward their ideas and the challenges faced by the country they represented – they were each given one minute to do this. After discussions around our climate and how change needs to happen sooner rather than later, we divided the hall into three groups and delivered presentations as to how we should tackle climate change. We concluded by meeting up together and pitching our ideas.”

Sumeet (10RMC) n

Year 9 Geography Excellence visit to the Royal Geographical Society

On Monday 14th November, those nominated as Excellence pupils by the Geography department were given the opportunity to go to the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in South Kensington for an event titled ‘Going Places with Geography.’

Here we attended talks about choosing Geography for GCSE, why geography is important and a session all about careers in geography.

We learnt that there are a huge range of career opportunities available using skills learnt studying Geography, which can include working in the transport sector, Cartography (map-making) and urban planning. In the talk about choosing Geography for GCSE, we learnt all about the topics that you study in school, as well as about topical geographical issues and about fieldwork. Above all, we learnt that two of the most important skills for careers in Geography are teamwork and communication.

The RGS is the home of Geography in the UK – and we found the way it captures the history and story of Geography in its

building, its artefacts and ancient maps really interesting. Outside the RGS there were statues of David Livingstone who explored Africa and Ernest Shackleton, the famous Antarctic explorer. We also got to visit the Map Room to see its huge model of Mount Everest, which was really impressive, and to learn about ancient world maps made in the 1600s.

All in all, our visit to the RGS was a really fun, educational and exciting trip! n

Ammar (9ND)

Spanish Word Challenge

During the week after the October half-term, the Spanish department ran a sponsored word challenge for all pupils in Year 7.

At the start of the year, they were given 100 words to learn, all part of their core vocabulary list. The pupils were also asked to seek sponsorship for their efforts, with all money raised going towards the School’s nominated charity. There were some fantastic performances, with over a quarter of pupils achieving 80% or above in the challenge. A special mention must go

Poetry Day

Excited students and staff gathered in the library on Thursday 6th October to celebrate National Poetry Day. Notably, this year’s theme was “The Environment” and budding poets from all year groups entered the competition, while enjoying a picnic lunch. Taking inspiration from the books and posters on display, pupils penned impressive entries in a very short space of time. Our congratulations go to all who entered and to first prize winner Ahwaan (11CCN) and runners-up Ania (7CCG) and Elsie (8AJM). n

to Laksha (7CJC), Husain (7JEB), Nirvaan (7JEB), Aman (7JEB), Jeeya (7JHA) and Abbinaya (7JHA) who all scored 100%. The pupils enjoyed the event immensely and benefited from learning material that forms a key part of the Year 7 syllabus, while raising an impressive £1,250 for charity. n

IN CONVERSATION WITH…

We have created this brand new section in The Standard in which pupils have meaningful conversations with people in our community, both from our school and also across the wider John Lyon Foundation, comprising John Lyon School (incorporating Quainton Hall), Harrow School, the Harrow International Schools and John Lyon’s Charity.

Head Boy Youki’s Q&A session with Dr Lynne Guyton, CEO of John Lyon’s Charity

Dr Guyton: The Charity provides grants to nine London boroughs, Harrow being just one of them, and over the last 30 years it has given out 90 bursaries to John Lyon School since 2002 (£8.1M). Currently focused on young people’s charities, we support a range of programmes ranging from support for young parents to sports and the arts. In the Harrow borough specifically, however, we’re concerned that too few people are aware of our Charity and its potential benefits for them. With that in mind, we’ve been working with Miss Haynes (Head, John Lyon) and Mr Land (Head Master, Harrow School) to promote the collaboration between the John Lyon School, Harrow School and John Lyon’s Charity.

1. Youki: What effects does the charity have on the wider Harrow Borough community that would be noticeable to John Lyon School families?

2. Youki: How does the Charity want to impact pupils in schools generally?

Dr Guyton: In many different ways. Since the advent of austerity, the pressures and demands on the Charity have been increasing day-by-day – nevertheless we must be careful not to take responsibility away from the state. Instead, we focus on emotional wellbeing, pupil exclusion and the arts in primary and secondary schools in Harrow and other boroughs too. In particular, our wide-reaching pilot study into preventing pupils from being removed from schools has shown some very promising results. Our work providing conduits for emotional support has also had a big impact and, whether by offering pastoral care or counselling, we are looking to develop this area further. In the arts we face new challenges since state sector arts funding has collapsed and while STEM subjects are still developing well, some state schools lack any arts facilities at all, so we are working to provide those facilities and teach drama and creative arts in dynamic ways.

