park
the
the Leighton Park School newsletter
Sixth Form African Adventures LP’s Got Talent 2016 The Great Honey Harvest
Autumn 2016
Headlines
mathematics have always been a strength of the school and we are reinforcing this as we seek to become a STEM Centre of Excellence in Education. A series of exciting developments for all our students is being planned with opportunities to work and learn with other local schools on STEM related challenges; support from external speakers and access to local academic and industrial partners is included. We want to offer all our students STEM based activities and opportunities that invite collaboration, codiscovery and experimentation in a supportive environment and I look forward to sharing these initiatives with you, the first of which will start in January. Through The Greenpower Education Trust, an organisation whose objective is to advance education in sustainable engineering and technology, we have made the exciting purchase of a kit-car and will be recruiting students to help build our own Leighton Park electric racing car, as demonstrated recently by Myles Nash, Head of Design Technology in Collect. Together with the building of the Music and Media Centre, which has now begun, the STEM initiative ensures that 2017 will be a very exciting year at Leighton Park. With best wishes, Nigel Williams, Head
Christmas is always a special time on the Park for all of us, whether we mark this time of year as part of our faith or as a holiday period. With a few presents still to buy, I was interested to read the recent article in The Guardian with regard to a piece of research undertaken by the Institution for Engineering and Technology (IET). The findings of the research found that toys with a science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) focus were three times more likely to be targeted at boys than girls and that, despite multiple campaigns, toys for girls are overwhelmingly pink. The research suggests that this gender differentiation in toys could be one of the factors deterring girls from a career in engineering. At Leighton Park we have always encouraged our students to look towards to a career about which they will be excited and passionate, without attaching any gender labels. The sciences and
Contents News
pages three, four, five, six, seven and eight
Art & Design page nine
Library
pages ten and eleven
Music
page twelve
Final Collect
Drama
page thirteen
The last Collect of the term took place in Main Hall on Friday 16th December. As always, the occasion was a great opportunity to award students for earning an exceptional amounts of merits and for outstanding achievements in Sports, Art and Music. The Collect ended with an upbeat and lively performance of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ by all of the staff and students, leaving everyone in high spirits before departing for the Christmas break.
Sport
pages fourteen and fifteen
Africa
pages sixteen and seventeen
Sixth Form
page eighteen
Alumni & Development page nineteen
PSC
page twenty Please visit Leightonpark.com for up-to-date news throughout the year. The front cover image shows the biennial Sixth Form trip to Africa with the Livingstone Tanzania Trust. Photo by Jonty Hyde (Lower Sixth)
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News
Global Games for Year 9 Year 9 Geographers have been studying development this term, looking at aid, trade and the millennium development goals. Part of their learning included ‘The Trade Game’, which involved students being divided into groups representing three countries; UK, Brazil and Tanzania. The aim of the game was to make as much money as possible by making shapes that could be exchanged for bank credit. Each country started with a different set of resources.
The Big Debate A heady combination of anticipation and argument welcomed the audience of the 100th JBH Speech Competition on Thursday 24th November. Irene Burke, Noah Curtis-Machin, Sam Pearson, Rhiannon Griffiths and Jacco Hui had to speak for three minutes uninterrupted, withstand seven minutes of heckling from a combative audience and then conclude in a further two minutes. Prior to the big night, the Sixth Formers were fortunate enough to receive an hour of personal coaching plus an hour long group session from Old Leightonian and professional presentation coach, Tim Spratt, during his first visit to Leighton Park in 35 years. A very valuable lesson that one participant took away with them was “What Tim described as the ‘time perception gap’; understanding the focus of a presentation and the ability and purpose of pausing for effect.”
Eithne Laird, Head of Geography
“It feels like a good dream that I’m about to wake up from. It doesn’t feel true to have won!” English teacher and organiser, Jonathan Porter-Hughes added, “The five speakers gave the judges a difficult task. I couldn’t have asked any more of them; I feel like a proud parent and they should all be proud of themselves.”
Saucepans at the Ready!
There were some wonderful aromas coming from the Food Technology suite on 4th October as the first round of Springboard’s Future Chef competition took place in after school Cookery Club. Four enthusiastic competitors from Year 8, Toby Cleare, Niam Patel, Zach Charles and Christian Wells and Fred Burgess (Year 7), produced some wonderful dishes including risottos, quiches and a couple
“The game gave students an understanding of the hardships faced by developing countries attempting to trade in a global market. It also made them think that if one of our solutions is to encourage developing countries to reduce the development gap through increased trade, more needs to be done to ensure they have an opportunity to have equal and fair trade with developed countries.” explained:
Delighted by her winning presentation on the subject of ‘A refugee is human too’, Irene said,
of chicken inspired culinary creations, all cooked from fresh ingredients. Judges Alex Fox and Jack Windle faced a tough decision to choose only two contestants for the Berkshire heats. After the official tasting, the young chefs selected were Zach for his Mushroom Risotto and Christian for his succulent Chicken with Hollandaise Sauce.
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News
Drug Education Day
Year 7 Visit Reading Meeting House On Tuesday 4th October, Year 7 Beliefs and Values students visited the Reading Meeting House as part of their exploration of Quakerism. Coinciding with Quaker Schools Week, the Year 7 students had an interesting time looking around the local Quaker Meeting House, seeing, experiencing and learning more about the Quaker faith and worship, including how Quaker graveyards are different. Julian Berrow, Modern Foreign Languages
“It was a pleasure to once again be welcomed by Friends at the Reading Meeting House. They shared with us the fascinating story of the children of Reading Meeting in early Quaker times. My heartfelt thanks to those at Reading Meeting who freely gave their time to share their knowledge and warmth with the latest generation of Leightonians.” teacher, commented,
D of E Bronze Award The Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh training walk on Saturday 5th November was a great success with the 30 students tackling the Bronze award raring to go! D of E Co-Ordinator, Ann Munday, explained the purpose of the trip, “Half the group walked from Ruscombe to Waltham St Lawrence and half in the reverse direction. Each group focussed on learning to read the map in relation to what they could see around them.” D of E participants also spent a weekend in December on the Park using grid references to navigate their way around the school grounds leaving messages for other teams in a game devised specifically for the occasion by Alex Fox. The students even managed to complete the first aid training they have been working on over the last half term, covering an additional three topics plus bandaging practice and working hard to keep everyone safe in anticipation of their first training walk on 4th February. Congratulations are due to the five students who collected their Bronze Awards in the Year 11 Collects this term: Alex Bishop, Phoebe Butler, Maria Kareeva and Owen Say on 4th November and Ashley Lian on 9th December.
