Hymers College Hymerian 2021-2022

For the first time in the School’s history the decision was taken to offer a Hymers education to pupils from the age of three, with the acquisition of our associate school, Hessle Mount School. This is a reflection of both strong parental demand for an all-through, 3-18 Hymers education for their children and the ambition of the Senior Leadership Team and Governing Board to ensure that the School remains at the forefront of independent education of the highest quality in the years ahead. Throughout 2021-22 preparations were made to open a two-form Year 3 cohort on the Hymers campus for the first time and to offer Pre-Prep education at Hymers Hessle Mount from September 2022.

At the same time the School continued to offer its trademark education of high academic standards and outstanding co-curricular opportunities, set against the backdrop of a nurturing pastoral care network.

In academia, one of our Sixth Form students achieved a Gold award in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge run by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Another student went one distinction further by gaining a Roentgenium award, coming in the top 0.71% of the entry to this elite competition, a quite remarkable achievement. Outside the classroom, pupils continued to excel, both as teams and individuals, in a wide range of sports. A Hymers netballer was named Player of the Tournament in a prestigious regional competition at both U14 and U16 level, while our Senior 7s rugby squad made

Welcome from our Headmaster

The academic year 2021-22 saw something of a return to normality after the two previous years of Covid-19 disruption. Despite the occasional need to ride a viral wave within the pupil and staff body, the lifeblood of Hymers was restored with the reintroduction of curriculum trips, concerts and plays before a live audience and competitive sporting fixtures.

it through to the second day of the national Rosslyn Park tournament.

The summer term saw a thriving cricket programme for all pupils, with Hymers girls enjoying competitive fixtures against other schools for the first time and the U12 boys’ squad winning the Yorkshire Cup.

In order to provide co-curricular opportunities for a greater number of pupils, Senior School pupils enjoyed taking part in a wide range of competitions as the House system was reintroduced to the School after a period of approximately 40 years. In the Performing Arts pupils of all ages excelled, with particular highlights being the Junior School production of Aladdin, the performances of the Year 6 Choir at the Eisteddfod in Llangollen and the Barnardo’s Choir of the Year competition, and the Senior School production of Les Misérables which was described by many seasoned observers as the best school drama production they had ever seen. The summer of 2022 saw a return to external examinations for the first time since 2019. Results in the A Level examinations were very strong: 20% of all grades were A*, 52% were A*/A and 77% were A*-B, significantly above pre-pandemic results. At GCSE, 25% of all grades were a 9, 42% were a 9-8 (equivalent to the old A*) and 60% were grade 9-7 (equivalent to the old A). There were some particular successes at pupil and subject level, most notably 4 students who achieved a clean sweep of 10 grade 9s and the average grade in IGCSE English Language being 7.5.

The summer term saw Hymers receive two marks of distinction from external organisations. The visit of a team from the Independent Schools Inspectorate resulted in the School awarded the top grade of ‘Excellent’ for both elements of the Educational Quality Inspection: (1) Pupils’ academic and other achievements and (2) Pupils’ personal development.

The final Inspection report was interwoven with a multitude of outstandingly positive compliments about the school, its pupils and staff, bearing testament to the successful realisation of the allround excellence to which Hymers aspires.

The academic year closed with students from Hymers winning a prestigious national award that demonstrates that the School remains true to the charitable purpose of our founder, the Revd John Hymers. Having won the regional round of the Goldsmiths’ Company Award for Community Engagement, a Hymers NCS team (National Citizen Service) went down to London to showcase their work in the national final, taking on the best of the regional finalists. On account of the breadth and depth of the commitment of our students and staff to supporting local notfor-profit organisations in the city of Hull and the surrounding area, the Hymers team were proud recipients of the national prize. It was a fitting way to crown an excellent year for Hymers College.

Mr Stanley Headmaster

The visit of a team from the Independent Schools Inspectorate resulted in the School awarded the top grade of ‘Excellent’ for both elements of the Educational Quality Inspection...

Autumn Term 2021-2022

Autumn Term

After a substantial period of tough Covid measures in schools, September 2021, and the return to school following the summer break, saw the relaxation of some of these restrictions.

The two changes that created the biggest shift in school were the removal of year group bubbles - a rule that had impacted heavily on all aspects of schooling - and the removal of the requirement of close contacts of positive coronavirus cases to self-isolate.

