The Dolphin - 2017

THE DOLPHIN 2017

125th Anniversary Edition

Editors: Charles Oulton, Seb Claas, Barney Latham, Lottie Gould, Myles Jenkins, Kitty Mant, Archie Warsap, Sophie Wichary, Skye Neal and Chloe Dawe.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Editors would like to thank the following for their contributions to the production of this anniversary issue: Andrew Leach and Ed Tickner for their patient proof reading; George Beverly and Mark Pickthall for their creative photography; Jon Edkins for the sports team photographs (info@davidwiltshire.co.uk); Richard Snart for the House photographs (richard@groupphotos.net); the staff for their reports, and our ever helpful printers, Aurora Print and Design Ltd, Wincanton (T: 01963 33755; E sales@auroraprintanddesign.co.uk) Mr Oulton would like to thank the Editors for their hard work and sense of fun. He is particularly grateful to the Editor, Kitty Mant, for her organisation of the team and her many articles. He would also like to thank Emily Young (who took the Editors’ photograph and is therefore not in it) for her imaginative photographic design work.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

The Dolphin Editorial

CONTENTS 1:

Editorial

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riting in 1991, a year before The Dolphin’s centenary, former King’s Headmaster Tony Beadles, a historian, made the following 2-6: 125th anniversary of The observation: “Three years ago in 1988 the first registration appeared Dolphin at King’s School for a boy for the twenty-first century – entry date 2000 – and that brought thoughts about the change of an era. We cling to dates 7: Kitty Mant interviews her like steady rocks in man’s progress, and the year 2000 will produce much looking Governor father... back and looking forward. Our thoughts in 1991 are inevitably on the future, but we look back with gratitude, respect and interest at the past to see the development of 8-9: ...and then the Bursar, the School.”

Louis Tuson One obvious steady rock at the moment is the 500th anniversary of the 10-11: Old Brutonian interview: School’s foundation. As part of the countdown to 2019, this issue continues to assess the role played by the giants of times past. Last year, it was Richard Tom Allright on Grand Fitzjames, one of our three founders. This year, Archie Warsap has appraised the Designs immense contribution made by King’s benefactor and former Senior Warden Lord 12-13: Abrahall’s Analysis: Kitty Blackford. In the busy life of the School, it is still evident that 2019 is very much on people’s minds. However, there is another milestone that we celebrate today.

Mant on the power of In 1892, King’s Headmaster D.E. Norton Jnr achieved what his immediate choice predecessor had failed to do: publish a school magazine. Norton’s predecessor, his father, the Rev D.E. Norton, had brought out two editions of a magazine that 14-15: 500th anniversary had been cyclostyled, a device invented in the late 19th century in which a pen with countdown: Archie Warsap on Lord Blackford a small toothed wheel pricked holes in a sheet of waxed paper which was then used as a stencil. The magazine failed dismally, and a few years elapsed before 16: Sophie Wichary on Mary the younger Norton made another attempt to create a publication that would not just survive but make a lasting impact. The 125th anniversary of that first edition Tyndall is therefore a tribute to this special Headmaster in the King’s annals. It is also a tribute to the boys, and now girls, who have written and edited this magazine with 17: How Upper Sixth voted distinction over so many years.

The year of that first issue marked the death of Prince Albert, Queen 18: Head Chef talks to Lottie Victoria’s husband, and the loss of its parliamentary majority by the Unionist Gould government. If the latter resonates with Theresa May’s difficulties in the present 19: Obituary: Simon Bennett time, there are many other similarities between The Dolphin ancient and modern, not least in the way both the Victorian and now current version try and look at the 20-21: World War One centenary world.

In the early years, the editors had stuck to the Norton brief that The Dolphin should restrict itself to school news, but the editors eventually started to 22: Chloe Dawe on creativity spread their wings, one of them writing in 1911 about Kashmir. Over four and a quarter pages, the writer enthused: “I venture to think that there are very few stay23: 2016: the worst year ever? Barney Latham and at-home Englishmen who have heard of this wonderful vale, except, perhaps, as a place where shawls come from or in a passing geography lesson; my object in Myles Jenkins writing this short paper is to bring my readers nearer to the wonders of this lovely country. Kashmir is a native state lying at the extreme northern corner of our Indian 24-25: Staff baby competition Empire, and is only dependent on British rule in so far that it boasts of a British President and is under British protection.”

26-41: Performing arts Today, that empire has gone and we are now, for better or worse, cutting ourselves further adrift from the land mass next to us with Brexit. But our editors 42-49: Away from home still similarly remind readers that a world, often a troubled one, exists beyond the horizons of our small Somerset valley. In the 2002 issue, for instance, the editorial 50: Community service focused on the horror of 9/11, commenting on the Chaplain’s talk to the School the following day in which he said: “Whether we’re young or old, tough or gentle, 51-53: C.C.F. insensitive or sensitive, selfish or selfless, surely there’s not one person in this hall right now who remains untouched by the events in America yesterday morning.”

54-63: Houses In an increasing technological world where traditional print publications are under threat from other forms of media, The Dolphin may at some stage face 64-71: Valete a fight to justify its relevance. Cyclostyling a magazine seemed, not that long ago, to be a sensible process. In this anniversary year, we hope that our precious 72-113: Sport magazine continues to report, analyse, and occasionally cheer people up for many years to come.

114-120: Prizegiving

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HAPPY 125TH ANNIVERSARY THE DOLPHIN THIS YEAR CELEBRATES 125 YEARS SINCE ITS FIRST ISSUE - IF YOU DON’T COUNT TWO EARLIER FALSE STARTS. HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS.

Start of magazine in 1892

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he idea for a school magazine first occurred towards the end of Queen Victoria’s reign when Headmaster Rev D.E. Norton observed two issues being “cyclostyled, not printed”, according to an early issue of The Dolphin published more successfully a few years later after D.E. Norton Junior succeeded his father in 1890.

Under the energetic editorship of a Mr Compton, the second life of The Dolphin started at the end of the Summer Term 1892 with its Editorial announcing that the “ill-fated Dolphin..has again sprung to life. On July 11th a meeting was held, Mr. Norton presiding, and the proposal to publish a School Magazine was formally carried. It was further resolved that the paper should be called “The Dolphin”, that it should contain school news only, and that it should be brought out at the end of each term, under the joint ownership of a committee, consisting of one master and two boys.. there is not the slightest reason why among 40 of us, we should not produce just as good a paper as any other School. But to effect this the members of the School must help us. We are quite sure that if only someone would take the preliminary plunge, others would soon follow.”

Queen Victoria presented this portrait of herself (left) to Old Brutonian Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Knight Pearson, a hero of the AngloZulu war in 1879. It now hangs in the John Davie Room.

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

Cost and design

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or seventy years, the magazine was published at the end of every term, costing 6D (2.5p today) with a yearly subscription costing two shillings (10p). This changed to twice a year in the 1960s before becoming an annual publication in 1975.

Although the space given to sport, House reports, and the performing arts hasn’t changed much in the modern era, there have been many design changes since the early days when it was no more than a leaflet. By 1910, the magazine had a cover emblazoned with an illustration of the dolphin taken from the Fitzjames Boss, with a cruder version starting to appear in 1932. A new format for the magazine was introduced in the Summer Term of 1961. For the first time, there was no charge for The Dolphin. The Editorial read: “This term The Dolphin appears in a new shape and in a new colour. No longer does the O.B. Association bear the brunt of the cost and The Dolphin must pay its way. Our policy, which is to report upon all the activities of the school, remains the same; but, publishing costs being high, these reports must of necessity be cut to suit our cloth. We therefore ask our contributors to exercise their skill in the art of precis-writing. We believe, in spite of the indifference we meet, that there is literary talent in the school, and it is our aim to foster and encourage this, and we feel confident that our Literary Supplement will grow. Above all, we are convinced that it is possible to write convincingly and artistically about so-called sports, without recourse to the platitudinous jargon of third-rate journalism.

“The crest, which adorns our cover, is a replica of that granted to King’s School, Bruton by the College of Heralds in 1929. Until that date the school either pirated the Fitzjames crest, or invented its own according to the artistic whims of the draughtsman. So we take courage and launch ourselves with confidence, trusting that our readers will approve our new lay-out and find The Dolphin a more dignified and handy publication.”

The current A4 format was introduced by David Hindley in 1975. David edited the magazine between 1968 and 1999, handing over to former journalist Charles Oulton, who has edited it since then. David explained how he went about producing The Dolphin. “The printers would give us printed copy of the written articles which the editors and I would then cut up and paste into an old Dolphin as a map of what the finished product should look like. We left spaces for photographs and drawings and made an accompanying list of which images should go where. It usually took us the best part of two days. We ended up handing over quite a pile of material for the printers to work from. I have subsequently edited The Old Brutonian using the more modern practices and realise what a chump I was not to have made the change when dealing with the School magazine.”

Royalty

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n the Editorial for the Summer Term 1911, The Dolphin reinforced its royalists credentials with the following oath of allegiance to King George V. “In our last summer’s number of The Dolphin it was our mournful duty to chronicle the sad death of the late King Edward. But a year has passed over our heads since then, and we now take the opportunity of tendering our loyalty to our newly crowned King George V., who we feel sure will continue the wise rule of his august father.”

As befits a royal school, the two official visits to King’s have been graciously recorded in the pages of The Dolphin. In October 1988, the Princess Royal opened the Design Centre with Tony Beadles, the Headmaster, concluding “this first Royal visit had put a splendid seal” on the new building. The second royal visit came in October 2010 when The Countess of Wessex re-opened the refurbished Memorial Hall and marked the Centenary of the King’s School Combined Cadet Force.

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125TH ANNIVERSARY War

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he Editorial in the Christmas 1914 issue opened with these words: “It is impossible to deal with the usual subjects touched upon in this column without first briefly referring to the great War which has thrown all other interests into the background. The share that Brutonians are taking in that tremendous conflict will be found described elsewhere, but we feel that special mention must be made of the two Old Boys who have fallen in their country’s service – H.E. Hippisley and E. Barnes. Turning to Home guard 1940s on Abbey MA .jpg the brighter side, we were very glad to receive a surprise visit at the end of November from Mr. Gal-Ladeveze who came down to Bruton on leave from the Front, looking remarkably fit and well. To him and to all others who are serving at the Front or elsewhere, we wish the best of luck.”

The following summer, however, the magazine reported that Mr. Guy-Ladeveze had been “awarded the French Croix de Guerre and the British Military Cross for conspicuous bravery on two separate occasions.” In the same issue under the heading “The School and the War”, it affirmed: “Our toll of loss is heavy, our list of distinctions more than satisfactory. We hear with pride of hard and gallant work accomplished in many directions. Our Old Boys and Masters are building up for the School an imperishable record of duty and sacrifice.”

Poignantly, the following Christmas of 1916, the magazine announced: “We regret to announce that Lieut F. Gal-Ladeveze, MC, has met with a serious accident while flying. This occurred most unluckily just before the time when he had arranged to pay a visit to Bruton on leave…He came down on the sea-shore, and his machine plunged into the soft sand, overturned and caught fire. Lieut Gal-Ladeveze, whose thigh was broken by the impact, had to struggle hard to wrench himself free from the burning wreckage, but despite his injury, succeeded in doing so. By this time, however, his clothes were in flames, and all the hair was burned off his hair and face. He rolled over and over on the wet sand until he had extinguished the flames and was eventually picked up by some English soldiers and taken to hospital, where he is making satisfactory progress.”

By Christmas 1918, the magazine understandably sounded war weary, mustering only the following observation: “The end of the War cheered us all up, giving prospects of a permanent Staff once more, and better coaching for the teams, and, incidentally, providing a reason for a display of fireworks, obtained, we suppose, from pre-war stocks.”

In the build-up to World War Two, the Christmas 1938 issue (see page 3) reported that “the term began in most eventful fashion. Opening under the shadow of the international crisis, the first fortnight was a time of stress. The security that the hundred odd miles between ourselves and London gives us, lured refugees, young and old, to our peaceful west countryside. For about a week we housed in the “San” seventeen St. Paul’s boys, who shared in our work and our games. In Hall was to be seen the unprecedented sight of an Etonian, a Pauline and a Brutonian sitting side by side – for the time being, at any rate, all King’s School boys. Altogether an interesting episode in the School’s history, and one unlikely ever to be repeated.”

In Christmas 1944, the magazine’s OB Notes reported that Major Nigel Grove, Parachute Regiment, had been taken prisoner at Arnhem. “He and his colonel were the only survivors from their battalion. The latter, who escaped, has written: ‘Both Nigel and I were hit by the same grenade, but despite his wound, he managed to get me into a house as I was temporarily blinded. He certainly did great work throughout our murderous three days, always cool and ready. You can be proud of him in this, as it is such officers as Nigel who made Arnhem possible.’ ” Just like the magazine’s response to the end of World War One, the Easter 1945 issue contained no hint of triumphalism at the end of World War Two, merely starting its Editorial with “the close of the war in Europe is a suitable time to begin preparation for the final peace. The question of a War Memorial is under consideration and it is proposed to erect new Science Buildings and an Art and Geography Room at the back of the Memorial Buildings. It is also time for a compilation of a list of the Old Brutonians who have served in the war…”

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THE DOLPHIN 2017 Summer Term 1964: Corpus Christi Concert Weather and Illness

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Reviewonwritten bylike D.J.C.H. n the early days, Editorials played safe, focusing subjects the weather, pontificating in 1911 that “the general condition of the heavens during the past term is a subject which usually finds a place in the Editorial. and since a We veritable miracle come aboutof in the this twentieth century in that, so uncertain far we haveentry been blessed with a glorious began withhas “The Arrival Queen of Sheba” – an by comparison with summer, we feel justified in giving this subject an exalted place in the diary of our summer term.” other visits I’ve known, but not entirely lacking in regality. For example, some of the semiquaver By 1932, this obsession with the weather had moved outside the Editorial to a separate item with the writer passages about the middle (sorry to be so vague, but even bar references wouldn’t make the observing that “from January 24th up to March 22nd rain was measurable on four occasions only and the total fall was clearer) gracious swing, the legato phrases were not really legato, 0.7picture ins. (Onmuch June 29th, 1917,went 9.56 with ins. ofarain fell in one day atbut Bruton).” and In from time to time, the two pianists (M.Davies and C. Simmonds) gotanother out of pre-occupation: time with each the Summer 1917 issue, the Editorial combined writing about the weather with illness. must begin bynumber explainingofwhy we were to issue last term’s Dolphin The fact lack is thatofowing other. “We Judging by the notes that unable were missed completely and as byusual. the general true to the awful weatherHandelian conditions, and to an outbreak of chicken-pox, last term was the most disappointing that we have gusto, I suspect that the piece was too much for them. experienced for many years. It would be useless to dwell at any length upon the weather, which nobody is likely to …. forget. We had, it is true, a fortnight’s skating on Redlynch Lake, which was much appreciated for a time. But the snow his form attention to the Orchestra. was some tuning in the string section spoiltTurns even that of amusement, so everyone“There was soon longing forimperfect the fine weather which would not come.

When that got carried over into the Lento movement; a movement whose wistfulness was clearly felt we add that there were about 20 cases of chicken-pox, that the Sports and the Gym Competition were abandoned, andas that no Hockey wereas possible, our readers will realise the impossibility of the producing “Dolphin” with no much by theMatches timpanist by anyone.

He wasn’t actually playing at time, abut sat leaning news to chronicle.”

A scribbled, anonymous note in the margin complains: “No excuse whatever.

Even one sheet.” disconsolately on one of is drums apparently contemplating, at the very least, human transience.

In the Christmas 1918 issue, the editors had a legitimate reason to write about illness, referring to the Spanish …” flu epidemic which killed more people in 1918/19 than died during World War One. “The past term, though to some Summer 1918: Tuesday, July 23rd, Mr.been Tremlett proposed and Mr.Lewis extent spoiled by theGames influenzaCommittee: epidemic and“On the Army examinations, has not altogether an unenjoyable one. seconded that owing to the weather conditions, which rendered only the last day of term The influenza, indeed, thought it extended over three weeks and claimed about seven-eights of the school available, as victims, was a very mild form, and lasted only for a few days.” theofHouse Match should be “scratched”.

The same person wrote in: “”very slack. Why not played Two years later, in Christmas 1920, the editorialearlier” acknowledged their twin obsessions in this way: “Apparently it is a tradition of the Editors to complain either of the weather or of a disease. Much adaring, we break the rule and venture to remark that we have been totally free from disease and are delighted with the weather allotted to us.”

Music

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he music at King’s was no doubt not as impressive as it is today, but reviewers in the 1960s took some pleasing, judging

by David Hindley’s Corpus Christi concert assessment of the Corpus Christi Concert in Summer 1964.

“We began with “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” – an uncertain entry by comparison with other visits I’ve known, but not entirely lacking in regality.

For example, some of the semiquaver passages about the middle (sorry to be so vague, but even bar references wouldn’t make the picture much clearer) went with a gracious swing, but the legato phrases were not really legato, and from time to time, the two pianists (M.Davies and C. Simmonds) got out of time with each other. Judging by the number of notes that were missed completely and by the general lack of true Handelian gusto, I suspect that the piece was too much for them.”

David then turns his attention to the Orchestra.

“There was some imperfect tuning in the string section that got carried over into the Lento movement; a movement whose wistfulness was clearly felt as much by the timpanist as by anyone. He wasn’t actually playing at the time, but sat leaning disconsolately on one of his drums apparently contemplating, at the very least, human transience. …”

Sport

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ike the music in the 1960, sports reviewers were also difficult to please in the early 20th Century, judging by this rather caustic review of the 1910 football season. “This season was not remarkable for a particularly brilliant record, nor for producing any players of outstanding merit, though Rowell bids fair to make a very good centre-half and Warry an excellent goalkeeper.” The reviewer refers to matches against H.E.Hippisley’s X1 (the School won 4-3). The School drew 1-1 against L.C.L. Sutton’s X1.

Hippisley also played for the Old Brutonian Bs at the end of Christmas Term, helping them beat the School’s A team 3-0. “A better game would probably have resulted if the 1st team had been engaged.”

1909 cricket team MA .jpg A Games Committee report in Summer 1918: “On Tuesday, July 23rd, Mr. Tremlett proposed and Mr.Lewis seconded that owing to the weather conditions, which rendered only the last day of term available, the House Match should be “scratched”. Not everyone agreed.” “Very slack,” someone commented.

Why not played earlier.”

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125TH ANNIVERSARY Corpus Christi/Commemoration/Speech Day

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t Speech Day in Summer 1911, the Headmaster, D.E. Norton Jnr reported that “the numbers in the School were higher than they had ever been. The School was now not merely full, but overflowing, and they had to avail themselves of the hospitality of the Vicarage to accommodate the applicants for admission. One tangible result of this had been that the Governors had been able to increase the staff of masters, thereby relieving the pressure in the ordinary work and enabling them to develop the scientific side of the curriculum in a way which had been impossible before.”

Fifty years later, in Summer 1961, the tone of The Dolphin’s reporting of Corpus Christi was rather different: “King’s School, Bruton always flatters itself that Corpus Christi is almost invariably a fine day. This year was no exception. It was fine, but it was remarkably chilly. Perhaps this explains the poor attendance of boys at the 8 am Eucharist, though one might have expected healthy young Christians to have made the effort to be present at the Lord’s Service on this great day, even if the temperature was rather lower than is normal on June 1.”

The same author seems to have been behind the equivalent Corpus Christi report three years later. Writing about the 1964 service, the report read: “At the traditional Corpus Christi service, less formal and more homely this year, since the chancel was under repair and the altar moved into the nave, the Bishop of Hereford, the Right Reverend Mark Hodson, preached the sermon. He spoke with authority, but quite without episcopal pomposity, and contributed to the air of genuineness, the freedom from false elevation, that one welcomed. The core of his message, that in Church and in silence one finds the plan which enables one to construct something worthwhile of one’s life, made the religious nature of this festival relevant to its apparently secular aspects, and did something to dispel the notion that the religious part is conveniently disposed of in good time for sherry, lunch, speeches and the rest.”

In the same issue, the report of the Prize-giving commented on the guest of honour, Lord Blackford, “known and tried friend to the School, who made the principal speech, spicing his precepts with Edwardian anecdotes in which Bertie Wooster would have felt quite at home, though Jeeves might have detected improprieties.”

In Summer 1983, the speech made by Headmaster Hubert Doggart at the Presentation of Governor’s Prizes (as the occasion was known in those days) was distinctly political. He addressed his audience “secure in the knowledge that, for the term of this Parliament anyway, the Independent Sector of Education – with King’s School, Bruton a vigorous part of it – is safe from sustained political attack, and speaks with an infinitely stronger voice than it has ever done before. Secure, at least for the immediate present, from the machinations of those who are prepared to remove important freedoms, to limit parental choice and to use education for political aims, we can concentrate on the education that is our raison d’etre, and our reason for meeting here today..

100th anniversary issue – 1992

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his year The Dolphin celebrated its 100th birthday. The cover for this centenary edition, the magazine explained, was “a reproduction of the front and back pages (originally quarto size) of the very first Dolphin which appeared at the end of the Summer Term, 1892. The magazine was to be published each term and would cost 6D (2.5p); or you could take out a yearly subscription for two shillings (10p), which presumably included postage.

The magazine continued to appear termly until the 1960s when it was decided that two a year would be more manageable. In 1975, The Dolphin became the elaborate publication it is today and settled into annual publication.

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

GOVERNOR JULIAN MANT WARNS DAUGHTER KITTY ABOUT “FAKE NEWS”

Kitty Mant talks to her father, a King’s Governor, to establish what the Governing Body does – and tries, unsuccessfully, to flesh out the Bursar’s hint (on P9) about “new plans”.

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ow long have you been a Governor and how many are there?

I came on to the Board of Governors at King’s in January 2015. There are currently 17 members on the Board.

What do the Governors actually do?

When I was at school I am told that the only really significant role of a Governor was to appoint the Headmaster or Headmistress and to turn up for a meeting once a year and have a good lunch. Those days are long gone as recent legislation has placed many extra burdens on a school Head and the support they now require from their Board of Governors has increased correspondingly. Governors are chosen for their specialist knowledge, be it financial, religious, legal, marketing, medical or property. A well-balanced Board of Governors will also include either a current Head from another school or an ex-Head. The Board helps to formulate strategy for the School and then to support the Head and senior leadership team in delivering to the strategy.

keeping the Estates committee on its toes.

How do they operate? How are the Governors’ suggestions implemented?

The full Board of Governors meets once per term and we also have an away day once a year. The committees meet termly but will convene more regularly if circumstances dictate. In advance of each meeting a full pack of papers is produced for us to consider and these will be presented too at the meeting. Where appropriate we bring in external consultants to present to us on specific issues. We discuss matters at board level and then move forward on a consensual basis.

What do you talk about – or is that confidential?

It depends on the meeting. At a full Board meeting we will deal with a wide-ranging agenda where the Chair of each committee will report to the full board. We also hear from the Headmasters of King’s and Hazlegrove as well as the Bursar. As to specifics, that is confidential.

I’ve heard rumours that the School has already started making plans for a post-music school project. Can you confirm or deny?

I neither confirm or deny. Beware of fake news.

Are there any perks?

I get to spend many hours in the company of Mr Wilmshurst.

What committee do you sit on and what are the other ones?

There are a number of committees that speak to specific areas of school life such as Governance, Finance, Education, Estates and Risk. I sit on the Governance and Estates committees. The chief responsibilities of the Governance committee are to determine the membership of the board and measure the quality of its performance as a whole and of individual board members. It is also concerned with succession planning. Estates is about maximising the benefit of the footprint on which King’s and Hazlegrove sit. There are quite a few projects going on at the moment which is

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NEWS FEATURES BURSAR HINTS AT “NEW PLANS” FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF NEW MUSIC SCHOOL IN A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW WITH LOUIS TUSON, KITTY MANT DISCOVERS WHAT MAKES THE MAN IN CHARGE OF OUR MONEY SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT

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onscious that I knew very little about the role of a Bursar, and having assumed that I was not alone, I went to speak to Louis Tuson, the Bursar of King’s and Hazlegrove in the final week of the Summer Term.

Before arriving at King’s, Mr Tuson served in the Army for twenty-five years, finishing in 2012 as a full Colonel in the Royal Engineers. During his time in the military, Mr Tuson was awarded an MBE for his work in the Embassy in Washington D.C in 2000.

As his father-in-law was a Headmaster at an independent school, Mr Tuson already knew what the role was about and thought “I could give it a go”. This led him to St Mary’s Shaftesbury for his first Bursary role, before moving to King’s and Hazlegrove.

When I asked around the House (Wellesley) what everyone thought the Bursar did, I received very few answers and most of them were about school fees.

This is perhaps understandable as when I asked Mr Tuson the same question, he started laughing and said it was difficult to know where to begin.

I quickly learnt that being Bursar is not all about school fees. Instead, it’s about making sure the School runs effectively across the board, both long term and on a day to day basis. The Bursar ensures that all the bills are paid and all payments are received from parents, whilst maintaining the long term financial viability of the School as a business.

This financial viability depends on projecting what income and commitments are going to be while “planning strategically” what the School can afford to do. To ensure that the School remains relevant from an

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educational point of view, I am told that we must make sure we “have what we need to remain the best we can be in the market”.

In order to “remain the best”, Mr Tuson was well equipped for tackling the ‘business’ of King’s Bruton, as both the military and education are “all about people”. Despite this, it has not always been easy to adapt and there was a “very steep learning curve” involved at the start.

I am told that “In the Army, you are dealing with public money which is very different, and of course you have to budget, but it is in a different context. Here we are a medium sized business and we live or die by how we perform. So, we have to get it right.”

The idea of living or dying based on performance is something traditionally associated with a military career and not a private school in Somerset, yet the importance of getting it “right” rings true. With a limited number of resources and a seemingly endless ‘to-do’ list, budgeting plays a vital role.

Although important all year round, this is particularly true in September. At the busiest time of the year there are “whole new sets of parents, bills coming in and we tend to be spending most because we have all the staff coming in wanting to get set up for the new academic year, so there is a lot going on.”

When I asked if he gets any respite, Mr Tuson tells me that during the summer holidays he spends his time at King’s “sunbathing”.

Later, he admits that the holidays can be as hectic as term time. Due to the limited times in the year when the School can be developed, maintained and repaired because it’s constantly going, the holidays provide time for this work to take place. At the same time, to try and maximise the use of the School’s capacity, elements of the School are let out throughout the summer.

This is where the second part of Mr Tuson’s job comes into play. Outside the academic year, the School’s facilities are used to the maximum under the trading company, Crown and Dolphin Enterprises. This is because when “we are letting our facilities out to a private individual, whether that be another School or whoever, we can’t do that under our charitable status, so we have a separate trading company”.

Augmenting our income is done in many ways: hosting language schools, letting out our sports facilities, conferences, weddings and so on. As Mr Tuson puts it; “we will happily have anyone who will pay us!”.

Operating as a private school is “very much market driven” with demand constantly fluctuating. The make-up of international students demands changes “almost on a year by year basis” due to the strength of the pound against the Euro and so on, making numbers hard to predict.

National and international students aside, it is “affordability” that Mr Tuson cites as the greatest challenge that faces independent schools. He acknowledges that “trying to be the best we possibly can be has a cost” whilst understanding that the School must remain “affordable for parents who actually want to send their children here”.

The background of what’s going on in the

THE DOLPHIN 2017

economy, with Brexit, all has a significant impact on the cost of running King’s as an affordable business.

This affects both King’s and parents as employing staff is getting more and more expensive while at the same time, parents are being battered by the same costs, so “affordability and making sure we remain affordable is crucial.”

In order to remain affordable, King’s must remain efficient and relevant, something that can be seen in the School’s approach towards its carbon emissions. In his work at St Mary’s, Mr Tuson switched the School from using bottled gas and oil and therefore managed to bring emissions and costs down considerably.

At King’s, our use of fossil fuels is “significant”.

As a people based organisation, we have seven Boarding Houses, lots of people having hot showers, classrooms to heat and so on, making our fuel bills “pretty horrendous”. Despite being unable to switch to a similar scheme as St Mary’s due to differences with district heating systems and mains gas, the School is still “absolutely determined to improve our carbon footprint”. This can be seen in the new classroom refurbishments where all the lights are LED panels that use a fraction of the electricity and lights now go off when you leave a classroom. Also, 28 kilowatts of solar panels have also been built on the roof of the Fitzjames Hall over the summer.

This process is made possible by the “vital” relationship between a Bursar and Headmaster.

Talking to both Heads (of King’s and Hazlegrove) on almost a day to day basis allows Mr Tuson and the Headmasters to be completely in each other’s minds to do the best for the Schools. This is because there “has

got to be complete and total trust, so that even though we can’t necessarily talk to each other immediately, we understand what we are going to do, how we are going to do it, in the best interests of the School”.

Taking 16 minutes to travel the nine miles to Hazlegrove, Mr Tuson visits three to four days a week, allowing him to split his time between the two Schools. Regardless of their close proximity, they have a “very different feel and a different way of doing business”, making them “genuinely very independent” and Mr Tuson’s job more “interesting”. One of the challenges of being Bursar of both Schools is, without compromising that independence, making both more efficient by “doing things together and making our processes common”.

Slightly tentatively, I asked Mr Tuson what keeps him awake at night about his job at King’s. He replied with an assured “nothing”. I would like to hope this is because the School is in a safe place and not because we have a particularly deep-sleeping Bursar, and he happily informed me it was the former. He said: “King’s is very well placed, we are recruiting strongly, we are financially sound, of course there are always challenges, but there’s nothing out there we can’t handle.”

As long as there is a big project on the horizon, Mr Tuson is “pretty well motivated”.

Casually he says that the new Music School is great, but he is already thinking what comes next, what’s after. When I asked for elaboration, he replied “we already have some plans”. From the man who has kept King’s running like clockwork since 2015, this sounds pretty good to me.

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OLD BRUTONIAN INTERVIEW Former Deputy Head of School Tom Allright is the Assistant Producer on Grand Designs, the Channel Four programme that follows the progress of dream homes as they develop from the drawing board to the last brick being laid. Here he discusses how he landed a job on the programme, what he hopes to do after Grand Designs, and what he remembers about his time at King’s.

Dates at King’s?

I was at King’s from 2003 to 2008.

Which House were you in? What was it like in those days?

I was in Lyon House. It was a great House, mainly because of its location, set just outside of the School grounds with the playing fields on its doorstep - you could truly get away from School life. Lyon had a strong but balanced ‘work hard, play hard’ ethic. This permeated everything we did. I think it would be fair to say when I arrived, Lyon had an athletic reputation and as a Third Former, I felt I had made the perfect choice.

I remember the pride of representing the House in the Sevens and the Inter-House athletics. You couldn’t get

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away from the high standards that we set on the sports field and it definitely set me up for life. Lyon was not all about sport though. It also had the famous Lyon House play put on by the legendary Mr Fletcher. And we had the Inter-House singing competition. In my final years, as Head of House, I got to lead the line and I loved it. Working alongside Mr Hamilton and the pastoral staff was incredible for my final year. It’s a year that I’ll remember with an immense sense of pride.

What did you study at A Level subject. What did you enjoy about your studies?

My A-level subjects were History, English, Latin, and French. My favourite thing about the topics was I could read and get stuck into the subjects. All these topics required you to look at an issue, situation or a moment in time with a degree of independent thought and analysis which I thoroughly enjoyed. On top of this, I enjoyed debating and arguing my viewpoint which is a discipline you need to employ in all of these subjects.

History and English were my favourite subjects and I later studied History as part of my Joint Honours degree at Loughborough University. It also played a huge role in my current career path.

What sport did you play? Did you enjoy it?

Sport played an important role in my life at King’s. In all honesty, I tried to play as much sport as I could at King’s with rugby being my favourite. And I was lucky enough to play in the first teams for hockey, rugby and cricket while at Bruton. I also played 1st team indoor hockey and for the rugby 7s team.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Tom and Win Wilmot celebrating after an exam with a pizza

What positions of authority did you hold? What did it involve? What, if anything, did you try and change?

I was Deputy Head of School. A very close friend of mine, Winchester Wilmot, was Head of School and we still remain very close friends. However, being Deputy with one of your best friends as Head was a great experience. Being Deputy Head of School in those days meant a lot of peer meetings and meetings with the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster. We’d address a wide range of student issues and provide support to the student body.

What are your funniest and happiest memories?

There were many funny moments at King’s - the InterHouse singing competition seemed to bring out the funny side of all the Boarding Houses. However, the Lyon House play was always a barrel of laughs. I may be biased but the year Mr Fletcher did our House play for me was the funniest. Specifically, Joe Bussel - the first team prop forward - dressing up as a woman will be an image I won’t be able to erase from my memory for a while.

Do you keep in touch with Old Brutonians?

Yes, I still stay in touch with quite a lot of OBs from many year groups. We had a very close year group.

Now living in London, I still manage to see Matt Watts (New House) Win Wilmot (Blackford) Isaiah Nuwagaba (New House) and Miles Damant ( Blackford House) regularly. Outside that I am very close to a large number of old boys who have moved further afield.

My positive experience throughout my time at Bruton has led to some very strong friendships which will undoubtedly last a very long time.

I co-produced an event/project you can still find online called Lufbra Soundclash which won a number of University awards. However, at this stage, I was still unsure what I wanted to do.

From there I applied to work on the BBC’s Production Talent Scheme and earned a place after six months of testing, interviews and team-based exercises. Whilst working for the BBC I was also a volunteer presenter on the Camden Roundhouse’s Roundhouse Radio for two years. This helped me develop my writing and producing skills.

I then spent 18 months learning my trade in the BBC Current Affairs department working on a number of Panoramas, one-off documentaries and Rip off Britain. I have since worked for BBC, ITV, Amazon Prime, Discovery and Channel 4 as an Assistant Producer.

I gather you now work for Grand Designs? What does the job involve? What are your ambitions for the future?

I have watched Grand Design for many years. Since I started working in documentary/features television, I always wanted to work on the series. I saw a post online while I was working on an Amazon Prime project. I applied for the role, and started working on the programme in June.

I’m currently the Assistant Producer. My role on Grand Designs is extremely varied, from research to filming. I rarely have the same day. However, the bulk of my work involves supporting the Director of the programme. Together we follow six builds. Within each build, I liaise with the all the people who are involved with building the home. I am constantly discussing, writing and meeting people to ensure we follow and capture all the elements of these projects whilst also thinking about creative ways to explain sometimes complex processes. On top of this, I organise the film shoots and film on them too. Finally, I assist in finding new projects to have on the show, writing and filming with the aim of pitching these to Channel 4.

I’m not sure what the future holds but I’m interested in pursuing Documentary film-making. I’d like to one day produce / direct my own documentaries on a topic that has personally affected me. I also have ambitions of working on more online platforms such as Netflix / Amazon Prime. I was an Assistant Producer on a programme following Formula 1 team McLaren which is coming out in the new year on Amazon Prime.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with them - it would be great to do it again.

What have you done since leaving School?

After leaving Bruton, I went travelling for six months.

I then began my studies at Loughborough University, studying History and International Relations. It was at Loughborough that I solidified my passion for TV and Radio. I became involved with Loughborough Student Radio and eventually became Head of Music where I helped to develop the station’s multiplatform content.

Tom with the ball

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ABRAHALL’S ANALYSIS

THE POWER OF CHOICE Kitty Mant urges us to make the right ones

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ince the 2016 publication of The Dolphin, the world has continued to be increasingly intolerant. At a time when words such as race, religion, culture, ethnicity and sexual orientation have become politically charged, their meaning has become open to interpretation. Rather than accepting these qualities in others, they have become a topic of debate in the press and on social media. Our behaviour has become violent, and our words and thoughts extreme, as we constantly seek to attack, destroy, belittle and hurt rather than protect, build, care and love.

You only have to look as far as this morning’s headlines to see this: eight people were killed in Lower Manhattan by a truck in an act of terror. Unfortunately, this type of lone-wolf attack, although devastating, has become commonplace in recent years. This had been experienced domestically in the United Kingdom

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in Westminster, London Bridge, in Manchester and Finsbury Park in the last year alone. Similar attacks have been occurring further afield in much of Europe including France, Spain and Sweden. Now, these cowardly acts of terrorism have spread to the United States, proving that terror and its targets are everywhere.

Combined with the ongoing migrant crisis and economic stagnation, these terror attacks in France, Belgium and Germany by Islamic extremists have provided a fertile breeding ground for the resurgence of far-Right politics. Traditionally Conservative parties have succeeded in appealing to Europe’s discontented populations, as their anti-establishment protest movements gain ground. The popularity of Le Pen of the French National Front in France, the growth of the anti-Europe and anti-Muslim Alternative for Germany party, and even the Brexit vote show a Europe of increasing intolerance. This was echoed in Austria, where the far-Right Freedom Party reached the second-round run-off in the country’s presidential election, narrowly losing but still winning over 46 per cent of the vote.