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Years 9-13 received a fascinating talk by Bob Tait, Drugs Awareness Educator, on 22nd November, which had everyone rapt by the frightening consequences, to health and future prospects, from illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. Interested parents experienced a repeat of the event in the evening, giving as many of the community as possible access to the latest information on the dangers of making particular lifestyle choices.
LP’s Got Talent! It was a top night for talent on Wednesday 30th November as the four senior Houses battled it out in the annual Amicus event ‘LP’s Got Talent’, this year raising money for Camp Mohawk. Organiser and Sixth Former, Grace Lugard, explained, “There are three categories for each House to present; iconic movie sketches, lip sync and other – which could include absolutely anything as long as it is entertaining!” The Houses were given just five minutes each per category, including set up, which made for a packed evening run to a tight schedule. Compered by English teacher, Tom Rawlings, and judged by four members of staff, Alex Leighton, Gemma Sims, Helen Taylor and Mark Simmons, the competition unites students from all Houses in some friendly, if at times riotous, rivalry! “It was great to see so much teamwork, there was a lot of cheering each other on. The students were really supportive of each other, regardless of the House they were in.” commented Alex Leighton.
There were iconic movie scenes from Starwars, Mean Girls and ET “When Johnny Penny and Aiyana Tandon did the lift from ‘Dirty Dancing’ the crowd just went wild!” exclaimed Alex. There were also funny magic tricks courtesy of Grove and a Mock the Week sketch show from School House. The ‘Other’ category was particularly challenging for the judges, with Field House telling a love story through shadow puppets to ‘Rhythm of Love’ by the Plain White T’s and Reckitt’s 3D Mannequin Challenge video on YouTube. Asked to sum up the evening, Alex said, “It’s a very entertaining, very loud night, providing a real showcase of originality and some really different ideas; no House did anything remotely similar to another. It’s the first talent show of its kind that I’ve ever been to; I just hope they pick me to judge it again!”
International Dance Show A new student-led dance hobby has recently been introduced to the extracurricular activities available for students, giving them a fun and expressive way to exercise, relax and to enjoy a variety of dance styles.
Winchester Christmas Market
Two of the students co-ordinating the group, Aiyana Tandon and Kara Ellis, also organised a movie-themed dance show which took place on November 10th. The night was a great success and exhibited a range of beautiful dances from jazz to contemporary to Bollywood.
On Sunday 4th December students got into the festive spirit with a trip to Winchester Christmas Market. Inspired by traditional German Christmas markets, the event is complete with wooden chalets, a band playing Christmas music and an open air ice rink.
The event showcased dance talent hidden amongst the school, whilst also allowing students, who have never tried dance before, to try something new! “It went really well” commented Kara, “There were lots of people that hadn’t danced before but put the effort in to produce a really good show.”
Students feasted on a wide range of delicious treats such as bratwursts, mince pies and stollen! Everyone had fun exploring the gift shops that sold a variety of interesting craft goods including jewellery, paintings and textiles.
Aiyana and Kara helped many of the brave soloists refine their performances, as well as choreographing a group dance each themselves! “I am really happy with how the performance went,” adds Kara, “Especially how a range of students from Fryers to Sixth Formers were a part of it. I hope some students will continue with the group next year as it was a great evening for everyone to enjoy as well as raise money for Amicus.”
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News
Cycling Asia for Charity Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a beautiful country, but is home to many who struggle with extreme poverty. Adam Norris (Year 10) and his father Chris, set out for Myanmar at the end of October, with nineteen other cyclists, to complete a 340km cycle ride. The ride aimed to raise money for HopeAsia, a children’s charity dedicated to helping vulnerable young people across Asia.
Newcomers Under Canvas
Our Year 7 newcomers got off to an adventurous start in September with their first weekend at senior school spent camping at Leighton Park! 36 students and 8 staff spent the night of Friday 9th September under canvas in the Fryer orchard enjoying a BBQ of delicious hotdogs and burgers. The six tents were pitched well in advance of the enthusiastic fireside singing, eventually won by Cadbury, and accompanied by mugs of steaming hot chocolate. On Saturday, 24 boys and 12 girls battled each other in a series of hilarious team games in Main Hall. Challenges included Round the World, with players having to hit shuttlecocks and dash around the badminton net for their return shot; Dizzy Football, requiring participants to spin ten times before aiming for the ball; Archery, fortunately for health and safety no spinning allowed and Basketball. The latter was definitely the most impressive; Isabelle James triumphed with three hoops in a row, Tommy Lindsell and George Loverdos scored 100 points each and Alex Leighton’s tutor group reached the thousands with their accomplished shots. Deputy House Mistress, Eithne Laird, said,
“This year’s Fryer camping was another great success. There were lots of new friendships made, plenty of burgers eaten and many songs sung! They went home tired but very happy on Saturday afternoon.” Newcomer Daniel Hewitt commented, “It’s the best camping I’ve done. I loved the bonfire.” Incoming Fryer student, Adi Othnay added, “It was a good way to get to know people.”