3. Youki: How can John Lyon pupils get more involved?

Dr Guyton: By getting involved with the work of the Philanthropy Committee, which brings together Harrow School, John Lyon School and John Lyon’s Charity and meets termly to look for projects we can help collectively. A lot of work goes on outside the committee, though, albeit very ad hoc at present, and we are keen to get John Lyon pupils more involved. We look forward with great interest to hearing pupils’ points of view and their ideas on where we should be focusing our efforts.

There are lots of ways to get involved. We offer summer work experience placements for John Lyon pupils and we’re always more than happy to help Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils over the summer. All pupils are very welcome to come along and join us on our projects on a Friday afternoon and, in general, we’re always pleased to see visitors. Don’t hesitate to drop us an email if you’re interested!

4.

Youki: When was the Charity founded and in what circumstances?

Dr Guyton: Historically, the Charity grew out of an endowment granted by John Lyon in 1578, to maintain Harrow Road and Edgware Road. In its modern form, though, it was founded 31 years ago when the John Lyon Foundation’s governors wanted to find a better way to use its funds and to be truer to John Lyon’s original wishes to provide affordable education.

5. Youki: How has it changed since then and what are its priorities going forward?

Dr Guyton: Since its founding in 1991, John Lyon’s Charity has grown from “two men and a dog” to more than 15 employees and has distributed over £171million to various organisations within our beneficial area. In that time, we’ve seen funding increase from half a million pounds per year to £14 million per year and have learned to be much more open, sharing ideas with other grant-makers and learning about best practice – it’s definitely not a competition. On the contrary, it’s all about understanding one another’s challenges: appreciating why one funder is in a particular area, for example, or how they maximise their impact on children and young people. We’ve also come to understand the importance of the longevity of funding and its security. Some funders only fund for perhaps one or two years, whereas John Lyon’s Charity funds for a minimum of three – and we’re now even looking at offering five-year grants. Going forward, we’re looking to keep supporting as many young people with as many opportunities as we can, even as austerity bites and demands on John Lyon’s Charity are increasing.

6.

Youki: What are some highlights from this year?

Dr Guyton: One major highlight is a new funding pot. To cushion the lasting impact of Covid-19, we asked the John Lyon Foundation governors for an additional £22million. And we’re very pleased to say that they approved that amount to fund charities working within the beneficial area – and the first grants have started going out over the last year. We’re living in exceptionally challenging times and if ever there ever was a rainy day, it’s now!

Another highlight, now that Covid-19 is largely over, is going out and seeing grantees again. Alongside this, going out in the summer and seeing young children and giving out cakes and prizes is also quite special. Another is school holiday activities. People often talk about ‘holiday hunger’ but what about ‘activity hunger’? Our grants are giving children who haven’t had the opportunity to go anywhere and do something over the summer the chance to do exactly that. And seeing them talking and writing about their experiences has got to be among our brightest highlights!

7. Youki: How often do you hold charity events?

Dr Guyton: It really depends on the event. Big social events – usually specific celebrations – typically take place twice a year but we also have information events for grantees, such as funders’ fairs or seminars, where funders talk about how they fund. A big annual occasion is the Media Trust Event in which the John Lyon Charity pays for grantees to have films made by real filmmakers. All John Lyon School pupils are invited to the event, which may be held for countless reasons, including of course fundraising and raising awareness. The whole Media Trust project each year culminates in a “Mini Oscars” ceremony at a central London venue.

8. Youki: What does the future hold for the Charity, particularly in light of these changing political and economic times?

Dr Guyton: John Lyon’s Charity must continue to evolve and learn in order to provide support during these changing times. Until recently we’d been making grants, but not necessarily learning from the mistakes that we had made. However, as demand for funding has risen, we need to be more nimble and more aware; we need to be as wellpositioned as possible. We must link up with London Funder – the overarching funding organisation – so we can influence what happens here and we must also serve as a mouthpiece for all our grantees and voice their concerns where needed.