The anti-immigration stance taken by Trump and the growth of the white supremacist movement shows that it is not only Europe that is feeling the pressure. Indeed, in many ways, the picture seems to darken over the pond.

While the media seems inevitably to be drawn to Trump’s controversial, often offensive and downright bizarre speeches and twitter account, his policies are also causing irrefutable harm. After less than a year in office, the president has pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, attempted to repeal “Obamacare” and has created prototypes for his “huge” wall. In the background, the scale of police brutality and the skyrocketing gun ownership numbers are starting to bubble over.

In Syria, the fight against Isis has no foreseeable end, with Aleppo and now Raqqa devastated due to the fallout of the war against extremism. Since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians have fled the country with another 10 million internally displaced. As countries close their borders, the plight of refugees intensifies as increasingly extreme and dangerous behaviour is adopted to reach safety. Amidst this, Donald Trump Jr thought it appropriate to tweet: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”

If Trump Jr had bothered to do his maths, he would have realised that the annual chance that an American being murdered by a refugee was 1 in 3.64 billion, 100,000 times more unlikely than the chances of choking to death on those very same skittles. Based on Philip Bump’s sums, it would take about one and a half Olympic swimming pools of Skittles in order to find three killers, rather bigger than Trump Jr’s ‘bowl’.

On a serious note, I wonder from what bowl Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas gunman, came from.

If one follows this logic, Paddock can only be described as a “poisoned smartie” from the bowl of otherwise “uninfected” American people. Has this been tweeted?

THE DOLPHIN 2017 Of course not. When discussing problems that we think should be a burden to others and not ourselves, our quick judgements often lead to insensitive, and downright wrong conclusions.

Following the tweet by the Republican presidential candidate’s son, the company that owns Skittles, Wrigley, stepped in and said “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people”.

Heartbreakingly, it took someone to confirm that yes, refugees are human, before anyone spoke up. This complete lack of compassion and pure ignorance that is adopted when speaking of refugees is astounding but sadly increasingly commonplace. What the USA actually stands for is too often lost. This ‘land of the free’ has decisively closed its borders. But then again, we must remember our own anthem: “Of many a race and birth From utmost ends of earth God save us all!”

In many ways, this encapsulates the identity crisis that the world, and indeed the United Kingdom, is currently facing. The Brexit vote seriously questioned what it means to be British, and our subsequent vote to leave shouted our answer loud and clear. Of course, people voted to leave for many reasons, be they trade, the burden of the EU and so on, but the question concerning immigration was on everyone’s mind.

Whatever people may argue, our choice to exclude rather than welcome was a dominant and conscious one.

Choice is something that we come across in everyday life. Billions of choices are faced on a daily basis: Cornflakes or Shreddies, car or bus, smile or frown, peas or carrots, hat or scarf and so own. We also face choices that require more thought: whether or not to marry, who to vote for, which job to pick, what to study, where to travel...the list goes on. It is these choices that are dominating the world around us as we speak, whether you perceive those to be good or bad. The men behind the terror attacks in the United Kingdom had a choice. Stephen Paddock had a choice.

Those who voted in European elections had a choice.

The refugees who fled Syria were faced with a choice.

The decision to start to build a wall, to pull out of the Paris Climate agreement and to talk of skittles are all choices. If we wish to understand our uncertain, at times worrying world, it is imperative that we start choosing with more care.

It is important to remember, however, that the world is not just a place of violence, hatred and terrible choice. The lack of positive news stories suggests that, in part, the goodness in life has been all but forgotten, or at least deemed not worthy of reporting.

This theory has been completely shaken up in recent weeks, showing that choice has also become a force for good in life, ranging from politics, film, science and the environment.

In politics and film, the emergence of accusations made by men and women about the sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood and in parliament has been a triumph. While every individual case continues to be horrifying and no doubt traumatic, the ability of the victims to speak up is an enormous accomplishment on the road to achieving

gender equality in some of the world’s most powerful institutions. This choice to speak up sets a powerful precedent for future behaviour in every industry, showing the influence a choice can have.

In the world of environmental science, the Giant Panda is no longer considered to be endangered, proving that the tireless work of wildlife organisations is starting to pay off. While this clearly does not equate to the improvement of the environment as a whole, far from it, it shows that the destructive behaviour of man can be undone. The development of lab-grown meat is also promising an alternative to the current production methods of protein. Given that the world’s population is growing faster than the means of feeding it, these scientific breakthroughs offer a feasible solution for the securing of future food supply. This want to preserve the current world while securing its safety for future generations shows that we are as much a world of protection, growth and exploration as we are of destruction.

The past year has been eventful to say the least. Fraught with political scandal, terror attacks and global warming, it has been a time of continued violence and uncertainty. It has also been a time of great joy as new discoveries lead us closer to finding sustainable solutions for life on earth for future generations. Perhaps most poignantly, the past year has been one of great sorrow and reflection. The burnt-out shell of Grenfell Tower serves as a reminder that amid the chaos of the everyday choices we face, human life is as fragile as it is precious.

The choice of what kind of world we wish to live in is a decision that needs to be made. This paradoxical world where the rainforests are being both destroyed and rebuilt, pollution is being added to and reduced and peace is called for while preparing for war is not sustainable. The ability to choose has never been greater. We just need to ensure that we choose correctly.

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500TH COUNTDOWN A MASON WHO BECAME THE PEER BEHIND THE BUILDING OF A HOUSE CALLED BLACKFORD

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In our series focusing on distinguished Brutonians as we count down to the 500th anniversary of the School in 2019, Archie Warsap profiles the immense contributions made to the development of King’s by Lord Blackford

lackford: the name of a slightly nondescript building facing the more distinguished looking Memorial Hall. Despite its appearance, however, Blackford House has been the welcoming home for teenage boys for 57 years.

Blackford boys are renowned for the pride they have for their House, and their vociferous support can be heard at any House event, from the debating chamber to the touchline on the rugby field.

Despite this loyalty for Blackford, little is known about the significance of the name; I don’t suppose even the most partisan of Blackfordians knows the identity of the gentleman in the portrait hanging in one of the corridors. However, without this gentleman, the House that many have become so proud of would not even exist.

Lord Blackford was first introduced to King’s in the form of the Rt.Hon. Glyn Keith Murray Mason, heir to the title held by his father William Mason, the 1st Lord Blackford. Glyn Mason was made a Governor in 1940, becoming Junior Warden in 1945 and later appointed Senior Warden that year - a post he held until 1948.

His relationship with King’s was to last until his death, aged 85 in 1972. Lord Blackford was one of the most generous benefactors in the School’s long history, largely financing Blackford House which gratefully and proudly bears his name.

Glyn Keith Murray Mason, born in 1887, was sent away to Eton at the age of thirteen and there discovered a healthy sense of adventure in the School’s Officer Training Corps. From there he went to The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he passed out in the top thirty officer cadets of his intake in 1906. He was then granted a commission in the 14th King’s Hussars. Soon he was sent out to India where

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the young subaltern enjoyed a life of relative comfort on the Northwest frontier, conducting the odd operation against troublesome tribesmen.

At the outbreak of the Great War, Captain Mason was posted to France with the British Expeditionary Force sent to repel the rapid German advance. Mason was wounded during an unsuccessful cavalry charge in early 1915 and was invalided back to Britain. Eager to get back into the fight, the now battle-hardened, newly promoted Major volunteered to join the small British force sent out to Salonika. Here, Mason acquitted himself with bravery and devotion to duty in an ill-fated offensive in 1917. Mason was again wounded and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his part in the offensive. He was then transferred from the deadlock of the Salonika front and given command of the Dorset Yeomanry, who were stationed in Palestine. He would remain here for the rest of the war. His battalion engaged Turkish forces frequently and suffered heavy losses. He was awarded a bar to his DSO. Colonel Mason retired from the army in 1919.

He had previously married Grace Keen on the 6th November 1918. He entered politics, winning and holding the Conservative seat of North Croydon from 1922-1940. During the Second World War, he once again came to his country’s call, serving in the City of London Home Guard as a sector commander. It was during the Second World War that Mason lost his eldest son in 1942 whilst he was serving in the RAFVR in North Africa.

Following the death of his father in 1947, Glyn Mason became the 2nd Lord Blackford. He resigned his seat in the Commons and took up his seat in the House

THE DOLPHIN 2017 of Lords, becoming Deputy Speaker. For his services to politics, Lord Blackford was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962. As well as his political life and affiliations with the School, Lord Blackford also enjoyed a busy life in the City, being Chairman of Guardian Assurance group from 1950 to 1967 and Deputy Chairman of Midland Bank from 1960 to 1967.

When in 1950 there was a display of the School archives, it was decided that the School’s copy of the Magna Carta should be sold to bolster the School’s finances and, in particular, help fund the building of another boarding House.

Lord Blackford handled the negotiations through his connections in London. There was great interest from the British Museum, who offered the school £2,000 for it.

However Lord Blackford engineered a deal with the Australian Government, making an agreement with the Australian High Commissioner Sir Thomas White.

The Charter was eventually sold for £12,500 pounds in 1952. However, before the deal was finalised with the Australian Government it was discovered that Lord Blackford had been poorly advised; he had previously thought the Magna Carta could only be sold in Britain or to a member of the Commonwealth. It would later transpire that this was not the case, and that it could have been sold in America for closer to £100,000.

However, Lord Blackford refused to pull out of the deal with the Australians saying: “We are honour bound to give the Australian Government first refusal”. It was handed over to the Australian High Commissioner by Lord Blackford at Australia House in London on the 24th October 1952. As a result of the sale, the School was able to build Lyon House and improve the sports facilities on Hyde playing field.

As well as his involvement in the governance

of King’s School, Lord Blackford was also a most generous benefactor to both King’s and Hazlegrove. He would occasionally send cheques to the Bursar, with suggestions as to how his donation might be used. For example, in a letter to the then Bursar, dated 1971, he wrote: “I shall send you a cheque for £20,000, of which £12,500 should go towards a new permanent dining room for King’s School and the remaining £7,500 to go towards a gym for Hazlegrove”.

Colonel Glyn Keith Murray Mason, the Second Lord Blackford CBE DS0* was a man of outstanding character. He was not only a great benefactor, but a wise and loving friend to King’s Bruton. It is only right that his name lives on within the heart of the School, and will be honoured for many years to come.

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NEWS FEATURES A LEARNING SUPPORT PIONEER WHO CHANGED PEOPLE’S LIVES Mary Tyndall, founder of King’s Learning Support teaching, died in 2015 at the age of 97. Here, Sophie Wichary talks to her son Bill about his mother’s legacy.

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ing’s Bruton is a School where support in academia is exceptionally strong. It has something many other schools do not possess - a great learning support department for those who need it. It also provides extra support, in the form of activities, for those particularly challenging subjects. These are not the only aspects of support in the School. Teachers, tutors and Houseparents offer continued pastoral care, and it is one aspect of the School that I have found the most important.

As a student, I have definitely needed extra support in my studies. I have benefited enormously from the learning support department, a department that has developed a huge amount from when it was first founded by Mary Tyndall.

Mary was a wife, a Houseparent, but, most importantly, a mother. If Mary had not been a mother, King’s would not have had such a developed LSU department. Forty-five years ago, Mary first started to develop what we know today as Learning Support.

As a mother, she started to wonder why her son was classified as ‘stupid’ in the eyes of his teachers at the time, when she knew her son Bill was anything but.

This inspired her to begin to develop ideas surrounding learning support. I’m delighted the Learning Support Department is now known as the ‘Mary Tyndall Centre’.

In order to learn more about the pioneering work of Mary, I interviewed her son, Bill Tyndall, to find out more.

Today it is widely accepted that people suffer from dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. What was it like to grow up in a time where it wasn’t?

“Well many people who did suffer from these ‘disabilities’ (and I say that although I don’t really feel as if they are in fact disabilities, but more of an ability) fell through the education system net. This meant that

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senior school was so much more important as you needed to excel in your own way of learning, and in my day there were very few schools who catered for those who needed to be taught via different methods.”

Your mother, Mary, was a pioneer within her own field, but do you know if there were others that were trying to achieve the same thing for children?

“Within Somerset, Mary-Ann Welshman and my mother were really the first two people who started to adopt new ways of thinking and teaching concerning children in education with learning disabilities. My mother also had a great deal of support from my own senior school Headmaster, Walter Scott, who was legendary in his own field in providing education for those who could not be taught in the usual way. His teaching really set me up for my future life going into the army and becoming an engineer.”

What types of exercises did you do to help combat your dyslexia at the time?

“I didn’t! I had amazing teachers from whom my mother undoubtedly learned some techniques from, however, the techniques developed in recent years are simply amazing and something I could never have dreamed of when I was at school. Dragon and reading pens seemed an impossibility.”

Do you feel you could be the reason your mother set up the King’s Bruton LSU? “Well I suppose, in many ways I was. But looking back at my family, my uncle (Mum’s brother) suffered terribly with what most likely would have been diagnosed with dyslexia. So in some ways yes, I suppose you could say that. However, mum always made sure she would support any child in the House (Dad was a housemaster at the time). It wasn’t only children at King’s that received her help, but also students from Leweston, Bruton School for Girls and King Arthur’s.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 Finally, did dyslexia have a long-term impact on your life?

“Yes, I didn’t go to university, but that doesn’t worry me. I am proud of the job I had and I tried to do it to the best of my ability. Life was my university and, in hindsight, university was not right for me. But I had so much help growing up from Mum and my teachers at school, so I don’t worry. So, to change my answer completely - no, I don’t believe it has had a lasting impact upon my life. I feel so immensely proud of what my mother did, changing other people’s lives, not just my own, and that is something I truly respect her for.”

How did the Upper Sixth vote in the General Election?

The 2017 General Election was the first time the Upper Sixth had the chance to vote.

Kitty Mant asked three of them how they voted and whether they now regretted their decisions.

Who did you vote for in the General Election?

Georgia Dimdore-Miles: I voted Conservative Annabel Black: I voted for the Independent Party Alice Branagan: I voted for the Liberal Democrats What was it about your chosen party that appealed to you?

Georgia: There wasn’t anything in particular that appealed to me about the Conservative party, rather that the other options were far less appealing. Despite what many young people claim, Jeremy Corbyn is not up to the job of Prime Minister.

Annabel: Voting Independent appealed to me because it wasn’t like the old, stagnant system. It was different and approachable. I felt that they wanted to know what we wanted instead of telling us what they thought we needed.

Alice: I’d decided that I didn’t like any of the main party leaders so I decided to vote for the party that had the closest political views to mine. Also, I really liked the local MP. And since I live in a constituency with a Tory majority I thought any other vote would have no impact.

I still thought Lib Dem could still make some difference.

Did you do any research into your party before voting?

Georgia: I didn’t do much research about the election itself, however, I had been following the parties since the Brexit Campaign and had made up my mind then.

Annabel: I did, I looked through all of the party manifestos and decided on the most beneficial one.

Alice: I did one of those online tests that ask loads of questions about policies and then tells you which party you should vote for and obviously kept up with current news.

Do you feel they have been true to their word/did they live up to expectations?

Georgia: I don’t think the Conservatives have particularly delivered but at the same time I am still pleased with my decision. The only other party realistically able to get elected, Labour, still threaten to nationalise private industry and, on the whole, promise what they can’t deliver. Take for example Corbyn’s promises to students about fees and loans – this is just not viable.

Annabel: I haven’t heard anything more of them as they are a minor party – I don’t know what happened to them after the election. I’m now told there is no such thing as the Independent Party. I may have voted for an individual who was independent. No wonder I never heard of them after the election. Possibly a slightly wasted vote!

Alice: Honestly, they haven’t made much difference since they didn’t get many seats, so they haven’t really lived up to expectation. It hasn’t affected how I feel about my vote If you voted again, would you choose differently?

Georgia: At the moment, with May as Prime Minister, I would probably vote for the party again but it would really depend on who was leading the party at the time.

For example, if Rees-Mogg were in power, I would definitely vote differently as I disagree with his views concerning same-sex marriage and abortion. It’s a tough call, but I would probably vote the same.

Annabel: I would vote Labour. The Tories are a snooty bunch, only looking out for the upper classes. Jeremy Corybn seems very in touch with the people where May clearly is not.

Alice: If I voted again I would probably vote Liberal Democrat again or Green Party.

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NEWS FEATURES A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …

THE HEAD CHEF – TONY RIDEOUT Tony Rideout began as Head Chef in September 2017. Here he gives Lottie Gould a flavour of his average day

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arrived at King’s in September. During the summer, the dining hall had been refurbished and reorganised, partly to help make the queueing more orderly. It was therefore a good time for me to start work here. I usually arrive at 6:45 am for a morning shift. The first thing I do when I get in is get changed and wash my hands, then start to sort out breakfast.

Porridge has to be put on first – that’s the first job. As Head Chef I have a lot of paperwork to do and orders to put through, so I really enjoy the time I get to spend

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in the kitchen. I particularly enjoy cooking dishes from around the world and experimenting with different flavours and spices. I have a lot of freedom with the menus and I am able to choose what I want to cook which is great.

Our team of staff work really well together.

There are no set individual jobs, except for Maggie who does the deserts. Most chefs don’t really enjoy doing pastry and it can be tough to find someone who is good at it, so we’re lucky that we’ve got Maggie. Otherwise, we all just share the cooking and help out where we can.

I have only been working at King’s since September, and so far there haven’t been any major kitchen disasters, but I would say the most stressful part of my day is the mealtime rush, especially if we begin to run out of food. If that does happen we don’t have time to step back and think about what to do for ages – we just have to think on our feet. It can be challenging to get food out on time, but it’s all about planning really. When we get in, we look through the menu and work out what needs to go on and when, and as we only have two ovens it takes a lot of careful organising and a tight schedule!

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and have wanted to be a chef for a long time. When I left school I worked in construction for a while. Being a chef is all about commitment. It isn’t a regular nine to five job – there are no set hours. I could be leaving at four this afternoon or I could be leaving at seven. It all just depends on what the day holds. I work every Saturday and one out of four Sundays, so it’s pretty full on. When I get home in the evenings I just relax and switch off.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

OBITUARY

The life of former King’s Head of English Simon Bennett is affectionately reviewed by another former Head of English, David Hindley

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imon loved Bruton and was justifiably proud of the Bennett family’s long association with the town. Although his career and pursuits often took him far away, he would always return to his family home with obvious pleasure. His appointment as Head of English at King’s School in 1988 gave him particular satisfaction as he could at last take up permanent residence at Tolbury House.

His travels began as a boy when sent to prep school at Winchester House in Brackley and then, as a scholar, to Rugby School, with holiday visits to his mother’s archaeological digs in the Middle East; Crystal Bennett played a major role in opening up the “rose-red city” of Petra in the Kingdom of Jordan, and her formidable scholarship clearly played a key part in the development of Simon’s own considerable intellectual powers.

Rugby School was followed

by King’s College, Cambridge, where Simon read English, played rugby and led an undergraduate life reminiscent of a former age, his rooms in that most beautiful of colleges furnished with treasures from home, and sherry or port dispensed at the drop of a hat - a youthful conviviality that was to become a hallmark of his adult life.

On leaving Cambridge, Simon went to Trent College where he was appointed Head of English soon after his arrival. This spell of seven years was followed by ten years at Malvern College as Director of Drama, and it was with real pride that in later life Simon became a member of the Malvern College Council for ten years and was subsequently made a member of the Council’s Management Board.

In 1984 Simon moved to Nepal as a Housemaster, where he spent three years helping set up a British-backed boarding school offering English education to Nepalese pupils, including a high proportion of non-fee-paying scholars from poor backgrounds. He developed a great affection for that country and later led expeditions of pupils, initially from Trent and then King’s, back to Nepal so that they could have the wonderful experience of trekking through the mountains and learning about the Nepalese culture.

Nepal was followed by a brief return to Trent College and then to King’s School.

Simon took over the English Department at King’s during a period of considerable educational change, but his sharp mind and intellectual confidence enabled him to cut easily through the inevitable bureaucratic undergrowth that sprang up and get

his team securely onto the new route that examined English was now taking. Those same qualities of confidence and clarity made Simon an inspiring teacher. His charges responded eagerly to his relaxed, slightly devil-may-care manner; they too relaxed and that brought out the best in them. By the same token, he inspired generations of rugby players, actors and debaters.

Once settled in the family home, Simon proposed to and married Jane Tyrrell, whom he had known for many years, and soon after, their beloved daughters, Constance and Honour, were born. The travels, however, were not yet over. In 1998 Simon joined Ofsted and was appointed an HMI (Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools), a particularly distinguished and influential position admirably fitted to his intellect and experience. In due course he was appointed the EU Inspector on the Board of Secondary Inspectors at Brussels, and his love of travel, particularly by train, his ability to get on with people of all nationalities, and his enjoyment of working on the wider international stage meant this suited him perfectly.

On retirement from Ofsted, his expertise was again keenly sought and he was invited to join the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) as their Senior Editor and Quality Assurance Monitor. Two years later he was also asked to take on a separate inspectorate, the School Inspection Service, as their Chief Inspector. This led to the inspection of many specialist types of schools, which gave breadth to his experience of inspection and the chance to visit schools throughout England and abroad, the last trips being to Ascension and Azerbaijan. On retiring from the School Inspection Service in 2015, Simon accepted the role of Independent Adjudicator for ISI. Demanding though all these roles were, Simon never lost his commitment to Bruton. He served two terms as an elected member of the Town Council, and he was the Warden of Conservation at the Royal Bath & West Show for ten years. He was a Founder and Life Member of the Bruton Trust, which he chaired for nine years. He was a Life Member of the Bruton Museum Society and gave several interesting lectures; indeed, he was planning a talk for this autumn about preserving Bruton’s historic heritage. He worked as a governor for several local schools, the most recent being Sexey’s School where he chaired the Academic Committee.

Simon was a strong believer in traditional values, but at the same time he was a radical and forward thinker for whom the individual was ultimately most important. His was a life vigorously and enthusiastically conducted, with nothing undertaken half-heartedly. He loved the good things in life – friends, hospitality, intelligent conversation, books, fine wine and, above all, laughter.

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WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY

1917:

O

f the 55 Old Brutonians who died during World War One, 12 died in 1917. By this stage of the war, sadly, less was written about these brave young men as the war seemed to go on and on. Consequently, although we don’t have a photograph of him, we only have more than the basic information about date and place of death for just one Old Boy, Lance-Corporal A.H.P. Witcomb, who was killed in August while fighting for the Tank Corps.

He was a member of the School from May 1906 until April 1911. He was a Day Boy and lived at Frome. He received his football colours in 1910, and was also tried once or twice for the hockey team. On leaving he studied dentistry, and eventually became assistant to Mr. Crouch of Frome. He showed great promise in his profession, and was one of the keenest of our Old Boys, never failing to come over and play for them in football and hockey matches.

We do know, however, that one Old Brutonian was gassed in 1917, Sgt RE Brinckman near Passchendaele in November. Three other OBs suffered the same fate during the war: Sgt ACF Baker in France in 1916, and then invalided from France with shellshock, June 16th, 1916.; Pte HC Bazett in France, 1916, and subsequently killed by hostile aircraft, October 14th. 1917, buried at Elverdinghe; and Lt WLN Arnold at Mœvres, September 14th, 1918.

We also have the following extracts from a letter by an unidentified Old Brutonian serving in the Naval Brigade. These were printed in the 1917 Christmas Term edition of The Dolphin: ‘It was in the salient that I was hit . . . We knew all about our ‘stunt’ three weeks before it came off, and practised it until every man in the Coy. Knew exactly what he’d got to do. Then, as the time approached, the great question arose as to who was to be left behind . . . . I found that my Coy. Commander was detailed to stop, to his disgust, and I had to take charge. This involved a great deal of work and some anxiety.

You’ve no idea the amount of gear one has to take on a show of this kind: bombs, three days’ rations and rum, shovels, rifle grenades, rockets, signalling gear marking discs, tape, sandbags and many other things. All this I had to draw and distribute (of course at the last minute).

Then we moved in busses up to a point seven miles behind the line, where we stayed 24 hours, and then moved up; an anxious job – seven miles of duckboard tract in single file, the track being destroyed about every fifty yards and fathomless mud all round.

We were extraordinarily lucky that we lost no-one in the mud, and also the Boche guns were unusually quiet, and we had no casualties on the way. This was regarded as a record.

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We were to hold the line for 24 hours before going over, and it was just as well that we had that opportunity of looking about. I thought I’d seen something of desolation further south, but I was absolutely amazed at the landscape we were to move over, when I had a chance to inspect it. Not a road, not a hedge, nothing but a waste of mud and water, the firmest pieces of ground being semi-liquid, and the whole thing scored with shell-holes like a thimble.

There was no sort of shelter for the men, and they lay out in the rain, crouching on the edges of craters half full of water, and soaked to the skin. The mud penetrated everything . . . .

At dusk that evening we laid a jumping-off tape by compass-bearing – there was of course no vestige of a trench of any kind – and later we assembled on it near our positions for moving. We got pretty heavily shelled about midnight and then again just before dawn, but after the first dose I moved one hundred yards forward, and so escaped the second: still, the casualties were heavy enough to be serious.

Then, at ‘Zero’ hour, the trouble started. Our barrage was very good, and though we kept very close to it, we had few casualties from our own guns.

But the Boche was pretty prompt in replying, and we got a shower of stuff over before we’d gone far. In my own sector we hardly came across a Hun at all, and there was resistance at only one point, but the Batt.

On the right, I could see, were having trouble with a blockhouse, and I moved in that direction to see if I could help. Just then a 5.9 dropped just in front, and threw up a lump of mud which cut my cheek open and dazed me a bit, and immediately afterwards I felt a whack on the shoulder, and my left arm went useless.

I was able to carry on for half an hour, and saw my fellows dug in in the places they were told to hold; then I found |I was losing a lot of blood and went back. I got patched up at the Regimental Aid Post, but I had a 5 mile trek down the duckboards to the Dressing Station, and as they were shelling all approaches violently, and I was getting very weak, it was not a pleasant experience.’

The other Old Brutonian who died in 1917 for whom we don’t have a photograph was Charles James Burke, D.S.O., Lt. Col. Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action in France, April, Aged 35

Ashworth, J.P.C. M.C., Lieut.

3rd Suffolk Regt. Killed in action, Monchy, France, April, Aged 25

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Barnes, Ralph George, 2/Lt. London Regt. Killed in action, Poelcapelle, Belgium, October, Aged 32

Bazett, Gilbert Knowles, Private, Canterbury N.Z. Infantry, Died of wounds, Messines, Belgium June, Aged 23 Bazett, Hugo Campbell, Private, Grenadier Guards, Killed by aircraft, Elverdinghe, October, Aged 37

Birch, Arthur, 2/Lt. Royal Berkshire Regt., Killed in action near Arras, France, February 1917, Aged 25

Stockwell, Thomas Hodges M.M. Lieut. 7th Canadian Infantry Killed in action at Hill 70 Lens, France, August. Aged 33

Richardson, Robert Cecil, 2/Lt. Border Regiment, Killed in action in Belgium, 2nd December, Aged 20

Wakefield, Rev. Oliver, 2/Lt. Oxfordshire Hussars Killed in action in France October, Aged 40

Matthews, Walter Franey Capt.

Dorsetshire Regt. Killed in action at Ramadi, Mesopotamia, September, Aged 29

Williams, Charles Ellicombe Lieut. South Wales Borderers Killed in action near Asagi, Mahala, Greece, May, Aged 27

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NEWS FEATURES MATHS REQUIRES BRAINS BUT SO DOES HISTORY OF ART AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY If you had difficulty with your eight times table, does that mean you are unintelligent?

Suggesting you need to be just as bright to study creative writing or History of Art, Chloe Dawe warns schools to stop jeopardising future prosperity by dropping art subjects from the curriculum.

F

rom the day children walk through the school gates at the start of their education, however much we may not want to admit it, we as a society judge their intelligence on how they fare academically. But we need to be careful. There is a danger that “academic” subjects like Maths will always be considered more important than creative subjects like creative writing or History of Art. These creative subjects require a mind of inordinate power, a mind that should not be supressed but should be liberated, a mind that should be respected as much as one that is methodical, or mathematical.

Even though it was over ten years ago now, I can still vividly remember sitting in my primary school maths class with pencil hovering cluelessly above a worksheet, (having not fully memorised my eight times table the night before), trying to answer as many times tables as I could in five minutes. The children who got more than one hundred correct were gloriously praised in front of the class, while others were made to do it repeatedly until successful. Now, I’m not saying that children shouldn’t be taught Maths in school. I am suggesting, however, that the children who are simply unable to answer the questions should not be deemed “unintelligent” simply because they have a less adapted short term memory when it comes to the process of multiplication.

The reality is that there is a distinction between memory and intelligence. Memory is simply the skill of being able to repeat information, the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts or events - for example, learning the eight times table you were taught on Monday for a test the following day. Intelligence overall is a wider concept, the official term being “the capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding,

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and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, and meanings”. This, therefore, means that every subject taught requires intelligence.

Although everyone knows it’s a significant subject, Maths and the sciences are seen as intensely more “intelligent” than a more creatively orientated one.

Maths is statistical and highly complex, undoubtedly requiring both memory and intelligence, but the underlying point is that you can be an intelligent artist, actor, dancer, musician, creative writer or art historian.

However, because in primary school years, some children cannot pass a memory driven Maths test, the way those children view themselves is tainted – they are seen by some as less intelligent than other children.

Due to this warped view of intelligence, we have naturally drilled into our generation’s heads that the core subjects are the most significant - the ones that must be continually practised until we find accomplishment - and that the creative ones are more relaxed, more insignificant, and ‘less intelligent’. This can be seen on a national scale. Amid pressure for children to succeed in the core subjects, schools in the state sector have been known to drop courses such as art history, dance, music and design and technology.

A survey conducted by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in March 2017 found that Design and Technology had disappeared from the school curriculum of nearly half of all state schools up and down the country.

And DT isn’t the only subject facing complete extinction within the next few years. One fifth (eighteen percent) of teachers surveyed by the ASCL reported that they had also dropped Art and Music GCSE options in the last twelve months. If all of these subjects were to disappear from the GCSE spectrum for the majority of young people in this country, the consequences would be damaging. Both innovation and industry would suffer immensely. This decline in creative GCSEs leads to a domino effect regarding further education, as less GCSE students leads to less A-Level students, leading to less creative degrees, and ultimately far less supply for a continual demand for jobs in the creative sector.

And this doesn’t just affect the creative industry. Although bankers, lawyers and insurance companies all require degrees in core subjects such as Maths or History, they need to integrate with creative industries to function and ensure their survival as businesses. Marketing involving logos and branding requires graphic designers, and advertising requires film directors and a creative mind in order for the business to stand out from its competitors. These industries need each other in order to survive.

This is why the balance between creativity and being considered academic needs to be re-established.

One isn’t superior to the other, they just require different skills, so why is there a bias? Why are people naturally more impressed when hearing that a child

THE DOLPHIN 2017 has chosen to study a degree in chemistry rather than fine art or creative writing? At University, subjects such as Maths are methodical - memorising and repeating theories that have already previously been explained.

The teacher or lecturer knows more about the subject than the pupil, and proceeds to pass that information down to the student. Of course, the subject matter is complex and requires skill to interpret, but creative subjects allow individual ideas to be shared and discussed between teacher and pupil - one’s personal thoughts, new innovative ideas and originality are directly projected, openly discussed, or exhibited on a canvas, stage or material in front of you.

We cannot let these subjects, these outlets of creativity and innovation, simply fade away. They are essential as they are what bring diversity and new ideas to the classroom, as well as in the wider world of business and life beyond study. As the late Robin Williams concluded in the film Dead Poets Society, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. The human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and are necessary to sustain life; but poetry, beauty; these are what we stay alive for. That you are here — that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

What will your verse be?”

IN AN OXYMORONIC WORLD, WAS 2016 THE WORST YEAR ON RECORD? The year just ending has been pretty terrible, with the Grenfell Tower fire seemingly acting as a metaphor for the way Britain has lost its way. But remember 2016? Barney Latham and Myles Jenkins ensure we don’t forget.

Whilst this celebrity pandemic continued, most notably losing comedy genius Ronnie Corbett, the legendary Muhammad Ali and the tragic premature death of the impossibly prolific Prince, the world seemed to be slowly simmering over into a hot cauldron of fear and anger. The relentless terrorist plots in France and Germany only enhanced this feeling where over 250 people have been killed in the last year and a half. Then there’s Turkey, with its failed coup leading to even more death and destruction…

The list goes on; police killing civilians in America, civilians killing police; the mass bloodbaths of Syria and Iraq; the Zika virus devastating Brazil just before the Rio Olympics. The classic dreadful weather and the England football team’s embarrassing exit from the European Championship to little minnows Iceland did little to lift spirits before the relentless roll call of tragedy. Oh, and Brexit and Trump happened…

Politically, 2016 had a number of major turning points. On the 23rd of June, Britain voted to leave the European Union by a 51% to 49% majority. For many people, this seemed to be one of the worst decisions that could have possibly happened. However, we must let democracy take its course, for all anyone knows it could lead us to a new era of economic prosperity. Only time will tell… We also saw a straight-talking dimwit come to power as one of the most influential men in the world. On 8th November, the world held its breath to wait for the result of the US presidential election. As the states began to turn blue on the map, the Canadian border control website crashed. People began to panic all over the world. Was a man once described as a “buffoon, demagogue and wazzock” by British MPs about to hold a position of unrivalled power? Sure enough, 12 hours later Trump was announced as the new President Elect.

So, are we really entering a period of Armageddon? Can 2016 really be regarded as one of the worst years on record? We may have seen some truly terrible actions take place but, luckily, no is the answer. A brief overview of history shows us that there have been many worse years. In 1939-45 more than 60 million people lost their lives in the terrible global conflict of World War Two, the years 1914-18 weren’t much better and between 1346-53 the black death claimed the lives of 200 million people across Europe and Asia.

Is 2016 really comparable to these years? On the contrary, relatively speaking, 2016 on practically every measure gave us a happier, richer place to live in. Yes, there have been tragedies but they are unfortunately expected in this oxymoronic world we live in. However, it wouldn’t hurt if 2017 decided to throw us a nicer role of the dice…

A

s 2016 came to a close, discussion turned to how horrendous a year it had been. But will it go down as one of the most terrible years in history? The tone was set way back in January, perhaps, by the global shock and disbelief at the death of the transcendently brilliant David Bowie, swiftly followed by the much-loved Alan Rickman.

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COFFEE BREAK STAFF BABY COMPETION A £15 At The Chapel voucher for the first succesful matching of baby/young child and member of staff.

Responses to C Oulton (either will do).

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

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PERFORMING ARTS

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

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THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND

by David Gorodi, Director of Music

I

t’s been another year of outstanding music, and not least because we were fortunate enough to welcome James Smith as our graduate assistant of music.

James’s enthusiasm and never ending energy was an inspiration to us all, and we wish him well for the future.

The New Musicians’ concert was delightful, despite perhaps being the most daunting concert these young pupils face - their first performance at King’s. I particularly enjoyed Blues for Bones played

by Adam Barret James; he captured the blues style brilliantly. I also really enjoyed hearing some folk music.

Constance Pollard played Drowsy Maggie with real energy and zest.

David Ingamells and Andrew Rob ran a master class for all four of our jazz ensembles. This pair really made our rhythm sections work, the key being constantly listening and supporting the rest of the band.

A great experience for us all.

My favourite moments from the concert with Hazlegrove, were the joint performances. The Orchestra played Mars from Holst’s Planet Suite - not a simplified version, but the real deal! A challenging piece of music on several levels was performed brilliantly.

It was loud, very loud, but also full of passion, with some excellent brass playing - I really enjoyed this performance. The joint Choir was also amazing. I was trying to work out how large the choir was, and my best guess was 150. It was great fun singing in such a large ensemble. My favourite moment of all was another joint performance - the Harp ensemble, which was simply delightful, a real sprinkling of gold dust! The woodwind day was run by Mrs Jane Pickles who works with the National Children’s Orchestra. It seemed as though the Memorial Hall was full of countless flautists! A real treat.

The woodwind concert was something special.

There were a number of ensembles: the Saxophone Group, the Clarinet Ensemble, the Flute Ensemble and the Wind Quartet. If that’s all there had been, the standard would have been high enough already, with contrasting music and plenty of attention to details and phrasing. However, there were a further two duets: both were excellent, although Rebecca Bracey and

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Ella Corlett’s duet was outstanding. They performed Lo! Hear the gentle Lark by Bishop. There is a cadenza section at the end which the girls pulled off superbly.

There were also a further 18 solo performances!