The group tackled a gruelling nine-day ride across the country in sweltering heat. Adam confesses, “It was really difficult cycling through extreme humidity, heat or a combination of the two,” but adds, “It was life-changing. We just kept HopeAsia at the front of our minds. You see such a different way of life and although the children have very little they are so happy. Seeing their faces…everything about it is incredible.”
Learning at Science Live Sixth Form scientists had the opportunity to study Biology in more depth and get some exam advice, at the Science Live conference at Friends’ House on Euston Road, London, on Tuesday 6th December. The group, made up of 26 International Baccalaureate and A Level students, enjoyed fascinating talks by some of Britain’s top scientists including: Professor Robert Winston, Dr Jenny Rohn, Emily Grossman, Adam Hart and Professor Steve Jones. “The talks were pretty incredible.” said Oliver Nicholls (Lower Sixth). The biologists covered a variety of topics from biodiversity and genetics, to ecology and climate change, with lectures on ‘How to Build a Human’ and ‘Can we Learn from Ants?’ to keep them interested all afternoon.
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Surf’s Up! Whilst the majority of pupils headed home at the start of half term, a small group of adventurous Year 10 and 11 students journeyed to Perranporth, on the North Coast of Cornwall, to compete in the Independent Schools’ Surf Championships. On arrival, everyone dropped their bags off at the cliff top accommodation and headed straight to the beach for their first surf session, under the expert instruction of the Ticket to Ride Academy and one of Britain’s most successful pro surfers, Sam Lamiroy. The waves were as good as waves can get in the UK: head high and clean, with offshore winds on every single day of the trip. By the time the contest format started (a series of heats in which the students were judged using a handicap system), everyone was getting up regularly and some were turning the board and managing green faced waves.
“We surfed for three straight days and it was amazing to see the students’ progression and enjoyment.” commented organiser and Geography teacher, Robin Longworth,
“Huge thanks to Ann Munday who drove us all the way there and back and to Mark Smith for his help and commitment in the waves.”
A Double Bill for Theatre Studies Students An enthusiastic group of A Level and International Baccalaureate Theatre Studies students have enjoyed two plays demonstrating contrasting theatre styles this term. The two theatre trips on successive weeks were to the National Theatre on London’s South Bank and to the Oxford Playhouse. On 29th September the Sixth Formers and Head of Drama, Peter Scoggins, saw one of the last available performances of ‘The Threepenny Opera’ by Bertolt Brecht. This seminal German playwright and director, working in the 1930 – 50s, created work in a very particular style that has influenced theatre all over the world. The production had a new version of the script and made many timely references to the world in which we live today. Students were thrilled to be part of a wonderful theatrical experience that combined an amazing set with great singing and acting.
on fluidity of movement and creating a sense of continual motion through their work.
The group then travelled to Oxford Playhouse on 6th October to see ‘Things I Know to Be True’ from Frantic Assembly. The theatre company are known for their distinctive physical theatre style, focussing
From this visit, students produced their own original pieces based on Frantic Assembly’s style and based their ideas on characters whose lives are connected in some way, through place, experience or event.
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Lower Sixth Former, Melissa Cavaloc, commented on the experience, “It’s been a long and interesting process getting to create this piece of theatre. I think we have all enjoyed learning about Frantic Assembly and trying out their ideas for our own work. I am proud of what we have made.”
News
Time and Teamwork for IB Scientists Our International Baccalaureate Diploma scientists spent the day of 18th November planning and executing their own experiments involving equipment as diverse as fire, water, weights and tropical pond weed! Attempting to discover how best to measure time without a clock, the Upper and Lower Sixth Formers were challenged to calculate the duration of a piece of music that they had not yet heard.
The Great Honey Harvest
The day saw plenty of successful collaboration going on in the Biology labs, with students creating a clock pendulum and a marble run, using human bodies with stepping equipment and timing carbon dioxide bubbles rising through water. Fully kitted out in protective clothing and masks, Gemma Sims, Acting Head of Biology, and Chris Lockwood, Biology Technician, extracted eight frames from our first bee colony in the orchard just before the start of term. After producing an incredible 40 4oz jars of honey from this year’s harvest, the team were buzzing with excitement on 16th November, as customers picked up their orders of Leighton Park honey! The Greenfingers group got creative with the leftover beeswax, and took over the DT department during half term to make candles. Gemma explained “We melted the wax and filtered it. Students then made candle moulds using a mixture of our wax and purchased beeswax. Next term we will be making votive candles for Mothers’ Day.”
Katinka Pim, (Upper Sixth, IB) said,
“I’m more creative than practical really but it’s going well. My group is working well together, I’m enjoying it and the day has gone quickly. It’s been a lot of work preparing for it but it’s been fun!”
Challenging our Mathematicians! next stage of the competition which took place on Friday 2nd December.
47 Lower and Upper Sixth pupils took part in this year’s UK Senior Mathematics Challenge on Tuesday 8th November. They performed very well indeed, achieving 20 Merit certificates: 4 Gold, 6 Silver and 10 Bronze. We are delighted that Runbei Cheng (Upper Sixth) and Sebastian Milhofer (Lower Sixth) achieved both Gold and Best in School certificates. Upper Sixth Formers Ben Butcher and Ethan Houchen achieved Gold certificates and also qualified for the Senior Kangaroo, the
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The National Mathematics Challenge also runs team events. The Leighton Park team did remarkably well in the Regional Team Final held at Highdown Sixth Form Centre, Emmer Green, on Monday 14th November. Ben Butcher (Upper Sixth), Runbei Cheng (Upper Sixth), and twins Kiki and Cheney Zheng (Lower Sixth), came 5th out of 26 teams represented. “The team produced one of the best performances that we have seen in recent years,” said Head of Mathematics, Adel Kiss, “We were marginally edged out by Eton (former national champions), Reading Boys (who came 5th last year in the National Finals), Wycombe Abbey and the Royal Grammar Guildford. It was such an achievement and a richly deserved result; the future is looking bright!”