9. Youki: In terms of collaboration between John Lyon School and John Lyon’s Charity, what’s been done in the past, what are we currently doing and what exciting plans do we have together?

Dr Guyton: In the past, we’ve run many Music Junction Projects in which the London Chamber Orchestra came together with local schools, John Lyon School and the Head of Music to create a piece of music over a few weeks and perform for local communities. We also have a live project with the Photographer’s Gallery, where teachers and facilities at the John Lyon School are used in connection with the Photographer’s Gallery in Oxford Circus. Going forward, the world’s your oyster! We welcome ideas and suggestions from pupils and staff alike, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

10. Youki: How can you assess the success of your work? It must be rewarding to see the output.

Dr Guyton: The feedback we receive from grantees is very rewarding. Actually measuring success, though, is very tricky because it’s largely subjective and definitely in the eye of the beholder. It’s important to recognise there are both quantitative successes and qualitative successes. And while quantitative success is important, the qualitative impact is crucial. Seeing the long-term impacts of the funding is highly rewarding, while the qualitative feedback, the hearsay, the comments, understanding from the local councils and so on, is enormously helpful to us in ascertaining how successful we’ve really been.

We would like to thank Dr Guyton for very generously giving her time to enable this conversation.

House Singing

There was plenty of talent taking to the Boyd Campbell Hall stage at October’s House Singing Competition.

TThe whole school across the four Houses took part and thoroughly enjoyed stretching their vocal chords! We welcomed back Mr Nicholas Danks (OL) and Director of Music at Corpus Cambridge, who had the difficult task of separating the excellent performances.

As well as getting everyone involved in some dressing-up and use of all sorts of props, House Singing generates a real competitive spirit – and great fun was had by all. Moore House took the points for the Solo category and Part song, while Norwood were the victorious House overall. n

Commemoration Concert

This October, in Harrow’s Speech Room, our annual commemoration concert with Harrow School took place. The collaboration between both schools gave us all a spectacular evening of music, with works from the likes of Monteverdi and Mendelssohn. The largest collaboration was between the two choirs in which

pupils from Year 7 to Upper Sixth put in a lot of hard work to create a great sound on the night. A special congratulations to Amaroo (8GMM) who captivated us all with his solo. The John Lyon Chamber Orchestra also performed their rendition of Gabriel’s Oboe in which members of the Harrow Orchestra joined us to make

a much grander sound. I would also like to say a huge congratulations to Sammy and Josh (both U6PWM) who played a huge part in the Harrow orchestra. Overall, we were all treated to a marvellous evening of music, and once again a huge well done to everyone involved n

Autumn Concert

Our Autumn Concert on Tuesday 15th November was a showcase of amazing musical abilities.

With 150 pupils involved across the year groups, a packed-out audience in Boyd Campbell Hall was treated to a wide array of musical genres and composers. Impressively, even those who couldn’t attend in person were able to enjoy a live stream of the concert, thanks to the efforts and expertise of our AV team.

The evening displayed the breadth and depth of the school’s musical talents with performances by the Brass Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, Concert Band, Flute Choir, Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Pride of Lyon’s, String Ensemble, R&B Group, Rock Band The Torched Roses and the Year 7 Choir.

Congratulations to our gifted musicians and their Music Directors, who deservedly received a long and loud ovation at the end of the evening! n

Royal Academy of Music Concerts

On Thursday 22nd September, having taken up their position as Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music, we welcomed the Asaka Quartet. Their lunchtime string music concert was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by John Lyon pupils and staff along with children from two local primary schools. The event drew a large audience and was also live streamed via YouTube for the John Lyon community to enjoy remotely. Directly after the concert, several pupils took part in a masterclass by the quartet, who imparted invaluable help and advice for pupils keen to develop their playing technique.

Motet Choir in Tuscany

After a three-year gap since our 2019 Salzburg music tour, it was with great excitement that 31 choir pupils and six staff departed for a tour of Tuscany and the surrounding areas in mid-October.

With performances in San Salvatore in Ognissanti Church in Florence, San Martini Cathedral in Lucca and a Mass performance in Santa Maria Assunta Basilica in Montecatini Terme, the trip was a fantastic opportunity for the choir to sing in historic venues. At each event, the audiences were treated to a challenging repertoire by our choir and it was the experience of a lifetime for our pupils.

