The Vigornian December 2010 by King's Worcester

THE VIGORNIAN 2010

e magazine of e King’s School Worcester

The

Vigornian 2010

Editor: Peter Iddon

Design & Typesetting: John Roslington

OV News: Mike Page, Alec Mackie, Virginia Iles

Front cover: Worcester Cathedral, Winter 2009 (Photograph by David Brookshaw)

View of Edgar Tower, College Hall and the Chapter House, taken during a helicopter ﬂight in 1987. Donated to the School Archive by Andrew Underwood.

headmaster T.h. Keyes, M.a

Senior Deputy Miss S.e hincks, M.a

Second Deputy r a. Chapman, B.Sc. Director of Studies r .C.Baum, M.a

M.J. roberts, B.Sc.

D.P. Iddon, B.a

S. Le Marchand, B.a

r .P. Mason, B.a

S.M. Bain, B.Sc., M.Sc.

M.D. rudge, B.a.

J.T. Wheeler, B.Sc., C.Chem., M.r .S.C.

D.g. Willmer, M.Sc., PhD.

P.T. gwilliam, B.a., M.Phil.

Mrs. C.M. Cox, M.a., M.Sc.

r .J. Davis, B.a

Mrs. L.M. ghaye, B.ed., M.a

J.L. o wen, B.a

C.a gallantree-Smith, B.a

Mrs. e r hand, B.a

T.r . Sharp, M.a

Mrs C. Painter, B.a

Mrs S.h. Le Marchand, B.a

Mrs F.L. Short, B.a

M.C. Poole, B.Sc., PhD.

Mrs T.D. Marskell, Cert.ed.

Mrs P.a. edwards, B.a., M.Sc.

revd M.r . Dorsett, B.a., M.Th., PhD., Cert.

Theol. (Chaplain)

Mrs N. essenhigh B.Sc.

r .P. geary, B.Sc., C.Chem., M.r .S.C.

a a.D. gillgrass, B.a

S.C. Cuthbertson, B.a

C.T. haywood, B.a

a.W. Longley, B.a

S.M. atkins, B.a

Mrs J.D. Clark, B.ed.

Mrs. M.M. Longley, B.ed.

Mrs J. C. Vivian, M.a

I.C. robinson, B.Sc.

Mrs C.e. Battrum, B.a.

D.J. haddock M.a., D.Phil.

a.J.M. Maund, M.a.

C.W.S. Wilson, B.a.

r a. Ball, M.a

Mrs a hines, B.Sc.

D.a. Jones, M.Th.

J.J. Mason, B.Sc.

C. atkinson, B.Sc.

Mrs L.L. guy, B.a

r .J. James, B.Sc., PhD.

Mrs r a. Worth, B.Sc.

e.I. Lummas, B.a

School Monitors

Heads of School

Ilija rasovic (Cr)

emmie Le Marchand (Cl)

Phillipa Collins (S)

Joshua Crow (K)

James elderfield (S)

Jenny geary (K)

oliver greenhill (Cl)

Sam harris (S)

harry Iddon (Cl)

M.D. Parkin, M.a. PhD.

Mrs r .M. rutter, B.a

Mrs K.g adam, B.a

Miss a-M. Simpson, B.Sc.

Mrs S.K. Stone, B.eng.

Mrs e. allen-Back, M.a.

Mrs L.e. haddock, B.Sc.

Mrs D.J. Salkeld, B.Sc.

B. Wang, M.a.

Mrs S.C. Bradley, B.a

Mrs L.M. Brighton, B.ed.

Miss e gittings, B.a

M.J. Newby, B.ed.

D.N.M. orr, B.a

Miss o.K. Beveridge, B.ed.

J. Chalmers, B.appl.Sc.

a g. Deichen, B.a

r .S. gilbert, M.a

Miss S. hirner, B.a

Miss L. Lawson Pratt, M.a

Miss C.M. Lea, B.Sc.

Miss J.C. Mosley, B.a.

Mrs L.a. Walmsley, B.a.

Mrs J. Lucas, B.a.

Mrs J. Knipe, B.a.

Mrs J. o’Bryan, B.Sc.

Mrs r .J. Shearburn, B.a

g.L. Williams, B.a

B.T. humphrey, B.a

a.J. Ford, B.a

Miss h.M. holden, B.a

Miss e. J. holloway, M.a

M.L. holmes, B.Sc.

a a. Kerley, B.eng.

S.J. osmond, M.a

K.e. Pruden, B.a

r .C. Tarry, B.Sc.

Miss C.J. White, B.a.

Miss L. Woodruff, B.a.

Miss J. Wootton, B.a.

Music:

D.e. Brookshaw, B.Mus., F.r .C.o

Mrs. V.J. gunter, g.T.C.L., L.T.C.L.

g.M. gunter, g.T.C.L, L.T.C.L.

C.J.B. allsop, M.a., F.r .C.o

gina Kitchen (W)

Kate Lofthouse (os)

Jonathan Males (Ch)

Jonjo Mcardle (W)

Tristan Morgan (Br)

Demi Palmer (os)

Beth Perry (Br)

hattie roberts (S)

hannah Sansome (Cr)

Laura Stansfeld (Ch)

george Webster (Cr)

grace Wright (os)

The King’s Junior Schools

King’s St Alban’s head: r . Bellfield, B.ed. Deputy head: W. Toleman, B.a head of Pre-prep: Miss a roberts, B.a Director of Studies:D. Braithwaite, B.ed.

Mrs L. a. Jackson, M.a.

Mrs C. Woodcock, B.a.

Mrs N. Cain, B.a.

Mrs K. Kear-Wood, B.Sc.

Mrs J. Pitts, B.ed.

Mrs V. Martin, Cert.ed., DiprSa SpLD.

Mrs M. a. Keyes, M.a

Mrs r . Duke, B.a

Mrs J. Leach, B.ed., DPSe

J. M. Bailey, B.ed.

Mrs F. atkinson, B.Sc.

Mrs h haggarty, B.a

Mrs a hind, B.Sc.

I. Fry, M.a

Miss e. Wyatt, B.Sc.

Mrs e. Lewis, B.ed.

Ms J. hadfield, B.a.

Ms K. Forster, B.a.

King’s Hawford

head: James M. Turner, B.ed., Diped., aCP Deputy head: a.C. hymer, M.a., DPSe assistant head: Mrs C. rawnsley, B.a

Junior School:

Mrs J. Bayliss, B.Sc.

Mrs L. Baxter, B.Sc. r . B. Cook, B.Sc.

Mrs D. goodayle, B.a.

Mrs J. redman, B.ed., M.a.

Mrs S. roscoe, Cert.ed., LUIe

Mrs J. M. Tune, B.Sc.

Ms K. Turk, M.a

J. Broderick, B.ed.

I. Percival, B.a

D. Peters, B. Mus.

Mrs g. Turner, Cert.ed.

a. Drenth, B.a

Mrs a. Marshall-Walker

Pre-Prep:

Mrs P.M. Bradley, B.ed. Head of Pre-Prep

Mrs J. N. Willis, B.a Head of Early Years

Mrs J. Farmer, B.ed.

Mrs C.a griffin, B.a

Mrs h. Fowler, B.a

Mrs g riley, B.Sc.

Mrs J. Wilson, B.ed.

Miss a. Kingston, B.a

Mrs C. Knight, B.ed.

School Notes

This has been a momentous year in British politics. The normal cut and thrust of Party Politics was temporarily suspended as a Conservative/Lib Dem coalition emerged as a most unlikely outcome of a general election and Labour struggled to find a new leader to distance the party from the Blair/Brown era. This was an era in which english schools and english school pupils were more frequently assessed, inspected, analysed and leaguetabled than any others in the world. It was an era in which many independent schools grew tired of a levels and gCSes with their incoherent philosophies and limited horizons and looked for new exams that would stretch and inspire bright youngsters but which may have confused parents and left them wondering what is best for their own children. It was an era in which there was a huge increase in the numbers going to university but also in the numbers dropping out of university. It was the era when huge amounts of money were poured into improving literacy and numeracy but with very little effect.

Will our new political leaders be able to leave a better legacy? We were told in June that “the commitment of this government to reform is breathtakingly radical”. It remains to be seen what this means in the sphere of education but it is certainly unlikely in the current economic climate to mean more money for schools. It definitely does not mean more money for universities although the raising of the cap on fees to £9,000 per year to replace money that will no longer be supplied from taxes is certain to have profound social as well as educational consequences. It is not often that young

people would wish themselves to have been born into their parents’ generation but many may currently feel that way as they contemplate a future in the shadow of debt, insecurity of employment, a steadily receding retirement age and costly pension arrangements. If I paint a rather dispiriting view of the world into which our pupils will emerge as adults, it is really only to stress why it is all the more important for a school such as King’s to ensure that the investment made by parents bears fruit by helping to equip current pupils to go on to lead, in the words of our mission statement, “confident, fulfilled and unselfish lives as adults”. We feel that we are doing a number of things to help to make this most likely. Firstly, our gCSe results in 2010 were, by a comfortable margin, the best in the county. o ur a level results were similarly pleasing (with a high proportion of the new a* grades). all but a handful of those who applied to university have won places at one of their chosen destinations, nine of these being at o xford or Cambridge. almost half are going on to study courses related to Maths, Science or Modern Languages which are likely to be of the sort that will still attract central government funding under the new arrangements. We have introduced our own Sixth Form Certificate for Skills and all-round achievement, backed by the University of Worcester and the local Chamber of Commerce, in order to help ensure that all our Sixth Formers are developing a range of skills and experiences that will make them confident and impressive in their applications for universities and careers. We

are continuing to expand the opportunities available to our pupils to help others in the community. We are also well advanced in our plans to build a new Sports and Performing arts Centre which will allow many more pupils at Junior and Senior level to develop their interests and their confidence through these core activities. a new astroturf pitch (just completed) for our use every afternoon and at weekends on the playing fields of Bishop Perowne Cofe College will allow us to take a significant stride in this direction at once, and the completion of a new boathouse one year from now will be a further step. o ur ability to focus so strongly on sport and the performing arts in the next phase of development at King’s comes as a result of huge investment over the past ten years in all the main academic subject areas of the school, including the new library which continues to provide a magnificent central learning and study facility. all these developments, and many that preceded them, owe much to the selfless, determined and visionary leadership of Donald howell who retired in the summer after thirty seven years as a governor including twenty four as Chairman. You will read a full tribute to him in the pages that follow. I simply want to say here that he is one of the key figures in the school’s long history. he has given firm and wise leadership during a period of rapid and often difficult change in education in this country and the fruits of his labours are a school that is now very well equipped in terms of staffing, organisation, ethos, planning, buildings, facilities and resources to meet the challenges of many decades to come, whatever the colour of the government.

DaviD Willmer

Dave Willmer joined King’s Mathematics department in 1986, from Saudi arabia. This was in a bygone age, when it is rumoured that Maths was only taught in the mornings!

o ver the years he contributed to many, varied, areas of school life. For several years he was in charge of the Duke of edinburgh award scheme, leading many successful trips, despite his inherent distrust of maps! he also contributed widely to the Key Skills programme, both through his financial guidance and talks on black holes (not connected in any way, I must add).

he is a ‘top notch’ mathematician who got the best out of the very best, and he was always willing to go the extra mile, giving freely of his time, for pupils of all abilities. Many Sixth Formers will remember him for his infamous trig rap, complete with actions. a proper gentleman and a big softie at heart, he was always generous with his time and experience and more than happy to let the female members of the department organise him! In recent years he became ever more inventive in his lessons – even being prepared to use crayons once – though it was only once! his main contribution to King’s in recent years was his work as timetabler and the creation of his report writing software. he was able to work wonders with constructing the timetable, given parameters that most others would have found impossible. In his final year, his sense of fun was evident in the spoof timetables he produced for various staff members – though I’m not sure that they were quite so amused.

To the staff as a whole, he will probably be remembered as the one who would always get up and dance to any abba track at the Christmas party and for his sense of fun and enjoyment. We, in the Maths department, are hoping that Barbara will teach him to do the washing up in his retirement.

A.H.

Christina Cox

Christina Cox joined King’s Mathematics department in 1989. as an o xford Mathematics graduate, she brought an enormous knowledge of, and interest in, the subject to the department. She was very approachable to both students and staff alike, and, in fact, she was always the one I would turn to when I got stuck solving problems!

When she first arrived at King’s, she had her hands full with three young sons to look after, as well as a husband who is technically hopeless, so that Christina would often do house maintenance as he did not have a clue. In time, all three sons were educated at King’s and shared her ability for Mathematics.

She spent many years as a Fourth Form tutor, before her exam administration work became ever more demanding on her time, mainly due to the advent of modular exams and special considerations. In this work, she was extremely well organised and reliable. her ability to think a problem through and foresee difficulties meant that most of us were blissfully unaware that the problems even existed in the first place!

When I joined King’s as head of Department, she was happy to take on board new ideas, often helping out with new initiatives such as house ‘Countdown’. But it is her innate ability as a mathematician and the hours she happily spent preparing pupils for o xbridge and STeP papers that were so appreciated by those she taught. as a clergyman’s wife, she and John have just bought their first house together, after forty years of marriage. I know she will look forward to making this into a home for them both, as well as travelling to see two sons in this country and one in Singapore, not to mention three grandchildren!

A.H.

Cherry Painter

With JLO’s permission we reproduce here a copy of his “farewell’ speech to Cherry at the summer staff party.

When a previous head of Department unexpectedly resigned in 1991, Cherry Painter joined the teaching staff from Malvern girls … she has been with us ever since and is now taking a well-earned retirement so that she can spend more time cooking meals for howard. We could not have wished for a saner or more able teacher. Not only did she cope well with the pupils, not too difficult perhaps, but she also managed the other languages’ staff very ably - not always an easy job.

When Cherry started her career, the Moon Landings had just been completed, a levels were still a levels and Ted heath was PM. richard Nixon was US President and Pompidou was French President. one of the best albums ever – ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ - was released but Punk rock was still a few years off and Jackie Stewart and James hunt were the British Formula 1 racing Drivers. We were all highly impressed that in a previous incarnation Cherry had worked as a spy for gChQ. When she started teaching russian at lunchtimes it added to a certain amount of mystique she possessed. Quite wisely she never really talked about that part of her career under the pretext of having signed the official Secrets act, and that very silence led to the propagation of all sorts of rumours. I always found it slightly strange that she came to us just at the time of ‘glasnost’ but we can find nothing out at all about her real role there and what sort of shady dealings she was involved with. What

it undoubtedly does show is that she is a talented and adaptable linguist, able to turn her hand to many and various tasks.

I have made a list of what she’s good at:

1. Writing on the board without getting up from her chair

2. Not losing her temper (not once that I can remember in nineteen years next door)

3. Doing whatever it is that ‘subaquarists’ do. She helped run the club for many years.

4. Planning and participating in language trips - too many to mention.

5. Doing her job with all its myriad difficulties (grammar, vocab, literature, speaking, and all the other technical aspects). We all know that languages teachers have the most difficult jobs of all teachers

6. Not drinking on foreign trips so that the rest of us could. In fact at one point she was sure that red wine was causing her to have headaches. her remedy was quite simple – have a bit more each night so that she could acclimatise gradually. It seemed to work.

7. Being a Wulstan house Tutor for many years

8. Being head of French.

9. Being endlessly supportive without ever telling anyone how to do the job. and what she’s not quite so good at:

1. She has never quite mastered the digital technology platforms, and as for spreadsheets – the less said the better.

2. Using the Paris Metro with the removes – on one infamous occasion her half of the group got off on one side of the train and the other group got out off the correct side. Unfortunately at this particular station there was no actual exit. Cherry preserved her natural sangfroid and waited for the next train to stop and calmly proceeded through the carriage to rejoin the others! I would have expected many more stories about someone who has been here for so long but the plain fact is that she is so sensible that she hardly ever makes mistakes. hardly ever does not mean never though!

In short, Cherry has been the ultimate professional, generous with her time, (even this year she was giving up lunchtimes to help her Fifth Form prepare for oral exams, ) calm in demeanour and attitude, organised, and she has been a very real friend in a multitude of ways to many in this department and the Common room.

Pat eDWarDs

Pat edwards joined King’s in 1995, initially as a part-time teacher of Mathematics. however, it wasn’t long before her services were required full-time. For a number of years she was also part of the Key Skills team, many sessions of which she spent instructing Sixth Formers on how to cook

in a microwave. In the Maths department, she joined me in establishing a Maths club for the Fourth Form pupils; we spent many happy hours code breaking and constructing 3D shapes. I would particularly like to thank her for all the support and encouragement she gave me when I joined the school as head of Department.

She was an assistant house tutor in Choir

house for many years, first working with Marie arthur, and then MML. She only gave up this role on becoming a member of the exam admin team, where her efficiency and dedication were much appreciated by MJr . In fact, she will soon be returning to help in the invigilation of public examinations.

She overcame a serious illness with remarkably little fuss and returned to school for a further two years with the same zest as she had before.

She will not be going far in her retirement as she lives in her husband, John’s, family home in Kidderminster. She is dedicated to both her daughters and will enjoy being able to spend more time as a grandparent.

Bing Wang

Bing joined the King’s art Department as artist-in-residence 2004. We enjoyed him so much that we asked him to stay on as a full-time teacher. he relished this opportunity and responded by learning everything he could about the english school system and became a highly-effective art teacher. It is not an exaggeration to say that his pupils loved him, indeed, he made being popular a whole new art form. he took it very seriously, whether this

A.H

PAE

BW and family

was cracking jokes, threatening the use of Chinese-style martial-arts, or the use of football terminology and Chinese Zen to get across a point. of course, he also taught the pupils a range of skills and dazzled them by his own highly-detailed and impressive figurative painting.

as a teaching colleague in the art department, he was loyal and supportive and I have every reason, as head of department, to be very grateful. Perhaps Bing’s greatest achievement, however, was the organisation of the Sixth Form cultural trip to China over easter 2009. how lucky we were to travel through this extraordinary country with a native speaker. It was a truly remarkable and memorable experience. I certainly don’t think I have ever laughed so much or been more astounded that one individual can eat so much in one sitting. Where do you put it all Bing?

I cannot talk of Bing, of course, without mentioning his wife Yan, who was the art department technician for three years. Trained in traditional Chinese arts and Crafts, she was skilled at stencil cutting and was an invaluable help in our busy textile studio, both assisting and encouraging our pupils. She kept the materials in order and helped to display the work with precision and sensitivity. Yan become a true friend and we will miss her sensible and gentle ways.

Bing arrived at King’s from glenalmond School in Scotland, where he had been artist-in-residence. It is fitting that he should now return as head of Department. I know he will take with him an array of skills and approaches learnt here, but he does so with our blessing. Perhaps you won’t be missed from staff football, Bing (the less said the better) but, in every other way, you leave a large hole in the life of the art department and the greater school. We wish you and your family every success and happiness.

E.R.H.

susanne hirner

Susanne joined the school in 2007 as a fresh-faced new recruit to the profession with the wise head of a long-established teacher. She taught german to all age groups and Spanish to the lower years. her common sense, reliability and, to sink to applying national stereotypes, her efficiency, made life for colleagues so much easier. her no-fuss approach was greatly cherished and was pleasantly balanced with a gentle demeanour and humility which ensured that she was greatly respected in all quarters. Caring but clear-thinking, yet with the sensitivity of a seasoned diplomat and the dry irony of someone who recognizes instinctively the substance below a veneer, she would accept and carry out tasks with

immaculate professionalism. her roles varied from swimming supervisor to Sixth Form german Work experience coordinator, assistant tutor in Choir house to core member of the ‘younger’ social hub of Common room. The humorous twinkle in her eye offered sanity on any number of exchanges and trips, which she always supported willingly. her rapport with pupils and adults alike has been sorely missed since her departure for hong Kong, where she has accepted a teaching post unburdened by extensive resources or directives and where she is enjoying life greatly – as she occasionally points out in envy-inducing e-mails. We wish her well and know she will do well too.

R.A.B.

We were thrilled when oV, former chorister and local celebrity Ben humphrey took up the invitation to become King’s first actor in residence in September 2008, initially for one academic year, following the departure for London of Sarah West. Being actor in residence was to involve Ben in running drama clubs and workshops, directing productions and initiating other extracurricular activities as well as teaching a partial timetable. as part of the much-loved comedy duo humphrey and renshaw (with fellow oV Simon renshaw), and with his natural exuberance and extrovert personality, it is easy to forget that Ben is also an exceptionally gifted dramatic actor and singer. although when he returned to King’s he had only recently graduated as an actor from the prestigious Bristol old Vic Theatre School, he had experience of running the Theatre School’s Youth Theatre and had already become a member of their audition panel, auditioning prospective students as he himself had been only three years earlier. Who better then to advise and work with our own students who had their sights set on a coveted drama school place, of whom we seem to have an increasing number each year?

Ben quickly demonstrated a real flair as an engaging teacher who was seemingly able to enthuse and motivate the least dramatically motivated lower school pupil. Teaching predominantly Fourth Form and Lower remove classes in his first year, as well as Speech and Drama (LaMDa) throughout the school, every lesson was a bravura performance in which he used the strength of his comic personality and his performance skills to have his pupils hanging on his every word. In seeing Ben teaching as I often did informally during his short time with us, I saw another side of him also that many probably don’t see: a serious, sensitive and supportive young teacher with a depth of subject

Ben humPhrey

BTH J O’B

knowledge and experience to impart that seemed remarkable for one so young and just starting out in his professional life. I particularly saw this in his one-to-one work teaching Speech and Drama.

When Ben agreed to stay on for a second year in a part-time capacity, his timetable was extended to include a couple of exam groups. his work with aS students was particularly valuable since the aS course is predominantly focused on acting now. Sadly, Ben was lured away sooner than we expected in the Spring term when a valuable opportunity suddenly arose with Worcester Live at the Swan Theatre, enabling Ben to gain further valuable training and experience in all aspects of arts management and administration whilst still allowing him opportunities to continue his acting and directing.

It is regrettable that a number of exciting productions and initiatives that Ben had planned within his role at King’s never reached fruition. These included an outdoor Shakespeare production by Fifth and Upper Sixth formers after examinations in the summer, which would, I’m certain, have been wonderful. he did nevertheless manage to fit in quite a lot during his short time as a member of the King’s academic staff, such as running aerobics as part of girls’ games and helping to run the Debating Society. There was never a dull moment whilst Ben was around, and it still seems very quiet indeed in the drama department now that he has gone! We are very grateful to him for all he did during those four and a half terms, and he left us with some great memories.

S.M.A.

Jenny o’Bryan

Jenny returned to King’s as a PgCe student in 2008, quickly making an impression on all those who met her with her boundless energy, enthusiasm and desire to do her best for all pupils. It seemed entirely natural that she was offered a job as a science teacher once she qualified, and it was inevitable that she would throw herself wholeheartedly into school life. She joined the CCF, where her experience was invaluable in helping to support the training offered to the cadets, and her connections certainly proved to be very useful when Brigade decided not to allocate the CCF with a Summer Camp. her ambitious streak (and determination) meant that she quickly sought a challenge, taking on the role of Deputy head of Fourth Forms at the start of her second year. She really enjoyed the time she spent with the Fourth Form pupils and staff and I am sure that few would forget the time she spent looking at seating in the Dining hall in an effort to maximise the time for the pupils at lunch. To those of

us in the Biology department it came as no surprise that she took up the offer of a post at Cheltenham College, as her greatest love was always Biology and she was keen to focus her attention on one subject only. The department is certainly a quieter place without her; however we all miss the ‘whirlwind’ she created when she had tried a new idea which worked well and the way she would tell herself off when it hadn’t!

N.E.

roger tarry

roger Tarry was intending to retire in 2009 but he was persuaded out of retirement before it had even begun, to help cope with the large entry to King’s and the popularity of the science a Levels.

he started his career at the royal grammar School, Newcastle and then moved with his wife’s work to Worcester where he was snapped up by a school with a similar name. Throughout his career as a first rate Physics teacher he has also spent a great deal of time by the Tyne and the Severn, most recently coaching downstream of the road bridge. Into his fourth decade of teaching and after generations of pupils increasingly recognised his strengths as they matured, roger has decided that he has been ‘delighted’ long enough. he will be joining Jenny in full time retirement. They have already spent September touring France and we wish them well on all their future travels.

S.J.O.

marC holmes

Marc holmes joined the Mathematics department in September 2009 as an NQT. although only with us for one year, he got involved with so much beyond the department. he was really committed to rugby and football, often helping out with extra matches as required. he was also involved with Young enterprise and particularly enjoyed seeing the students he taught in a different context. he helped out pastorally in both the Fourth Forms and Bright house.

What was evident in all that he did was his ability to quickly build up an excellent rapport with pupils, who appreciated his genuine interest in them and their ideas. In his Maths teaching, he was always prepared to go the extra mile, offering help outside lessons when necessary. We wish him well in the next stage of his career.

A.H.

was able to introduce new techniques to the art Department, stretching our artistic horizons and challenging our perceptions by presenting sophisticated and poignant themes. as a teacher, she was devoted to her classes, organising stimulating projects and inspiring good work. her after-school club was popular, as were the workshop sessions she led at our two junior schools.

During the academic year Katie mounted two exhibitions of her drawings and sculptures in the Sir Terry Frost gallery and the Long gallery. In the summer term she contributed to our family art day held as part of the ‘Words alive!’ festival. She persuaded several hundred pupils and parents to emboss fragments of clay with words which they felt described their characters. The fragments were later fired and displayed as an installation in the Long gallery. Despite this obviously busy schedule, Katie also managed to exhibit work in a number of prestigious group exhibitions in the West Country.

Katie was a stalwart of the ‘Common room pubbing set’ and made several good friends during the short time that she was here. It is a measure of her popularity, however, that she will be missed by pupils and staff of all ages. We are grateful for all that she achieved here and wish her well in her new post as a full-time teacher of ceramics at Queenswood School in hertfordshire.

E.R.H.

DonalD hoWell

At the end of the Summer term, Donald Howell retired from the position of Chairman of the Governors after 24 years. Two tributes follow, the first from the Headmaster and one from fellow governor David Finch ‘No-one alive (or from any previous generation, I imagine) can rival Donald for the combination of length of close association with the school, commitment to it and time given on its behalf. he came as a pupil in 1953, the year of the Queen’s Coronation, hilary’s conquest of everest and an ashes victory over australia, as he himself describes in ‘The King’s School Worcester and a history of its site’.

atie PruDen

The years that we have an artist-in-residence are always special and Katie Pruden did not let us down. as an artist, Katie impressed us with her dedication and good organisation, her studio being a shrine to industry and invention. as a ceramicist and sculptor, she

The first place that he got to know well was St alban’s Junior School where he boarded in the most Spartan of conditions and where he committed his earliest misdemeanors – including the smashing of a window while playing playground cricket. he will find out later that we have not forgotten this incident.

he proceeded to have a distinguished school career, taught by some now legendary figures such as Dan McTurk and richard Knight. one of his duties (of which I must say he was very proud) in School house was to look after the boiler along with his

friend Chris Slater. he must be the first boilerman who has ever gone on to be a Chairman of governors in an Independent School. Caroline roslington as archivist has now reclaimed the boiler suit bought for him by the school which spent many years in Donald’s loft and has been returned with good grace and in immaculate condition! Donald was head of School in his last year, a position which he feels set him up very well for leadership later in life.

he was part of an extraordinary generation of pupils at King’s who went on to become leaders in their chosen fields. For Donald it was firstly engineering at Imperial College London which led in due course, picking up accountancy on the way, for which this school will always be grateful, to working as a Managing Director as part of geC under arnold Weinstock.

he returned as a governor to King’s in 1973, only 12 years after leaving as a pupil, just before the time when the Direct grant was abolished and King’s was forced to make a decision between being at the mercy of whatever use the Lea might have for the school, or going independent.

as pupil and governor he has seen five headmasters in operation at this school. For someone who confesses in the School history that he was quite useless at Latin and was even caned for his lack of application, it is remarkable that he was appointed by one head who was a classicist (David annett) and went on to appoint two more (John Moore and me). I think my saving grace is having had a scientist for a wife and an engineer for one of my sons. he thinks that they have redeemed me!

he has played a central role in helping the school to develop the site, always having the knack of seeing when the time was right for a particular development. he was at King’s as a pupil when the Winslow building was erected 52 years ago. I don’t want the fact that it was given a life of only 40 years to worry the members of the Physics, Chemistry and ICT departments unduly! given that the school had such inadequate accommodation in so many areas when Donald was a pupil here, it is very much to his credit that he has never taken the line that the sort of projects that we have undertaken in recent years are an extravagance. his earlier experiences here, however, have given him a very clear “no gold taps” philosophy which has served us very well indeed at times when architects may occasionally have been in danger of using us to indulge their flights of fancy. I put it down also to all those years spent in Lancashire which (and this is a rare example of a Yorkshireman agreeing with someone who lives on the inferior side of the Pennines) is not a region that breeds notions of extravagance.

he has also guided the school through its three biggest developments in recent decades: the end of boarding, the start of coeducation and the purchase of hawford. Donald must excuse me if I take a quotation from a tomb. I am not in any way suggesting that his work here is finished since even when he hands over the reins as chairman of governors and as a governor, he will remain deeply committed to this school and ready to help for many, many years ahead.

The inscription I have in mind is that on

the plain slab that marks the resting place of Sir Christopher Wren. There is no grand monument as there is for so many famous figures – just the simple invitation: lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice. For the legacy of Donald’s time as a governor here, and particularly as Chairman of governors since 1987, look around this school:

a happy and flourishing community a school that has become one of the most highly respected in this part of the country

a site on which there has been steady succession of projects to enable education to move forward with the times a body of former pupils who more and

more want to come back to their old school and to support us with their time, expertise or money one of his many gifts is an eye for detail. another particular gift from which the school has benefited is his consultative but, when needed, decisive leadership. It was Donald’s quick-thinking and strong lead that led to the purchase of King’s hawford. It was his determination to make us focus on identifying our needs clearly, and then taking the right opportunity, that led to the purchase of The alma Pub which, in September 2009, became the Pre-Prep for St. alban’s which, as you know, has been named, in Donald’s honour, The howell Building.

having led us with equal conviction to buy The Salmon’s Leap since he has always advocated looking for opportunities to purchase land near to the school, he has made us think very carefully about our plans for the new Sports and Performing arts Centre and it is partly because he has tested our rationale for this combination of facilities at various points along the way that we are so confident that it is the right time for this project and that we have hit upon the right combination of uses. King’s is the fifth school in which I have worked and I have therefore come across four other chairmen of governors. Donald is the first, in my experience, who knows how to address an audience with conviction and without sending them to sleep; the first who has taken any serious interest in getting to know the staff of the school, and the first to be not only ready, but entirely comfortable about fielding questions from the staff on any aspect of school life. Donald could not have done what he has for King’s without a remarkably longsuffering and tolerant other half. It has been a joy for Mary anne and me to get to know Pat over the years and to hear her wickedly funny take (with impeccable Liverpudlian accent where helpfully illustrative) of life as a head of Maths in a Liverpool girls’ school, and to begin to understand the crucial contribution of the stationery cupboard to overall school improvement. Pat should be given a weekly Thought for the Day slot on radio 4 – she is brilliantly penetrating and entertaining on any issue to do with modern education! So, Donald and Pat, thank you for your huge contribution to this place over so many years. It will never be matched, but we will

manage somehow and I know that hugh Carslake will be a worthy successor to you, Donald. The one real positive about the timing of your departure, and they say that timing is everything in life, is that I cannot think of a better candidate, at a moment of crisis for our nation, to be the next manager of the england football team! Your country needs you!’

David Finch’s words in the Cathedral on King’s Day are reproduced here:

‘I first met Dh in 1977 on my appointment to the governing body. he and I were the two youngest governors on the governing body by many years. Donald having been head boy of the school and a pupil here, knew it very well, and as a new boy, helped me hugely. The then headmaster David annett clearly had a high regard for him, and I suspect had him marked out as a future Chairman which indeed he became in 1986. Donald had qualified as both an engineer and as a chartered accountant and was thus uniquely qualified to serve. he was young, extremely enthusiastic, clearly devoted to the school, its staff and old members, and prepared to spend the hours of time which such a position most certainly requires. Thus began what must be the longest period of devoted service to the school in the history of the governing body.

During service under four separate headmasters, he oversaw the substantial physical development of the school to what it is now. It was frankly a pleasure to serve under his chairmanship. I never recall any acrimony, even when some of us insisted on having certain matters fully explained and discussed upon which Donald and the head had clearly already decided! his meticulous attention to detail was extraordinary. he had not the slightest difficulty in referring back to decisions made, in some cases years before, and indeed would turn up the relevant minute thereof. a light touch also helped, particularly in the financial discussions, which certainly in the days of the hostile political and financial administration of the 1970s were extremely difficult.

Donald, you have been a wonderful friend to the school, and to many hundreds of future pupils here who you will never know and who will never know you or what you have achieved, but will have cause to be extremely grateful. Thank you, finally, for your friendship to me and my wife personally.’

In September the Common Room welcomed ten members of staff.

Katie Beever has joined the Maths department. Katie read engineering Science at o xford University before working in engineering for a few years. She gained the

qualification of Chartered engineer and was posted to live in both germany and Tokyo to be based with airlines. She enjoyed the airline environment so much that she secured a place on a fast track management programme in British airways, with whom she spent eleven years in a variety of management and strategic roles. Katie travelled quite a bit but not as much as she could as she is a nervous flyer! Nevertheless she still managed to do weekends in hong Kong, Cairo, New York and much more on a fairly regular basis. Since she left Ba she completed a PgCe at Worcester University

to teach Maths.

Sarah Capewell is to teach in the Chemistry department. She was in the royal air Force for ten years where she reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant in the engineering branch. after leaving due to the first of her three children she continued to follow the air Force around, accompanying her husband. During this time she studied for an oU degree in Biochemistry, leading to her qualifying as a teacher of science. Sarah has worked in a couple of state schools in Worcestershire before starting at King’s. her hobbies are walking, gardening and providing a taxi

service for her children.

Sarah Davison is another addition to the Maths department. Sarah graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BSc in Mathematics and Management Studies. Unsure what her next step would be, she embarked on a round-the-world trip for six months. on her return she set up a ladies’ tailoring business and traded for around two years. She then went on to the University of Birmingham to complete her PgCe in Mathematics. her first teaching post was at The Chase Technology College in Malvern, from where she moved to Cheltenham

College for two years and she now begins her fourth year of teaching at King’s. her main passion is baking and over the last few years Sarah has ‘broadened her horizons to produce wedding cakes’. She also loves travelling, playing tennis and running.

Josh Gardiner has also added to the ranks of the Maths department. Born in South africa, he moved to this country when he was 10. he completed a Maths degree at Loughborough University in 2005, followed by a PgCe at the University of gloucestershire in 2006. Before joining King’s he taught at Tewkesbury School for three years. he has also recently got engaged

KHB

JNG

and moved into Worcester. Josh is a keen sportsman and musician, playing the piano, drums, guitar, violin, and competing in many sports throughout his education and professional career.

separate occasions, Jennifer moved down to Worcestershire this year.

In her spare time she loves cooking and socialising with friends and family at home and relaxing through swimming and yoga.

Yet another new member of the Maths department this year is Josh Hand on leaving King’s in 2001 he went to New Zealand to work at hastings Boys’ high School and play rugby. after this he studied economics at Nottingham, following which he worked for six months in Verbier, Switzerland, doing a variety of glamorous and not so glamorous jobs for a ski company. Josh completed his PgCe in Mathematics at Bristol University, before working at King’s gloucester. he is currently studying for a Masters in Mathematics education at Warwick University. Interests include competing in triathlons, camping and high quality barbecuing.

Jennifer Hewitt is a newcomer to the art department. She completed her Printed Textile Design Degree in 2000 at Loughborough University and then studied for her PgCe in applied art and Design at edge hill University, ormskirk. having worked at Winstanley Sixth Form College, Wigan for six years, holding the position of temporary second in department on three

Claire Horacek joins the art department for a second spell of teaching at King’s. Since 2007 she has been enjoying leading art workshops for children at primary schools and special schools, and for adults too. These have included four award winning Big Draw projects and creating artwork for a children’s exhibition at the Beijing olympics. Claire has also been working on promoting her painting (website www. claireharrisonart.co.uk ) and has helped Petr, her author/illustrator husband, with book events. She has enjoyed travelling (and drawing) in term-time and has just taken up playing the Bass Viol, realising a forty-yearold ambition.