The Orchestra opened the Winter Concert with the overture from Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie. This is an exciting piece with some great melodies and, of course, a “Rossini crescendo”. The piano trio performed a movement from Beethoven’s Trio No. 1, once again we heard some delightful phrasing as well as detailed ensemble work. The choir were brilliant, their acapella performance of Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium was breathtaking. I also really enjoyed the trumpet playing in Trumpet Carillon. What with the lovely acoustics of the Memorial Hall, it was something special. The Chamber Choir were also outstanding. This particular blend and balance of voices Catherine we have at the moment is Coulson very rare. The fact that three members of this choir are also members of the National Choir of Great Britain is no accident. The Big Band were on fine form, with Imogen Moore performing Smooth Operator, a really “cool” arrangement, with Josh Teuber using a keyboard rather than a piano, helping to bring the sound to life, and a lovely saxophone solo from Charlotte Ask too.

Night at the Opera was a great success, so many of our musicians were on top form.

Yasmine Arnold was outstanding, she sung Handel’s Ombra Mai Fu. There is one section which she started really quietly, controlling a beautiful crescendo and then soared into the upper register. Without doubt the best we’ve heard from her so far. Freddie Goggs sung Santa Lucia, and if this is how he sounds in the 3rd form, imagine what he will sound like in the 6th form! Kiara Jones gave a faultless performance of Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. Once again it was the top register which was particularly impressive. I really enjoyed Charlotte Mansergh’s playful performance of Mozart’s Un Moto di Giola, as she really captured the character of the piece.

The 5th form concert proved to be a very entertaining evening. There were some excellent performances. My favourite moments were perhaps Callum McFarlane who was outstanding on the tuba.

He has really taken to this instrument, and his tone and

THE DOLPHIN 2017 articulation were spot on. I was really pleased and, to and were also on top form. Our vocalists, particularly be honest, slightly surprised by the standard of Ann Imogen Moore and Abagael Hyde, were excellent, as Gee’s voice - this was her first performance. Ann has were the soloists. a great voice, very expressive and a lovely tone. It The Spring Concert offered a wide variety was also Elodie Matthews’ first performance, another of music, in some cases at an exceptional standard. brilliant performance but it was her lower register, The concert opened with Alex Hutton singing Vaughn which was rich and full, that particularly impressed.

Williams’s Rise Heart from the 5 Mystical songs. Alex Emma Walker gave her best performance so far, sings beautifully and pulled the tempo around to get capturing the lyrical quality of the 2nd movement from the most out of this work. The orchestra followed, Haydn’s trumpet concerto really well. Emma has their parts being deceptively difficult. Rebecca developed a lovely tone throughout her range and Bracey then performed two movements from also shaped the phrases very maturely.

Telemann’s Viola Concerto. This is Rebecca’s Congratulations to New House who won second instrument, she is actually a very the Inter-House music festival, winning both talented flautist! She played the music with the junior and ensembles outright, they rhythmic vitality and very good intonation. accumulated enough points to just beat The Military band were in fine form, and Priory House (who won the house singing I particularly enjoyed a passage from event). My congratulations to everyone for Moment for Marricone when George a special night.

Little and Emma Walker were using their The Brass and Percussion concert “wha wha” mutes and Rebecca Bracey was a “noisy” event. The percussion (this time on the flute) was flutter tonging. ensemble were on great form, and I really The Chamber Choir were sublime, my enjoyed their Return of the Buckets. Other favourite was the Three songs of love from highlights for me were Herbie Shone Love’s Philosophy by L’Estrage who will be & David Diez Velazquez’s duet- these writing an anthem to celebrate our 500th young drummers are going to be great! celebrations. The evening finished with Oscar Farrell and Tom Hudson performed a the choir singing Joyful Joyful, a gospel duet with the Marimba and Hung Drum, a new piece arranged by Warren. The Choir were instrument from Switzerland. George Little, fully energised after a stunning opening solo Joseph Loughrey and Emma Walker were all in

by Imogen Moore. fine form, the Funk piece they played was excellent I enjoyed the joint Priory and New and all of them also played their solo pieces really House concert, there are so many talented well. A very good debut from Tom Robinson and musicians in these two houses. The stand out some excellent legato phrasing from Adam Barrett performances were all from the Inter- House James. competition, in particular the New House The Military Band provided some delightful Hebe Young ensemble led by Oscar Farrell and Priory House. music for the Community Concert. The first half of They were amazing, credit to Rebecca Bracey for the programme saw members of the band present leading her house. solo pieces, some stunning singing as well as great My stand out performances in the 3rd Form concert instrumental music was appreciated by all. In the were Adam second half of the programme the band performed a BarrettLucy Little number of marches and film music. A very enjoyable James who afternoon concert. performed “Swing into Spring” was a huge success. the Acrobat Both of the jazz quintets and the Temperance 7 were on the trombone, excellent, although it was the Temperance 7 and he is Callum McFarlane’s Tuba playing which sounded the developing real deal! The Big Band played from 9.30-midnight, into an Imogen Moore outstanding trombonist, and Freddie Goggs who brought the concert to an end. Freddie has an outstanding voice, I can’t wait to hear him when he is a little older!

I really

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THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND enjoyed listening to some of the less experienced musicians in the Piano and String concert; they all gave very good performances dealing with their nerves admirably. My personal highlights were perhaps Alex Hutton and Lucy Little performing an arrangement of Quilter’s Blow the Wind Blow. This was a very assured and mature performance from both musicians, great phrasing and a very high awareness of ensemble.

Felix Farrell performed Grusin’s Ray’s Blues to end the concert. Felix approached the interpretation of this blues almost as though it was a Chopin Nocturne and it worked brilliantly, some very controlled runs and excellent attention to balance between the two hands.

Beating Retreat was perhaps the best ever event held by the Military Band. They looked and sounded fantastic. The Royal Navy uniforms looked incredibly smart but were very hot on what was a very warm summer’s evening. Particular congratulations to George Little who played Sunset and to Alistair Sanford who, as Drum Major, led the band so confidently. My thanks to Mr Lambton for the excellent work he has done with the band.

I really enjoyed the Summer Concert; there was so much variety with excellent performances from so many young musicians. Lucy Little played the 1st movement from Elgar’s Cello Concerto with

Tom Hudson

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great passion; the emotional impact was tremendous.

Imogen Moore performed Pie Jesu from Faure’s Requiem, her voice is very pure and beautiful, and together with the orchestra, the effect was almost magical! This was followed by Rebecca Bracey performing Chaminade’s Concertino for flute and orchestra. This is a difficult piece to get right, but Rebecca was outstanding, delivering scaleic runs with control and accuracy. The Orchestra final piece was the slow movement from Bach's Double Violin Concerto played by Catherine Coulson and Imogen Moore. Both girls’ phrasing was excellent, it was a really beautiful performance.

The choral singing at Kings is superb. It is easy to focus on the Chamber Choir who perform at such a high level, but also the Chapel Choir were at the top of their game and sounded wonderful. Perhaps, though, it is the main Choir which was most impressive.

Members of this choir are not auditioned yet they sung Mathias's Let the people praise thee, O God which is really challenging and then changed gear and sung New York, New York! I also enjoyed the various chamber groups as well as the Military Band. However, Oscar Farrell's guitar playing with the Big Band was something else! I'm not sure if I enjoyed The Jazz Police or I Got You more, but Oscar's fantastic groves and "blinding" solos were always present.

This was an excellent concert, with eight grade VIII and a possible diploma held between the musicians, it was bound to be a very good evening.

It’s a little unfair to highlight particular performances, and enough to say that it was a pleasure to see

THE DOLPHIN 2017

these musicians perform confidently, maturely and expressively. My congratulations to Catherine Coulson, Annie Black, Lucy Little, Hebe Young, Imogen Moore, Rebecca Bracey, Oscar Farrell and Alex Hutton.

The Battle of the Bands was a great final concert of the year. It’s always a challenge for students who have just got through an intense examination period to then organise rehearsals and put together some quality performances. Imogen Moore chose some beautiful songs, some great contrasting textures and dynamics. However, it was Oscar Farrell’s final band that really stole the show. Oscar had sampled and sequenced some backings that helped to thicken the textures; it was at times similar to Snarky Puppy.

My congratulations and thanks to all staff pupils and parents who helped to make this such a special year.

Felix Farrell

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THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND

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Top left: Clara Bracey (highlighted); middle (left to right): Ella Corlett; top group: Charlie Moulder and Emily Young; bottom group: Charlotte Mansergh, Abagael Hyde, Aidan McFarlane; Hebe Young;

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Joe Loughrey

Judge of Inter-House music festival: Vicky Sayles, Director of Music at Hazlegrove 33

LIFT UP THY VOICE

by Ashley Marshfield, Director of Choral Studies

music they had learned during the afternoon.

The Easter Term saw the Chapel Choir make a return visit to sing Choral Evensong at Tewkesbury Abbey. The music for the service included Stanford’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B flat and the anthem O thou, the central orb by Wood – a staple of the Anglican choral repertoire. Again, the Chapel Choir took advantage of the wonderful acoustic.

The Spring Concert saw the School Choir performing two contrasting pieces - Lullaby of Broadway arranged

by Althouse and Joyful, Joyful arranged by Warren, as performed in the film ‘Sister Act 2’. Imogen Moore

Y

et again, King’s has had another outstanding year of choral singing and here I have outlined a few of the highlights. During the Christmas Term, the chapel choir visited Chichester Cathedral for the first time to sing a service of Choral Evensong. The music for the service included the lesser-known Chichester Service canticles by Stanley Vann, with its vocally demanding opening section for upper voices. The anthem was Brahms’ masterpiece How lovely are thy dwellings, from his Requiem.

Meanwhile, the School Choir were kept busy preparing for the Winter Concert and for the Carol Service - which is always a choral high point of the academic year featuring Laurisden’s beautifully ethereal O magnum mysterium and The heavens are telling from Haydn’s Creation, with excellent solos from Oscar Farrell (U6th Form, New), Alexander Hutton (U6th Form, New) and Imogen Moore (U6th Form, Arion). The chamber choir performed In dulci jubilo arranged by Pearsall and a fun light-hearted arrangement of Have yourself a merry little Christmas by Gritton.

In January, we welcomed Dominic Peckham, for a third visit to King’s, to lead dynamic workshops with not only the choirs but also the whole school in assembly! So much was learned throughout the morning about the importance of good posture and effective breath control, whilst still having a good time. Dominic was once again very impressed by the standard of the choirs and encouraged pupils to audition for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.

The afternoon saw Dominic run a workshop for a number of local prep school children who gave an excellent short recital of the

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Top: Abagael Hyde; bottom left: Tom Hudson and Alexander Hutton

(U6th Form, Arion) provided the gospel-style solo at the opening, meanwhile the School Choir performed the piece from memory so that they could add clapping to lift the piece!

The start of the Summer Term saw King’s Chapel Choir in residence at Bristol Cathedral to sing Sunday services in the absence of the Cathedral Choir. The Chapel Choir performed exceptionally well, particularly at the morning Eucharist – a type of service that the Chapel Choir has not performed at before.

There were some solos within the mass setting Darke in F performed by Oscar Farrell (U6th Form, New), Tom Hudson (L6th Form, Blackford), Alexander Hutton (U6th Form, New) and Imogen Moore (U6th Form, Arion). The Cathedral congregation and clergy were

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most complimentary about the standard of the singing.

It was also good to see several familiar faces in the congregation to support including parents, OBs and staff.

There was no let up after this, with the annual joint King’s and Hazlegrove concert quickly upon us. The concert began with the massed choirs from both schools performing Zadok Rules! by Alexander L’Estrange, conducted by the Director of Music at Hazlegrove, Vicky Sayles. There were fantastic performances from the many individual choirs from both Hazlegrove and King’s. The evening concluded with the choirs joining forces once again to sing Panis Angelicus by Franck.

Summer half-term is when the calendar bids us celebrate Commemoration, and the School Choir provided two contrasting anthems in the form of William Mathias’ joyful and rhythmically exciting Let the people praise thee, O God and Stanford’s Jubilate in B flat.

Towards the end of term, the Summer Concert contained many choral highlights and was a fitting conclusion to another impressive year of choral music at King’s. The Chamber Choir were in top form performing a varied programme including: My sprit sang all day Finzi, Oculi Omnium L’Estrange and In Remembrance Daley. The Chapel Choir gave the outstanding performance of the evening with Mawby’s Ave Verum and Wood’s Hail, gladdening light both of which raised the roof. Meanwhile, the school choir performed a fun arrangement of New York, New York alongside Let the people praise thee, O God by Mathias.

Above: Imogen Moore; below: Ellie Smith

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CURTAIN CALL

by Maggie King, Head of Theatre Studies

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he variety of performances on stage this year was impressive. Perhaps not surprisingly, the examination work showed a wealth of creativity and bravery in the subject matter, and manner of presentation used. A2 devised work was simply stunning for its imagination and its ability to draw upon the strengths of studied practitioners. The group had seen Complicite’s A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, The Encounter and Frantic Assembly’s Things I Know to be True, all three of which proved to be inspirational for their own original piece, which explored the nature of memory in a spellbinding, multi-media, highly visual performance.

Similarly, the AS monologues coupled with their charming and witty rendition of Mistero Buffo proved to be stirring, challenging and full of human warmth. GCSE students completed the trio by giving a confident and playful version of Grimm Tales, using multi-rolling and strong physicality to portray the wellknown tales. Special thanks to the Griffin Raphael children for being a superb, age appropriate audience.

Junior actors exhibited their maturity in their version of Fugee, exploring personal stories of up-rooted families and the treatment they received in their flight from danger. I was particularly proud of the juniors’ commitment to being faithful to the truth and hardship in this narrative.On a lighter note, the two House Plays: Crazy Horses from Priory and Murder Afoot from New reminded us all of the breadth of talent throughout the school for performance, especially comedy, coupled with a genuine celebration of teamwork and a shared enthusiasm.

Last, but definitely not least, the School Play The Wizard of Oz was bright, breezy and brilliantly playful. All the cast and crew were an absolute delight to direct; the final performances once again (I know I write it every year) were a testament to the thespian talent, the huge enthusiasm and sheer hard work King’s students are prepared to commit to a shared goal- no mean feat at the end of the busiest term of the academic year.

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The Wizard of Oz

C

ast your mind back to the autumn term of 2016, where many of us had the delight of being cast into the wonderful Land of Oz. On two cold and dreary December nights, we were treated with two pitch-perfect performances that threw pathetic fallacy out of the window.

I won’t bother to bore anyone with the plot – if you don’t know it by now you’re probably an alien visitor from Mars or are a pole-squatting hermit who won’t be reading this anyway. So let’s get down to business with an assessment of the performance.

The star of the show was no doubt Imogen Moore’s Dorothy, played touchingly and with great panache throughout. Her singing was powerful but clear, and she provided a beautiful rendition of Over The Rainbow.

Imogen showed Dorothy’s initial distress in being trapped in a strange land, her resourceful recovery and heroine like qualities in defeating the wicked Witch of

the West very effectively. For that’s what this play was about, the classic clash of good overcoming evil. Olivia Hughes provided all the evil that was necessary in her convincing portrayal of the wicked witch, whilst Ella Corlett indulged us with the perfect antithesis of the Witch as the compassionate and benevolent Sorceress of the North.

However, to defeat this evil, Dorothy would have to rely on the help of her rag-tag motley crew: scarecrow (Jack Potter) who had no brain, Tin Man (Henry Barker-Bennett) who had no heart and cowardly lion (Tom Hudson) who had no courage. Now these three provided constant bursts of hilarity throughout whilst also playing an important role in the demise of the wicked witch. Every time they came on stage one couldn’t help but laugh at the scarecrow’s perfectly timed falls or the lion’s brilliantly portrayed timidity.

Annabel Black played the con-man wizard fantastically and had us all tricked into thinking that he was the real deal, whilst also providing a good resolution to the play with the gifts to the three muppets.

However, there wouldn’t have been a play

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Seb Kingsberry at the heart of The Wizard of Oz

without the other roles which were nonetheless just as important. Ellena Loughrey led the host of munchkins exceptionally well as they enthralled us with some enormously fun songs whilst “the jitterbugs” almost brought a dancing frenzy to the audience with some clever choreography. Abagael Hyde, as Gloria, sang a confident solo whilst Sebastian Claas fiercely played

the role of Lord Growlie, and was well assisted by others.

The effects and staging were quite simply stunning. The set and costumes could have hardly been better if you had an entire regiment of designers working on them for the rest of the century. The Wizard of Oz is known for its intricate, ostentatious costumes and lush scenery and we were certainly not disappointed. The dusty mid-west at the start was transformed very smoothly into the wonders of Oz and the lighting throughout was excellent. A highlight for me being the magnificent magic bridge which seemingly rotated by itself…

Overall, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was actually enormous fun, something I never thought I would utter aloud. It had a real emotional warmth and made the audience believe they were on the same great journey as the characters. We must thank Maggie King and assistant Will Stainton for creating such a wonderful night.

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CURTAIN CALL Junior Play: “Fugee” by Abi Morgan

T

he choice of Junior Play is often a difficult one. Finding a text that will interest and stretch the junior performers, as well as involving all those who wish to partake, takes a good deal of searching and consideration.

This year’s play was a brave choice, and a timely one, which tapped into the issues surrounding the treatment of refugees in their flight from terror and their acceptance, or rejection in the host nation. “Fugee” (a contraction of refugee) recognises the commonality of human experiences, emphasising the things that bring people together and how important communication is in this process.

With such serious and sensitive issues to negotiate, the challenge was on for the 3rd and 4th form to render the truth and complexity of this narrative as

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faithfully as possible. Using an ensemble approach to story-telling, the young actors moved seamlessly from scene to scene, deftly handling crosscut scenes, communicating real conviction and a sense of purpose in their playing, and were able to explore the darker, emotional moments, as well as offer lighter tones to punctuate the drama. Being very much a team effort, it would be invidious to single out individual performances and contributions, as all contributed fully to a captivating, thought-provoking rendition of this little gem of a play. Well done to everyone involved!

Top left: Rosie Wakelin; below: Robert Harris; bottom left: Katie Proctor

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New House Play: Murder Afoot!

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he boys of New House have a long and proud tradition of excellent House Plays, and the latest offering was no exception. Murder Afoot! was a deftly scripted, well-cast and confidently directed performance, enabling the talented New House boys to showcase their many and, in some cases, heretofore untapped dramatic abilities. All were cast surprisingly accurately, and seemed to relish the roles given. Freddie North played a convincing straight man, Titus Platt, to contrast the extravagant behaviour of Thomas Tottering (Oscar Farrell) and Malcolm Platt (Christo Bradstock). Worryingly convincing female interest was provided by Will Sandy, Sam Horner, Jacob Sykes and Callum McFarlane, however Alex Hutton upstaged all and sundry with “her” bold display of underarm hair. The cast controlled the momentum of the plot with great care, and captured the stylised, tongue-in-cheek, slightly self-deprecatory tones of the script. Well-timed asides to the audience and enthusiastic trysts made for compelling viewing.

Staging any play involves a great deal of commitment and hard work, none more so than when the pressures of a looming examination season compete for time and energy. The rehearsal period had been challenging, but Mrs Ashworth’s nerve and the boys’ determination held firm in the end, thankfully. All should be heartily congratulated on a thoroughly enjoyable evening’s entertainment. New House do murders so very well!

Middle: Callum McFarlane; bottom: Will Sandy

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CURTAIN CALL Priory House Play: Crazy Horses

P

riory delivered an excellent and polished performance of Mark Norman’s play Crazy Horses. The play is set in a chaotic Heaven, with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (sorry horse-people) plotting a coup with Satan against God, who also turns out not to be quite what he seems.

There were strong performances all round, especially from the four horsemen Annie Black, Ellie Loughrey, Lucie Moore and Charlotte Mansergh. Ella Corlett also filled the role of Satan with aplomb, and Sophie Williams brought the house down as Satan’s Mum. The audience was fully engaged by the intriguing plot throughout a well-paced production, which gave us all plenty of food for thought. The Director, Maggie King, and the whole cast are to be congratulated on an enthralling performance.

Tim Fletcher

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Above: Rebecca Bracey. Below: A level devised: Imogen Moore, Alen Safaryen, Annabel Black

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Examination Performances A2

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he devised unit is my favourite to teach, as it allows students to be creative, daring and take full opportunity to celebrate all they have learnt about theatre and drama over the period of their academic study. Students are encouraged to draw upon a wide range of influences from established practitioners: Brecht and Artaud, for example and newer artists such as Complicite and Frantic Assembly.

Along with their selected stimuli and their own independent research, the group then create their own original piece of theatre.

The A2 group were a delightful, energetic, if eclectic mix of individuals, which generated interesting explorations and creative experiments in the process of making the piece.

The final result was a powerful, thoughtful and endearing response to the power of memory, and how the past continues to reverberate in the present.

The group’s work was highly visual, using physical theatre and movement with intelligence and subtlety to manipulate audience responses. Multi-media support enabled the work to spread beyond the confines of the performance itself into the memories of family, friends and staff in the King’s community. I was proud of the high standards achieved by our senior students and, as importantly, the mature manner in which they collaborated, negotiated and drew upon one another’s strengths to create a fine performance.

AS

M

istero Buffo is a wonderful creation by Dario Fo: he takes a look at familiar biblical stories from a different perspective, that of the ordinary, common man. With this lens we see afresh the powerful impact those tales must have had on those who witnessed them first hand; Fo is masterful in blending moments of high comedy with stirring poignancy in a single moment.

The AS group were quick to see the power of Fo’s writing and immersed themselves in the characters and tales with genuine enthusiasm and breath-taking energy. The final performance was delightful; a slick, pacey, skilfully judged rendition of The Resurrection of Lazarus and The Marriage at Cana.

If you missed this performance, you will have the chance to see it again as part of the A2 examination.

Monologues performed by the trio were of equal delight, showing clearly the range and versatility of our senior actors.

GCSE

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rimm Tales by Carol Ann

Duffy offers students an opportunity to show control of a clear style and form, as well as to inhabit a range of compelling characters: animal, vegetable and mineral. The 5th Form students gave a masterclass in ensemble playing, moving effortlessly from role to role.

On offer were a strong contrast of tales: Little Red Cap, Hansel and Gretel and The Golden Goose. High farce and dark sinister tones were handled with deftness.

The actors brought impressive energy, playfulness and story-telling abilities to their largely adult audience, and showed all how effective the imaginativeness of Poor Theatre can be.

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AWAY FROM HOME World War One Battlefields

by Rebecca Coombs

F

ew things shed more light on the First World War than visiting the places where the battles took place, and where so many men fought and died. As pupils visited cemeteries on the Battlefields trip in October 2016, and saw the gravestones of thousands of soldiers, many of whom were only teenagers themselves, the sheer scale and cost of war were strikingly apparent.

Our first visit of the trip was to Vimy Ridge, a memorial to the 60,000 Canadians who died in the First World War. Sections of the Allied and German front lines have been preserved here with just a few metres of No Man’s Land separating them. Pupils were struck by just how close to each other the front lines were in places, and by the surrounding terrain that remains full of craters. As we moved towards the memorial itself, we considered how many lives were lost to win the land that we could walk over so freely approaching the ridge: ‘twenty lives a foot’ as Fitzgerald wrote, and probably many more in places. One of those lives was Thomas Hodges Stockwell, an Old Brutonian.

Visiting La Targette cemetery at the end of the

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first day was a very moving experience for many. Over 11,000 French soldiers are buried in the cemetery, and the rows of stone crosses stretching out across the gentle gradient brought home the huge cost of war.

The second day was centred around Ypres.

Pupils were grateful for their wellies as they explored reconstructed trenches at Sanctuary Wood.

Many were also very struck by the photographs in the museum taken during the war. Having seen British cemeteries as we drove through the French countryside, Langemark German cemetery provided a stark contrast. Evoking a German forest glade, the cemetery was shaded by tall trees and each dark flat gravestone commemorated a group of soldiers. Pupils were also able to watch a film of Hitler’s visit to the cemetery in 1940 on iPads, standing where he stood.

At Tyne Cot, pupils spent time reading soldiers’ epitaphs. Seeing individual families’ messages of grief and remembrance helped pupils to see the tragedy of each man’s death, and the impact of the war on so many families. 12,000 are buried at Tyne Cot, with another 35,000 names inscribed on the Memorial to the Missing.

Visiting the fantastic Zonnebeke Memorial Museum was a great opportunity to learn more about Passchendaele. The museum has created a dugout and trenches which pupils really enjoyed, as they helped build an understanding of what life was like on

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Llewelyn Harper

the front line. The last visit of the day was to the site of the 1914 Christmas truce football game. After supper in Ypres, pupils bought their body-weight in chocolate at Peter De Groote Chocolatier before returning to our hotel in Tournai!

On the third day of the trip, we went to the Somme in the 100th anniversary year of the battle. At Mametz Wood, where the 38th Welsh Division suffered 400 casualties, pupils read Sassoon’s ‘The Kiss’. The love of violence and weaponry in the poem was thrown into stark relief by the sobering list of names on the memorial. Indeed, Sassoon later came to regret his initial bloodlust. Another solider-poet, W. N. Hodgson, fought nearby for the Devonshires. His poem ‘Before Action’ provides a rare glimpse into the mind of a soldier on the eve of the battle. Pupils were able to see the ‘familiar hill’ to which Hodgson refers in the poem, making his reflection on his inevitable fate all the more poignant: ‘Help me to die, O Lord.’

At Thiepval Memorial pupils took part in the daily memorial service happening throughout the 100th anniversary year, laying a wreath to commemorate Old

Brutonians who died in the conflict. Three pupils were able to find their relatives’ names on the memorial, thereby making their own acts of remembrance.

Visiting Newfoundland Park was an equally powerful experience because the features of the battlefield can be seen so clearly. The accounts of the Somme that pupils had studied in lessons suddenly became very vivid as we saw the ridge that the Germans held, the locations of the trenches and Y ravine. We were also able to read the letters of Leo Hayward’s great great uncle at his graveside, where he wrote that only the ‘incessant thought of God’ sustained him in the war.

We ended the day at Serre, where small cemeteries mark a line across the hillside up which the British were attacking on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

For many of the soldiers who fought here, their war lasted less than half an hour. After a few days of cold and grey weather, the hillside was suddenly lit up by golden evening sunlight making our memorial service at Queens cemetery all the more special.

Our last day of the trip began at the mines in Arras which were used by Allied troops during the war.

Pupils were amazed to see how this underground city had been maintained and used, and enjoyed seeing the painted signs, scribbled drawings, and tins and clothes that have remained. Our last visit was to the extraordinary Ring of Remembrance at Notre Dame de Lorette where 580,000 names are inscribed, ordered alphabetically so that all nationalities are commemorated side by side.

The 3rd Form go to the Battlefields every October, and this visit certainly reminded us that it remains a powerful and important trip to make.

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AWAY FROM HOME Senior History Trip to Nuremberg, Leipzig and Munich

by Callum McFarlane and Sam Innes

T

he trip started very early, as 31 bleary eyed but excited 5th and 6th formers packed into minibuses driven by Mr Beverly and Mr Bunday at 3am before heading to Gatwick. On arriving in Munich we ate an authentic lunch of bratwurst, then we were led on a frozen yet fascinating tour of Munich, focusing on the time of Adolf Hitler and the foundation of the Nazi party. Munich was the NSDAP’s spiritual home, with annual parades and commemorations taking palce during the Third Reich in commemoration of those Nazis who fell during the failed 1923 putsch.

It was fascinating to see so much remained; our tour included a visit to the Hofbrauhaus from where Hitler staged this infamous Beer Hall Putsch.

The next day we visited the first concentration camp to be constructed. Dachau was built in 1933, and visiting it was a harrowing but meaningful experience for everyone. The sheer atrocity of the events that had occurred within those walls seemed to have left a horrific aura that will stay with everyone present.

Travelling to Nuremburg was a scenic drive through the snow, and after unloading our bags we headed out for a tour of this city and its famous Nazi rally grounds which remain to this day. We saw the notorious parade grounds and colosseum, along with a huge display of Albert Speer’s architecture around the city still standing since construction during Hitler’s time. Following the Dachau

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tour we visited the Exhibition of Fascination and Terror in the Nazi Congressional Hall and then we walked up the Reichsparteigelande (the Great Road) returning to the hotel briefly then heading out Barney Latham, Archie Warsap, for supper for delicious Myles Jenkins pretzels and more traditional German food.

The next morning, we travelled to the Court of Nuremberg, and saw the very spot where war criminals such as Hermann Göring and Rudolf Hess were found guilty after the Second World War. After this we travelled to Leipzig where we were to spend our last two days. We travelled there on the bus via a small village called Modlareuth. This tiny village was covered in thick snow and it had to be one of the highlights of this awesome trip. Modlareuth is basically a mini Berlin - famous for being split in half during the Cold War. Our memorable tour of the village included stories of everything from how people died trying to cross the fence, to the relationships people managed to maintain despite being separated.

After another snowy drive, Leipzig proved as enthralling as our experiences thus far. We had an early night after a brief walk around Liepzig. The highlights of our time in Leipzig included being taken around the headquarters of the Stasi (Cold War Communist Secret Police), visiting the tomb of J.S Bach and climbing the Memorial for the Battle of the Nations where Napoleon was famously defeated in 1813.

The final day was another early start. We travelled to the Stasi Nuclear Bunker where we received a translated guided tour. This place was very spooky and totally untouched. We then travelled to the legendary Colditz POW camp. The tales of the escapees were simply incredible, the extent to which they tried to get out included anything from building a glider to digging through hundreds of metres of hard ground under the Castle.

In summary, the 2016 History Tour was an awesome experience, with incredible history, delicious food, and lots of great memories. It was fantastic to have free time in the evening to explore the cities and visit various cool bars and restaurants. Our thanks to Mr Beverly for organizing the trip and Mr and Mrs Bunday for all their support.

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AWAY FROM HOME Geography trip to Italy

by Dan Hodder, Head of Geography

T

he Geography department ran its biannual trip to Sorrento this year with much success, and an enormous amount of enjoyment. After arriving at our hotel and settling in for the evening, we headed up Mount Vesuvius on the first day for a guided tour of the crater and summit of the volcano. The quality of questions and the eagerness of the students to learn about the tectonic activity and the fate of Pompeii below were impressive, and we enjoyed a lovely morning touring the site in beautifully warm Italian sunshine, in contrast to the relative damp and cold of a British spring. Following our morning activities, we took the students down to Herculaneum, the amazingly well-preserved seaside town engulfed by the eruption in AD79. After lunch at a local pizzeria, the students spent the remainder of the afternoon touring the site, and simply trying to take in the scale of the eruption, devastation and human tragedy which unfolded in the few brief moments all those years ago.

Saturday saw the group up early for our day of tourism on the island of Capri. This, for many, represented a real highlight, with a boat trip around the island, ski lift ride and free time to eat as much ice cream and pizza as possible! Our boat trip was blessed with warm, spring sunshine and almost the entire small vessel to ourselves. Following the tour, we headed to the top of Capri via the novel mode of single-seat ski lift. This allows a tranquil climb to the island’s main peak, peering over garden walls and into olive groves as you slowly ascend to one of the breath-taking viewpoints over the Bay of Naples.

On Sunday, the group headed along the Amalfi Coast, with stops along the way to take in the beauty of this part of Italy. With lunch in Amalfi town, we moved onto Pompeii. The scale and size of this Roman site, and the fact that one can walk for twenty minutes in any direction and pass houses, shops, theatres and cafés, in the same way one might walk around any modern city, still humbles and astounds. In the warm afternoon sunshine, our group remained attentive and, after the conclusion of our tour, enjoyed wandering around the ancient city by themselves.

Monday, our departure day, included a trip to a collapsed volcanic system called Solfatara, which I would recommend to anyone. Following this, we headed to Naples for a look around the amazing Museum of Naples, with its collection of finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum. After a short walk, the group took part in a tour of Naples Underground. A network of Greek, Roman, World War 2 and modern tunnels which stretch for 200KM under the city.

Navigating by candlelight in these narrow passages, listening to the history of Naples, was, for

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me, one of the great highlights of the trip. Thank you to Mr Lowry, Miss Flavell, Mr Slingo and Dr Corrigan who were a fantastic help during the trip. Also, thank you to the students – you were really a very special group and it was a real privilege to have you along on the trip.

Megan Ward and Chloe Slingo

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Exchange to Ruyton Girls’ School, Melbourne

by Kitty Mant

Kitty with one of her travelling companions, Sophie Wichary

I

n the summer of 2016, Sophie Wichary, Abs Hyde and I travelled to Australia as part of a King’s Bruton exchange program for five weeks. Before visiting Australia, I had made up my mind about what it would be like. My ideas were set in stone and I was sure my preconceptions would be proved right. I, like so many others, had conjured up images of the clichéd outback, filled with kangaroos and didgeridoos. There would be Bondi rescues, men in ‘thongs’, Bruce from Nemo and of course ‘shrimp on the barbie’.

I had been told that this was entirely fictitious by my parents but, like any other teenager, I ignored their advice completely. Sitting on the plane, filled with the excitement and promise of adventure, I was sure I was on my way to find “a whole new me”. Fast forward twenty-three hours, I got off in Melbourne having watched seven back to back films, eaten far too many greasy baguettes and feeling like my legs would never regain their original shape. Thoroughly dishevelled and slightly sick, I disembarked from flight Q9 and so began the biggest reality check of my life.

My visit to Australia was not to go on holiday, but to attend Ruyton Girls School in Melbourne, Victoria. My exchange partner, Hannah Wilson, had already stayed with me and attended King’s the previous September. For the next six weeks, I would be staying with Hannah and her family, going to school and experiencing life in the city. From a sleepy town in the middle of the British countryside, I now found myself in a city with one of the biggest urban footprints in the world. I quickly realised that “where’s it to?” and “alright me luvver?” were not socially acceptable forms of address, looking both ways before crossing was actually a wise idea and that not everyone owned a pair of wellies (I later learnt that these were “gum boots”).

Despite this, I soon warmed to life in the city and felt at home in no time. There was of course the added bonus of not being stuck behind the cows on the way to be milked every morning on the school run.

The schooling experience I received at Ruyton was somewhat different to the one here at King’s. For

starters, Ruyton is an all-girls school twice the size of King’s, smack bang in the middle of Melbourne. I quickly learnt that standards within the School were very high in terms of academia, uniform and conduct.

After attending lessons I found, somewhat surprisingly, that the syllabus was very similar to ours. The length of lessons, class sizes and the way pupils were taught were also fairly comparable. The King’s History Department would be no doubt proud that “World Modern History”, otherwise known as “the Walsh” was still a firm favourite 10,522 miles away.

Something that did surprise me about Ruyton was, aside from us, the obvious lack of international students. This was reflected in the outlook of the pupils I met. They all had very similar views and a very Australian-centric view of the world. At King’s, however, we have the benefit of having a diverse and international pupil body with a whole spectrum of views. This gave me a shock every time I heard my very British accent amongst the other Aussies. For the record, no, I haven’t met the Queen or been to Buckingham palace “for like, tea”, yes, I do talk like this all the time and yes it pretty much always rains in England.

Melbourne itself is a diverse and multicultural city, which, thanks to the Wilsons’ expert tour guiding, I was able to witness for myself. I can now say I have cheered on a team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ridden a train through Flinders Street Station, cycled along the Yarra, met a (very cute) kangaroo and paid homage at the Shine of Remembrance. To say that I have experienced life in Australia would be an overstatement- I only scratched the surface of a tiny pocket of a vast, culturally rich country. However, I have learnt more about a fascinating and often overlooked country, made a lifelong friend in Hannah and grown up hugely in the process. Anyway, who knew that in Australia they don’t even put the “shrimps on the barbie”? They’re called prawns. That’s the kind of information you can’t possibly hope to glean without visiting for yourself.

Kitty with exchange partner Hannah Wilson

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AWAY FROM HOME South Africa Exchange Trip to Bishops Diocesan College, Cape Town

by Bertie Hughes

Bertie on right of rhino with South African friend Ross Tudhope.

Arrival

W

hen I landed in Cape Town I was greeted

by Ross Tudhope his Father and a phenomenal view of Table Mountain. It soon became apparent that outstanding views like this aren’t out of the ordinary for Cape Town. I realised this as we drove to the Waterfront, a shopping centre on the coast, and I caught my first glimpse of Cape Town’s coast and Robben Island.

Week 1 - Ranger Course 14th - 20th July Early on the 14th we took a plane to Durban and then had a 3 hour-long journey to the reserve. When we arrived, I was astounded to see 4 giraffes walking across the road. The place we were staying was made up of 20 small cabins with two beds and a small bathroom.

After we’d unpacked, we went out on a game drive. It was fascinating learning from the game driver, who had tons of knowledge of the reserve. On that drive we saw more giraffes and some buffalo.

The next morning we woke up early (which became a regular occurrence) to go on a game drive.

On this drive we saw two rhinos grazing just as the sun rose. Then we heard on the radio that lions had been

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spotted. When we got to the site where they’d been spotted we saw a huge male lion lying down in front of another jeep. As we got closer, the lion got up and walked along the ridge. The scene was majestic with the sun rising behind.