With all the highs of performing in such amazing surroundings, combined with

the sunny weather, ice cream, spectacular sightseeing and activities, this music tour is sure to remain in the pupils’ memories for a long time to come!

Read a detailed account of this trip, “Tales of Tuscany”, by Ameya (9AHJ) on our website: https://www.johnlyon.org/tales-of-thetuscany-tour/ . n

House Photography Competition

The House Photography Competition’s theme was “colour” and we were pleased to receive well over 600 entries! The School selected 200 of these and displayed them in The Mall gallery for an exhibition on Tuesday 15th November.

Pupil winners:

1st place – Nathan (9ND)

2nd place – Theo (7JEB)

3rd place – Aaran (7JEB)

Staff winners:

1st place – Mr Vickery, Teacher of Maths

2nd place – Mr Livingston, Physics Technician

3rd place – Mr Sims, Deputy Head

The overall winning house was Butler. Congratulations to all who took part in this brilliant creative community initiative from our Art department. n

Kartik Udhas

The Year 11 GCSE Music class had a visit from music producer Kartik Udhas this term for a workshop on fusing Indian classical music with Western popular music. Because it directly relates to one of their composition briefs this year, this interactive session was the perfect opportunity to inspire the pupils.

Artists visit Venice

Over October half-term our A-Level artists enjoyed a trip to Venice, where they visited The Biennale Arte 2022, an international contemporary art exhibition, as well as other galleries including the Accademia and the Guggenheim.

In between the exhibitions and galleries, there was time to enjoy the local fare – pizza – as well as taking a gondola ride and visiting some spectacular sights, including St Mark’s Square, the Rialto Bridge and the Doge’s Palace.

The trip was a wonderful exploration of art and culture and everyone had an amazing time. More importantly, it filled the pupils with inspiration for their own art projects. n

An inspiring visit to Kew Gardens

Year 10 GCSE Art pupils spent a day exploring Kew Gardens in search of inspiration for their portfolios. While there, they visited the Palm House, which is home to exotic plants from the rainforest, and the Hive, a spectacular piece of architecture designed in the shape of honeycombs. They also explored greenhouses containing exotic plants and cacti and witnessed some amazing views from the dizzying heights of the Treetop Walkway, which is 18 metres above the ground.

Despite the miserable weather conditions, the pupils had an extremely enjoyable day and left Kew full of ideas for their portfolios, including some initial sketches and a variety of photos that they’d captured throughout the day. n

Girls hockey

Christmas sees the culmination of our second girls’ hockey season. In just over 12 months, we have developed a competitive hockey programme which also now includes pupils from Year 6 and sees over 50 girls take part in weekly hockey activities. This term there has been a mix of training and competition with some promising talent on display from the new Year 7s. For the first time, our Junior girls combined for an U13 County tournament which saw them compete admirably against Colfes and Eltham College, whilst also taking part in their first house hockey competition. n

Four Square

On a recent Values Day, our Sports department introduced ‘four square’ – a game that would have been played during the time of the School’s founding. It is great to see pupils continuing to enjoy the game during their breaktime!

Borough badminton champions

After a year’s hiatus, our U14 badminton squad regained the title of Borough Champions this term. Despite an early setback in week one, a second-round whitewash took our side through to the finals where they beat Nower Hill, Avanti House and Park High, winning an impressive 49 games losing only six games along the way. A huge congratulations to Paaran (9AHJ), Rhian (9AHJ), Kavin (9WA), Aarav (9ND) and Ameya (9AHJ) for their efforts this term. n

Top 100 Cricketing School

For the third consecutive year we are pleased to announce that John Lyon is featured in the latest edition of the Top 100 Schools by The Cricketer magazine.

Our cricket programme continues to go from strength to strength and a large number of pupils have the opportunity to take part in winter training. We also look forward to the reintroduction of a 1st XI pre-season tour to the Isle of Wight, which is currently gathering momentum.

Congratulations to all who contributed to this success, including our pupils, parents, sports staff and grounds staff. n

Football round-up

inter-house competitions.

The autumn term has been another very good one for football at John Lyon, and it has been fantastic to see so many pupils enjoying training and matches.