Art & Design Artists in Oakview
Catalan Culture and Contrasts
During the autumn term the school was delighted to showcase the work of Stephanie Cameron (Year 10) and Ashley Lian’s (Year 11) work in Oakview. Stephanie’s collection of drawings were taken from work she completed last year as part of her ‘Surreal Worlds’ project. Having studied the masters of Surrealism, including Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte, Stephanie enjoyed adding a contemporary twist to their ideas. Ashley’s work embodied a different style; the Oakview gallery space took on the appearance of an inner city billboard, adorned with repeated imagery of tower blocks and blurred coloured stripes. “Much of my style can be related to Gerhardt Richter as I felt that his blurred way of painting was similar to the layers of colour and history seen in London.” said Ashley, “The red dots are there like people... or maybe to represent how your eyes focus on different areas to make sense of your surroundings.”
Year 11 artists absorbed much of the Catalan culture during a four day trip to Barcelona in September, gathering inspiration for this year’s theme of ‘Contrasts’. Beginning with the contemporary design and ceramics at Museu del Disseny they swiftly headed for the city’s beach at dusk before meandering through the packed streets of the Gothic Quarter. On day two students took in the giants of Spanish art and architecture, Joan Miro and Antoni Gaudi. The Miro Foundation was reached via a funicular railway and was undoubtedly worth the climb. Energetic splashes of colour filled the gallery walls and rejuvenated everyone after a long morning. With almost ten years to go until completion, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia is already incredible. The afternoon saw the young artists entering a vast space filled with colour and light, with contrasting styles on each facade. In the
The Lurner Prize A new Art award, the Lurner Prize, was given in Final Collect to one of our dedicated caretakers, Richard Burton, for a fantastic hand-made book. A tremendous achievement, originally created for his own children, the book features original and entertaining poems accompanied by skilled and detailed illustrations for every letter of the alphabet.
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evening everyone headed for the relative tranquillity of Parc Guell to take in the fresh air above the city. Ralph Anannutthapong reflected on the trip, “I was overwhelmed by the contrasts throughout the city. The Sagrada Familia has to be my number one though. It’s up there, for sure.” The third day took in century old traditions in the Jewish quarter of Girona before working spontaneously in the spirit of Dada and Surrealism, at Dali’s Theatre in Figures. The final day was spent in the hustle and bustle of a Barcelona market, taking street portraits of the stall holders and sampling local delicacies. This year’s trip will leave indelible memories on many and all have pledged to return for the completion of Gaudi’s masterpiece. Fantastico!
Library Ghosts, Ghouls and Lockwood
On Thursday 13th October, Reading Waterstones and Authors Aloud collaborated with our librarian, Chris Routh, to bring children’s author, Jonathan Stroud, to the Park. Jonathan got the Fryer students’ creative juices flowing with a presentation featuring a creepy trailer (his books are about teenage ‘ghost-busters’) and some drawing and sharing of ideas for scary story settings. One of our brave students even dressed up in the ghost-hunting kit! The queue for signing was so long that Jonathan kindly extended his time in school to ensure everyone got to meet him. After the talk he went into Old School and was particularly impressed by the grand staircase. He said it reminded him of the screaming staircase in the first book of the ‘Lockwood & Co.’ series! To top it off, we now have an Anthony Lockwood standee guarding our staircase, courtesy of Graduate Resident Artist, Sam Heath.
Reading for Pleasure at KS3 On 28th September, Years 7, 8 and 9 students and their parents were invited to explore the benefits and pleasures of reading. There was an introduction by Head of English Tom Rawlings and Librarian Chris Routh, followed by a key note speech from our Patron of reading, Gillian Cross. Then five students spoke with confidence and passion about books they had recently enjoyed reading; Angelika Etherington-Smith and Patrick Cullen (Year 8), Winnie Zhang and Ruth Mills (Year 9) and Alex Allison (Year 10). The evening ended with a lively question and answer session.
Jim Kay at Leighton Park On Friday 7th October, Jim Kay came to Leighton Park to give a talk about his experience of illustrating the ‘Harry Potter’ books. This was organised with Getting Reading Reading, the Federation of Children’s Book Groups and Bloomsbury Children’s Books, and was a fantastic family event featuring a fabulous costume competition. Jim shared a range of drawings from both books and explained his difficulty in attempting to breathe new life into such a popular series. He shared photos of concept models that he made out of cotton wool and cardboard so he could visualise and draw iconic scenes from the books, including a birds-eye view of King’s Cross from Arthur Weasley’s flying car. He described his sources of inspiration, citing everything from his dog, to J.K. Rowling’s drawings, to the spiders that live in his studio.
“When I think of Harry Potter, I think of Daniel Radcliffe. It’s so hard to illustrate a character who is going to grow and change over the course of the series, so I needed to find child subjects who I could continue to study. It’s also incredibly hard to draw realistic looking children on broomsticks!” Librarian Chris Routh highlighted the evening’s success: “It felt like a real family event with a mix of age groups and people from the school as well as the wider community. To me, it proved the universal appeal of the Harry Potter books, which continue to provide a magical way for everyone to share the love of reading.” Jim admitted that he found Harry the hardest character to draw,
Henley Literary Festival with Philip Reeve Members of the Year 7 and 8 Book Club attended a talk by the author of ‘Mortal Engines’, Philip Reeve, at the Kenton Theatre, as part of the Henley Literary Festival. With the assistance of readings, images, film and original music, Philip transported the audience into the futuristic world of the first book in his new ‘Railhead’ series. This was followed by questions from the audience and a book signing session. Leighton Park’s students enjoyed meeting the author and some are already reading the enthusiastically anticipated sequel, ‘Black Light Express’.