The Classics department has welcomed Francesca MacSwiney. Francesca’s passion for classics was inspired at North London Collegiate School and pursued in a Classics degree at oriel College, o xford, where she also sang in the Chapel Choir, continuing an interest in music after leaving Trinity College of Music Junior Department where she studied violin and piano. after o xford

she studied for a Masters in Classics at University College London. She is keen on all aspects of the ancient world and enjoys sports, including scuba diving and waterskiing, travelling and being at home in her free time, socialising, cooking, and watching films. Rachel Stanley has joined the Modern Languages department. rachel completed a Languages degree in Spanish and French at Cambridge University, followed by a stint teaching english in Murcia, Spain before returning to this country to do a PgCe at Sheffield University. She then crossed over the Pennines to Manchester where she taught languages for ten very enjoyable years at Manchester grammar School. She moved to hereford with her family a year and a half ago and joins the school from King’s gloucester where she did a maternity cover in the Languages department. Spare time is spent with her family; when she is not run off her feet by her two-yearold twins and a four year old, she enjoys swimming, running and foreign cinema. Christopher Wright is also new to the Modern Foreign Languages department. Following his PgCe at o xford, he worked for three years in a german co-educational grammar school and on returning to england he worked for fourteen years at a Buckinghamshire grammar School, becoming head of Department. In 1990 he moved to rgS Worcester as head of MFL where he organised well over twenty French exchanges and accompanied three Sixth Form visits to Cuba, one to the USa and one to China. his interests include a fascination for all aspects of French and german history and culture. on average he has visited France every year for forty six years, accompanying over thirty school visits to that country.

his recent interest in gardening is developing and he enjoys walking and cooking and is a keen but ignorant birdwatcher.

JOSH

JRH

CRH

FSM

RS CNW

The Combined Cadet Force

King’s School Worcester CCF was fortunate enough to have a very talented group of SNCos supporting the weekend exercises and competitions throughout the year. In addition to the regular Friday evening parades, the autumn term saw an impressive number of cadets attending many of the CCF military training weekends, where they honed their military skills – one of the big events was the Biennial Inspection, which coincided with the centenary celebrations for cadets at King’s. Brigadier Murray, the former Brigade Commander, was the inspecting officer and he was treated to a day of round-robin activities for both the new recruits and the experienced cadets. It was a pleasure to welcome back Flt Lt Posselt, who ran the First aid stand, and oCdts Tom Sheppard and Ben rean, who helped on the Command Task stands. a large number of oVs attended the event, and this made the whole day very special; indeed Brigadier Murray made special mention of the close relationship held between the CCF and its former cadets.

This was closely followed by the first overnight exercise for our new recruits, ex Basic Basha, where over seventy cadets experienced life ‘in the field’ on Swynnerton Training area, and for the first time ‘swine flu’ and norovirus had a big impact on the training, with four cadets heading home before the night was out. once again the Contingent was successful in the District CCF orienteering Championships – taking the gold medals in the CCF girls’ and boys’ event, with Sgt Katie Davis running home as the fastest girl and Sgt russell Whitehouse as the fastest boy. o ur annual night navigation up the Malvern hills on the Bonfire Night weekend afforded us fantastic views over the whole of Worcestershire and we witnessed many spectacular fireworks displays all for free –we even fired our own rockets off from the

top of the Worcestershire Beacon.

This year the adventure Training took place at the o utdoor education Centre at Upton Warren during the Spring halfterm – there were a selection of activities including Climbing, Kayaking, Canoeing, rafting, high ropes/Low ropes and archery, as well as the SSI running the BCU 2 Star award – I have to say that the sight of Cpl Tom Mills struggling into not one but two wetsuits provoked much amusement especially when we learned that he’d borrowed one of them from his grandmother! early in March ex Cadre Chaos took place at Tyddesley Wood, which gave the more experienced cadets the chance to use their leadership skills running Section attacks and ambushes in a bid to be promoted. Both the cadets and staff were put through their paces on the new a2 rifle – the weapon handling test proved to be twice as long as the old one and at least three times more difficult!

raF St Mawgan for easter Camp; as ever our cadets performed particularly well –although the station was quite bleak, an interesting programme was laid on.

During the Summer term all the cadets took their exams, and they passed with very good marks. as previously mentioned, over the course of the year the Contingent has converted to the a2 rifle, which is similar to the rifle used by regular soldiers, although opportunities to fire it have been rare. The raF Section had three air experience Flying Days at raF Cosford, as well as two trips to Little rissington for gliding; however the weather was not kind so a number of other opportunities were lost. Several of our senior cadets successfully completed their cadet leadership courses as well as CWo Tim rogers and Sgt Dan Flamank completing their air Cadet Pilot Schemes, which meant that they were able to spend some time flying solo in a fixed wing aircraft.

Rebecca Whitehouse receiving her Gliding Scholarship certificate

The Biennial Inspection

Military skills team, James Mulvale, Eliot Jones and Piers Watkins

five cadets on Camp and quickly proved ourselves to be well up to the challenges set us. The training culminated in a competition called the ‘Section Sprint’ which involved a number of arduous activities requiring the cadets to call upon their experience, physical determination and competitive streaks. although physically we didn’t have the biggest team, we proved to be more than a match for the other twelve CCFs as we won convincingly. It was a proud moment to watch CWo rogers march the ‘dream team’ up to collect the trophy.

The raF camp was held at raF Lyneham, a name that is synonymous with the procession of fallen troops through Wootton Bassett. The camp was very well organised; however we were fortunate to have aaK on board and with his connections the cadets were treated to much sought-after training flights in a hercules. o ver two nights all the cadets were able to take to the skies, most remembered their experience, but some suffered badly with horrific air-sickness and spent their time with their heads in their hands, unaware of anything around them. Interestingly a couple of cadets attempted to achieve zero gravity, and paid for it by landing face first! Cadet Chloe odell also managed to lighten the mood when she spotted a helicopter in the sky and was overheard talking about the apache she had seen, this bewildered some of the more experienced cadets who were convinced it was a Lynx, but all was made clear when she said ‘No, look – it’s black and green – ‘a patchy’ helicopter’. Cpl James allen picked up the best cadet award, with Cadet Louise Nugent being recognised as the Most Improved cadet.

Sadly at the end of the year it was time to say farewell to the senior cadets, and we would like to wish them well for the future and hope to see them soon (especially FSgt Watkins – who will make the brews now?). We were also sorry to wish adieu to Capt Jenny o’Bryan, who has moved down the road to Cheltenham College; she worked tirelessly for the CCF and her boundless energy and terrific sense of humour ensured that all the cadets she encountered had a fantastic time. I would like to finish by thanking on behalf of all the cadets the officers and the SSI, without whom the CCF wouldn’t be the raging success it is.

N.E.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

This year has seen many participants completing their awards, continuing the trend from last year. Fifty-nine gained the Bronze award, four completed the Silver award and six were presented with gold awards. recent leavers Jonathan Fane and hayley Weaver, along with current

Upper Sixth Jenny geary and Jessica Wells completed the requirements of the gold award. The remaining gold awards were achieved by rebecca Bader and Laura hughes, oVs who left some years ago. all of these will have been invited to St. James’ Palace to receive their certificate. Many congratulations to all these people!

Participants at all three levels of the award have once again worked very hard on an impressive range of activities to complete the Volunteering, Skills and Physical sections. In addition to this, the gold award participants had to undertake a residential section where they spent five days living with a group of people who they did not know before carrying out shared activities.

The part of the award which many of the participants find the most challenging is the expedition section. a very busy and comprehensive training programme is provided at all levels. This culminates with qualifying expeditions in the Peak District for Bronze, the Yorkshire Dales for Silver and the Lake District for gold. one of the requirements of this section is that each group has a purpose for their expedition. They are required to record information for this during their venture and then present their findings as a group on their return. as well as the presentation they write a personal log which details the highlights (and lowlights) of their experience. Below are some extracts from the personal logs of this year’s participants.

A-M.S.

Bronze Qualifying Expedition in the Buxton/Ashbourne area of the Peak District

I will confess that this time last year there was no way I would have imagined myself

walking for miles in the mud with a heavy bag in the blistering heat, by choice! I can’t say that I’ve ever enjoyed camping or hiking because I’ve never been into that kind of thing; but this experience, although probably being one of the most demanding, has been quite enjoyable. Dofe would never have been my first choice thing to join. I have to be honest in saying that I only joined because of how it looks on your CV and just to say I did actually belong to a club; but I truly believe that I’ve learnt some very valuable lessons which I’m sure I will use in later life. For example, I’ve learned to listen to other’s opinions and to other people’s needs rather than firing off what I think is right. I also think that the Volunteering, Skills and Physical has really paid off and made me a more determined and ambitious person.

The first day’s struggles really pushed us but made us work extremely hard the next day. This gave us a real sense of achievement. We couldn’t have coped without every single member of the group. It was an unforgettable experience that we wouldn’t have managed without the support of each other.

We finished right on time on a huge high and feeling of achievement. I really enjoyed the whole weekend because we overcame every challenge thrown at us such as the route, the hills and the exhausting heat. I’m very proud of my whole group.

From the Practice expedition I learned that communication is key. This was emphasised to me this weekend when we were forced to discuss rationally the best way to overcome problems.

Maria Coley, Harriet Duddy, Maddy Brownlow and Miranda Phillips – Upper Remove

Bronze expedition

Silver Qualifying Expedition in the Buckden/Kettlewell area of the Yorkshire Dales

I found this expedition incredibly rewarding yet challenging as it pushed our whole group to the mental and physical limit! I believe that everybody in the group individually contributed to the effort involved in the planning and execution of our route through the Yorkshire Dales. I very much enjoyed the whole experience of getting to know my group while learning new skills through the Duke of edinburgh award.

We were aware that the climb was going to be difficult, particularly from our experience on the Practice expedition, and so we wanted to draw from those experiences and do things more effectively this time. We set a slow, steady pace so

was very steep indeed. eventually we arrived at horton-in-ribblesdale which was the end of our expedition. at the end I was extremely tired but I really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from it.

Sophie Banks, Lucy Butterworth, Rebecca Howarth and Vladimir Djuric – Fifth Form Gold Qualifying Expedition in the Keswick/Braithwaite area of the Lake District

on our first day we started off enthusiastically, full of energy for what we knew would be a long and hard trip. The morning route was flat but getting used to the heavy bags made it more difficult and we stopped at every checkpoint to give our backs a short break from the weight; however, as we got on the bags became much easier to bear as our bodies

that we continued to walk all of the time and gained ground no matter how slow we were walking. This seemed to work. as we progressed on Starbottom Fell the weather worsened, adding to the struggle of the climb. There were strong winds which carried light rain making visibility limited and draining people further. The whole morale of the group dropped as people struggled… once we had conquered the climb of the day and were warmer with food inside us, the morale of the group lifted and smiles were beginning to be seen. as a consequence we made quick progress across the ridge to the trig point before descending to our campsite.

o ur third day of walking was much easier compared with the other days, but it too was still quite long and there were some parts which were very steep. This included the first stretch from Yockenthwaite which

had adjusted to the extra weight. o ur first major challenge came in the form of a very steep hill, and the climb was not helped by the rocky terrain and faint path. We were motivated until the top (750m), but upon reaching it our hopes fell again as we saw that our path went downhill just to go up steeply again! We marched on however and reached the top eventually. here we donned our jumpers as shelter from the wind to have a quick break and chat with the teachers at the top. reassured we had no more uphills to climb, we started happily again but not long after emotions had fallen again as we contemplated a steep downhill we had to descend. Feeling tired and eager to get to the campsite we slowly climbed down but I found it really hard and it made me feel queasy as well as making my legs shake. It was very challenging but we eventually reached the bottom where we

stopped to reenergise ourselves. We left in high spirits and managed to unexpectedly navigate our way to our first checkpoint without problems. Then the steep climbing began. along with showers of rain we struggled up the first hill, (Cat Bells, near Keswick) with short breaks making sure we stayed together as a team. The slope levelled out before lunch. This was a good thing as we had a chance to recover and enjoy our lunch before attempting to scale an even steeper hill. The next few legs were solid uphill, which really tested the group strength, and at times tempers were frayed. after feeling relieved to have reached the top, we looked down to see an almost vertical cliff face. Whilst some members of the group tried other methods of completing the descent, I attempted to spend most of the time on my feet. Being at the front of the group, it was daunting to know that if I put a foot wrong, I could be tumbling down the rest of the rocky 600m high hill. I envisaged a domino effect of us all falling down the hill – not a good idea. This difficult terrain set us back by an hour, but with the campsite only just over 2 km away, I wanted nothing more than to reach it. When we reached the path handrailing Buttermere Lake, I suddenly found a new burst of energy and my mood lifted. although we had 5km left to do these were by far the easiest and happiest of the expedition as we all knew that we would soon be finishing. Upon arrival in Bampton, the atmosphere was great since we had finished the expedition and could now enjoy our emergency rations!

Philippa Lucas, Amy Hiles and Tim Norton – Lower Sixth

Climbing Club

Many new pupils enjoyed regular lunchtime sessions whilst more advanced climbers met regularly after school to learn new techniques and develop their climbing strength.

S.C.C.

Community Service

This year in school there has been a greater emphasis on the value and benefit to the wider public in Worcester of Community Service. It now forms part of the Sixth Form Certificate, so pupils in the Lower Sixth have the option of fulfilling their requirements at a variety of places - acorns hospice, Fort royal School, various animal sanctuaries and wildlife projects, as well as Nunnery and St Clement’s Schools. Currently, two groups of approximately sixteen pupils are carrying out some form of help at the two schools.

With the increasing numbers of pupils participating in the Duke of edinburgh

award scheme this has led to a further demand for places on some form of Community Service. Some pupils choose to set up their own service in the area where they live, but an increasing number opt to do their Service Section helping out in Charity shops in Worcester, either after school or on a Saturday morning. at present there are eight students who have chosen this option.

With the idea of ‘a big society’ being voiced in government circles, it is important for our young people to realize that we have a role to play in society as a whole. If, in times of financial cut-backs, we can play our part in helping others less fortunate than ourselves, then we will have shown we are aware of the changes that are taking place all around us and we must never become blind to the needs of other people.

C.A.G-S.

Debating Society

ably led by anthony harding, Jonjo Mcardle and hannah Lambert, the Debating Society had a busy year packed with workshops, competitions and a wide range of debates on all manner of topics. anthony harding and Sam greenwood made it to the o xford Union Schools’ Competition Finals Day and four Lower Sixth students spent an intense and gruelling weekend at the Durham Schools’ Competition. hannah Lambert, georgie Taylor and anthony harding also entered the rotary Public Speaking Competition. Weekly in-house practice sessions included games and many a heated discussion on every controversial issue under the sun, from the dismantling of trident warheads to the banning of fast food. Debates were held in both the english Speaking Union Mace format and the more complex British Parliamentary format and great progress was made all round.

E.J.H.

Charity Committee

Yet again it has been an extremely busy and successful year for the school’s Charity Committee. ‘Pink Day’, a national event in aid of Breast Cancer research, kicked off the year, with the Sixth Form and many of the staff coming to school dressed in as

Archive Team members researching the School Registers

M. J. Keating with Mr Wilfrid Thomas at Bisley, 1953 after he had won the ‘Times Cup’.

Ellie Radley reading at Nunnery Wood

Fort Royal Garden Party

much pink as possible. The rest of the school were able to show their support by buying pink cakes, carnations and stickers.

The Fourth Form get to do their bit for charity by supporting ‘Jeans for genes Day’, another national event to raise awareness and money to support young people and families suffering the effects of genetic disorders.

one of our big events where the emphasis is on giving time rather than money is the party for elderly people from local sheltered accommodation. The guests are entertained by a variety of performers from across the school, including singers, dancers and actors and are then treated to a delicious spread of Christmas fayre, a raffle and a rousing rendition of Christmas carols.

Shrove Tuesday again saw the houses battling it out to be the winner of the prestigious Inter-house Pancake race, which took place in the playground, with loud support and donations collected from those watching.

Following the success of last year’s Sleep o ut for the Lower removes, we bravely decided to run it again. We were fortunately blessed with the same warm weather that we had had last year as over eighty pupils paid for the privilege to sleep under the stars to raise awareness of what life is like for the homeless and to support St John’s YMCa

The final event of the year was the party for the pupils from Fort royal School. The sun shone down as the pupils enjoyed bouncy castles, entertainment from a Punch and Judy man, dancing, sport and music. Following a lunch of burgers, hot dogs and ice cream the children had one last bounce on the castle or slide down the slide before they were taken (or in some cases, dragged) back to their school, tired but happy.

R.M.R.

Amnesty International

The amnesty International group continued to meet each Friday, joined by some new members from the Fourth Form. It took a full part in the Christmas greeting cards campaign and sent messages and appeals to more than a dozen countries. The highlight of the year was the aMNeSTea party, which was attended by more than seventy pupils, not only raising awareness but also raising £30 for amnesty’s work.

M.R.D.

Christian Union

The School Christian Union is an informal gathering of pupils of all ages, of any Church membership and none. We enjoy a mixture of games, chat and discussion and always consume a phenomenal number of biscuits – unless someone has brought cake instead!

We were glad this year to welcome several new Lower Sixth. In the first term

we started most of our meetings with a short, thought-provoking (some would say infuriating) film from the Nooma series. These gave rise to some interesting discussions on subjects such as, ‘Trying to hear god’, ‘Why would anyone go to church?’ and ‘What god thinks of us’. a highlight of the autumn term is always the annual collection of Shoeboxes for operation Christmas Child and this year pupils from King’s St alban’s were also involved so we had a record-breaking response. The huge haul of boxes piled high in the geography library has to be checked to make sure the contents comply with the regulations. It is always fun to see what they all contain and we were amazed by the great generosity of the many King’s families who had packed boxes brimming with special items to be sent to children around the world who would otherwise receive nothing at all at Christmas.

In the easter vacation we went for the first time to the newly re-opened gaines Centre near Bromyard. It was a treat for the leaders to relax and enjoy someone else’s cooking as the Centre is fully catered. The programme was arranged to be the culmination of our easter studies on the ten commandments and we had very good discussions ably led by the young staff at the Centre, amongst whom was oV andrew Wilson. There were plenty of opportunities for games and relaxation as well and we were blessed with lovely weather. Thanks go to Centre manager Ben Putt who led the programme, to DaJ who celebrated Communion for us on the Sunday and to all those who made the trip possible, ThK, SKS and Mrs Jones, whose presence on the trip meant we also had fun playing with the children, Keziah and robert.

M.A.K.

Classical Society

The Classical Society’s inaugural event was a talk in February delivered by Professor Michael Crawford on ‘Italy and rome: giving a voice to the voiceless’. It was well attended by our own students as well as guest students from other schools in the county. Dr Niall Livingstone from the Institute of archaeology and antiquity at Birmingham University delivered a talk in March on Drama and Democracy, once again leaving students with the notion that there is much to be learned about modern society through an appreciation of an ancient one. The final talk of the year was led, most ably, by eJh, who delivered an excellent presentation on the greek alphabet, replacing the scheduled speaker, Dr armand D’angour from o xford University, at extremely short notice.

Geography Fieldwork

In late September forty-six Lower Sixth geographers enjoyed three days of unseasonal weather on the gower. The purpose of the trip was to explore the magnificent geomorphological features of the peninsular and practise a variety of fieldwork skills. o xwich Bay hotel proved to be a successful venue for our stay, providing the party with excellent food and inspirational surroundings in equal measure. Time was spent analysing the characteristics of a stream, investigating the formation of sand dunes and understanding how climates of 120,000 years ago have helped shape the coastline of today.

Later in the year a lecture entitled Causes and Consequences of Flooding given in Malvern by Dr Paul Brewer of aberystwyth University was very well attended by King’s geographers. We were also delighted to

S.C.B.

Fourth Forms ‘Wrong Trousers’ day

welcome Dr Nick haycock (haycock associates) to the department when he gave a hydrology lecture illustrated by his recent research on the Cumbria floods. The Upper Sixth also visited optima Community housing in Birmingham where the Chief executive outlined the challenges of housing provision and showed us how the area has been regenerated.

S.C.C.

Kayak Club

Kayak Club continued on Wednesday evenings in the pool with an ever increasing number of pupils showing an interest. In october, eight students, Lucien Keegan, Matthew Price, Freddie Watts, Nathan evans, ross Wilkins, Daniel Mead and Thomas Clarke, gained their BCU 1 Star award with Dg on the lake at Upton Warren. In February, the weather did not

deter six students gaining their BCU 2 Star award at Upton Warren but this time in both kayak and canoes. They were Piers Watkins, rebecca Whitehouse, Tom Mills, ruari Smith-Cooper, eliot Jones and Nathan evans.

D.G.

Sub-Aqua

The Sub-aqua club continues to enjoy Tuesday evenings when pupils from the Lower removes and above are given the opportunity to experience a great sport. The Sub-aqua Club has trained pupils through their British Sub-aqua Club (BSaC) theory examinations and all children have passed the pool efficiency work. The pupils also completed their closed water skills in May and June when they dived at the abandoned quarry in Cromhall, gloucestershire. We were unfortunately beaten by circumstances and unable to undertake a coastal visit but we will be completing the BSaC ocean Diver qualifications when the good weather returns. It can be unpleasant diving in the winter!

The club is always looking for more members, qualified or not; present and past pupils, parents and oVs. The Sub-aqua Club begins its training of pupils from Lower removes and above in January. If interested please contact me: jbailey@ksw. org.uk

J.M.B.

News from the Mathematics Department

Pupils of all ages took part in the three

Mathematical Challenges, organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust. King’s pupils performed well in these gaining numerous gold, silver and bronze certificates. Certificates for ‘Best in School’ in each challenge went to David hui (Junior), alex Morgan (Intermediate) and Josh Crow (Senior). at Intermediate level alex, Peter Shepherd and andrew Lovelock were invited to participate in the Intermediate olympiad. They did very well indeed with andrew being awarded a merit and Peter a distinction! (Unfortunately alex was unable to take part due to his gCSe Drama commitments). at Junior level, David hui and Toby hill took part in the Junior olympiad.

at the end of the spring term, four pupils from the Lower removes and Upper Fourths (Joe Taylor, Tom DunnMassey, William Palmer and David hui) represented King’s in the regional final of the Maths Team Challenge. In a hard fought contest, King’s won, beating tough competition from Cheltenham College, Pate’s grammar and WrgS along the way. as a result King’s qualified, for the fifth time in the last six years, for the national final held in London on 21st June.

A.H.

The Comenius Project

o ver the past two years a small group of King’s pupils was involved in the Comenius project. This particular project joined us with two other european schools, one situated in Magdeburg, germany and the other in Versailles, France. The project, funded by the eU, was centred on the european education system and looked at possible improvements which could be made in order to give future generations a more fulfilling educational experience. o ver the course of the two years the pupils worked towards producing a manifesto which was presented to the european Parliament in June 2010 and which detailed how we would wish to improve the current education systems across europe.

In the first year pupils researched the

Ready to dive!

David Hui and Tom Dunn-Massey at the Maths Team Challenge

The three party leaders with The Lord Faulkner of Worcester

Alex Hirons in Magdeburg

Lower Remove Camps

educational experiences of a variety of people from the public. This was conducted across all three schools and their progress throughout the year was discussed at a series of different conferences held in each of the participating countries. Pupils designed questionnaires to help give them an idea of education experiences from anonymous people. From the differing results of questionnaires it was concluded that three parties should be formed, and these would battle it out in elections held in each school to decide the path the Comenius project would take. The red party would fight for each individual system in europe to be reformed and to stay different in all countries. The amber party would argue some subjects which do not differ with language and culture should be taught as part of a pan-european curriculum where as others such as native tongue and history should continue to be taught separately, keeping each country’s culture and individuality. The green party would support a pan-european curriculum, arguing it would benefit europe by allowing students to have qualifications recognised across europe.

The second year of the project began with the Comenius group looking at the various aspects of the english schooling system, at different types of schools as well as the pastoral system and extra curricular activities. This was in preparation for the Worcester Conference which took place from the 19th to the 22nd of october. here we met with pupils from Versailles and from Magdeburg who had been looking at the education system in their countries. The result of the conference was the finalisation of the three parties mentioned before. each country would have a branch of the party which would draft a manifesto. a final Manifesto for each party was created at the Magdeburg Conference from the 13th to the 17th of the February half term. on the 5th March the elections were held. The leaders of each Party, alex hirons - red, Matt Watts - green, and Sam greenwood - amber, had each spoken in College hall to outline their Manifestos as well as distributing posters and leaflets along with balloons and sweets. The amber party finished the campaigning with a flourish as they sent multiple paper aeroplanes down into College hall.

The elections results were surprising. having predicted an amber or red victory due to the possibly euro-sceptic nature of the school, we found that the greens had won with 44% of the vote with the reds and ambers receiving only 24% and 32% respectively. The turnout of the election was very pleasing – 72% of the school. The next stage was to complete a final

manifesto collating all Party Manifestos, leaning towards the green as they had the most public support. We also posted surveys to see exactly why people voted the way they did: most did so on policies but more of the younger years were influenced by the leaders themselves. This Manifesto was then taken to the final conference in Versailles where it was presented to the pupils from the other countries along with a report and analysis of our election. Then, in international groups using all three Manifestos, we decided on which points we wanted to be taken to the eU. The debate was fierce but in the end most were satisfied with our policies. The main features included the introduction of an eB – a baccalaureate specific to europe, compulsory two languages up to 16, the expansion of exchanges, pastoral care and extracurricular activities as well as the standardization of curriculum in Maths, Sciences and geography.

This Manifesto was then presented to the MePs of the respective areas, (Philip Bradbourne for West Midlands), who were very appreciative and promised to pass our Manifesto over for discussion by the eU education Commission. We then were given an insight into the working of the eU as we sat in on a session of the Parliament debating the appropriate reaction to the recent attacks on Palestinian aid boats to gaza.

The project has been a real experience and enjoyment for everyone involved and we would like to thank the teachers who made it possible- Mrs Vivian, Mr Mason, Mr Maund, Mr Williams, Madame Webb, Miss Mosley, Miss White and Mr Keyes and we would definitely encourage younger students to participate in the future.

Kate Shore and Jess Guilding Young Enterprise

a bumper set of applications from keen entrepreneurs in the new Lower Sixth back in September was followed up by each applicant going through an interview process and we eventually had sixty pupils forming five Young enterprise companies – the highest number we have ever had. Positions were appointed and company names decided on – Calibre, enigma, Iconic, K11 and reVert. The next task was to come up with a product idea. Some of the companies concentrated on having an initial product which would raise them some money to fund their long term project. By the time of the Christmas market in the Cathedral Cloisters all of the groups were well established and some of them made substantial sales.

In the New Year they started to concentrate on the competition side of

‘Iconic’

‘ReVert’ meeting

‘ReVert’ at H+W area final

‘Iconic’ beanies

‘ReVert’ at final

at Christmas fair

the Company Programme. This involved setting up their trade stands at the Spring Fair in the guildhall where they were judged on the stands and submitting a ten page report on their year so far. There were twenty companies at the Fair and the top six went through to a Presentation evening. Four of our companies went through – Calibre, Iconic, K11 and revert. This evening was held at the West Mercia Police headquarters at hindlip and there were some outstanding presentations. Competition was very strong so we were delighted that Iconic and reVert were two of the three companies to go through to the next round – the herefordshire and Worcestershire area Final held at The Courtyard Theatre, hereford. reVert finished as runner-up that evening – the second best company in the two counties and also took the prize for the Most environmentally Friendly Company.

The companies have continued to trade and are just now coming to the end of the process, finishing by liquidating their companies. all of the pupils have been enthusiastic and have gained a lot from the experience. They were supported by JCV, eIL, Sh, rMr , eg, Meh and agD. Thanks must go to all of the local business advisors who give their time every week to come in and help the companies, and in particular to Worcester Bosch and Qinetic who continue to be a big support to the programme.

J.C.V.

Fantasy Football League

Sixty-one teams battled it out to become winners of The King’s School Fantasy Football League this season. In a hotly contested contest, Lee Jackson (U6) took the honours of School Champion with his team ‘In MoN We Trust’. Lee’s team finished in the top 0.5% in the country where over 100,000 teams took part. The runner-up place went to Matt Price and his team ‘red Chili Boys’, whilst third place was claimed by ‘Frosty’s XI’ managed by alan Frost (L6). Matt was also the Upper Fourth winner.

The other year group winners, where there were at least four teams, were edward Price’s ‘hatfield United’ in Year 5; george Caldicott’s ‘caldis soldiers*’ in Year 6; Stuart Lanigan’s ‘Lano’s Leopards’ in the Lower Fourth; Steve Walker’s ‘The Blues’ in the Lower remove and gLW’s ‘albion rejects‘ from the staff. The Fa Cup competition was won by IF from the Junior School staff with his team ‘The Small Frys’.

A-M.S.

Engineering Education Scheme

From october to april four students from the Lower Sixth worked with Monosol (a company which manufactures water soluble films in hartlebury) to solve a tricky engineering problem.

anthony Lock, Ben engström, Josh Wickens and Stuart Whitehouse were taking part in this year’s engineering education Scheme, the aim of which is to give Year 12 students a good idea of how engineers plan and carry out a project. Their task was to design a modification to the way in which aerosil, a very fine fumed silica powder, is automatically added during the mixing phase during the manufacture of water soluble films. What sounds easy in theory proves to be difficult in practice as the hot gases in the mixing vessel tend to blow outwards whenever the feed valve is opened; this wastes the aerosil and causes the factory to be covered in a thin layer of powder. after much brainstorming their solution uses a piston to force the powder in and a series of one way valves to ensure

that none is lost. They wrote up their project in a report which was judged by a panel of five engineers from companies based in the West Midlands, then presented their ingenious solution at this year’s eeS celebration and assessment day held at Cranmore Park, Solihull in May.

It proved to be a valuable experience for all four students as well as giving them some relevant things to discuss on their university applications.

Robotics Club

This has been another successful year for this popular Fourth Form activity. There seems to be no limit to the imagination and ingenuity of the new starters each year, especially once they have been persuaded that the robotic devices should be built to do useful tasks rather than destroy each other. This year’s First Lego League competition was held in Liverpool and two teams made up of students from the Upper Fourth and Lower remove took part. Both teams did really well to make the semi-final in the challenge competition with David hui’s creation achieving the highest score of the day. Matthew richards, repeating his success from last year, was awarded the first prize in the presentation section. as always the teams were keen to do better next year.

I.C.R.

The Fete

The King’s School Fete took place on May Day and was opened by Worcester Warriors star Miles Benjamin. The school grounds were packed with thousands of Bank holiday visitors enjoying around one hundred stalls, the majority manned by school pupils keen to raise funds for the fete’s chosen charities: The Maggs Day Centre, The Noah’s ark Trust, the Worcester Breast Unit appeal and the King’s Foundation. as usual the giant Slide was a big attraction as was the Bungee Challenge, whilst the hawford Maypole Dancing certainly drew the crowds. The weather was kind and there was a real buzz about the site, from the plethora of King’s St alban’s stalls in the gardens to the School house area full of imaginative and well-run Fourth Form stalls. The houses competed for business on College green whilst the rowing and himalayan Clubs also got involved, as did a lively and impressive choir including a good number of King’s teachers. all in all, the fete was a superb foundation event which raised over £16,000. The event’s success is down to a huge amount of work

I.C.R.

The EES team

Anthony Lock and Josh Wickens at Cranmore Park

from a lot of people and our thanks go to everyone on and involved in the King’s School Parents’ Committee.

R.A.C.

Cathedral Bell Ringing

The set-up in the cathedral’s bell ringing teaching room continues to get increasingly impressive. In addition to the eight, computer-linked dummy bells there is now a clever gadget that can make one of the dummy bells feel lighter or heavier and also eight real bells mounted on a “tree” which will eventually be rung via the bell-ropes and computers. Inspired by all of this technical wizardry, and the promise of a trip to old St Martin’s to ring the ten new bells there when they are installed in the new year, a growing contingent of pupils now regularly brave the long climb up the cathedral tower. The group now numbers eighteen ringers from the Upper Fourth to the Fifth Form and, while some are still developing their bell-handling skills, others are now competently ringing rounds or ringing along to the abel computer package. Several pupils have also taken up the invitation to start attending the main cathedral practice on a Monday evening and to support the ringers at their summer barbeque. For some though, perhaps the main highlight of the year was pulling pints on the bell ringers’ real ale and cider stall at the school’s summer fete. Special mention must be made of our thanks to the tower captain, Mark regan, and the half-a-dozen or so members of the Cathedral guild who so generously give up their Friday lunchtimes to coach our pupils.

D.A.J.

Careers

Media Day in February lived up to its name with several oVs returning to talk about their careers in publishing, marketing, screen writing, radio broadcasting and journalism. In a mixture of lively and informal workshops, students were set various challenges, which included composing headlines for The guardian, working on the page layout for Country Life, pitching ideas for an advertising campaign and deciding the running order for a radio programme. We were fortunate to be joined by robert Crampton from The Times who spoken entertainingly about his work as a feature writer and columnist.

Careers talks included a very well attended 8.30 a.m. talk on law, courtesy of Parkinson Wright, City finance and forensics. Marti Perry (oV) spoke about her Year In Industry, and anthony Lock (U6) spoke with great enthusiasm to potential engineers from the Lower Sixth about the headstart course he had attended as part of work experience.

once again, Lower Sixth students were presented with a variety of challenges and workshops at the annual Business Conference run by Pat Preston. Twelve advisers (several of them oVs) joined us for the day and we are most grateful to them for their time, enthusiasm and experience. This was followed by the entire year group visiting Bristol University for its open Day, with the opportunity to sit in on various lectures and presentations.

as part of their PShe Day, the Lower remove carried out an online questionnaire using a Careers package called KUDoS. They identified personal skills and aptitudes and researched a variety of careers where these attributes were of value. The Fifth Form completed PreVIeW, a series of aptitude tests and an interests questionnaire which were then analysed to produce individual reports recommending certain career areas and a level choices. The Lower Sixth completed CeNTIgraDe, a package designed to help them explore

suturing purposes) as well as a torso, a heart, blood pressure cuffs and baby monitoring equipment. o ver one hundred and fifty students will take part and our thanks go to the numerous advisers who have given up their time to make this day possible. We are especially grateful to Dr Saib Khogali who has advised us throughout.

researching parliamentary questions (which were then used in the house), designing shoes, helping install a pop up Stella McCartney outlet at 7 am in Selfridges, cataloguing lichen and writing short foreign news items for The Sunday Times were some of the challenges which awaited Lower Sixth students on work experience. Special needs schools, hospitals, law firms, local businesses and engineering companies also offered places and as always we are very grateful both to them and to parents who help with placements. If you are able to provide any help with work experience or careers talks, please do contact us.

appropriate university courses. Students intending to study medicine at university have been well served this year: firstly by a round of helpful advice on the application process, followed by mock interviews given by two professionals in the field (our thanks to former King’s parent Dr Ian Pennell and present parent Professor Steve Watson for sharing their expertise) and again with our second healthcare Conference, scheduled to take place at the end of Science Week in mid-November. This all-day event sees local schools and colleges joining us for a diverse programme of inter-active talks and presentations, alongside practical workshops on adult and child nursing, surgery, general practice, dentistry, speech and occupational therapy and mental health. We have been promised a suitcase full of arms (for

Media day – working on an advertising campaign

a large percentage of our Upper Sixth leavers take a gaP year. This year, several joined institutions like Procter and gamble through the excellent Year in Industry scheme which allowed them to experience the world of work and to earn money. others took the opportunity to study another language, undertook work experience or did worthwhile voluntary placements. all report that they have gained a real sense of satisfaction, an increase in confidence and self-reliance and that they feel prepared for the independence of university study as a consequence. Three students returned to King’s at the start of the year to talk about their gap year experiences.

Planning has started for an engineering Conference (in February 2011) and a Law Day (in November 2011).

Helen Isaacs

t ravel

Himalayan Club

Over the summer forty two students, six teachers and three doctors spent a month in india, spending three weeks trekking in Northern ladakh, followed by a week of sightseeing.

Our first task after arriving at Delhi was to make our way north to the start of our trek through manali onto Darcha. This proved easier said than done; on the first stage of the journey the train was delayed by several hours due to flooding, and the bus broke down three times, resulting in over twenty four hours spent journeying. During the second part of our journey, this time in jeeps, we were delayed for around five hours on the rotang Pass as a petrol tanker had slid off the road in a landslide and there was a danger of explosion. everyone was very glad to revert to the more reliable form of transport - our own feet!

The trekking was an amazing experience; huge blue skies, sheer mountains sides topped with craggy snow-capped peaks and the multitudinous streams and rivers dotted across the whole landscape. We were looked after by an eighteen-strong crew, who woke us every morning with the sing-song call of “Tea-coffee” and were in charge of the eighty ponies, required to transport all our kit. each day these eighty ponies had to come past ussometimes necessitating us clinging to the sides of the mountains to let them through. in total we crossed eight high passes; two over 5000m, the first of which was only three days into the trekking; however the amount of snow up at those heights created breath-taking views and made for an exciting route down! a day was also spent visiting Phugtal Gompa, one of the oldest monasteries in ladakh - we had a chance to look round the monastery, impressively carved out of the cliff, and were given the privilege of viewing the monks’ prayer room - full of detailed tapestries and ornate statues. On the rest days, particularly at Padam, the boys used the time to challenge the crew to india v england cricket. While a good proportion of the games were won by the crew, led by their tempestuous captain rishi, the boys’ warm-up routine of morris dancing led them to win the crucial evening game, watched by the entire campsite and several of the people of Padam.