During the term, the football programme has provided over 300 pupils with the opportunity to participate in over 120 competitive fixtures, whilst also providing a variety of curriculum-based football sessions and

Building upon the achievement of our most successful season for the School for over a decade last academic year, pupils have continued their rich vein of form, achieving positive results in over 56% of all matches played so far this term. The term has also seen excellent performances in the ISFA Cup Competitions at both U15 and Senior level, with both teams progressing well and reaching the last 16 of the ISFA Trophy and ISFA Shield respectively.

Further to the achievement in the National Cup Competitions, the School have also

seen the U16 team progressing well in the Area Cup, securing victories against Hatch End (4-0) and Canons High (3-2) to progress to the semi-final stage. These successes, combined with the successful integration of girls into the football programme and the number of our former pupils continuing to make great progress within the professional game, really does showcase the positive development of the John Lyon football programme in recent years and the excellent sporting opportunities available for all pupils across the School. n

Cross Country competitions

Cross country is becoming increasingly popular at John Lyon, with a group of over 30 runners competing across School, Borough and County level competitions throughout the academic year. Following their success at the School’s Inter-House cross country at Harrow School alongside Quainton Hall pupils in September, the top four finishers from each Senior age group were selected to represent the School at the Harrow “Ten Schools” Cross Country Championships, with Billy Cooke performing exceptionally well in the U15 category. Winners included Jayden (7JHA) in the Year 7 boys category, Lena (7CJC) in the Year 7 girls category, Syrus (9SRP) in the junior boys category, Jiya (8JOC) in the junior girls category, Tio (11MRF) in the colts category and Sammy (U6PWM) in the Sixth Form category. With the Harrow Borough and Middlesex County Championships fast approaching and further expansion of the cross country programme to include the Radley Relays and the South-East England Championships, there are certainly some exciting opportunities for our athletics team during the spring term.n

Finn’s GB European Gold in foil fencing

Congratulations to Finn (10MWV) for winning Gold at the European Fencing Federation’s 14th Witold Woyda’s Foil Competition, held recently in Warsaw. Finn was part of the fencing team representing Great Britain (GB) in the tournament’s U17s Team Event.

To represent your country in sport is an amazing feat and we are extremely proud of Finn, who was one of the event’s youngest competitors. It was a challenging competition with some very strong contenders – so very well done to Finn for his outstanding performances and the resolve he and his GB teammates

showed in some tough, hard-fought matches.

This is a remarkable achievement and the School looks forward to supporting Finn as he continues to build on his journey of excellence in fencing. n

Mr Clarke secures Gold Medal in Wales

Congratulations to our very own Mr Clarke, Teacher of Biology, on winning Gold with his team at the recent World Rowing Coastal Championships 2022, held in Wales. This is an amazing accomplishment and one well deserved for Mr Clarke, who faced the international coastal rowing elite at the event.

It is great to hear about our teachers’ successes and we hope his news will be a real inspiration to all at John Lyon. Here’s wishing Mr Clarke continued success in his future rowing endeavours. n

Old Lyonian reunions

It was great to see so many return to the School from the Classes of 2012, 2007, 2002, 1992, 1987 and 1982, who this year celebrated respective 10, 15, 20, 30, 35 and 40-year anniversaries since leaving the School and becoming Old Lyonians.

Those who attended enjoyed a tour of the School with the Head Boy team and an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, network and share fond memories from their time at John Lyon. We would like to thank all those who travelled from near and far to attend the events.

Reunions are a fantastic way to meet up with old friends and reminisce about your days at the School, strike up new friendships and see how the School

has changed since you left. If you’d like to stay connected with developments at John Lyon, please contact Lyonianassociation@johnlyon.org.

If you’re a former pupil, parent or staff, you’re a member of the Lyonian Association Community. To find out more please visit: https://www. oldlyonians.org/ and register your details at https://www.oldlyonians.org/register to keep up to date with events, news and how you can get involved in career talks and connect with old friends n

Goldhawk Lecture Series

This term we welcomed several Old Lyonians who have moved on to successful careers in sport and media including James Scholefield (OL), who spoke to us about his career at BT Sport.