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Garden Design Challenge
Over the summer holidays, incoming Year 7 students were challenged to design an imaginative garden, using their favourite book series or author as inspiration for the layout, features and plants. The entries were judged by author and Leighton Park’s patron of reading, Gillian Cross, and our own professional garden designer and Registrar, Samantha Hawkins. They were delighted with the thought behind each of the excellent designs, calling them “meticulously researched, wonderfully detailed and personalised”. Students created gardens inspired by books including the ‘Warriors’ series, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Demon Dentist’. Garden designs featured an array of inventive ideas, including mazes, water features and games.
Guides or fantasy stories accompanied their amazing designs, impressing the judges with their creativity: Judging the entries was a tricky task! Winners of the competition were: Jimmy Collins, Eloise Tait, Ollie Bhatia and George Loverdos. Runners up were: Emma Kendall, Isabelle James, George Stock and Tommy Lindsell, with commendations to: Daniel Hewitt, Ted de Smidt, Megan Somerville-Bailey and Amelie Davis-Redshaw.
Non-Fiction November National Non-Fiction November is a great opportunity to highlight some excellent books, and celebrate reading non-fiction for pleasure. Librarian, Chris Routh, explained, “I wanted to get as many staff involved as possible and invited all our teaching and support staff to create a poster for their room recommending a non-fiction title they’d recently enjoyed reading. On each day of the month we highlighted one of the teachers’ choices on the electronic notice board at the entrance to the dining room; a great way to promote books to a captive audience in the lunch queue.”
Buzzing about Books!
As part of the event, Year 7 and 8 took part in a scavenger hunt during their library lessons and made simple origami books, decorated with stitching, images and natural objects found in the school grounds, during two workshops led by former textiles teacher, Jo Green.
Every year we invite Year 7 students to choose a book to keep from the fantastic selection on offer from the Book Trust’s ‘Book Buzz’ scheme. As always, the arrival of the books created a real buzz about reading and extra copies of the twelve titles are also available to borrow from the library.
As the month drew to an end, Year 7 students reviewed and voted for their favourite books on the shortlist for the School Library Association’s Information Book Award.
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Music
Feeling Festive!
Autumn Concert Series
Our talented musicians treated us to a night of exceptional musical entertainment at the annual Christmas Concert on Wednesday 7th December. Main Hall was filled with over three hundred parents, relatives and friends joining us for the festivities; the programme was packed, with a 130 students participating.
The first concert of the new academic year was the ever popular Soloists’ Concert on 19th October. With over a third of the students involved having only joined the school a few weeks before, it very quickly became clear that we have plenty of talent in our midst! Rosemary Scales, Director of Music, was thrilled with the effort of the performers, “All of the students performed to an incredibly high standard and I was absolutely delighted with the concert, as were the very appreciative audience.”
There was a broad range of festive pieces and everyone’s musical contribution was fully appreciated by the enthusiastic audience. Some of the highlights of the concert were the Combined Choir performing ‘An Antiphonal Noel’, which this was the first time the Senior Choir has sung with the Fryer Voices, and made for a stunning performance. ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ was a crowd favourite, with the entire audience joining in and competing against one another!
The Jazz Infusions Concert on Wednesday 23rd November was another fantastic night of wonderful performances by our versatile and talented students. Prepared and organised by our Head of Jazz, Stuart Henderson, we were whisked through a myriad of styles, with students from every year group taking part.
“It was an amazing experience that was really fun to be a part of!”
Will Mackay (Upper Sixth) said,
Carol Singing in the Community On 13th December, with the end of term approaching, members of the choir further spread the Christmas spirit as twenty students went to Royal Berkshire Hospital to sing carols to patients. First the group visited the chemotherapy unit where their renditions of ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ were met with applause and cheers. The carollers then divided in half, with one team singing upbeat songs in the chapel, while the rest went to the acute stroke unit to share more peaceful carols. The whole choir reconvened in the chapel before going on a tour of the hospital. Lihi Othnay (Year 10) said, “It was really fun to see all the patients singing along!” and Winnie Zhang (Year 9) added, “I like how they smiled when we sang the songs.” Everyone was overjoyed to hear from staff that a man who hadn’t said anything since having a stroke was singing along!
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Drama Excitement for the Senior Production!
The cast and crew of the Senior Production spent the evening at the Circus Starr big top in Woodley on 4th November, in preparation for next term’s interpretation of ‘Woyzeck’ by Georg Büchner.
It’s All in the Genes
Ambitious Director and Drama teacher, Peter Scoggins, has set the dark and murderous play in the contrastingly frivolous surroundings of a circus tent and wanted his team to understand more about the unusual setting. “A lot of the style of presentation in circus is about building expectations amongst the audience and then celebrating the various acts or events that take place. Sometimes this can be hilariously exaggerated. We saw a lot of ‘Ta-Dah’ moments in the circus show tonight, following some great acts, and I want us to play with that when devising our own circus scenes.”
Middle school Drama students will be performing the dark comedy, ‘DNA’ by Dennis Kelly, in the summer term, with the actors playing characters of their own age in the play. Head of Drama, Peter Scoggins, who leads the group said, “I am keen to give all students the opportunity to perform drama to larger audiences. There is so much talent in the school; it really needs to be seen far and wide.”
Upper Sixth student, Aiyana Tandon, who plays Margaret, commented, “The fun and vibrant atmosphere of Circus Starr was very exciting to watch. Dangerous feats of acrobatics and strength accompanied by moments of humour and audience participation, began to give us an overall feeling of how we will be able to use the circus elements effectively within our own performance.” To further enhance the performers’ skills, on Sunday 4th December, Peter Wintercrane from Big Top Mania conducted a workshop at Leighton Park, showing everyone how to perform slapstick comedy and a variety of circus acts. Peter elaborates, “I am hoping that Big Top Mania can offer a first-hand insight into constructing a circus atmosphere with audience participation. We want to build an interactive relationship with the audience. We’re also going to be looking at the movement within the ring, including acrobatics, tumbling and physical circus skills.”
