The Lyonian - Autumn 2022

MAGAZINE

DECEMBER • 2022

FOR FORMER PUPILS, THEIR FAMILIES, STAFF AND FRIENDS OF THE JOHN LYON SCHOOL

The front cover pays tribute to the Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

DEAR LYONIANS,

It is a pleasure to take the helm for this edition of the Lyonian Magazine as I take on my new role as Executive Officer for the Alumni and Development Office.

Firstly, I’d like to thank Khadija Ansari for her wholehearted engagement with - and commitment and contribution to - the Old Lyonians (OLs) and for her support in my transition into the role. Sadly, Khadija left John Lyon School at the end of Summer Term 2022 to pursue a career in Risk Management and we wish her all the best.

Before I joined John Lyon School, I worked in corporate communications for over 25 years, developing brands’, corporates’, Government agencies’ and charities’ campaigns to ‘drive change’ and engage, educate and inspire young people with and about career opportunities. I’m looking forward to using that experience to uphold and further realise our Alumni vision: increasing pupils’ access to the OL Community as a way to inspire and empower future generations.

The last two years have seen a rapid change in the way communications are delivered and, since digitised publishing is now the norm, going forward the Lyonian Magazine will amalgamate with the School’s termly newsletter The Standard to create a single publication for everyone. Don’t worry: all your familiar Lyonian content will still be present and this way you will get three magazines a year too. As well as an informative overview of the School’s activities, the new, improved Standard will include news, features and updates specifically for the OLs.

This edition of The Lyonian demonstrates how the School has bounced back and taken the challenges of the pandemic in its stride by highlighting a host of events and activities as well as saying farewell to staff who left the School at the end of Summer 2022 Term and, sadly, some tributes to OL’s who are no longer with us.

Finally, I’d like to express our immense gratitude to all the staff and pupils who contributed to this edition of the Lyonian Magazine and particularly Tian P, Abbas A and Max Wilkinson who left the School in July 2022. Soon after Max joined our Marketing and Communication team and is instrumental in gathering, writing our social media content and our in-house photographer!

We wish you all a peaceful festive season and a prosperous New Year.

Warmest wishes, Bharti

Stet Fortuna Domus

As ever, please keep in touch with the Lyonian Office and keep sending your stories, interesting news and memories to: lyonianassociation@johnlyon.org. I look forward to bringing ever closer the links between the Old Lyonians and our pupils.

TRIBUTE TO HRH THE QUEEN

Even after several weeks, we still reflect with great sadness on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth earlier this autumn.

She will forever be a key figure in history with an unmatched 70 years on the throne and this edition’s purple theme is our humble tribute to Her Majesty and her reign. Elizabeth II is the only UK monarch that any of the staff and pupils have ever known. A few OLs, however, must remember George VI death and Elizabeth’s accession – which shows how profoundly she impacted our lives, across three generations or more .

OUR QUEEN

On the Eighth of September, we all bow our heads,

To Her Majesty the Queen, who is now sadly dead.

For seventy years our country she has served, Our memories of her forever preserved.

The sun shines down on this melancholy day

As we gently wipe all our tears away.

We remember a woman who was deeply loved, We remember her hands which were always gloved.

We remember her eyes which shone like the sun, And the beautiful smile she showed everyone…

In St. George’s Chapel lies an extraordinary person.

Now we welcome King Charles the third: her first-born son

K 7CCG

Sofia

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

THE ‘GIFT OF EDUCATION’ – FROM YOUR GENEROSITY

Education is never to be taken for granted – and, in keeping with the guiding spirit in which our School was founded, John Lyon and its pupils are still benefitting from our community’s unstinting generosity and from the Development function’s long-term fundraising for bursaries and smaller projects. These kind donations have provided refurbished buildings and equipment purchases, enriched the experience of countless Lyonians and ensured the School keeps its competitive edge.

At the heart of this ongoing effort is the 1876 Fund, named after the School’s founding year, which comprises former parents, current

and former Governors and Old Lyonians, each of whom donates a designated amount (usually £18.76 monthly) to fund special projects. This academic year, both parents and OL’s have contributed over £4k to this fund.