With these two measures removed, the autumn term began at great pace and with much excitement as we welcomed new pupils to the school.

As you would expect from our pupils, they took full advantage of some rediscovered opportunities and freedoms, throwing themselves into school life and school activities.

We started the term with the reinauguration in the Senior School of the House system. For a period of approximately 40 years the system had been absent from our Senior School, despite thriving in the Junior school. Our pupils have relished the chance to be involved in co-curricular activities, working across the year groups, that the reestablishment of the House system has afforded.

The healthy interaction and friendships that occur between our pupils across the year groups is one of the most notable and positive features of Hymers life.

The academic and pastoral mentoring of pupils in Years 7-9, and the support of Junior School co-curricular activities that our Sixth Formers undertake, is invaluable work that can go unseen by parents and visitors but is what helps create this remarkable Hymers community feel. Younger

and older pupils alike benefit in different ways from the interactions, but all in equal measure.

As you would expect, a busy autumn term and the relaxation of Covid restrictions, saw pupils back enjoying playing competitive fixtures against other schools in rugby, hockey and swimming. While it was pleasing to see our pupils achieving impressive results in these games and fixtures, one reset caused by the pandemic has perhaps been a decreasing focus on which team has won and lost, and a growing awareness and appreciation of the value in simply playing as a team or competing side-by-side with fellow pupils and friends.

Autumn term also saw many wonderful contributions from our Old Hymerians to our ongoing and growing programme involving them in school today. This has included Old Hymerians drawing

upon their own personal and professional expertise to engage and inform pupils in a wide variety of clubs, including Language and Culture Club, Engineering Society and MedSoc. We are incredibly grateful for the time and help our Old Hymerian community is able to give our current pupil body and we thank them for their wisdom and enthusiasm.

As is customary, we were able to mark the end of the autumn term with customary festive concerts and final assemblies in front of a live audience - something our budding performers have been sadly lacking throughout the pandemic.

We were all sent off on our Christmas holidays in high spirits at the feast of witty and skillful performances that our pupils - and some of our staff - laid before us.

Mr Stanley Headmaster

The autumn term of 2021/22 began, for the first time in 18 months, with some sense of normality returning to Hymers and all schools up and down the country.

Bringing back the house system to the Senior School that Hymers adorned until the 1970s would always be a hard task, however as a school community it could not have been taken on much better! In its first term, staff and students alike took it upon themselves to make sure the system has a sense of pride attached to it.

In a time full of twists and turns, the house system has certainly followed suit in being unpredictable and exciting; the first events of the year, the house debating and cross country, allowed students to thoroughly express their talents both in an academic and sporting light. With races, and debates, taking place across all age groups within the school, it was fantastic to see the wide array of talent that is present within our school. The success of the house system can even be seen over in the sports centre, where countless students have been able to get involved in inter-house rugby and hockey, both of which have been spectated by many to cheer on their houses.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

One of the great assets the house system has is its ability to allow everyone to display their talents in their respective interests, and do so in a competitive manner against their fellow classmates - perhaps explaining why we have had so many house contests already!

Personally, the most captivating event we have had this term is the House Quiz, which led to a theatre of passionate students cheering on their houses as they went headto-head.

As with anything you introduce, it is important to seek a consensus on how people think it is going and some of the responses and ideas we have had come to us from students all over the school paint the picture that this system is something that will poise excitement throughout the school for many future generations of Hymers.

In a school as inter-connected as Hymers, it really is fantastic to see a system that creates cross-year allegiances take off so well. I am excited to see what the future holds for the house system, and hopefully its successes will be celebrated for years to come!

Tom Joint Head of Gore House

returns to Senior School

Above: Heads of House (L-R): Gore

Tom & Phoebe; Trinity

Matthew & Rosie; Brandesburton

Charlie & Grace; Holderness

Thomas & Marie

“Being a Head of House has really allowed me to appreciate how much talent my peers have, and how the Hymers spirit of teamwork can flourish.” Tom

House system

House Debating House Chess

The system of allocating pupils into Houses continued to exist in the Junior School but has not in the Senior School for a number of years. From the start of this term, the Houses of Brandesburton, Trinity, Holderness and Gore are back in the Senior School.

As well as Inter-House competitions all Senior School students can

gain House Points in lessons, for homework, in form periods, in cocurricular activities and around the School site.