Fryer Drama The Fryer Drama Production group began work this term on creating an original performance based on their improvisations. The students were given a choice of two exciting ideas as inspiration: statues in a museum coming alive at night and nocturnal adventures. Peter Scoggins, Head of Drama, and Damon Young, Drama teacher, have really enjoyed the variety of creative ideas that they have witnessed.
The play which is taking place at Leighton Park 8th-10th February will be accommodated in a big top on the sports pitch between Old School and Oakview: It will be a performance not to be missed!
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Sport Rugby Update
Year 9’s new arrivals Kushal Tandon, Lorcan Friel, Markel Olabe and Zach Bleekendaal have strengthened the U14 team tremendously. Captained by Hari Gupta, the team scored 202 points in nine games this term and won 44% of their matches. Special mention goes to Archie Webb for scoring over a quarter of the total points. The season’s highlight was undoubtedly a win of 27-17 against St James’ on London Irish’s 4G training pitch at Hazlewood. Captain Toby Gilbey and Vice-captain Barnaby Charles (both Year 10) led the U15s rugby brilliantly and despite starting the season with some key players injured and boys new to the sport, the team demonstrated passion, commitment and determination throughout. The first ever three-day pre-season Senior Rugby training took place in September which, together with the introduction of match analysis, strength and conditioning sessions and tactics activities, has improved both team and individual performances. The season’s highlight was winning the ‘Friday Night Lights’ game at Reading rugby club against Reddam House. The 1st XV won 60% of their games and came third in the Super 8 championship. Over fifty boys represented the school over the term. Both teams were led well by Lower Sixth Formers Jung Woo Bae (1st XV) and Jayden Lau (2nd XV).
Fryer Football The Fryer football fixtures have been a huge success this term with 40 matches and a 60% win ratio, including an unbeaten season for the U13C team captained by Patrick Cullen (Year 8). Every boy in Year 7 and 8 has represented the school and the A team came close to the finals in the St Neot’s 6-a-side tournament, captained by Diamond Edwards (Year 8), Fryer’s autumn term top scorer with 10 goals.
England v Argentina Rugby A lucky group of students were delighted to witness the actionpacked game between England and Argentina at Twickenham at the end of November. The atmosphere was electric with a crowd of 81,000 supporters filling the ground. The match was very entertaining with plenty of tries being scored and two red cards being handed out. One of the memorable moments was Vlad Federov (Lower Sixth) catching a top from the t-shirt cannon only for it to slip through his grip into the hands of Vlada Evtushenko (Lower Sixth) leaving Vlad with just the plastic wrapping!
APP Trip to Bisham Abbey The Advanced Performer Programme (APP) is aimed at students playing sports at county level and above. The APP group meet weekly and this term the focus has been on fitness testing and training methods. One week involved discussing pre-match routine with Suzie Monk (Sports Psychologist with GB Shooting) and another week students enjoyed cooking a balanced post training dinner with PE & Games Coach, Jack Windle. The term finished on a high with a trip to the National Sports Centre, Bisham Abbey, on the 9th December. Nineteen students were selected to experience training in the fitness centre, touring the site and discovering how the English Institute of Sport works with top athletes to develop them into world class performers.
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Hockey Review A joyful U16 indoor squad were pleased to be runners up in the Berkshire School’s Indoor Hockey for the second year running having faced Wellington College, Kendrick and Pangbourne College in the Final. Some great play qualified the team to represent the county at the Southern Regional Heats against Beaconsfield High School. The U18s were third in the county competition and narrowly lost out at the Southern Regional Heats. On the 7th December the senior girls’ 1st XI U18 outdoor hockey team played their final match against Gordon’s School, finishing runners up in the Super 6 League. The U15s celebrated wins against The Abbey and Maiden Erlegh whilst the U14s competed in the county tournament and reached the semi-finals of the Cup competition as well as winning the Reading School Junior Tournament on goal difference against Highdown. The Fryer teams faced tough competition in Reading Schools In2Hockey league but have embraced positive determination. They have also enjoyed an 11-a-side coached game against Pangbourne College.
Elite Athletes at Leighton Park Leighton Park has students of all ages competing in a wide variety of sports at highly competitive levels, of which we are very proud. Lower Sixth student, Abbie Dixon, currently plays hockey for England at U16 level and has just been selected for the U18 squad despite being in the Lower Sixth. Tabby Tinniswood (Year 9) entered into the England rounders trials this year and was selected for the GB U14 Girl’s squad. Felix Thomis (Year 7) is currently ranked 7th in the country for U13 Table Tennis. Felix hopes to make the England National Youth Squad this season by winning the National U12 title. Upper Sixth student, Harry Minter recently travelled to Prague to represent GB in the trampolining Friendship Games. After two days of intense competition against a host of other European competitors (many of whom are likely to be future Olympians) saw Harry place 18th out of 40. Maia Stevens (Year 9) represented Henley on Thames swimming club at the annual gala near Koln, against a selection of German teams and was delighted to bring home gold in both 100m backstroke and 50m breaststroke.
A Netball Nail Biter: England v Jamaica On Tuesday 29th November, a group of Year 8-11 girls travelled to the Olympic Park to watch the England v Jamaica netball match in the Copper Box Arena for the first round of the Vitality International Series. It was a thrilling start to the match as the crowd rose to honour Jade Clarke as the most capped England player of all time on her 130th appearance and, with England taking an early lead, the expectation grew for a win. However, despite some excellent play Jamaica took hold of the match dominating with unerring accuracy to win 66-49. PE and Games teacher, Zoe Macpherson, who arranged the trip commented,
“This was a pre-season masterclass for the girls to watch and they were amazed by the power and athleticism of the players. Despite the Roses being beaten the girls are now really motivated and excited to start the new season in January”. 15
Africa African Adventures Just before Long Leave, 60 Sixth Formers set off for Africa for the experience of a lifetime. Split into two groups, the students travelled to either Tanzania or Uganda to live, work and volunteer in local communities for a fortnight.