Just after halfway we spent time at the small mountain village of Pissu, where we gave out half of our “Kiddy bags”; a selection of toys and games that we had brought with us, to the children. as well as these we also gave the villagers a part of the money we had raised before leaving. They decided to use this to pay for painted wooden panels to complete their new prayer room; in the villages the prayer room is very important as it is their belief that a prosperous-looking prayer room will also make their lives prosperous. in return the villagers treated us to a cultural evening with tribal dancing and singing, along with a lamb, which was a welcome addition to our (normally vegetarian) curry. From Pissu we continued on our trek, making our way over the rest of the string of passes before reaching our final camping site in the village of Wanlu. There we had our final night party- a memorable occasion for all, involving dancing to the crew’s traditional music accompanied by a drum, a teachers’ rendition of Himalaya (to the tune of

Crossing the bridge to Phuktal monastery

With local children

mamma mia)!

The end of trek brought us to leh. There we visited Druk White lotus School in Sheh, a town nearby, which was an environmentally conscious school. The remainder of our money was donated here in order to provide bursaries to allow poorer village children to attend the school. We spent time with the children, playing and talking to them; the Hokey-cokey proved very popular! However whilst we were in leh, cloudbursts struck, resulting in heavy flooding and the washing away of the lower end of town, resulting in over one hundred deaths. all flights were cancelled that day. Nevertheless we were lucky enough, due to the hard work of our group leader Neeraj, to get on a flight the next day and so were able to reach Delhi in time to visit the Golden Triangle. However as soon as we had access to newspapers we had a shock as we saw the front page news; Druk White lotus School was badly damaged by the flood waters which had swept through just hours after we had left. This really brought home to us the severity of the danger that we, fortunately, had been able to escape.

The last week was spent residing in five-star hotels, indulging in the glorious food provided and visiting the attractions of the Golden Triangle - the Taj mahal and the amber Fort at Jaipur to name but a few. a highlight for many of us was the elephant ride up the slope to reach the bottom courtyard of the amber Fort. Sadly though the time quickly came around for us to depart and we embarked on our journey home. While we were all pleased to see our parent s again - a “Welcome Home” banner had even been strung up at the bus bay, i’m sure for all of us the experience of india is one we will never forget; the mental and physical endurance that was needed, the teamwork that helped us climb that last little bit, the joy at the sighting of camp at

the end of a day of hard trekking, the astounding and beautiful sights and the visible poverty, particularly on the streets of Delhi, making us realise just quite how lucky we are.

a big thank you to all parents who supported us, the doctors who looked after us and all the teachers who came with us, especially John Walton, who helped to make it a truly amazing trip.

Kate Shore

German Christmas Markets

at 9 pm on the last day of the autumn term, five staff, twenty six pupils and ten parents set off for a visit to the christmas markets in cologne. Following a long overnight journey in the coach we arrived in cologne and most headed straight for the chocolate Factory to find out how chocolate is made and to purchase some presents for family and friends. From there it was on to the christmas markets themselves, where all manner of gifts and decorations were on offer. lunch for many was sausage of one kind or another, followed by waffles or crepes and washed down (for the adults only) by a warming glass of Gluhwein (mulled wine). Some people braved the cold to return to the markets at night, whilst the rest enjoyed table football in the hostel. The return journey the following day included a visit to a big shopping centre near calais, where we were able to spend the rest of our euros, and we arrived back in Worcester that evening tired but having had a thoroughly wonderful time.

R.M.R.

Senior Skiing

Thirty three students and four staff travelled to Saalbach in austria as soon as term ended in December. as expected, british airways changed

our departure flight time as they consolidated their flights. as dreaded, they cancelled our return flight four hours before we were due to take off! in the interim, great snow and weather conditions made for an excellent week. There were a number of notable achievements throughout the week but topping the table was Tom Wilde’s first place in the downhill race. This was the second time in two years that he had outperformed his opposition to win this honour. We all watch this space for news on how he reacts under the pressure of making it three in a row! it was a thoroughly enjoyable week for all with excellent austrian Ski School instruction in an extensive and beautiful resort. No-one can wait for the next trip! Oh – we made it home with only a five hour delay too!

C.W.S.W.

Italy

The classics Department led a party of forty pupils and five staff to italy in the easter holiday to discover the legendary classical sites on offer there. We started in rome with the colosseum, awesome in the daylight and beautiful when floodlit on an evening visit. The roman Forum and Pantheon were next on our itinerary as were the not so ancient sights of the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We managed to fit in a visit to the site of Osta; once upon a time rome’s seaport but now some miles inland. much quieter than rome and easier to cover in an afternoon than Pompeii, it is a gem that many miss when visiting rome. The second leg of the tour moved south to the amalfi region, where our base was the tranquil seaside resort of Sorrento. From there we made excursions to Pompeii, Herculaneum and the island of capri, haunt of the rich and famous. One of the highlights of the trip was the climb up mount vesuvius where one couldn’t fail to appreciate the destructive force of this

At the Taj Mahal

volcano on the nearby towns in aD 79. busy days out were balanced with evening strolls in Sorrento, where pavement cafes, ice creams and souvenir shopping turned a school trip into more of a holiday experience.

S.C.B.

French Exchanges

Lower Sixth

SeH and JlO accompanied thirteen lower Sixth Formers to reims during the first week of the easter holiday. The travel arrangements were excellent and the eurostar was on time, as were all the other trains. During the week, which was blessed with generally good weather, we visited Paris for a whole day, which included a museum of their choice, the eiffel Tower and some free time. We also visited the basilica of reims and the city itself. a further excursion was made to Épernay to visit the champagne House of mercier, where the pupils familiarized themselves with the champagne making process and stood on the main street in Épernay which must be one of the richest pieces of real estate in the world. We went to the famous (in France) Fossier biscuit factory where we witnessed the biscuit-making processes and then sampled a variety of the products before buying most of the factory shop.

We attended a few lessons and the rest of the time was spent perfecting French accents in the company of partners. all in all the trip was a great success, as our pupils all behaved themselves and enjoyed the cultural and linguistic experience, not to mention the gastronomic highlights of French school and packed lunches!

J.L.O.

Upper Remove

Thirty-one upper remove students and four staff spent six days in Worcester’s twin town, le vésinet. it is just thirty miles from Paris travelling into Paris was tremendously easy. We visited many tourist destinations, including The eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré coeur, versailles and The louvre. The views from the eiffel Tower were sensational and we were able to see for miles along the river Seine. During the trip we spent a weekend with our host families which was great, because all the students were able to bond with their partners. Some were lucky enough to get taken to Park Disneyland.

This visit was a real success, not only from the academic point of view but also the fact that many students created good bonds with their partners.

Jessica Longley

Spanish Exchange

last easter we took twenty pupils for a week to Zaragoza, the capital of the province of aragon in north-east Spain. We travelled from birmingham to barcelona by air and made the onward trip to Zaragoza by coach, arriving in the early evening ready for our pupils to have a full weekend with their host families.

We had a wonderful first week with a visit to the aljaferia palace built in the moorish style and now serving as the parliament for the regional government. Other visits in Zaragoza included the two cathedrals and guided tours of sites of cultural and historic interest. We spent a full day visiting barcelona; barcelona Fc, las ramblas, the gothic quarter and the Sagrada Familia cathedral.

Skiers in Saalbach

Amphitheatre at Pompeii

Lower Sixth enjoy Paris

Other trips were to loarre castle in the foothills of the Pyrenees and an outdoor adventure centre where our pupils had a fantastic afternoon participating in a high-wire activity, not for the fainthearted or those suffering from vertigo!

We were due to return after a week but our stay was unavoidably lengthened due to the unexpected tantrums of a certain volcano in iceland. We must thank our Spanish host families for their excellent hospitality and generosity in allowing us to stay on for an extra five days. after a lot of rearrangement of travel plans we eventually returned by coach via France to where we took the ferry to Dover and finally on by coach to Worcester. it was a long, arduous journey but all were very thankful to arrive back safely at a very difficult time for all travellers, eager to get home.

The trip was very successful and enjoyed by all. We shall obviously be adding volcanic eruptions to our next trip’s risk assessment!

Memmingen Exchange

Having already met our exchange partners in england over easter, the thought of spending two weeks in Germany was somewhat less daunting. However, as we pulled up to the Striegel Gymnasium in memmingen to meet our partners, the nervous anticipation rose again. became quite clear, very quickly, that being able to tell someone how to get to the train station, or being able to describe your appearance in great detail, was not going to come into much use. We were thrown in very much at the deep end, and for me that was the best way to get a better grasp of the language. There were many highlights of the trip for me, living with a totally different family to your own, getting to know your exchange partner a lot better, and the various day trips. i will fondly remember being dragged up a verY high mountain only to find that the magnificent view at the top, was completely hidden by fog. However, getting to see the very old tradition of Fischertag, going into munich, speeding down a mountainside on a go-kart, and going to school with the Germans was a lot of fun, and i feel my German has improved greatly. i would say to anyone, if it is offered, don’t turn down the opportunity of an exchange, as it is a fantastic experience and a great chance to get to live in the different culture of another family.

its traditional trip to the alps for a week in Northern ireland. commitments to other trips and tours affected the availability of many pupils so an alternative venue suitable for a smaller party was found. initially this new destination lacked the “wow” factor reserved for foreign travel but this was soon to change and by the end of the trip pupils realised how much our own country has to offer.

as we drove off the ferry magazines were cast aside and ipods put away as our twenty five minute journey to the hotel was a field trip in itself. Familiar road signs, architecture and driving on the left reminded us that we were still in the united Kingdom but there was a distinct feeling of being abroad: the political murals, the spaces where buildings once stood, the memorials, the accent, the flags. it was refreshing to see the group take a healthy interest in their surroundings and ask lots of questions.

it now attracts tourists it is still in use today and gates are locked at night to prevent “troubles”. at the end of our tour many questions had been answered but with this knowledge came more questions. it was terrific to see the group engage with their surroundings, although i think a few of the girls wanted to hear aiden’s accent again!

The rest of our stay involved a trip on the river lagan to see the Titanic Shipyards, visits to the centre of belfast to see the £400 million victoria Square redevelopment, a study of the rather depressed seaside resort of bangor, and two stunning visits to the coast.

Jo Stormonth Darling

To provide fuller answers the following morning we met aiden for a private tour of belfast city. This was an instant hit as we swapped two school

The highlight was undoubtedly our excursion along the antrim coast where features and processes were identified and the mystery of the Giant’s causeway unravelled. legend has it this World Heritage Site was the handy work of Finn maccool, an irish giant, who constructed a causeway to Scotland so he could invite benandonner, his opposite number, for a fight. a walk along the cliff top and a detailed look at the

Loarre Castle, Spain

Geographers ‘on tour’

Visit to former monastery outside Memmingen

causeway itself helped to reveal the true story which involved sixty million years of geological history. The party found the true explanations as impressive and exciting, albeit more complicated, than the legend. links to work previously done in class helped with their understanding but being able to see and touch the landscape made things much more vivid.

To complement the work, leisure time was spent at lisburn Waterpark, playing football on the beach, bowling at Dundonald and enjoying the wide variety of retail opportunities. We were well looked after in the hotel and despite some testing transport difficulties the trip was a huge success. i must thank cml and DNO for their invaluable help and a particular thank you to the pupils who were excellent company throughout. Their patience and co-operation were greatly appreciated.

as we left our hotel for the ferry port the scenes along Shankhill road and Falls road served as strong reminders of what we had come to experience. it was clear how moved the group had been in their search to understand the political geography of the area and fond memories of our visit were discussed during the eleven hour journey home. Northern ireland had achieved the “wow” factor.

S.C.C.

1st XI cricket tour to Spain

The cricket tour to Spain began with fourteen boys eagerly gathering in the school playground on a cold, wet spring morning. With only a handful of the boys having played any first team cricket before it was important for us to get some match practice before we started the season at home. Having arrived in albir our first game was against another touring school, St. Peter’s York. Having restricted them to a respectable score we made hard work of the run chase, only to be saved by ben O’Hickey who scored an impressive half-century on debut, allowing us to sneak home with one wicket to spare. The other two games against the local side , Sporting alfas cc, provided us with another couple of wins, making it three from three . Not a bad start to the season. We thought that would be the end of the tour but little did we know of the mayhem back home. as we heard of the volcanic ash disrupting air travel we naively thought that the media was blowing it out of proportion. When our flight was cancelled though, we really did start to worry. aaDG and JlO looked into every possible solution from staying put until we could fly home to getting a coach from southern Spain all the way back to

Worcester. luckily, we were able to get tickets for a ferry from bilbao to Portsmouth. The one night on the ferry proved eventful to say the least. With an onboard cinema and casino, it’s fair to say there was never a dull moment. Nevertheless we returned home, albeit a couple of days late, having played some good cricket, experienced Spanish nightlife and more importantly, bonded as a team. my thanks go to DPi for organising the trip and to aaDG and JlO for their coaching in Spain and heroics in getting us home!

Tom Bird

The First World War Battlefields

The great popularity of this trip was proved again this year with forty lower remove pupils able to make the four-day trip to northern France and belgium. There we visited a number of sites associated with the Great War of 1914-18, most connected to the experience of the british army and the units from the empire.

as in previous years, béthune was an excellent base from which to reach locations around Ypres, the Somme and arras, and we followed a wellestablished programme. We saw cemeteries, such as Tyne cot, the largest commonwealth War Graves cemetery in the world; we studied memorials, such as Thiepval to the missing of the Somme; we visited museums, such as ‘in Flanders Fields’ where the exhibits gave a great insight into various aspects of the war; we walked some battlefield sites, such as beaumont Hamel with its craters and trenches, scene of terrible losses for the Newfoundland regiment in July 1916. The variety of these sites allows many aspects of the war to be studied, from the experience of the troops to battlefield tactics, and from the plight of civilians caught up in the war to the remembrance of those killed in the fighting.

Once again our pupils showed a very great interest in these topics; they took time to study what was presented to them and took part very constructively when opportunities for discussion were provided. They did the School great credit, but also demonstrated that this war continues to evoke fascination and sympathy amongst a

Cricket in Spain

At Tyne Cot cemetery

younger generation nearly one hundred years after it began.

We had the chance for a slight historical diversion on our final day when we visited la coupole, near St Omer, on our return to calais. This site, built by the ‘Todt Organisation’ during the Second World War, was intended as a base from which to launch v-2 rocket attacks on southern england. it houses an excellent museum, not only about rocket development, but also about the experience of civilians in northern France during both world wars. The comparison of what happened in this this area in the two conflicts was very interesting, not least because it remains a relatively unexplored part of the history of the First World War.

The History Department was able to field a different staffing line-up from recent years, with the welcome addition of lKW and a JF, largely as observers this year, but who will both be keen to play a leading role with groups in future. We also welcomed SeH, whose language skills came in very useful during a visit to the local a&e department. a JF’s physical presence was also appreciated when a prisoner from a local gaol was brought in for treatment at the same time! lKW’s gravity-defying maltesers trick was, arguably, of less practical value, but she did prove her worth

with the camera. Once again, PTG’s meticulous historical research and production of guides for the locations visited added immensely to the whole experience for pupils – and probably for interested parents on our return! i should like to thank these staff for helping make the trip run so smoothly, but no less i should like to commend the pupils for the part they played in this too.

T.R.S.

Having finished her GcSes, Becky Howarth is now studying at a college in india.

Here she describes her early experiences… On the 5th may i discovered that, after a competitive selection process, i had been awarded a scholarship to represent britain, alongside just one other british student, at mahindra united World college of india (muWci). muWci is one of thirteen united World colleges distributed across the globe which bring together young adults from diverse backgrounds on the basis of merit and regardless of financial income. and so here i am in india, five months later and feeling very glad that my curiosity of the world and cultures outside Worcestershire inspired me to apply. at muWci i am studying the international baccalaureate, leading and participating in

community engagements on and off campus in the spectacular setting of the maharastra mountains and living alongside peers from all over the globe.

With such a diverse range of backgrounds there are naturally a lot of opinions and views within the college and we as a student body really do make the most of this. We hold regular meetings to discuss Global affairs. For instance i and a few other students recently organised one on the india-Pakistan conflict to inform and to provoke and it certainly did provoke a response, not only amongst the indian students, many of whom had a developed and passionate view on the issue, but also from other countries. i think it is from situations like these when you participate, debate and listen to many angles of relevant issues that you learn the most and mature the way you think and respond in the future. another aspect of the college which i particularly love is the range of languages spoken around the college. While studying at King’s i really enjoyed studying French and Spanish and so it is great to be able to chat to French and Spanish-speaking friends on a daily basis and utilise what i have been taught. also, i have found i have picked up words from other

languages from just hearing them being spoken around campus especially Hindi. i don’t want to be a tourist in india and i want to be able to involve myself fully in community engagements off campus and so i feel learning india’s national language is the first step at attempting to submerge myself in their culture.

Since being in india i feel i have become a lot more aware of the ‘british culture’. This is a bizarre statement to make but true never the less. Things that i felt were normal and arbitrary back home suddenly stand out and become abnormal. For instance….i don’t know……. eating rice with a folk rather than a spoon, writing with a fountain pen or perhaps my accent which i had never even registered before but which here sounds very ‘english’ . Your eyes and ears really do open up and you find yourself looking at situations from different angels. likewise the abnormal does become normal and i have found myself quickly adapting to a new way of life. Now and again, however, i do step back and suddenly realise what a truly unique place i am in and opportunity i have. i suppose spending a Saturday scaling a mountain alongside a German and indonesian and then cooking cinnamon waffles at 1:00 in the morning with a brazilian, South Korean and a Honkongese is hardly the ‘norm’.

At Tyne Cot cemetery with PTG

Becky Howarth

Rugby

1st XV

The 1st XV had a mixed season, playing some good rugby at times. They scored sixty four tries and scored twice as many points as they conceded. They started the season strongly with promising wins in pre-season against Loughborough grammar School and radley College. This form continued against KeS Birmingham when the team showed great determination to come from behind twice to win the game.

Unfortunately in other close games we struggled to take the opportunities that came our way. games against Solihull, Cheltenham and WrgS were all lost by three points or less.

The squad lost a number of key players due to injury for significant periods of time which made it hard to build momentum through the season. This did however give a number of Lower Sixth players the opportunity to gain valuable first team experience.

one of the strongest aspects of our game was the scrum which put us on the front foot throughout the season. Jack Maymon and Matt raven were the cornerstones of this success, but did not always get the decisions in key games that they deserved. This was most evident against a strong old Swinford team when the pack was dominant at the scrum, causing the opposition to pop up on a number of occasions.

harry Nuttall and greg Campion (vice captain) both played with great consistency, leading by example with their carries and defence. harry had a particularly impressive season as a Fifth Former, going on to represent england Under 16s.

The back line had a number of strong runners that caused problems for teams through the season. Joe hale was a good source of going forward while the captain ollie greenhill made frequent line breaks, scoring a number of key tries. Unfortunately in the close games the line breaks made were not always converted and this was particularly the case against WrgS and Cheltenham.

harry Iddon and Joe Senior also deserve a mention for their consistent performances.

Results

Played 18 Won 11 lost 7

KeS Fiveways

h Won 42-10

KeS Birmingham h Won 24-21

Solihull a Lost 12-15

KeS Camphill h Won 48-3

Warwick a Lost 7-36

Malvern College (Daily Mail) h Won 32-10

KeS Stratford h Won 26-5

Monmouth h Lost 5-17

Chase (Daily Mail) a Won 45-3

KeS aston a Won 47-3

Chase hS h Won 34-5

Cheltenham College a Lost 11-13

Prince henry’s evesham (Daily Mail) h Won 43-6

Bristol gS h Won 13-3

old Swinford (Daily Mail) a Lost 0-25

Bishop Vesey’s a Won 22-13

WrgS a Lost 0-3

Clifton College a Lost 6-32

My thanks to Ca and SMB for their hard work and support throughout the season. I would also like to thank aJF and aaDg for their efforts at pre-season, and the ground staff who produced fantastic playing surfaces for all the age groups.

Preston Shield

Most improved player – Jack Maymon

Surman Cup Services to the rugby Club – Joe Senior

J.J.M.

1st VII

The sevens season got off to a cold start with the first three sessions taking place in deep snow. Unfortunately this continued when it came to the tournaments with Brecon being called off due to poor conditions.

The Marches competition got off to a good start with an impressive win over Coleg Sir gar to win the group. We went on to beat WrgS in the next round with ross attwood scoring a good individual try to win the game. In the quarter final we lost to Plymouth College in a close game that could have gone either way. at Solihull we found ourselves in a strong group losing to old Swinford by two points and Stowe by a try. We followed this with two strong wins before losing in the plate semi-final with a disappointing performance. With the North of england tournament came more frustration. We played some good rugby scoring a number of strong team tries but failed to hold on to the leads we had established, losing close games to Trent College and Wirrall gS. Seb Jamous scored five tries in the three games to reinforce his growing confidence.

The King’s tournament at Droitwich rFC saw the best and worst of our sevens. We played extremely well and dominated a Cheltenham side in the first game before comfortably progressing to the quarter finals. Unfortunately we lost all of our shape and control against Bromsgrove.

With the National Sevens came the consistency we had been looking for all season. With good contributions throughout the squad we won all four group games scoring twenty two tries. The last thirty two game against Christ’s hospital brought with it the best performance of the season. We dominated the opposition winning 36-0 and moved the ball to great effect. The squad had a well earned night’s sleep before coming back for the last sixteen game the following day.

The oratory provided stiff opposition but we scored two good tries through ollie greenhill and Jamous’ twenty fifth try of the campaign to lead 14-7. Unfortunately we could not get over the line again despite creating some good opportunities. Seb made a clean break through the middle and but for a last gasp ankle tap would have been under the posts. The oratory took their chances well to take them into the next round.

The squad at its best played some impressive rugby, moving teams around and putting players in space. Six of the squad that played at the National Sevens will be with us next season which bodes well for Sevens at King’s.

J.J.M.

Joe Senior and Ollie Greenhill on the attack

2nd XV

Played 11, won 5, lost 6

The season started early with pre-season training alongside the 1st XV for the first time. The seconds fared quite well and things looked promising but a plethora of injuries to first team players early in the run of fixtures saw a rather depleted team take to the field in a number of matches. Johnny howard, James Doorbar and David haddock had brief outings with the side

before being whisked away to the first squad, never to be seen again. The return to rugby of Tom Bird from his cricketing exploits did help to fill the gap though Josh Crow overcommitted himself and was released to spend more time on his acting career. We lost the first three fixtures and we also lost the returning Ben Fardon, who had been out with a toe injury, and Tom Cluett, who were both concussed in different but equally brave incidents, against a very big strong Warwick side. Two wins and two losses showed good progress around half term and with the return of the swift, fleet-footed andrew Chung and the hard tackling Matt Watts we were looking in good shape.

on the worst ever day for rugby, in gale force winds and teaming rain we scraped a win against Bristol as well as sneaking past Cleeve in a 6-5 thriller on a more pleasant Wednesday afternoon. Things were on the up! o ur gritty and determined rugby certainly made us difficult to beat but we also had great difficulty in scoring. alex roberts became our top try scorer with four while alex alderson had by far the best try-to-game ratio, scoring two from three games, and he was a Fifth Former and a prop! So the titanic struggle against WrgS was always on the cards, where we encamped on their try line, failed to score, got one early penalty and sneaked a win 3-0. even so there were some good performances from players to look out for next year. Daniel Brookes in the second row should be a line-out must if he doesn’t talk himself out of contention. The strong ed Scott-Dickens and Bill Webster and the energetic Peter raybone, who was injured late in the season, should bolster the first team pack, whilst Matt Watts will be a certainty in the centre. of the leavers we must mention the ‘water-boy come good’, James De Cothi, the man-mountain who became a prop, hiten Patel and rory Smith–Cooper who ably captained the side in what was an enjoyable and reasonably successful season.

S.M.B.

Under 16 XV

This season could best be described as ‘challenging’. Without dwelling upon the loss of players to the 1st XV, the squad found themselves having to rally around in the hope of filling holes. and rally around they did – with some vigour. It was never going to be an easy season but the squad, to a man, fronted up and met all opposition with vigour, aggression and spirit. The boys trained well throughout the season and always picked themselves up after a battle. No team dominated our matches and when we lost, it was often by the narrowest of margins. a very strong front five provided a powerful base in the scrums and a tenacious back row often won us valuable possession. Quick and resolute half backs would run the games, feeding the fast three-quarters with only the best ball and winning valuable field position from slow ball. It would be impossible to name individuals as this season was all about the team effort. Congratulations to the boys for their endeavour.

Under 15 XV

The side enjoyed a successful season, finishing with a strong record of won 10, lost 6. They played an attractive brand of rugby which was built on solid foundations laid from the often unsung heroes of the forward pack. Players such as Noah Broadbent, Ben airdrie and Jonny Bywater worked tirelessly in both defence and attack and often shed some blood for the cause. The team was led well by george Jeavons-Fellows and directed well by the half – back pairing of george De Cothi and george Preece. The team and many of the individuals clearly have a lot of potential and it was more than pleasing to see them begin to realise this in the latter half of the season, winning their last five games in a row and winning two Plates and a cup in the Sevens season. one player who excelled in Sevens and in a variety of positions in the regular season was wing David Serafini. Dave is a player who works hard as his game and does not take losing lightly. o verall this was a pleasing season and one that was enjoyed by coaches and players alike.

The B XV had a challenging season and often came up against strong opposition. Despite these challenges, two precious victories were gained against Solihull and, most notably, WrgS. The side was captained well by Toby Sitch who tirelessly worked to provide a link between backs and fowards. richard Clive proved to be a strong utility player and kicked three penalties against rgSao to secure a narrow, but deserved victory. Despite some heavy defeats the boys always showed character, team spirit and a good sense of humour both on and off the pitch. This was a credit to themselves and to King’s.

A.J.F./D.N.O.

Under 14 XV

This was a challenging season. a number of new fixtures come on board and our boys, keen and talented as they are, do not seem to be as big as boys from most other schools! The season got off to the worst possible start with a nasty wrist injury to winger Chris Colenso sustained during the final minutes of the warm up to the first game. Chris was sadly out for the season and the boys’ minds were with him and not on the pitch as this first game ended in

Michael Serafini breaks away from a tackle

Brother David (see above) does the same!

Under 15s’ Ali Hunt

a disappointing draw with KeS Birmingham. a poor performance followed at Solihull and, with a morale boost urgently required, we found ourselves away at Warwick, with disappointing but inevitable consequences. Throughout the season, the commitment to training and effort were laudable and a number of players made significant improvements. Brandon Wain always gave everything at scrum-half, punched above his weight in the tackle and made improvements in his distribution and decision-making while Joe Taylor excelled at flanker, showing pace, fitness and strength. Like all good open side flankers, he lived on or around the off-side line. Martyn Bowles grew in confidence as the season progressed and has pace, strength and the ability to run a devastating line; indeed, he has real potential. ryan Kitsen moved to full-back and excelled in the open spaces, counter-attacking dangerously and scoring a good number of tries whilst alex Parker worked hard on his fitness and started to make some effective contributions in the loose.

highlights were solid and professional wins against KeS Stratford and KeS aston and a brutal demolition of Bishop Vesey’s with Jo Taylor scoring four tries. The loss to rgS Worcester will rank as the low point of the season but there is potential to turn this, and other results, around next year. Indeed, the potential was shown in the Sevens season when a number of the players represented the Under 15s and performed well. at Under 14 level there were strong performances at the Solihull and Wellington tournaments and a glimpse of what this squad could achieve.

In conclusion, the team, captained by the reliable Will Dovey, were a pleasant and hardworking bunch, very coachable and eager to improve. If they can plug one or two defensively weak areas and get their more influential, and bigger, forwards to play a full game (and not go ‘missing’ during games), there is no reason why their win/loss ratio should not improve significantly next year.

The B XV suffered a frustrating and difficult season. The matches against Warwick and Cheltenham College were ‘man-against-boys’ competitions, where the physical size, allied to excellent individual and team skills led to crushing defeats. The other fixtures proved frustrating encounters when we undoubtedly matched, and in most cases exceeded, the opposition on skills, effort and attitude, but they had physically enormous players that were able to batter their way through in somewhat agricultural fashion; as a ‘Cherry and White’ supporter it was reminiscent of the gloucester pick-anddrive/rolling maul style from decades ago. on paper, it would be difficult to salvage many positives from the season, but, on the ground, it was tremendous to see the massive strides made by both individuals and the team, in terms of improvement of skills and execution, along with development of their understanding of the game. Their attitude could not be faulted; even when having been on the rack for over an hour and being many points down, they gave it their all, putting bodies on the line and grafting until the final whistle. Pivotal to this culture was the inspirational captaincy of Tom gorner who was totally both on and off the field.

R.A.C./M.J.N.

Under 13 XV

This was both an enjoyable and successful season. The boys played and trained as an extremely cohesive group, and all of the important fixtures were won. There had been concerns of serious holes in the team after the Sears twins left on a Kolpak deal to a country of dubious rugby playing tradition, but there had also been positive moves in the transfer market with ryan Kerley making the sensible decision and moving the correct way along the Tything, although as part of the sweetener to the deal, his father also turned up!

The season got off to a frustrating beginning with a loss to KeS Birmingham, despite having 90% of the ball and 98% of the territory we failed to turn this into points and were eventually punished. This, however, was not a story that was to repeat itself, and Solihull were on the end of a scintillating display the following week, with us being that far ahead at half-time that we played half the second period of the game with only thirteen players. The toughest game of the year was as usual against Warwick, but having been a little intimidated in the first half and conceding three tries, we then dominated the second period winning that half 7 – 0. The boys showed many qualities in this display, and they should hopefully learn much from the experience. The rest of the games before half -term were all won with a little to spare.

after the mid-season break normal service continued with wins over both Bristol and Monmouth away from home, the latter being a great game with us relinquishing a seventeen point lead, before finally winning 35 – 21. having lost narrowly away to WrgS as U12s, there was plenty of optimism ahead of the fixture, and this proved well founded with an accomplished 17 – 0 victory, in which the whole team was excellent. The team was led from the front by harry Bassett, whose own high standards were infectious on those around him. There is much potential within this group of players, and although they won’t all make the 1st XV eventually, there are some players who will play significant roles in the future of rugby at King’s. The Sevens season was long, hard and very rewarding. We reached the final at Blundells for the second season running, and although we lost, there was much to be proud of with plenty being learnt about both the game and personnel. We went to Berkhamsted for the first time; sixty four teams of a very high standard, another learning curve. at rosslyn Park we were by far the best side in our group, progressing to the knockout stages where we won our first game before losing in the last qualifying round to reach the second day. We started that game with two U12s and another two on the bench; an excellent effort and the youngsters should have picked up plenty of experience for their trip next year.

Under 13s in action

Under 12 XV

Unusually large numbers of boys practised and played for a, B and C XV teams this year. From the first games afternoon it was clear that strength in depth was going to be impressive, but with so many boys wanting and able to play it took a long time for staff to work out who were the strongest players in particular positions. although Warwick proved too good for the a team early in the term, Solihull, Monmouth, Bishop Vesey’s, Bristol gS and the King edward’s Schools at aston and Five Ways were all put to the sword and the autumn term finished in a more than satisfying fashion with a demolition of rgS Worcester. after Christmas, Monmouth (again) and oldswinford were beaten in style but the a XV’s second defeat of the season was inflicted by a much-improved Solihull side.

The team’s success was based on a hard-working and dynamic set of forwards who provided ample good ball for a skilful and intelligent set of three quarters. handling skills and close support work in particular were excellent and numerous staff from opposition schools went out of their way

to compliment our boys on the quality of their all-round play.

Fly half Josh Tongue combined well with centres Will hollis and Jake ham in a strong midfield and in the back three Nick hammond and Max Fellows were often outstanding in attack and defence respectively. of the forwards Ben richards was versatile and consistent, Kaushik rai and Tom Bassett worked incredibly hard, Nick Thomas always did the right thing and flanker Marcus Letori annoyed both opposition half backs and referees.

rJJ expertly and patiently guided the B team (which wasn’t far short of a normal season’s a team standard) to an undefeated season. his problems this year were getting everyone as much ‘game time’ as possible. It was pleasing too to see the high quality of players in the C XV and thanks must go to gLW for his help with this team and also to PTg for his invaluable assistance at practices.

D.P.I.

Football

1st XI

The beginning of the football season was as eagerly awaited as ever by the boys who had high hopes for the forthcoming fixtures. a number of players who would be pushing for first team places already had at least one year’s experience and we were confident of our chances for the season. Pre-season training had not been ideal preparation for us; two weeks of snow had meant that football skills had not been perfected; on the plus side the boys had enjoyed the opportunity to improve their accuracy at throwing snowballs. once the snow had melted and the grass reappeared we were pleased to get our opening game of the season underway against oldswinford. We started our first game brightly and played some attractive football, particularly in the midfield which was dominated by captain Joylon hale. Following a couple of chances for the hosts, King’s opened their account for the season thanks to a close range Dan Loader goal. on the balance of play we just about deserved the advantage at half time. In the second half, however, oldswinford were a different team and pushed forward strongly from midfield, levelling the scores early in the second half. They were much more dynamic than in the first and the pressure began to mount on the King’s goal. With five minutes to go, however, ross attwood scored after the defenders failed to deal with a free kick into the box. once the lead had been regained our confidence came back and we comfortably soaked up any remaining threat to get our season off to the best possible start. o ur second game was going to be a much tougher test than our first; to come away with anything from Clifton College is always a good result and we knew we would have to work hard for any share

of the spoils. We started brightly once again and could have been two up within the first ten minutes, but as the first half went on Clifton began to settle down and played some neat football. as they began to dominate large parts of the game, particularly in the second half, we worked hard to limit their chances. Poor finishing and a point blank save by James Doorbar in goal kept the scores at 0-0. Clifton made a number of goal scoring opportunities, and David Lewis and attwood looked a threat on the break for us, but neither team could make their chances count. With the game ending 0-0 we returned to Worcester pleased with a hard-earned draw. Things were looking encouraging for the team; our midfield was working hard, the defence battled well and the forwards looked threatening. o ur first defeat of the season came in what was our best performance to date, at home to The Chase. We added some spells of decent football to the determination we showed against Clifton. on balance, we matched a good footballing side and at times out-fought them. We found ourselves 2-0 up after the first ten minutes thanks to goals from ollie greenhill and David Lewis. The goals gave us confidence and a good tough contest followed as we played some of our best football. The Chase were handed a lifeline, however, when Joe Fowles tapped the ankle of the forward (who was going nowhere), although there was barely enough power behind the tackle to trip him up, but it was a penalty all the same, which was duly dispatched. It was disappointing to give away such a soft and needless penalty, but worse was to follow. an innocuous ball was played into the box and, following a call from our keeper, the defender left it. Unfortunately the keeper also left it and their centre forward suddenly found himself with the ball at his feet, in the six yard box and with an open goal. he couldn’t miss, and he didn’t. after working so hard and playing so well it was disappointing to be on level terms at half time after handing them two gifts. We continued to work hard and play good football in second half, but the visitors scored from a header that dribbled in at the far post and they wrapped the game up with a good powerful header from a corner. The game ended with a defeat that would have been at creditable draw, possibly more, were it not for two goals we threw away when we had complete control of the game. Defeat against The Chase might have been a little harsh, but it proved to be the first of four games in which we conceded at least three goals. We could have few complaints at a 3-0 reverse away to an impressive Malvern College side that ended the match strongly as our legs tired. after two straight defeats we needed an upturn in fortune, unfortunately the only luck we had was bad as we found out that our captain had broken his leg and would miss the rest of the season. a bitter blow to the team and our prospects for the rest of the season and also a big blow for Joe who had been a superb captain and

Lambros Pardale wins a header

one of the most important players in every game we had played to date. after playing first team football since he had been in the Fifth Form, it was a sad way to end his football at King’s. The players responded well to the loss of their captain in our next game against Wolverhampton. Following an even first half we found ourselves two goals down thanks to individual errors. We started the second half with real determination and played the best football we have played all season, our passing was superb and we dominated the opening minutes. The opposition couldn’t live with us and we deservedly scored. Just as it looked like we were fighting our way back into the game, another individual error gifted them a goal and the game was over as a contest. Mistakes had given us another defeat in a game in which we had more than matched the opposition. The highlight of the season was to follow, and the boys were focused and relaxed approaching our game against local rivals WrgS at St. george’s Lane. Unfortunately we saved our worst performance of the season, indeed, one of the worst performances for years, for the most important game. We playing five in midfield in an attempt to control the game but we were overrun and didn’t have the composure to get the ball down and play any decent football. The opposition settled first and scored following a cross from the left that was converted by a player who arrived unchallenged at the back post. We struggled to get a foothold in the game and they had dominated the first half. We had almost managed to keep them at bay but we failed to deal with a cross and, in a goalmouth scramble, harry Iddon cleverly headed the ball over our keeper and Cluett made sure the ball was over the line by smashing it into the roof of the net. Shortly before half time they went further ahead

by converting a poorly defended corner. The two quick goals close to half time were a big blow and, although the second half was a little more even, chances were limited, and we never looked like threatening their three goal lead. It proved to be a most disappointing evening in respect of the result and the performance. Perhaps the only highlight for us was Tom Fardon been named man of the match. We knew we had let ourselves down and underperformed against rgS. a better performance was required if we were going to come away with anything and restore a bit of pride. The signs were ominous before the game as Pates could claim rgS as one of their scalps from earlier in the season; we knew we would have to be on top of our game. We showed more fight and spirit in the first ten minutes than we did in the entire game against rgS. The forwards looked lively, the defence were solid and, most importantly, the midfield were competitive. Two goals from Joe grisdale put us in front by half time, the first following a flick on from Jack ellis, the second after a goalmouth scramble. We knew that the next goal of the game was going to be crucial and after a fine free flowing move from our midfield, elliot Duffy calmly volleyed the ball high into the net to give us the breathing space we needed and restore much needed confidence. The game was put beyond doubt with two goals from greenhill and a 5-0 victory and our best result of the season shows how unpredictable football can be. on the back of this good performance we ended the season playing attractive football in our remaining two games, although we didn’t always get the rewards our endeavour merited. a 3-1 defeat against Loughborough, their final goal scored with the last kick of the game, was harsh as we had matched them throughout the game. It was good

to end the season with a 1-0 victory over Monmouth thanks to a goal from our leading goal scorer and player of the season, David Lewis. We will look back on this season as one in which we played some periods of attractive football and scored excellent goals, but individual mistakes cost us victories. It was disappointing that we couldn’t show some of the football we were capable of on the big occasion against rgS, but the players will have learnt from the experience. We have a good group of players who will remain with us next year. If we can cut out individual errors and, if we don’t lose our captain halfway through the season, we hope for some more favourable results. as ever, the boys were a pleasure to work with and showed dedication and determination throughout the season. Perhaps most importantly, they all enjoyed playing football regardless of results and are already looking forward to next year.