Later that day we were driving down a road when a huge male elephant walked out of the bushes right in front of us. It was so close I felt the weight of the elephant with each step it took.

On the 16th we had the rhino “de-horning”. This was quite possibly the most awe-inspiring moment of my whole trip. That morning we woke early to drive to the helicopter site, where we were briefed about what we were going to be doing.

At the helicopter site, the guy in charge explained they do this to prevent the rhinos being killed by the poachers for their horns. Although the dehorning process is distressing to watch, it doesn’t harm the rhinos.

When the people in the helicopter find a Rhino with a horn they shoot it with a heavy tranquillizer, which takes roughly 20 mins to kick in.

The rangers then make sure the rhino doesn’t hurt itself by blindfolding it. Once the rhino was down, we were allowed to get close to it. As I approached it, I fully appreciated the size of these animals; the feet were huge, even it’s breathing was powerful. We were also allowed to touch him, and as I did, I could feel the pure muscle beneath a skin that felt like impenetrable armour.

When they started cutting the horn, I felt quite uncomfortable watching as it was quite disturbing to see such a magnificent animal treated like this.

However, I know that this way the rhino will survive.

After the rhino dehorning we traveled to a different reserve, where we would be camping, which sounded like good fun until I realised that it was literally just camping in middle of the reserve with no fences.

On the second night, a pack of hyenas wandered into camp, it was probably one of the most frightening things as we could hear them giggling outside our tent. In this second reserve, we were extremely lucky to see a family of Cheetahs with their cubs (which were adorable).

We also saw a large herd of elephants walk across the plain right in front of us.

One of the best moments was when we managed to find a wildebeest that had been killed by a pride of lions. This was incredible because while we were there a huge mother and her three cubs walked straight past the jeep.

Overall, the whole ranger course trip was a phenomenal experience and one that I will never forget.

Week 2 24th – 30th July When we got back from the trip, we went up Table Mountain which is an incredible site in itself, but the views from the top blew my mind. The weather that day was perfect, with not a cloud in the sky.

You could see Robben island clearly, and the view of Cape Town and along the coast was second to none. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 To top off my visit to Table Mountain, I wanted to get a picture with the background, which resulted in me nearly falling off the mountain altogether. That week my exchange, Ross, also took me to the driving range.

However, Golf isn’t exactly a sport I’m strong at, but after embarrassing myself in front of a couple of keen golfers, I managed to actually hit the ball.

Week 3 31st – 6th August In the 3rd week, the other exchange students and I decided to take an Uber to the beach for a swim, although we did get some weird looks from people because it was winter in South Africa. We all had a huge amount of fun.

Bishops School also organised a trip for the exchange students where we went on a bus all around Cape Town. On the Sunday I went to the beach with Ross and his father Marc to do some surfing, which I was rather nervous about because I’m absolutely terrified of sharks. It didn’t get any better when we got there and I saw signs all over the place warning us about sharks.

Week 4 7th – 13th August On the 8th, the other exchange students and I went on a trip over to Robben Island. Once again, we were lucky with the weather and the view of Table Mountain and Cape Town underneath was spectacular. Walking around the prison was a surreal experience, especially seeing inside Nelson Mandela’s cell which consisted of a thin sheet of carpet and a small side table.

support for the matches. At Bruton, some teams will be home and others away. In each age group at Bishops, however, all teams play away or home together. This means that when the time comes for the last match (the 1st team game), everyone else, even if they didn’t play, will come watch and support.

At Bruton you have a couple of parents watching, but at Bishops, you have the whole school chanting. Also, Bishops has a select few students who stand on the touch line orchestrating chants for the boys to sing.

I was fortunate enough to be part of a “Barliki Barbar” which happens when the 1st team wins and the whole of the school watching will storm the pitch and make a circle around the team. They all chant in the middle of the pitch and go crazy. So, when it comes to rugby, I’d say that schoolboy rugby in South Africa is far bigger than schoolboy rugby in England.

I played in some very challenging matches against African teams and learned a great deal, enjoying the experience enormously.

Departure My trip ended with a party that was great fun and enabled all exchange students to say a grateful farewell to our super hosts and friends at Bishops.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this exchange possible, especially the Tudhope family for putting up with me for 7 weeks. I sincerely hope Ross enjoys his time in Bruton as much as I enjoyed mine in South Africa.

School Life at Bishops Diocesan College Bishops is very different from King’s. It is all-boys, and is more than double our size. I had limited experience of boarding life at the school because Ross’s home was just a few minutes’ walk away and I stayed with him and his family for the majority of my time there.

Rugby Being at Bishops for a rugby exchange, I have found the rugby vastly different from the rugby at Bruton.

The biggest difference is the format and

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A HELPING HAND Community Service

by Beth Pretor-Pinney (in poll position, right, in the mini-bus with Lucy Little)

M 50

other Teresa once said, “Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love”, a quotation which, I feel, conveys the sense of giving and care that the community service team offers at King’s.

This year I have been fortunate enough to have been given the position of Community Service Prefect.

As part of this responsibility, I helped Mrs Bray assign the Sixth formers a placement that would be best suited to them. There are many options, including Gardening, Residential homes, Hospitals, Environmental centres and Primary schools near Bruton.

For two years running I have visited local schools around Bruton. My first year I spent at All Hallows, and the second year I visited Countess Gytha Primary, Queen Camel. At first, the thought of going to meet 20 excitable children for the first time was

rather daunting. All of them want your attention on the first day as you are the new face, which can be really exhausting. However, a couple of weeks in and I had already made some strong bonds with the children and this was incredibly rewarding, as every time I arrived they were all so eager to see me.

Community service for me has been an amazing experience. At the ages of 5 and 6, interacting with others and developing social skills is important for your future, and I am incredibly happy that I was a part of that learning experience for some of those children. I think it is fair to say that everyone who has

done community service at King’s will take away some amazing stories and experiences, as it really is such a rewarding opportunity.

Kirsty McCardle with residents from Highfield House

THE DOLPHIN 2017

C.C.F.

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C.C.F. Combined Cadet Force

By Major Craig Barrow, Contingent Commander

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he Combined Cadet Force (CCF) offers all pupils at the school the chance to undertake a variety of adventurous activities, and aims to develop resilience and teamwork. More importantly, it aims to put responsibility into the hands of senior pupils, and for those who assume roles as NCOs and help to run the Contingent, it offers unparalleled opportunities to cultivate leadership and planning abilities. This year’s NCO cohort have been very good and were led by Alistair Sandford who has been the epitome of enthusiasm, knowledge and organisational excellence.

Christmas Term The highlight of the Christmas Term was the Biennial Inspection in October. Rear Admiral John Clink inspected the Contingent and was most impressed by so many aspects of the CCF programme. The Military Band were excellent and the Rear Admiral was very complimentary about the range and quality of the CCF activities and the staff and NCO instruction he saw during the afternoon, which culminated in the first ever King’s Bruton ‘Gun Run’. This saw the Army Section narrowly defeat the Royal Navy Section.

There were Field Day trips allowing the Advanced Infantry experience a live range day at Yoxter Camp, coasteering, sea kayaking and sailing in the Solent for the RN section and archery, air rifle and command tasks for the Army section in the Quantocks.

The Military Band also performed to the highest standard for the Bruton Town Remembrance Parade.

teams were excellent in training and during the event and finished early on Sunday morning. The finish was quite an emotional occasion as the cadets proved to themselves that they could overcome real physical and mental challenges without adult help.

Field Days saw the 5th Form Army section travel to Dorset for sea rock climbing and high ropes.

Summer Term The Military Band played the Beating of the Retreat.

The Rifles Regiment visited the school and brought a whole host of military hardware which the Army Cadets were able to examine and use. The assault course saw some new obstacles installed courtesy of the generosity of the Friends of King’s Bruton and in the last week of term 26 cadets and five officers journeyed to Okehampton Battle Camp for the 2017 Summer Camp. A fantastic week was had by all despite the inclement weather that Dartmoor threw at the cadets. Raft building, high ropes, climbing and zip wires, archery, windsurfing, laser quest were the adventurous training activities in which the cadets were able to take part.

The military section saw the cadets take part in the Wyvern Challenge and win the overall competition, battling through the tough weather and cold on the Military Skills Day practising their section attacks, patrols and ambushes and then sleeping rough in barns. On the final day a few weary cadets were able to take part in the live range day when the Dartmoor fog lifted!

Thank you and the future The CCF could not run without the support of so many volunteers amongst the Staff Officers and the NCOs. I am indebted to the quality and enthusiasm that exist in our leaders and having attended two CCF conferences during the year I am increasingly aware of how fortunate I am to be able to call on such a committed body of people. My thanks to all.

And the future? Preparations are underway for the Biennial Inspection to celebrate the 500th Celebrations of the School, the Isle of Wight will host the Summer Camp in 2018, two 35-mile teams are preparing for the Ten Tors Event in 2018, Army and RN Field Days are planned, RN visits to Dartmouth and Plymouth are confirmed. It promises to be a full and exciting year.

Easter Term During the Easter Term, two teams of six cadets took part in the 35-mile Ten Tors Challenge. They trained in all weathers during January, February and March on the Quantocks, South Dartmoor and North Dartmoor in preparation for the actual event in early May. Both

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C.C.F. staff: Sophie Liddell-Grainger, Kate Flavell, Seamus Harness, Will Daws, Mark Hambleton

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Rear Admiral John Clink inspects the cadets

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PASTORAL HEART Arion House

by Bethany Griffiths

I

n 2007, Arion House became a girls’ boarding House after a brief few years as a boys’ 6th Form House.

Therefore, this year, Arion House entered its 10th year as a girls’ House, and I think it is fair to say that over these years not only has the House grown, but it has also gone from strength to strength. There were 18 girls in the House at its inception and now there were 46 at the start of the year. For the past two academic years, Arion House has been awarded the new trophy for overall ‘Top House’. Due to this past success, the girls really felt as though the pressure was on this year, and although we were not crowned overall top House this year, we did retain the Girls’ trophy with the girls Inter-House sports cup, were runners-up to Blackford House in the debating final and runners-up to New House in the Inter-house Music Festival. Another

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fantastic year for the pink ladies.

This year was also the start of a new era for Arion, as we could no longer claim to be the smallest of the girls’ Houses, and use this as an excuse. Last summer, my family and I had to move down into what was an old derelict coach house in the garden and is now a very lovely new coach house. In doing this we created four new bedrooms and a much larger common room for the girls.

Aside from our Inter-house success throughout the year, I have my usual number of highlights to mention. These include our house activity in September, welcoming our new girls over afternoon tea at the Chapel, then our annual visit to Jimmy’s World Bar Grill in Bath for our Christmas feast.

Our charity netball tournament in the summer raised over £300 for our school charity, with BBQ sales and entry fee, in the most chaotic and fun netball tournament ever! It is starting to get a little bit embarrassing though that we keep winning our own tournament, I think I need to persuade the girls to let someone else win next year!

THE DOLPHIN 2017 House nights seem to have stepped up to a new level this year. Whether it’s a full House game of sardines, making dresses from toilet rolls, blindfolded make up games with Old House, B&M shopping trips or, of course, our favourite evening of all- Sue’s pamper night! Everyone has enjoyed some fantastic House activities. We also squeezed in as many House BBQs as possible on the dry evenings and Sunday afternoons, even managing to entertain Blackford House for one of them; it was a very enjoyable evening. School theme nights are another social event that Arion ladies always seem to put their heart and souls into, and they did not disappoint this year. From Bollywood, to Rave and to my favourite costume of the year – Rosie’ s white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Throughout the year, the Arion ladies took part in everything the School has to offer. For example, we had girls involved in the Ten Tors expeditions, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme at Silver and Gold levels, CCF and numerous musical and drama productions. It was one of these that goes down as a favourite highlight of mine this year, and that was Imogen’s sensational leading role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz school production. We are all looking forward to seeing Imogen in the West End some time soon.

Looking back, it has once again been an extremely successful year for the Arion ladies, not only in terms of trophies won or activities taken part in, but also for their academic work, with over 80% of the house being awarded Headmaster’s Commendation each assessment period. Achieving this success would not be possible without a fantastic team behind myself and the girls. We cannot sing highly enough the praises of Sophie (resident tutor) and Sue (House matron).

These two, this year as always, have put their heart and souls into Arion and we simply couldn’t function as a house without them. Then the pastoral care that the tutors have shown, always going the extra mile for their tutees and others in the house- Mrs Wilson-Brown, Mrs Carpenter, Mrs Kirk and Miss Coombs, thank you all for your hard work and help this year.

Finally, at the end of this busy year we said goodbye to seven fantastic young ladies in the U6thHannah (DofH), Tilly (DHofH), Olivia, Alice, Samantha, Harriet and Imogen. All of these girls have exciting plans ahead of them, and we wish them all the best for their future. We also said goodbye to Miss Coombs, who is moving to Wellesley House as the resident tutor, and we wish her all the best for her time there.

Blackford House

by Nick Bunday

Blackford debaters Toby Kingsberry, Archie Warsap and Seb Kingsberry

T

he frenetic pace of House life seems to show no signs of slowing down. The amount that the Blackford boys do in a day, a week, a month and this year, is remarkable. The House is running ‘white hot’.

Blackford has been the biggest House this year, and has the fewest number of day boys by some considerable margin. This is not through design, but the Housemaster would like to think that it is down to his magnetic personality! It was my sagacious predecessor, Mr Oulton, who always used to say that a full House is a happy House. And so it has been this year. Busy and happy is an apt description of Blackford.

When reflecting on the year, it is difficult to think what the highlight has been – there are plenty to choose from. For me, it would probably be the fantastic achievement of winning inter-House debating with a team that included a 4th Former (Seb Kingsberry), who wiped the floor with the opposition with the strength of his oratory. For others, it might be the fact that very nearly all the male parts in the wonderful musical (The Wizard of Oz) were taken by Blackford boys. The inter House music competition was, again, a closely fought event that brought out the very best in everyone at King’s. Inter-House athletics was on one of the hottest days of the year, and the highlight of that was winning the Parloof for the third year running (pun very definitely intended!) The Christmas meal at the Bull at Hardway is always a popular evening. The House has helped the School’s Charity of the Year by running the now traditional film evening, and also providing all the support and muscle for the Friends’ Christmas Fair.

The House has been lucky enough to welcome a great set of 3rd Formers (Arthur Drury,

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PASTORAL HEART Harry Farragher, Jack Fowler-Baxter, Leo Haywood, Finlay Pender-Cudlip, Jamie Richmond, Archie White, Charlie Wichary and Jake Woods) who came from eight different feeder schools. We have also welcomed Toby Ker into the 4th Form and his brother Jamie Ker and Ian Elms into the L6th Form. We were also lucky enough to pick up Jonathan Boyle into the 5th Form. They have all made their mark on the House already and we look forward to watching them blossom in years to come.

I am indebted to the wonderful Blackford staff who, once again, have worked tirelessly for the boys and in support of me. The Domestic Staff of Amy, Hayley and Kirsty cheerfully keep the House together, which, given how full it is, is no mean undertaking. We are blessed by some dedicated tutors, namely Mrs Vigers-Belgeonne, Dr Kirk, Mr Barrow and Mr Walker. Our Resident Tutor this year has been Mr Smith who is sadly leaving after his one year, but needs to know that he will be missed. As an Old Brutonian he really did hit the ground running and did huge amounts behind the scenes, ensuring that the boys were well cared for. We thank him for all that he has done. I would also like to thank Claire, our Sunday and Monday Matron. Finally the two ladies in my life require even more plaudits for all that they do.

Firstly, Janice, who is, in our considered opinion, the best Matron in the School and has once again cared for the boys and looked after all of them. Secondly, but equally important, is Gilly, who has been indefatigable in her efforts to be a tutor, an events manager, Secretary to the Old Brutonians and Friend’s, and administrator for the 500th Anniversary Project. Perhaps less well known is all that she still manages to do to support me and provide the softer touches to Blackford House.

As ever, the Summer is a time to say goodbye and Godspeed to those who are leaving. We are sorry that Olly Tincknell and Orkhan Safarli left earlier than we would have hoped, but they will long be remembered. The U6th Form have been a really cohesive group who have quietly set the tone for the remainder of the House to follow. They are (in alphabetical order) Tom Colebatch, Josh Cross, Arthur Franks, Toby Kingsberry (Head Boy), Ryan Longman, John Nishanov, Jack Potter (Deputy Head of House), Alen Safaryan (Head of House) and Jimmy Zhu. We wish them all well as they embark on the rest of their lives, not just as Old Brutonians but, more importantly, as Old Blackfordians.

This has been a good year and one that has flown by. Blackford continues to be busy and happy. Thank you to everyone involved in Blackford, including the Parents, who have made this such a great year.

Blackford leavers in the Housemaster’s garden

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

Lyon House

by Dan Hodder 100 Things that happened this year

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umber one. Ed McCabe Head of House (none of the below possible without Ed) 2.

Raised £3800 for charity with our hockey festival 3. Luca in goal for the Inter-House Hockey team 4. Robert, Javier and Alfa in the Junior Play 4. Harry Hunter 1st XI Hockey Captian 5. Oliver Crossfield organises two games of football against Sherbourne School 6. Conker Night 7. Rian Upton wins Man of the Term 8. Snow Ball 9. Mr Hodder chips Alex Artemenko for the goal of the season during House Night 10. Dishwasher installed 11. Guy Melamed wins both the Tutors’ Prize and Man of the Week 12. Robert Kogel represents the 1st XI at Hockey in the 5th form 13. Harry McHugh selected for Somerset Rugby 14.

Tom Williams scores the winner in the regional indoor Hockey finals 15. Henry Barker-Bennett and Seb Class outstanding in the Senior Play 16. Robert Jin raises £300 for Children with Charity by busking in Bath 17.

Ivo discovers his carpet is blue after a room tidy 18.

Toby Rogers scores to win the inter boys House Rugby 19. Freddie Goggs sings beautifully at Bristol Cathedral and the Junior Concert 20. Tom Read and Ivo Wright win the boys’ high jump 21. Joe Gartell holds onto a perfect assessment score of 1.0 for two terms 22. Rian Upton wins Inter-House Cross County 23. New display boards and photos 24. Love Island 25. Alex Artemenko jumps into empty mud-filled lake thinking it’s water (if you can get try and find the video) 26. “Hooked on a Feelin” 27. Swimming at Angus’s House (thank you the McDermid’s again) 28. Hugo Tyson becomes “King of the BBQ” 29. Alex Mickleburgh breaks his wrist defending the honour of the House in Lyon House Football 30. Max Belm 60* in the House Cricket walking

out to bat to 99 red balloons 31. Jago Cole scores the best solo goal since Maradona. 32. Dodgeball vs Old + Hot Dog Night 33. Robert Kogel and Ivo decide to watch “The Great Escape” while gated 34. A six-week record streak of bed stripping and bed making May 15th- 30th wow! 35. Oliver Pick and George Matthew complete Ten Tours – Amazing! 36. JCR Rave Night!

37. Alfa and Hugo arrive 38. Joshua vs Klitschko 6th Form Night 39. James Mitri leaves to follow a career in professional cycling.

40. Charlie Bascombe Football Birthday cake (thank you for a slice Charlie!) 41. Tom Robinson’s fantastic trumpet recital at the 3rd Form Concert 42.

Lyon House Power Play Commendation Week! – If you can’t win cheat 43. Alfa birthday party at the delivery of 30 pizzas 44. The eating of 30 pizzas in one sitting (Rian). 45. Our fabulous cleaning ladies (Nikki, Ange and Bien) take a bow! 46. Robert Jin doing magic for the 3rd Form in the first weekend. 47. Sandie baking for the boys every Sunday all year 48. Come arrives and doubles the standard to creative football in one afternoon 49. Mr Hodder tries to show Rhodri that Civ was better in the 90’s 50. Tristan and Tom’s prebedtime gym routine 51. Jacob Longman performance in the U15 rugby and swimming plus winning Man of the Week for a commendation for “thinking”. 52. Hugo Tyson’s debating skill and closing remarks against Arrion 53. Jack and Seb 54. Alex Baxter in the Big Band at each school concert this year- fantastic! 55.

Jacob Longman (the mystery alarm man) after thinking the emergency door release was the way to open the door for two weeks 56. Jasper representing the school at athletics 57. Javier’s roll call showers 58. Robert Jin beating music scholars to finish 2nd overall in the House music 59. The new Lyon House Tuck Shop competition 60. Tom Williams’ 50 against the M.C.C. 61. Myles Yeandel’s adventures with a skateboard 62. Will Labbe’s party 63. Tamburino’s Christmas Party 64.

Pushing Robert out of the Common Room window 65. 5th Form Lyon House Poker 66. “In Caymen” 67.

Fidget Spinners 68. Oliver Crossfield’s costume for

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PASTORAL HEART

Edward McCabe

70’s night 69. Toby Doig Sunday afternoon Playstation records 70. Myles Yeandel furniture repair shop 71.

Harry Hunter’s suntan lines 72. Louis Ona wins Man of the Week for his outstanding parent tours 73.

Joe Gartell picked to play for Dorset 74. Tom Reid’s screamer against Sherbourne 75. Alex Mickleburgh’s U15A debut and goal! 76. Lyon House outdoor cinema 77. Inter House Tug of War 78. Henry Barker-Bennett becomes a school prefect 78. Harry Hunter sings the House song after athletics 79. Ivo appears with a bin, drumming and singing to encourage Lyon against Old in the Dodgeball 80. Will Labbe teaching Mr Hodder how to fly 81. Senior and Inter Boys winners at Sportsday 82. Toby Rogers having a tidy room 83. Sean Lock’s Ebay empire 84. Jago Cole backing Chelsea for the league all year 85. Toby Doig finds his tennis racket from the 3rd form in our lost property 86. Sloe picking for Mr Hodder’s Lyon House in 87. Hugo, Luke and Ed in the Chapel Choir 88. Lyon House awards night 89.

Oliver Crossfield falling off the bottom step of the stairs 90. Louis Ona hiding under Alex Mickburgh’s desk at midnight and trying not to take a breath 91. Three 5th formers wearing full clothes and carrying a backpack at 1 am claiming they were looking for the loo 92. Javier’s special Spanish BBQ sauce 93. McDonalds Sundays 94. Hugo Burgess’ catch for the Junior Bs against Sherborne 95. Llewelyn’s Saturday Night Sun Inn order and movie session 96. Hugo Tyson shouting at New House from the audience at the debate 97. “Nothing to Declare” 98. Alfa’s basketball skills sessions 99.

Harry McHugh 1st XV Rugby captain 100. Our amazing matron Debbie!

Oliver Crossfield, Hugo Tyson, Harry Hunter, Harry McHugh, Henry Barker-Bennett

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New House

by Ashley Marshfield

I

t seems impossible to think that another year has passed since writing my first report as Housemaster of New House. What a year it has been, with so many achievements by the boys both in and out of the classroom. On the sporting front, it has been another strong year, with success in several different events, culminating in the Summer Term by winning the Inter-House Athletics Challenge Cup after many years of it residing at Lyon House - rumour has it as over 8 years! I particularly like this competition as all the boys contribute in some way, even if they are not the greatest athletes. As if that was not enough, in the Easter Term, New House was announced as the winner of the Inter-House Music Competition, with superb performances in both the solo and ensemble rounds. Though our House Song didn’t quite match Priory House’s outstanding performance of Somebody to Love in five-part harmony (perhaps a step too far for a boys house?!) we were still able to secure enough points to win the competition overall.

Towards the end of the Easter Term, the House Play ‘Murder Afoot!’ by Knut Nærum ran for two nights in the theatre. The cast worked very hard to produce an evening of great comedy enjoyed by all. Special thanks and congratulations must go to the wonderful cast and to Mrs Ashworth who kindly rehearsed and directed the play.

The ‘cherry on the cake’, as it were, of the academic year, came when New House was announced at Prize Giving as the winner of the George Bailey Beak Trophy, awarded to the overall top performing House – what an achievement as the first boys House to win this!

The Summer Term was undoubtedly a challenging and stressful one for all those facing public examinations, and indeed the 3rd and 4th Form sitting internal examinations. However, the boys worked hard and I do hope their efforts are reflected in August when results are published. The Summer Term is also when we bid farewell to the U6th Form, who have been great ambassadors for New House. They are: Freddie North, who has been a kind and caring Head of House, ably assisted by Oscar Farrell as Deputy Head of House, along with House Prefects; Christo Bradstock, Harry Deakin, William Hillier, Alexander Hutton, Joshua Teuber (School Prefect and Deputy Head Boy). We also say goodbye to other boys who were here for a year or who move onto pastures new: Harvey Robinson, David Diez Valazquez, Dimitri Niemtchinow, Pelayo Brey Gallart and Ben Burton. New House wishes all the leavers the very best for their future academic studies. Last but by no means least, I must express my gratitude to the fantastic New House Tutor Team: Mrs Ashworth, Mr Beverly, Mr Gorodi, Mr Hamilton, Mr Lowry, Mr Wilson-Brown and Matrons for their continued support.

Sadly, at the end of this year Mr Beverly moves out of New House as Resident Tutor after four years of outstanding service, under two Housemasters, and takes up his new position as Chaplain and teacher of A

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Level Philosophy. We wish Mr Beverly all the very best in his new role at King’s and are delighted that he will remain as an Academic Tutor and maintain close links with New House – it’s a bitter-sweet departure! We also bid farewell to Mr Wilson-Brown who has tutored several of the 3rd Form this academic year as he moves to pastures new as Bursar of Pembroke House Prep School, Kenya. We wish him good luck and a fond farewell.

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PASTORAL HEART Old House

by Malcolm Jeffrey

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he academic year (2016-2017) started well, with the seniors being fruitful in the inter-house rugby and football. This set the tone for what was to be a very competitive and successful ten months. As ever, the boys have entered every competition with absolute focus and determination, and every one of the Old House stalwarts have pushed themselves and others to succeed.

The team of academic staff and matrons in Old House is superb, and they have given 100% to the boys this year, ensuring they are healthy, on task and happy. From Cecilia, Mel and Claire (our matrons), to the tutors (resident, evening and academic), everyone has one thing in mind- the success of the boys. Our cleaners, Wendy, Anna and Trish are also constantly striving to make Old House the best it can be, and they share our desire to show off this beautiful, historic and happy House.

The new Third Form proved to be very keen to win, and started the year well with superb performances in every discipline. Their year culminated in being Junior Athletics champions, perhaps not surprising when they have regular members of the county squad amongst their ranks.

But this was very much a team effort. In September, it started off being a little confusing, having four Oliver’s

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amongst their ranks. But all the boys’ personalities soon shone through, and they settled down to the business of their busy school life.

Although they were one of the liveliest (and noisiest) group of boys that we have ever seen in Old House, they proved to be pretty hard working, and the commendations began to pour in regularly. All in all, they have had a very successful year.

Old House have always shown personality and flair. They pride themselves on their originality and, as ever, we have had a lot of fun throughout the year.

From the One Minute Plays, to invitational nights with other Houses, they have been on fantastic form, and it is always a pleasure to see how they step up to the mark on every occasion.

Old House retained the Dodgeball trophy this year and managed to raise some money for charity as well. Again, everyone pitched in to ensure its success and to make it a fun event for the whole school.

We were strong in the debating and won the Inter-House science quiz with some very robust performances all round. With a greater profile in the school, it was a superb year for debating, which saw Old House narrowly defeated by a well-rehearsed Arion team. This bodes well for next year and I am sure that the boys will win the trophy back. Academic excellence is at the forefront of Old House philosophy and we have some titans ready to do battle next year.

The Inter-House music competition was another example of the best Old House has to offer.

The House sang superbly as well as with “attitude”, which gave them second place in the House Song, although this did not ensure victory overall. Our soloists were wonderful, Isaac and Alistair giving it their all, but the ensemble saw the emergence of a really strong team. Josh Blunden, Max Mason, Alfie Innes and Nick Longpre were superb and competed well against other bands consisting of many music scholars, again showing that the boys punched above their weight.

Of course, we say goodbye to the Upper 6th.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 They have benefitted hugely from the guidance and support of Mr Stainton, who has shown imagination and careful consideration when guiding the boys towards further education and the work-place. I know they will all join me in thanking him for his efforts and for his patience. They leave here as the best versions of themselves, having grown from boys into men, and we wish them well on their journey. Some have already taken some very exciting steps and we will look on with interest as they forge on. They were a super bunch of young men. The House was led very capably

by Yan Le, who did an immense job of pushing the House towards many victories. He led well and was a good example to all the boys. We will miss him and his leadership (especially in the House singing). His ability to nurture the younger pupils was also impressive.

In a busy year where much has happened, we often do not get the opportunity to reflect on everything that has taken place. In the mad rush of term-time it is easy to move on to the next event without drawing breath, and so it is vital that we take this time to think about all the varied activities in this wonderful school.

The boys of Old House deserve huge praise for their resilience and perseverance and I know that they will continue to excel next year. Well done for such a huge effort and now we must look “Upwards and Onwards”.

Priory House

by Emily Simper

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ife in Priory is certainly never dull. Over the past twelve months, each and every one of us in Priory have had ups and downs, worked hard and enjoyed some fantastic times together.

The highlight of the Priory calendar has to be the Inter-House Music Competition, and without doubt the biggest win of the year was the Inter-House Singing Competition. Organised, composed and conducted

by Rebecca Bracey, the girls performed their rendition of ‘Somebody to Love’ by Queen exceptionally well, and were the obvious winners on the night. The girls certainly celebrated that evening, and were then invited to perform their winning House Song at Hazelgrove and Port Regis, and we all thoroughly enjoyed these trips out. In the Summer term, we had a fantastic Joint

House concert with New House with lots of fantastic musical items, including Rebecca Bracey & Clara Bracey’s duet, Charlotte Mansergh’s solo and the Priory & New House staff clarinet quintet.

Drama has also featured heavily this year for the Priory girls, with their production of ‘Crazy Horses’. Memorable performances came from Olivia Hughes as God, Ella Corlett as the Devil and Becky Bracey as St Peter. The 4 horses of the Apocalypse (Ellena Loughrey, Annabel Black, Lucie Moore & Charlotte Mansergh) provided great hilarity. An excellent effort all round, and every single Priory girl was involved, whether on or off stage. A huge thank you to Ms King for all of her direction and support for the girls in staging a tricky, but extremely successful portrayal of this play. Priory also competed strongly in debating, being placed 3rd overall and only losing to the eventual winners, Blackford, in the semi-final.

Though not winners, they were worthy opponents in both competitions with a team of Kirsty McCardle, Katie Proctor and Holly Baker all led by team captain Ellie Loughrey.

In sport, all of the Inter-House competitions were nail-biting experiences. The Inter-House Hockey results were close, with the Priory senior team winning the Senior title, whilst the Juniors came a close second, behind Arion. Inter-House Badminton was another success for Priory, with superb performances from Annabel Black and Yi Fan to bring home the Senior Badminton trophy. The Junior girls won the Swimming gala and the Inter-House Cross-Country, with Ella Docherty wining the junior race and Sophie Hamilton wining the senior one. One of the highlights of this year was definitely Inter-House Sports Day, where Priory won all of the relays, the Junior and the Senior Competitions. The Purple Army was in full force then!

Sophie Hamilton, Olivia Hamilton & Victoria McCabe have had great international success playing hockey for England and we are very proud of them. However, overall there have been great performances from both players and supporters in all School and House events.

One of the things that we are most proud about this year has to be our fundraising. In addition to selling our annual candy canes, as well as fifteen Priory girls running the “Race for Life”, we also initiated a “no phone” day, which helped raise over £7000 for 2 cancer charities. What started as a conversation between two 4th Form girls asking to do something for World Cancer Day became a huge success. Once Arion & Wellesley House decided to join in for what was trending online as #NoPhoneFriday, it wasn’t long before all the boys’ houses decided to get involved too. Consequently, on Friday 3rd February all of the 348 pupils and staff at King’s and Hazlegrove locked away their phones for 24 hours. This event came at a particularly difficult time for the School community with Amy, one of our Priory girls, undergoing chemotherapy treatment for bone cancer. The donations from parents, staff and pupils were overwhelming, and £1537 was raised for the Teenage Cancer Trust and £5570 raised for World Child Cancer.

Our many successes throughout the year would not have been possible if it weren’t for the constant support from our House Tutors Mr Slingo,

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PASTORAL HEART Mrs Sherrard, Ms King, Ms Checketts and Miss Carpenter. Our exceptional matron Jane keeps us organised and helps make Priory the homely place that it is, and Miss Swindall has been a wonderful resident tutor and temporary Housemistress, while Mrs Simper was on maternity leave at the beginning of the year. Olivia Hughes has been a superb Head of House, ably assisted by Lucie Moore as deputy and the excellent team of prefects who have helped me run Priory.

The end of term, as it does at this time of year, brings farewells. From the staff, Miss Swindall is leaving us to travel round the world for a year – we are very jealous! We thank her for everything she has done in Priory as she has been an excellent resident tutor for two years, encouraging and guiding the girls. Finally, the Upper 6th leave King’s for gap years and university life. To all that leave us this term we wish them every happiness and success in the future and I hope they remember their days in Priory with fondness and happy memories. Thank you for another wonderful year.

Wellesley House

by Juliet Deaney

A

s the sun sets on another year, I look back on twelve months of success, ambition and laughter from my Wellesley girls. The Upper Sixth girls have all been outstanding throughout their years at King›s and never before have I had the privilege to work with such a cohesive,

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hardworking, thoughtful and caring group of girls.

Their qualities have been evident throughout. Hebe, as Head of House, has led by example and been a stalwart of ambition and common sense - thank you Hebe you have been superb.

With Wellesley House totaling 44 girls, we welcomed 8 delightful young ladies into the 3rd Form last September. They decorated the 3rd Form room with pom-poms, photographs and lights, and very quickly became part of the House. The junior girls went on to win many Inter-House events including Hockey, Soccer

THE DOLPHIN 2017 and Tug-of-War, and their sporting prowess bodes very well for the future. Anna was selected for the 35 mile Ten Tors event on Dartmoor in May and, after training hard, she was part of the fastest King’s team to complete the gruelling course - a huge achievement.

The Senior girls were successful in Inter-House Netball, Tennis and Badminton, with a number of girls playing and successfully defending their success at the Nationals in Hockey. Led by an impressive and unassuming Mima - whose sporting qualities, leadership and encouragement of the girls shines through.

In Music, Amy and Lucy gave outstanding individual performances in the hugely important InterHouse Music Competition, finishing second and third respectively in their individual rounds. A rousing and inclusive rendition of ‘Raise the Flag’ was performed by all the Wellesley girls in the evening round.

Wellesley girls picked up 25% of all the prizes at Speech Day this year, showing the commitment, determination and passion they have to succeed very well done to you all, and especially to Georgia and Holly who collected an impressive three and five subject prizes respectively. Eleanor’s artwork is breathtaking, and I was delighted her work was recognised, as this year she won the prestigious Painter Stainer Art prize, along with the Bruton Art Society Prize - very well done.

Other highlights of the year included the Snow Ball organised by Wellesley and New House, our Sunday House ice-skating trips, shopping in Bath, some lovely Bruton walks, and cream teas at the Chapel and Cole Manor. The girls have been involved in concerts, Evensong, drama productions, beating retreat, serving at events, debating, always giving their best.

I will really miss my Upper Sixth who leave this year- nine of the eleven having been with the House since 3rd Form, and you have all been outstanding and a huge support to one another. We will all miss and remember you - to Hebe for your maturity, loyalty and direction, to Beth for your guidance and sensitivity towards the younger girls, to Mima for your sporting

leadership and passion, to Daisy for your dependability, to Gig for your wise and well-reasoned words, to Lucy for your musicality, to Ellie for your creativity, to Freya for working tirelessly, to Catherine for being calm and thoughtful, to Cherry for your methodical approach and to Karen for always wearing a smile.

Finally, thank you to my very loyal and hardworking House team for everything you do and more - I could not do it without you. To my tutors, Milly Corrigan, who leaves her role as Resident Tutor to become Head of Geography - the girls are delighted she will still be here one evening a week. To Kate Flavell, Sadie Osborne, Charlotte Davies, Pip AtkinsonKennedy and Laurie Phippard (who leaves to become an academic tutor in a rival house), to my matrons Donna (who has enjoyed and been a great support in her first year in the House) and Debs, and to cleaners - Nicky and Annie.

To our leavers this year - Hebe, Beth, Daisy, Gig, Mima, Ellie S, Freya, Lucy, Catherine, Karen, Cherry, Ellie W, Ann, Elodie, Malena, India, Jessica, Teresa Kitty and Harriet - good luck for the future, ‘follow your dreams’ and stay in touch.

Malena Lindner, Ella Hanegraaf, Kiara Jones, Hayley Clarke

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VALETE Gareth Evans

by Rob Lowry

I

t was Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, who wrote “Every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. You can choose to be all, or you can choose to be less. Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see what all you can do?” I’m unsure whether Gareth Evans - someone who bedecked his classroom with motivational quotes - has read this. But, no matter, Gareth appears to have worked it out for himself.