A recent example was enabling the progressive purchase of Vex Robotics kits for the School’s VEX Robotics team, who enjoyed two successful days of competition earlier this year and finished 6th in the UK Knockout stages. The highlight was the John Lyon team winning the prestigious international Lovelace Division Innovate Award for the team with the most effective and efficient design process. They’re all still awestruck by their achievement!

The Bursary Fund is our way of sharing

THE BURSARY FUND IS OUR WAY OF SHARING THE JOHN LYON SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY

the John Lyon spirit of generosity to give children an excellent educational experience that fulfils their potential and gives them the empowerment and confidence to thrive in society. In the last academic year, the school has supported and made a real difference to the lives of more than 85 pupils from a wide range of social backgrounds – 14% of all our senior pupils.

Old Lyonians continue contributing to the

Geelan Fund, a fund set-up by the OLs in the name of Jeremy Geelan (OL 19681975), who passed away in 2016. This year we raised just under £5k.

If you’d like to support the school with a single gift or regular donations – or if you’re considering leaving a legacy to John Lyon – do please get in touch to talk about the difference you can make. Your generosity will be much appreciated.

PUPILS RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITIES

In the last academic year, the School Charity Committee and the Prep School raised the tremendous sum of £6,500 for a host of thoroughly deserving causes, including Foodbank and Hillview Primary, Jeans for Genes, Young Harrow Foundation Charity, British Red Cross (in support of those fleeing from the crisis in Eastern Europe), Great Ormond Street Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support.

COEDUCATION – PROGRESS SO FAR

Harsh H, our past Deputy Head Boy and Chair for the Coeducation Pupil Committee reflected on the positive changes involved in John Lyon’s transformation into a co-ed school.

“The introduction of girls into John Lyon School is a historic and pivotal event that has been vastly successful with the help of trained prefects who have been visiting Year 7 forms on a regular basis to check that they’re settling in well. They’re all trained to act as mentors for the younger pupils, thereby providing them with a comfortable way to raise any concerns or worries. The result so far has been some very positive feedback from the last academic year’s Year 7, who generally liked the selection of subjects and activities on offer.

There have been lots of standout moments over the last academic year – such as the first girl to perform in a John Lyon Solos Concert, our first mixed-gender football and hockey teams and very first netball fixture! New effects, impacts and possibilities are constantly emerging from the ongoing transition to

coeducation and we look forward to seeing how it improves the Pupil Experience for students of today and tomorrow.

Some of the girls who started Year 7 in September 2021 share their thoughts on life at John Lyon so far:

Jiya: My first year at John Lyon was fantastic and I enjoyed getting involved with activities and sports that girls weren’t allowed to play in my old school. The teachers and the other girls really helped me settle in. I particularly enjoy sports and my favourite memories would be Cross Country and Sports Day.

Radha: My first year at the School was excellent! I loved getting involved with two drama productions: ‘The Tempest’ and ‘The Curious Incident’. The teachers and Sixth Form prefects were always on hand and always so supportive – they made settling in so much easier for me .

This academic year, September 2022, 22 girls started their education journey at John Lyon – a 16% increase from last year.

DEPARTING HEAD BOY TEAM’S ACHIEVEMENTS

For the outgoing Head Boy, Vinay K, and his team, the last academic year was a great success, driven by their eagerness to make the most of their newfound freedoms after the long-awaited end of the Covid pandemic. Among his many triumphs were the launch of the Student Council with its 3 committees covering Charity, Environment and Pupil Experience at the same time as chairing the Student Mentoring Programme and the Head Boy Lunch series of talks focusing on politics (which inspired his decision to read Politics at Warwick). Some of these talks were by OLs as well as professionals from the world of politics. The Student Mentoring Programme gave prefects a chance to put their Lower Sixth training into practice by

CLASS OF 2022 LEAVERS

What a tumultuous few years we’ve had! Luckily for the Year 13s, September 2021 saw a return to normal school life and we were able to celebrate two events, starting with Leaver’s Day. This began with breakfast, followed by a short assembly in which leavers were welcomed into the OL Association and presented with their welcome gifts, hoodies and yearbook. The day was rounded off with a hearty barbeque lunch before everyone headed home to get to grips with their exam studies. Since this would be among the last few times many would see their friends and the teachers who have taught them for

mentoring younger pupils and by giving them goals and targets to inspire achievement.