Tanzania After nineteen hours of travelling, the Tanzania group arrived safely in Arusha before heading to Babati, where they spent the majority of the trip. Their first day began bright and early as students and teachers journeyed to a local school, where they were warmly welcomed by children and local people singing and dancing. Julian Page, Director of Leighton Park’s charity partners, the Livingstone Tanzania Trust, commented,
“The reception from the school and the whole community was fantastic and overwhelming. The Leighton Park students were more than ready to join in with the local dancing, much to the delight of all!” As part of their volunteering duties, the students worked hard to lay new floors for classrooms in a local school, as well as sanding, painting chairs and walls and even rescuing a lost cow from a fertilizer channel! After five days of hard work and emotional goodbyes to the school children and local people in Managhat, the group moved on to Tarangire National Park for the next leg of their trip; the much-anticipated safari! Managing to spot most of ‘the Big Five’ animals, a highlight of the safari for many was moving their lunch out of the way of a huge group of elephants heading directly towards them! There was just enough time before the long journey home to have their first proper shower in ten days and visit a local Massai market. It was a new experience for many of the group, with Alyssa Rowson, George Blundell and Nick Cameron commenting, “We were surprised at how different an experience it was to Babati market and Alex Brett managed to spend most of his money on spoons!” Spoons and hiking boots safely packed away, the group arrived back at Leighton Park tired and hungry but full of stories of adventure and a new connection with a community a long way from home. Photos courtesy of Jane Mulvihill, Jonty Hyde and Nick Cameron
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Uganda
For the students that travelled to Uganda, celebrations began early when they arrived in Jinja on group member Ben Green’s birthday! A great way to start the trip and mark their arrival in Africa, Ben said, “It was a birthday I’ll never forget. Not only because I was in Uganda but also because of the way that the children in the schools greeted us. They were so happy and when we visited the first school they sang songs and clapped to welcome us!” After helpings of chocolate cake and a good night’s sleep, the group were up and ready to get to work early the next morning. The following three days were spent painting at St Patrick’s School, transforming three classrooms by painting the walls, skirting boards and windows, as well as beautiful outside murals which included a tree with alphabet leaves! Continuing their volunteering work, students travelled to Sonrise Children’s Home where they played with the children and prepared a hearty lunch for over 75 people! In the afternoon, some of the group went to play a hard-fought game of football with the local
children, whilst the rest of the Leighton Park students visited a home for abandoned street girls. Here they learnt how and why the children had come to be in the home and helped to make bracelets which are sold to raise funds to support the home’s running costs.
The trip was rounded off with a seven hour journey to a waterfall, which was so beautiful that no one minded the long journey. It also became a highlight for nearly everyone when an elephant was spotted eating and drinking nearby. “I can’t wait to show my Dad the videos!” said Freya Jennings.
A trip to a local church on day five was an eye-opening experience for some! “Ugandan church is very different to English church!” commented Ollie Nicholls, “We started off with a skit about a witch doctor and then we sung an acapella version of ‘Happy’ by Pharell Williams; I feel we made him proud!”
After an action-packed trip full of stunning landscapes, decorating schools, volunteering with local children, performing in a Ugandan church and eating sugar cane at the local market, students and teachers returned home to Leighton Park exhausted but fulfilled. The team at Inspire Worldwide were thrilled with the work that each and every member of the group put in whilst
It wasn’t all work and no play though, because once the volunteering was completed the students got to tick an amazing experience off of their bucket lists: a safari! On a two day trip to Murchinson Falls National Park, the students saw lions, crocodiles and rhinos, as well as a cheeky hippo who wandered into their camp whilst they were eating dinner. “It shocked all of us even though we had been told animals walk freely around the camp!” exclaimed Cat Mulvihill, Yasmin Koro and Ally Eyles.
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“It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with all of the students and teachers from Leighton Park. The funds they have raised and the work they have done will leave a lasting legacy.”
in Africa, commenting,
Photos courtesy of Helen Taylor
Sixth Form Bonding on the Isle of Wight
Safe Drive,Stay Alive In November, Upper Sixth students travelled to The Hexagon to see an acclaimed, hard-hitting production about road awareness; ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’. Safe Drive has been running for eleven years, welcoming over 300,000 students and teachers since its first performance in 2006. Helen Taylor, Head of Sixth Form, said the event was vital for the year group, “We take our Upper Sixth students every year. It is moving, informative and, to some extent, traumatic. Real members of the emergency services speak of their experiences and members of the public talk about how a road traffic accident has impacted on their lives. It is a very useful and valuable message.”
The Lower Sixth traditionally mark the end of their induction week with a trip to the Isle of Wight, giving students new and old the chance to bond, try activities (often at altitude!) and have fun.
Sailing through the air on a giant 3G swing, clambering up mobile ladders swaying in the sky and keeping their feet firmly on the ground for an archery session, the group certainly had plenty to do!
This year’s group of 45 arrived ready and raring to go at PGL Little Canada near Ryde, on Friday 9th September. “It was a great opportunity to meet and talk to people I hadn’t talked to before joining the Sixth Form.’” said returning student, Joe Blundell.
“The new Lower Sixth were excellent over the weekend, encouraging each other to complete some of the scary challenges and beginning to appreciate the demands of developing the independence and maturity they’re going to need to succeed this year.” said Helen Taylor, Head of Sixth Form.
Foxtrot 2016 Three of the four members of the student leadership team, Robyn Ellis, Peter Polz and Aiyana Tandon (Upper Sixth) embarked on the annual southern Quaker Schools Pilgrimage (affectionately known as the Foxtrot) on the first weekend October. Accompanied by teachers Ken Sullivan and Nicky Williams, the group hiked from Pendle Hill, where George Fox first envisaged his plans for Quakerism, to Firbank Fell, where a meeting of over 1,000 people founding the Quaker movement took place in 1652, explored the home of Margaret Fell; Swarthmore Hall, and met with the Lancashire Quakers. Robyn Ellis, Deputy Head Girl, commented,
“We made friends with the students from other schools almost straight away. I absolutely loved the trip, especially the hour-long Meeting for Worship, which I was totally in the zone for!”