Gareth left King’s this year after twentynine years of service, having given ‘full measure’ to whatever the School asked of him. He arrived in 1988 as Head of Economics and Politics. He went on to introduce Business Studies at A-level six years later, but his talents quickly brought him to the attention of Richard Smyth, Headmaster and he was appointed Second Master in 1996, then Deputy Head in 2000.

When Gareth stepped down from this role fifteen years later he was a natural choice for 500th Director. The great success he had in laying foundations for fundraising for the new Music School is certainly testimony to his charm and ability to get alongside people of all walks of life, but foremost the effortless way in which he manages to get others to place their trust in him.

Inevitably it is as Deputy Head that Gareth will be most remembered, but more of that in due course.

Foremost, Gareth was a consummate educator. He thrived as a receptive teacher, open to new ideas and flexible about doing things in different ways. His expertise won the approval of legions of successful A level students, as well as his close colleagues. John Slingo, current Head of Economics and Business Studies, describes Gareth as a “conscientious and technically adept Economist.

He is a great communicator who pupils enjoyed

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being taught by.” Gareth’s strong faith and eloquence similarly ensured that his carefully crafted and heartfelt school assemblies always hit home, gently pricking the conscience of the pupil body and encouraging every individual to step up, be kind to each other, and find their moral compass where they may have been adrift.

John Slingo also drew attention to Gareth’s “loyalty and reliability”, qualities for which he was much respected by every member of staff who worked alongside him. Whether a teacher, or one of the School’s invaluable support staff, it was Gareth, as Deputy Head, who was unvaryingly first port of call for leadership, support and advice. Gareth’s reputation for fair-mindedness and decency is unparalleled.

Preparing my ground for this adieu, I received a wonderful comment from one parent which says it all really: “Despite my sons getting into trouble and being in front of Gareth whilst Deputy Head on rather too many occasions, he retains their affection. They hated going up in front of him as they felt they had let him down, but he always treated them fairly and with respect. They both think the world of him, and though adults themselves now, they struggle to call him anything other than “Mr Evans” because of that enduring respect.”

Gareth is an astonishing man, capable of displaying and maintaining calm authority at almost every occasion. Very little ruffled Gareth’s feathers whilst Deputy Head, save perhaps his arch-nemesis...

‘Commem’. Gareth prided himself on accounting for every logistical aspect of our annual procession into St. Mary’s - the correct pace, the seating plan, every top button done up, every wayward mop of hair slicked down. So, picture the scene when during one Commem practice pupils became very restless indeed.

From out of sight around the corner of the church a Mexican wave pulsates towards Gareth who is situated at the end of the chain of pupils. Visibly upset, Gareth lets rip at the assembled mass demanding to know who had the audacity to initiate such an ill-considered jape?

Deathly hush, a further growl from Gareth, and normal service resumes. But when later after the practice, out of a sense of immense guilt, the agent provocateur responsible owns up, Gareth demonstrates great humanity and diplomacy in putting the miscreant at their ease, whilst making it crystal clear that it should never happen again. And so it was that a playful and inexperienced Housemaster - the agent provocateur in question - was able to breathe again!

Beyond these academic and senior management roles, Gareth contributed in myriad ways to sport at King’s. Amongst many other contributions, Gareth was Master in charge of Basketball, i/c Ten Tors for six years, Master in Charge of Squash, and even briefly assistant coach to the 1st XI hockey team.

Gareth’s patience, encouragement and expertise whilst overseeing the high jump area during innumerable athletics seasons will have lodged in the memory of many current and former athletes for years to come.

But it is rugby for which Gareth will be most remembered in terms of sport. Gareth’s ability to relate anything to Welsh rugby, and his frankly encyclopaedic knowledge of players, is astonishing. Gareth’s love of the game and the passion with which he coached

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and refereed has been difficult to equal – whether in his early years with the Under 14s, the Under 15s, the Under 16s, the 1st XV he ran between 1994 and 1997, or the eighteen subsequent years he oversaw the Under 16s. It will also be difficult to equal the success Gareth had over the years in topping the table for the most players sent to the sin bin! Those staff who travel away for rugby fixtures will miss witnessing Gareth’s irritation at not being met by opposition coaches. We will equally miss observing the great subtlety with which he always managed to make his disappointment known to his opposite numbers.

It is for human qualities such as these that Gareth will be missed. Gareth is social to the core.

He’s good fun to know - and talented. Whether gently singing Men of Harlech at Rorke’s Drift, South Africa in honour of Welsh soldiers who fought there, or the Welsh national anthem in splendid isolation surrounded by a startled mass of Barbour-clad English fans at Twickenham, or in school services at St. Mary’s, Gareth singing voice is always passionate and pitch perfect. I know that Ashley Marshfield was delighted to finally get Gareth from the back of the church into the choir during his last two years at King’s.

And, who can forget Gareth’s acting abilities?

So much more than just a warm prop, he mesmerised in roles as varied and demanding as a palm tree, a

sooth-saying tree, and – a real stretch even for Gareth – a stella turn as Big Ben! In truth, Gareth’s propensity to be type-cast as a tall object had much to do with the fact that… well, he simply is VERY tall. Indeed, Gareth’s height is often the elephant in the room for those that first encounter him, but something that he himself never seems to mention – except once, famously, in a Monday break time briefing, when a former Headmaster explained to the assembled staff to “look out for Alistair our new Australian Gap Student who will be arriving in a few days. You won’t be able to miss him, he’s six foot eight”. “Short arse”, a Welsh voice was heard to murmur.

I could write on and on about Gareth, but I think it best to draw things to a conclusion by passing on some thoughts of Ian Wilmshurst, Headmaster, who worked so closely with him: “I was very fortunate to arrive as the new Headmaster in late August 2009 to inherit Gareth as my Deputy Headmaster. In Gareth I had a Deputy who combined wisdom with integrity, humour with a sense of occasion, a listening ear with wise counsel. I quickly realised to ignore Gareth’s physical size, as the size and depth of his character was far more impressive.

He was the archetypal Deputy Head. He acted as my critical friend and my gatekeeper.

I knew when to listen to Gareth and when to

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VALETE turn to him for advice. I quickly also learned that to ignore his advice would more often than not cause me and the school problems. We would talk King’s, pupils, staff, families, Headship and rugby. We both share a deep passion for rugby football and for our national teams. Inevitably Gareth would have the upper hand in Wales v Scotland stories, but I knew I could always fall back on my being in the 104,000 crowd at Murrayfield in 1975 when Scotland beat Wales 12-10. I was there, Gareth was not.

One of my warmest Gareth memories was from last June. Along with a group of OBs, I helped to arrange a surprise leaving party in London for Gareth.

Over 30 OBs were present in a restaurant without Gareth knowing in advance what was happening, but he greeted them all by their first names and a wonderful evening ensued. Gareth is revered and admired by generations of Old Brutonians. As the pupils would say today, he is a King’s ‘legend’.”

So, there we have it, Gareth Evans, a very human individual, a fabulous example to all of us of how to behave with dignity, equanimity and compassion – a fine example of someone who has stretched up to the full measure of the challenge to see “what all they can do”.

Gareth you’ve been a great friend to us all.

The School will miss you, the pupils will miss you, and we as a Common Room will miss you. We wish you a long and happy retirement, and that you, together with Gillian, Gerwyn and Enfys, keep in close touch.

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Charles Oulton

by Tim Fletcher

C

harles arrived at King’s in September 1999, fresh from a successful career in journalism, where he had worked for a number of august publications, including The Sunday Times and The Independent. He settled into the English Department with ease, and soon made M1 his own.

His love of literature was quickly apparent, and Charles soon proved to be a highly effective teacher of English, whether it be to the Third Form, GCSE classes or 6th Form. His lessons were, on occasions, mildly eccentric, and the furnishings of his room grew more and more eclectic as time went on, ultimately containing a piano, arm chair, standard lamp, and sofa. It did also contain a pull-down screen he once inscribed in indelible ink Charles never managed to remove the offending note to his class about Tennyson.

Despite starting at King’s at the same time, I rarely got to see Charles in action in the classroom, mainly because, sadly, I was based at the other end of the school site (this didn’t stop him launching raiding parties on the History Department from time to time, purloining my stationery supplies and generally causing havoc). My own memories of Charles teaching English are thus confined to the Battlefields Trip. Charles came on many of these, and was always hugely involved.

He never shied away from the challenge of teaching iambic pentameters, something which always seemed to involve a silly walk, as he taught a Sassoon poem by the wood at Mametz. There was (and is) no better place to do it. The pupils all got it, though Nigel WilsonBrown never did.

Charles’ journalistic background meant that inevitably he soon found himself editing The Dolphin.

He quickly found that teachers were not good at meeting his print deadlines, and resorted to all sorts of tactics to get people to deliver their copy, including, on one notable occasion, threatening to remove all his clothes in the Staff Room. Inevitably, as the deadline got nearer, it entailed endless late nights. This nearly led to disaster on one occasion, as, in the early hours he left an electric kettle on a gas hob and very nearly burnt down the brand new wooden studio (belonging to the magazine designer) that he was working in.

Furthermore, Charles could, like any good Fleet Street editor, cause controversy through what he chose to publish, which sometimes did backfire on both him, and his innocent contributors. Despite these tribulations, Charles established The Dolphin as one of, if not, the best school magazines around, as, on an annual basis it manages to contain something new, as well as reporting on the School’s achievements in the past 12 months.

As a result of an impromptu conversation with the then Head, Richard Smyth, as they bumped into each other by the pigeonholes, Charles took on the challenge of becoming the Housemaster of Blackford House in 2001. Charles was completely committed to the welfare of all the boys, and he was much affected by the loss of both Ben Conlin and Rob Bell. Blackford under Charles was always a very happy House. It had

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a certain reputation for keeping the Sun Inn kitchens afloat – Charles always fretted when they won the tug of war for the umpteenth time – but on the whole the boys did work hard and were unfailingly polite.

Testament to this is how many Heads of School the House produced under Charles’ tenure. Inevitably the odd thing did go wrong, notably the House Singing competition in Charles’ first year (he’d made the mistake of letting them do it themselves and held his head in his hands as the boys let rip) but Charles was always forgiven, both by the boys and his colleagues!

Charles also contributed a huge amount to King’s sport, coaching both Cricket and Hockey. His teams always played with great verve, aided by a bribe if they could produce the “Mars Bar” pass. He nearly produced an unbeaten season for the Under 16 boys, but, by his own admission ruined it through an erratic umpiring display in the crunch game, missing a number of obvious short corners. This wasn’t the only thing that occasionally went awry as Charles’s priorities were not always those of his opposite number. A Chelsea v Manchester United title decider unavoidably delayed Charles one Saturday afternoon, inexplicably (he thought) upsetting

the waiting Dauntsey’s coach. Equally, after some debate about an lbw decision (Charles still maintains it was out) at King’s Taunton, so eager was he to get home, that he failed to remember the Under 14s were due to travel home on the same coach. Charles also ran the tennis for a number of summers, and oversaw the demise of Fives as a sport at King’s, with the courts being demolished two days after he had left.

Charles has all sorts of plans for the future.

He has been made a Governor at his old school, while he has also invested in acres of orchards, a couple of pigs (well, he didn’t invest exactly, his colleagues in the English Department bought Keats and Shakespeare as his leaving present) and a wooden fishing boat, which has (to date) only sunk once. He is clearly going to be busy, as will the Lyme Bay RNLI. However, it would be wrong to end this article focusing on Charles’ eccentricities, as there is a danger this is what he is remembered for. That would be hugely unfair, as Charles committed himself to King’s completely, served it with utter loyalty and professionalism in so many different ways. His good humour, energy and enthusiasm are going to be much missed. He will be returning in the autumn to give the first talk to the newly formed literary Oultonian Society. Fortunately for us he is also still editing The Dolphin for a couple more years, so we have not yet seen him off. That, from our point of view, is a thoroughly good thing.

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VALETE Nigel Wilson-Brown

by Charles Oulton

A

bout 10 years ago, I treated the Rev and his family to an excursion along the Charmouth coastline in my inflatable dingy. There came a moment, however, when I had to react to a lowering of air pressure in the craft which seemed to my untrained eye to be sinking. I knew that if I didn’t reduce the load, the boat would continue its descent to the bottom of the ocean. The Rev’s young daughter Beth was on board and I couldn’t decide whether her absence would make a significant difference to our predicament. I also wasn’t sure whether she would be a strong enough swimmer to reach shore without further calamity. However, a tipping point had been reached, beyond which any further procrastination would have been fatal, for the boat anyway. I instructed Beth, her father, and two brothers to abandon ship.

There are many definitions of friendship, and one was certainly underlined for me on that occasion in Lyme Bay, because the Rev continued to make me feel an important part of his life despite what I put him through that summer afternoon. I am not alone in this. The Rev has had a similarly significant influence on countless people – staff and pupils – over the 17 years he has been acting as the School’s Chaplain.

He has filled many other roles at King’s – Philosophy and Ethics teacher, rugby and athletics coach, master of ceremonies, Indian orphanage supremo, and prep school marketing ambassador to name a few – but it is his Chaplaincy work for which he will always be remembered.

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When he arrived from his previous life of Proctor & Gamble, theological college and a church in Wimbledon, he inherited a Chaplaincy that had only really catered for established Christian worshippers.

A weekday evening communion service took place in the chapel at Sexey’s Hospital, for instance, and a few boys duly attended, one of whom is now a clergyman.

But the idea of holding packed out TGIs for young boys and girls who had never previously thought about a Christian faith could hardly have been envisaged in the days before the Rev swung into town. For many years, he hosted TGI at Green Door, 54, his family home, an increasingly important event for countless Brutonians down the years.

From TGI, many other opportunities for Christian fellowship were spawned, notably a variety of bible study groups and the ever-popular Lenten Addresses that became such an important week in the Easter Term. The Rev was always emotionally drained by the end of these weeks, and no wonder given the extent he gave of himself to anyone who showed a modicum of interest in what was happening. He insisted on no applause at the end of the talks because Christianity for the Rev was not a performance. His evangelical, bible based Chaplaincy work was all about teaching Jesus’ word, so clapping a speaker would somehow have always missed the point, however inspirational the speakers, and they invariably were just that.

Ironically, the Rev is actually a consummate performer. His sermons would often top any bill for entertainment, partly because he is actually quite good at telling jokes, but mainly because he knows his audience, as well as Bible, so well, enabling him to spin a series of gags about carefully targeted individuals which would invariably be funny. But this jocularity always has a place in his carefully crafted sermons, or talks as he prefers to describe them. He writes out the words, then reads them so many times that he almost knows them by heart.

That is why he appears to be looking round the congregation without a glance at his notes.

He had a particularly important mentor at his Wimbledon church before arriving at King’s. He then became a mentor himself to many young, and not so young people, particularly Jake Eggertson, Stefan Davies and George Beverly, three members of his chaplaincy team who are now all on the road to ordination. He is very bright, but he never brandishes his intelligence, unless, perhaps, when he is talking about science (he spent some of his last year teaching Physics). In fact, he can sometimes be

THE DOLPHIN 2017

almost dim, particularly when trying to understand why Shakespeare favoured iambic pentameters, or why silly point is quite a dangerous fielding position on a cricket field. However, with a bit of perseverance, he does get there in the end.

He has always been a cornerstone of the Third Form Battlefield trips. He has been a brilliant stooge for many a practical joke, always helping his colleagues to enjoy themselves by leaving his wellies unguarded.

He never seemed to tire of this particular joke, loving it when he again had to walk through muddy ploughed fields in his loafers because someone had borrowed his good old muck boots for a while. Incredibly, he once fell for a Hambleton inspired ruse about a quarantine in Belgium that required everyone with Muck Boots to cover the offending items in plastic bags.

Good fun was had by all, but an awful lot of hard work went into the fun, whether it was the Rev’s work in the chaplaincy, classroom, rugby field or climbing Mount Toubkal. In his first year, he had to mug up on a new subject – Philosophy and Ethics – from scratch, keeping one lesson ahead of his pupils with endless swotting in the early hours. He is a perfectionist, so he always ended up knowing much more than he needed to know.

He obviously knows the Bible back to front, but he has always approached his Bible teaching with a freshness that characterised everything he does. He is, in many ways, an innocent, not a bad quality in a

clergyman. But he is also wise, knowing how to offer comfort in times of tribulation. There have been many of these, particularly with the number of Brutonians who have died young during the Rev’s time here. My goodness, how deep he has had to dig into his own personal resources while conducting funerals and memorial services. He feels things strongly, cries (as well as laughs) easily, and is in many ways as vulnerable as the boys, girls and grown-ups that he has helped so selflessly over the years. That is why we all love him, and why he sometimes needs us just as much as we have always needed him. May God speed him as he starts a new chapter in his life as a Bursar in Kenya. In the meantime, I will try and remember what he told me on that fateful afternoon in Charmouth: boats like mine are called inflatable for a reason, he said - they do sometimes require air before setting out to sea.

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VALETE Louise Bray

By Charlotte Davies

A

s the class rolled into O3 on a cold Tuesday morning, ready for a lesson on how to describe a car accident in Spanish, everything felt distinctly familiar. The same school, the same classroom, the same textbooks, the same topics.

But there was one big, unmistakeable difference. I was the teacher, and Louise was sitting amongst the pupils, watching me! I almost felt like a fraud when it dawned on me, as the lesson got underway, that everything I was teaching my 4th Form had been taught to me previously by the very person now sitting at the back of the classroom! I don’t know who it was stranger for, me or Louise!

The transition from hormonal GCSE pupil to wild-haired A-level student and then to ‘settled down’ colleague in the very same school, and the very same department was something I did not foresee, although what better way to fulfil my life-time ambition: to become Mrs Bray! Although I would love to say that we left Mrs Bray’s lessons deep in discussion about what we had just been taught, we were actually, more often than not, talking about what we could do to become Mrs Bray later on in life, or where we thought she’d bought her new dress.

Louise joined King’s in 2005 as Head of Spanish having just completed her GTTP teacher training at the Blue School in Wells. She had spent four years as an undergraduate at Exeter University, where she gained a Joint Honours degree in French and Spanish. Getting the taste for life in warmer climates, Louise spent a year after university teaching English in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucía, where she later returned for a school trip (see picture). She initially worked in public relations before having children, and then moved to school admininstration whilst taking on the challenge of completing a diploma in French translation with the Institute of Linguists. As you can imagine, the teaching profession was very glad to welcome such a refined and able linguist, and she became a real asset to the King’s Modern Foreign Language department where she would stay and see out her career as a highly successful teacher.

Highlights of Louise’s 12 years at King’s involved casting, directing, and producing the Wizard of Oz play in Spanish, which was so popular that she even felt she had to cast a non-Spanish speaker as Toto the dog, just to be inclusive! She also ran numerous trips to Andalucía, Barcelona, Madrid and Salamanca, which (speaking from experience) were always a huge success and a real confidence boost for the pupils’ spoken Spanish. She achieved many excellent results, both at GCSE and A-level. Needless to say, she knew how to get the very best out of any pupil. In the first year of A*s being available at A-level, she bagged one for the MFL Department records. This

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is a huge credit to her teaching because getting an A* in a language is notoriously difficult.

Louise also spent 10 years as Head of Community Service, which seemed from an outsider’s point of view to be a seamless operation, although she informs me that this was never the case as up to 100 pupils rocked up to her classroom at the start of every September insisting that their particular skill set lay solely in dog walking and that nothing else would do.

She was also a much-valued tutor in Arion House for eight years where her ability to listen and offer good advice was much appreciated by the girls.

When Will Dawe asked recent pupils of Louise’s for material for his leaving speech about her, I just happened to be in the room and felt, as the girls gushed, the exact same sentiments, both as a former pupil, as well as a colleague and, now, a friend. They said that she is caring, which I couldn’t agree with more. She cared deeply for everyone she taught, which did not go unnoticed, and has left a lasting impression on cohorts of pupils. They also remarked on her well-organised lessons and beautifully presented PowerPoints, to which Will had to ask, ‘what is a PowerPoint?’

Louise will leave a huge hole in the MFL department, both in the expertise and wisdom that she exudes in equal measure to her humility, and the warmth and gentle care she offers her colleagues on a daily basis. As Emilie Loveless, Head of MFL commented of Louise and Harriet Swindall, she has ‘lost her wing-women.’ Louise leaves big shoes to fill.

However, at least I can say I am one step closer to becoming ‘Mrs Bray!’

Louise with the year of 2010 in Seville: Lucy Salmon, Ashley Anderson, Becca Docherty, Charlotte Davies nee Oulton

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Harriet Swindall

By Emily Simper

...and Tom Loveless

H

arriet joined King’s as an NQT in September 2013, having completed her degree course and PGCSE at Bristol.

Over the past four years, she has matured into an excellent teacher and one that is always keen to take responsibility and show initiative. She has also made and shared many superb teaching resources.

I hope that she will look back fondly upon her time at King’s - all of us in MFL will miss her.

Besides working alongside Harriet in MFL, I have worked closely with her since she arrived in setting up the DofE programme. She has made a huge impact, and was instrumental in introducing walking alongside the cycling. I have so enjoyed working with her, and will miss her on expedition. Harriet, thank you and good luck!

James Smith

by Nick Bunday

D

uring her time as Resident Tutor In Priory, Harriet has been an exemplary leader.

She has committed herself to the girls in the House without reservation, being caring and compassionate when necessary but also able to discipline the students effectively when needed.

She has given support to her Third Form tutees this year as they settled into the school structure. She also helped the Fifth Form as their Tutor during external examinations and the Sixth Form as they wrote their EPQs and made decisions about higher education.

Equally her ability to work within a team has been greatly valued. It was very reassuring to be able to leave Priory in such capable hands during my maternity leave.

However Harriet’s greatest quality is not her dedication, commitment or compassion – no it must be the fact that she is so good at putting out fires. This we discovered recently when I set the BBQ on fire burning fatty sausages and burgers. While the girls started screaming and filming, I raced in to get the fire extinguisher to use all that fire training I had received.

I didn’t need to. Harriet very calmly took control of the situation and put the fire out by tackling the flames and turning off the machine. She even managed to save some of the rather burnt looking sausages too.

Joking aside, thank you, Harriet, for all that you have done in Priory. We will miss you and are incredibly jealous of you travelling with Giles around the world for a year. Enjoy it all and please do come back and visit. Bon voyage.

W

hen I asked the Blackford boys what they will miss about Mr Smith on his leaving, the majority of the answers were either his ‘humming’ or his inordinate ‘kindness’.

James was, and indeed is, a very kind and a very musical young man. Over and above this James was a first rate Resident Tutor, as being an Old Brutonian, he had an empathy with the boys which they certainly appreciated. He had a quiet authoritative manner and was a massive support to his Housemaster for the two terms that Blackford was lucky enough to have him as a Resident Tutor. The entire House wishes him well in his future endeavours.

and David Gorodi James was a great help in the Music Department particularly when recording various performances, many of which were used for GCSE and A level submissions. He was a positive young man encouraging everyone with a “can do” attitude, playing in the Military Band and running the Junior Jazz Quintet. He will be missed by all.

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a 27-5 win. The season ended on a high with a nervously anticipated visit from Taunton School. King’s played some of the best rugby we’d seen, fronting up to a big, physical pack, and scoring from any chances that were given in a nail biting finale to the season. Taunton clinched the victory by three points as the 1st XV succumbed to the first home defeat of the season. The result hardly mattered though as players and coaching staff alike relished a fantastic performance giving a satisfying end to a season marked by improvement.

Alen Safaryan congratulates Jack Potter

Harry Hunter sets up attack against West Buckland

1st XV

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erves were high as the boys stepped out onto the Dauntsey’s pitch for the first match of the season, with only one or two of the team having experienced 1st XV rugby before.

However, King’s quickly showed that this season was going to be no disappointment. The small, younger pack showed that they had some fight in them, and the backs showed their potential, scoring two first phase tries from the scrum. Despite losing the fixture by three points, hopes were high as the season began in earnest. A real strength of the side throughout was their willingness to learn, and vast improvements were made throughout the term.

However results didn’t always follow and losses at Queen’s Taunton, Prior Park and Clayesmore left us frustrated, knowing we should have done better.

Lessons were also learnt in playing some really tough opposition, particularly the visit to King Edward’s Bath who had a very impressive side and played some beautiful rugby. The Bruton boys rose to the challenge though, improving their defensive efforts and performing considerably better during the second half.

Towards the back end of the season however, various aspects of play and personnel came together, and we were allowed to see what the boys could really do in two performances that were particularly memorable.

The first was a visit from Monkton Combe, two teams that appeared at first to be very evenly matched, but intelligent play and clinical coaching from King’s brought

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2nd XV

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he 2nd XV started the 2016-17 season knowing that it would be a season full of challenges, given that they were a young and relatively inexperienced senior rugby team.

The whole squad quickly realised that this was going to be a season geared around the development of younger players, and to gain valuable experience and awareness of playing rugby at a senior level.

The season started with a strong preseason fixture against Dauntsey’s School and it quickly became apparent that we had some very good areas of strength, and that there were areas that would require considerable work. The 2nd XV rose to the challenge and completed a good period of training before heading to Queen’s Taunton. The game against Queen’s was full of running rugby with King’s unfortunate not to score early on in the game. Some great running rugby led by Freddie North led to a late score and a wellfought victory for King’s. Local rivals Clayesmore and Downside were the next two games for the 2nd XV. Both schools had teams that had a year of senior rugby under their belt, and as a result put repeated pressure on both our back line and forwards and came away with well-deserved victories. However, the 2nd XV responded well and realised that areas they could use to their advantage were the fringes at the breakdown, and looking to go through the phases.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 Development in these areas led to a fantastic fixture against Monkton Combe in which King’s won 12-7.

At the half way stage of the season the 2nd XV always experiences a level of No stopping Toby Rogers against Millfield disruption given changes in the 1st XV and players moving between teams. The nature of 2nd XV rugby means that the team is able to adapt and overcome these issues. However, in the second half of the season the team lost several senior players who had led from the front in the victories earned in the first half of the season. Strong Prior Park, Taunton and King Edward’s Bath teams were able to take advantage of our inexperience and, despite some close results and good games, the King’s team lost these fixtures. However, the 2nd XV showed great spirit in a hard fought game at Christ College Brecon.

Players were desperate to impress and wanted to demonstrate all that they had learnt. This game ended in a further narrow loss which could have very easily have been a victory under different circumstances.

The team showed great spirit throughout the season and were desperate to develop, but, most importantly, enjoy their rugby. The U6th boys demonstrated great flare and passion for the sport and the team while the L6th boys gained vital experience that will ensure the 2nd XV return next season in a stronger position and ready to take on the challenges that they face.

their team spirit and their dogged determination in the face of much attrition. Then it was on to Queen’s Taunton where they faced a much bigger opposition that, on first appearance, should have caused havoc.

However, the usual determination and stoicism was on show and the boys tackled their hearts out, making it very hard for Queen’s. An early penalty from Bertie Hughes put them in the lead. But their cohesion was lacking, and the determined attack from Queen’s took its toll, forcing King’s to make mistakes and to lose points, sometimes needlessly. What never stopped was King’s determination to keep going and despite a rapidly increasing injury count, our boys took the game to Queen’s right up to the last minute with a concerted period of flowing and aggressive play that was beautiful to behold. Ivo Wright was the Manager’s man of the match but all the boys deserved praise for their determination, sporting behaviour and superb team spirit.

The match against Clayesmore provided a fantastic game that the U16A team wanted to win and very nearly did so. From the start the boys were a little slow which resulted in an early try for Clayesmore.

Missed tackles were to blame. However, a great try from Bertie Hughes, which he then converted, put them in the lead and from then on it started to get interesting.

It was a bruising encounter that our boys dominated for a while and resulted in them going into half time up 19 points to 17, with scores from Toby Rogers and Massimo Russowsky de la Chapelle. Kings came out in the second half playing intelligent rugby, exploiting the blind side and rucking much more coherently, but also kicking well for territory. The score remained at 1917 to King’s. Unfortunately, with about three minutes to go Clayesmore worked a good try into our corner and the end result was 22-19 to the hosts. The Manager’s Man of the Match was Bertie Hughes for his work rate and his determined tackling as well as his intelligent use of space. Two very proud coaches watched a more coherent and a more determined group of boys and it boded well for the coming matches.

When it came to West Buckland we saw a close hristmas term and keenly contested 2016 saw the match, in which the U16A Under 16A XV team emerged as winners face a tough thanks to a stronger allset of challenges against round game.

The result bigger schools, bigger was closer than it could opposition and quite a have been owing to King’s few injuries to contend propensity to lose the ball with. Throughout this in contact in addition to time, they showed tenacity conceding a plethora of and determination and penalties. Some aspects of although the score did not the performance were most Bertie Hughes lets fly aginst West Buckland always go their way, they encouraging, however, and kept working hard and there were many positives they never lost their composure or their team spirit. on which the team had to build upon.

Man of the Match The season began with a training game was Luis Montalat Verheyen. against Daunstey’s School which tested their mettle Their second victory came against Downside. and cemented the boys in their various positions At the start of the match the boys were told that they on the pitch. It was a really hard match that showed

U16A

C

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RUGBY

lost the lead in the last 10 minutes due to a penalty and a subsequent unconverted try. Both teams played the game in great spirit, and deserve huge credit for playing one of the best games the coaches from both sides have ever seen. It is very hard to pick a man of the match from such a committed group of players, all had the privilege of having the Headmaster Referee of them gave 100% and all of them deserve praise. them and that they were playing for Mr Evans who was However, Toby Rogers was tireless in his desire to absent and badly missed by all. They seemed to take make ground and tackle and he was the coach’s Man this on board and played in good spirit throughout. of the Match.

This was an excellent match that showed how far the Another away fixture to Bath saw the boys boys have come on since the start of term. Downside take on a well-drilled side at Prior Park. The opposition were a good team and we were evenly matched; there were bigger across the board and began the game was no score at all until at least 15 minutes into the showing a phenomenal line speed, which put King’s first half and until then neither team looked dominant. immediately on to the back foot. Even though King’s King’s were gelling really well, they were thinking lost they never gave up and put in a punishing number about their rugby in an intelligent way and the first of tackles throughout the game and again showed a score from Massimo Russowsky de la Chapelle was super team spirit. It was an enjoyable match in some an excellent try that showed their capability as well as regards, and a match that could have had a much their potential. Bertie Hughes scored a try soon after bigger score against, had it not been for the nerve and with some skilful footwork and speed, which he then determination of every King’s player on the pitch. Each converted. After that, King’s dominated (despite some young man who played in the team deserved to receive questionable an accolade, handling of but for starting the ball) and with an injury, Downside were for tackle after rattled. It was, tackle and for at times, a some superb difficult match rucking in but King’s the last ten never lost their minutes of the composure or game, Sam their discipline Horner was and full credit man of the goes to all the match. boys for playing Our Third the game in the away fixture to right spirit. They Bath proved to were tough, be a majestic battle taking on King This is how you do it everyone: Gareth Evans provides words of wisdom to his Under 16s Edward’s Bath The 16As were up against a good side, which has not uncompromising and sporting to a man. It was a very bothered them in the past. However, this time they proud coach that watched as they regrouped after a were also the victim of multiple offside infringements couple of Downside tries to end the game at a high which rattled them and meant that they came out of tempo and with a well-deserved win. The man of the the match with a heavy loss. They did manage to match was Ivo Wright who captained the team well, but score a consolation try at the end, with a great run there were a number of superb individual performances from Massimo Russowsky de la Chapelle, which was as well. Huge thanks to the Headmaster for refereeing converted by Bertie Hughes. It was Toby Rogers’ last a difficult and feisty match. match before taking a break for some repair work. So, Our old rivals Monkton Coombe loomed and for his tenacity, his drive, and his efforts on the pitch he it was a confident side that travelled to Bath to take was awarded Man of the Match. them on. This game was a showcase for team spirit Their final match of the season saw the team and “the spirit of the game”. It was a tough, bruising take on the might of Taunton School at home. Once encounter between two evenly matched teams. King’s again, the Under 16As played their hearts out against a Bruton were by far the smaller team, which showed much bigger and better drilled side. They never let their in the set pieces and they battled hard to stave off heads fall despite the increasing score line, and they a committed attack from some very big boys. But, were playing for Mr Evans who was there to see his King’s were imaginative and daring, which led to some final game as coach before retiring. It was impossible spectacular individual performances but did not lead to to award a man of the match when so many of the boys victory due to some poor ball work. What King’s lacked played such hard rugby. Rupert Leschallas was noted in the ability to protect the ball they made up for in for his tenacity and Ivo Wright led the boys well. determination and “bottle” which meant that they only This season saw the end of an era, with the

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THE DOLPHIN 2017 retirement of Mr Evans. King’s has lost one of the most committed and visionary coaches in Mr Evans, and all the boys wish him well for next year, although I would imagine we will still see him up at the pitches cheering us on in the Christmas term.

As well as Mr Evans, it is important to thank the grounds staff led by Adie Davies. They consistently produce and maintain immaculate pitches that are a pleasure to play on. We must also thank the catering staff for feeding us so well before and after the matches.

Many of the boys in the Under 16A team will go on to play with the First XV and I know that the lessons they learned this year have been important and their experiences have made them all better players Milo Best in charge against Clayesmore

Finn Spilsbury nails it against Christ College Brecon

U15A

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ueen’s Taunton, Won 28-21. A great way to start, winning against a team that beat us at Under 14 last year. The team put in a gutsy and spirited display to always stay a few scores ahead of the opposition. The aggressive and dynamic pick-and-go from the forwards produced some quick ball and Queen’s simply did not know how to handle us. The boys played intelligently, creatively and with a strong desire to win. The whole team played well but a few players stood out. Jake Saunders- Man of the Match at 15, Milo Best at centre, Alex Baxter and William Baines in the forwards. Well done. v Clayesmore, Lost 17-29. Poor game v West Buckland, Won 36-27 A hard fought game, the team started well with some hard running bringing a try from Milo running in at the corner, but then the trouble started.

After giving away a penalty at the breakdown, West Buckland scored. After this we scored two more tries and converted both, but again we would give away penalties - 19-21 to West Buckland. Starting the second half with a try from Jake Saunders, the boys started to play some 15 man rugby, running in two more very good tries. We also held our discipline and held West Buckland to only one more score. v Gillingham, Cancelled. v Downside, Won 39-20 A good way to start the second half of term.

Downside scored direct from the kick-off, after which

the boys started to play some good rugby, running in five tries before half time, making it 25 -10. The second half started a bit like the first with the boys not hitting the first-up tackles, allowing Downside to run in two more tries. However, the boys kept working on plays (which we had worked on in training) and scored two more tries and converted both. We would have to improve our tackling before next week. v Monkton Combe, Lost 7-20 A poor performance in the first half and some very good play by Monkton left us 15-0 down at halftime. The boys then started to work a lot harder and scored 5 minutes in, but the gap was too big. We did not look after the ball and Monkton scored right at the end. We vowed to work harder on line speed in defence. v Prior Park, Lost 12-14 An unknown quantity, as we did not play them last season, it ended up being a very close game playing on the 1st XV pitch. Two well-matched teams, with Prior getting the better of the first half, scoring two tries and converting both to leave it at 14-0. The boys came out all guns blazing in the second half. Our defensive line speed was a lot faster and our pick-anddrive, working in twos and threes gave us go-forward ball, allowing us to score three tries. Unfortunately one was disallowed. Final score was 14-12 to Prior Park. v Christ Collage Brecon, Won 50-0 Making some changes from the week before to try and fix a few problems, the game started well, with 2 good tries from Rian Upton, despite playing in a new position at inside centre. This came from some strong work at the break down. 12-0 at half time. The flow of the game continued in the second half, with the team scoring another 6 tries and converting 4, leaving the final score at an impressive 50-0. We needed to take this momentum into the last game against a much stronger Taunton School. Well done to Rian and Felix Farrell for scoring three tries each. v Taunton, Lost 0-53.

Taunton are a very good side and played some good rugby, but some very poor tackling made them look even better. The boys kept on trying but to no avail - not a good way to finish.

Final statistics: played 8 won 4 lost 4.

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his season was a very successful one for the U15B XV, winning three matches, only losing one match and putting in some excellent performances along the way. The squad worked hard all term on their fitness, which proved to be the key to our success as we ‘out-fitted’ our opponents and could capitalise on this in the final quarter of the matches. Being relatively small meant we could not adopt a powerful forward game, instead using our strengths to create a fast running and recycling game.

The first match against Clayesmore set the standard for the season with crisp, clinical finishing, strong running and a fine kicking display. 4 tries for the backs and 2 for the forwards in a 37–15 victory showed the range of attacking options we had.