Vinay has asked us to pass on his thanks to the Head Boy Team, Prefects, Sixth Form Team, Senior Leadership and the rest of the school for all the support they have given him during his time as Head Boy and he wishes the current Head Boy Team the best of luck with the challenges to come.

the last 7 years, it was quite an emotional occasion. At the Leaver’s Dinner and Party our leavers enjoyed a variety of activities from air football to jousting as well as some very enthusiastic dancing – a terrific chance to let off the accumulated steam of the last few years – and a great time was had by all.

WELCOME THE NEW HEAD BOY TEAM

Let’s extend a warm welcome to our new Head Boy team, led by Youki M, and our new team of Prefects.

Youki’s aims for the school include:

• Ensuring the Head Boy team and Prefect team provide pupils with all the support and assistance they need

• Reforming the Student Council

• Increasing the number of events coming directly from the Student Council

What made you decide to apply for Head boy?

I felt that after all the school has done for me, it was my turn to give something back.

I’ve also worked with previous Head Boys on numerous occasions and vividly remember the feeling of admiration and needing to communicate clearly – which I would like to impart to someone else. I also would like to

introduce some new and very different charity events, House science competitions, perhaps, and, of course, smoothies!

How was the Head Boy application process?

Surprisingly rigorous! Two interviews alongside the Hustings. But it was great fun, although sometimes the questions stumped me.

How are you going to manage balancing your Head Boy duties with schoolwork? Unwavering diligence!

What advice would you give to an aspiring Head Boy applicant next year?

Make sure you prepare for the interview! Especially the second one. Think of questions they could ask you. For the Hustings: consider your audience and what they want to hear from a potential Head Boy

Left to Right Sammy –Wellbeing Monitor

Lucas –Charity Monitor

Krish –Deputy Head Boy

Rafi –Events Monitor

Youki – Head Boy

Varun –Communications Monitor

Sahit –Excellence Monitor

STEAM IN ACTION!

Since the launch of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) in 2017 as a compulsory subject for all KS3 (11-14-year-old) pupils, we’ve continued to enhance its facilities and equipment. A major achievement has been the purposebuilt STEAM and DT labs built over the past couple of years to facilitate the Design Technology GCSE qualification, which is proving very popular as pupils learn how to use their imagination and skills to identify real-life problems and to design solutions. In this we’re actually encouraging young minds to think like engineers! And it’s working: the STEAM lab is full most lunchtimes and robotics, laser-cutting and 3D-printing clubs have seen huge increases in attendance.

The Robotics Club’s progress is particularly noteworthy, taking us from a school that had never competed to winning the National Championship Innovation award – which would not have been possible without funding from the 1876 fund.

COMBINED CADET FORCE (CCF)

After a gruelling weekend’s drill training, honing their performance to perfection, our Year 10 CCF cadets had the honour of a PassOff parade and of receiving their berets with parents as well as SLT members present. The Inspecting Officer complimented their high standard of dress, discipline and positivity about their time in the CCF.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH (D of E) AWARD

The Duke of Edinburgh Awards inspire young people to develop the skills, resilience and self-belief they need to thrive and selfdevelop. Robert Ellis-Paul, who runs the DofE Scheme at John Lyon, gives his account of recent expeditions.

2021-22 was our first full year of ‘normal’ DofE expeditions since the Covid pandemic and it was wonderful to be able to take groups back to the Brecon Beacons this summer to complete their Silver Award. After their 4-day struggle through ice and snow on their Peak District practice expedition, their success was well deserved. We also had two successful Bronze expeditions in the Chilterns and we’re looking forward to a busy 2022-23 season with a healthy Silver and Bronze uptake and a good number of Gold candidates ready to challenge themselves to the highest levels.

VOLUNTEERING

Friday afternoons are our students’ time to step away from academic work and get into activities that broaden their experience – such as volunteering, primary school teaching or working in a care home. Harrow Carers, supporting unpaid carers with advice and training, is a great example. Some of our Sixth Formers who volunteer here have helped create a therapeutic garden space to help relax carers through socialisation, which is proven to have positive effects on mental health.

AUDIO-VISUAL (AV)

Launched early in 2020 to develop technical support that ensures school events such as assemblies, concerts, lectures and drama productions could continue through the pandemic, AV (Audio-Visual) has been a great success. As well as achieving its

objective, it has enabled parents to watch Speech Day from home, enabled students to film the second TEDx event and, as a lively and popular club, it’s actively helping pupils to get involved in media studies and music technology..