2nd XI

This was another season of football that wass full of drama, excitement and controversies (mainly from the referee which happened to be me) but not many glories. on paper it is the worst season since I started coaching the 2nd XI four years ago, but the matches won were all won in style and will be remembered for a long time. Top of the list is the WrgS match in which we came back from 2-0 down to win 4-3. Despite dominating from the outset and striking the woodwork twice in the opening stages of the match, we found ourselves somehow allowing the opposition to leading 2-0 at half-time. My animated gestures and frustration were clearly felt by the players as Matthew raven shouted ‘Calm down, Sir! It will be fine’. his reassuring

C.H.

words were well justified in the next 45 minutes. Playing with an air of expression and invention, Tom Wilde and Dan Loader demonstrate their flair at creating chances and despite some wasted opportunities, they managed to score three goals in between them. The captain Sam harris added another goal which made it a comfortable win in the end. The match against Loughborough featured another dramatic comeback from King’s. a traditionally strong team, Loughborough started very brightly and deserved the half-time 2-0 lead. It was almost felt that we were fighting a losing battle. however, our players were determined to try and fight their way back into the game and continued to probe the opposition’s defence. george hodgetts and Dan Loader, two outstanding players throughout the season, proved to be a handful to their defence and eventually brought the scores level. Six minutes into added time (thanks referee!), george hodgetts picked up unmarked Stuart Whitehouse down the right wing who showed great pace and found himself in ‘no man’s land’ which left the only option of crossing the ball (he will never admit this was his intention ) towards the direction of the goal. The ball whizzed through in between the keeper and the crossbar from the most acute angle and ended in the back of the net. This was almost the last kick of the match. It was a hugely entertaining game, in which our players’ sheer determination, again, proved to be the winning formula.

It has been a real pleasure to work with this talented and cheerful bunch of players. adam and Dan Loader, although working at the opposite ends of the pitch, proved to be indispensable. The back four - Matthew raven, alex roberts, Michael hedges, and Dougie arnot - were not only the backbone

of the defence but also were willing to charge forward and score goals. (In alex’s case, the most memorable own goal scored against Clifton College.) Tom Wilde, Will Newton and george hodgetts will undoubtedly be playing for the 1st XI soon, which will be a real test to their mental and physical strength. alan Frost has always been a player who caught my eye with his silky skills and strength (or rather the lack of it). I hope a bit of work in the gym will help his progress next year. Sam harris has led the team well throughout the season and was well respected by the players. antony Fahy worked ever so hard despite his lack of goals, Stuart Whitehouse showed formidable pace on the right flank and ed harris also provided the extra dimensions down the wing when he was substituted on.

This will be my last season at King’s. I will be battling with snow instead of floods in the football season next year which will be equally frustrating. Whether I am going to work with pupils as committed as King’s boys is a question which remains to be answered. But one thing is for sure, I will perhaps never work with a coach as dedicated as Ch, who puts his heart and soul into developing football at King’s. I am grateful for all his help and guidance over the last few years. as proved in the World Cup, football clearly brings people – in fact, the whole world together. Maybe this reason alone will reunite us at King’s!

B.W.

Under 15 XI

after losing the first two games comprehensively things were looking rather gloomy. a much improved performance came in an entertaining loss to Nunnery Wood by the odd goal, and this kick started our season. a superb 3-1 victory away at Malvern College

followed, featuring a superb first half hat-trick by alistair hunt and some brave and commanding goalkeeping from Jonathan Bywater. With the confidence gained from these performances the team went on to win two of the remaining three fixtures. Man of the season was the athletic David Serafini who worked tirelessly in midfield. Jack o’Sullivan marshalled the back four impressively and alistair Spring oozed class every-time he played, but a groin strain unfortunately restricted his appearances. happily george De Cothi and Sam raybone both made impressive comeback appearances in the B team after serious injuries.

M.C.P.

Under 14 XI

We played some good football, with Max Farthing, the skipper, a skilful and dynamic driving force in midfield. he was ably supported in the team’s engine room by the equally creative and tenacious Lewis richardson. Will Dovey started the season in defence where his strength and ability to read the play were invaluable, but later in the season he was given the opportunity to make some buccaneering runs through the midfield. although we enjoyed wins over WrgS and Malvern College, we also had some disappointing results, losing fixtures that we dominated (against The Chase, for example) because we lacked composure in front of goal. Dylan richardson and Tom Dunn Massey both went on mesmerising runs, and Jack Farr was beautifully composed on the ball, but we lacked the cutting edge up front to take advantage of this creativity. alex Parker was a brave and reliable keeper, making several crucial one-on-one saves, and there was also excellent work done at the back by harry Perry and Will elt. Valuable contributions also came from Brandon Wain, ryan Kisten, Martin Bowles and Bernie Thomas.

S.LeM.

Girls’ Football

In a frustrating season of cancelled fixtures, the girls’ football squads enjoyed more training than matches this season, but this did not quell their enthusiasm. Wednesday afternoon training games for the seniors were hard-fought affairs, and the season’s one narrow victory against Malvern College was played at home in front of a small but appreciative crowd. Despite apparently conceding a penalty, amie Stilliard excelled in goal as always and the two Lucys (Scales and Spring) dominated the midfield and up front, with Scales’ two goals deciding the fixture. With all other fixtures cancelled or postponed, we finished the season with a 100% unbeaten record!

J.C.M.

From the Archive - First XI Football team, 1908

The Boat Club

The Winter term of 2009 was a chilly, yet sedate period for the Severn. The river stayed at relatively mellow conditions for the majority of the term. The good conditions allowed for some excellent training conditions helping our young athletes and their coaches to prepare for Monmouth autumn head with little interruption. The result being a huge success for our rowers, who came away from the long distance race having won eight events in all.

after the success of Monmouth all sights were set on Worcester Small Boats head, where our rowers were able to “strut their stuff” on our own stretch of the Severn. The J16 boys were fortunate enough to overtake their coach near the end of the course, a memory which they enjoy recollecting to anyone who is unfortunate enough to be within earshot of them. The Boat Club managed to equal the success of Monmouth by winning a further eight events at Worcester.

Marlow fours and pairs head is an event which our rowers rarely visit. however a handful or our senior rowers were lucky enough to compete this year. From the select few who entered, we were able to return having managed to win two events.

Wycliffe Small Boats head is the first event that many of our younger rowers from the Lower remove can compete in. after an early and frosty start our rowers eventually unthawed, returning having won three events against some stiff competition. The windy conditions may have hampered some of our younger crews, but the experience from racing in harsher conditions will surely stand them in good stead for the future.

‘What doesn’t kill them, makes them stronger!!’

The Spring term brought yet further frosty conditions, with the canal freezing and sheet ice

floating down the river, which posed an additional hazard to the rowers. Time off the river resulted in the sports hall and College hall in frequent use for Boat Club circuits and a good opportunity to get the pupils really fit for the summer season. The Lower remove boys were often to be found working hard in the sports hall, to the incessant bleating of Dr Tribe’s beloved whistle. The inclusion of such exercises as the frog leap and the donkey kicks caused many raised eyebrows, yet the enthusiasm for the sessions in the sports hall must have rubbed off on the rest of the school population, who would often be brought along by their rowing friends.

Wycliffe Big head was like most years overrun by the larger Thames based crews, the majority of whom avoid the flooded river conditions which our rowers face annually. however after some solid performances the final results sheet identified two winning crews from King’s coming away with gold medals.

The National Schools’ head of the river race was attended by four crews. The senior boys had an eight in the “blue ribbon” Championship 1st eights event and a coxless quad, the senior girls sent their 1st eight to compete in the equivalent girls event and the Junior 16 boys brought their coxed four down to see where they stood on the national level. each of the crews beat their respective WrgS counterparts and achieved impressive standings, with the boys eight finishing 28/40, the girls eight finishing 10/19 and the J16 boys finishing 9/14.

The day after the Schools head of the river race was the National Schools’ Sculling head held at Dorney Lake near eton. Some windy conditions posed a problem for the lessexperienced crews. The laps of the 2000m lake may have been a little tedious for our rowers, who seemed to go “off the boil”, as the results seemed

to escape the grasp of our young scullers who left the event empty handed.

The regional trials were attended by a handful of selected crews. after an unfortunate decision by the organisers to position the J16 boys immediately behind young scullers, this meant that some drastic manouvering skills were required from the part-time Fifth Form boys’ cox. Unfortunately the crew behind were able to just follow the boys through the gap they created. The end result showed a loss by one second, an unfortunate result for those boys. The Upper remove boys had a seemingly less stressful day, managing to win two events and getting both crews through to the Inter-regional regatta, which was held a few weeks later. The Upper remove boys were unable to recreate the success of the regional regatta however, unable to make any “a” finals.

During the Spring term the Fifth Form boys were set the challenge to “row to gent”, gent being the base of the easter training camp. The boys were able to raise a splendid £750, which was divided between two local charities, the Worcestershire Breast Cancer campaign and a redditch care home.

The gent regatta itself was a great opportunity for the senior members of the club to race in unfamiliar surroundings and experience international rowing. The rowers enjoyed a trip into gent city centre, which was an opportunity for some retail therapy at one of the several chocolate shops and surprisingly Jack Wills! The two day regatta was on a purpose built 2000m lake and the conditions for the regatta were consistently average, with several crews being placed in the near-side lane, with a strong crosswind blowing crews onto the bank. o ur athletes managed some good results, with several large schools from the Thames region there as

well along with several Belgian national rowers. The opportunity for some training time on the lake was possibly the largest benefit for our athletes in the run-up to National Schools and Marlow regattas.

The junior rowers had the pleasure of using the facilities of royal Shrewsbury School. The variety of facilities provided was of tremendous benefit to the students. With the availability of tens of indoor rowing machines, an indoor rowing tank, gymnasium and a trailer full of our boats at their disposal the junior coaches (TrS, JKW, hMh and eWh) were spoilt for choice when it came to training sessions. The lessons learnt and quantity and quality of sessions proved a great benefit to the young athletes.

after the easter training camps there seemed to be a rather large influx of enthusiasm towards competitive rowing. This increase in competitiveness was none the more apparent when the entries for Shrewsbury were finalised and transport arrangements identified that the school was sending one hundred pupils to race at Shrewsbury regatta. around half were racing in two separate events. It’s safe to say that

the invasion of Shrewsbury was a huge success. having such a large number of entries it was not a surprise that the Boat Club came away with the largest haul of tankards of the season. a total of fifteen events was won by our young and not so young athletes.

Worcester regatta was another chance to race against local rivals rgS Worcester as well as other local club crews. From a reduced entry following Shrewsbury regatta the King’s rowers still managed to turn their entries into pots, coming away with twelve event successes in total. The event was a great opportunity for parents to come and watch their children racing on our stretch. after racing, competitors were welcomed into Worcester rowing club where they were able to (if they could make it through the crowd) to collect their winners’ pots to rapturous applause.

National Schools regatta saw a large entry of crews following on from the previous year’s excellent performance which yielded two silver medal winning performances. This year there was a far greater number of crews who qualified past the time trial stages, which is a tremendous achievement by the coaches and athletes. This year only one medal was won; like the previous year, it was Paul Sterckx’s quad that came away with the hardware after winning bronze in the WJ16 coxless quad event.

one weekend saw three separate events participated in. This June weekend saw the senior girls travel down to henley Women’s regatta, the senior boys headed down to Dorney Lake for Marlow regatta and the junior contingent travelled down to Tewkesbury regatta.

o ur three crews of girls were entered into two different events at henley Women’s regatta. The girls 1st eight entered into the Peabody Cup and were dealt a tricky first round against one of the best girls’ rowing schools in the country, headington School o xford. The race was a good battle, but the headington girls had a point to prove and after establishing an early lead they lengthened out, eventually winning by 3 ½ lengths. The other event our girls were racing in was the J16 quads event. JKW’s J15 girls’ quad felt like a challenge so they threw their name into the hat and drew an International crew from California, USa. The americans may have been too strong for our J15 girls but valuable experience was learned and next season may yield the benefit of a tough baptism into henley regatta style racing. Paul’s bronze medal

winning J16 girls’ quad from Nat Schools faced a tricky first race against a composite of World Class Start athletes from Thames rC, royal Docks rC and globe rC, but this didn’t faze the battle-hardened crew of ellie Clements, Poppy Bramford, anna humphries and rebecca Whitehouse, as they stole the race from their adversaries after some interesting steering by their rivals. The second round posed somewhat more of a challenge as they faced another composite crew from Mersey, runcorn and Warrington. Unfortunately this time our girls didn’t quite have enough to seal the victory, losing by three quarters of a length.

Marlow regatta was no easier. The regatta was the relative “who’s who” from the rowing world with all the big name school crews doing what they do best. o ur singular senior boys 1st eight had quite a struggle on their hands to keep the other crews within touching distance. The regatta resulted in quite a shock for the season and the senior boys, with a loss to the local rivals. The henley royal regatta qualification races provided the opportunity to put the record straight, with a return to the usual order, but the outcome was the fastest non-qualifying position – tantalisingly close, but just short of the season’s goal.

Tewkesbury meanwhile was shaping up to be a huge success, with wins virtually falling into the laps of our young hopefuls. Nearing the end of racing it looked like a possibility that King’s may win the majority of events and hence the Victor Ludorum Trophy. When the final race had been won and all the totals had been calculated it was revealed that the King’s rowers had been the most successful at the regatta and were presented with the Victor Ludorum Trophy, which was hoisted high above young alex Wenyon’s head.

TrS masterminded the first King’s Invitational regatta, which saw Cheltenham College and rgS Worcester bringing their boats down to our boathouse and boat from the landing stages. The Victor Ludorum trophy was presented by Charles Illing and will therefore be known as “The Charles Illing Cup” for the most successful school. each young athlete was given the opportunity to race a couple of times and our crews were very successful, ultimately winning The Charles Illing Cup, without too much number crunching needed.

The Boat Club regatta nicely rounded off the season on the water, a traditional afternoon of racing, with students, parents and oVs all involved. The annual Dinner and Presentation evening was held at WCCC and organised by LLP and the Friends of the Boat Club. It gives coaches, rowers and their parents the opportunity to celebrate a successful season and also enables us to recognise the outstanding performers and contributors to school rowing.

T.J.H.

Girls J14

J15 at Henley

Girls 1st VIII

Athletics

Participants acquitted themselves well at District level again this year. Many were District Champions, and as such, qualified for the County Championships, along with others, who placed second in their respective events. In all, over twenty pupils have been selected to represent the Worcester City team at the County Championships.

District Championships Winners

Connie grant (Lr) 800m in 2.44

helen Jubb (L4) 1500m in 5.19

alice Wright (Ur) 1500m

Jack Dodd (5th) 800m

Lizzie Bennett (U6) 100m

Seb Jamous (U6) 200m

alex roberts (U6) 800m

County Champions

Martin Bowles Junior Boys high Jump (Joint 1st)

alice Wright Inter girls 3,000m

alice has been concentrating on 3,000m this year but has still managed to set a new 1,500m record. She also went on to win at regional level, qualifying for the english School Championships in the process, where she hopes to beat her PB and run under 10 minutes for the 3,000m (her current best is 10min 6s).

County Athletics

Lower 4th

helen Jubb 1,500m 1st 5min 20s New record

Tom Deehan Triple Jump 2nd 9.98m New record

Jake Blasdale 800m 2nd 2.27min New record

Jake ham Long Jump 2nd

Upper 4th

Sam Khoghali Long Jump 1st 5.20m New record

harry Bassett Discus 1st

ryan Kerley .... high Jump.... 2nd

Fourth Form Sports Day

Lower 4th Upper 4th

1st L4C 1st U4g

2nd L4F 2nd U4F

3rd L4B 3rd U4D

New Record: harriet Duffy Lower 4th

girls Javelin 24.70m

Victor Ludorum Victrix Ludorum

ryan Kerley Lulu Smith

Sam Khogali Catherine Neilson

Removes Sports Day

1st Choir 617pts

2nd ........... School ........ 610pts

3rd ....... Kittermaster ........ 603pts

Senior Sports Day

1st Chappel

2nd Creighton

3rd Kittermaster

New Records: georgina ormandy Ur girls high Jump elise Bue Ur girls Discus

Catherine Dawson equalled the Senior girls high Jump

Best all-round athletes

Victor Ludorum: Martyn Bowles, David Serafini

Victrix Ludorum: Charlotte Collins, Connie grant, Florence hershman and Lorna Phillips

5th Form Victor Ludorum: harry Nuttall (oswald)

Senior Victor Ludorum: Seb Jamous (Kittermaster)

Senior Victrix Ludorum: emmie Le Marchand (Chappel)

Cricket

1st X1

With such a young and inexperienced side we decided to go away for a short pre-season tour to focus the minds and hone the technique ahead of what was always going to be a difficult year. Major concerns were focused around the strength of our batting, which looked thin on paper, and much depended on a whole top order effort rather than a couple of individuals scoring prolifically. Thus we set off to Spain for what should have been a four day visit; the siting of ash clouds and the grounding of aircraft made these arrangements rather fictitious, but a long overnight coach journey from one end of Spain to the other, followed by a twenty eight hour ferry journey, all added to the fun! We managed to complete three victories against sides of varying standards, with all the batsmen gaining valuable time in the middle, and the bowlers having plenty of opportunities too.

We returned just in time to play another warm-up game, this time against Malvern College. although we lost the game narrowly there were some very encouraging performances, notably from Tom Mills who made an excellent 75. This was to set a predictable pattern for him for the rest of the season; when we batted first he invariably scored runs, but when we went in second, having kept wicket for 50 overs, he usually failed. This is undoubtedly down to fitness, both physical and mental, and if he wants to score the large amount of runs next season of which he is capable, then this is the area that he needs to address. The most consistent performer with the bat was Sam harris who scored over 800 runs, including two centuries, showing the talent that he had promised the year before. It was really pleasing to see his relaxed persona whilst in the middle, something that he obviously gets from his

if he also does not score heavily next season. It was not a throw-away comment by DPI when he said on more than one occasion that this team did not need a coach, they needed a psychiatrist! I have been reading a few books in preparation for the coming year. The major problem that we had with our batting came down to the rest of the top/middle order not contributing either enough runs or regularly. This was very frustrating because they were in many of the games given the opportunity to bat for significant periods of time; unfortunately they were seldom up to the task. If we are to improve next year this is the key area that will need to be addressed.

after a number of disappointing results, particularly in games that we should have won, confidence was bound to suffer. We did struggle in the middle part of the season, but it was pleasing that in the last three weeks of term we played some of our best cricket. Wins over the MCC, gentlemen of Worcester and King’s

a cruciate ligament injury to Joe Fowles, who would have been one of our strike bowlers, but who was side-lined for eight months. We consistently failed to take wickets with the new ball, and even when the opposition didn’t score heavily early on, they were still in a strong position with wickets in hand. This meant that our most potent threat, Worcestershire academy left arm finger spinner Tom Bird, was often bowling at the openers, and despite normally removing them his over allocation was soon finished and we were often unable to retain a grip on the opposition’s scoring rate. We ended up turning to the youngest member of the team, Josh Tongue from the Lower Fourth, to bowl our overs from one end at the death. a difficult enough task for a player with plenty of experience, but one from which he emerged relatively unscathed, and certainly the wiser for it. he is a player of considerable talent, who has all the attributes to go a very long way. For a number of boys it was the end of a long association with cricket at King’s. hiten Patel played for three years in the side as one of the unsung heroes; always at practice, desperate to learn and do well, he was what makes coaching cricket enjoyable. harry Iddon and Dave Lewis both played significant roles. harry opened the bowling and Dave came on as a change bowler; both could bat on their day. The other regulars in

musical background! Tom Bird played a number of significant innings, including a delightful 92 not out against Solihull, and was always happy to bat where the situation demanded. another one who sometimes thinks too much about the game, when he allowed himself to play naturally he was at his best. It would be a surprise to me

gloucester, including us setting gloucester a target of over 370, showed that the team did have ability, and that our earlier performances were self-inflicted, rather than the result of genuinely superior opposition.

The thinking had been that our batting may struggle but the bowling would be our strong suit. This thought process was initially undermined by

the side were Tom Wilde, whose accurate seamers brought him an impressive total of 24 wickets, Jack ellis and Ben o’hickey, all of whom have the potential to be very influential in the success of the team next year.

With the proliferation of exams, Lower Sixth work experience and many school trips, there were a plenty of opportunities for some of the

Sam Harris on his way to a hundred v King’s Gloucester

younger boys to play in the side. It was very encouraging to see a couple of them really take their chance, with Will Dovey and ali hunt both looking quite at home at this level. Both will, I am sure, feature regularly in the coming year. Captaining a side that is not winning is a very difficult task, especially when you are relatively inexperienced in the role. What pleased me about Tom’s leadership was his ability to usually maintain his own very high standards of performance whilst things were not always going to plan; at the same time he will hopefully have learnt a great deal about man management and what makes other people tick, which he will be

although they never set the scorer’s pencils alight they often saw the shine off the new ball and provided a firm foundation for the ‘stroke players’ to build on. george hodgetts and Tom Cluett scored runs quickly on occasions, indeed the season’s wins would not have been possible without them. Further down the order captain anthony Fahy also made hay sometimes and shot of the year belongs to Jolyon hale when he despatched the WrgS opening bowler with much disdain; what a pity he didn’t come out of exile until the end of the season.

The bowlers toiled away manfully with george hodgetts earning the title of ‘golden arm’ for

able to incorporate into his captaincy this year. as always my thanks go to DPI for his sterling efforts, especially considering the discomfort he was in prior to his recent hip operation. The pitches at New road were possibly the best I have seen in my time. They were helped no doubt by the lovely spring weather, but more importantly their excellence is always down to the superb professionalism of Phil Tyrrell and his team of groundsmen.

A.A.D.G.

2nd XI

Just occasionally a combination of up and coming talent blends perfectly with a cohort of senior boys who, for whatever reason, have the ability but not the commitment or time required to play at the school’s highest level . During these times the 2nd XI is blessed; unfortunately, 2010 was not one of these years!

The writing was on the wall from the very start with a hammering at home by Solihull; perhaps letting them score 280 on a scorching May day was not such a good idea. It did, however, provide one of the more bizarre sights of the season with their captain stationing five men on the boundary in the final over when we needed well over a hundred more runs to win! a moral boosting win against Wrekin was followed by a long run of away fixtures which didn’t make the task of persuading some reluctant boys to play any easier. Those who did make the effort were rewarded with a nail biting win in the rain at hereford and successes against old Swinford and Bristol. The pattern for the season was by then set. against the smaller and mixed schools we could hold our own but the large boys’ schools (in both senses of the expression) proved to have too much strength in depth for us at this level.

The batting commenced with a solid opening partnership of Jake Wells and Ben allsopp, who were also responsible for some tidy wicket keeping and catch of the year respectively.

for many years to come. Tom evans made progress with several aggressive twenties and thirties, and Toby Sitch timed the ball sweetly and improvised adeptly in the late middle order. Jonathan Bywater, alex Spring and george Preece also made several important contributions without achieving the consistency they would have liked. The bowling proved to be steady rather than spectacular. Quick bowler george Jeavons-Fellows missed the whole season through injury, and hunt had to bowl himself sparingly because of his own back problems; the extra pace bowler may have helped us to avoid three painful one wicket defeats! Dom Lee gave the team an

his ability to conjure up wickets from nowhere. Zac Pemberton-Whiteley also made himself available after a career break of a couple of years and proved to be an effective opening bowler along with captain Fahy. The left arm spin twins, Dougie arnot and Joe Pantling, didn’t get as many overs as they should have done but their time will come.

It was a pity that selection (i.e. finding eleven players) became more difficult as the season progressed and my thanks go to Fred hickey and his mobile phone (and Facebook) for his efforts in persuading a wide variety of ball players to take the field (twenty five in total this year). a low point was reached in the match against WrgS where work experience and first team call-ups left us particularly short. I hope it is some time before we have to call on a player’s 13 year old brother to make up the numbers. My personal nadir came the following week when, for the first time ever, we were unable to raise a team to travel to gloucester for what, in the past, has been a certain victory.

after all that it was nice to finish with a win; albeit in a ‘beer match’ against the oVs after they had bowled us out for 71 in the main event. as it is always good to look on the bright side at 2nd XI level, ‘The winning streak starts here’.

I.C.R. Peter Preston

Under 15 XI

Despite winning fewer than half its games this team proved to be more competitive than the previous season’s, especially against the better opposition sides. Captain alastair hunt lead from the front with an explosive 163 not out against hereford Cathedral School and a number of other hard-hitting innings. Jack Park scored five fifties over the season and on several occasions showed that he could get after a bowling attack when this was needed. I am sure that his Dilshan scoop will be remembered

extra spin option, achieving best figures of 6 for 3. Five wicket hauls were also gained by hunt and Bywater. The captaincy was excellent throughout with sensibly aggressive field settings and good use of the bowling resources available.

M.C.P./J.J.M.

Under 14 XI

This was a mixed season, with excellent wins over Bromsgrove and Bristol grammar and disappointing defeats at the hands of WrgS and KeS Birmingham. There were good individual performances from many players, but our results depended to a very large extent on the number of runs scored by the captain, Will Dovey. his scores of 91 (Bromsgrove), 86 (The Chantry), 65 (Malvern College), 111 (Pershore) and a quite magnificent unbeaten 175 at Bristol led us to good wins. Smacking the first ball of the match at Bristol miles over long leg’s head was a clear indication of his intent. he was often given good support at the top of the innings by Joe Taylor, an extremely clean hitter with a fantastic bat. Joe made a number of forties and fifties, but had the frustrating habit of getting himself out when it looked as though he could score really heavily. When this opening partnership was broken, our batting looked distinctly fragile. Taylor also opened the bowling, his economical action helping him generate good pace off a very gentle run up. There were good performances from the two spinners, alex Parker taking four against KeS, and Charlie Lamb four against both Bromsgrove and Bristol. Patrick harrington bowled good spells against Warwick and Chantry hS, and Dovey, though erratic, took wickets because his best deliveries troubled even the most talented opponent. There are some talented players in this group of boys, and they will certainly have to step up their performances next season when in all likelihood they will lose their captain to the 1st XI.

S.LeM.

Textbook from Tom Bird

Non-textbook from Harry Iddon

Under 13 XI

The Under 13 XI had a decent season playing twelve games, winning six and losing six. The highlight of the season was a last over win against a strong Bromsgrove side. Jack Salter topped the batting averages with 199 runs at an average of 39.8, with Michael hines and Charlie Norton also scoring half centuries. as for the bowling, the wickets were shared around with hamish Campbell-Shore topping the averages with twelve wickets at 16.2. Toby Wells was a great asset in the field, taking twelve catches at cover point. This year’s Under 13s were a keen and likeable group of young cricketers and they will be even more competitive next year with the return of the Sears boys from New Zealand.

Under 12 XI

the names and trying to give everyone an equal chance in the nets. eventually, had everyone been available, we could have put out three very reasonable teams.

G.W.L.

When thirty four boys appeared for the first practice session in april, rJD and I realized that an excellent season was on the cards. The two greatest difficulties were remembering all

The first blow came before a ball had been bowled when we were informed that Josh Tongue would be unavailable to us on Saturdays since he was playing for the First XI! Nevertheless the a team still contained some excellent and talented individuals and we were as confident as coaches can be. We started with wins against KeS Stratford and St. Bede’s in the cup when Tom Mcgrory scored a match-winning 44, before a loss against Bromsgrove where our big guns failed to fire and we lost by 84 runs. The match of the season followed against KeS Birmingham, which was a real nail-biter. o ur number eleven Theo Beever smashed a straight six to level the scores at 181 for 9 but then holed out at third man for one of the few ties in which I have ever umpired. Nick hammond scored a classy 82 not out to give us a real chance. Chase hS were put to the sword before a comprehensive victory over Bristol grammar School. hammond scored a magnificent century and we won by an eye-watering 149 runs. a close cup match came next against haybridge, during which Jacob ham bowled batted and fielded very well to ensure a victory by 18 runs. a win and a loss against oldswinford hospital and Warwick respectively preceded the County Cup Final against WrgS. This was a classic encounter and produced another tense finish. We scored 144 (hammond 42, Tongue 24) and they managed 136 with henry Wilde taking 3-23 including a hat-trick. Four crucial run outs hastened our opponents’ demise in a clear demonstration of the importance of fielding, one of our strengths. The last match of the season at King’s gloucester produced 350 runs with King’s (Worcester) winning by 48 runs.

wins against KeS Birmingham and The Chase and close games against WrgS, Warwick and Bromsgrove.

J.L.O./R.J.D.

Hockey

1st X1

This was another highly successful season with a good turn out of girls competing for a place in the 1st XI. Vicky heath took on her role as captain with enthusiasm with Laura Stansfeld giving great support as her vice-captain.

The side played fifteen matches, twelve of which were won, one drawn and two lost, 70 goals being scored and 31 conceded. We qualified for the Midlands regional Zones with some excellent hockey at the county tournament where we beat Chase hS, Malvern College and Prince henry’s hS. We travelled to repton for the next round where we came up against some very strong competition. although it was a great team performance on the day we did not qualify for the next round. We were beaten by repton and Leicester but did manage an impressive win against Newcastle under Lyme School to finish the day.

once again it is sad to see the Upper Sixth girls leave but we wish them all the best and hope they continue to involve themselves in hockey.

For the first time we have had two girls who have been awarded hockey scholarships: emmie Le Marchand is now studying for a degree in Liberal arts at The Duke University in North Carolina (full field hockey scholarship) and hayley Turner is studying for a degree in Psychology and art at The University of Maryland (full field hockey scholarship). hayley also represented england last season in the Under 18 team.

2nd XI

The 2nd XI started off their season with plenty of strength in depth with Kate Lofthouse as captain and Lizzie Baxter vice-captain. They enjoyed a most convincing victory against Chase hS on the first Saturday fixture, winning 9-0. Lily hallett scored five of these and Issy anstey also got a hat trick.

This team is without doubt one of the best in recent memory and it has great strength in depth particularly in bowling and fielding departments. alex Sanders, alex Campbell-Shore, alastair Palmer and the wicketkeeper Will hollis all performed with distinction at times, but the batting sometimes looked a little fragile against the stronger bowling attacks.

Quite a few ‘B’ team matches were played with

This gave them a great deal of confidence and the team went on to beat Solihull 6-0 with Niki Monk getting a hat trick this time. It was a great shame that we suffered a heavy defeat in our next match against Warwick but owing to injury and illness teams were depleted and a number of the 2nd XI were drafted into the 1st XI.

The girls managed to put this behind them and played excellently against Bromsgrove. It was so frustrating as King’s let in a soft goal and then had all the possession but could not convert it into goals. The game ended 1-0 but the girls never gave up.

hereford was another brilliant game which ended in a 3-3 draw. The girls played so well and were really unlucky not to win. Thankfully we did get a win to steady the ship against King’s gloucester. We won 5-1 on our grass pitch with Kate Lofthouse scoring two.

The fixture with Pates gS was another close and tricky game with lots of skill on both sides but they came away in the second half to win

J.D.C.

Josh Tongue (1st XI and Under 12s) in delivery stride

Under 14s in action

An Under 13 game

5-3. King edward’s and Malvern St James were cancelled so we had to wait to play Malvern College. It was definitely worth the wait and the girls played a great game with good passing strategies that impressed their coaches and umpires to win 3-0.

We then had a tough run to the end of the season with our hardest opposition and we lost to Bablake, rugby and Cheltenham Ladies College. It was good to end a very competitive season with a great win over our nearest neighbours and rivals. We beat WrgS 3-0 and Claire hickey was on form to score twice. a special mention must go to Katie Collins our goalkeeper who made some excellent saves over the season to keep us in many of our matches.

Fitness testing early on in the season helped our performance and some of the older members like Issy anstey kept the younger Fifth Formers on their toes! Niki Monk was selected for the Under 17 County side. Well done to everyone who played over the season.

F.L.S.

Under 16 XI

This side only comes together for tournaments and was made up of the Fifth Form but with some Upper remove filling in key positions.

In the preliminary tournament King’s were slow to start and endured a very frustrating 0-0 draw against evesham. against Chase hS a defensive error resulted in an early goal which was totally against the run of play. Fortunately King’s kept their cool and captain amy Bateson equalised. In the game against Pershore hS we knew that only a convincing win would do. Thankfully the girls got their act together and played extremely well with amy Bateson, Niki Monk and Lucy gurney all scoring. This result meant that we drew with Chase on points but won on goal difference.

We went on to play the county final against Bromsgrove the following week. This was a great match with very good attacking play from both sides. Bromsgrove took the early lead and we missed a couple of chances. Late in the second half they scored from a brilliant penalty and we kept on trying but a defensive error put the game beyond our reach.

as County runners-up we went through to the regional finals at Trent College in November, where we beat arden, drew with Tettenhall and lost to Uppingham and Trent, finishing third in a strong field and gaining valuable experience.

F.L.S.

Under 15 XI

The season started off strongly with a 5-0 win over the Chase hS, Sasha McNeilly scoring two. The next game was not quite so straightforward as Warwick is one of the strongest teams that we play. King’s had a great game and had all the play which makes a 1-0 defeat a most frustrating outcome. hereford was the next outing and it was another frustrating game with King’s having all the play but not scoring. We did manage to rectify this and Sasha McNeilly scored to beat KehS 1-0. They lost to WrgS, Cheltenham Ladies and Malvern College by failing to score but had a brilliant game against Bablake, one of our strongest opponents. great skill was on display and azima Crumpton scored an excellent goal. aliza Dee helped us draw 1-1 with Pates and the team ended the season with a spectacular

7-0 win over the Convent. aliza Dee, Charlotte houlbrooke and georgina ormandy all were selected for the county hockey squad at Under 15 level after passing through many selection rounds.

F.L.S.

The girls found the Wellingborough side to be faster to the ball and more accurate with their passing and their unbeaten run was shattered with a crushing 5-0 defeat. It was nevertheless good experience and something for the girls to work

Under 14 XI

The team had a promising start to the year with a 7-0 win over Chase hS with Charlotte Collins and Flo hershman both scoring twice. They were the only side not to lose against Warwick and battled hard to keep their unbeaten record since joining King’s at L4th level. They played extremely well as a team and Frances Taylor was outstanding in goal. Flo hershman scored twice again to enable a 2-2 draw.

towards. They played extremely well at the county tournament but failed to qualify for the regional tournament, losing out to Malvern College on goal difference. The team started slowly against evesham hS but won 3-0 and once again hershman scored two of these with Poppy Doorbar getting the other. They drew 0-0 with Malvern College in a very exciting game and beat Pershore hS 3-0 in their final game with goals from hershman, Doorbar and Laura Bennett.

1st XI hockey action

The hereford game was exciting with great goals from hershman and Doorbar!