Next followed a bruising encounter with a strong Monkton Combe team. This was a hard-fought affair with neither side giving anything away. The final score of 12 – 7 to King’s shows how tense it was, although much of the second half was spent in the Monkton half. This match had a big effect on the belief of the team, which would show itself in the final match of the season.

The penultimate fixture was against Prior Park and here the team showed little mercy - running in 10 tries and defending their line vigorously when needed to win 60–14.

The final match against a successful Taunton side showed all that was best about this group. 29 – 10 down after a few minutes of the second half could have been a moment to let heads drop, but Ned Geach picked the team up and the belief from the previous matches started to show as we got it back to all square with 2 minutes left. It was tough that Taunton scored with the final play of the game but I could not have been prouder of the display, and those parents who were lucky enough to be there witnessed real character and strength from the team.

Overall, an excellent season which showed Christo Bradstock in action for the 2nd XV against Monkton Combe

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that the team spirit the boys engendered was so much more important than any individual excellence. We had many great performances, but I would like to think that any of the 26 players who represented the school this year did their part and pushed the team forward.

Thanks must go to Ned Geach (captain) and Angus McDermid (vice-captain) for their enthusiasm and to Mr Smith for all his help.

U14A Played 8 Won 7 Lost 1 Points For 283 Points Against 68 Tries Scored 46 Conversions Kicked 25 Penalties Kicked 1 Top Try Scorer Aidan McFarlane x14 v Dauntseys away won (trial match) v Queen’s College Taunton away won 19-12 v Clayesmore home won 48-5 v West Buckland away won 22-12 v Downside away lost 17-22 v Monkton Combe home won 45-7 v Prior Park home won 39-0 v Christ College Brecon home won 62-0 v Taunton School away won31-10

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ith all new teams there is great excitement and optimism about their potential and what sort of side they will become. There is a sense of the unknown and for the two coaches, Craig Barrow and Nigel Wilson-Brown, a real responsibility to recognise a playing style that would suit the players at their disposal.

A collection of boys arrive from a variety of Prep Schools in England, and beyond, and they have to be moulded into a cohesive unit in a very short space of time to take on many school teams who have been together for a couple of years and who are, in a real sense, already a team.

Fortunately, in 2016, King’s were blessed with some very talented individuals who were real game changers. But, importantly, there were some boys who would provide the backbone of the side, and be the glue that kept the whole side together.

The U14A coaches worked on some very simple principles in training and tried not to overcomplicate the game. The skills of attacking space with the ball in hand were rehearsed in 1v1, 2v1, and 4v2 mini games on Abbey so that the boys would recognise these situations in a match and know how to execute an overlap. All attackers were encouraged to look for support and to keep the ball in hand as much as possible. Support runners were to work hard off the ball, and it was to the boys’ credit that they worked so hard to improve these key skills. It was so recognisable on match days how many boys looked comfortable with the ball in hand and also looked for support rather than run with the blinkers on.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Referee Dan Cupit lets the game flow against Clayesmore

Defensive drills were performed at an intensity that matched the 1st XV standards of the unbeaten 2015 side and it was so pleasing to see the boys train at a level that was a step up from Prep School and more akin to Senior School rugby. Many sides felt the force of the King’s defensive wall during the season, and this aspect of the season was reflected in only 64 points being conceded in eight games at an average of eight points per game. The side took a real pride in stopping the opposition from scoring and were most upset when the white line was crossed.

During the term, eight competitive games were played with seven wins and one loss. The game versus Dauntsey’s was a competitive trial game but the score was not recorded. 283 points were scored in just eight games, which saw the side score an average of 35 points per game and six tries per match. The goal kicking was of an excellent standard as well and King’s success rate was just over 50%, which is very good at this level.

So many boys improved during the season in individual and team skills and there is not the space in this short report to list them all, but to see the journey they made during the term was tremendous and culminated in the last game of the term away at Taunton School.

The side was determined to end the season on a high but at half-time found themselves in the strange position of trailing 10-0. However, there was no panic at the break, no shouting or blaming one another, instead a moment of quiet reflection when the players recognised what they needed to do and where to do it on the pitch. The second half was won 31-0 by King’s and this game epitomised the progress they had made as a team, as individuals and as rugby players. They were able to change the game with a little help from the coaches at halftime and this is a real skill that will serve all the players well as they move up the age group ladder at the school.

It was a pleasure to work with the Rev and the 14As and it was a sad occasion at Taunton School when the Rev and I ended our work with the team to hand them on to another team of coaches to develop

further. I hope they have as much fun and pleasure as the Rev and I had over the term. Well played the 14As.

U14B

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he season started with a thumping win at Queen’s Taunton, 44-0. King’s were far too organised and powerful for the opposition and ran in eight unanswered tries - Archie White (3), Harry Farragher (2) and 1 each from Jago Cole and Oskar Lefebvre. The side faced a sterner test against a well-organised Clayesmore XV, but won again thanks to a combative second half. Harry Farragher scored three tries and Josh Blunden went over for the decisive score with ten minutes remaining. Then the wheels came off temporarily against Millfield. Harry Farragher scored a try in the first five minutes and then injured his shoulder. For the only time in the season, the team stopped tackling, allowing Millfield to score five unanswered tries.

The training session on Monday 7th November proved pivotal for the squad’s development and performance over the rest of the season. Harry Farragher, scorer of six tries and the team’s talisman, was injured. Would the squad wither or grow in the face of adversity? The response came against Monkton Combe the following Saturday. The boys grew into young men that afternoon. They played with intensity and discipline and blew the opponents away, scoring seven unanswered tries - a hat trick from William Labbe and a try each for Freddie Goggs, Archie White and Josh Blunden. Two excellent games finished the season - a narrow win 7-5 against Prior Park (Josh Blunden’s try was coolly converted by Oskar Lefebvre) and a narrow loss to Taunton, 5-7, with Josh scoring again.

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RUGBY Player Portraits William Bartlett was outstanding all season in the second row; he tackled and ran himself into the ground every game. Pelayo Brey Gallart played on the wing and proved himself to be quick, able to see a gap and pass accurately. Oliver Cattermole was a robust and brave centre who tackled hard and punched holes.

Jago Cole never went backwards at tight head prop and was one of the side’s go-to ball carriers. New to rugby, Arthur Drury was a strong bench player who filled in in the front and back rows. Before injury struck against Millfield, Harry Farragher made a huge contribution to this successful and enjoyable season.

He played at eight and was the talisman and leading try scorer. Joe Gartell controlled play at fly with his super pass off both hands and Rory Gibbs came off the bench to make several selfless and brave contributions on the wing.

Freddie Goggs was concussed in the first match but returned to bolster the back line. Fearless, Freddie made several try saving tackles during the season. Llewelyn Harper and Luca Hutchison made significant contributions in the backs with elusive running and solid tackling. William Labbe gained in confidence. Who will forget his hat trick against Monkton Combe? Oskar Lefebvre made an enormous contribution. He was a natural leader at scrum half with an eye for a gap and an accurate boot. Finlay PenderCudlip was an awkward customer in the second row with his aggressive running and tackling. Jamie Richmond came off the bench and impressed on the Finn Spilsbury lines up against Clayesmore

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wing on several occasions and Archie White scored plenty of tries and won plenty of ball at hooker.

Jake Woods was an automatic selection in the back row because of his work rate, strength and aggression in the back row. Barney Woolley is a gifted footballer and filled in effectively at full back, wing and fly half. My thanks go to all of the boys for a hugely enjoyable season. They were fun to coach because they were enthusiastic, competitive, skilful and full of character. My thanks also go to Mr Lowry for his expert coaching and wise refereeing. Last but by no means least, thank you to Adie Davis and team for the best pitches on the circuit.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

1st XV: Standing (L to R): B. Latham, H. Hunter, O. Farrell, A. Warsap, Y. Lee, W. Luck, A. Potter, E. McCabe, A. Enderby Sitting (L to R): T. Barratt, T. Mathews, J. Ker, J. Potter (V.Capt), H. McHugh (Capt), T. Clothier, H. Oliver, H. Tyson, P. Knospe

King’s dominate the line out against Dauntsey’s

2nd XV: Standing (L to R): R. Longman, H. Deakin, T. Woods, T. Khvan, A. Safaryan, W. Hillier, A. Potter, M. Behm, C. Bradstock, A. Harman, T. Kingsberry Sitting (L to R): I. Elms T. Barratt, J. Ker, M. Jenkins, J. Teuber, J. Nishanov, F. North, H. Barker-Bennett, T. Williams

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RUGBY: TEAM SHEETS

3rd XV: Standing (L to R): R. Jin, J. Zhang, N. Brodey, L. Tuckfield, O. Crossfield, S. Claas, D. Court, P. Coulson, JJ. Bai, F. Mohan, T. Doig, R. Koegel Sitting (L to R): H. Leung, B. Fearn, H. Taylor, S. Jampathipphong, N. Longpre, M. Yeandel, W. Sandy, S. Houldsworth, J. Burgess

U16A: Back Row (L to R): J. Sykes, J. Boyle, E. Bascombe, R. Harper, J. Ide, L. Hyde, C. McFarlane Middle Row (L to R): P. Jenkins, F. Weatherhead, L. Montalat, T. Wrighton, O. Tincknell, S. Horner, C. Williams-Cardaras, M. Russowsky Sitting (L to R): H. Robinson, T. Rogers, B. Hughes, D. Wang, I. Wright (Capt), O. Sarfali, R. Leschallas, C. Cross, H. MacLeod-Ash

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

U15A: Standing (L to R): G. Pugh, W. Baines, R. Upton, H. Shone, G. Rampton, H. McAfee, M. Scott, M. Best, R. Wood, R. Harris, G. Matthew, B. Vallings Sitting (L to R): M. Harvey, J. Glydon, F. Farrell, J. Saunders, J. Wylie, A. Baxter, F. Spilsbury, A. Mickleburgh, S. Finch-Hatton

U15B: Standing (L to R): T. Ker, L. Ona, C. Wildman, A. Jones, A. Waterfield, I. Boswall, H. Sanford, T. Reid, O. Jones, J. Tadhunter, W. Harrison, A. McDermid, O. Pick, B. Davies Sitting (L to R): S. Sweeting, J. Martin, F. Gillard, M. Mason, N. Geach (Capt), K. Garnon, J. Longman, J. Edson, S. Love

U14A: Standing (L to R): C. Christianakis, H. Farragher, T. Phillips, J. Thomas, L. Ward, O. Barber, T. Jones, A. McFarlane, A. Barrett-James, O. Luck Sitting (L to R): T. Robinson, O. Enderby, B. Burton, C. Wichary, S. Rabbats (Capt), L. Haywood, O. Sykes, J. Blunden, C. Bascombe

U14B: Standing (L to R): L. Harper, J. Cole, F. Goggs, W. Labbe, W. Bartlett, F. Pender-Cudlip, J. Woods, R. Gibbs, A. White Sitting (L to R): P. Brey, J. Richmond, F. Comer, J. Gartell, O. Lefebvre, T. Horner, O. Cattermole, B. Woolley, L. Hutchison

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GIRLS’ HOCKEY

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Sophie Hamilton dictates play against Monkton Combe

t was yet another very successful season for the King’s Bruton Ladies’ Hockey Club, writes Henry Eriksson, and I am very proud of what the club has achieved this year. We managed to field seven teams across the year groups and as a club we had a 67% win to loss ratio, having played 92, won 62, drawn 12 and lost 18. This is an outstanding record as my aim at the start of the season is to have a 50% win ratio.

I was delighted that the girls’ U16 team became the National Indoor Hockey Champions followed then by yet again finishing in 3rd place at the National Schools’ Hockey Championships played at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. I continue to be extremely proud of the consistently excellent results our girls’ hockey teams are achieving.

1st XI

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he 1st XI had an outstanding season, which saw them remain unbeaten in their block fixtures which is an excellent achievement, considering the fact that this was still a very young 1st team. The season began with a well-attended preseason which included entering two teams into the Cardiff Met University Schools’ Invitational Tournament in which one of the King’s Bruton teams was victorious.

Molly Hunter sets up an attack against Bristol Grammar School

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This positive start to the season was followed up with comprehensive 6-1 and 9-0 victories over Prior Park and Monkton Combe respectively as their opponents could not deal with the attacking threat posed by Sophie Hamilton, Olivia Hamilton, Carolin Golland, Caroline Spanholtz, Beth Pretor-Pinney, Charlotte Mansergh and Anna von Keller.

The winning streak continued with hard fought victories against Bristol Grammar School (42) and Taunton School (5-0) which saw the defence of Maja Schlicker, Mima Owen, Lottie Gould, Molly Hunter, Daisy Mant and Megan Ward tested for the first time. Bringing Victoria McCabe back in for these matches also made a big difference to the side. King’s dominance in their block fixtures was demonstrated in their 10-0 victory over Clayesmore whereby the opposition could not live with the pace, power and skill level of the King’s girls. The 1st XI saw the season out with two very competitive fixtures. Firstly, against Blundell’s, King’s secured a 1-1 draw, with Emily Wastell being outstanding and despite missing several key players. And finally versus a talented Queen’s Taunton side where another 1-1 draw was a fair reflection of a fast paced and entertaining game of hockey to end a fantastic season.

I would like to thank Mima Owen for her outstanding leadership as captain of this side and for her fantastic contribution to King’s Bruton Hockey. We also say farewell to our other upper sixth leavers, Daisy Mant and Beth Pretor-Pinney, both of whom can be proud of their King’s Bruton hockey careers. I am very proud to be associated with such a great group of girls and I was delighted to see their hard work be rewarded during the season. Huge congratulations must also go to Victoria McCabe, Sophie Hamilton and Olivia Hamilton on their selection for England U16s which is an outstanding achievement and testament to their hard work and we are very proud of them.

2nd XI

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ick Bunday reflects on what was a very enjoyable and successful season for the 2nd XI. The 2017 season will be remembered not just for some vintage hockey, lots of victories and lots of goals but also for a lot of laughter. Some of the Ladies 2nd XIs I have coached have been better teams, some more technically proficient, some have scored more goals or let in less, but this is the team that has made me laugh the most and I thank them hugely for that. They have played their hockey in exactly the right spirit and always with a smile upon their faces. In short, they have been a pleasure to coach.

They have been successful too; the statistics speak for themselves. They won seven times, drew once and lost only twice. Certain results were particularly pleasing such as the away win at Blundell’s and the draw against Queen’s Taunton. Both of the losses were keenly contested fixtures with the match away at Taunton being very tight. Perhaps the most entertaining match was against Bruton School for Girls 1st XI.

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Henry Eriksson has a plan for the second half against Clayesmore

The team was very well led by Captain Hannah Snow and Vice Captain Georgia Dimdore-Miles and it is they who set the tone for this great team. Sadly, being U6th Formers, they have now played their last games of hockey for King’s but they are the only leavers from this exceptional squad.

On a personal note it has been a privilege to coach them for the past three seasons. The Ladies 2nd XI had a great defence with Amelie Meyer, in goal, Georgia Dimdore-Miles and Emma Walker. Between them they kept a clean sheet in seven of the ten games and only conceded seven goals all season – a great record. In the midfield the Ladies were lucky enough to have Hannah Snow and Katie Hawkins, as well as the rock steady Sophie Wichary and Kiara Jones. In attack, the centre forward and leading goal scorer was Abagael Hyde (with eight goals, but who also managed to turn a talk on tactics in to her own birthday party!)

She was well served by the wingers Megan Jones and Harriet Wakelin. As inside forwards there was a Elodie Matthews puts Prior Park defence under pressure

mixture of Jessica Longman, Cully McDermid, Poppy Boyden, Anna Wilmshurst and Flo Cobb. Between them all they managed to score twenty-two goals.

The Ladies and I owe a debt of gratitude to Miss Coombes, who, in her first term at King’s, assisted with the coaching. We all appreciated her calmness and sense of humour. She fitted in so easily that it seemed that she had been with us for years. We also should thank Mr Eriksson for all his guidance and organisation and Mr Corbyn-O’Grady who kindly umpired the majority of our fixtures.

The Player’s Player of the Season was Hannah Snow, the Coaches’ Player of the Season was Katie Hawkins, whilst the Most Improved Player was Emma Walker. Congratulations go to them and indeed all the Ladies on such a brilliant season. They have reminded me why hockey is such a great sport. We will all miss Hannah and Georgia, but I am already looking forward to next season. Well done Ladies and thank you!

3rd XI

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he “Mighty” 3rd XI had another very successful season of hockey, winning five out of their eight matches. This was due to a number of reasons.

They always worked hard during training, had a lot of fun along the way and were privileged to be led superbly by Alice Branagan.

Tactically the team was fantastic and the defensive players worked hard to always make sure the ball stayed out of the D and, if it did go in, they worked hard to try to get it to their midfielders. If they didn’t succeed in doing this, the team had their secret weapon, Amelie Meyer their outstanding goal keeper!

Amelie saved an incredible number of goals, including eight consecutive penalty corners in a row during one match. The midfielders worked tirelessly up and down the wings to give their attackers the best opportunities

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GIRLS’ HOCKEY to create goal scoring opportunities which enabled Esther Adenuga to make numerous runs down the wing, which may have been the reason she was the team’s top goal scorer of the season. Well done Esther.

Overall, Miss Liddell-Grainger remarks how the 3rd XI have been a wonderful team to coach. Her highlight of the season was when Lucie Moore decided she could not get the ball out the D, so she kicked it resulting with a penalty flick being awarded, which Amelie of course saved. What a great season of hockey it was for the 3rd XI.

Above: Ella Hanegraaf and Hermione Williams celebrate. Inset below: Olivia Hamilton

4th XI

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ate Flavell looks back on what was a very enjoyable season with the 4th XI who had an outstanding season and were a complete joy to coach. The girls worked hard in training sessions throughout the season, and consequently their game play and stick skills improved dramatically as the term progressed. A lot of fun was had in training sessions, alongside the hard work, and the girls should be commended on their positive approaches to hockey even in the coldest weather.

The 4th XI played 7 matches throughout the season, drawing one, losing one and winning 5.

These are fantastic statistics and the girls should be very proud of their performances. Particular season highlights were the wins against Clayesmore (5-0), Sherborne Girls (3-0) and a closely fought match against Blundell’s, where we won 2-1. The season finished on a high however, when the 4th XI won their final match against Queen’s Taunton 10-0. During the season, attacking play was constantly worked on in training sessions with Mr Corbin O’Grady and his help was integral to making the season such a success.

All of the girls put 100% effort into their matches and they should all be very proud of their performances.

Special mention must go to Tilly Houldsworth, our captain and exceptional goalkeeper who defended solidly all season. Every player improved their skills and reading of the game. A special mention must go to Malena Lindner, who had not played hockey for several years, and yet proved to be a pacey and skilled addition to the team.

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Victoria McCabe shows England form

U16A

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he U16 girls’ team had, quite simply, an outstanding season, once again firmly cementing themselves as one of the very best hockey teams in the country. The U16 indoor team capped off a remarkable season by winning the National Schools’ Super Sixes Championships having had an unbeaten season.

The team began the season comfortably winning the county championship, defeating Taunton School 9-0, Millfield 2-1, King’s College Taunton 13-0 and Wellington 8-0. They were even more convincing at the West Finals, beating Blundell’s 3-0, King Edward’s Bath 12-1, Cheltenham Ladies College 6-0, Dean Close 5-1 and Millfield 5-1 in the final to secure the West of England title for the fourth consecutive season. The team went into the National Finals in confident mood but they were severely tested in their opening match as they drew 1-1 with a good St George’s College team who went on to reach the semi finals. This made the following two games very important and King’s went on to beat Kent College 3-1 and Malvern College 4-0 to end Day 1 on 7 points and joint top of the pool. A comfortable 8-0 victory versus Egglescliffe on the morning of Day 2 saw King’s qualify for the semi-final against Repton School.

The girls produced the best indoor performance I have ever seen from a school side to win the semi final 4-2.

In the final, versus Cranleigh, King’s made a blistering start as they went 2-0 up very quickly. This was followed up by two more goals to record a 4-0 win and become the first ever King’s Hockey team to win a National title. I couldn’t be prouder of the girls and their achievement.

It was not just their victory that was so impressive, but the style of hockey they played throughout the tournament. Truly deserving winners. The squad of Sophie Hamilton, Victoria McCabe, Olivia Hamilton, Carolin Golland, Maja Schlicker, Molly Hunter, Harriet Freund, Millie Walters, Pip Venner-Coombes and Isca Bird should be congratulated on their outstanding achievement.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 Having fared so well at the Indoor Finals, the King’s girls went into the National Outdoor Finals with confidence.

However, it would be extremely tough to repeat their indoor feat. Placed in a pool alongside Trent CoIlege, The Leys and Wellington College, the King’s team knew it would be a difficult task to repeat last year’s outstanding third place finish. However, the tournament began extremely well for King’s as they defeated a tough Trent College side 2-0 in the opening match with goals coming from Carolin Golland with a smart finish over the keeper and Jessica Longman who expertly finished off an outstanding team goal.

In the second match versus The Leys, King’s had too much quality for their opponents as they won 7-0 with the goals being scored by Victoria McCabe (3), Olivia Hamilton (2), Carolin Golland and Sophie Hamilton.

This victory saw King’s end Day 1 at the top of Pool A with a maximum of 6 points and knowing that the match vs Wellington College would decide who qualified for the final.

The match versus Wellington College, played early in the morning, was a high quality hockey fixture with Wellington executing their game plan well to

secure a 2-0 victory and their place in the final. This meant that King’s would line up against Blundell’s in the 3/4 playoff, a repeat of last year’s match. King’s dominated from the first to the last whistle as they won 2-0, courtesy of goals from Sophie Hamilton and Carolin Golland to end an outstanding season of hockey. I am extremely proud of the girls and of what they have achieved this season. To win the National Indoor Title and then finish third at the National Schools’ Hockey championship is a huge achievement and the girls are very deserving of their medals. For us to compete with these much larger schools is fantastic and testament to all the hard work they have put in for what has been a long season.

This caps off a remarkable season. The outdoor team was as follows: Maja Schlicker, Molly Hunter, Emma Walker, Millie Walters, Harriet Freund, Sophie Hamilton, Olivia Hamilton, Victoria McCabe, Carolin Golland, Nele Hoffmann, Jessica Longman, Kiara Jones, Florence Cobb, Anna Wilmshurst, Amelie Meyer and Poppy Boyden. The team played 20 matches, won 19, scored 115 goals and conceded only six.

Inset above: Molly Hunter. Below: The outstanding Under 16 indoor hockey team with coaches Henry Eriksson and Pip Atkinson-Kennedy

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GIRLS’ HOCKEY U15A

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iven that this group of girls had not played together as an Under 14A XI, this was a remarkable season in many ways. Bolstered by the addition of a number of girls into the year group they were not only able to play as an XI but achieve real success too. They played some excellent hockey at times, and their instinct was always to attack.

This got them into difficulties at times – and there were times when only Ceci Cooke seemed to be in defence.

That didn’t matter because she had an outstanding season at the back and along with Harriet Freund – who was exceptional all term - and Sophie Gartell in goal, kept most teams at bay.

Up front they scored plenty of goals, especially against Prior Park, Wells Cathedral School, Taunton, Bruton School for Girls (where they scored four in the first four minutes) and Monkton Combe. The front line of Anna Barkshire, Honor Mant and Rosie Wakelin did a good job all season, and were ably supported by Millie Toulson-Clarke, Nele Hoffman and Millie Walters in midfield. At times the half backs joined in the fun too, and Katie Proctor, Izzy Branagan and Emily Longman grew in confidence each game they played. The side wasn’t quite good enough to beat the strongest teams and came up a little short against both Bristol Grammar School and Blundell’s. However, the team learnt a lot against them and weren’t too disappointed.

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable season where real progress was made. The girls remained cheerful and enthusiastic throughout and played each game in the right spirit. Mr Fletcher remarked that they “were a pleasure to coach and can be proud of what they achieved.”

U14A

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he U14A hockey season were excellent, managing to win 8 games, draw 4 and lose only 4. This is an outstanding achievement considering the girls hadn’t played together before and most had never even played 11-a-side hockey. It’s clear that this group of girls absolutely love their hockey and they very quickly engaged with learning the dynamic yet organised passing style of hockey that King’s Bruton is quickly becoming renowned for. Their combination of willingness to commit to the learning process and their confident personalities made them a real pleasure to coach.

These attitudes allowed them to make progress at a great pace whilst also ensuring that they created a fun, social atmosphere so that they all enjoyed their hockey experience, which will no doubt continue throughout their time at King’s Bruton.

It took Mr Corbin’s side a while to find their optimal formation, with the girls often finding

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themselves in positions they had never played before, but eventually they managed to crack the code. The defence of Katie Wootton, Isca Bird, Danny Ker, Laura Purefoy, Pandora Cobb and Zoe Cheffings, with Constance Pollard as goalkeeper, were all fundamental in allowing the team to achieve as much as they did.

Having this security at the back allowed them to play confident, free-flowing hockey which teams struggled to contain. Pip Venner-Coombes, Jasmine Spilsbury and Natalie Wilmshurst provided quality on the ball and fitness in midfield allowing them to contribute to every attack and every defence, giving strength in numbers.

Harriet Tuson, Imogen Dawe, Amy Ruddock and Charlotte Elway worked well to cause the opposition’s defence problems and resulted in many goal scoring opportunities being created, with many teams struggling to keep up with their pace on the counterattack.

There were so many highlights of the season, but the one that stands out would be making history by being the first King’s Bruton U14 girls team to qualify for the West of England Hockey Finals, having finished as runners up in the County Tournament. They did well to progress to the quarter finals before narrowly losing 1-0 to Dean Close. This was a brilliant experience for the girls to have so early on in their hockey career at King’s Bruton, and hopefully this is the first of many achievements for the team.

Junior B

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t was a great season for the Junior B Hockey team as they played 8, Won 4 Drew 1 and Lost 3. With a 50% win record, the Junior B team had a successful term, earning the scalps of some much bigger schools along the way. Throughout the term, the girls worked exceptionally hard to learn the new techniques and playing patterns needed for 11-a-side hockey.

Their efforts in all of the training sessions clearly paid off, resulting in great improvements in each match.

The first match was a hard, evenly matched contest at home against Prior Park. The girls fought hard to defend against a barrage of attacks, but with some well-timed tackles and hard running from all the players they only let in one goal. The second half was all King’s, using their skill and hard work to score an equaliser. A great result for the first fixture of the season.

The following games all proved to be close encounters; two wins and the first loss of the season.

This included beating U14A teams and a 15B team from Shaftesbury and Taunton School.

The next fixture was one that will last in Mr Stainton’s memory for quite some time. As they arrived at Clayesmore School, to the right of the bus the girls could see some U13 rugby matches flanking what appeared to be a grass hockey pitch. As they exited the bus, they were met by the opposition coach and started making headway back towards said grass hockey pitch.

The Junior B team fought hard on a surface they had never played on, making the training and

THE DOLPHIN 2017 drills they had worked so hard to learn, completely redundant. The second loss of the season followed, 5-0. A positive from this was that the girls learnt how to hit the ball very well, which proved useful for the rest of the season.

The final three games of the season were very close fixtures once again: two wins flanked a loss against Sherborne Girls. An away fixture at Blundell’s was a fantastic 2-1 win and complimented by a 4-2 win in the final game of the season against Queen’s Taunton.

Mr Stainton thanks all of the girls for an enjoyable and successful season and wishes them the best of luck in their future hockey endeavours.

1st XI: Standing (L to R): E. Wastell, S. Hamilton, C. Spanholtz, C. Mansergh, H. Freund, M. Ward, C. Golland, L. Gould, M. Walters, A. Von Keller, O. Hamilton, H. White Sitting (L to R): M. Schlicker, M. Hunter, D. Mant, J. Owen (Capt), B. Pretor-Pinney, V. McCabe, K. Mant

2nd XI: Standing (L to R): A. Marshall, A. Hyde, P. Boyden, F. Cobb, E. Walker, A. Wilmshurst, H. Wakelin, C. McDermid, S. Wichary Sitting (L to R): J. Longman, G. Dimdore-Miles, M. Jones, H. Snow (Capt), K. Hawkins, K. Jones, A. Meyer

3rd XI: Standing (L to R): E. Smith, H. Young, I. Moore, I. Hawkins, L. Latham, R. Bracey, T. Atkinson, E. Adenuga, O. Hughes, H. Papenfus Sitting (L to R): A. Meyer, F. Thorner, S. Tyack, A. Branagan (Capt), C. Bracey, E. Mathews, R. Lowsley-Williams

4th XI: Standing (L to R): L. Matkevich, E. Loughrey, T. Wolfe, L. Beaton, I. Hutton, R. Lowsley-Williams, C. Coulson, L. Little, M. Lindner Sitting (L to R): H. Clarke, E. Cooke, E. Hanegraaf, T. Houldsworth, H. Williams, K. Taylor, Y. Arnold

U16A: Standing (L to R): J. Longman, M. Hunter, A. Wilmshurst, F. Cobb, E. Walker, C. Golland, P. Boyden, K. Jones Sitting (L to R): O. Hamilton, C. Spanholtz, H. Freund, S. Hamilton, V. McCabe, M. Walters, M. Schlicker

U14A: Standing (L to R): Z. Cheffings, P. VennerCoombes, H. Tuson, P. Cobb, L. Purefoy Sitting (L to R): N. Wilmshurst, D. Ker, I. Dawe, K. Wooton, J. Spilsbury, I. Bird, C. Pollard

U14B: Standing (L to R): C. Marti Pueyo, J. Webb, T. Andjel-Davies, A. Hurst, S.Yeandel, E. Docherty, C. Llacuna Sitting (L to R): A. Corlett, C. Bird, A. Ruddock, F. Fearn, T. Saunders, L. Milne, K. Ruddock

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BOYS’ HOCKEY

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he King’s Bruton Boys’ Hockey Club had a tough season with lots of very competitive matches being played against some strong opposition. Once again, we had enough interest from the boys which allowed us to field nine teams across all the year groups which is fantastic as it demonstrates the level of interest and enjoyment of hockey from boys at King’s Bruton. Whilst the overall record reads played 73, won 21, drawn 14, Lost 38, there were numerous hard-fought matches. I would like to thank all of the boys and staff for making this another enjoyable boys’ hockey season and I am proud of the progress and brand of hockey all our teams continue to try and play.

1st XI

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his was a very new look 1st XI for the 2017 season, having had as many as twelve players leave since last season. However, this was a challenge I was relishing and I was delighted with the attitude, skill level and improvement made by the team throughout the course of the season.

The season began with a very productive preseason which saw the team enjoy an intense day of training at King’s before travelling to Cardiff Met University for their annual Cardiff Met Invitational Schools’ Tournament. This was a really valuable exercise as the side quickly gelled and played some excellent hockey. As a result, they finished in second place in the tournament behind the hosts Cardiff Met having defeated Wales U16, Stowe and Colstons on their way to the final. Ed McCabe started the season in fantastic form as

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Above: Arthur Harman in pole position;inset below: Peter Jenkins

he contributed the majority of the side’s goals. With a successful pre-season under their belt, the team travelled to Taunton for Round 1 of the U18 National Cup competition in confident mood. Despite taking a 1-0 lead courtesy of an outstanding Tom Williams deflection, the boys failed to reproduce their excellent pre-season form as they lost 5-1.

However, as was the message all season, the boys trained hard and made considerable progress as they defeated Dauntsey’s 2-1 and Clayesmore 4-2 in their next two matches, with Max Behm growing into his role at fullback and Harry McHugh doing a fantastic job in the King’s goal. In their third fixture of the season, the King’s boys faced the difficult away trip to Exeter School where an outstanding performance saw them draw 2-2 with two excellent goals being scored by captain Harry Hunter. The defence of Behm, Peter Jenkins, Robert Koegel, Joe Morrison and Josh Teuber was very solid all afternoon as they were put under considerable pressure by the hardworking Exeter front line. Having been knocked out of the National Cup, the team were drawn against Millfield in Round 1 of the Plate competition. Although a very entertaining match ended 5-2 to Millfield, this was not a fair reflection of the game as at 2-2 it could very easily have gone either way. Barney Latham had yet another outstanding match in the King’s midfield. Despite this disappointment, the boys continued to train very hard and then went on a very pleasing three match unbeaten run, beating Monkton Combe and Bryanston 2-1 and 5-1 respectively before a very competitive and physical 3-3 draw with Wells Cathedral despite doing enough to win the match. Having had a very pleasing season to date, the final three matches were always going to be very tough and although there were three losses against King Edward’s Bath, Sherborne and Queen’s College, the boys produced some very spirited performances and really demonstrated the way in which they had grown as individual players but also as a team.

Next season’s 1st XI will be a young side, however I am relishing the opportunity to work with the boys again as their fantastic effort and attitude will lead to them becoming a good side. I would like to thank Harry Hunter for captaining the side so well and also congratulate Ed McCabe on being the deserved winner

THE DOLPHIN 2017 next season – I have very high hopes for them. Well done Gentlemen and thank you for your hard work and ceaseless good humour!

The squad was: Will Luck, George Wroth, Myles Jenkins, Toby Clothier (captain), Ben Fearn, Sam Houldsworth, Harry MacLeod-Ash, Jacob Sykes, Sam Innes, Ian Elms, Arthur Franks, Toby Kingsberry, Luke Tuckfield, Henry Oliver.

3rd XI

Above: Celebration time; below inset: Joshua Blunden

of the Player of the Season award and New Zealand exchange pupil Joe Morrison for being voted the Players’ Player of the Season.

2nd XI

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ick Bunday reflects on the improvement that the young 2nd XI made throughout the course of the season and the excellent manner in which they conducted themselves both in training and matches alike.

On the face of it, the results might suggest that this was not a vintage season, as this talented team lost more games than they won. In their defence, I would immediately state that they were a young side (indeed there was only one U6th member in the team) and that two of the four losses were against teams who had been strengthened with 1st XI players. This was therefore a building year.

The boys can be pleased with the manner in which they played and competed. The loss against Sherborne was disappointing as the boys did not play to their potential, whilst the loss to Queen’s Taunton was a really good game of hockey. Of the two draws, the game against Monkton Combe was frustrating as the boys outplayed the opposition but could not find their way to goal. The other draw against Dauntseys was a cracking game and one that neither side deserved to lose. The victories were sweet but those against Bryanston and away at Exeter were very satisfying, not just because of the result, but because of the manner in which the boys executed our game plan. At times they played some irresistible, flowing hockey.

The real success, however, was seeing the manner in which the boys developed as players during the season. Special mention must be made of the captain and midfield powerhouse Toby Clothier, whose desire to get forward kept the team on the front foot.

When it came to goals, the team relied on the hard hitting of Ian Elms who along with Toby was voted as player of the season. Sam Houldsworth was rightly adjudged by his peers and staff alike to be the most improved player – he has a bright hockey future.

As ever, the 2nd XI were a delightful bunch of young men who were a great deal of fun to coach. I look forward to seeing how they blossom

R

ob Lowry faced the challenge of coaching the 3rd XI this season which saw his team produce some good results.

This was a season of lively, if loose performances – exhilarating to watch when the team were in the ascendency, but a challenge to the blood pressure of both myself and Mr. Daws when things went awry. Success came early on with an encouraging 2 - 0 win against Dauntseys, who initially matched us for effort and individual skill. It was only progressively more disciplined passing play to either wings by King’s that broke the deadlock, with goals from Oliver Crossfield and Bertie Hughes. Buoyed up by this positive start, the team next took on a welldrilled Clayesmore side. Two well-crafted goals from Arthur Harman and Myles Yeandel (Captain) and a penalty stroke from Bertie Hughes should have seen us home. However, a late failure to clear our lines pushed us back to 3-3 with two minutes to go.

Some improvement from the previous game then, but the lesson still needed to be learned to let the ball do the work, playing around the opposition rather than our habit of pushing the ball ahead in hope. Unfortunately, the team were punished in the next game against Monkton Combe for employing this very same tactic. Inconceivably we conceded a soft first goal in the first thirty seconds of the game. With everyone unsettled we tried to force the play too much, ambitiously driving the ball forward without connecting passes between players. Monkton Combe capitalised on our increasing disarray, exploiting our disorganised defence, and two more goals were to follow. The score line would have been considerably worse had it not been for the heroic efforts of Jamie Walters in goal.

A similar pattern emerged against Bryanston, but having worked hard in training to restore shape amongst the defence and midfield with focus on push pass and back pass drills, we prevailed against King’s Edward’s Bath with a convincing 2 - 0 win. The inclusion of William Sandy at centre mid-field made a significant difference to the ability to switch play, freeing up Arthur Harman, Sam Horner and Tom Woods to make better use of the right-hand side of the pitch.