With the return to a full sporting programme after Covid, and the introduction of girls, it’s been a very active and productive 21/22 academic year for the John Lyon Sports Department. Through a full fixture programme in our usual football, hockey, cricket, athletics and tennis seasons and a number of new ones in volleyball, badminton, table tennis, basketball, water polo and swimming, along with the introduction of netball and the return to playing in the LTA championships, we’ve had some amazing outcomes, including individual and team success in some 500 sporting fixtures.

The cricket 1st XI retained the accolade of being U18 County Cricket Champions and the school had the honour of being selected in the Top 100 cricket-playing schools. Meanwhile, the badminton (U14 and U16) and table tennis (U12 and U14) teams were Borough Champions, with one of our Year 9 badminton players, Sonish, ranking 5th in the county for his year group and Aiden (Y7) being selected for the London Youth Table Tennis squad. Other individual successes included Casey (Y11)

and Finn (Y9) representing GB in fencing; Ritchie (Y10) medalling at both the County Cross Country Championships and the National Swimming Championships; Kahil, Avi and Muhammad scoring 100s and taking a 5 for the 1st XI and Joseph and Luca, who are about to begin their journey in professional football, to name just a few.

One of our most important sporting developments in the last year has got to be the fully integrated girls sporting programme with 100% participating in external hockey, netball, football, cricket, cross-country, athletics and tennis fixtures – and that includes girls representing the School in various U12 boys’ sporting teams too! We also enjoyed talks and visits from various sporting icons, one of whom was Olympic Hockey Gold Medal-winner Helen Richardson Walsh. Throughout the year, we continued to reinforce our links with our Prep School Quainton Hall as they joined in with some of our sporting events and had a very successful sports day at Sudbury. All in all, it’s been a very active and excellent year for sport at John Lyon!

DRAMA

December marked John Lyon’s return to The Ryan Theatre for our annual musical production in which the young cast of Oliver!, spanning Year 8 through Upper Sixth, rose admirably to the show’s challengingly complex harmonisation and quick-step choreography. It was a fantastic production and we’re looking forward to this year’s production of The Sound of Music on the 12th-14th of December 2022. Please remember to book tickets in advance.

MUSIC

As well as 3 Solos, Autumn and Spring Concerts and the Summer Showcase, a hectic 2021/22 saw a host of events from vocal concerts, Evensong and Royal Academy of Music performances to our Musician of the Year Competition. Then there was Oliver! the musical, the LCO’s Music Junction Project collaboration, the Pride of Lyon’s at London’s V&A Museum and far too much more to list here. So, it was an action-packed and especially harmonious year! For our Music Award holders, the icing on the cake were two exciting trips – to see Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Opera House and Cambridge University’s music departments.

Starting an equally action-packed 2022/23, in October we welcomed back Mr Nicholas Danks OL & Corpus Cambridge Director

The Drama Department also produced 2 performances of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and a modern take on Shakespeare’s much loved The Tempest. The cast and crew from Years 7 to 10 collaborated to deliver an exciting and vivid retelling of both stories.

of Music to the challenge of judging our House Singing Competition and saw off 31 pupils and 6 staff on a Music Tour of Tuscany. Plans are already under way for an exciting Christmas Concert featuring four distinguished OLs – and we’ll be rounding off the year in style with our Christmas performance of The Sound of Music. We stream all major music events on YouTube – so if you’re unable to attend you can still enjoy them at your leisure. We look forward to welcoming OLs – and don’t forget our Lyonian Chorus would welcome new members. For news of upcoming events, visit www.johnlyon.org/school-life/ whatson.

Art has a unique ability to channel creative emotions – and finally those emotions had an outlet as we got back to some sort of post-pandemic normality with some exciting pupil excursions, including the Design Museum, Tate Britain, Photographers Gallery and even to Venice!

We’ve been fostering greater links with Harrow School, our older cousin up the hill, through our Hour Art exhibition, whose excellent entrants were judged by Harrow’s Head of Art. We’ve also collaborated with students at Quainton Hall to produce a mural showcasing the subjects on offer there and held a secret postcard competition, which raised over £2,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital –a fantastic sum of money, which more than justifies all the department’s hard work!