We made hard work of the Solihull game and only just managed to draw 2-2 with goals from hershman and Bennett. We were very open at the back and were missing some key players. They were on better form against KehS and Indi Wilding helped the team to win 1-0. annoyingly we lost 1-0 to Malvern College. We were trying too hard and forcing play when sometimes it was not on and honey aslanian fell over and dislocated her knee and heads went down after that. We bounced back against the Convent to win 2-0 and emily goodman and hollie Tomkinson were the scorers. The girls worked brilliantly to come away with a 2-2 draw against Bablake with goals from Frances Taylor and Flo hershman. They went on to beat Cheltenham Ladies quite easily 4-0 and the season ended with a nail- biting goalless draw with WrgS.

Frances Taylor and Indi Wilding were selected for county squads and later on in the year Frances progressed to Midlands level. Well done to all girls who trained and played hard.

F.L.S.

Under 13 XI

The squad regularly had a very good turn out to training at Christopher Whitehead School on Thursday nights. Unfortunately they had Warwick in their first game which is always a very strong fixture and King’s did well to keep the score to a 3 - 0 defeat. With a few more training sessions we went on to achieve some excellent wins, beating hereford Cathedral school, KehS and Shrewsbury.

The highlight of the season was qualifying for the ‘Yazoo’ Mini hockey Schools Championship Tournament. The first round was played at Bromsgrove and we had a very tough draw. In the first game we beat WrgS, but in the second we lost to Chase hS which meant we had to win the last game against Bromsgrove to qualify for the regional finals. This game was extremely close and the defence had to work very hard to keep their waves of attack out and we maximised our chances by scoring late in the game. King’s then went on to have a great day of hockey at repton where the competition was very strong and we finished a creditable mid-table.

Congratulations should go to Lucy Tolladay and Midge Bradley for their achievements in County hockey.

J.D.C.

Under 12 XI

The Under 12 hockey squads had a mixed season. They were all very keen and enthusiastic at practice and their skills improved a great deal throughout the season. all matches were played as seven-a-side.

The first outing against hereford Cathedral was a bit of a shock for the a squad who lost 4-2, but the B team came away with a 2-1 win. The following week we had a very keenly fought match against an organised Malvern College team, just pulling off a well deserved 2-1 win. a return match against hereford saw us go down only 2-0 and we finished off the term with a 2-1 defeat against Solihull. after half-term we seemed to get into our stride and the girls grew in confidence and seemed to realise that they could score goals. Both a

and B squads had good wins against the Chase hS, 4-1 and 2-0, and the a team went onto beat Shrewsbury 8-0, and Bablake 4-0. The final matches against WrgS were closely fought affairs, the B team went down 1-0, but the as managed a 1-0 win, a great way to finish the season.

Throughout the season our two goalkeepers, Freya Melling and Sally Clive, were superb and Freya went on to play for the County. helen Jubb and georgie grant were the key players in midfield, holding the team together and Frances Thomas was the most improved player of the season.

T.D.M.

Netball

School netball went from strength to strength this year with Under 19, Under 16 and Under 14 age groups all reaching West Midlands regional rounds and then the 19s and 14s continuing to National finals. This was a wonderful achievement for the school and one the girls will never forget. The year seems to become busier with fixtures and County tournaments spread across both the autumn and Spring terms.

The girls won championships at all levels; Under 19 County Champions, Under 19 runners up West Midlands, Under 16 District champions and runners up County, Under 14 District, County and West Midlands champions, Bromsgrove tournament winners, Under 13

This was a good preparation for the Under 19 County championships which were to be held at Bromsgrove in october. With six girls returning from the previous year’s team, Issy anstey (captain), emmie Le Marchand (vice captain), Vicki heath, Laura Stansfeld, Beth Perry and Demi Palmer, six new players were needed. The following girls stepped up to these positions; Louise gwilliam, rachael Brand, Katie Wreghitt, Jessie Meikle, Beth Jeavons and all had outstanding performances throughout the year.

The season began with their first test to regain the Under 19 County Trophy. The girls prepared well playing good netball in different combinations. They showed commitment to training and were mentally prepared to begin to achieve their yearly goal – National Championships. They achieved the first test by winning all their round matches against Bromsgrove, Malvern College, Droitwich, Pershore and Kingsley to play in the semi final against Worcester Sixth Form College. They won this 14-5 and a place in the Final against WrgS. It was a tough match in which the girls made a good start to set a good lead at half time but this started to fade in the final moments of the game with WrgS fighting back but we were able to hang on by a clean intercept in defence to win 6-5 and become County Champions two years in a row. This win gave them first entry into the West Midlands regional Tournament in January.

The season continued with seventeen matches to play. The girls continued playing positively and following their goal of becoming National

runners up District and County, Under 12a District champions and Under 12B runners up District Champions. Under 19s and Under 14s qualified for National Schools, coming ninth and fourth in the country.

Under 19

The girls began the year playing the annual Senior Netball tournament held at King’s. This is a great opportunity to play different combinations against local schools and schools as far as London - Bablake, Lady eleanor holles, St Catherine’s, hartpury College, King edward Lichfield and Cheltenham Ladies College.

Finalists. They came together as a team, working hard in training and putting in extra Monday morning fitness sessions. They had six matches before the regionals winning five of them. They travelled as far as Millfield to win 41-26, King edward Birmingham 21-6, WrgS 26-17, Bromsgrove 20-12, oldswinford 33-18 and lost to King edward Lichfield 18-32.

The West Midlands regional Tournament was the girls’ next challenge. They had to win at least five of their matches in the rounds to gain a place in the semi final. They stepped up to all their opposition playing strong netball throughout. They won four, drew one and lost one out of

1st VII in action at the Nationals

six matches against Birmingham Metropolitan College (D), Wolverhampton grammar (W), hereford Cathedral (W) King edward Nuneaton (W), Wrekin (W) and King edward Lichfield 5-8 (L). This gave them the second place in the section and a place in the semi final against local rivals Bablake. The game was equal at half time 5 a piece. The girls had to go back on to the court positively and determined for that place in the final. They played with determination, intercepting ball in defence and then bringing the ball to attack with patience and team work. They won 10-7 for a final place against King edward Lichfield and a place at the Nationals. The girls were still celebrating their semi final win in the final that they lost their legs in the final to lose 4-11. runners up, Midlands Champions and a place at the Nationals was ‘dreams come true’ for many of these girls.

The girls were on a high and continued their winning streak in the remaining school matches winning eight of their nine matches against King’s high Warwick (37-27), Bablake (19-16), Dean Close (32-27), Newcastle Under Lyme (35-15), Shrewsbury (36-17), Pates grammar (37-20), WrgS (35-19) and hereford Cathedral (34-27). For one match we travelled to Bath to play King edward’s, also National finalists. even though we lost the girls were playing up against a very tall shooter, an england player. This didn’t stop their positive mental approach and ability to play as a team. at half time we were ahead by two. Laura Stansfeld and Katie Wreghitt played outstandingly in defence. Their vision for the ball

e in which they won four out of their eight round matches. They played against many tall and physical girls from across the country. This didn’t stop them from playing outstanding netball throughout the day, and their commitment to the ball and team work enabled them to achieve the following results; hartpury College (L 6-8) ( runners up), , Leeds grammar School (L 11-7), Brokenhurst (L 5-7), royal grammar School (W 10-3), oldham Sixth Form (L 6-8), Barking abbey (National Champions) (L 4-12), harlington Upper School (W 12-3) and Trent College (W 8-6). The girls should be proud of their effort of being placed ninth in the country.

This was a tremendous season for the 1st VII and the second time King’s had got an Under 19 team to the Nationals in four years.

Full Colours were awarded to Issy anstey, emmie Le Marchand, Vicki heath, Louise gwilliam, Beth Perry, Demi Palmer, Laura Stansfeld, Katie Wreghitt, Beth Jeavons and Jessie Meikle. half Colours were awarded to Sophie Dee, Kate Lofthouse, hannah ray, Daisy elt, Lucy Mattocks, grace Caldicott, Cath Dawson, Lydia harper, Tash Linley, Bea Dee and Martha hershman.

O.K.B.

3rd and 4th VIIs

The girls played various schools from around the area - Cheltenham Ladies College, Bromsgrove, Chase hS, Malvern College, Pates grammar, WrgS, hanley Castle and Dean Close. The 3rd V11 won four from eight games. Well done to

and persistent attitude was superb. Tired legs and inaccurate passing put us on the back foot in the final five minutes to lose 30-36.

March came around quickly and the girls were excited about Nationals. a few changes to the team didn’t interrupt their preparation for the tournament, with the inclusion of Demi Palmer after injury and Tash Linley to strengthen the attacking defence of the team. The girls travelled to rodean Brighton, one of the windiest netball courts in the country! They were pooled in section

Jess Forsyth, Lauren Davies, Josie Mann, Lucy Butterworth, abbie McCarthy, olivia Parson, Katie Collins, georgia Duddy and amie Stilliard who played good consistent netball throughout the season. The 4th V11 won three of their five games. Well done to Claire hickey, amelia Quiney, Laura harrington, Jeanie gibson, eli radley, Becky Linfoot, Sophie Banks, hannah Patey and amy Bateson for their commitment to the team.

O.K.B.

Under 16

The season got off to a flying start with the District Championships in october which resulted in a win to King’s against WrgS in the final. as usual at Under 16 level, for Tournament matches, we amalgamated the Under 15 and 16 teams to allow the best opportunity for King’s to progress through to the Nationals in March. For our first match oKB thought Millfield School would be a good inclusion in our fixture list and she was right! Despite the 27 – 46 loss we were pushed up to another level and we quickly became aware that our fitness and speed had to improve if we were to have any chance against the regional teams. The County tournament was held at the new netball dome in Stourport which has proved to be a great boost to netball in Worcestershire. The tournament went according to plan and we met Bromsgrove in the final. This was a great match with fast and flowing play but their exceedingly tall shooter had a distinct advantage over our defence and we lost 11-7. We trained hard for the next two months and in January, along with the Under 14 and 19 squads, we descended on the regional Tournament. o ur first two games were wins and then we met Wolverhampton grammar and for the first time that season we began to doubt ourselves. We lost two matches in our group and both by only two goals; it was as if we hadn’t lost enough games in the season to work out how to win. The girls were very disappointed but thankfully our Under 14 and 19 teams were doing so well it was a welcome distraction to go and support them through the finals of the tournament. The season finished with a flurry of wins, the most satisfying was against Bablake which we won 28 – 27 in a tough and fiercely competitive match.

The girls worked hard, learnt a great deal throughout the season and were ably captained by grace Caldicott and Katie Collins. In defence were Katie, grace Bradley, hilary Brown, george ormandy and Jo Stormonth Darling; in attack were grace, Imo atkins, Jess Longley and Lauren Davies and shooting were Lucy Butterworth and Becky Brunt.

M.M.L.

Under 15

The girls played various schools across the county, fielding a, B and C teams. In total they played twenty three games, winning 13, losing 9 and drawing 1 to WrgS, Bromsgrove, Wrekin, Bablake, Dean Close, Malvern College, King’s high Warwick, King edward’s Birmingham and Pates grammar. The a team, captained by esther roberts, met some tough opposition, not least the national winners Bromsgrove against whom they played their best netball three times during the season. each game they were even at the last change and although they lost at the final whistle they demonstrated very good ball skills and commitment to the ball. against Malvern College, Dean Close and Bablake the girls blitzed their opposition winning 40-11, 36 -9 and 27-13.

The B team worked hard throughout the season and showed great team work and a positive attitude to the very end. They had good wins against Bromsgrove, WrgS, Dean Close, Pates grammar and Malvern College. The last four games of the season were an indication of how hard the girls had trained, beating their opposition by more than 14 goals. The shooters

Becky Brunt in full flight

olivia Clayton, elise Bue and Tessa Titmuss combined to score a total of 107 goals. The centre court players, Charlotte houlbrooke, aliza Dee and alice Chilman combined well and used their speed and quick hands to overcome the pressure from their opposition. The defence, azima Crumpton, amy geary and Maddy Brownlow worked exceptionally well to limit the opposition to only 44 goals.

The C team played 4 games, winning 3 and drawing 1 against Malvern College, Dean Close, Bromsgrove and WrgS. The girls were keen and positive to play well and were also given the opportunity to play some B team matches. a special mention must go to Meg Vincent, harriet Duddy and Issy Brand who put in good performances in all four games.

O.K.B.

Under 14

The a team girls had a very successful and busy year, participating in four tournaments and winning nine out of nine fixtures. They worked very hard in training to learn new tactics and skills that helped them achieve the biggest reward in the history of King’s netball, fourth in the country at the Nationals.

They began the year winning their District Tournament against local rivals Blessed edward, 6-3. This was a tough and physical game that the girls weren’t prepared to lose. They progressed to the County Tournament and met Blessed edward again in the final. With their opponents now sharper with their game and well structured, King’s had to step up again. But King’s were too strong in goal and used more variety in their game so that they came away County Champions with a place in the West Midlands

regional tournament. It was this tournament in January that the girls had to go in to with a positive outlook, not knowing any of their opposition. Winning all their round matches against Newcastle under Lyme, Wolverhampton grammar, alderbrook, Bishops Walsh, Wigmore high School and Wrekin College, they set high standards and won a place in the semi final against aldridge. This game was tight at first but King’s girls stepped up to the challenge to win 9-5. a finals position brought a nervous start against higham Lane. The girls made some silly mistakes to begin but still were in front by one going into the second half. They had to maintain level heads and with good team work, accurate shooting and top defence by Charlotte Collins the girls brought the West Midlands Under 14 trophy home, winning the game 12-9 and a place at the National Finals in March.

Ellie Spencer of the Under 12s

Under 19, 16 and 14 teams at the West Midlands tournament

Under 14s’ Holly Hudson

We made a weekend of The Nationals, with the Under 19s joining the Under 14s in rodean, Brighton. The girls began the tournament well, winning all their round matches against Dean Close, Bradford grammar, Charters School, Newcastle Central high, hulme grammar (National Champions), Tunbridge Wells girls, Chelmsford County high and Stamford high. This placed them top of their section and gave them a place in the semi-final against Parkstone grammar. This was a difficult match that went goal for goal up to the last minute of the game, when our girls lost concentration for Parkstone to score a goal off our centre pass and then a goal off theirs. This gave them a place in the final and us a place in the third/fourth place play offs. The girls were shattered both mentally and physically and ended up losing this play off to guilford high School, 5-11. The girls played some brilliant netball throughout the day and should be proud of the fact that they came fourth in the country, beating the eventual winners hulme grammar in the earlier rounds!

The team consisted of the following; joint captains - Charlotte Collins and hannah Jeavons, hannah Brotherwood, Florence hershman, holly hudson, Corah Lewis, Connie grant, Poppy Doorbar Charlotte Sidaway and Frances Taylor.

The B team played eight fixtures, winning four, losing three and drawing one. They had good wins against WrgS, Shrewsbury, Dean Close and Pates grammar. By the end of the season the girls began to come together and play some good netball, taking it up to their opposition and winning their last three games by more than ten goals. They had a lot of disruption with players moving around between the a and B teams but they coped with this well. There were good performances during the season by emma Jarvis (captain) and emily goodman who shot consistently and in the centre court there was speed and vision with ellen Mackie, Laura Bennett, amy Painter, georgie Morgan and harriet Drew combining well in all three positions. This, along with defence by Cleo england, georgia Warner-Tomlinson and Frances Taylor made for a very competitive side.

O.K.B.

Under 13

an enthusiastic group of over thirty girls attended netball club training on a Tuesday after games and we were able to field a, B and C teams throughout the season. The a team lost their first match to King’s high, Warwick but the following week they settled and became more organised. In a closely fought match, a determined performance from anna Warburton and hannah robinson in defence, Niamh Vincent centre court and accurate shooting by Charlotte ellis and Meg Shine gave the team a 21-15 win against King edward’s, Birmingham.

Several fixtures early in the Spring term were cancelled due to severe snow, but undaunted the girls continued to train at Perdiswell Sports Centre whilst our courts were snowbound. This proved worthwhile as the a team had a victory at Chase hS whilst the B team lost by just one goal. The Spring term saw the a and B teams struggle to win against strong opposition although the C team drew with St. Mary’s Convent B team with notable performances from Millie Cornock and Issy Swinson-Davis.

The highlight of the season was being runners-up at the District Tournament and therefore qualifying for the County Tournament. Confidence had improved after a and B team wins against hereford Cathedral School. Due to a hockey tournament clash, a mixed a and B team represented King’s at the County Tournament. Solid defence by georgia radley and alex Styles, flowing centre court play by Sarah graham, georgia Mackie, Sian Thompson and Lydia Chatterton and finally skilled shooting from Scarlett Payne resulted in King’s being undefeated in the section and the semi final. Unfortunately, in the final with heybridge, despite the girls’ best efforts they were unable to prevent the shooter scoring, losing 2-9 and thereby becoming County runners-up.

K.M.A/C.M.L.

match-play as early as December. This first match against King’s high Warwick was a controlled game with the players concentrating hard on their footwork and ball skills. although we lost 3-5 it was clear that we had a talented bunch of girls who could listen and implement instructions in match play. By their second match against King edward’s Birmingham the players were faster and took more risks which worked in their favour; the a team won 16 – 8 and the B team won 12 – 0, much to the delight of the patient parents on the sideline. The a team continued to perform well for the rest of the season with the only hiccup of a loss to WrgS by one goal. We met WrgS again in the District tournament where again we were runners-up to our local rivals. The B team were far stronger than every team they met throughout the season and were worthy winners of the B team district tournament in March. The C and D teams showed grit and determination in their matches and were successful against Chase hS. I’m looking forward to following the progress of this group in the next few years as they certainly have a bright future.

Rounders

Under 18

The girls really enjoyed their rounders this season. They were very keen to play in their final year at King’s for both competitive and social reasons. They came away with two wins and two draws against WrgS, Bromsgrove, St Mary’s and Cheltenham Ladies College. The girls’ competitiveness always shone through, especially in second innings when they pulled themselves together to either draw or win the game. Their fighting spirit to smash the ball in the outfield or creep forward for runs made them unstoppable both in the field and batting. The swift triangular combination of Louise gwilliam at bowler, Issy anstey at backstop and Laura Stansfeld at 1st post outsmarted all four of our opponents. Top rounders scorers were Issy anstey, Laura Stansfeld, hayley Turner, Lucy Mattocks and Beth Jeavons.

O.C.B.

Under 15

Under 12

It was encouraging to have thirty three girls regularly attending training every week from September round to the end of the season in March. With the autumn term as the hockey term we were able to give the non-hockey players

entry into a new local league this year ensured that the Under 15s had a very busy season indeed. Thrown straight into their first match without the time for any training sessions, it was hardly a surprise that they lost against a very strong Bromsgrove side, but the 12 ½ rounders they scored did bode well for the future. Two more narrow losses to Cheltenham Ladies and Malvern St James followed as the girls worked hard to develop new fielding techniques, but they were rewarded just before half term with a runaway victory over WrgS, in which a number of impressive catches kept the opposition score down to just 4 ½ rounders. after half term, this winning trend continued, with victories over St Mary’s, Malvern College and WrgS, but key squad absences meant that we were unable to challenge Bromsgrove on our second outing against them. Jess Longley, grace Bradley and george ormandy formed a new but very effective triumvirate at bowler, backstop and first post, Becky Brunt acquitted herself impressively in the

M.M.L.

The Under 14 squad

deep field, and Charlotte houlbrooke proved a very effective scorer of rounders. as always, tennis demands meant that others often had to step up, and elise Bue deserves a mention as the season’s ‘super-sub’, scoring seven rounders in one innings alone against St Mary’s to secure the victory.

J.C.M.

Under 14

We entered a local league for the first time ever and as a result hardly had any time to get sorted before embarking on matches. o ur first game against Chase hS was rained off so it was straight to WrgS. The first innings was tight but Frances Taylor batted strongly to keep the scoring going in the second to win 17.5 – 8.5.

rain stopped play against hereford so Malvern St James was the next outing. This was a tough game but the girls rose to the occasion and won 20-11.5, despite Malvern having england players in all their sides. Later on that week it was the

Convent and a comfortable 13 – 7 win. holly hudson bowled with pace and the back stop first post partnership with Laura Bennett and Flo hershman was deadly which made us feared on the circuit. ellen Mackie and Frances Taylor were particularly strong in deep and hannah Jeavons was a very safe pair of hands on second.

We then lost against Pates which was a shame as we were not able to field our strongest team because of tennis and athletics fixtures but it was great to get as many girls as possible representing the school in this sport.

The tightest game was the win against Malvern College by half a rounder, 11 to 10.5. It was nail-biting in both innings and the girls’ fielding was exceptional. Defeats to Dean Close and Bromsgrove followed but only as a result of tennis taking away key players. We were back up to full strength and ended up beating Dodderhill 11 to 9.5 after slick fielding and calculated risk taking in a limited balls innings.

The B team struggled in their matches and lost out on games through rain and some schools only wanting to play one team. They suffered a heavy defeat against Dodderhill but fared better against Pates.

o ver twenty girls attended training regularly. SCB and I alternated between training and matches and it was satisfying to see skills develop as the season progressed.

F.L.S.

Under 13

a and B teams played nine games in total against Cheltenham Ladies College, Dodderhill, Chase hS, WrgS, Pates gS and Malvern St James. The a team won three and lost three, and the Bs won two from two. It was great to be able to select from thirty seven girls to field an a and B team. They all had an opportunity to play in a match. There were many fine performances throughout the season; strong batting from anna Warburton and Pippa ratcliffe in the as and Kirsten SmithCooper and Midge Bradley in the Bs put an impressive amount of runs on the board for their teams against Cheltenham, and the combination of Scarlett Payne at bowler, Lucy Tolladay at backstop and Meg Shine at first post proved too quick at times for some of the opposition.

O.K.B./C.M.L./K.M.A.

Under 12

Nearly thirty girls attended the rounders club each week in the summer term. They were all very enthusiastic and enjoyed the chance to practise their skills and enjoy a game situation. The season started off well, when the a squad beat Dodderhill School 24.5 to 4.5 in the first of the local league matches. We then went on to beat Cheltenham Ladies College in both a and B team matches and beat hereford Cathedral 12-4. From there on in we couldn’t seem to keep up momentum and we lost the rest of our league matches to Malvern St James, WrgS and St Mary’s. Unfortunately the girls also went on to lose their final match against Pates gS, but their attitude and commitment throughout the season was second to none.

There were some very good performances put in at all times and the following always gave of their best; ellie Faulkner, Indie Nuttall, georgie grant, harriet Bradley, helen Jubb, Sally Clive, Frances Thomas and georgie Malin.

T.D.M.

Tennis

The weather was a significant factor towards the success and amount of tennis played this year in all age groups. Training nights were very popular with outside coaches putting the team players through their paces. at senior level we fielded both mixed and girls’ teams with the successes coming towards the end of the season. We had good wins over hereford Cathedral School and a very close loss against Malvern St James. Jess guilding and Sarah Conway were our most successful pair winning two of their games. In the mixed games the most competitive match was against Malvern College with the pairings of Charlie Titmuss and Sarah Conway, Iliya rasovic and Sophie Dee, Sam Brunt and Kate Lofthouse, Stewart Whitehouse and Jess guilding, James de Cothi and Beccy Marshall, where we gave a very competitive and exciting display of mixed doubles but eventually lost by 4 sets to 5. We entered four boys in the boys’ County singles competition where Ilija rasovic won the plate against Sam Brunt and Charlie Titmuss won the Scott and Smythe Cup for the second successive year in a very close final against a Malvern College pupil. Sadly all three of these boys will not be here next season so we are looking for others to step into their shoes. The most successful under 15 team had convincing wins against Dean Close, hereford Cathedral, Malvern College and Malvern St James but went down to Bromsgrove 4 rubbers to 5. These girls particularly enjoyed their coaching with Matt, the young male coach, and the courts were packed on Wednesday evenings. In the under 16 County doubles finals, Becky Brunt and Jess Longley came third, putting esther roberts and aliza Dee into fourth place; the furthest King’s has gone in this competition. at under 14 level there were convincing wins over hereford Cathedral School and Malvern St James but they found Bromsgrove too strong for them. Caitlin Powell and Poppy Doorbar played well together as first pair and came third in their section in the County finals.

The Wimbledon trip was another great experience for five Upper Sixth and three Upper

Under 15 County finalists

Vicki Heath

remove girls. oKB and CML, along with these eight pupils, had the arduous task of watching Nadal v Sodolin and then relaxing on Murray’s Mount to witness Murray’s exit from the tournament. Next year we hope to extend the playing season as we find that players only get into their stride towards the end of term.

M.M.L.

Under 13

The Upper Fourth tennis club was well supported for another year. We regularly had over twentyfive girls attending the club and all of these girls participated in our school competitions. The girls’ singles competition was played over three sessions and ended in a fantastic final between Scarlett Payne and Niamh Vincent. This was a close fought battle with Scarlett coming through as the winner. In the doubles competition again we had a large entry but we were not surprised when Niamh and Scarlett won the competition!

The team did not have as many inter-school matches as we would have liked and although most of the matches were close we were not very successful.

J.D.C.

Under 12

o ver twenty girls attended tennis club every Friday afternoon. They were all keen to improve and get the chance to play both doubles and singles.

Unfortunately due to poor weather there were only three fixtures. We took five pairs to hereford Cathedral school on a hot afternoon early in the season and the girls managed to hold onto a 5-5 draw. They then went onto play Pates gS with two pairs, losing 1-3 and also losing against Malvern St James, 1-3.

as well as the school fixtures we ran a Lower Fourth singles competition, fourteen girls entering. The quarter-finalists in the main competition were Indie Nuttall, helen Jubb, Jessica Powell and Daisy Nichols, with Daisy beating helen in the final. In the Plate competition the last four were Sally Clive, Millie hinton, Lydia Burrows and Frances Thomas, Francis beating Millie in the final.

T.D.M.

Fencing

at the end of this academic year, the fencing club waved ‘goodbye’ to a bumper crop of student coaches. Dag Corbett, James elderfield, Duncan Leeson, alex Pike and Piers Watkins have given generously of their time over the last couple of years with coaching younger pupils and helping with the general running of the club. Under the guidance of Prof. Northam, they have used this experience to qualify for their level one coaching awards with the British academy of Fencing and I hope that they will feel that this is a fitting tribute to their efforts. Who knows, it may even come in useful when they get to university!

In addition to their successes, we have welcomed another crowd of beginners to the sport and awarded a pleasing number of bronze and silver certificates. In recording our successes in this, one really notable achievement is that Natalie Cameron, alex humfress and Claire Smith have all passed gold awards this year which bears witness to both their good theoretical knowledge of the sport and also their competitive skill. I have been pleased that, over the year, the competitive successes of James elderfield, elliot Jones and alex humfress have seen them not only rise in the national rankings but also inspire some of the club’s other fencers to try following in their footsteps by carefully choosing which of the three weapons to specialise in. This has meant that we have needed to split the club into a variety of groups: beginners, foil, sabre and epee. In doing this, we have been able to use the visiting and student coaches to offer very specific tuition to all members of the club and cater well both for those who see themselves as olympic hopefuls and also those who just want to enjoy the thrill of brandishing a sword!

D.A.J.

Basketball

This season the senior side was arguably the strongest ever, with a large contingent of Upper Sixth players who had played since joining the School in the Lower Fourth . Their experience and dedication, together with the experienced coaching of aleks racic, meant that they really were a force to be reckoned with. at the annual Bromsgrove Invitational tournament they ran out overall winners, beating the hosts on the way by a single point in over-time. however, the tables were turned in the final match of the season, when they came up against a strong staff side –again the game went into overtime, but this time the school lost by a narrow margin of 64 points to 62. The five core players were Ilija rasovic, ruari Smith-Cooper, Charlie Titmuss, Jonjo Mcardle and Quentin elmhirst, the latter player receiving the Most Valuable Player of the season award. They were well supported by Tom Mills, Peter Preston, David haddock, Vladimir Djuric and andreas Neophytou, in whose hands the future of the team lies next year as the Upper Sixth leave. Carl Beardmore was given the Most Improved Player award, training with the senior side despite being only in the Lower remove year group.

The Juniors, Lower and Upper Fourths, continude to train with great commitment and enthusiasm. They lacked height as a team (an important quality in basketball!), but made up for it in some way with speed around the court, none being faster than the team captain, Sam Khogali. They were well beaten by an experienced Wyre Forest team, but it did provide a useful benchmark for future development. The awards for Most Improved Player were given to Dan austin and James green, whilst alex Whitehouse and edward Dorsett were given the Most Valuable Player awards in their respective age groups. Philip hadley, the most regular attender at practice sessions, also received an award – he regularly stayed on to watch the senior session and with Leo Mcardle kept score for them during their practice games.

The senior mixed tennis squad

KKE ARCHITECTS WORCESTER

Pillars of the Community

The dramatic highlight of the year was the Fifth and Sixth Form production of Norwegian dramatist henrk Ibsen’s ‘Pillars of the Community’ in December. The play, first performed in 1877 and often translated as The Pillars of Society, concerns Karsten Bernick, a wealthy ship-builder in a small coastal town who is the most powerful and respected citizen of his community, regarded as a model husband and devoted father. his pristine reputation, however, is built on lies and deceit, and calamity strikes when the unexpected and sudden return from america of his wife’s younger brother and halfsister threatens to destroy him if a long-buried secret is revealed. Desperate to dodge exposure in the kowtowing local community, Bernick devises a pitiless plan which, by a shocking twist of fate, risks the one life he holds dear. This vital new version by australian playwright Samuel adamson received universal critical acclaim when it was first staged at the National Theatre in 2005 in a production that starred Damian Lewis as Bernick. Ibsen’s rarely performed, but gripping thriller is set amid a society struggling against the rush of capitalism, the lure of america and the passionate beginnings of the fight for female emancipation. as the guardian review of the National production put it, “Ibsen’s hero, Karsten Bernick, is a thriving shipbuilder in a small Norwegian town. But his whole life and career is built on a network of lies. Fifteen years before the play’s action, he allowed his wife’s brother, Johan, to take the rap for a sexual and financial scandal. he also jilted the formidable Lona hassel to make a loveless marriage with her half-sister. When Johan and Lona return from america, he is threatened with the exposure of his life-lies; and even his plan to make a killing from a new railway is revealed to be based on corrupt insider dealing.” There are therefore many themes in this play that seem surprisingly fresh and contemporary, and it has all the ingredients of a thrilling drama. This King’s production was directed by SMa with a stylish garden-room set designed by Chris Crosswell, complete with large windows offering panoramic views of mountains and fjord serving to highlight the community’s isolation, both geographical and in terms of outlook. The play offered a large number of challenging principal roles and featured a large and talented cast, too many to mention them all here. amongst the principal players, however, Bernick was played with great confidence and plenty of stage presence by a charismatic Josh Crow, ably supported by Femke Witney as the flamboyant Lona hessel, robert Cowburn as Bernick’s brother-in-law Johan Tønnesen, Natalie Drenth as his spinster sister Marta, and helen Willis as his wife Betty. Will James was very amusing in the character role of hilmar Tønnesen, Betty’s cousin, Sam greenwood was the pompous schoolmaster rørlund, and Sophie Kavanagh was excellent also as Dina Dorf, the teenage girl living with the Bernicks, longing to escape from this stifling, backward-looking community to find a new, more fulfilling life in the New World now represented by Johan and Lona hessel.

S.M.A.

A scene from ‘Pillars of the Community’

Will James and Helen Willis

Robert Cowburn, Femke Witney and Josh Crow

The Real Inspector Hound

In the summer term a group of Upper Sixth students, led by Josh Crow, decided to set up a new Upper Sixth Drama Society. The aim was to give school leavers a chance to put on a show which they could rehearse during their exam leave, and to put on this show without any help from the staff. This year’s play was Tom Stoppard’s ‘The real Inspector hound’, considered perfect for the slot as a short tongue-in-cheek farce. Then, however, disaster struck! The entire female acting population of the year, including all the big names, decided to swan off to a greek island during arts alive week, when the play was to go on, and head of School emmie Le Marchand pulled out due to a possible US university visit. The production was rescued only just in time by the successful raiding of two beauties from the Fifth Form to fill the two female roles (anna humphreys and grace Caldicott). From this point on, everything went smoothly. rehearsals were sparkling jewels of hope amidst weeks of hard graft and revision. every aim was fulfilled. Josh Crow directed and Tim rogers designed the set. Tristan “Swivelhips” Morgan was the Stage Manager and technical help was found from every corner of the year. Jonjo Mcardle and Ilija rasovic in the lighting/sound box were irreplaceable. The only member of staff involved with the production was Mr Crosswell and it must be said that it could not have been done without him. The arrival of arts alive week brought a mix of excitement and terror to the cast, but with only moments to spare after a hard few days of work, the production rolled onto the stage. Ben Fardon opened the play with hilarity as Mrs Drudge the cleaner, his faux-chinese-woman accent winning the hearts and minds of the audience. richard Lonbay looked very suave and convincing as the young rogue, and harry Iddon’s performance as Inspector hound was an hilarious cameo, ideally suited to modus operandi. george Webster played a superlative role as Moon the critic, carrying the entire performance in many ways, with help at times from Josh Crow, as Birdboot, the other critic. The show may have been stolen, however, by robbie o xley, in the complex role of Magnus Muldoon. his rendition of the mad cripple was breath-taking, and was reviewed by one prestigious source as “perhaps the best in the show”. I think, however, that this reviewer must have overlooked Sam hicks as the dead body. his rendition was faultless. Thank you very much to every body who took part, and to Joanna Crow for helping with the costumes. I hope that the society continues in years to come.

Robbie Oxley and Ben Fardon as Magnus Muldoon and Mrs Drudge

Josh Crow

Curricular Drama

The introduction of the new examination specification at aS and a2 meant the timing of curricular exam performances was slightly different this year with most of the exam work squeezed into a very busy Spring term. The season of curricular performances began with an outstanding piece of abstract ensemble theatre at the beginning of march, devised and performed by the all-female a2 group under the title ‘Strange Fits of Passion’. The piece dealt in various ways with the oppression of women in male-female relationships. This was closely followed at the end of the Spring term by the Fifth Form drama students

performing their GcSe exam pieces, a collection of play extracts under the umbrella title ‘Final curtain’. aS Drama students presented the first part of their performance examination, a programme of monologues and duologues, at the beginning of march, and completed the year’s curricular programme in may with their staffdirected productions of four contrasting and challenging plays: ‘raspberry’ by Tony marchant, ‘betrayal’ by Harold Pinter, ‘The Woman Who cooked Her Husband’ by Debbie isitt and ‘reviving Ophelia’ by cherie bennett, adapted from the book by Dr mary Pipher.

Ben Fardon, Anna Humphreys, Grace Caldicott and Robbie Oxley

Speech and Drama

It has been another very successful year for the Speech and Drama Team. o utstanding LaMDa examination results were achieved in July with universally high grades - a high proportion of which were at distinction level. high marks were also achieved in the prestigious LaMDa Medal examinations. The Worcester arts Festival once again provided a suitable platform to showcase the department’s talent with notable achievements in every section entered. robert Cowburn was awarded the robert Vale Memorial Trophy and was invited to join hayden Lewis to perform in the prestigious Winners’ Concert.

The Speech and Drama section of the Drama Department is earning an enviable reputation through its hard working team who are committed to providing consistently high standards of performance. all of the teaching staff are extremely proud of their students’ achievements and look forward to helping them to build on their progress in the coming months.

Leanne Stephens

Drama Trips to London

Sixth Form

a combination of fifteen Lower and Upper Sixth students made its way to London in the october half-term to see a fantastic blend of incredible theatre performances. Firstly we were moved by the emotion in o wen o’Neill and Dave John’s ‘Shawshank redemption’ as the famous multi-oscar winning film was brought to life on stage, with scenes of violence and pure emotion that brought most of us to tears. Following this was the equally thought provoking performance of ‘Prick Up Your ears’ written by Simon Bent based on John Lahr’s biography of the playwright Joe orton and the subsequent film written by alan Bennett and directed by Stephen Frears. This was of relevance to the majority of us who were aS Drama students as we were studying orton’s final comic masterpiece ‘What the Butler Saw’ as part of our course. ‘Little Britain’’s Matt Lucas had unfortunately to stand down from one of the lead roles but nevertheless, a sterling performance from the understudy was funny yet touching at the same time. an impressively convincing performance from John Barrowman made ‘La Cage aux Folles’ amusing and entertaining for everyone in the audience. as the only musical out of the four shows we saw, and with no majorly serious issues as the focus, it gave a more light-hearted edge to the trip. The final show we saw was the world famous National Theatre production of ‘War horse’, which had altogether a different feel from the other plays once again! We soon forgot the fact that people were controlling the wooden structures of the horses, and became immersed in the developing relationship between mankind and horses. We were also fortunate enough to be given tours of Shakespeare’s globe and the National Theatre which gave us a valuable insight into the mechanics and social history of theatre. In our spare time we were able to appreciate the sights of London and, of course, the shopping it has to offer. The trip helped academically and in a broader sense, and was thoroughly appreciated by all.