Shortages of players in the 1st and 2nd teams meant that we travelled to Sherborne understrength, so a 0 – 1 loss was actually a fairly impressive outcome. Competition amongst a squad of sometimes fifteen players to gain a place in the team was to become a hallmark of

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BOYS’ HOCKEY the season, and everyone fought keenly to make the starting line-up for our last fixture against Queen’s Taunton. A robust combination of Rupert Leschallas, Ivo Wright and Sam Horner in defence proved effective in soaking up the continual onslaught of a very physical opposition. Queen’s seemed bigger and more powerful in almost every position on the pitch. However, we managed to keep our nerve, using speed and guile to counter bullish tactics. The game was very much endto-end stuff, and it was such a shame when the whistle blew at 1 -1 with Oliver Crossfield home and free behind Queen’s defence, and only an out-of-position goalie between him and the win most spectators felt we deserved.

The statistics reflect a very even, competitive season with two wins, two games drawn and three narrow losses, including 9 goals for, compared with 11 against. What the stats don’t tell you about is the spirit and good humour with which everyone trained and played. Well done to all involved.

4th XI

D

an Cupit reflects on a difficult yet enjoyable season with the 4th XI. They started the season with great optimism and enthusiasm for the game of hockey. Throughout the season this enthusiasm never wavered and the boys in this team made the most of the hockey term and thoroughly enjoyed their hockey.

The 4th XI always has a difficult set of fixtures as many similar sized schools are unable to put teams out and often we end up playing schools with far more pupils.

This often means that the opposition can be strong and, on occasions, more physical. However, throughout the season the team really looked to develop their skill levels and played some good technical hockey. The skill level of all players significantly increased as the season wore on and I have been delighted with the levels of fitness demonstrated throughout the team.

The passion that all players showed was outstanding and the younger players in the team demonstrated huge promise for the future. The season consisted of ...and more King’s celebrations. Above inset: Edward McCabe shoulders responsibility for Joe Morrison from New Zealand

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some very tough and challenging fixtures with a relatively young and inexperienced 4th XI hockey team ending up second best on a number of occasions. The highlight of the season was a thrilling game of hockey against Clayesmore that ended in a draw. However, despite some strong opposition the morale and attitude of the team was superb and I very much look forward to seeing this team develop in the future.

U15A

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tuart Hamilton and Tim Fletcher did a fantastic job with the talented U15A team who enjoyed a winning season overall despite being somewhat inconsistent.

The statistics of the season do not tell the whole truth regarding the development of the Under 15A XI. Of the eleven matches, there were at least four matches which could have gone our way if we had finished better in the last third of the pitch.

The first match against Dauntsey’s ended with honours even, which at the time, was a good positive start to the season.

However, as our hockey progressed we kept on looking back at this as one of those games we should have won.

There were three fantastic victories in the next three matches which included defeating Millfield on penalty strokes in Round 1 of the U15 ISHC Competition and also Clayesmore and Exeter School 2-1 and 10-1 respectively. Having knocked Millfield out in Round 1, the side were drawn against a talented Wells Cathedral team in Round 2 and yet again the match went to penalty strokes following a 2-2 draw. Unfortunately, lady luck was not on our side on this occasion as we lost 4-3 on penalties.

However, the boys will reflect on this as a match they should have won in normal time having had a great number of goal scoring opportunities. Similarly, against Monkton Combe, King’s found themselves up against an outstanding goalkeeper as they lost 3-0 and in their next match versus Wells Cathedral, the boys made amends for their cup loss as they won 3-0. However, they faced two tough fixtures versus Bryanston and Sherborne which King’s lost 2-0 and 4-2 respectively.

However the Sherborne match was a high-quality affair with both sides playing excellent hockey. The season ended on a high with a well fought 2-2 draw with King Edward’s Bath and finally a very satisfying 1-0 victory against Queen’s College Taunton in what was a fiery match.

Having agreed the long-term goal of using this season to prepare for the U16 county tournament in 2018, in the short term, we highlighted the need for good basics and team work and togetherness, something they had identified as lacking in their year group. The matches this year have been used as a benchmark to see where we are along the way to achieving our long-term goal. It is easy to see from the outcomes that progress has been made by the team and by individuals. The whole squad below should be

THE DOLPHIN 2017

U14A

L How to stand out in a crowd: Javier Martin-Borregon Garcia

proud of their efforts this season: Toby Crossfield, Sam Love, Angus McDermid, Rian Upton, Jake Saunders, Joe Loughrey, Michael Harvey, Finn Spilsbury, Kit Garnon, Jake Tadhunter, Ben Davies, Rory Wood, Gabriel Pugh, Alex Mickleburgh, Jordan Edson, Ned Geach.

U15B: Tim Walker and Dan Hodder were delighted as their hardworking U15Bs were named the boys’ hockey ‘Team of the Term’ after a fantastic season.

The U15 B XI had a successful season having played 7, won 4, drawn 1 and lost 2. With strong competition for places it took a good deal of the season before the personnel in the side began to settle down and many would claim that the final match was the best display of hockey all season despite it being a defeat.

Matt Scott as Captain was an ever-present figure working and encouraging the team forward but also organising the first line of defence from the front. The spine of the team behind him was Fergus Gillard, Alex Baxter, Milo Best, George Matthew, Seb Sweeting and Archie Waterfield. To this core many others joined, with some eventually moving up to the ‘A’ team and others replacing them from above.

The most encouraging aspect of the term was the way in which the team played their hockey.

Mr Eriksson and Mr Hodder instilled a good work ethic along with the need to move the ball quickly and effectively which undid many less able teams. Their ability to change personnel as well as their tactical set up within a game showed a real understanding of the game and the team should be very proud of their level of play.

As is the case with many sports, the practice and fitness paid off by helping the team to make the correct decisions and keep their heads late in the game, enabling them to claim some impressive victories. The opening game, which we drew, highlighted this early on as we faded badly to let a two goal lead slip. From then on, the team worked hard to ensure they were fitter than the opposition and reaped the rewards.

This was a great term which was enjoyed by those who were lucky enough to see any of the matches.

ouis Corbin O’Grady and Seamus Harkness look back on a season which saw a new team develop both individually and collectively to bring about an excellent style of hockey.

The U14As had a great season in terms of their development as a team and as individuals. They came together in January for the first time and that was noticeable, with the team looking more like a group of players playing individually, rather than as a unit. As the season progressed, the team continued to learn a great deal about the passing, patient and intelligent style of hockey that we are becoming known for at King’s Bruton. This was always going to be a difficult transition for a new group of players coming from different schools. However, the boys listened to everything that was being said and started to buy into the bigger picture, which was to learn to play correctly now, so that by the time they are in 6th form they will be excellent players.

Results seemed to improve by the second half of the season, and we were playing some brilliant hockey. This was to be seen at the county tournament at Queen’s College Taunton in our matches against King’s Taunton, Wells and Millfield and then later in the season in our fixture vs Queen’s College Taunton.

In our county tournament, our defence of Liam Ward, Ben Burton, Tom Jones and Ollie Barber was a clinical performance, supported by Toby Phillips in goal who made some tremendous saves. During our match against Millfield, everyone gave their all and left nothing on the pitch, especially the forward unit of Oskar Lefebvre, Sam Rabbets and Aidan McFarlane, putting Millfield under huge pressure. Our final match was truly a team performance against a strong Queen’s College team, with our midfield of Joe Gartell, Ollie Sykes and Adam Barrett-James commanding the centre of the pitch and controlling the pace of the game. Excellent performances also came from Ollie Enderby, Rowan Oliver and Freddie Comer who all took the opportunity to make a positive impact on the game. Mr Harkness, Mr Eriksson and myself are all very excited by the prospect of this group of young men developing their hockey throughout their time at King’s School.

Below: Adam Barrett-James. Left inset: Liam Ward

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BOYS’ HOCKEY U14B

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ill Stainton praises his young side for a season of great improvement and learning about how to play structured and exciting 11-a-side hockey.

It was a challenging first season of hockey at King’s for the U14Bs, facing tough opponents, but it was one that saw progression, learning and was an excellent introduction to 11-a-side hockey for many of the squad. With a large number of talented and enthusiastic hockey players in the year group, we were rarely able to field the same team.

There were some promotions to the A team and some came up to the team from the C team. It was an excellent display of the progression possible if you work hard and are eager to succeed.

That said, the B team played some excellent hockey throughout the season, developing skills necessary for them to improve their hockey in years to come. Their understanding of the basic techniques, patterns and plays developed and expanded during the season resulting in them playing the exact brand of hockey that is seen in all of the teams at King’s.

Played 7 – Won 1 – Draw 1 – Lost 5: Although the figures show little success, the fixture list was challenging and it was important to remember the progression made and look to the future. I have several moments that are memorable, both from matches and training sessions, all of which made the season so enjoyable from a coach’s point of view.

Firstly, with only four goals scored during the season, each one was important and momentous. However, one goal is missing from the list and it was the first of the season. The captain, Charlie Bascombe, centre back, provided us with this goal, a delightful deflection into the side netting, sending the keeper the wrong way. This sounds impressive as the first goal of his King’s career, but unfortunately, it beat our own keeper! A great finish but unfortunately not in the right end.

The first goal to be scored in the opposition end came against Exeter School at home, in our third game of the season. This came from a new international signing for us, Clifford Christianakis, who was sent down from the A team to strengthen our team.

It was not until March 2nd 2017 that the U14Bs recorded their first positive result against one of the stronger teams on the fixture list; away at Sherborne School. It came after watching the A team play on the pitch before us. The score line, 1-1, flatters the opposition as the U14Bs were far too kind in front of goal. Furthermore, had we logged the possession statistics for this match, they would have been at least 70-30 in favour of King’s. I was very proud of the gentlemen in this game, playing against a tough opposition whilst applying all of the drills and patterns they had learnt. Two days later, their confidence booming, the U14Bs recorded their first victory at home against KES Bath, 2-1. This game built upon the joy they had against Sherborne 48 hours earlier, outplaying their opposition. The only downside is the chances in front of goal that were not converted.

Another score line that flattered the opposition.

Below: colourful shoes-in; top left inset: Angus McDermid; top right inset: Tom Jones

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

3rd XI: Standing (L to R): R. Leschallas, R. Harper, O. Crossfield, S. Horner, C. Williams Cardaras, T. Colebatch, J. Ide Sitting (L to R): L. Montalat Verheyen, W. Sandy, M. Yeandel, J. Ker, B. Hughes, A. Harman, J. Walters

HOCKEY TEAM SHEETS

4th XI: Standing (L to R): E. Ma, A. Griffiths, A. Potter, T. Woods, P. Coulson, R. Jin Sitting (L to R): S. Lock, E. Bascombe, G. Melamed, C. McFarlane, H. Taylor, J. Burgess, S. Claas

1st XI: Standing (L to R): A McDermid, H Oliver, A Enderby, B Latham, R McAfee, T Williams, P Jenkins, R Koegel, J Morrison Sitting (L to R): R Longman, J Teuber, M Behm, H Hunter (C), E McCabe, N Longpre, H McHugh

2nd XI: Standing (L to R): J. Sykes, S. Innes, I. Wright, H. MacLeod-Ash, L. Tuckfield Sitting (L to R): B. Fearn, S. Houldsworth, M. Jenkins, A. Franks, G. Wroth, I. Elms, W. Luck

U15A: Standing (L to R): F. Spilsbury, J. Tadhunter, J. Saunders, R. Upton, N. Geach, G. Pugh, J. Edson. Sitting (L to R): B. Vallings, K. Garnon, A. McDermid, B. Davies, J. Loughrey, M. Harvey, T. Crossfield

U15B: Standing (L to R): F. Gillard, O. Smith, J. Moloney, A. Baxter, G. Rampton, M. Best, G Matthew, S. Sweeting. Sitting (L to R): M. Mason, S. Finch Hatton, A. Waterfield, M. Scott, A. Jones, A. Mickieborgh, S. Love

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NETBALL

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ing’s Netball has continued to develop this year with an improved winning statistic despite our fixtures being against some larger, traditionally stronger netball schools. Finishing with 59% wins is very respectable. The girls have all approached their fixtures with great determination, and even when they have been under pressure from some very talented opponents, they have endeavoured to learn from the experiences to improve future performances. Thank you also to all of the coaches and umpires who have shown dedication to their teams and who, on cold and wet windy afternoons, helped boost the girls with their own energy and enthusiasm- and jelly babies!

The season started on a high with an inspiring coaching visit from ex England player and current Team Bath Captain Eboni Beckford-Chambers and

team mate Chelsea Lewis. Twenty girls from the senior squads attended the afternoon of netball, learning and refining skills and tactical ideas from these top-level players. The girls were left completely inspired and ready to raise the bar in their play.

Following this session, another trip to watch Team Bath play at the University of Bath inspired the girls further. Watching the game being played up close by the best performers, and seeing how fast, physical and tactical the game is at this level was hugely beneficial for the girls.

The squads this year were exceptionally difficult to select as the standard of netball throughout the school continues to flourish. This year there have been exceptional players who have not been able to make it into the 1st VII or even the 2nd VII and this just shows what an exciting future King’s netball has. The reports from 4 senior and 3 junior teams this year are as follows:

1st VII – Alex Ireland

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aining a place in the 1st VII was exceptionally difficult and the final squad was made up from 10 talented and committed girls who could not be separated on ability. They worked very hard on all aspects of their game as the season progressed and were ably led by Beth PretorPinney both on and off the court. It was also a young team, with 3 new players moving up from the junior

Below: Which way did Cristina Marti Pueyo go? Above inset: Alice Branagan

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

Above: Hannah Snow. Below inset Sophie Gartell

teams into the 1st VII for the first time and five of the other seven players still only in the L6th.

The team: Beth Pretor-Pinney (C), Mima Owen, Megan Jones, Megan Ward, Emily Wastell, Katie Hawkins, Abagael Hyde, Sophie Tyack, Lauren Beaton and Molly Hunter.

The girls played very well throughout the season with some fantastic wins against Bristol Grammar School (24-20), King’s Taunton (22-12), Queen’s College Taunton (13-8), Dauntsey’s (1810) and Sherborne Girls (27-18). They also played exceptionally well against some much stronger opposition, demonstrating their ability to raise their game to a new level and learn from their mistakes.

These games will help to improve their performances in all games and enable them to play at a higher level in future games.

The defensive unit of Megan Jones and Sophie Tyack developed a strong understanding of each other’s play over the course of the season, and became confident and assertive in their circle defence. They developed their communication and rebounding skills and, with potentially another season together, they are becoming a dominant force.

The centre court of Beth, Jemima, Katie, Molly and Emily worked hard to move the ball through the court with clear drives and decisive movements towards the shooting circle. They worked well in all combinations, which is key for a strong

squad.

Megan and Lauren played very well in the circle, with good shooting statistics and more and more confidence with their movement and interlinking play. They played against some very experienced defence and became stronger and more confident throughout the season.

2nd VII – Kate Flavell

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he 2nd VII Netball team had an outstanding season this year and were consequently, and, rightly so, crowned Team of the Term! The impressive squad was captained by Daisy Mant who led them to some fantastic wins against tough sides throughout the season.

We knew it was going to be a very special season when we started with a 30-9 win against West Buckland School, followed by a 28-9 victory against Blundells, on the first Saturday of January. The 2nd Milly Corrigan makes her point

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NETBALL VII went from strength to strength as the weeks progressed, they worked hard in training and their game play improved dramatically. All the girls put 110% into every match. The shooting was superb throughout thanks to Florence Cobb and Daisy Mant – how they managed to score some of the shots against tall opposition I will never know!

The 2nd VII had a strong centre court throughout the season, made up of Harriet Wakelin, Poppy Boyden, Isabella Hawkins and Anna Wilmshurst. Together they flowed seamlessly around the court and made every pass look effortless.

The final part of the team which helped make it so successful was the defence, made up of Holly White, Lottie Gould and Emma Walker. Their tenacity and determination helped prevent many sides from getting anywhere near the attacking circle.

By the end of the season, the amazing 2nd VII team had played 13 matches, won 11, drawn 1, lost 1 and had scored 335 goals- what incredible statistics!

All the girls should be proud of their performances throughout the term. It was down to the fun, yet determined nature of the girls that they achieved such success – they were a complete pleasure to coach and I am already looking forward to seeing them play again next season.

3rd VII – Sophie Liddell-Grainger

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his season for the 3rd VII has been amazing, and we have improved so much as a team and really got to know each other well. I thoroughly enjoyed the season, from our team dance at the beginning of matches, to the last few tense minutes of a match. Everyone within the team has done phenomenally well. From Ellie Wheeler and her ability to appear from nowhere, with arms that seem to be able to reach any ball, to Taesha Wolfe and Hannah Snow’s superbly accurate shooting.

Huge credit should also go to all of the mid-court players, whose consistent performances were crucial to our excellent results.

So a big well done and thank you to the whole team for their brilliant attitude throughout the season, and for all the laughs along the way. The 3rd VII finished the season with some incredibly impressive statistics – winning 11 out of their 13 matches and scoring an impressive 349 goals over just 13 matches! This was the most goals scored by any team and they were clearly in their own league in many of their

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Above: seeing double: Jasmine Spilsbury; Below inset: Constance Pollard.

matches. I am sure next season they will be able to continue this unstoppable streak!

4th VII – Harriet Swindall

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he 4th VII Netball Squad had an excellent and nearly unbeaten season with 8 wins, 1 loss and 1 cancellation. The girls scored 172 goals and conceded 93. The Squad competed against, and beat some tough opposition including Blundell’s, Wells Cathedral, King Edward’s Bath and Dauntsey’s, with the one narrow loss being against Kingswood, where the final score was 14-16. What stood out the most for Miss Swindall throughout the season was the girls’ commitment, enthusiasm and huge sense of fun, while also taking their netball seriously, with a willingness to continually improve their play.

Over the season, the Squad was captained by Rebecca Bracey, Cully McDermid and Hebe Young, with other members including Elodie Mathews, Lottie Latham, Ella Hanegraaf, India Hutton, Hermione Williams, Ruby Lowsley-Williams, Clara Bracey, Esther Adenuga, Yazzi Arnold, Elli Cooke, Ellena Loughrey and Catherine Coulson. Well done to all those involved in making Miss Swindall’s last season of netball at King’s such a huge success.

U15A – Rebecca Coombs

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he U15A team had a season of ups and downs, but showed real improvement as the season went on. The girls were captained by Rosie Wakelin, whose mature leadership and consistency on court was a real asset. Cristina Marti Pueyo and Atlanta Ross were particularly impressive; having never played netball before, they showed flair and determination throughout the season, becoming important members of the squad. Millie Walters and Millie Toulson-Clarke brought in valuable experience, proving to be a dynamic duo in the D. Ceci Cooke’s

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Jasmine Spilsbury returns to the fray

interceptions in defence made her a very useful player to the squad, and the ability of Honor Mant and Emily Longman to play in numerous positions on court was to their credit. The highlight of the term was the team’s win against Clayesmore,15-7, where the girls’ speed and accuracy gave them the edge over a strong team.

Despite their losses, the U15A team showed great potential and were a pleasure to coach. They will certainly develop into useful players in the senior teams next year.

U15B - Charlotte Davies

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he U15B team had a challenging season with lots of highlights and huge improvements made by everyone on the team. Often coming up against strong opposition, we held our own and achieved some fantastic wins. Highlights include a closely fought match against Dauntsey’s as our first match of the season, resulting in a 12-11 victory. Our next match against King Edward’s Bath saw us, again, winning marginally, 10-7, with some excellent shooting from Scarlett Yeandel and some persistent defending from Ella Docherty and Clara Mangold. Other highlights include our victories against Bruton School for Girls and Wells Cathedral School. All players should be congratulated for their efforts this term, some of the girls never having played netball before. I look forward to seeing how the girls progress next season.

U14A – Bethany Griffiths

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n their first year at King’s as a new team, the U14As had a fantastic season. Winning 8 out of their 12 matches comfortably, drawing 2 and narrowly losing 2 and just being pipped to Team of the Term.

The most noticeable wins came against Monkton Combe, winning 31-9, St Mary’s Shaftesbury, (31-17), Clayesmore, (31-21) and Kingswood, (32-24). Amy Hurst (Captain) and Pip Venner-Coombes scored an impressive 274 goals between them over the season, and worked well with Jasmine Spilsbury, Katie Wootton and Charlotte Elway in the attacking end of the court.

However, it didn’t stop there. Between Pandy Cobb, Harriet Tuson and Zoe Cheffings I believe we had one of the most dynamic defensive units on the court at U14 level. These three could turn over the ball time and time again and rattle even the best attacking players.

The whole team was, more often than not, a pleasure to watch, and they played some exceptional netball. Throughout the term the girls worked hard and I enjoyed coaching them and watching them progress, individually and as a team. At the end of the season we were all left excited about the prospects of King’s netball and how these eight young ladies are going to make their mark as they progress up towards the senior teams in two years time.

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NETBALL U14B – Milly Corrigan

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he U14B team had a brilliant season despite being a new team playing together. The highlight of the season was a 17-14 win away at Clayesmore. The teams were even for the first three quarters, but great teamwork enabled us to pull away in the final quarter. Players of the term were Laura Purefoy in defence, Natalie Wilmshurst and Freya Fearn in the centre of the court and Imogen Dawe and Coco Pollard as a shooting pair. Well done on a great season.

Overall statistics for the term for all teams: P92 W54 D3 L35

Can’t miss really...

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1st VII: Standing (L to R): A. Hyde, L. Beaton, M. Ward, K. Hawkins, J. Owen Sitting (L to R): E. Wastell, S. Tyack, B. Pretor-Pinney (C), M. Jones, M. Hunter

2nd VII: Standing (L to R): P. Boyden, F. Cobb, E. Walker, L. Gould Sitting (L to R): I. Hawkins, H. Wakelin, D. Mant (C), A. Wilmshurst, H. White

THE DOLPHIN 2017

3rd VII: Standing (L to R): T. Wolfe, E. Wheeler,

H. Snow Sitting (L to R): G. DimdoreMiles, K. Jones, S. Walker, A. Branagan, C. Mansergh

5th VII: Standing (L to R): E. Cooke, C. Coulson, H. Campbell Sitting (L to R): H. Clarke, A. von Keller, H. Young, J. Longman, H. Papenfus

U15B: Standing (L to R): S Mckechnie, R Byrne, C Mangold, G Hungaria Da Custodia Sitting (L to R): N Hoffmann, H Mant, I Branagan

Junior C: Standing (L to R): L Milne, C Bird, K Ruddock, A Corlett. Sitting (L to R): E Docherty, S Yeandel, I Summerfield

4th VII: Standing (L to R): I. Hutton, E. Hanegraaf, H. Williams, C. Latham Sitting (L to R): E. Adenuga, C. Bracey, R. Bracey, E. Mathews, C. McDermid

U15A: Standing (L to R): C Cooke, S Gartell, C Marti Pueyo Sitting (L to R): M Walters, M Toulson-Clarke, R Wakelin, E Longman, A Ross

U14A: Standing (L to R): C Elway, K Wootton, Z Cheffings, J Spilsbury Sitting (L to R): P Cobb, A Hurst, H Tuson

Old Brutonian netball team

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CRICKET

1st XI - Tim Fletcher

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here was a degree of trepidation before the season started about how we would fare as this 1st XI was a very young side, with no Upper 6th representatives at all. Thus there were nerves around before the start at Exeter, but that game set the tone for what turned out to be a season that exceeded expectations. Our three spinners of Arthur Harman, Ian Elms and Sam Houldsworth bowled well on a glorious April afternoon and restricted Exeter to 162 off their overs. Our innings got off to the worst possible start, losing Tom Woods second ball, but a calm and mature 45 by Toby Rogers set us up for a close finish. At 142-9

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however it looked lost, but a last wicket partnership of 20 saw us home, with Sam Houldsworth unbeaten on 19 at the end, scoring the final two runs needed off the last ball. I can’t imagine a better finish, and it was one of the best games of school cricket I have seen.

Thereafter the season developed a pattern of its own. Our batting (defying the coaches’ gloomy pre-season predictions) held up fantastically well, and our top order performed consistently with scores of 160 proving to be a regular occurrence. Harry MacleodAsh, who kept tidily throughout the season, and Peter Jenkins got us home against Wellington. Arthur Harman found good form against the MCC making a fine 85 not out to help secure a draw, Tom Woods and Tom Williams made excellent 50s against the Rifles, and Arthur and Michael Harvey batted very well together against Taunton. They were well supported by Barney Latham who found form with the bat at the end of the season once we’d allowed him to open. Ian Elms’ quick fire runs were invaluable at different moments through the season. Only once did we come unstuck with the bat, against a formidable Queen’s Taunton attack, and even there we batted for a long time albeit without scoring many runs.

Things weren’t quite so good at times with the ball. We sometimes struggled to take early wickets, and found it hard to maintain control at times, something highlighted by the fact that only one of our bowlers averaged fewer than four an over by the end of the season. This lack of control was especially evident against the MCC and the Rifles. Too many ‘four’ balls were served up in the early overs, allowing teams off to a quick start. However, the boys worked very hard to improve, and all the seamers bowled good spells during the season, often with little luck. Archie Potter bowled better and better as the season progressed, setting the tone against Clayesmore, and Peter Jenkins was instrumental in the win against Wellington.

Our trump card was our three spinners, and they

THE DOLPHIN 2017

The ayes have it: Myles Jenkins

bowled consistently well throughout the season. Sam Houldsworth’s 10 overs of leg spin at Queen’s was the highlight of a chastening day.

Perhaps the best aspect of this team was their togetherness. If a catch went down, and plenty did, there was no posturing, no recrimination, just encouragement. This team ethos kept them going when the times were tough, and fed into the fantastic climax of the season: the festival.

Three wins out of three was a great way to round off the term. An excellent batting performance against Peponi saw us make 198-6 off 30 overs. It was anchored by another fine innings of 80 by Arthur Harman, and Barney Latham who made a fine 43. The highlight though was Tom Woods’ 58 off 30 balls, which gave us real momentum. This batting form allowed us to chase down 175 to win against Giggleswick the next day, with contributions all through the top 7, and to chase down 112 to beat Christ’s Hospital. Tom Williams was to the fore that day. Credit must go to the bowlers though in the last two games. Against Giggleswick, the three spinners reduced the opposition from 77-0 to 174 all out. Arthur Harman took 6-44, but the pressure was built by Sam Houldsworth at the other end too, whose 1-28 off 10 overs didn’t do him justice. The next day was similar, although Barney Latham had reduced Christ’s Hospital to 35-5 early on. Sam Houldsworth’s control was impeccable once more, as he and Arthur Harman reeled off 22 overs for a miserly 51 runs.

Thus a season which had begun with a degree of anxiety ended in triumph. It was a collective effort from all those who played and they deserve huge credit. They all improved individually, with bat and ball, and their hard work under the watchful eye of Mark Davis during the winter was rewarded. By the end even their fielding had improved, and we finally started to take our catches, with Tom Woods leaping like a salmon to pluck the ball from the air against Giggleswick, and Archie Potter firing in an exocet return to run out an astonished Christ’s Hospital batsman with a direct hit from the boundary. With all of these boys back next year hopefully they can go even better in 2018. In the meantime they can reflect on the 2017 season with real satisfaction and pride.

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CRICKET 2nd Xl - Dan Cupit

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he 2nd XI have had a fantastic season with both the bat and the ball and showed great athleticism in the field. For the first season in a while the 2nd XI were blessed with good weather and managed to complete a full set of fixtures.

The season started brightly with a strong win against Exeter School. A 91 run victory was not only an impressive start but the team had bonded well and had demonstrated real flair with the bat and great energy in the field. This strong start was then followed up with impressive performances again Wellington School (31 run victory), Monkton Combe (17 runs) and Queen’s College Taunton (34 run victory). In the final game of the season against a very strong Old Brutonians team the 2nd XI played some good cricket but simply found the mammoth total of 218 beyond their grasp.

Highlights of the season included big knocks from Will Luck, Sam Horner and James Ker. While there were many bowling highlights, Archie Warsap must get a mention for continually managing to ‘surprise’ the opposition batsman. This was very evident in the way he dismissed three 1st XI batsman in the 2nd XI vs 1st XI fixture which meant the outcome if the match was determined on the last ball.

However, this was an extremely exciting and promising season and I very much look forward to seeing this group of players step up again next season.

Junior ‘A’ - Louis O’Grady

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he Junior ‘A’ cricket XI enjoyed a fun, competitive and constructive season last year.

Most of our games were very tightly contested and made for some thrilling matches. We first played Exeter School, where Olivia Hamilton had the knock of the year to reach 64 playing with maturity beyond her years. Here she was ably supported by a great cameo from Finn Spilsbury with 26, although we couldn’t quite hold on for the win and came 7 runs short. We then moved on to play an exceptionally talented Wellington School side who beat us convincingly, despite a brilliant and determined knock from Captain Michael Harvey 57 supported by a gritty innings from Kit Garnon 26 . The Queen’s College Taunton fixture was also closely fought with us only falling 13 runs short of a win. This could be largely attributed to us

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dropping six catches and one Queen’s batsman going on to make 100 not out.

Next was Monkton Combe, a match which turned into a battle against the prevailing weather. The rain made it an exceptionally hard surface to bat on as the ball was able to grip and seam around dangerously.

Good bowling performances came from Herbie Shone, taking 3 wickets. Jordan Edson played a very mature innings to see us over the line, scoring a very valuable 16. We then progressed to beat Sherborne Boys School, with Finn Spilsbury, Joe Gartell and Leo Hayward taking 3 wickets a piece and Michael Harvey scoring a fluent 42 not out. The following week saw us face a strong Taunton side on a scorching day. A combination of some brilliant dismissals from them and us not taking our chances ensured our score was chased down despite some nice bowling from Sam Rabbetts taking 1 for 16 from 4 overs. Our next match was against a touring Giggleswick side.We were the stronger team although both sides had a brilliant day in the sunshine, playing the game in the right spirit.

We finished the year nicely with our tour to Glenalmond school in Perthshire, Scotland. Despite facing some transport issues on the way there, we arrived late in the evening in high spirits. Unfortunately there was no play on the first day as the prevailing Scottish weather left large puddles on a good length.

To make the most of this wet weather, we instead journeyed to Stirling Castle before playing an interesting round of wet golf back at Glenalmond on their six-hole course. Thankfully, the following day was dry and we managed to squeeze all three T20 matches in on one day. This took a great deal of stamina from the boys and we progressed well throughout the day.

Stand-out performances came from Adam BarrettJames and Jordan Edson with the bat, from Oliver Barber, as an all-rounder, and from Leo Hayward and Finn Spilsbury with the ball.

In summation, we had a brilliant season as a team and progressed a great deal throughout.

What was key for us were the excellent atmosphere and a true desire to win, and to improve and play as much cricket as possible. Mr Bunday, Mr Hamilton and myself are all very much looking forward to the coming seasons and watching this group of young men develop into an excellent senior 1st XI in time to come.

Junior B - Dan Hodder The Junior Bs had a season of progress and developed a great deal over the course of the term. Captained by Alex Mickleburgh, Oliver Sykes and Freddie Goggs the team came up against strong opposition. However, with increasing confidence, the team managed to demonstrate the skills we practiced: batting for more extended periods, holding more catches and bowling in improved areas. The team’s two stand-out batsmen, Oliver Sykes and Freddie Goggs, topped the averages with 26 and 27 at the close of the season. With the ball, Liam Ward closed with a bowling average of 35, with Clifford Christianakis just behind him on 38.

Elsewhere with the ball, Oskar Lefebvre became a crucial bowler in breaking up partnerships, together

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Dan Hodder keeps a watchful eye

with Alex Mickleburgh who took ten wickets over the course of the summer. Behind the stumps, Charlie Wichary got better and better with the gloves, ending the season with a series of fine catches off our pace attack and one fantastic stumping off the bowling of Freddie Goggs. The group were a delightful set of young men to coach and I look forward to following their progress in the years to come.

Will Sandy follows through

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CRICKET TEAM SHEETS

1st XI: Standing (L to R): T. Rogers, S. Houldsworth, P. Jenkins, T. Williams, H. Macleod-Ash, B. Hughes Sitting (L to R): T. Woods, A. Harman (Vice-Capt), B. Latham (Capt), A. Potter, I. Elms

2nd XI: Standing (L to R): J. Sykes, S. Horner, T. Doig, I. Wright, T. Colebatch, R. Leschalles, W. Sandy Sitting (L to R): W. Luck, J. Ker, T. Clothier, M. Jenkins, A. Enderby, A. Warsap, H. White

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THE DOLPHIN 2017

Junior A: Standing (L to R): J. Edson, K. Garnon, A. Barrett-James, H. Shone, O. Barber, J. Saunders, S. Rabbets, S. Sweeting Sitting (L to R): L. Haywood, O. Hamilton, M. Harvey (Capt), F. Spilsbury, J. Gartell

Junior B: Standing (L to R): J. Richmond, B. Vallings, O. Pick, L. Ward, J. FowlerBaxter, W. Bartlett, C. Wichary, F. Goggs, A. White Sitting (L to R): O. Enderby, O. Sykes, O. Lefebvre, A. Mickleburgh, L. Hutchinson, T. Horner, T. Ker

Junior C: Standing (L to R): O. Smith, C. Bascombe, M. Kher, L. Harper Sitting (L to R): H. Sanford, H. Burgess, C. Wildman, W. Harrison, A. Jones

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ATHLETICS

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he King’s Bruton athletes started the 2017 season with a new meet on the fixtures card, hosted by Blundells but held at the Yeovil track. Five teams from King’s competed against Blundells, Bryanston, Taunton, Wellington and King’s Taunton. For many of our athletes it was their first ever athletics competition and I think many surprised themselves. Our athletes produced some truly superb performances, with five 3rd placed finishes, 14 2nd placed finishes and 1st place finishes from the following: Esther Adenuga OG HJ Vicki McCabe OG 200m & LJ Aidan McFarlane U15 TJ Felix Farrell U17 TJ Rowan Oliver U15 HJ Toby Phillips U15 Shot Harriet Tuson U16 300m We hosted our annual meet here on Farr Field, and thankfully the weather was considerably better than it was for the 2016 meet. Six visiting schools, Downside, Wells Cathedral School, Kingswood, Wellington, Sherborne Boys and Blundells competed in the U16 boys and girls teams and open girls competition. Our impressive inter boys won the team competition, pipping Sherborne by two points.

On the same weekend it’s always the Somerset Combined Events Championships, so on Saturday Matt Scott, Rian Upton and Milo Best started their Octathlon with their first 4 events. Sam Rabbets and Ollie Luck competed in the Pentathlon with Sam Rabbets achieving a very commendable 5th in Somerset. On Sunday, bright and early, Jasmine Spilsbury, Harriet Tuson and Pandora Cobb started their Pentathlon with the hurdles in the sunshine! Matt, Rian and Milo continued with their next 4 events. After the final event of the 1500m Milo was 7th, Rian 5th and Matt a well deserving 3rd bronze medal. With 60 junior girls competing it was a long, wet day but all of them kept smiling and positive even though the High Jump took two hours to complete! All three girls finished the gruelling day with a very impressive 800m which enabled Harriet to move up the rankings to a commendable 5th in Somerset.

On Saturday 6th May our teams went down to the Bryanston grass track to compete against Bryanston, Dauntsey’s, Canford, Sherborne Boys and Girls and Clayesmore. The best performances were Ed McCabe’s 100m and especially his 200m where he ran a new PB of 23.9 (on grass!), Harriet Tuson and Vicky McCabe’s tightly fought race in the 300m, Matt Scott who won his hurdles, Milo Best who also won his 400m and Vicky who blitzed the opposition in her 200m.

The following weekend a few of our athletes competed in the Somerset AA Championships, with Tom Jones winning the U15 Discus with 29m79. We then realised that if

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he could produce another big throw on the Wednesday he would score high points for the team at the English Schools Cup. With 15 boys and 13 girls making up their team they approached the competition with eager anticipation, but torrential rain and gale force winds did not provide the conditions we really wanted. Grit and determination enabbled us to get through the day. The girls’ team produced some good results but as many of them were 3rd formers this was more for experience and preparing them for the 2018 season. The boys really did show their talents, scoring an impressive 389, coming 2nd to Millfield, and ranking them in the top 5 in the south of England and qualifying them for the Regional A final. This was to be the first time that King’s would have a boys’ team at a Regional final.

The annual 11-school meet at Millfield was again held in horrendous conditions. With all the tennis matches cancelled and the covers going on and off the cricket wickets, the athletes just kept ploughing on in the pouring rain! We achieved lots of 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed finishes, with many of the athletes surprisingly achieving new PBs. The most notable achievements of the day were: Rian Upton Javelin – 34.42 metres Harriet Tuson -hurdles – 12.9 seconds Milo Best 400m- 56.9 seconds Rob Harris 800m 2:11 minutes and seconds Again, all the points accumulate for the overall team score, and to our amazement the U15 Boys were 2nd behind Millfield and the U16 boys were 2nd only by 3 points to Taunton.

The weather was thankfully much warmer and sunnier for the Yeovil Area Championships and with over 50 of our King’s athletes competing, we were delighted that 30 were then selected to represent Yeovil at the Somerset Championships.