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The Excellence Programme for Academic Extra-Curricular enrichment is open to all John Lyon pupils and offers fortnightly JLx talks, a half-termly Academic Society meeting and a yearly TEDx event as well as external speakers giving talks to students and the chance to enter Excellence competitions in a variety of subjects.

Delivered yearly by a different academic department, JLx Talks are TEDx-style 10-minute talks providing students with a new perspective on a variety of topics. In a slightly different vein, the Academy Society, led by a Sixth Form student, offers the opportunity for students to listen to, discuss and present academic talks of their own.

Each term, we host talks from external speakers and this year we’ve have had the pleasure of hearing from inspiring astrophysicist, Professor Dame Burnell, David Simmonds CBE, clinician and author Professor Hugh Montgomery and BBC journalist Mishal Husain.

Find out more about our Excellence Programme at https://www.johnlyon. org/school-life/excellence-programme/

John Lyon School’s Talks-on-the-Hill event returned this year with an actual live audience, bringing together pupils, teachers, subject experts and Harrow residents to deliver short lectures on given subjects. Speakers included local Harrow resident Bev Baker who spoke about mental health, Jeremy

Curtis from the UK Space Agency and local resident and photographer Lucy Baker.

GOING GREEN

The Sustainability Society had a wonderful year, crowned by the achievement with merit of the Green Flag award, and Special Assemblies were held to highlight the three areas of focus: transport, energy and waste.

Transport: The School’s carbon footprint diminished by a small but significant degree after we encouraged all pupils to walk to school and to Sudbury Playing Fields every week for games. We also made it possible for more pupils to use their bicycles with the launch of ‘Bike Week’, in which pupils learned how to keep their bikes on the road with vital repair and maintenance skills.

Energy: Another major step towards total energy efficiency was taken as sensors were fitted throughout the school to switch off unnecessary lights and appliances and save electricity. The Society has been analysing our energy bill data in the search for ways to be even more efficient – which is more and more important as the nation faces an inflationary crisis.

ST PAUL’S TRIP

In February this year, Sixth Form students were privileged to represent the John Lyon School at Harrow School’s 450th anniversary service in St Pauls Cathedral, where former Head Boy Vinay K received a seal on the School’s behalf. Now on display in the New Memorial Dining Hall, this seal is a replica

Waste: A trip to the Powerday Waste Plant, which recycles 98% of all waste received, inspired pupils to try and make the school totally landfill-free. Our first step to this goal was a significant reduction in plate waste during Food Waste Week, followed by the introduction of two on-site composters so that the gardening team can compost kitchen peelings and coffee grounds.

Among the School’s many school-day sustainability activities, we have created bug and hedgehog hotels at Sudbury Playing Fields, introduced a Forestry School, which our Prep School uses on a weekly basis, and planted raised beds with a mix of vegetables and flowers to be maintained by our Eco Garden team. The Sustainability Society is mindful that this is about more than just our School and has attended a mock COP27 conference to discuss how the School can be more sustainable as well as being part of the UKSSN (UK Schools Sustainability Network), which enables networking with pupils all over the UK.

of the original one used for the signing of John Lyon’s charter to establish the Harrow School.

LECTURING LYONIANS

(2010), Zaid Hamid (2011), Alex Tranter (2011), James Schofield (2013), Yashas Mudumbai (2014), Tyler Stanley Owusu (2017), Abbas Jodiyawalla (2017) and Daniel Konotop (2019).

Each year, the Head Boy organises a termly lunchtime lecture on a specific subject, hosted by professionals working in the relevant industry and/or OLs. One example of this was Ben Marsh (OL 2012), a civil servant working on Hydrogen at the heart of the UK’s net-zero government programmes.

For those who left more recently, you will recall what was called ‘Union’ each week where Sixth Form pupils were treated to a speaker session. This is now renamed the Goldhawk Lecture series and this year we’ve been lucky to have many OLs return to School to share their career experience with current pupils. All in all a very enriching opportunity for pupils and OLs alike!