Lucy Robinson

Fifth Form

The highlight of the year for most drama students is their annual residential trip to London. The Fifth Form trip took place the first weekend in February as a welcome treat immediately following ‘mocks’ and took a very similar form to previous trips in recent years, leaving Friday morning and returning on Saturday evening. Firstly we scared the students to death with a performance of ‘The Woman in Black on the Friday evening; then on the Saturday morning the students participated in a workshop relating to ‘Blood Brothers’ led by a member of the cast at Pineapple Studios. This was followed by a backstage theatre tour of the Theatre royal, Drury Lane and then a matinee performance of ‘Blood Brothers’ before returning to Worcester on the Saturday evening.

S.M.A.

Fourth Form Drama

a combination of BTh’s unexpectedly premature departure and the fact that the entire Lower Fourth year group was to be performing in a production of Benjamin Britten’s children’s opera Noye’s Fludde meant that the usual full-scale Fourth Form production was not going to be possible this year. It was felt to be very important that we still had some sort of drama performance for the Fourth Forms, however, and so it was decided first to offer a double bill of short plays, and later a triple bill. The essential elements needed to be: simple to stage; lots of parts; lots of fun. In the end the three plays we staged were ‘rockwinkel’s rise to Stardom’, an australian piece performed by a Lower Fourth cast, from a collection of funny scripts primarily for classroom use with this age group; ‘Murder in the Million Dollar Lounge’ performed by Upper Fourths, a comedy murder mystery set in the world of 1920s american gangsters, written by our own Mel Lewis, and ‘ernie’s Incredible Illucinations’, an early piece (from 1969) written by Sir alan ayckbourn especially for schools. This last play has been performed innumerable times all over the world over the years and was the main item on the triple-bill, performed by a large Lower Fourth cast. ‘rockwinkel’s rise to Stardom’, which really served as a short, amusing curtain-raiser to the other two plays, featured Colonel rockwinkel (Marcus Letori), a talentless contestant on a TV talent show (sound familiar?) having to enlist the help of a mad scientist, Professor ginger gerkin (Bradley Bates) and his “mediocre gun” in order to make all the other contestants less talented even than him. even some of the world’s greatest (and silliest) superheroes were unable, on this occasion, to save the day, and prevent rockwinkel taking over the airwaves with his awful performances. This short piece of nonsense was clearly much enjoyed by those performing it on stage, and amongst a talented cast, Milly hinton (Lois Line), Katherine richards (a.K. Perry), Bethany allen (L.Z. White) and alex Stevens (Captain Vegemite) gave particularly notable performances. SMa directed.

The Upper Fourth offering, ‘Murder in the Million Dollar Lounge’, was also great fun, and the great-looking costumes and appropriate accents really set the location and period very effectively indeed. all the clichés of the detective/gangster genres were in place in this fun spoof, which featured a host of enthusiastic and entertaining performances. heading the talented cast was Connor haines who was

‘Rockwinkel’s Rise to Stardom’ (and below)

‘Murder in the Million Dollar Lounge’

‘Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations’

excellent as detective hedley hunch. Cameron Walker (Stanley Boycott), ed Dorsett (Two Fingers), ellie Weaver (Mabel/eliza), Sian Thompson (Lady Twicket-Branch) and Maddy Shackley (Claudette) were amongst a number of others who gave memorable performances. Thanks also to henry Ball (Stage Manager), axel Taylor (Sound engineer) and anna Warburton (Lighting Technician) for all the help they gave to writer/director ML and to Chris Crosswell. ‘ernie’s Incredible Illucinations’ is about a boy who daydreams when bored, and his fantasies then come true and are acted out for real, with hilarious results! The play starts with ernie being taken to see the doctor by his mum and dad, and the events of the play are enacted in flash-back as the incredulous doctor is told about ernie’s “illucinations”. These include soldiers bashing down the front door to search the house, ernie’s auntie taking on and knocking out a prize fighter in the boxing ring at the fair, and ernie’s dad successfully executing a mountain rescue of a library attendant from the top of a step ladder in the public library. once again there were many excellent performances, but deserving of a special mention were Ben Foster who narrated the story with confidence and clarity as ernie, Sam Brookes who was hilarious as ernie’s Dad, ellie Faulkner (Mum), rosie Cant (receptionist), Chris gregg (Doctor), Tim Partington (army officer), Izzy Nicholls-Nall (auntie May), Brent Barnett (referee), Dan alcock (Kid Saracen), John Ireland (Library attendant) and ally Palmer, Sam Donoghue, aaron Daniels, alex Stevens, Kaushik rai, Lauren Minor, Liam Prodger, Stuart Lanigan, Sophie Woodward, emily Bennett and Sarah holdway in various other roles. SMa directed, and thanks must go to Chris Crosswell and rJS for all their help in staging these plays.

S.M.A.

Dance

The Dance clubs at King’s continued to thrive. The Lower Fourth, Upper Fourth and the Development Company were under the watchful eye of amie Powell, meeting each week and getting ready for the Creative arts evening in July. The senior company met regularly on a Thursday evening, working with gathan Cheema, a young self-taught hip hop dancer who came in for a few weeks to teach a short piece at the beginning of the year. They then prepared for the old People’s Christmas show with a very festive piece to ‘Walking in the air’ by aled Jones. They were then treated to a few weeks’ oriental Dancing led by Kirsty Johnson, which they all enjoyed and later performed at the DaDa evening. Peter raybone performed his first solo piece, accompanied by Miranda Phillips, at the fundraiser for the himalayan trip and there was a repeat performance at the arts showcase towards the end of the Summer term, and he went on to perform duets with Freya hodgetts and Martha hershman. (I wish to thank Martha for her youthful enthusiasm in taking on responsibility for the Lower remove Dance club.) Thanks in particular go to the senior dancers for giving up their time at the end of a busy year for the Performing arts showcase. They again performed to a high standard and were the perfect role models for the younger dancers at King’s. So many of the senior dancers are now choreographing their own pieces in their particular favoured style. This is so encouraging and shows how talented our pupils are in so many different genres. Congratulations must go to Victoria harriman who was offered a place at The Northern School of Ballet in September and oV Lara raybone

who was offered a place at the Laban Centre for Dance in London. We wish them well for the future and hopefully they will come back and perform for us next year in the Showcase!

T.D.M.

Music

It was an especial pleasure to welcome Dan Peters, Director of Music at King’s, hawford to adjudicate the 2009 house Music Competition. Congratulations to Charlotte Collins and Peter Shepherd, joint winners of the Junior Solo Competition, olivia Crowe, winner of the Senior Solo Competition and Kittermaster house, winners of the house Song Competition. Charlotte’s performance of Jerry Bock’s ‘Will he Like Me?’, Peter’s powerful piano playing in Brahms’ g minor rhapsody, olivia’s dazzling flute playing in Chaminade’s Concertino and Kittermaster’s lively singing of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ were much enjoyed in the ensuing Winners’ Concert. a most successful innovation for the autumn School Concert was to prepare the whole of the new Lower Fourth Form as a gigantic choir; their committed and enthusiastic performances were much appreciated by a capacity audience who also were able to hear Chamber orchestra’s fine performance of elgar’s Serenade for Strings and an exhilarating account of the first movement of Bizet’s Symphony in C major by First orchestra. In February gMg organized and directed another splendid orchestral Workshop for young musicians from King’s St alban’s, King’s hawford and King’s Worcester. Soloists genevieve Phillips, ellen Kelly, Jack Furber, eliza Iles, Charlotte Collins, georgina halford and Felicity holehouse joined the Workshop’s

The Senior Dance Company in performance

Wind Band, String orchestra and orchestra for the evening concert, the culmination of an enjoyable and rewarding day’s hard work!

The Spring Term School Concert was memorable for concerto performances by this year’s leaving musicians; Sam harris gave the most splendid performances of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with First orchestra and hannah Sansome (violin), Jess Bilson, olivia Crowe and Francesca hunter (flautists) were soloists in Bach’s 4th Brandenburg Concerto with the Chamber orchestra. at this same concert Katie Baum navigated the high Cs with aplomb in the School Choir’s performance of allegri’s famous Miserere. The Summer School Concert gave one more leaver, Sam Brunt, a concerto opportunity with the slow movement of Boccherini’s g minor Cello Concerto.

The magnificent finale to the concert was School Choir’s exhilarating performance of handel’s Four Coronation anthems. Perhaps the most pleasing and advantageous news for the department was the return of VJg to daily teaching for the first time in five years; the Brass group that she founded on her return is now making regular, polished appearances at concerts and school services. Jonathan Kingston, Director of Music at Bromsgrove School, was our encouraging and entertaining adjudicator for the annual Fourth Form Music Competition. ellen Kelly (L4a) won the Lower Fourth Instrumental and Vocal section with an assured performance of the first movement of William Mathias’s Flute Sonatina. equal second places were awarded to Sam Brookes (L4F), Kathryn Smith (L4F) and John Ireland (L4g). Luiz de Campos was the thoroughly deserving winner of the Upper Fourth Instrumental and Vocal section with his performance of Schumann’s First o boe romanze. equal second places were awarded to Leo Mcardle (U4C), Matthew emeny (U4C) and Nick Jones (U4F). In the afternoon a packed theatre witnessed U4C and L4g win

House Song competition – Creighton House

Orchestral Workshop

L4D in the Fourth Form song

the Class Song section with their performances of U2’s ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’ and Michael Bublé’s ‘haven’t met you yet’. audiences at the year’s six Keys Society Concerts and five Young Performers’ Concerts enjoyed as varied programmes of polished performances by the school’s musicians as ever. There were strong vocal solo performances from all age groups, the Senior Flute group, a Clarinet Quartet, excellent contributions from andy Crocker and his guitar pupils and, of course, the continuing excellence of the highly committed members of the Keys Choir. It was a great delight to hear new members play and sing; in some cases pupils new to the school, but, in other cases, pupils of longstanding who conquered their nerves and performed solos or duets in public, perhaps for the first time ever. We have been indebted to Peter Shepherd in all these concerts for his many, splendid piano accompaniments. With seemingly effortless ease he seems to be assuming the mantle of another ex-chorister and King’s Music Scholar, Peter holder, now doing so well as an organ scholar at the royal academy of Music and St. alban’s abbey. The final Keys Society Concert of the year was packed with performances by leaving musicians. a particular triumph was to rally First orchestra after the disruptions of public exams to accompany Francesca hunter in an intense performance of the slow movement of rodrigo’s Concierto de aranjuez for guitar; it was also a privilege to hear our departing oboe teacher, helen green, play the important cor anglais solos so beautifully. Many congratulations to gareth Ceredig (oV) who has won a postgraduate scholarship to continue his percussion studies at the guildhall after a spectacularly successful undergraduate career at Cardiff University.

D.E.B.

Art

The Sir Terry Frost gallery, at the heart of the art School, has proved an excellent venue in which to exhibit work by both pupil and professional artists.

Five exhibitions, promoting the work of visiting artists, introduced pupils, staff and visitors to a broad range of exciting and sometimes challenging work. The exhibitions were the focus of much debate and it was good to hear pupils discussing the work out of lessons and forming strong opinions. Several of the artists introduced their work in person and ran weekend workshops. exhibitions by Mark Spray, a Cornish painter, and the internationally-known textile artist, Carole Waller, were two of the highlights. Carole’s work seemed to be made for the modern space of the gallery and looked stunning, especially where she made use of the double-height walls. Carole ran three workshops; one for pupils and the others for visiting teachers and parents. In the summer term, she was invited to return to make a contribution to the ‘Words alive!’ festival. o ver several days she worked with pupils on a design for a textile banner celebrating the life and work of Dylan Thomas. This is to be installed in Choir house next year. Seventy gCSe pupils visited St Ives, Cornwall for total immersion in art, artists and wild weather. o ver five days the pupils visited The Tate gallery, smaller galleries, artists’ homes and studios and worked outside in the stunning landscape. We contended with driving rain and a howling gale but pupils survived to

GCSE exhibition

Primary Schools Stretch Day

Olivia Davies with her exam painting

produce stunning work and a new-found enthusiasm for all things arty. This was amply evidenced in their lively final exhibition. Chosen from over 1800 entries, we were thrilled to be national winners, for the second time, of one of the major categories of the national Big Draw Campaign. Teachers CTh and erh received a £1000 prize, on behalf of the school, at a ceremony at the British Museum. We were pleased to work in partnership with our close neighbours, the Worcester Porcelain Museum, and thank the many pupils and families who called in to draw and fill ‘the world’s biggest dresser’ with their painted cups and plates! There was a great atmosphere. New this year, has been the opportunity for Sixth Form students to work with pupils from Stanley road Primary School as part of the Key Skills programme. The energy and enthusiasm of the five year old visitors was infectious and many of the Sixth Formers loved assisting erh with a range of art projects based on the colours and patterns of India. We hope to develop a long and fruitful relationship with Stanley road School, which enjoys bringing its pupils to work in the art School and to socialize with our students. The year closed with our aS and a2 Level exhibitions which filled the entire art School with a riot of colour. as ever, the work on display was diverse, challenging and highly individual. Congratulations to the seventy five pupils who exhibited work, many of whom stunning visitors with their evident enthusiasm, creativity and ingenuity. Several pupils are moving onto prestigious art colleges in London and elsewhere and we wish them well.

E.R.H.

Words Alive!

It was the turn of ‘Words alive!’ to take centre stage this year. The festival, designed to encourage the creative use of the spoken and written word amongst pupils of all ages and abilities, offered an action-packed week of activities during the penultimate week of the summer term. During the school day, pupils worked with actors, musicians, a playwright, shadow-puppet practitioners and a poet. In the evenings the John Moore Theatre hosted a visiting theatre company, an evening devoted to the work of Dylan Thomas delivered by head of Drama, SMa, a student-led performance of ‘The real Inspector hound’ and a creative and performing arts showcase. The festival achieved its goal of attracting interest from all sectors of the school community and many pupils, parents and visitors enjoyed and benefited from the eclectic programme on offer. The week involved the co-operation of many teachers from the King’s arts departments, who must be thanked for their support at the end of a very busy school year.

E.R.H.

Design and Technology

Common perception of Design and Technology at King’s is very much based upon what is seen at the end of year DT Show. Sadly, for some, this is seen as an extension of the woodwork and metalwork taught many years ago. Quite simply, this is not the case. of course we teach many of the traditional skills (alongside some which are

state of the art) throughout the year groups but with a very different focus. We aim to give our students an understanding of what is possible in the real world and since technology is constantly changing and developing, so too is our teaching. every year group has a carefully thought out curriculum designed to build understanding, creativity, flair and a firm foundation for moving in to the next. It is true that much of the theory in the first three years is taught through practical project work in a range of materials (woods, metals, plastics, textiles, processed board etc) using a range of processes. It would be a shame not to make the subject as fun and interesting as we can,

but as the students progress through the years, the theory work grows in depth and complexity. Drilling a hole in a piece of any given material is about developing an understanding of the properties of that material and how it behaves whilst undergoing the process. This helps a student determine other possibilities for the process and the material. Building an understanding of a range of materials and processes enables the student to design real solutions to real problems. This skill is further informed by a student’s ability to fully analyse pre-existing products. This analysis is as much a part of gCSe, aS and a2 Design and

Technology as anything else. Designers are not able to design the best products without the ability to analyse existing products (similar or related). a major part of the aS curriculum involves students performing product analyses upon a range of commercially available lighting. They ascertain which materials are used in each component part, why the material’s properties are most appropriate for the task it performs and what industrial processes have been used in its manufacture and why. a thorough performance analysis which focuses upon the needs of the manufacturer, distributor and end user is also undertaken. Whilst wanting people to appreciate that the practical work exhibited at the DT Show is just the tip (ok, a large tip) of the iceberg, it is also nice to show some of it off. So here are just a few examples of the work produced this year. andrew Chung chose to develop a very complicated bedside table in glass and plywood with integral and adjustable light. So complex was the final design that the manufacture was very demanding. he spent a very long time carefully designing and developing his intricate ideas into a final solution which drew on all his experiences with materials and processes of the past few years. The final design employs a laminating process where thin strips of plywood (with glue between) are draped over a large foam former (that he shaped using a range of other processes) and placed inside a plastic bag. The glue sets and the plywood takes the shape of the former as the air is removed from the bag creating a vacuum. Issy anstey also used glass and plywood to very good effect. her chair looks simple and would not look out of place among a collection of chairs by well known designers. These looks hide a wide range of extremely complex manufacturing processes. armed with an understanding of these processes, she was able to push the limits of her design work with faith that the manufacture of her design would be achievable. Lizzie Bennett won the DT prize with her stunning chair. Not only is the backrest of the chair adjustable, but the upper and lower sections of the chair split to become a chair and footrest or a chair and stool. Fully assembled it has no more of a footprint than a traditional chair making it ideal for its intended purpose for use in a university student’s small room. With space for storage under the seat and the ability to offer additional seating when required, any student would want one of these. once again, this chair could not have been designed without a good understanding of some very complex manufacturing processes and experience of the working properties of the materials used. The lighting projects are produced by students from the Lower Sixth after having analysed those on the market. Students have to relate the understanding they have developed to industrial and commercial practice; they learn about quality assurance systems and control in production, manufacturing systems, computer integrated manufacture, robotics and artificial intelligence, biotechnology and sustainability within an international context, among many other things. In addition, much time is spent understanding the influences of design history on the development of products and the effects of technological changes upon society. We hope that students leaving the department are ‘design aware’ and can get pleasure from creating whilst enjoying the creations of others.

C.W.S.W.

Designs from Hamish Perks (above) and Lizzie Bennett

Ju N i OR sC h OO ls

K ING’S S T. A LBAN ’S

In September the new King’s St. alban’s Pre-Prep department opened, comprising of three classes – reception, Year 1 and Year 2, with a maximum of sixteen pupils in each. Kate Forster is the new reception teacher, alex roberts teaches Year 1 and Jane hadfield Year 2. They are supported by Teaching assistants Nina hobson, Lizzie Monkhouse and Nicola Mountjoy. having younger children around the site is bringing the best out of the older ones and there is always a palpable desire among the Year 6 pupils to present the Pre-Prep leader badges during Friday assemblies. at the other end of King’s St. alban’s, congratulations are due to the Year 6 pupils who gained awards as a result of their performance during entrance testing for the senior school at 11+. academic scholarships were awarded to george Blinman-Wilson, Coral Bradford, Sophie Doughty, harry guy and Joshua Irvine. a music scholarship was given to Matthew Kelley and rarely, a double award of academic and music scholarship to ruth Furber. It is most rewarding to see the hard work the staff and children put into the preparation for the entrance exams paying off.

Five children reached the finals of the National Primary Maths Challenge and William hodgetts (Year 5) achieved a bronze award placing him in the top 0.5% of the country’s young mathematicians. What is more, he can have another go, this time in Year 6!

Following several years of significant staff changes, largely due to retirements, this year proved to be somewhat calmer.

Jo Swinson-Davis covered in Year 4 for Ian Fry during his time off and Sara hurley joined us in the school office while Tammy Pearman was on maternity leave. Tammy is due to return for the next academic year, although Sara hurley will continue her work as secretary.

Congratulations to Tammy, husband richard and son henry on the

arrival of William.

The now annual sponsored readathon in the autumn term brought in over £2500 for CLIC Sargent which supports children and young people with cancer and The roald Dahl Foundation which spends the money on offering practical assistance to children and young people with neurological and haematological problems.

The harvest Festival sale on the quad lawn continues to support a child in Kenya.

Now that Nganza Kaliti has completed his education, our sponsorship goes to alex Turuya Turuka. alex also lives in Kenya and St. alban’s undertakes to pay for his schooling every year. Non-perishable goods brought in for harvest Festival are donated to The Maggs Day Centre in Worcester which cares for the homeless.

The School Fête was as fun and frantic as ever. With the addition of the Pre-Prep, the number of stalls increased to more than seventy and the variety was astonishing, ranging from face painting and pin the tail on the donkey to a ping pong squirt and yucky dips. a host of volunteer parents as well as the children resulted in St. alban’s raising well over £5000, which was a significant share of the total.

The total amount pupils raised for charity this year, from the above events and a number of other children led activities, was just a shade under £12000.

Informal concerts, organised by helen haggarty and graham gunter on Friday

afternoons in the chapel, continued to give many children the opportunity to display their music talents in front of an audience for the first time. These are light hearted events, which occasionally even have children asking to start again if they go wrong. They are, however, very important as they are often the first taste of public performance and occur in an atmosphere which is encouraging and supportive. Consequently, when pupils come to the more formal school concerts and exams they are able to approach them

with a greater degree of confidence. The orchestra Workshop organised by the Music Department stretches the more able and gives them the chance to perform with pupils from King’s hawford and the Senior School. To give a flavour of the extent to which music is flourishing at King’s St. alban’s, in addition to the aforementioned, the school still offers three choirs, an orchestra, a windband, two string groups and two recorder groups. Individual performances of note include Matthew Kelley and Charlie Bijl, both of whom are

choristers, who are members of the National Children’s orchestra and ruth Furber and Josie Cameron who are members of the National Children’s Choir.

Sporting opportunities continue to be made available to more children than ever before. In addition to the competitive inter-house sporting calendar, there were a team and B team fixtures in all the main sports, for boys and girls in addition to swimming galas, cross country events and tennis matches. o verall there were over one hundred and sixty inter-school fixtures arranged.

This year’s Creative ConneXions project adopted a global dimension again as the focus for the work. Within the broad theme of oceans, each year group explored a theme which then linked with other areas of the curriculum. This helped the pupils develop a positive awareness of the wider world and helped prepare them to live as part of a global society. In addition to the music, aDT and dance lessons in school which built towards the performance, a visiting composer and a storyteller helped the children develop their ideas and fine tune them for the show in the school theatre.

Year 3 have focussed on rock pool environments and included a trip to the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham as part of their research. They composed music motifs for their rock pool dances and a visiting artist worked with them to produce ceramic sea creatures.

Year 4 created a story based on the superstitions of sailors in the Tudor age of exploration and discovery. having examined how the Tudors told stories using map designs, the children communicated their tale through art, music and dance which allowed them to discover that all art forms can tell a story.

Investigating the groups of people whose ways of life are closely linked to the sea was the focus for the pupils of Year 5. In particular, the cultural traditions of hawaii and the development of the surf culture influenced the dances that they created. These were loosely based on the hula women’s dance and the aloha men’s dance. Their artwork was heavily influenced by the Kapa bark cloth designs and Tiki sculptures.

This year’s Year 6 project themes were based upon ocean pollution, ocean ownership and ocean disaster. Their work in art lessons produced beautiful coral reef scenes which were contrasted with industrial landscapes and pollution sculptures. Their dance, to express their concerns over damage to the oceans, was choreographed with power and integrity.

K ING’S H AWFORD

We begin our report by congratulating the Year 6 children whose varied talents enabled them to contribute so much during their time at hawford. academically they were a strong group who all performed well in the entrance examination. Special mention goes to angus guthrie and rachel McLeod who gained 11+ scholarships to the Senior School and harry annable who won a music award. In addition, genevieve Phillips achieved a music scholarship to Malvern St. James and george Queen gained an art scholarship to The Downs MCPS.

at the start of the year we welcomed Mrs Marshall-Walker to Year 3 and as the Spring term drew to a close Mrs rawnsley returned from maternity leave. We wished Mrs elliott well as she took up her new post in Kidderminster and were grateful to Mr Percival who joined us for two terms. Mrs Simons (Kg) also took maternity leave and we were delighted to hear of Jessica Mia’s safe arrival.

This year we continued to welcome boys and girls from the Senior School to help at sports events, arts Week and for work experience. We also included performances by senior musicians at our harvest Festival and school concerts. These links have all proved very successful and the pupils have been excellent ambassadors for the next stage at King’s.

We are fortunate at hawford to have such an extensive outdoor environment and visitors always remark on how well the site is used. This also complements our well established programme of outdoor education which sees children from Year 2 participating in residential camps. Many skills are taught during o utward Bound to prepare children in the junior school for these events which culminate in the Year 6 trip to Carsington.

Forest School has also continued to grow and new facilities for 2010 included the ever popular rope swing, the Forest School log train, the musical tree and our woodland xylophone. Initially only Kindergarten and reception classes had the opportunity to explore the woodland and experience Forest School activities. Now Years 1 and 2 enjoy afternoon clubs and the juniors have helped to construct a new den for the younger children. Year 6 love using the area during their overnight camps when marshmallows are toasted and scary stories told! Indeed it is wonderful to have such a facility that can be adapted for all ages. Most importantly our five year olds can tell you which sticks make the best campfires, how to use bow saws, build a bridge and of course the best

geraldine Turner

During the summer holidays we were all very saddened to hear that geraldine, the wife of our headmaster Jim Turner, had been diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, geraldine lost her battle and passed away in early September as the new school year began.

geraldine is greatly missed by all of us and particularly by the Learning Support Team where she played such a vital role. geraldine kept a watching brief over our more sensitive children, her radar often picking up on problems long before the less perceptive amongst us saw the signs. With quiet and patient determination she gently coaxed the most reluctant learners into making progress. She was able to decipher handwriting and spelling that baffled the rest of us.

geraldine was much more than just a caring and insightful teacher. She was a gentle and giving person who made all of us here feel valued. She was a good listener, allowing people to let off steam or share an anxiety over a cup of coffee. She loved to sit in the staff room and join in discussions on the foibles of teenage children and husbands. She welcomed us into her home on numerous occasions and her wry sense of humour and capacity for tolerance allowed her to smile at the LaMDa lessons in the living room, the chicks that needed fostering and the pupils left at the end of the day who went to her for tea and TV. She was a very special person to her friends and colleagues at King’s hawford, and can never be replaced.

places to find worms and woodlice!

For many of our children January brought the excitement of heavy snow and, whilst some of the older members of the community began to find it less appealing, for a short time at least lessons were planned quite literally around it as the school remained open. The conditions were a marked contrast to the glorious day towards the end of the summer when we hunted the grounds for insects. We were most fortunate to have the knowledge and support of experts from the royal entomological Society and by the end of the afternoon one hundred and fourteen different species had been identified.

The school’s charity calendar started in September when the children elected to support the air ambulance, help for heroes, the World Wildlife Fund and the rNLI. In the autumn term, the school also raised money for the Salvation army by selling-off produce brought to the school’s harvest assembly. In November two cheques for £862 were sent to the Wooden Spoon charity and to acorns following our second Sporting Lunch at Sixways. as Christmas approached, one hundred and seventy five shoeboxes containing Christmas gifts for needy children in eastern europe were sent.

a further £368 was raised in the retiring collection following the Carol Service for ombersley church funds.

In February a request was made by Ben Wadley (Y4) to organise an event to raise money for the haitian disaster. The response was tremendous. Cakes and offers of prizes for the raffle flooded in. an auction was held in the Cobb together with a tea and cake stall. an incredible £3133 was raised to help the beleaguered islanders. Towards the end of the term, representatives from all the Year groups in the Prep School joined together to organise the annual charity week. New events included a ‘back-to-front’ day and ‘the shirt of hurt’. In the latter event, children were sponsored to wear the shirt of their biggest rivals for the day. after some persuasion, Mr Turner bravely donned a Newcastle shirt – an act of supreme selfsacrifice! Thanks to the children’s efforts, an amazing £1274 was raised.

house events are always fiercely contested at hawford and this year’s full and varied programme was no exception. We started the year with the Tug of War which was won by Bredon and finished with the apache relay in which Kinver proved victorious. along the way the usual team games were also played as well as track and

field events during Sports Day and the hugely popular house relay. The Music competition was won by Malvern and the DT Challenge by Malvern and Clent jointly. This year’s range of events meant everyone had the opportunity to shine and contribute to their house. In addition, the

annual reading Competition held in Year 4, was won by Sam hartshorne, anna Taylor and Cameron Stanley-Blakey were joint winners of the Year 6 Presentations and angus guthrie won the Poetry event. Beyond school we were delighted to hear that we had been awarded healthy School status in recognition of the work done to provide both healthy, balanced lunches and a full programme of physical activity. as a school we continued to enjoy much success in all the main sports and many of our teams remained unbeaten. In addition the Under 9s won the hallfield Cross Country Competition and during the summer term they also won their competition at the Bluecoat Track Meeting. The completion of the swimming pool enclosure, thanks to the generosity of our Pa, will allow us to extend the swimming programme and we look forward to success in this area too. a number of staff have undertaken training this year and the

Pa’s purchase of katakanus will allow us to establish a programme of lessons using the perfect stretch of canal from hawford Lock to Porters Mill.

Following the successful completion of the canal’s restoration, children in Year 5

were invited to make mosaics to display along the towpath, marking the listening posts at which visitors can download information about the canal and its history. The project gave our children a taste of the commissioning process and working with a client.

Participation in music has continued to increase with 86% of children receiving instrumental tuition. each day, three different instrumental teachers are in delivering orchestral instruments, as well as the usual piano, guitar, drums and voice. In addition, peripatetic staff also started to offer their own activities and there are now well established string and guitar groups and plans for a wind band in September.

The Christmas Concert saw every child from Years 3 to 6 both singing in an ensemble performance and participating on either the recorder or the glockenspiel. hawford’s second ever CD – hansel and gretel, went on sale in March. Years 3 and 4 performed original music, with songs such as ‘The Woodcutters’ Song’ and ‘Toffee apples!’ o ver one hundred copies were sold, and the proceeds went towards the cost of booking the fantastic Visiting artists for arts Week. The show itself was accompanied throughout by the ‘gingerbread Band’ – eight brave Year 6 instrumentalists (angus guthrie, John Cotterell, Joe Cartwright, harry annable, Tom evans, Chris rhodes, genevieve Phillips and henry Martyn-Smith).

Technically demanding, this year’s summer production, ‘Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ was our most successful yet. o ur young performers sang throughout the whole production which was accompanied by a band of peripatetic teachers with henry Martyn-Smith on the drums.

The music department had much success this year in the Worcester Festival and during the year nearly fifty young candidates were entered for aBrSM music examinations with five achieving distinctions in the summer exams, which was most impressive. arts Week celebrated everything British in its most modern sense, with Visiting artists from Trap Media leading Caribbean, Bollywood and Street dancing workshops with Years 4 – 6. The culmination of the week was a superb massed dance performance in the marquee, which included every child from Kindergarten to Year 6.

The Summer Concert brought a busy school year to a close and was rounded off by a virtuoso performance by harry annable and the orchestra of Mozart’s celebrated ‘rondo’ from his horn Concerto no. 4, followed by a rousing performance of ‘oh happy Day’ (from ‘Sister act’) by the Prep Choir.

Ov NOtes

The 107th Reunion Weekend -

17th, 18th and 19th September

Friday - OV Golf

This year’s oV golf Day, organised once again by russ Mason (hon oV) saw thirty-six players compete for the team and individual trophies. For the first time we had a ladies’ team, led by the President,take part for what was once again a tremendous day’s golf. Played in glorious weather at Upper Sapey gC, the team event was won by russ Mason, Dave Mendham (hon oV), James Bader (o 84-94) and Tom Weston (Cr 99-04). The individual trophy went to Tom Weston with a score of 44 points.

Saturday - Reunion Day

oV CoMMITTee 2009-10

President: Caroline [horrigan] Krolikowski (Co 85-87)

Chairman: roy Padden (Cl 45-52)

headmaster: Tim Keyes (hon oV)

Vice-Presidents: Philip Mackie (Cl 73-84)

hon Secretary: Michael Page (Cr 60-65)

hon Treasurer: John Potter (Cl 55-62)

hon. Social Secretary: richard Underwood (Ch 68-79)

assisstant Social Secretary: andrew Underwood (S 77-88)

Member emeritus: alec Mackie (Cl 47-56)

hon. accounts examiner: rob richards (Cr 79-84)

oVCC & oVFC representative: richard Wilkes (W 76-86)

oVs and their guests began to arrive in the playground well before the official start of the reunion in the dining hall at 11.30 am.The usual lapel name badges had been prepared by the FDo just in case, as someone remarked, anyone got lost and couldn’t remember who they were! Thanks to the considerable help from the FDo in the early planning of the reunion, several year groups attended to celebrate a significant anniversary; some only a handful of years away from their time at School; some nearly fifty years down the line and two oVs who were at School in the 1930s. The headmaster welcomed particularly those oVs attending who were 70, 80, or 90 years of age this year.also present, by special invitation were several retired members of staff. he then introduced Sue hincks and richard Chapman (Deputy heads) and Marc roberts, who along with the headmaster himself were to lead groups around the School, promising to show oVs much that was new, much that was changed, and reassuringly, much that would be familiar.one particularly interesting ‘port of call’ was edgar Tower housing the archives, where Cara and John roslington were in attendance to show off the collection of material that has been gathered together,and was guaranteed to bring back so many memories. The tour over, oVs returned to the Dining hall for lunch and a chance to sit down again and talk over not only the morning’s experience, but much else. The headmaster called all oVs celebrating their 70th, 80th and 90th birthday years to step forward and witness a specially prepared celebratory cake, topped with icing displaying the School Coat of arms being cut by our two nonagenarians John Cowper and John reynolds for distribution to all in the room.

ordinary Members: James Mills (Cr 80-87), David rosewarne (Cl 7683), Suzie gilhooly (e 90-92), Jenny [Clee] o’Bryan (e 88-90), Will Kerton (o 82-92), Danny [hankins] andrews (S 92-99), Jon Marchant (o 85-92).

Four members retired from the Committee during the year: gareth o’hara (Ch 81-84), elizabeth [alexander] Charman (Co 88-90), andrew Underwood (S 77-88), rebecca Day (Co 81-84).

The AGM

The 2010 agM was held in the Chappel Memorial room at 6.30pm, with retiring President Caroline Krolikowski in the Chair to open the meeting. There were only twelve present, and some expressed disappointment at such a low turn out, when important decisions needed to be made. The President called the room to order and asked all to stand in silent respect as the names of fifteen deceased oVs were read out. There was one apology for absence and the Minutes of the 2009 agM, circulated to all present, were accepted, with no matters arising. John Potter presented the accounts for 2009 and gave a brief explanation: the deficit between forward liabilities and Club reserves had been reduced considerably; the year had been satisfactory. The hon Treasurer had recommended to the Committee that no change in subscription was necessary, and his recommendation had been accepted. he thanked rob richards for acting as accounts examiner. The accounts were adopted (proposed Malcolm Joyner and seconded Phil Mackie). Caroline Krolikowski proposed that Phil Mackie be elected President 2010-11, this was seconded by Donald howell and passed unanimously; Caroline vacated the Chair and the new President took over the meeting from that point. Danny andrews (S 92-99) and Jon Marchant (o 85-92) were elected to the Committee. There was no name forward to fill the vacancy for VicePresident, but Committee Chairman roy Padden said an approach would be made to a prominent oV attending that evening’s Dinner. The agM gave approval for such action. [Robin Vincent (Cr 52-62) was approached at the Dinner and agreed to take on the post of Vice-President - MJP]. The agM rejected a proposal that a Committee Quorum should be one third of elected members in favour of the proportion being one half; the Chairman to have a casting vote. a proposal that rule 8 (Discipline) should be struck out was rejected in favour of the Committee bringing back to the 2011 agM a re-worded rule 8 for further consideration. Sophie Whitworth, reporting for the FDo, said huge strides in

fund gathering had been made and the Bursary Funds were supporting an increased number of students through the School. It had been a very productive year. The oV Club Charity Draw was made by the President and the winning ticket belonged to Tony Dyson (B 56-65). The prize was a luxurious glass decanter, bearing the School’s Coat of arms, and made for the Club to use in the Draw by Phil Warner (Ca 67-77); the decanter to be presented at the Dinner. The President closed the meeting at 6.54, with thanks to Caroline Krolikowski for all the hard work she had put in during her time in office.

The Reunion Dinner

one hundred and thirty-two members and guests assembled in College hall which had been prepared for the evening by Club volunteers led by Social Secretary richard Underwood assisted by members of the FDo. Balloons in Club colours suspended over tables helped to set the mood. archive pictures and other memorabilia was on display featuring material covering those years when members of the year groups at the Dinner had been King’s students: all due, as usual, to the hard work of Cara roslington and her archive team. The room was called to order by MC Marc roberts, who introduced the President. She welcomed the guests including the Bishop of Worcester, The rt revd Dr John Inge and Dr Denise Inge,Wing Cdr rob Williams, the President’s Commanding officer & Miss Wendy Jenkins; Mr hugh Carslake, Chairman, the Board of governors and Mrs helen Carslake; Mr Jim Panter, Development Trustee & Mrs Margaret Panter; The headmaster & Mrs Mary anne Keyes; Mr Donald howell & Mrs Pat howell; Mr russell Whitehouse, head of School & Miss Katie Wreghitt Vicehead. Stanley allsopp (Ca 46-51) had offered to bring together a small group of ex-choristers to perform a sung grace before the meal, and the President invited the Bishop, Dr John Inge to call on them to sing the Latin grace. They were applauded after a perfect cappella rendition, no mean feat for an ad hoc group

v who had very limited opportunity to rehearse. The winner of the oV annual Draw was announced. Proceeds from this year’s Draw amounting to £1,000 will be divided between the Mike Stevens Fund and Cancer research UK. The Loyal Toast was proposed by retiring President and the Toast to The School by newlyelected President, to which the headmaster replied. he had a great deal to report: public examination results were high and comparable with or better than other schools in the area; and particularly pleasing was the degree of success achieved by individuals and teams representing the School in extra-curricular activities. King’s offered much more than academic excellence as this was but a part of providing a full education, which in the broadest sense should be preparation for adult life. oVs were helping in this task, and a number of oVs, successful in their own fields had returned to King’s to talk to Sixth Form students about their careers. The Baker monies had been received, and work on the new boathouse complex would start before long. For one season the Boat Club would have to manage with bare board facilities, but the inconvenience would be worthwhile, allowing future generations of rowers and others to enjoy state of the art facilities. Plans for the next big capital project, SPaCe were well in hand.