Sports’ Day on the Friday before half term was held on a beautiful afternoon, with blue skies and sunshine! Now we had to worry about sunblock, water and shade rather than umbrellas and waterproofs!

School records were being broken on the track and in the field. Subsequently, our athletes had a very successful day at the Somerset Schools Athletics Championships held at the Yeovil track. Twenty seven pupils competed in blustery, swirling conditions and surprisingly the throws went particularly well for some of our athletes. It was tough running into the last 200m with a cross wind, followed by a horrid head wind making the track events particularly difficult. However we achieved 16 podium places.

Seven 3rd placed finishes: Felix Farrell - Inter Boy Triple Jump & Long Jump Esther Adenuga - Inter Girls 100m Sam Rabbets- Junior Boys Hurdles Ryan Upton - Inter Boys Discus Megan Jones - Senior Girls’ Javelin Pandora Cobb- Junior Girls’ 200m

THE DOLPHIN 2017

Back Row (L to R): Oliver Barber, Rowan Oliver, Tom Read, Hector McAfee, Toby Crossfield, Milo Best, Felix Farrell Third Row (L to R): Sean Lock, Honor Mant, Katie Proctor, Josh Blunden, Theo Barrett, Lauren Beaton, Henry Barker Bennett, Megan Jones, Pip Venner Coombes, Sam Rabbetts, Aidan McFarlane, Rory Wood, Toby Phillips, Tom Jones, George Matthew, Jake Tadhunter, Finn Spilsbury, Henry Oliver, Angus McDermid, Pyalyang Dorji, Ben Davies, Ben Burton, Jasper Thomas, Charlotte Elway, Pandora Cobb, Millie Toulson-Clarke, Christina Marti, Nele Hoffmann, Emma Walker, Ollie Luck Second Row (L to R): India Summerfield, Cressida Bird, Imogen Dawe, Matt Scott, Millie Walters, Alen Safaryan, Cully McDermid, Harry Hunter, Victoria McCabe, Edward McCabe, Jack Potter, Atlanta Ross, Rian Upton, Harriet Tuson, Tom Westropp, Abagael Hyde, Molly Hunter Kneeling (L to R): Jonathan Boyle, Huw Downes, Max Mason, William Labbe, Esther Adenuga, Rosie Wakelin, Rosie Byrne, Jasmine Spilsbury, Ella Docherty, Ellie Smith, Rob Harris, Scarlett Yeandel, Jake Woods, Katie Wootton

Six 2nd placed finishes: Jack Potter Senior boys Shot & Javelin Harriet Tuson Junior Girls 200m Tom Jones Junior Boys Discus Ed McCabe Senior Boys Long Jump Pip Venner Coombes - Junior Girls Discus And we have three County Champions: Rowan Oliver won in the Junior Boys High Jump; Toby Phillips won Junior Boys Shot with a new PB; Henry Barker Bennett won the Senior Boys Triple Jump Three King’s athletes were then selected to represent Somerset at the South West Schools Championships held at Exeter Arena, Rowan Oliver (JB HJ) Toby Phillips (JB SP) and Esther Adenuda (IG TJ), where Toby achieved a well-deserved third place.

At the English Schools Cup Regional A final our Inter boys were competing against Windsor Boys, The Forest School, Robert Mays School, Portsmouth Grammar School, Bishop Wordsworth, Millfield and Archway School from Stroud.

After all the field events, we were in joint 2nd place with Millfield but even though we scored the same points on the track, Millfield ran an amazing relay in 49 secs and scored an impressive 422-point total

This saw us slip to 4th and thus out of the running for the Nationals. The Inter Boys result put them into the top sixteen schools in the Country, no mean feat.

Harriet Tuson and Matt Scott were selected to represent Somerset at the South West Schools Combined Events Championships. Matt competed in the Octathlon and Harriet the Pentathlon.

The last two team meets were at Canford and Taunton, with the collective scores for the boys and girls teams culminating in them winning both meets.

The inter boys deservedly won Team of the Term for their incredible performances throughout the term. So this was a fantastic season of athletics in a variety of weather conditions, and which saw a huge number of pupils achieving PBs, and, most importantly, loving the sport!

Pip Atkinson-Kennedy Left: Honor Mant Inset on P106: Emily Wastell

Katie Proctor

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TENNIS Boys’ Tennis 1st VI - Seamus

Harkness

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he boys’ First Six were very able players and managed some gritty victories over the course of the term with impressive wins over Clayesmore in particular. Some of the bigger schools such as Dauntseys had much depth to their squads which in turn meant that they were simply too strong for us. What was pleasing however is that some members of the squad whose talents had not been fully recognised had the chance over the course of the term to play in the first team and they took their opportunities with aplomb.

There were some scintillating performances from the top seeds, Lluis Montalat and Massimo Russowsky de la Chapelle as well as the consistent pairing of Freddie North and Christo Bradstock. Some of the young guns such as Charles Cross and Cosmo Williams-Cardaras developed well later on in the term and will be looking to cement their positions in the first team next year. Thanks must go to Dan Cahill for his inspirational coaching and development of King’s tennis and we are all very much looking forward to next year.

Toby Mathews

TENNIS

Rory McAfee

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TENNIS TEAM SHEETS 2nd VI: Standing (L to R): E. Mathews, R. Lowsley-Williams, P. Boyden Sitting (L to R): M. Ward, H. Snow, D. Mant

3rd VI: Standing (L to R): L. Gould, F. Cobb, K. Ho Sitting (L to R): M. Walters, K. Mant, H. Wakelin

1st VI: Standing (L to R): S. Hamilton, K. Jones, M. Lindner Sitting (L to R): G. Dimdore-Miles, B. Pretor-Pinney, M. Owen

Junior A: Standing (L to R): A. Ruddock, K. Wootton, I. Bird Sitting (L to R): A. Barkshire, H. Freund, C. Cooke, Z. Cheffings, M. Walters

Junior B: Standing (L to R): S. Gartell, A. Hurst, C. Pollard, I. Andjel-Davies Sitting (L to R): J. Webb, T. Felgenhauer, L. Purefoy, F. Fearn, N. Wilmshurst

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TENNIS 1st VI -

G

Kate Flavell

irls’ tennis at King’s goes from strength to strength each year, this year being no exception. The 1st VI tennis pairs were all incredibly strong and they played with passion and determination throughout the term, coming away with a fantastic unbeaten season.

The 1st VI girls had a strong start to the season, playing against a strong Monkton Combe side and securing a 6-3 win. Beth Pretor-Pinney led by example as 1st VI captain, serving with pace to catch the opposition off-guard. Elizabeth’s partner, Georgia Dimdore-Miles, also started the season strongly, with pacey groundstrokes, and the two of them were formidable at the net – intercepting most cross-court shots.

The season continued to build with excellent wins against Downside and Bryanston, both 6-3. The girls formed great partnerships on the court, and this was clearly shown by their successes. Malena Lindner and Sophie Hamilton were a difficult pair to beat, their forceful shots and consistent accuracy were incredible and they left their opponents with limited options.

Our last three matches of the season were against Clayesmore, Wells Cathedral School and St Mary’s School, Shaftesbury. Jemima Owen and Kiara Jones’ tactical play came to light in these matches, adding slice to their shots and perfecting their lobs and drop-shots. They moved around the court well and helped contribute to the brilliant victories against each of these schools.

Against Wells Cathedral School, we had a larger squad than normal and it was great to see Ruby Lowsley-Williams, Daisy Mant, Poppy Boyden, Hannah Snow and Megan Ward all making their successful debuts for the 1st VI. Sadly four out of the six 1st VI members will leave us at the end of the season for pastures new and we will be incredibly sad to see them go. Elizabeth, Jemima and Georgia, in particular, have played for the 1st VI since they were juniors and so it won’t quite be the same on a Tuesday training session not seeing them out on the court – a huge thank you for all they have contributed to girls’ tennis over their time at King’s. That being said, we are already looking forward to next year as there are some fantastic younger tennis players who are making their way up the ranks – it will be an exciting time ahead for King’s girls’ tennis.

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2nd VI Like the Girls’ 1st VI tennis, the 2nd VI tennis team have also had a brilliant season, having played five matches and winning four. The girls have played against some strong sides and several matches have been played in challenging conditions – gale force winds and slowpaced surfaces certainly didn’t help at times.

A lot of the 2nd team fixtures this term have been with a slightly larger squad size, which has been great as it has meant more girls have had the opportunity to play in competitive matches. The 2nd VI started strongly in the first match of the season against Monkton Combe, winning 7-2. The pairing combination of Daisy Mant and Poppy Boyden was formidable, and the girls moved around the court brilliantly. By the end of the season, these two had established a great relationship and they were hard to beat.

In the matches against Downside, Clayesmore and St Mary’s Shaftesbury, the 2nd VI won all their matches.

They took what they had learnt in their training sessions into the match situations, focusing on their attacking play and making winning shots at the net. Ruby LowsleyWilliams and Elodie Mathews played exceptionally well, complementing each other’s playing style well.

Ruby and Elodie served strongly and made the winning shots count.

The final pair of the 3rd VI was Hannah Snow and Megan Ward; their tenacity and determination made them incredibly hard to beat, especially with Hannah’s forceful and accurate groundstrokes and Megan’s amazing ability to return any shot, no matter its pace or placement on the court!

Overall, the 2nd VI had an incredibly successful season, they were a pleasure to coach and it was great to see how much they had all improved as individuals, and as a team. I look forward to seeing many of them back on the court again next season, and a huge thank you to Daisy and Hannah for all that they have done for girls’ tennis during their time here at King’s.

Inset: Beth Pretor-Pinney

3rd VI In the past we have sometimes struggled to put out a 3rd VI tennis team, however this year we had no difficulty as the standard of girls’ tennis at this level was incredibly high. It was lovely to see so many girls playing in competitive matches and the 3rd VI team had another highly successful season, winning three out of

THE DOLPHIN 2017 their four matches.

The girls started the season on a great note by playing Monkton Combe and came away with a strong 7-2 victory. The team was led by a well-matched pair of Kitty Mant and Florence Cobb. Both girls played tennis to a high level throughout the season and their strong natural ability made them hard to beat.

The 3rd VI continued to build from strength to strength by winning their next two matches against Downside (4-2) and Clayesmore (9-0). Charlotte Gould and Harriet Wakelin really shone in these matches. Their friendship off the court made them work even better on court and their placement of shots was much improved compared with last year. Karen Ho and Taesha Wolfe also came on well and it was wonderful to see their competitive nature become apparent. All the girls’ in the 3rd VI became ever more consistent with their groundstrokes and serves, but the real improvement was seen through their aggressive net play.

Junior Girls This season proved to be rather challenging, and it is to the credit of the girls that they approached training and fixtures with determination and good-humour at all points of the term.

The Junior Girls had a superb start to their tennis season, facing Monkton Combe, who played a tactica. Our Junior A VIII played very well together, demonstrating superb sportsmanship and some excellent play in fantastic weather conditions. After several closely contested sets, King’s secured a victory of 10 sets to 6 with Isca Bird and Harriet Freund playing particularly well and winning all four of their sets.

performing extremely well, with all pairs demonstrating improved play, particularly when volleying at the net.

The final score of eight sets to one was welldeserved and a testament to their efforts. The Bs faced tougher opposition, together with a stronger wind up on Hippisley. Nevertheless, they played very well and were unlucky that more games did not go their way. The final score of three sets to six did not truly represent the standard of their game and the team should be proud of the way they played.

Both teams went on to fight close matches against Clayesmore, Wells Cathedral School and St Mary’s Shaftesbury. All of these opponents had strong teams, meaning that we had to play our best tennis to try to match them. Every pair had some nail biting matches, with some great attacking play taking place at the net. Unfortunately, our efforts were not quite enough, and we suffered losses in each of these fixtures.

Regular members of the squads were as follows: Tilly Andjel-Davies, Anna Barkshire, Isca Bird, Zoe Cheffings, Ceci Cooke (Captain), Freya Fearn, Teresa Felgenhauer, Harriet Freund, Sophie Gartell, Amy Hurst, Constance Pollard, Laura Purefoy, Amy Ruddock, Millie Walters, Juliette Webb, Natalie Wilmshurst and Katie Wooton.

Inset above: Malena Lindner Below: Isca Bird

Inset below: Harriet Freund

The following week saw us up against a strong Downside opposition who left little margin for error. This meant that all girls in the As and Bs had to play to their best, which they did, resulting in some closely fought matches, often going to deuce, though unfortunately too many games did not go our way, resulting in losses for both squads.

Right from the first serve, the Junior As dominated the next match against Bryanston,

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TENNIS AND SWIMMING

Katherine Wooton

Zoe Cheffings

Ruby Lowsley-Williams

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SWIMMING In the Christmas Term, the Inter-House Swimming competition showcased some outstanding swimming, and swimmers. As a result of which numerous new recruits were headhunted and asked to join the Swimming Squad. Pleasingly, most of these swimmers did, which was fantastic.

The swimming team’s first gala was a friendly against the Millfield Sharks. Although we lost this match (KSB 40, Millfield Sharks 48), the score does not show how close every single race was and this fixture started yet another successful season for the team. There were multiple wins, including a first place from Catherine Coulson and a second place from Hebe Young in the Girls Breaststroke race. Other victories included both the girls (Samantha Walker) and the boys 25m Butterfly (Alistair Sanford), the girls (Olivia Ronda) and the boys (Ryan Longman) 25m Backstroke, and the girls 50m Butterfly (Samantha Walker). Swimmers of the match were Samantha Walker and Alistair Sanford. The Swimming Squad were pleased to welcome Daniella Ker and Lara Milne to the team for this fixture.

In week three, the second match was against Queen’s College Taunton. Unfortunately we narrowly lost against some very strong opposition, including one member of the GB swim team. This was a fantastic experience for the Senior Boys team and such a high standard of swimming was impressive to watch.

Outstanding wins were achieved by Samantha Walker in the two lengths Butterfly and by Sophie Tyack in the four lengths Freestyle. These wins boosted the whole swimming team and all swam to a very high standard. Swimmers of this match were Olivia Ronda and Luck Tuckfield. This match saw excellent debut performances from Catherine and Peter Coulson and Samuel Horner.

A rematch against the Millfield Sharks at the end of week three started well with the Girls and Boys Medley relay team wins. The numerous wins, all of which contributed to the incredibly close match victory, were from Peter Coulson in the 100m Individual Medley, Luck Tuckfield in the 50m Butterfly and 25m Breaststroke, Ryan Longman for his 25m Backstroke,

Catherine Coulson in her 25m Breaststroke, the Girls Freestyle Relay team and the 10 x 25m Freestyle Mixed Canon Relay. The match outcome rested on this final Canon Relay which King’s won in a very, very closely fought race – well done to Harry Deakin for bringing it home successfully! The swimmers of this match were Catherine and Peter Coulson. For their outstanding performance in this gala the swimmers were awarded Team of the Week. Also, this win has continued the King’s Swimming Squad’s unbeaten home record.

The week four match away against Taunton School saw great first swims for Adam Barrett-James, Isabella Bird, Ella Docherty, Pyalyang Dorji, Harry Farragher, Amy Hurst, Amy and Katie Ruddock and Thomas Robinson. Despite competing incredibly well, we were narrowly defeated by the very strong Taunton School team. Close second places were achieved by Samantha Walker in the 100m Individual Medley and Senior Fly, Olivia Ronda in the Senior Backstroke, Amelia Toulson-Clarke and Sophie Tyack in the Junior and Senior Freestyle, respectively, and Adam BarrettJames in the Junior Breastroke and Toby Clothier in the Senior Fly. The swimmers of this match were Amelia Toulson-Clarke (Junior Girls), Adam Barrett-James (Junior Boys), Samantha Walker (Senior Girls) and Toby Clothier (Senior Boys). The team’s performance was again recognised by being chosen as Team of the Week for the second week in a row.

The final match for the swim team took place at the end of week five. For this match the team travelled to Canford School to compete against Clayesmore, Sherborne, and the hosts Canford. There were some exceptional swims, including a second place from Olivia Ronda in the Senior Girls’ Backstroke and Benjamin Fearn in the Senior Boys’ Backstroke. Both Samantha Walker and Sophie Tyack came second in the Senior Girls Butterfly and in the Senior Girls Freestyle, respectively. The final highlights of the gala were second places for the Senior Girls and Boys in the Freestyle and Medley relays. Overall the Junior Girls and Boys along with the Senior Boys came third by very small margins, but we were extremely proud of the Senior Girls team who finished a very respectable second place overall. Swimmers of this match were Isabel Branagan (Junior Girls), Benjamin Fearn (Junior Boys), Sophie Tyack (Senior Girls) and Ryan Longman (Senior Boys).

Well done to Alice Corlett for her first competitive swim in this gala.

Sadie Osborne Back row (left to right) – Isabel Branagan, Jacob Longman, Tara Saunders, Benjamin Fearn, Sophie Tyack, Harry Farragher, Amy Hurst, Peter Coulson, Toby Clothier, Samuel Horner, Charles Cross, Amelia Toulson-Clarke, Luke Tuckfield, Adam Barrett-James, Pyalyang Dorji, Ella Docherty.

Middle row (left to right) – Fergus Gillard, Harriet Matthew, Catherine Coulson, Hebe Young, Matilda Houldsworth, Samantha Walker (C), Ryan Longman (C), Harry Deakin, Alistair Sanford, Olivia Hughes, Olivia Ronda, Felix Pinney.

Front row (left to right) – Thomas Robinson, Katie Ruddock, Lara Milne, Amy Ruddock, Isabella Bird, Daniella Ker, Alice Corlett, Eleanor Smith.

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PRIZEGIVING

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enior Warden, Governors, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Gareth Evans as our Guest of Honour on this his last day here at King’s.

Gareth has served King’s for 29 years and I will say more about him near the end of my speech.

However, I would like to turn your attention to the biography of Gareth on the inside back cover of the programme. I have worked hard to get this biography correct and it is unique because, having trawled through our archives, I am confident that the photograph of the younger Gareth is the only one in the School’s possession that shows Gareth with a glass of orange juice in his hands rather than wine or beer.

So, Gareth and Jillian, thank you very much for being here as the School’s guests, and we look forward to Gareth presenting the prizes shortly.

Well, what a year this has been for King’s – a year of incredible highs and deep, depressing lows.Any Head knows that pupil illness or bereavement is a possibility and if you are a Head for long enough, these become sadly more a probability than a possibility, but no Head can manage these circumstances alone.

We have had a difficult year: we started with dear Yusof’s Thanksgiving service in St Mary’s in early October, we will finish the year with poor Harry’s Thanksgiving Service in St Mary’s this coming Wednesday, and obviously we have also had significant pupil illness in between.

Our pastoral teams, Housemistresses and Housemasters, the Chaplain, the Health Centre, our Tutors, the Deputy Heads, Rob Lowry and Rose Vigers our Designated Safeguarding Officers, have all had to deal with so much this year and I am very, very grateful to them all for their professionalism, compassion and

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care under complex and challenging circumstances.

The email I wrote to you, the parents, informing you of Harry’s death was the hardest I have yet had to write, and one that any Head dreads ever having to write, but again I am so very grateful to the many parents and Governors for the wonderful words of support for the School.

Teenage mental health is right at the forefront of King’s ongoing development and, from September, we will be rolling out to all 7 Houses the early warning wellbeing tracking programme, AS tracking, which has been successfully piloted in Old, New and Arion.

My thanks go to Alison Grant, supported by Ashely Marshfield, Beth Griffiths and Malcom Jeffrey, for her hard work, initiative and commitment to ensure that AS tracking will become an integral part of our pastoral care provision at King’s.

Despite our low points, this year has been very successful and incredibly busy. I hope you all take time to look through our termly Headlines publication as this is the easiest way to see the amazing variety and wonderful success here at King’s. I am indebted to George Beverly for his boundless enthusiasm and energy in producing all our hard copy and digital marketing. George is never happier than when his drone is in the skies, although his drone now must compete with his time lapse camera filming the new Music School site.

We will start the building of the new Music School on the old swimming pool site on July 10th and this will mark a significant transformation of the school campus and give all our musicians, and indeed the local community, a facility to match their undoubted musical talents. As you know we have publicly launched the £1 million fundraising appeal having already raised half of that amount in our quiet phase of fundraising. This has been successful due to the generosity of a relatively small number of current parents and Old Brutonians. It is my job now to harness the support of the rest of the King’s community to ensure that we reach, or exceed, our target. A school with our heritage and with such a legacy project launched will, I have no doubt, be able to exceed this target, although this will only happen with the support of the whole King’s community.

This will be a very busy summer for the Bursar and for the Estates Department as we undertake the second phase of the classroom refurbishment programme, completely refurbish the Dining Hall with the support of Chartwells, our caterers, undertake work inside Arion, and renovate the High Street frontage of both Arion and Priory. We have also secured ownership of the Rectory and the Glebe, the land between the

THE DOLPHIN 2017

singing at prizegiving MA.jpg

tennis courts and the Headmaster’s House, from the Diocese and we will start essential renovation works on the Rectory. The Parish Church Council offices will come over from the Rectory annex to Plox, and be accommodated in school office rooms above the Common Room.

Therefore, we have finally secured ownership of the strategically important Glebe land but also now have the option of deciding how best to use the Rectory building – a decision that will be taken in due course. I must publically thank Louis Tuson, the Bursar, for his outstanding work this year.

When I first spoke to Louis about the possibility of him applying for the Bursar’s job here he said that he was happy where he was and that he felt there may not be enough projects for him here. Thankfully we managed to persuade Louis to apply to be Bursar, and I think he will admit that we have given him enough projects to last him for several years, both here and at Hazlegrove. I knew that Louis was a man of action when he asked me last year if I liked the tree standing in the middle of the Glebe car park. I gave a rather noncommittal answer as I had not really thought that much about the tree. When I walked to my office the next day, the tree had gone. I asked Louis what happened to it, and he said that because I had not said I liked the tree he took it as the green light to get rid of it and extend the car park. So, if Louis asks you if you like your house, say yes with real conviction - otherwise you may find the new A303 going through your front room.

Obviously, this term has been dominated by external exams and I also want to thank Dan Cupit, our now very experienced Director of Studies, Will Daws, who has made the new role of Head of 6th Form integral to our academic provision and who has exciting

plans on how to develop the role to support all our 6th Formers, and to all our Heads of Departments who continue to lead the academic life of King’s with skill and total commitment. They are having to cope with an external environment of unprecedented change and uncertainty. I have warned Governors that the common feeling amongst Heads is that this year’s examination results will be volatile nationally and it will be increasingly difficult, and inaccurate, to compare ongoing examination results with past examination results. However, I still anticipate that universities will be very keen to accept all our students despite these uncertainties which are beyond our control. As from September we are launching a new initiative in the 6th Form, the King’s Baccalaureate, which will reward all 6th Formers for both their academic achievements as well as their involvement in leadership and extracurricular activities.

I was very sorry to have to miss both the Summer Concert and the Leavers’ concerts this year, although I returned in time from my travels to hear the excellent Battle of the Bands in the Theatre. It has been another amazing year for King’s music with exceptional concerts, Choral Evensongs and a wonderful Beating the Retreat two weeks ago by the Military band. My thanks as always go to David Gorodi and to Ashley Marshfield for ensuring our music is so vibrant, and I look forward to at last providing all our musicians with facilities that enhance their music. The Senior Warden last year asked for a performance in Prizegiving, but now it is my turn so I have asked the Chamber Choir to sing My spirit sang all day, by Finzi.

The theatre has also seen a wonderful whole school production of the Wizard of Oz, excellent exam pieces, the talented Priory actors doing so well with

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PRIZEGIVING their House Play and last week an incredibly thoughtprovoking Junior Play. Maggie King and Will Stainton deserve thanks and admiration for all their hard work and expertise in putting together such enjoyable drama within such a busy school schedule.

I hope as many of you as possible have managed to view our exceptional Art and I am so grateful to Wayne Spilsbury and Seamus Harkness for ensuring that the Art Department remains an important creative hub for many pupils.

Our extra-curricular provision remains strong with D of E increasingly popular, two 10 Tors teams completing the gruelling 35-mile event in the quickest times on record, and our CCF team beating many larger school CCF contingents to the prestigious Wyvern Trophy at the recent CCF Camp. My thanks to Tom Loveless, Harriet Swindall, Craig Barrow and Paul Charlton along with all the supporting staff who ensure that we offer incredible variety outside the classroom.

King’s now has a remarkable reputation for sport under the guidance of Pip Atkinson-Kennedy, Stuart Hamilton and Henry Eriksson. The obvious and incredible highlight of the year must be the U16 girls’ indoor hockey squad winning the Nationals. I know from speaking to other Heads that this achievement has been noticed and remarked on regionally and nationally.

These talented girls also came 3rd nationally in outdoor hockey, and on another day, could well have won that as well. Henry deserves a show of our appreciation for this success and for his inspirational coaching to all our hockey players this year.

We have a very strong group of boys coming up through the School and the Under 14 rugby team was too powerful for most opponents, the inter boys athletics squad reached the regional finals for the firsttime, the girls’ 1st tennis VI were unbeaten while our netballers and cricketers have had excellent seasons.

Swimming is strong, cross country is popular; I would like to thank all our coaches for giving so much of their time to ensure that our pupils get such support and so many opportunities.

As Headmaster, I always think about King’s, but as I complete my 8th year of headship, I have reflected on this School and what I see as three key elements. I have identified in my own mind 3 Cs that are integral to King’s for all of us. These 3 Cs are COMMUNITY, CHALLENGE and COMMUNICATION. I have no doubt that King’s is a remarkable community. All aspiring School prefects, in their applications and in their interviews, focus on the importance of our community. Our size makes us able to work and interact so closely together. We don’t always get everything right, but our School community

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is what makes us such a special School.

Secondly, any education must be challenging.

I want our students to be challenged both inside and outside the classroom but always feel that they have the support of enthusiastic and committed staff. Sadly, unexpected and difficult challenges arise, but this year has shown that we can cope together with these challenges. As a community, we embrace positive challenges and we work together to support each other in the face of unexpected ones.

And finally, our community must be one where communication, of all types, is positive, is constructive and mutually supportive. The communication triangle between parent, school and teenager must always be kept free and open. This year has made it so clear to me that it is good to talk.

Sadly, this is the time to say thank you and goodbye to our leaving staff.

Sally Crockatt has been an amazing support for our Science Departments and nothing seems to phase her. She made the transition from parent to member of staff with ease and we will miss her. Sally has also given invaluable support to our strong swim squad and she leaves for the States with our thanks and best wishes.

James Smith returned to King’s and he also made the transition with ease, this time from former pupil to member of staff.

He has worked tirelessly in the Music Department both during the school day and with the many concerts and evening events, while it is to his great credit that he has been such an effective Residential Tutor in Blackford since January. Please join me in thanking Sally and James for their contribution to King’s.

Harriet Swindall has packed more into her four years at King’s than most of us manage in twice that time. She has been an excellent teacher of languages and she has been amazing at developing and leading the silver Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.

I think her greatest achievement is the way that she rose to the challenge of running Priory House as Acting Housemistress during Emily’s maternity leave.

Louise Bray is one of the teachers that all Heads want because she is part-time but her commitment and involvement in the school is like someone who is full time. Louise has been an outstanding Head of Spanish and her success can be seen in the number of her former pupils who continued to study Spanish at university and indeed who have gone onto teaching. I know the Salamanca trip has been instrumental in instilling a love for the Spanish culture and language for many King’s students. Louise has also run the Community Service programme with admirable efficiency and initiative. Harriet and Louise, thank you, we will miss you and we hope you keep in touch.

We now say goodbye to three ‘big beasts of the jungle’, three members of staff who have been central to the pastoral heart of King’s.

THE DOLPHIN 2017 Charles Oulton is an archetypal schoolmaster who is passionate about his subject, who always has involved himself in the life outside the classroom and who cares deeply about the pupils. He will be remembered as an outstanding Blackford Housemaster, supported so well by Camilla, and I am delighted that he will continue to edit The Dolphin up to 2019 as well as using his skills to write the 500th celebratory book, ‘50 Treasures of King’s’. So, Charles thank you so much for all that you have done for so many boys and girls at King’s, thank you for your friendship and for your humour, and thank you for giving so much to King’s. Please can you come up and receive a gift from the School.

Nigel Wilson-Brown has made the Chaplaincy integral to the pastoral heart of the School. His care and compassion for pupils and staff has transformed lives, his teaching has always been outstanding and even when he knows little about something, like rugby, he bluffs so very well. Nigel leaves a legacy behind him. A legacy of faith, a legacy that puts the Chaplaincy at the centre of the School, a legacy of accessibility whether in personal, private conversation, or public sermons that are always enjoyed, listened to intently and leave us wanting more, and a legacy of the Indian orphanage and sadly a legacy of invaluable support for grieving families. I had the dubious privilege of going to Kenya with Nigel last weekend. It was Nigel, the wannabe Headmaster, who was upgraded by BA leaving me in cattle class. And Nigel managed to text me several photos of him before we took off, reclining with an omnipresent glass of champagne. To be honest, traveling with Nigel is like I would imagine it would be like travelling with a Labrador puppy on speed. So, Nigel, thank you for everything and the best of luck for your future.

I first heard the term ‘Pastoral Heart’ from Gareth Evans. Any new teacher should look at Gareth’s career and try to emulate his commitment, his passion for his school, his integrity and his highly developed interpersonal skills. He has served three Headmasters and I know we all have valued his support, his advice and his discretion. I thought it appropriate to read you an email I received from an OB recently.

“I would like to take the opportunity to tell you that Gareth was unquestionably one of the best teachers (school or university) who I was privileged to learn from, both inside and outside the classroom.

It is very unusual, in my experience, for any master to command the absolute respect of a school from Third Form, through to Sixth Form, the Common Room and former pupils and that should be, at the most fundamental level, a tribute to his integrity.

Transgressors were furious at being caught, but could not quibble with their treatment and understood exactly what would be meted out. Grudges never seemed to be borne by him, but those who took advantage of his good nature knew what to expect. I had the enormous privilege of serving as Head of School in 1998-9 and at the time was something of an anomaly having only

joined King’s in the Lower Sixth. I was fortunate to have had the support of the Common Room and from nobody more keenly than Gareth – the occasional wise word in the ear of the inexperienced adolescent made sure that my tenure was a fantastic formative experience (when I am in danger of making rash decisions now, I very often reflect on what the great Welshman would suggest).

Gareth is loyal, committed, a true friend and a respected colleague to so many. Gareth, you are a credit to your family and to your profession, and you deserve a long and rewarding retirement. Gareth has asked that he receives his present after he addresses the School so Daisy will do the honours.

I would like to finish by thanking Gilly Bunday and Rose Vigers for all their excellent work with the Friends and the OBA, thank you to Alison Grant and Will Dawe, two Deputies who work so very hard for us and who are vital for the smooth running of King’s and the ongoing nurturing of our pastoral heart.

Thank you to the Governors for their skill, support, questioning and wisdom. They work so hard for us and rarely receive our thanks.

Lastly thank you to Sharon my PA for her tact, good humour, amazing organisation and patience with me, and last, but by no means least, thanks to Helen for always being there for me, and to Anna and Natalie.

So, I leave you with these three core aspects of King’s Bruton – our deep-rooted and precious community, a community in which we are supported to meet the challenges that inevitably come our way as part of our all-round education, but also challenges that come unexpectedly, and a community where open and effective communication is standard at all levels.

Today we say goodbye to Gareth, Nigel and Charles, three long-serving members of staff who, in their own way, have ensured that this community has been vibrant and inclusive.

I wish our cricketers, the Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition and the French trip well over this coming week. I wish all our Leavers a bright, exciting, fulfilling and above all a safe future.To those of us returning in September to this wonderful School community, I wish you a refreshing, enjoyable, relaxing and above all a safe summer holiday.

It is my privilege to invite Gareth Evans to present our prizes and address the School for the last time.

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PRIZEGIVING THIRD FORM Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Constance Pollard Adam Barret-James

Juliette Webb Pandora Cobb

Rory Gibbs Scarlet Yeandel

Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work Natalie Wilmshurst Leo Haywood

Amy Ruddock Joseph Gartell

Freya Fearn Pippa Venner-Coombes

FOURTH FORM Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Alexander Baxter Gabriel Rampton Hamish Sanford Mani Kher

Giovanna Hajdu Hungria da Custodia Rosie Byrne

Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work Anna Barkshire Millie Walters

Michael Harvey Cecilia Cooke

Sebastian Sweeting Nele Hoffman

FIFTH FORM Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Samuel Innes Samuel Houldsworth Emma Walker Sophie Hamilton

Callum McFarlane Luke Tuckfield

Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work Poppy Boyden Holly Baker Elspeth Cooke Huw Downes

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Harry MacLeod-Ash Olivia Hamilton

THE DOLPHIN 2017 LOWER SIXTH FORM Subject Prizes Biology: Chemistry: Classics: Geography: Mathematics: Business Studies: Design & Technology: Economics: History: English: French: Physical Education: Further Mathematics: Physics: Hospitality: Health and Social Care: Psychology: Spanish: Sport: Theatre Studies:

Holly White Holly White Holly White Holly White Holly White Anna von Keller Robert Jin Kitty Mant Kitty Mant Chloe Dawe Megan Jones Megan Jones Henry Oliver Henry Oliver Ruby LowsleyWilliams Chloe Slingo Taya Atkinson Emily Wastell Cully McDermid Tom Hudson

Headmaster’s Prize for Music: Rebecca Bracey Alexander Hutton Imogen Moore

Slogrove Trophy:

Lucy Little

Bill Gordon Jazz Trophy:

Oscar Farrell

Band Shield:

Hebe Young

ART PRIZES Junior Award:

Poppy Boyden

Senior Award:

Harriet Matthew

History of Art:

Eleanor Smith

The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers School Prize in Art:

Eleanor Smith

NAMED PRIZES Strayt prize: for Biology (Junior)

UPPER SIXTH FORM Subject Prizes Biology: Geography: History: Business Studies: Chemistry: Classical Civilisation: Design and Technology Economics: English: French: Philosophy and Ethics: Further Mathematics: Physics: Health and Social Care: Hospitality: Mathematics: Psychology: Spanish: Sport: Theatre Studies:

Georgia DimdoreMiles Georgia DimdoreMiles Georgia DimdoreMiles Toby Kingsberry Samantha Walker Hebe Young Christo Bradstock Joshua Teuber Daisy Mant Isabel Fernandez William Hillier Sam Hung Alistair Sanford Karen Ho Lucie Moore Edward McCabe Alice Branagan Lucy Little Arthur Franks Ellena Loughrey

Poppy Boyden

3RD Form Reading Prize: for outstanding performance in the Accelerated Reading Scheme Katie Ruddock Davey prize: for creative writing Mary Tyndall Prize: for continued academic improvement

Juliette Webb

Kitty Taylor Billy Tarlton

The Fleischmann Prize for excellence in a second language Giovanna Hajdu Hungria da Custodia Most improved English as an additional language: – (Junior)

Kimmie Lam

Most improved English as an additional language: – (Senior)

Robert Jin

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PRIZEGIVING O.B.A. Prize: for excellence in G.C.S.E.

Holly White

Pineo Bowl: for contribution to boys’ sporting achievement both in School and at representative level

Jack Potter

Ridley Cup: for contribution to boys’ sport on and off the field Edward McCabe

Viney Prize: for achievement in G.C.S.E beyond expectation with continued progress in L6

Ella Corlett

The Tremlett Prize: for Historical work

for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Joshua Teuber

Daisy Mant

for Deputy Head Boy

Joshua Teuber

Henry Deanesley Prize: for Chemistry in 6th Form

Harriet Wakelin

for Deputy Head Girl

Rebecca Bracey

for Head Boy

Toby Kingsberry

For Head Girl

Daisy Mant

George Bailey Beak Trophy

New House

O.B.A. Progress Prizes: for progress not exclusively academic

HEADMASTER’S PRIZES

Arthur Franks Jemima Owen Thomas Colebatch

Hugh Sexey’s Memorial Prizes: for contribution to School life outside the classroom Olivia Hughes Alistair Sanford Elizabeth PretorPinney Robert Jin Alex Edwards Cup: for loyalty and service to the School community

Rebecca Bracey

Sir David Allen Prize: for public speaking

Toby Kingsberry

Sloman Cup: for contribution to the dramatic arts

Alen Safaryan

Gibbs Cup: for Drama

Annabel Black

Galbraith Cup: for contribution to girls’ sporting achievement both in School and at representative level

Coney Cup: for contribution to girls’ sport on and off the field

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OliviaHamilton Sophie Hamilton Victoria McCabe

Jemima Owen

Gareth Evans and Head Girl Daisy Mant

Design and Technology work produced by (clockwise from top left): Peter Knospe, 2OLYHU &URVVÀHOG 'DQLHO :DQJ 1LFN /RQJSUH Ann Ge, Jacob Ide and Lauren Beaton.