With that in mind, we’d like to thank the following OLs, all of whom returned during 2021-2022 to deliver career talks: Alastair McIver (1969), David Salmond (1974), Andy Katz (1985), Sukh Singh (2004), Alykhan Kassam (2006), Aaron Paul (2009), Nick Wills (2010), Amir Tayeb

Special thanks to Sam Shah (OL 1998) for taking a busy afternoon out from his bewildering array of roles to share his own career path. Sam juggles many roles as a qualified dentist, owning a number of dental practices, as Chief Medical Strategy Officer for Numan, in digital advisory roles for various firms including Freuds and as academic advisor to a long list of universities! Sam shared his many experiences, including working with politicians, and stressed the importance of employing good people who you can trust to get work done effectively and efficiently. He also gave us some great advice about building good relationships through communication, trust and growing a network that will be valuable in any field!

If you would like to come back to John Lyon and share your experiences with today’s students, please get in touch by email: lyonianassociation@johnlyon.org.

OLD LYONIAN COMMUNITY

Your Community!

It is important that we continue to engage with our former pupils – you, the Old Lyonians – and to do that we have a rolling calendar of events, networking opportunities and our ever-popular reunions. We are always encouraged by the number of OLs who come back to visit us, talk and reminisce about their journey through life.

We begin every academic year with Founder’s Day – the annual Act of Commemoration by the School Community at St Mary’s Church, which pays tribute to our founder John Lyon and is attended by staff and pupils alongside Old Lyonians (OLs) for a short ceremony of words and music including the traditional laying of a wreath at the tomb of John and Joan Lyon in the church, followed

The OLA Annual Dinner was a fantastic evening of food, drink and above all, friendship. We were delighted to welcome back a great representation of Old Lyonians ranging from the Class of 1954 all the way through to the current Head Boy Team!

The next OLA Dinner will be held on Thursday 23rd March 2023 – save the date!

by a traditional school lunch. Last September, 2021, we planted a tulip tree in Red House Garden to mark John Lyon School’s 145th anniversary, near the cedar we planted back in 2016 to mark the 140th.

This October 2022 Founder’s Day was attended by familiar OLs along with many new faces who had not seen the School for over 40 years and enjoyed reviving and sharing countless fond memories of their time at the School.

Reconnecting through organised reunion events throughout the year is a chance for you all to enjoy the company of your former classmates, meet the current Head Boy Team, take a tour of the School to see how it’s changing and relish our in-house catering team’s excellent cuisine. Our ‘50 Years On’ and ‘60 Years On’ reunion events have been a great success. For the former, it was a pleasure to welcome back Anthony Bannard-Smith, John Connor, Gordon Lindsay and David French from the Class of 1970 and their wives. For the 60 Years On event, we welcomed back Leslie Allen-Williams (1961), Robert Clarke (1961) and Brian Prosser (1963) with a tour of the school guided by Prefects followed by a traditional school lunch at which the OLs were welcomed in person by the Deputy Head Andy Sims, and the CCF SSI, Lorraine Mann.

More recently we have held reunion events for the classes of 2012, 2007 and 2002 and although numbers were a little disappointing those present enjoyed the company of our Head, Katherine Haynes

and Stephan Mepham, Head of Sixth Form. Most recently, an afternoon team reunion from the Classes of 1992, 1987, and 1982 celebrated 30- 35- and 40-year anniversaries since leaving John Lyon School, providing an opportunity to network with old friends and share lots of memories.

If you’d like re-connect with former classmates or plan a reunion, please contact the Lyonian Association : lyonassociation@johnlyon.org and we can discuss how we can help. Don’t forget – you can always find out about current and upcoming events on our website.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Roger Gage (OL 1956) who attended

her early years living in the Toc H building on Crown

The print – of a cricket match being played sometime between 1890 and1910 – was a gift from Mr Le Beau, Headmaster (April 1926 – July 1951) when she moved to West Harrow but made sure to stay in touch.

THIS TIME 100 YEARS AGO

An interesting article from the Scientific Society, in The Lyonian Magazine from 1922 about a lecture on Thermal Activity in New Zealand.

Day in

old print of the school that’s been hanging proudly in his office for many years since he found it among his late mother-in-law’s effects (Roger’s wife Mary was born on the Hill

Founder’s

September, presented an

and spent

Street opposite the North Star pub).