Donald howell (oV) had retired as Chairman of the Board of governors in July; measured from his time at King’s as head Boy, 60-61, he had given 50 years of solid support and more to the School. The Club wanted to mark this contribution to King’s in some small way, and Donald was presented with a gift of tickets for the england v India test match at edgbaston in 2011as a token of the Club’s appreciation of Donald’s dedication to The School. In accepting the gift, Donald was adamant that his contributions had always been part of a team effort.

The President thanked the headmaster, Marc roberts and richard Underwood for organising the evening. The formal part of the evening closed with Major John Turner (DB 40-44) signing the Chappel annual reunion award Book to mark his attendance as the oldest oV present who had maintained contact with the School for over 60 years.

Sunday - The Cathedral Service Members and their guests and partners joined the regular congregation for the 10.30am Sunday eucharist.The preacher was the Dean, the Very revd Peter atkinson: he took up points raised by the readings and linked them to other themes, including national topical events and the reunion experience, delivering to his audience - both oVs and the other regular members of the congregation – a thought provoking sermon. Unfortunately the Dean was unable to join oVs at the reception held in the Common room immediately after the service, where socialising and the re-kindling of memories continued for some time before the last formal part of the 2010 reunion came to an end. The Weekend had seen 158 oVs and hon oVs return to the School, two from as far back as the1930s and others from as far away as germany, Italy and australia.

Old Vigornians CC

after three years of gloom both on and off the pitch, I’m delighted to report that 2010 was a vintage one for the oVCC. after floods in 2007 and 2008, and more bad weather in 2009, there were only two games all season where no play was possible. The good weather and good pitches also led to a number of records being broken. after a play-off win in September, both firsts and seconds were promoted to Division Three in the Worcestershire League next season.

The 1st XI were well-captained by Tom Weston and Duncan hughes, who shared the duties brilliantly. There was a fantastic team spirit which was helped by senior players like osman Fiaz and younger ones like Luke Baghdadi. My abiding memories are of a scrambled last ball win over Brintons at hawford, after a battling, determined captain’s knock by Tom Weston, and of the celebrations after promotion was secured. I played a lot in the seconds this year and thoroughly enjoyed myself in a side which included King’s 1st XI players from six decades. Colin Cole, who left school in 1977 was the leading batsman, while the new ball was taken by Ieuan Dimond, who left last year. Dave

Mendham led the side admirably, before standing down at the end of the season. his contribution to the club over the past fifteen years has been immense, and deservedly he has already been made an honorary oV. on Sundays it was a season of two halves, defeat after defeat in May and June, followed by seven wins on the trot from July. Dan Wheeler managed the side well and there were some fine performances throughout the season. andrew Judd remains as youthful as ever, and forty four years after he captained King’s 1st XI, he scored 350 runs at a healthy average, and walked away with the Sunday player of the year cup. Will Lucas, our seventeen year old opening bowler, led the attack and deservedly won the Jim Panter Shield, which is awarded to the best young player. Now to those records. In april we posted the club’s highest score - 369 for 1 from 45 overs, at himbleton. osman Fiaz, Duncan hughes and Nick Major became the first three batsmen to make hundreds in the same innings. Major went on to become the first player to score 1000 runs in a season in over twenty years, and in doing so became the first to achieve the feat before the end of July. he also scored the most hundreds (four) in a single season, and not surprisingly won the Bailey Cup for Player of the Year. Tom Lea became the first player to take five wickets and score a century in the same match, winning the Performance of the Year trophy for his efforts. ahsan Fiaz, at seventeen, became the youngest centurion in the club’s history, a record held by andrew Judd since 1966. James Bader posted the second highest individual score - 163. Lorin arnold and James Parry, along with those already mentioned, made it twelve centuries for the club this year. It’s worth mentioning here a number of other players who remain or have become stalwarts of the club, azmat riaz, Liam Fahy, Nic Sproson and Ian Bell have played vital roles in the club’s success.

The future looks bright too, as lots of youngsters played this year. Some like harry Iddon, hiten Patel, Dougie armot and alex Spring have all played before and continued to play well but there were also promising debuts from anthony Fahy, Sam harris, Tom Mills and Dave haddock.

Nick Major - as well as being the oVCC Player of the season, has become one of the five Midlands Club Conference players of the year. So far as I am aware this is a first for the club.

It is a prestigious award, and is selected from all club players from herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the Black Country - including those from the Birmingham & District League, which is the pinnacle of club cricket in the West Midlands.

he broke a number of records this year. he scored the most hundreds in a season (4) and was the first player in the club’s history to reach 1,000 runs in the season before the end of July.

Phil

Mackie – Club Chairman

Tom Lea when he scored a century and took 6 wickets in the same game

1st XI

This year was an incredibly successful and enjoyable season for the oVs. We owe a lot to club captain Duncan hughes, and 1st XI skipper, Tom Weston. after nine games we were unbeaten and lead the league by 48 points, including a win over semi-pro side, harvington. Nick Major led the batting and Tom Lea lived up to his nickname – ‘Freddie Flintoff’ - on and off the field. azmat riaz had the best bowling average in the league. Luke Baghdadi kept wicket all season and made this difficult skill look easy. osman Fiaz averaged in the high forties with the bat and regular bowling performances from Will Smith helped the team become a force to be reckoned with. There was the customary oV blip, two defeats and two abandonments, which meant that in august our challenge for promotion was in peril. however we dragged ourselves kicking and screaming to the play-offs and promotion. also a massive thank you must go to Luke Baghdadi for organising a fantastic tour to South Wales, which although a bit of a blur, was thoroughly enjoyable. he will be missed both behind the stumps and in the dressing room.

Liam Fahy.

2nd XI

The performances of the 1st XI this year rubbed off onto those of the 2nd XI. Playing with a settled side throughout most of the year made a real difference to team morale and performance, and a good mix of youthful talent and experienced cricketers made the year a most enjoyable one. The side eventually finished third in the league, having to wonder what could have happened had we converted a couple of matches to victories. Fine contributions were made by andrew Judd, Phil Mackie, Colin Cole and James Bader and it was good to see the emergence of good solid young cricketers like Ieuan Dimond, ahsan Fiaz and george haywood-Meek.

on reflection I feel the side has taken a big stride forward this year, and may I thank everyone who has played for me over the year. I look forward to playing under Nick Baxter next year as he takes his first steps in oV captaincy.

Dave Mendham

Sunday XI

one of the most successful and enjoyable Sunday seasons for a number of years began in rather subdued fashion in the unfashionable lateMay sunshine. The oVs lost their first two games by more than a hundred runs leaving bowlers bemused, batsmen buckled by pressure and umpires - having to contend with boundary after boundary - running the very real risk of seeing an arm drop off. But the recovery didn’t take long and the season ended splendidly - as we gelled into something close to a pretty cohesive unit.

There were some excellent moments along the way: Nick Major’s 132* sealing a last-ball win over Dominies, James gommersall’s six over cover in the win against hallow and the well-drilled victory over a strong Marle hill side. My thanks to all the usual suspects including Phil Mackie, Nic Sproson and the still-disgracefully agile andrew Judd who had his best season in over twenty years.

one of the best features of captaining the side is seeing the continued development of some of the younger players and 2010 was no exception with Ieuan Dimond and Will Lucas justly seeing their commitment and good-humour rewarded with terrific summers.

Dan Wheeler

OV Football Club

old Vigornians Football Club is targeting promotion to Worcester League Division 1 and a cup run to Worcester City’s St george’s Lane stadium during its fifth season.

The club was set up by Paul Judge, Tim race and Tom guest and started life in Worcester League Division 4 in 2006. Two promotions and one cup final later and oVFC is enjoying a solid start to the 2010/11 season, currently mid-table in Division 2 and through to the last 16 of the Bernhard Finnegan Cup.

Dozens of old Vigornians of all ages have played for the club over the past four years, from ‘experienced’ goal-scoring regular rich Wilkes (40-something) to this season’s newest recruits, teenagers Ben and Tom Fardon, Sam harris and Iliya rasovic.

other regulars in the side include this season’s current top-scorer Julius Baghdadi, Dan Kendrick, Luke Turner, Tom Squire, alex Cross, Joe o’Connor, Tim race, Tom guest and Paul Jones.

The club is always looking for new players and any oVs interested can email Dan Kendrick on dan-kendrick@hotmail.co.uk

Deaths and Obituaries

The following deaths have been reported to the Club since the 2009 agM.

geoffrey Torrens (Ca 29-32), John Cowper (DB 30-36), edward Price (h 41-43), Brian Papps (Cr 40-44), Leonard Wolfson (Cr 42-45), Leslie Wolf-Phillips (Cr 40-46), Thomas Wright (DB 42-46), Clifford ralph (DB 42-48), Barry Davis (Cr 45-50), John hopkin (Ca 48-53), Phyllis Wilkinson (54-55), Peter Brown (h 49-56), Mike Drew (Cl 50-59), howard Ballance (hon oV 50-61), howard Wyer-roberts (Cl 5663), Simon Scott (h 58-65), Peter Barnett (hon oV 52-84), Bob Burkill (hon oV 69-97), Tom Bader (hon oV).

Team during tour to South Wales

Play-off winning side.

back row (l-r) a riaz, r.Hallett, W.Smith,T.lea, D.mendham, J.bader, l baghdadi, N.major

Front row (l-r) O.Fiaz, D.Hughes, T.Weston (capt), a.Thompson

John Cowper

John Cowper’s connections with the King’s School go back to 1930, when he first set foot in the School as a young pupil; he was to keep up that connection for 80 years. he died shortly after attending the 2010 reunion Lunch, when he celebrated the occasion by joining with John reynolds (S 35-39) to cut a cake decorated with the School Crest, and made especially for the occasion. The day was to prove particularly pleasurable for him: not only had he good memories of his time there as a pupil, but he had worked on the School as an architect, when the modern edifice first started taking shape, and his own work remains, standing proudly alongside the very much older and the very new. after leaving in 1936 John was to pursue a career as an architect, training at the Birmingham School of architects. In 1952 he was working in Walsall, for FJ Meeson, travelling a considerable distance every day by motorcycle from Kidderminster. his next move was facilitated by the oV connection when it turned out that his interviewer for the post was none other than an old class mate! he moved to Iraq, to work as a senior architect for the Iraqi government. For the first few years he was Site architect for the royal Palace, the houses of Parliament, and the Prime Minister’s residence - a great experience. Later he was made Deputy to the Director of the Directorate of Buildings, and worked also for the raF, on housing for Iraqi personnel during closure of the habbaniyah base. Thinking of a possible move to australia, he trained for and obtained his private pilot’s licence. In 1958 he married Kay godwin, and in 1960 son Jonathan (h 69-78) was born. By 1966 political unrest in Iraq had reached a point where he decided it was time to leave. he had many good friends in Iraq, and felt that though the country had major problems, present foreign intervention there is based on pure ignorance, and not necessarily in the best interests of the Country or its people. Tempted to go to australia he decided to return to the UK and joined his father-in-law and brother with a practice in Kidderminster. Not taking that chance and going to australia was a choice he later regretted. But King’s was to gain, as some of John’s work in the late 60s and 70s was to be for the School. he retired in 1988, but continued with his passion for a variety of sports, and a number of other interests. Kay died from cancer in 1998 and John was then looked after by son Jonathan and his family, gaining enormous pleasure from watching the grandchildren carry on the family tradition of sporting achievement. John remained in touch with three of his colleagues from his early days as an architect, and they were meeting occasionally right up to the end. [Based on notes drawn up by John himself, for the Vigornian, shortly before he died].

edward Price

Born in Tunbridge Wells in 1926, the eldest of 3 children, edward was a boarder at Worcester Cathedral Choir School from 1935, moving to King’s (hostel house) six years later when his voice broke. In 1943, he joined the Worcester regiment, seeing action in Belgium, holland and Northern germany. after the war, he remained with the Worcesters until 1953, joining the regimental band as a clarinet player and seeing action in Malaya. edward married ena in 1955. o vercoming initial setbacks in civilian life, he found his niche in the travel business, becoming a successful representative for alitalia airlines for 20 years, and travelling widely, until ill health forced his retirement in 1987. Well known and respected within the travel trade in and around London, he followed the maxim “my word is my bond” wherever possible.

Following his life-long passion for music, edward joined an amateur orchestra in the mid 1970s, playing clarinet, becoming one of its driving forces and holding many offices, including Chairman and Treasurer. he remained active in the orchestra until shortly before his death. From the 1980s onwards, he welcomed renewed contact with the old Choristers, King’s and the regiment, rarely missing a reunion or dinner - or the opportunity to walk on his beloved Malvern hills - and contributing (archive material and financially) to King’s when circumstances allowed. edward died on 31st January 2010, after a long battle with cancer, and is survived by ena, three children and five grandchildren. remembered by family, colleagues and acquaintances as warm, friendly, humorous and one of life’s gentlemen, he is sadly missed.

I remember Edward telling me, at a reunion, of the harshness of his time as a boarder, both in comfort and discipline. Boarding life had always been very Spartan, and was even more so in the war years with rationing. Some Monitors regularly issued summary and often draconian punishments to younger boys for fairly minor perceived misdemeanours. And one of his tutors used to say Edward had only three speeds: slow, dead slow and stop. When telling me this, there was no hint of antipathy: that was the way it was in those times, and he looked back on his days in the Choir School and at King’s with fond memories. MJP

Brian Papps

Born in 1926 in Worcester, Brian attended Sunnyside, then the Cathedral Choir School (34-40), moving on to King’s (40-44) where he became head of house. he was a member of the First XV and also rowed for the School. on leaving King’s he did National Service, in the Navy and Fleet air arm. his passion for sport, particularly rugby and rowing was to remain all his life, and in his playing days he was a regular member of local teams or crews wherever he was living. another major interest was Scouting, and he occupied a number of senior posts in the organisation, first in Worcester and then in the Monmouth when that area became his home. he had a broad range of other interests, as diverse as being Secretary of an agricultural Ploughing Society, a member of the Chepstow Choral Society, and President of his local rotary Club. Brian Papps’ career was mainly in agricultural land agency, starting in Tewkesbury in 1947 and then moving to Monmouth in 1950 to work for

rennies. he qualified as a Chartered auctioneer and Chartered Surveyor in 1952 and moved in 1955 to rennies’ office in Newport, becoming a partner in 1962 and Senior Partner in 1985. after retiring as a partner he continued work as a Consultant to rennies until the age of 70. he served on the exam Board of the Central association of agricultural Valuers for many years as well as being Chairman of the South Wales branch of the CaaV and President of the South Wales branch of rICS. he was appointed by the Lord Chancellor to serve on the arbitrator’s panel. his services to agricultural land agency were recognised when he was awarded a Certificate by the CaaV recognising his contributions to the organisation over in excess of 50 years: this arrived shortly before his death, and the recognition gave him enormous satisfaction.

Brian married his first wife eileen in 1952, and they had a son and daughter. eileen died of cancer in 1986 and he married Jean, who was to be his companion for the rest of his life, attending the oV reunion with him in 2009 when he signed the Chappel Book as the oldest oV at the Dinner in College hall. It was a memorable day which both enjoyed. [Jean Papps, widow].

Lord Wolfson of Marylebone

Lord Wolfson died on 20 May 2010; he was 82. Leonard gordon Wolfson was born on November 11 1927, his father, Isaac, was the son of a russian-Jewish immigrant furniture maker and had established a rapidly expanding mail-order business. at King’s he was a batsman for the First XI. on leaving King’s he was taken into his father’s business, made a director in 1952, and managing director ten years later. In contrast to his father he was fundamentally shy, but at the same time he was known to be sometimes very autocratic, overriding the advice of others. Leonard Wolfson and his parents (he was their only child) were founder trustees of the Wolfson Foundation in 1955. endowed with £6 million worth of gUS shares, its objectives were the advancement of health, education, science, the arts and humanities. The trust multiplied in value more than a hundredfold, and its Website now records that funds stand at £750 million, with more than £1 billion (at current values) having been given away. In 1970 the School was to benefit when Trustees of the Wolfson Foundation made a generous grant to King’s towards the cost of The Wolfson Building designed to provide workshop space on the ground floor for science and engineering projects and on the upper floor an arts centre. It was a generous gift that would commemorate Leonard Wolfson’s time at the school and the family’s many associations

with Worcester. In recent years, the Wolfson Foundation has also given a generous grant towards IT equipment in the new Library. at the age of 44 Leonard Wolfson was Deputy Chairman of the Wolfson Foundation, Managing Director of great Universal Stores, Chairman of great Universal Stores Merchandise Corporation, and on the London Board of Barclays Bank. he was knighted in 1977 and created a life peer, as Lord Wolfson of Marylebone, in 1985. he also inherited his father’s baronetcy, created in 1962. Leonard Wolfson was president of the Jewish Welfare Board from 1972 to 1982, a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and a patron of the royal College of Surgeons. he held honorary fellowships and doctorates from a large number of colleges and institutions in Britain and Israel besides the o xbridge pair which bore his name. When his father died in 1991 gUS was worth £3 billion. By then Leonard Wolfson had taken the group out of high street retailing and manufacturing, retaining its profitable core of mail order, finance and property. The business weathered the recession of the early 1990s, but faced new challenges in the mid-1990s. In 1996 Leonard retired, handing over the chairmanship to his cousin David, Lord Wolfson of Sunningdale. In 1949 he married ruth Sterling, with whom he had four daughters, Janet, Laura, Deborah & elizabeth. after 41 years of marriage, ruth suddenly departed – leaving him on a beach in Barbados, reportedly after a row about their lunch plans. The marriage was dissolved, and in 1991 Leonard Wolfson married estelle Jackson (née Feldman) who survives him. [Adapted from The Daily Telegraph].

revd Thomas Wright

Tom Wright left King’s to go to Cambridge and then entered the Church. he was priest in charge of a number of parishes during his career, and his work included a spell (64-71) as a raF Chaplain and being rural Dean of Sudbury (70-81). he was also a honorary Canon of St edmundsbury Cathedral. he was, until retirement, priest in Charge of Denston, a rural benefice in West Suffolk. he died on 9th June 2010, and the funeral was held at West Suffolk Crematorium, followed by a memorial service at the parish church of St Nicholas, Denston. “Tom was a ‘one-off’ who with his wit brought originality and humour to his ministering.” (revd. Jim hobbs). [David Gregory, OV].

Barry Davis

his great interest outside the School was the church organ, and not only did he get to play the organ in Worcester Cathedral, but the organ in exeter Cathedral as well, when he was in that city at teacher training college. he held teaching posts in Wimbledon (where he met his wife, Betty), Stanford-Le-hope, and Basildon before taking on the appointment as head of a new primary school in Stanford-Le-hope in 1977. he remained as headmaster until his retirement in 1993, devoting those years to guiding the establishment of the new school. his passion for music found an outlet in training pupil-based choirs at the school to a standard where they could enter local music festivals. after retirement he served on the board of governors of two local schools for some years. another great interest

outside his school responsibilities was genealogy, researching not only his own family background but that of others when of interest to the local community. Sadly, he lost much of the use of his arms in his later years and was deprived of the pleasure of playing the organ, something he had done in his local United reformed Church ever since arriving in Billericay in 1973. he leaves wife Betty and daughters helen and alison. [Robin Derbyshire, friend].

John raymond hopkin

Judge John hopkin passed into Courtroom folklore when in May 2001 a violent defendant escaped from the dock and ran over court tables and benches, leaping into the judge’s dais to confront him. The 20 year old man launched into a tirade of abuse, but 65 year old John hopkin stood his ground and with a few well chosen words indicated to his would-be attacker that he was not intimidated; moments later the man was overpowered by courtroom security staff. Commenting on the incident later, John hopkin said: “I think it is fair to say we had a frank exchange of views.” Born in 1935 John raymond hopkin attended King’s where he was captain of athletics and in the rugby First XV. he left in 1953 to read Law at university, being called to the bar at Middle Temple in February 1958. Twenty one years later, he was sworn in as a crown court judge by the Lord Chancellor. Judge Michael Stokes, recorder of Nottingham, recalled that, although Judge hopkin was not large physically, he was, for decades, a towering presence on the legal scene in Nottingham, both as a barrister and later as a wise, fair and compassionate judge. as counsel John hopkin was shrewd, professional and effective, and he carried those virtues to the bench. he rose to become senior and resident judge at Nottingham, and the crown court building was affectionately known to his colleagues as “hoppo’s Bunker”. When he retired in 2002, his court was packed with judges, counsel and solicitors. as well as his legal work he had been president of the Magistrates’ association, chairman of governors at Nottingham high School for girls, where his daughter Claire was a pupil, and Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. he pursued a number of hobbies, his love of athletics at school serving as a good preparation for the fell walking he took up in later life as a major pastime, where others were hard put to keep up with him when trekking on the hills; he was in the words of a friend, “like a mountain goat.” after a brief fight against cancer, he died aged 75, at home near Southwell. Judge Stokes said: “We are all better for having known him and worked with him. We shall not see his like again.” he leaves a widow, Sue, a son and a daughter. Son, andrew said of his father, “I remember at his retirement he was described as a man who, in equal measure, was held in both great affection and respect; I think that is a very good way to describe him.” [Adapted from the Nottingham Post].

Mrs Phyllis Wilkinson

Phyllis Wilkinson came to the King’s School in 1954 after a number of years at Bradfield College. She was a quiet, efficient and caring lady, quite small and shy. Mrs. Sheppard, wife of our housemaster in Castle house, was somewhat

domineering, a clash of personalities resulted in a disappointed Mrs. Wilkinson leaving reluctantly after just the one year. She was well liked by the boys and supported by them. one example: Matron thought a boiled egg for tea would be good for one boy who was in the Sick room, although Mrs.Sheppard disagreed. That afternoon the boiled egg arrived and, very shortly afterwards, so did Mrs. Sheppard. Matron was in her room next door, waiting to hear an exclamation of extreme annoyance, to say the least. No such eruption. The boy concerned had heard Mrs. Sheppard’s heavy footsteps and hidden the offending egg under the bed covers. She was matron at other schools in a long career before retiring to Derby, where she died, just a few days short of her101st birthday. She was a dedicated ‘Matron’, devoted to the welfare of “her boys”. [Basil (Barry) Parsons, OV & friend].

Peter Brown

Contacting King’s after his death on 21st april 2010, his daughter Verity described him as wonderfully caring and above all a fun person, loving nothing more than to entertain – in every sense of the word. ‘Spread a smile’ was one of his mottos. Those sentiments were also expressed by King’s archivist Cara roslington: “he was a very kind and unusual man, a great communicator, a passionate advocate of hostel (he ran the Website). he organised the great hostel house Centenary reunion when he gave a blue wall plaque to commemorate the site of the boarding house and was a big supporter of the archive and King’s in general.” Born July 25th 1937, and with Peter’s mother a graduate of art school and it is perhaps not surprising that, from an early age, Peter loved to paint. however, his own father, a metallurgist, discouraged these artistic

aspirations because he felt they were unlikely to lead to a secure job. Despite loathing his study of Physics, Chemistry and Maths, he was very happy at King’s (1949–1956), perhaps because he was an accomplished oarsman and his crew collected trophies with seeming ease. Not surprisingly his a level results were disappointing and his father accepted that he should not pursue a science degree at University, so he needed a job. Summer employment operating a Mr Whippy ice-cream van was never likely to have become his career, and he started work as election agent for the Conservative Party in Finchley; their candidate, Margaret Thatcher, was duly elected in 1959. But he decided that this was not the job for him, any more than selling ice cream. after the election, he moved to Birmingham where he met eileen, and they married in 1961. They started work together as house Parents at Dr Barnado’s Ifield hall in Sussex, the job that was to set his career path; the next move was to Derbyshire, where Peter became a Child Care officer in Buxton.

They had three daughters, Melanie, Verity and Denise. Peter loved children, he was passionate in his desire to improve things and he was a man who always lived according to his ideals, holding himself to the highest standards. he and eileen became professional Foster Parents with the specific, somewhat experimental, brief that they would work with institutionalised children to rehabilitate them to their birth parents. In the decade from 1964, a total of 12 children spent between a few nights and several years with the family. 1970 saw Peter appointed as adoptions office in Warwickshire Social Services Department. Then, in 1972, the previously distinct departments of Child Care, Mental health and Welfare were merged and Peter became the Kenilworth area officer with responsibility for all these aspects of social services. he had always valued education and regretted that he had not gone to university so he requested, and was granted, part-time secondment from his job to study for an MSc in Public adminstration; in 1987 he graduated, proudly top of his class. Further reorganization in Social Services saw Peter’s job move to atherston, with responsibility for residential Services. Further reorganization in Social Services saw Peter’s job move to atherston, with responsibility for residential Services. Later that same year, he took advantage of the early retirement package being offered and with a life long love of France and French people moved to that country. Nevertheless, he was not ready to retire and give up the principles by which he had always worked: his unwavering belief was that all people, no matter what physical or mental challenge they faced, could enjoy normal activities as long as someone had anticipated their needs and the required support was given. he and eileen bought a close-to-derelict farm house in Tarn et garonne and converted the barn into two holiday gites, designed to be accessible to all, including individuals in wheelchairs and those terminally ill. he loved to entertain and do his part to spread happiness. he was an optimist, full of joy, brimming with life and always ready to share these things. Boredom was not in his lexicon and furthermore he did not believe that people get only one chance to be happy. In 2002 he retired and married his second wife, eve in Barbados. They bought land in gensac and built the home where he spent many happy years, watching from his balcony the red kite that flew above the adjacent fields. he leaves his widow, eve, three daughters, Mel, Verity and Dee, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. he died at home surrounded by love. he was a good man. [Evelyn Brown (widow) and Professor Verity Brown (daughter)].

Michael Drew

Mike held sincere views on all subjects intellectual and was both a socialist and an atheist from an early age. he made an impression on those of us who laboured in more pedestrian ways, by returning to his edgar Tower study to compute how many marks he had gained in the Maths examinations that he had just completed; of course his calculations were always found to be subsequently correct. Mike Drew had learned his Maths from richard Knight and left King’s to read Mathematics at Bristol University, following with a PgCe before taking up a teaching post at Bristol grammar School in 1963. he died suddenly and unexpectedly from a stroke while

on holiday in the Philippines; announcing the news to the oB community last april the headmaster of Bristol described Mike Drew as an inspirational teacher and sympathetic friend who would be much missed. The oB office had received a number of warm tributes from former pupils. Mike Drew was at Bristol for the whole of his teaching career, but in later years he came to feel that teaching was becoming over-run with constant form-filling and a nimiety of bureaucracy, which rather puzzled him as a committed socialist, and as a result, in 1990 he took early retirement

Within the Mathematics Department he became head of Department: many students will remember with appreciation his relaxed and informal teaching style by which he passed on the love of his subject. he was also at some time a Year head and head of Careers. Mike also involved himself in the social and cultural life of the school outside the classroom. For several years he was in charge of fencing and was involved with the school film unit when the school won a national award with the film Karst. Perhaps most notably he produced a number of most successful school plays as varied as Hamlet and Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber after retirement Mike moved back to Droitwich, his family home, where he nursed his mother through her final illness. he devoted much of his time to the Samaritans, for whom he became co-ordinator of prison visiting teams and regional prison support officer. Mike was a very gentle person with more about him than met the eye. Those of us lucky enough to have known him will miss his sincerity and commitment. [Steve Graham, OV & friend and Brian Gerrard OV & friend, with additional material supplied by the OB office].

howard Ballance

howard Ballance was educated at King edward School Birmingham, leaving to read history at Magdalen College o xford. This was interrupted by war service. he joined the army, and became a captain in the royal artillery. his unit fought in the european theatre, going over the Channel soon after D Day. at the end of the War he went to India for a year to train Indian troops, which was a task he enjoyed. he returned to resume his studies at o xford, and in 1948 married gwyneth. his teaching career began at King’s School Taunton, then briefly at the Nautical College, Pangbourne, before moving to King’s Worcester in 1950. he taught a range of subjects and became housemaster of Chappel in 1958. In the spring of 1961 he left to become headmaster of alderman Newton Boys’ School in Leicester, and then in 1968 he was appointed headmaster at reigate grammar School. he strongly opposed comprehensive education, and worked tirelessly to preserve the grammar school system. he was delighted to achieve the status of independence for reigate grammar School in 1976 and was accepted as a member of the headmaster’s Conference. he was the first head of a Voluntary Controlled School to achieve the status of independence. after retirement to Sidmouth in 1982, he and gwyneth travelled the world and also enjoyed many cruises. Later they moved to

Tewkesbury to be closer to their family and then finally to Cheltenham. They had a happy year before howard suffered his first minor stroke, but he never got over losing the sight of his good eye and suffered some memory loss. his health continued to deteriorate gradually, being nursed at home by gwyneth, until he needed full time nursing care. he moved into Broomfield Nursing home, olney for his last few months, dying peacefully in his sleep in Milton Keynes general hospital. he was 89. [Hilary Terry, daughter].

I remember Mr Ballance very well. I was not in his house, but he taught me history for several years, and Latin for one year. he was a superb teacher. I realised later that what made him so good was his analytical ability and clarity of expression. he had a practical, down-to-earth quality as well, which was a great stimulus when the immediate task was less congenial than it might have been. Christopher Allen (Cr 55-61)

I arrived at King’s in 1960 in the Lower remove to find myself placed in ‘Bert’ Ballance’s class. Initially I ran scared of him: he was a fierce disciplinarian and set the boundaries for discipline and behaviour very clearly, and also fairly close; it was clear the consequences of stepping over those boundaries were likely to be severe. But within those boundaries he was a good teacher and fair minded. at the end of the spring term he moved away to take up a headmastership elsewhere, and a young replacement temporary Form Master took over for the summer term 1961. he was a nice enough man, but had not learned how to control a class effectively, and discipline fell apart. The result? In the first two terms of that year we were subject to controlwhich we did not always like - but we learned a lot. In the last term, we had a riot of a time, but learned very little. There are no prizes for guessing which teacher had the correct approach, and even if at first given reluctantly, earned the respect and gratitude of those he taught. Mike Page (Cr 60-65)

Simon Scott

Known to all at School as Cossy (a contraction of the French for Scotland, and a name given to him by Dan McTurk) Simon left King’s to read for a degree in Physics at Van Mildert College, Durham, where he became the first Captain of Boats at the then new College and rowed for the DUBC 2nd VIII. he did a PgCe at Birmingham and taught Physics for many years in schools in gloucestershire, eventually as head of Department at Cheltenham Ladies College. he kept in touch with graeme Mulcahy (gam) after leaving, their friendship having been cemented by the experience of working together for their Queen’s Scout qualification whilst in

the School Troop, under Scoutmaster Donald anderton, and a passion for rowing which they shared. Simon’s later teaching career was to include some coaching of the sport. he attended an unofficial reunion of some of the Class of 65 in 1999 and said at the time he was taking early retirement, glad to be out of the admin top-heavy world of modern teaching, which he did not enjoy any more; he was preparing to re-train in IT. Simon came to King’s in 2005 for the official 40 year reunion of the Class of 65, he enjoyed that day thoroughly, but he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing therapy. he joined long time friend graeme to sail across the Bay of Biscay in 2006, and joined him again to sail in the Caribbean in 2007, but by then the cancer had returned and more aggressively. The therapy had proved ineffective, it was able only to delay the progress of the disease; Simon passed peacefully away on Sunday 10th august 2008, at Sue ryder Care, Leckhampton. Married and divorced, he leaves partner Julie, sons ashley and Michael and daughter Natasha. always with a sense of humour, a few years back he responded to a request from the hon Sec for news about himself to go into the Vigornian by summing up his entire life in just one short sentence! [Graeme Mulcahy OV, friend; Mike Page OV, friend].

Peter Barnett

Peter Barnett, known to many generations as Ken, was in many ways the exact opposite of Bob Burkill whose own obituary appears in this issue: not for him the loud exterior of an extrovert; but instead he was a rather quiet and private man, who nevertheless endeared himself to many generations of students with his subdued but effective teaching methods and his absolute integrity. MJP Donald anderton (hon oV) has likened Peter to the description of the Knight in Peter ackroyd’s recent modernised version of The Canterbury Tales: ‘he was, despite his reputation for bravery, modest and prudent. In appearance he was meek as any maid, and no oath or indecency ever passed his lips. he was never insolent or condescending – he was the very flower of chivalry.’ a foundation scholar at Winchester, Peter went up to New College o xford with an open Scholarship to read Classics. The war years then intervened. having signed the official Secrets act he spoke very little about his wartime experiences, regarding that as a closed chapter in his life - even long after the War was over and his obligations under the act removed - so we are left to guess at what he really did. But we do know Peter was recruited from o xford to study Japanese in Bedford then after further training at Bletchley Park he was seconded to the Foreign office, attached to naval intelligence and posted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as a Japanese code breaker. he never wore a uniform, but apparently held a rank equivalent to an army captain. It was only in 2009 that Peter’s wartime work was recognised by the issuing of a medal and certificate. The War over, he returned to o xford to complete his degree, meeting Sheila, whom he was to marry in 1948. Peter took up a post at King edward VII School in Sheffield, then joined the King’s School in 1952, appointed by Kittermaster to help modernise the severely traditional Classics Department. he was made housemaster of

Creighton in 1958 and head of Classics in 1960. The modernisation of the Department began, and if old Vigornians can look back on Classics lessons as an enlightened peep at a very real civilization, rather than a grind at irregular Latin verbs, then it is to Peter they owe it. his style of housemastering was very definitely ‘hands off’, preferring to stand back looking on with a fatherly eye, and stepping in to praise or chide only when he thought it appropriate to do so. he was invariably polite to boys and confronted with bad behaviour he would usually ask the miscreants why they thought it right to behave in such a manner. even if his style was ‘hands off’ there was a case when a student, who had left recently, was sent to prison; Peter visited him, and his parents, to see if he could help in any way. Peter’s other major contribution to school life was running the Welfare group, started in the early 60s, and meeting on a Friday afternoon (subsequently on Saturdays). The group took on various welfare tasks: visiting the elderly and infirm; reading aloud; gardening; fence-painting, to mention but a few tasks. When others saw the good that was being done, they were keen to join and become involved. Peter was indefatigable in keeping everything going. o utside School Peter kept his life very private, preferring to return to his home, Melbury, in Kempsey, where he and Sheila raised their family, Deborah, Kate and

roderick (oV) whilst renovating the Victorian gothic property and tending the gardens to a very high standard; it was to be their home for nearly 60 years. Peter’s skill at crosswords was the stuff of legend: In the Common room whenever an individual, or even a group was stuck on a Times Crossword clue, an appeal to Peter would almost immediately result in a correct answer. and when the School Chess Team played the staff, his was the only board where one could guarantee a staff victory. although it was rumoured he had been an accomplished cricket player at Winchester, he never coached any sport at King’s. But he had a great love of classical music, owning an enormous number of classical music LPs, kept at home. he shared these records and this pleasure with many of his colleagues and students: it was perhaps this love, and the strong tradition of music in the School that helped keep him at King’s for almost his entire teaching career, retiring in 1984. Peter and Sheila’s holidays to Scotland and to europe

were serious explorations of history and culture, and he was an accomplished French speaker. Journeys anywhere often involved diversions to hunt for well-known or, even better, very obscure roman sites. In later years Parkinson’s Disease set in, but Peter remained fiercely independent and did not complain about his difficulties. Sheila died in 2008. he is survived by his children; four grandchildren, Daniel, Philip, Benjamin and David; and his sister, Mollie. [Deborah Leech, daughter & Donald Anderton (Hon OV), colleague].