The Goldhawk Lecture Series is for our Sixth Form pupils and each term we strive to invite Old Lyonians from different fields to share their experiences of life beyond school. Next term we are looking forward to talks from an Old Lyonian who now works as a death penalty caseworker, a magician and a debate on the topic of violence in the Middle East. n

Becoming a pilot

On Thursday 17th November, pupils from Years 9 and above with an interest in becoming pilots were fortunate to hear from Mr Louis Mattey, a member of our Estates team, who has just passed his Commercial Pilot’s Licence.

Louis opened the session about how a trip as a young child to British Airways, where his father worked, inspired a life-long ambition to become a pilot. He spoke about the steps he took to achieve his dreams, which culminated in these last four years studying Airline Management with Commercial Pilot training at Buckingham New University and Booker Aviation.

Pupils learnt how gliding can help a pilot understand how to fly without an engine, the universities that offer airline courses and the importance of diligent study. Louis also signposted pupils to attend an event called “Pilot Careers Live”, where there is access to everything you need to know about becoming a commercial airline pilot. The session ended with an opportunity for pupils to ask a multitude of questions, ranging from different types of aircraft to the future of the airline industry.

We are very grateful to Louis, who is currently temporarily working at John Lyon, for taking the time to inspire and engage our pupils, before he pursues his career as an airline pilot. n

Careers in Law

The Careers department hosted a Careers in Law talk on Tuesday 8th November, attended by parents and pupils from across the School. An Old Lyonian as well as a current Governor, Mr Anup Vyas (OL), was our guest speaker.

Anup attended John Lyon between 1981 and 1987 and, after graduating with a first in Law (LLB Hons) from Southampton University, he later worked in the City of London and at JP Morgan. He is a now a Senior Director with Vyman Solicitors Ltd, a law firm that he co-founded in 1998. Anup continues to work on high-value, complex litigation and commercial and property transactions and is also a Trustee of a large charity and a former John Lyon parent.

After an overview of the different routes into law, the skills necessary in the field and some labour market information provided by the Careers department, the focus moved to Anup and his unique experience and journey into law. Pupils and parents heard about the differences between a solicitor and barrister, the magic circle of law firms and the various industry sectors in which lawyers can work. There was an opportunity to ask questions and learn

about what pupils could do now to help them prepare for a future career in law, including developing key skills and finding work experience.

The evening was well attended, reflecting the high level of interest by pupils in Law as a potential career and the opportunity to hear from a former pupil and successful lawyer provided them with a fantastic insight into Law and the working life of a lawyer. n

Careers in Classics

On Tuesday 22nd November, our Head of Classics, Mr John Blenkinsop, invited three experts in their fields to share their journeys from reading Classics at university to the world of work. William Morrison, now working in a law firm, Charlie Palmer, working in advertising, and Matteo Chirumbolo, who works at the Courtauld Institute, each spoke about why they chose Classics. Although they acknowledged that it was a difficult subject to study, they all emphasised how Classics taught them a range of key skills including critical thinking and problem-solving: skills that have much relevance to – and are in demand for – a vast array of jobs. This was demonstrated by the guest speakers’ work in a wide variety of fields, which opened up pupils’ eyes to the huge range of possibilities the study of Classics can bring. n

This term’s Head Boy Lunch was attended by Marco Evans (OL), who shared an insight into his career journey in finance and wealth management and the highs and lows of investing.

Our Head Boy Lunch series provides pupils across the School an understanding of various industry sectors and what qualifications, skills and attributes can support their career ambitions. A broad variety of topics are chosen each term by the Head Boy Team.

During the Lunch, Marco explained why investments are important and how inflation can be a threat to your spending power over a prolonged period of time.

Marco explained it is important to look at the fundamental values of each company when making an investment decision to ensure long-term returns. This is because some companies have become successful due to complacency and a lack of development on the part of other oncedominant companies. It shows how the markets change over time depending on the shape of demand and the financial situation.

Pupils gave good and detailed questions about the stock market, trade and when to invest. Youki (U6RS) was most impressed regarding a question on how viable investment into IPOs can be.

After leaving John Lyon in 2002, Marco read Economics and Managements Science at Southampton University and later worked in the fund management industry managing portfolios for a variety of clients including private, institutional and national portfolios. n