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Careers Department’s mission is to ensure all Lyonians flourish no matter what path they take in life. With that in mind, its careers programme, starting with children in the Prep School and continuing right up to pupils’ final year, is designed to equip them with an extensive toolkit of skills, knowledge and experience to ensure that they’re completely ‘Career Ready’ by the time they leave John Lyon.

At his recent career talk, Anup Vyas (OL 1987), former John Lyon parent and School Governor, gave us a fascinating insight into law, the law industry, the skills required and what attracted him to this career path. The event was well attended by pupils and parents alike, many of whom stayed on for a personal

PASTORAL CARE

Our Pastoral Care focuses heavily on promoting pupil wellbeing and personal development, thereby helping to ensure pupils are happy and fully rounded, enabling them to achieve academically, thrive in school and flourish in their chosen field after leaving John Lyon.

We have 360-degree support in place to promote pupil wellbeing, in which reactive counselling and emotional wellbeing support are complemented by a wide range of other forms of proactive support, including staff and peer mentors trained in mental health first aid, a PSCHE programme that prioritises mental health and related issues and a culture of safeguarding in which all staff members put pupil wellbeing first.

chat with the man himself and to glean his valuable advice on what study subjects would be most helpful for aspiring lawyers.

We welcome any other OLs who’d like to help with careers by inspiring our pupils to achieve their career aspirations. Through the coming year we’ll be inviting pupils and parents to a series of industry-specific Career Evenings covering areas including Law, Media, Engineering, Healthcare and Finance.

We’d really appreciate the chance for our pupils to have access to your wealth of experience and expertise – so please do get in touch if you’d like to participate.

We promote pupils’ personal development by ensuring all of them, in all year groups, complete in-house bespoke diplomas, which get them involved in all manner of activities that enhance their personal development. This is further complemented by an assembly programme with pastoral leaders’ talks on character building, a personal development mentoring programme and a leadership programme through which pupils in all age groups get a chance to develop their leadership skills by becoming Form Captains, House Captains, Peer Mentors, Student Council Representatives or Prefects.

FAREWELL AND THANK YOU

We would like to say farewell and a huge thank you to all the staff who left John Lyon School during the academic year 2021/2022. Each has made a significant difference to the life of the School in their own unique way

Lucy Aitchison – Teacher of English with French

Janki Amin – Careers Advisor

Khadija Ansari – Alumni & Developments Coordinator

Gbeke Bakare – HR Officer

Lauren Bates – School Nurse

Alex Braybrooks – Sports Graduate

Denzil Fernandez – IT Support Technician

Despo Georgiou – Business Administrator (Data)

Robin Goodger – Gap Assistant (STEAM)

Val Greig – Business Administration Manager

Joanna Leveson – Head of Biology & Biomedical Coordinator

Nicola Littlewood – Head of HR

Georgia Luckhurst – Graduate Teacher (English & Drama)

Rachel Mendez – Business Administrator (Cover)

James McNaughton – Teacher of Maths, Assistant Director of Studies, Cover Coordinator

Jonathan Peel – (Acting) Head of English

Lynne Plummer – Director of Blackwell Enterprise

Charlotte Robinson – School Nurse

Charlie Scotcher – Teacher of Politics

Thomas Stewart – Graduate Teacher (Economics, Maths & Business)

Maria Trafford – Teacher of English (Excellence Co-founder)

IN MEMORIAM

The thoughts of staff and pupils are with the friends and families of these Old Lyonians who have passed away during the last academic year. They will always be part of the guiding spirit and heritage of our School.

David John Palphreman Adams (OL 1950 - 1957)

Paul Buckenham (OL 1948 – 1955)

Andrew Cameron (OL 1960 – 1966)

Martin Coles (OL 1955-1960)

Clive Dobson (OL 1953 – 1959)

Professor Michael Edwards

Peter Jenkins (OL 1948 – 1953)

Austin Hayhurst (Bob) Lowe (OL 1933 – 1939)

Christopher Leech (OL 1959 – 1966)

Malcolm David Mason (OL 1944 - 1951)

Jeremy Sanders (OL 1949 – 1956)

Keith Lake Wilson (OL 1949 – 1953)

We would also like to commemorate Bill Waite, our former Head of Maths from 2002 2008, who sadly died in July 2022.

Bob Lowe through time.

Keith Lake Wilson (on left) being presented with a tankard at an OL event.

Paul Palperham with The Cheesgraters.