Though such a quiet, retiring sort of man, he nevertheless had a major impact on the lives of many; the number and warmth of the tributes received from former colleagues and pupils, even more than 25 years after his retirement, attest to his strengths as a teacher and housemaster. A small selection of those tributes is printed here. MJP

he was a colleague I greatly respected, and who offered friendship when I first arrived at King’s. his quiet, retiring manner only emphasised his unfailing politeness and sincerity; very much in the mould of the Wykehamist. at a time in the early 60s when there was rather less music than later, Peter ran a lunch-time record club for a group of enthusiasts to enjoy thirty minutes of musical refreshment. I attended whenever possible; it was rather like a flickering flame kept alight before the musical re-ignition of the annett years. In addition there were invitations to ‘Melbury’, his home in Kempsey, for gentle recorded musical evenings - especially chamber music, nothing too brash. When I was once invited to a Creighton house supper, I saw another side of Peter. The star turn for the house entertainment was a video entitled “Special K”. episodes of Peter, taken surreptitiously over some period, hurrying about the school, with a spoof commentary relating his investigations into some alleged criminal activity. all done very convincingly - and Peter loved it. It could only have been offered to a housemaster who was held in great affection. Alan Stacey (Hon OV 58-91) Peter Barnett, as my housemaster, did more for me than anyone else at King’s because he believed in me: most of the other staff treated me as a ‘waste of space’ but he was always very supportive and gave me good advice and help. as a result of his making me a house Monitor (he told my parents that he took the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” attitude in my case!), then head of house, he taught me a most valuable lesson for my own teaching career: never to write off any pupil. Angus Bentall (Cr 53-63). This is a shortened version of the tribute that Angus gave at Peter’s funeral service. MJP.

I recall him as a young new member of staff, who impressed as a gentle and cultured man who, more than anyone else at King’s really, introduced me to the simple delight of listening to classical music. his initiative was just to play classical records at lunch-time - in a little room opposite the notice boards, just past the stairs going up to the then science labs, as I recall. There would be no test or discussion; just the pleasure of listening and sharing. No-one else suggested to me that such activity could be a pleasurable part of lifeand I remain grateful for being introduced to that pleasure by the sensitive teacher who I remember Peter Barnett to have been. David Westgate (Cl 47-56)

Bob Burkill

It goes almost without saying that a teacher appointed to King’s will be good at their job, but every once in a while a teacher arrives at the School who is ‘larger than life’, and stays a long time, leaving an indelible mark on many generations of students. Such a teacher was Bob Burkill. MJP

“Bob arrived at King’s from Cambridge, via o xford where he did his teacher training, in 1969 to teach geography becoming head of Department upon the retirement of ‘Basher’ Bailey in 1977. on the richter scale of geography teachers he will be long remembered as a major force. his room was the epicentre of magnificent lessons each enriched with anecdotal evidence, infectious wit and artistic flair. his boardwork would be carefully watched by students as he illustrated the concepts and principles involved in the subject. his knowledge was immense: eastern europe might be in turmoil, but Bob knew where everything was, had been or should be. he also had a great memory when renewing acquaintance with the many students who had come under his influence at one time or another; they will surely remember not only his teaching but those brilliant ties, hugo Boss suits, each with breast pocket handkerchief as colourful as the undergarments of a Spanish flamenco dancer; Yves Saint Laurent shirts and Italian shoes. he loved taking our geographers on field trips for gCSe and a level, and he could sit for hours drawing and sketching the landscape or, at the drop of his crayon, give a talk on almost any subject - Bob could always find something to say about anything. I can also recall a fascinating translation from a part French and arabic speaking farmer in Tunisia. We took dutiful notes and the farm manager was delighted; this incident was just one of many such examples of Bob’s natural gregariousness, charm and ability to draw out the best in people. he was also capable of administering a very sharp rebuke if necessary to those who were inattentive or whose academic standards fell below expectation. It is hardly surprising that many of his sixth formers achieved high academic success.

an appointment at King’s also means that one is expected to teach more than one’s subject and Bob’s work indeed spread far beyond the geography Department. he thrived on stimulating discussion, on economic issues and politics and his extra curricular course, shared with Bob allum, on a Saturday morning was always a riotous assembly. health, education, transport, doctrines of ministerial responsibility, the compassionate society and unimpeachable integrity were all flung into the debating pot. These lessons were never taken at a gentle canter and the asymmetry of the two Bobs in political persuasion added passion to the debates. I know that 630 MPs can’t get into my room but it always seemed as if they had when I entered it on a Monday morning. There was always a touch of admiration in the faces of the sixth formers who had attended these politics classes and they always felt as if they had taken part in something special.

Bob has also been Careers Master at school, worked for the o xford and Cambridge examination Board and has been an hMC School Inspector. he worked tirelessly to make

our transition to a mixed school a success and never failed to extol the virtues of the school at ISIS or Monmouth group meetings. In recent years he became aware that the only predictable aspect of the future is its unpredictability. In response to this he sought to emphasise the skills and learning tools which sixth formers will need to excel in this changing world. he was involved from the outset with the Diploma of achievement (designed to teach, develop and assess these skills) which was subsequently recognised in the Dearing report. he was part of the small team that set up the assessment scheme, which was subsequently adopted by the o xford and Cambridge Schools examination Board, wrote some of the early material and shared the

group of Lower Sixth Formers which piloted the scheme at King’s. after that, he took on the task of running accreditation courses for teachers set up by the o xford and Cambridge examination and assessment Council. These courses were significantly flavoured by Bob’s particular variety of Yorkshire humour and his cheerful, down-toearth encouragement, so that the teachers set off at the end of the day inspired, happy and looking forward to starting the course. he, as Director of Studies, also persuaded staff throughout the school to take up this challenge. he has taken on this role even further as he leaves us to become National Director for the Diploma which now has a place in over a thousand schools and colleges and when I last heard, he was about to visit one of our more notorious prisons to see how it was getting on down there.

Bob enjoyed being in the staff pantomimes and his performances as grotesque King in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, Broker’s man in ‘Cinderella’ (Peter Diamond being the other), giant Crunchbones in ‘Puss In Boots’ or as The Wise o wl in ‘Winnie the Pooh’ gave him an excuse to relax and us all a laugh. he worked flat out at each school fete in order or so he told some people - to be close to those hour-glass shaped celebrities, but it is his passion for cars that remains legendary: he could smell the burning tyres on the other side of the world at the Melbourne grand Prix, hear gear changing at Silverstone and catch the sound of popping champagne corks at Le Mans. he even ranked work according to the make of car: an essay given a Mercedes symbol had received the highest accolade, BMW was a B grade and the Vier ringen of audi a ‘C’; anything French was destined for the scrap heap. Vorsprung durch

technik was our motto in the Department. a straight road was too dull for him. as a passenger one needed to be bolted in as he looked for any road feature that might be looked upon as a challenge. each was met at great speed, yet, in perfect control. The Common room was his pit stop; a place to refuel, to talk of front spoilers, running boards and brake horse power.

It has been this driving at full throttle that has led Bob to retire. he was advised by his local gP to slow down and not to drive with the warning yellow light on. With the invaluable support of his wife Barbara and daughters Kate and Kimberley, he will no doubt manage to fill his time purposefully, or just renew those courtship days spent in The Cardinal’s hat. he has already left his indelible mark on the hundreds who have come under his care either in Chappel house, as geographers or as colleagues. Kipling puts it well : “For his work continueth, broad and deep continueth, greater than his knowing.” [Malcolm Gill, Hon OV, colleague].

Following news of Bob’s death many tributes were received at King’s from former colleagues and students who at one time or another had come under his influence. Printed here are just a few, which give some insight into why he was held in such high regard and by so many. MJP

We shared a Common room for 28 years and given his extrovert nature and ready turn of phrase he was one of the ‘characters’ of it. I once went into his room where he was coaching o xbridge candidates to find him with his feet up on the desk smoking a cheroot, dispensing his always-positive views in a fluent stream of witticisms and information. John Turner (Hon OV 60-96)

he gave me a passion for geography that has lasted since and informed my career choice to become a Chartered Surveyor - and now my son is following suit. I have told many people over the years about the inspiration I gained through the teaching of Bob. I was not a naturally-gifted pupil. he gave me a confidence and enthusiasm for his subject that motivated me to ‘up my game’ in all academic subjects and go forward to gain an honours degree. I attribute this in no small part to Bob: sometimes in life one person can make a real difference to the life of another - most likely without ever realising it. Paul Raine (Cl 69-76)

It is said that you never forget a great teacher and Bob Burkill was one whom I admired enormously. he is still spoken about with fondness whenever I am at a dinner party or function with other oVs who had experienced his exuberant teaching style. I will not forget all the classroom windows being flung open to represent ‘the cold wind of examination’ or piles of books dropped on the floor as ‘simulated examination noise’ during silent practise papers. I also blame him entirely for the sense of satisfaction that I enjoyed when we recently changed my wife’s reasonably-priced and practical French motor car, for a not-so-reasonably-priced and certainly less practical car with the ‘vier ringen’ on the grille. Matt Speirs (H 86-91)

Tom Bader

Tom died in Cheltenham general hospital after an 18-month battle with cancer, he was 68. Born in ashford, Kent he left school and was apprenticed to a local photographer with a client base that included several London newspapers. The buzz of the newsphoto appealed to the young Tom and he decided to switch to press photography. In 1970 he joined the staff of the Worcester evening News. he was a friend and colleague of mine for 4 years, but quit the photographic department to start his own business, and rapidly became one of the area’s best-known commercial and portrait photographers. he was a perfectionist, and a job was never finished until he was happy. ever the professional, Tom even organised a photograph to accompany his obituary. he told his wife ruth: “If they need something, I quite like this one.” and she duly handed it to me. [Mike Pryce, colleague and friend].

I have lost count of the number of pupils and colleagues who have filled Tom’s lenses over the years and marvelled at his ability to organise not just one class, but a whole school with a single blast on a whistle for a group photograph - oh that

we could all command such authority! Tom was a generous benefactor to King’s over the years and sponsored cricket teams and rugby teams. Three of his children, rupert, James and rebecca attended King’s. We remember Tom as a consummate professional and as a parent, but most importantly as a friend. he will be missed by all in the King’s community. Russ Mason, Hon OV

By his generosity of spirit, Tom gave so much pleasure through his photographic records of occasions. That future we should have shared together is now deeply saddened. We will miss his magic ingredient of making smiles out of the solemn and memories out of moments. David Hallmark

At Tim Keyes’ suggestion, the Club was pleased to offer Tom honorary membership of the OV Club, marking his long term connection with and support for the School. The offer arrived just before his death, when he was too ill to reply, but the Hon Sec received a reply from Rebecca-Jane on his behalf, actually after he had died, to say the gesture by the Club had given her father tremendous pleasure. MJP.

OV News

Hugh Poths (H 34-37) army gunners served 8th army MeF CMF NW europe. he was released from the russian Zone in 1946. he attended royal agricultural College and started farming life in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. he would be pleased to hear from or see any contemporaries. he would find it a pleasure to meet oVs in the Middle east, europe 19540-46 armed Forces.

Derek Taylor (Cr 46-54) after 50 years as a practising solicitor, Derek has sold his practice in redditch. To mark his retirement, he was presented with a plaque by the President of the Birmingham Law Society to mark his service. also in May this year, he entered local politics being elected a Conservative Councillor for the Crabbs Cross Ward in redditch. he would be interested to hear from any oV friends of his time.

Basil Parsons (Ca 51-55) was closely involved in organising the first official commemoration of Merchant Navy Day in New Zealand on 3rd September with a service and special tours at the New Zealand Maritime Museum on the auckland waterfront.

Andrew Jameson (Cr 51-58) Still active professionally lecturing and advising on language teaching, russian studies and translation, all freelance. They’ve integrated well into Malvern after five years. his wife Melanie is pursuing her campaign for justice for dyslexic and similar people in the judicial system, with some success. The appearance of their first grandchild, Lucy

alice, has been a great joy. he is getting more involved with Quakers - how astonished the members of his evil gang in Lower remove would have been! evil gang members (and others) are welcome to contact him on 01684 572466.

Brian Smith (Ch 52-60) graduated from Nat College of Food Technology in 1964 and after 6 years industry career in food technology started with Dr gordon Booth the Consultancy which bears our names and which he still runs. he is still as active as ever and has worked in over 70 countries in past 40 years. Married again in 1983 to Kandy, daughter of Darjeeling tea planter, and still travelling together but still live in Derbyshire. he is now enjoying working with son gareth

with whom co-founded Food Product Company. In touch with several oVs, roger Mortimer, Barry Sexstone, richard White, robin hall and Ian Mills.

Paul Braithwaite (Ch 54-63) after doing an MBa at London Business School, a career in the record industry (eMI and rCa) followed by seven exciting years in Saatchi & Saatchi, in 1983 he started his own advertising agency specialising in leisure industries. In 1993 he started a retail chain selling educational products for under 10-year-olds. Now he has six stores in the south east and a new website at: www.funlearning. co.uk. But his main activity for the last decade has been fighting government (successfully) for equitable Life pension savers who suffered losses from failed financial regulation and recently obtained a commitment to £1.5bn compensation. See: www.emag.org.uk he has two beautiful grown-up daughters. he has also been a Lib Dem Councillor for the last five years for the Camden ward in which he lives.

David Hepworth (Cl 58-65) returned to King’s for the 2010 reunion now that he is retired and based in the UK and living in London, his first time back in many years.

he was particularly pleased to meet up again with John Turner (hon oV), and also Mike Page, Will roberts, elis Jones and Tony Dyson, [all Class of 65], none of whom he had seen in 45 years. Dave’s main career was as an education Consultant (someone who teaches teachers!), and on the School tour led by Sue hincks he observed from the perspective of one with great depth of knowledge and experience: he was impressed by all he saw and the answers to the questions he asked.

John Malcomson (W 55-65) gP in auckland from 1974 – present. he is also a mountain biking enthusiast, defying the years that should see him indulging in more leisurely pursuits. he had an interesting three weeks in Vietnam last year and went to Malaysia and Borneo in august to explore that part of the world. Cris was keen to see the Wild Man until he reminded her that she wakes up next to him every morning. They will probably be in Slovakia next year. Their son, Ian, who lives in London has just got engaged to a beautiful Slovakian girl and the wedding bells are planned to ring next year. Their daughter, Penny, who has been married six years, produced a lovely daughter, Sophie, just ten months ago. The apple of her grandpa’s eye!

Martyn Pellew (S 62-66) During the past year he has moved from full time work with major ports and logistics operator PD Ports into a portfolio of non executive directorships including Pearson-harper, Business and enterprise North east and the Northern Business Forum. he will remain President of North east Chamber of Commerce until summer 2011 and was recently appointed vice president of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Andrew Sadler (Br 59-69) In 1969, after school, went to Cardiff to study Dentistry and later to London for Medical School. he spent most of his career as an oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Lincoln but more recently has moved back to London to teach oral Surgery at Barts and the London Medical & Dental School. he lives in Mile end during the week and Lincoln most week ends.

adam is married to Maralyn who he met at

Andrew Jameson

University a year after leaving school and they have two children, now 26 and 24. Both work in London, one living with them at Mile end and the other nearby.

They regularly socialise with adam Scott and keep in touch with roger Byrne with whom they holidayed last year.

David Anscombe (W 65-72) Currently managing design of ridgback armoured vehicles for use by British army in afghanistan.

Tim Lovegrove (Cl 66-74) Continuing as a volunteer with the British heart Foundation in Stratford upon avon, where building work on the new rSC theatre is nearing completion.

Mike Tallis (Cr 69-74) has been the resident expatriate manager with a Joint Venture of UK French, Japanese and Pakistani consultants, preparing a feasibility study and design of a hydropower scheme on the Indus river in northern Pakistan. The project is called Bunji hydropower Project and proposes the construction of a scheme capable of generating 7,100 MW

power under the current configuration. a large project with 200m high dam, 8km long tunnels to carry water to an underground powerhouse.

Ben Booth (S 68-75) In May was promoted to Chief Information officer for Ipsos, where he is responsible for all IT in this global market research business with a turnover of €1billion and businesses in 66 countries. Following the example of his daughter, a J14 sculler, he has started rowing after a 30 year gap with Lea rC.The club has been most welcoming and he strongly recommends it to any oV oarsmen or women.

Francis Lankester (Ca 66-75) Worcester City Councillor [Conservative] was elected to all Saints Ward (which contains the Cathedral and School) in 1999 and for the revised Cathedral Ward in 2004. he is a Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities and Strategic housing. he is currently studying for an archaeology PhD at Durham University on the subject of ancient egyptian rock-art. he worked for Birmingham’s ethnic Minority Support Service for many years

and is now a supply teacher.

Piers Letcher (S 73-78) returned to ITU as speechwriter to Secretary-general in June 2009.

Ian McCarthy (S 72-79) Married with three daughters living in Bucks and works for Cisco Systems.

Rev. Simon Cawdell (S 78-83) has moved a short distance this year to take up the post of Team rector of Bridgnorth in Shropshire. he remains rural Dean of Bridgnorth, where his Bishop is rt. rev’d alistair Magowan (Cl 66-73). his new address is The rectory, 16 east Castle Street, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 4aL.

Jeremy Jones (Br 82-84) has emigrated to New Zealand.

Thomas Jenkins (Cr 80-85) after King’s Thomas did a Foundation course in art & Design at hereford College of art, before successfully completing a degree in graphic Design & Typography at exeter College of art & Design. he met Jane, his wife at exeter and they moved to the US for 8 years where he worked in design and advertising as well as running his own design business. In 1997 they moved back to the UK where he continued to run his company, The Design Foundry in gloucestershire. In 2000 they made the move south to Bournemouth. Their children Ben and Megan are now 13 and 9 and thriving! Thomas is now working near Southampton running an in-house design department for a global satellite navigation company.

Mike Anslow (S 78-86) head of Supplier Management at M&S money.

Rowan Kitt (Ch 77-87) rowan Kitt (Ch 77-87) married Miss Jessica Surman of Upton upon Severn on 16th october 2010. John Bowley (Cl 77-87), a fellow Cathedral chorister with rowan, was the Best Man. (John is Director of Music at repton and rowan is Director of Development at North London Collegiate School.)

Mark Croft (Ch 86-88) is now married to Sarah after being together for over 10 years. In Feb 2010 they had their first child, a son alfie.

Damian Warburton (Cr 85-90) was called to the Bar of england and Wales at the Inner Temple on the 14th of october 2010.

Nathan Howard (Cr 84-91) is now working for Lloyds Banking group.

Toby Moody (K 80-91) Freelance TV Broadcaster/journalist. he is now in the 15th year as the lead commentator for MotogP (Formula 1 of the bikes) on eurosport TV Lead reporter for the world-leading Motorsport website: www. autosport.com/motogp he has done seven Dakar rallies as lead commentator on site for american TV. host of Manufacturer launches for Yamaha europe, honda Japan, Mitsubishi WrC, repsol honda, KTM, writing for BMW Munich. Living happily in Worcestershire,and still greatly involved at the Shelsley Walsh Speed hill Climb where he is a class record holder in 2009 with an unbeaten series of runs. he runs the British Speed hill Climb website.

Richard Mutter (Ch 81-91) and his wife Collette have had a daughter, alice Sophia, born on 31st august 2010, a younger sister of James, henry and george.

Howard Stanton (S 84-91) Lives in Kudat, Sabah, east Malaysia (Borneo),he is currently establishing his own resort, restaurant, water sports centre and villa management company, stage one due to open early 2011. This year two oVs John

Back row : Howard Stanton, Julian Marsh (Cl 81-91), Dr Andrew James (Os 84-91), Danny Jordan (Cl 81-91), Dr William Norbury (Ch 81-92), Al Crompton (Br 81-91), Richard Chong (K 83-91), Connor Ogle (K 81-91), Nick Vaughan (OS 84-91) and Hugo Elliot (Ch 84-91).

Front Row : Jamie Rogers (Cl 86-91), Rosalind Parkes (E 89-91), Theresa James (ex St Mary’s Convent), Harvey Fain (Br 86-91), Christina Fain, Catherine Glossop (ex Alice Ottley), Lucy [Perkins] Payne (E 89-91) , Harriet [Bell] Patterson (E 89-91) , and Simon Patterson (Cr 81-91).

Rowan and Jessica Kitt

Fane (K 02-09) and rory Johnson (Br 03-09) visited on their gap years. he would welcome any other oVs who may care to stay around for a while and help with either the resort development or the children’s home he helps run for 60 underprivileged children. any visitors to this great part of the world would be made very welcome and he is sure that they would enjoy the great hospitality of the local people culture and cuisine.

In September he attended the wedding of oV harvey Fain. (Br 86-91) and Christina who celebrated in fine style with a lot of

through West africa. Bart.Borchardt@gmail.com

James Carmalt (Ch 88-93) lives in Wandsworth Common and there are lots of oVs from his year nearby in Balham and Clapham. They are close friends and meet up regularly for drinks etc! he works in the City as a private wealth headhunter.

Richard Evans (W 84-94) married Kathryn Louise Pound (Cr 99-01) on Saturday 4th September 2010 at St. Kenelm’s Church, Clifton on Teme. Their wedding was attended by some other oVs - Steven Ballard (S 88-94) (Best man), Sophie [Kyte] Ballard (Cl 84-96), alistair evans and adam Winter (Cl 84-94). She has attached a photo of herself and richard with their dogs!

Peter Andrew Edward Aston (Br 88-95) and Miss Laura Jayne Morrison were married on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at the abbey Church of the holy Cross, Pershore. The honeymoon was in the Italian Lakes and Venice.

Joseph Kwok (Ch 91-95) is currently working in aviation in hong Kong. he has recently completed several marathon events in Sydney and Canada, and still very keen on scuba diving and hiking around the world.

oVs in attendance (please see photo) oVs are welcome to contact him at stanton_ howard@yahoo.co.uk

Tim Boswell (W 85-92) is currently working as breakfast presenter at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire - weekdays 6am-9am. he started on the show in September 2009, before which he had worked as part of the station’s management team since 2005. This was preceded by various roles in both commercial and BBC radio, including Managing Director, Programme Controller and News editor.

Suzanne Gilhooly (E 90-92) lives in Worcester working as an associate in the corporate department at harrison Clark. She has recently got engaged and she plans to marry this year in ombersley.

Bart Borchardt (Cl 83-93) Following two years in Luxembourg helping to establish the Vodafone Procurement Company, Bart and his family have moved to ghana for 18 months. Bart is head of Supply Chain Management at Vodafone ghana and would love to hear from any oVs passing

Natalie Pettit (K 93-95) completed her Bachelor of Nursing Degree in 2000 at the University of Wales, College of Medicine. She worked in Cardiff up to nurse practitioner level in emergency and gynaecology/oncology and then embarked on a round-the-world trip and nursing in New Zealand and australia for two years. on her return, she entered graduate four year medicine at MBchB at Leicester University and qualified as a doctor in July 2010 She would love to hear from anyone during her time at King’s. Natalie.1911@hotmail.co.uk

Gavin Bishop (Os 89-96) (photograph next page) gavin has lived in Bermuda for the past 8 years. he has received his third Chartered Professional Qualification. he became a Chartered accountant in 2002 (aCa - ICaeW), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (US qualification) in 2006 and recently a Chartered Insurer (CII – UK). his pursuit towards continuous education is directly as a result of the solid foundation from King’s. Emily [Jacques] Collins (K 94-96) married

Neil at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe on 1st November 2008. oVs who attended included Dan Ford (W 89-96), Kashia Klunduk (W 9496) who was Maid-of-honour, Julian Wright (h 87-96), andy Tromans (K 91-96) and Pria who are now married with two children.

Anthony Cross (Os 90-96) married Nadia huxham at the church of St. Lawrence in the Square, Winchester, on 1st May 2010. Penny [Cross] Pryor (Br 92-97) read the lesson. The happy couple honeymooned in New York and live in Winchester. anthony is a Forensic occupational Therapist and Nadia works in Clinical research.

Scott Moorhead (Ch 88-96) married emma Nicol in Caprese Michelangelo, Tuscany, Italy on the 17th July 2010. It was a fantastic celebration with several oVs in attendance. Mark Foster (Cr 94-96) and Tom Wyse (Ch 91-96) delivered the best man speech whilst Tim roberts (K 86-96) and Dan ott ( Cr 91-96) were Ushers. other oV attendees included andrew rankin (h 95-97), Jez robertson (S 92-97), rijan Slater ( Br 92-97) and annie [hingston] hollingdale (Cr 95-97).

Chris Nelson (Cr 89-96) has been working

as an F1 Track Support engineer for McLaren electronic Systems since November 2009. The company supplies the mandated standard electronics package to all teams racing in the FIa Formula 1 World Championship. During the 2010 season his job has involved supporting Mercedes gP and Williams F1 at all race and test events.

Catherine Fardon (S 95-97) got engaged to Shiva Dindyal (Vascular Surgeon) in July and they are planning a wedding in Tuscany in September 2011. She is now working full time as

Damian Warburton

Kathryn Pound and Richard Evans

Peter and Laura Jane Aston

Natalie Petit

a gP in London.

Amy Donovan (Co 91-98) Currently in the final year of a phd in volcanology in the Dept of geography, University of Cambridge. She is studying the use of scientific expertise in policy advice on active volcanoes, focussing on Montserrat in the Caribbean, where she spent five months doing fieldwork. She has also done work on Iceland and Sicily.

Victoria Williamson (S 96-98) got married to allister hagger on 13th June last year in St David’s Pembrokeshire where her parents have moved to now – it was a fantastic day, she wishes she could do it all again !! alex Brittain (W 92-98) attended.

Alice Watts (Ch 93-98) gained a 2:1 in drama from exeter University, she has been working for various charities as a Professional Fundraiser. She lives and works in Birmingham and is getting married in october 2011.

Robert Webb (Cl 91-98) was installed in 2009 in Lichfield Cathedral as Lay Vicar Choral for the Prebend of eccleshall and was admitted a Licentiate of the royal Schools of Music. he combines his part-time career as a professional singer with employment as a Visiting Music Teacher at King edward VI high School, Birmingham.

Jessica Page (CL 94-99) is living in London with her partner Matthew Pincott (W 90-97) and working for NBC Universal Networks in the planning and presentation team. Matt secured the seemingly only permanent position in the city, working as a business systems analyst for Jones

Lang LaSalle in Canary Wharf. happy news is that Matt proposed in May! They are planning the wedding for 2012. Luckily her Mom and Dad, (Mike Page Cr 60-65) approve!

Matthew Bond (W 93-00) he was awarded his first senior international vest to run for england in a half-marathon match between Denmark and england on the 8th of May. as it was his international debut he was very happy to win the race in a personal best time of 65 minutes and 29 seconds which is inside last year’s qualifying time for the world half-marathon championships. The race was covered live on Danish national television. Matthew has been offered an athletics scholarship in the USa which started on the 20th of august.

Nigel Blackshaw (Os 94-01) was married to Julie Dyer on September 5th 2009 at Bromsgrove registry office.

Celia Bryant (Cl 99-01) has started a graduate Medicine course at Newcastle University. She finished in the top 300 out of 20,000 women who took part in the great North run.

Daniel Turner (Cl 94 - 01) married Louise Spring on 16 october at a civil ceremony in Paris followed by a Blessing and reception at Chateau de la Tour, Chantilly. oV guests who shared their day were Ben Wall (Ch 90 - 01), Claire Welsh (W 91 - 01), Jack Hamson (S 96 - 01), Andy Freeman (Ch 93 - 01) and Oli Smith (Cl 97 - 02).

Daniel met Louise at Sheffield University where he studied geography and Louise studied Law. They have moved to Paris where he is studying a Masters and training as a Chartered Surveyor with Jones

Lang Lasalle, and Louise is a Compliance officer with hSBC global asset Management (France).

J J Goodman (Br 97-02) he would like to extend free membership to all oVs to the cocktail club, available at www.londoncocktailclub.co.uk Since opening in 2008 it has risen to dizzy heights within the industry. he is now planning to open my first venture alongside Michelin starred chef raymond Blanc oBe following the successful experience with his BBC show the restaurant in 2009.

Duncan Brown (Cl 99-05) is in his fourth year of medicine at Bristol University having spent a great erasmus exchange in grenoble.

Amy Court (Cl 03-05) graduated from Nottingham Trent with a 2:1 in business marketing. She worked for IBM for nine months

Themed wedding of Gavin Bishop to Lisa Wallington at Mont Orgueil, Jersey. Gavin is holding their son Zachary who was born on 26th November 2007. To his right is Will Schwalbe (Cr 86-96), Lisa Bishop (sister, Bright 92-99) was also in attendance.

Emily and Neil Collins

Natalie Petit

Allister and Victoria Hagger

Matthew Bond

J J Goodman

then moved to a marketing agency and is working as an account manager on the Dove and Baileys accounts.

Edward Hardy (S 00-05) is currently working as a rowing coach at King’s after five years away.

Stephen Humphreys (Ch 98-05) was shortlisted to win ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 2010 Institute of recruitment Practice (IrP) awards.

Kate Iddon (Cl 98-05) received a 2.1 Ba in Combined honours in arts from the University of Durham. This year she is doing an Ma at Newcastle University in art, Museum and gallery Studies.

Sam Keyes (Cl 30-05) received a 1st Class Degree in Mechanical engineering from the University of Southampton and is staying on to do a PhD.

Hannah Kimber (K 03-05) is going back to University to study for a degree in Jewellery Design.

Lucy Studd (K 00-05) received a 1st Class Ba in Drama and Theatre arts and is now doing an

Ma at London Drama School.

Alicia Bennett (Ch 00-06) received a 2.1 Ba in history from UCL and is now pursuing an acting career. So far it is going very well; alicia has been on tour all summer and is currently shooting a feature film.

Mary Cox (Cl 01-06) is in the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at the Yvonne arnaud Theatre, guildford. It runs from 3rd December to 9th January. It is a professional engagement but will also count as part of Mary’s University course as she will be assessed on her performance. She has joined equity and her stage name is Mary Fox.

Harry Denlegh-Maxwell (Cl 99-06) has completed his Ma in International relations at the University of St andrew’s where he obtained a 2.1. he is studying for a graduate Diploma in Law at the College of Law, Birmingham and will study for his LPC in London next year. harry has been applying for Training contracts to start in 2012, with the aim of becoming a solicitor in an international law firm.

Richard Ingram (Cl 01-06) received a 2.2

Ba from the University of Loughborough in Industrial Design & Technology. he is now working for Mars in Waltham on a fixed 12 month contract as the ‘activity Management executive’. he is working in demand planning, logistics and event/activity management. richard has been there since July and has settled in well, enjoying working life! Both he and Mars hope that after the 12-month contract it will result in direct entry elsewhere in the company or perhaps on to the graduate scheme.

Simon Insley (Br 99-06) received a 2.1 BSc from the University of Nottingham in physiotherapy and has a job in a private practice in Birmingham.

Toby Lamb (W 99-06) received a 2.1 Ba honours from the University of exeter in Business economics and is currently applying for graduate schemes in London for either accounting or consultancy.

Mike Magill (K 00-06) obtained a 2.1 BSc in Management with entrepreneurship from the University of Southampton and is looking into several different business opportunities start himself.

Sally Moore (95-06) obtained a 1st Class Degree in rural resource Management from the University of reading. Sally’s future plans include travelling, work experience and possibly a Masters in rural Land Management in a year or two.

Charlotte Nock (W 99-06) received a 2.1 BSc

econ. (hons) from the University of Cardiff in Politics and International relations. She has just started her graduate Diploma in Law at The College of Law, London Bloomsbury.

Alexandra Pereira (Cr 01-06) obtained a 2.1 Ba in Drama from the University of Manchester.

Tom Rogers (K 97-06) received a 2.1 Meng (hons) degree in Civil engineering and architecture from the University of Southampton and started with John Sisk & Son Ltd in September.

Joe Street (Br 95-06) received a 2.2 BSc (hons) from the University of Swansea in Sports Science and is currently employed as a Trainee Croupier at aspers Casino, Swansea. he is hoping to regain newly created full-time position as athletic Union co-ordinator within Swanseaents an events and entertainments company at Swansea University.

Oliver Wheaton (K 99-06) received a 2.1 Ba in Sociology from goldsmiths University and is hoping to work in the Ngo sector in either a humanist or environmental charity.

Tom Bellfield (Cl 96-07) received a 2.1 Ba from the University of Sheffield in architecture

and is hoping to pursue a career in this field.

Sam Caulfield (S 96-07) received a 2.1 BSc from the University of Cardiff in Business Management & Marketing and is hoping to pursue a career in this field.

Gareth Ceredig (W 96-07) received a 1st class Music honours Degree from the University of Cardiff.

Sarah Copsey (Ch 00-07) received a 1st class english honours Degree from University College London and is now taking a CeLTa english Language teaching course. She hopes to teach abroad this year before returning to London to do an Ma in Cultural and Critical Theory.

Stephanie Doolittle (Os 00-07) received a 2.1 BSc honours Degree from the royal College of agriculture, Cirencester and hopes to obtain a job in property to become a chartered surveyor.

Piers Harris (S 00-07) received a 1st Class LLB honours Degree in Law from Collingwood College at the University of Durham. he is currently attending law school in Leeds and has a training contract with Dechert LLP in London.

James Iles (Ch 02-07) received a 2.1 Ba from St Catherine’s College, o xford in Biological Sciences. he hopes to go into further research and has applied for DPhils. he is currently doing lab work as an intermediary job.

Sophie Le Marchand (Cl 96-07) received a 2.1 Ba from Somerville College, o xford in Classical archaeology and ancient history.

Sarah Lewis (W 02-07) received a 2.1 Ba in Management from the University of Sheffield

and started the graduate Diploma in Law at BPP in Leeds in September.

Tom Longley (Cr 97-07) received a 2.1 BSc in Natural Sciences from the University of Durham.

Hugh Thomas (W 00-07) received a 1st Class BSc honours Degree in Management Science from the University of Warwick. he began work for h J heinz in September as a marketing graduate. he is looking to move into advertising in the next five years with the aim to create his own agency by 2020.

Heather Uren (Cl 00-07) received a 1st Class Music honours Degree from Christ Church College, o xford. She hopes to get a job in Music administration, preferably at a Concert hall.

William Webberley (Cl 97-07) received a 1st Class honours Degree in Computer Science from the University of Cardiff. he plans to study for a PhD in Computer Science. he has enjoyed tutoring younger students in his final year and is currently applying to take on the role of an undergraduate tutor whilst he does his PhD.

Bethany Westwood (Br 91-07) received a 2.1 from the University of exeter in Biological Sciences. She is going on to study for a Masters in Forensic Science at King’s College London.

Rachael Wrafter (Br 05-07) received a 1st Class honours Degree in Law from the University of o xford and is going on to study for a Masters at UCL.

Lizzie Issac (Br 06-08) climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in September for charity and sent in the following message for oVs: ‘Mount

Kilimanjaro. 5,895 metres above sea level, the highest free-standing mountain in the world and my challenge for September 2010. Back in February of this year when I signed up to climb Kilimanjaro, the £2,300 fundraising target for a charity called Childreach International seemed a relatively straight forward task, yet as the months went by and the deadline crept ever closer, the target seemed as challenging as the actual climb. however I knew that there was one very generous place that I could turn to for help with my target and that was The King’s School Worcester. having been involved in so many charity events during my time at The King’s School, I suspected that they would be supportive. Nevertheless, nothing could have prepared me for the generosity I received after my plea on the school’s website. I can safely say that having visited the school and village that your kind donations have gone to, your money is going to a very worthy and deserving cause.

The climb itself was a gruelling six days of sunshine and snow, laughter and tears, altitude sickness and nothing but rice. Nonetheless the satisfaction of making it to the top and seeing the sun rise over Tanzania is something that I will never forget. It was the most challenging yet rewarding experience of my life and I could not have done it without your help. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and on behalf of the families and children that your donations have gone too, asante Sana (‘Thank you’ in Swahili).’

The Vigornian December 2010

THE VIGORNIAN 2010

e magazine of e King’s School Worcester

The

The King’s Junior Schools

School Notes

Cherry Painter

The Combined Cadet Force

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

Climbing Club

Archives

Community Service

Debating Society

Charity Committee

Amnesty International

Christian Union

Classical Society

Geography Fieldwork

Kayak Club

Sub-Aqua

News from the Mathematics Department

The Comenius Project

Lower Remove Camps

Fantasy Football League

Engineering Education Scheme

Robotics Club

The Fete

R.A.C.

Cathedral Bell Ringing

Careers

t ravel

Himalayan Club

German Christmas Markets

Senior Skiing

Italy

S.C.B.

French Exchanges

Lower Sixth

J.L.O.

Upper Remove

Spanish Exchange

Memmingen Exchange

1st XI cricket tour to Spain

The First World War Battlefields

Rugby

1st XV

Preston Shield

1st VII

2nd XV

Under 16 XV

Under 15 XV

Under 14 XV

Under 13 XV

Under 12 XV

Football

1st XI

2nd XI

Under 15 XI

Under 14 XI

Girls’ Football

The Boat Club

Athletics

Fourth Form Sports Day

Removes Sports Day

Cricket

1st X1

2nd XI

Under 15 XI

Under 14 XI

Under 13 XI

Under 12 XI

G.W.L.

Hockey

1st X1

2nd XI

Under 16 XI

Under 15 XI

Under 14 XI

F.L.S.

Under 13 XI