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Sixth Form Christmas Dinner Sixth Form students and their teachers came together on Friday 9th December at the formal Christmas dinner in Oakview. The evening proved to be a great success, with everyone having lots of fun, enjoying fantastic food and having a bit of a dance! “It was a great evening, everyone had a good time and it was nice to get two whole year groups together.” commented Alex Lazenby (Upper Sixth).
Development JBH Competition Centenary Old Leightonians and other members of the school community support the school in different ways and judging the JBH competition is one such example.
OLs Duncan Crossley (1982), David Harker (2005), Helen Cadbury (1983) and parent Kate Beauchamp were kind enough to judge this year’s debating challenge. We were particularly thrilled that Duncan came over from Italy especially for the occasion and Helen was brilliant as the Key Note speaker, in celebration of the 100th JBH event. The panel were invited to join us because they could draw on their experiences of participating in the JBH in the past, they had a critical eye and were keen to offer constructive feedback.
OL vs LP Mixed Hockey
The 2016 OL vs LP Mixed Hockey match took place on Saturday 17th September. Despite having youth on their side, the OL XI beat the Leighton Park team 3-0. After the match, players enjoyed a BBQ while catching up with other OLs who came to support the event and some current members of staff keen to reminisce with old friends.
60s Era Afternoon Tea 37 Old Leightonians and guests congregated in Peckover Hall for the inaugural 60s era Afternoon Tea in September. There was a lot of interest in a display of archive photos which enthralled many. Later there was an opportunity to have a tour of the school with visitors noting the changes since their schooldays. OLs came from far and wide, but particular note must to go to Julian Davis (F 1969), who came with his wife from Canada, coinciding with the beginning of his holiday in the UK.
Edward Marriage (1979) Old Leightonian Edward Marriage visited the school in October for the first time in over thirty years! He was motivated to return to the Park after unearthing a family album which belonged to his Grandmother’s first husband, Archibald Warner (S 1902). Archibald had tragically died on the first day of the Somme. On Edward’s visit he spoke of how Tony Duckering taught him the love of film. He continued that he was at a bit of a loose end when he left school and it was Duckering who said to him “you love talking to people, have you thought about working for the BBC?” Talking about his visit, Edward said, “Although there are more buildings than in my era, it remains a special place. I was struck by how tidy and well-kept everything looked; maybe the absence of students was significant!”
Bursary Fund Launch The Bursary Fund Appeal has recently been launched to Old Leightonians and Friends, generating wonderful support so far. Since September, £30,000 has been raised through donations, pledges and Gift Aid. To find out more about who has benefited from bursaries and details about the Bursary Fund, visit www.leightonpark.com/support-leighton-park/donate
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Development Team Celia Blakeway-Phillips, Head of Development Ros Cook, Assistant Development Manager celiabp@leightonpark.com 0118 987 9648
PSC
Coming soon: PSC Family Quiz Night Do you like to watch television, read books and newspapers or listen to the radio? Then you are well qualified for the quiz! Please come to our fun event with questions for all the family. Tickets will be on sale in January; watch out for details in the eBulletin.
Decorating Peckover Hall Peckover Hall was transformed on Sunday 11th December by PSC volunteers with bright baubles and foliage kindly collected by the Estates team from around the Park. All looked suitably festive for the carol singing which took place after the Christmas Meeting for Worship. The evening began with LP Brass playing on the steps of Old School as everyone arrived, followed by some poignant readings, periods of reflective silence and some wonderful performances from the Orchestra, Senior Choir and Fryer Voices.
Fireworks on the Park
Parents’ Lunch in Oakview On 21st October parents were invited to experience something students and staff enjoy every day: lunch in Oakview. Catering Manager, Fabrice Barlet and Head Chef, Alessandro Albanese from Thomas Franks, explained the ethos behind our food and talked visitors through the menu and food choices. Parents enjoyed their meal and appreciated the selection and quality of food on offer.
The PSC’s annual display of amazing fireworks lit up the Park beautifully on Friday 11th November. Over 700 people enjoyed the spectacular display, the scrumptious food and the wonderful music from our talented students who were raising funds for Amicus’ chosen charity, Camp Mohawk.
Farewell to … Nicky Williams, Head of Pastoral Welfare and Safeguarding, who among her many other responsibilities has been a valued member of the PSC committee. Nicky’s clear guidance has ensured that safeguarding of students is central to PSC event planning. We thank her for her service.
Support for Annual Open Morning PSC volunteers were happy to support Annual Open Morning on 1st October in Oakview and Fryer by welcoming and chatting to visiting families.
Coming up in the Spring Term Further information is available on the school website or by emailing psc@leightonpark.com January February March
Monday 23rd PSC Book Group: Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Wednesday 8th to PSC Bar for the School Production of Woyzeck by Georg Büchner Friday 10th Monday 6th PSC Book Group: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler Friday 10th PSC Family Quiz
www.leightonpark.com The Park is printed using paper from a sustainable source.
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Can you help? We welcome volunteers either for a specific event or on a regular basis. To find out more, please email psc@ leightonpark.com. Alternatively, look out for requests in the eBulletin and sign-up!
PSC Book Group Why not make a new year’s resolution to come along to the PSC Book Group? All parents and staff are invited to join for coffee, cake and discussion of the chosen book. Further details from psc@leightonpark.com.
Nearly New Shop Don’t miss the opportunity to buy good quality school clothing from our Nearly New Shop on the following dates (4.00 – 5.30pm). All proceeds are donated to charity. January March
Friday 27th Friday 10th