Our very own ‘Sorting Hat’ has determined that all pupils moving to the Senior School from the Junior School will stay in their current House and any pupil in the Senior School now who was in our

House Cross Country

Junior School will re-join the House they were in for the Junior School. Each House has two Head’s of House picked from the Sixth Form who are there to promote and support their House in all aspects of school life.

House Points can be earned by everyone across the Senior School in all aspects of school life; for

class work, homework, during form periods, participating in cocurricular activities and inter-house competitions as well as around the School site.

The House Cup will be the prize for the most points awarded at the end of each Term, with an overall winner for the year at the end of the summer term.

House Cross Country

For more information on House System, see page 66

During the autumn term, Director of Co-Curricular, Mr Thompson, launched The John Hymers Award for co-curricular activities in the Senior School.

This Award is for students in Years 7–9 who have shown excellent commitment and broad participation in co-curricular activities and in service to the school.

With over 100 co-curricular clubs and activities on offer, there

are plenty of opportunities for our pupils to get involved in life outside of the classroom. Now, this Award will reward that dedication. Bronze, Silver, Gold certificates will be awarded in each year and a John Hymers lapel badge can be earned at the end of Year 9.

Mr Thompson commented, “We really want to encourage as many of our pupils as possible to get involved in the huge range of co-curricular activities we have on offer here at Hymers. I am looking forward to handing out lots of John Hymers badges in the future.”

The Year 6 Choir had a wonderful time in Edinburgh during October.

They had worked hard to learn 12 songs for their concert in the marvellous St Giles’ Cathedral on the Saturday. This was the first time this set of children had performed

Preparing for the trip to Edinburgh for the Year 6 Choir, I wondered about how the performance would be and how the audience would feel about it. I was also feeling slightly nervous before the concert itself, but that feeling went away afterwards when all the people who came to listen to us at the St Giles’ Cathedral gave us a standing ovation. The inner chamber of

Year 6 Choir trip to Edinburgh

to a live audience since January 2020 when they were in Year 4. Although slightly nervous, they rose to the occasion and gave a superb performance which resulted in a standing ovation! Some of the repertoire included ‘Storm’ written by Year 6 pupil Tom and arranged

the cathedral was acoustically wonderful and our voices really echoed in there.

I loved our visit to the waterpark which was a lot of fun (especially Mr Doyle screaming down the raft ride). When the morning of the visit to the zoo dawned with a heavy cloud cover, I thought all the animals would be inside their little private enclosures indoors, but not all of

by Mrs Redhead, ‘The Lighthouse’, ‘Wings of Hope’ and ‘Kussimama.’ The choir also visited Dynamic Earth, The National Museum of Scotland, a waterpark and also Edinburgh Zoo.

Mrs T Redhead Head of Junior School Music

them were. I especially liked seeing the pandas and tigers and some of the sloths and armadillos. After the whole trip, I was slightly sad that I didn’t get more time in Edinburgh. I want to say thank you to all the staff for organising this trip - Mrs Sedman, Mrs Redhead, Mr Doyle, Miss Watson and Mr Bloomfield.

Ram Year 6

The Classics thrive at Hymers

2022 marked a groundbreaking year for the Classics Department. After a hiatus of over 35 years, students were entered for a public examination in Ancient Greek.

Our Year 11 students, James, Rhea and Lucy had been studying the subject in Greek Club for two years and jumped at the chance to take part in the first year of a new pilot Greek qualification – the Intermediate Certificate. The results were fantastic with all three gaining

a distinction and we were proud as a Classics Department that Hymers had been given the chance to take part in this new qualification which is now planned for roll out more widely on a national basis in future years.

Learning Ancient Greek is an exciting challenge and opportunity for those students who have an interest in the culture, history and literature of Ancient Greece and have a passion for the intricacies of language. Not all of our Ancient Greek students are Latin students

too, although this does give a distinct advantage, given the similarities in the two languages grammatically. 2022 also saw Kiki, a Year 10 student, win first place in the Beginners Greek speaking competition for her dramatic rendition of Herodotus’ description of the battle of Thermopylae. This was a superb achievement!

Our Classics Department will now be offering Intermediate Greek and GCSE Greek (off-timetable) as well as GCSE and A Level Latin and

A Level Classical Civilisation. In fact our first cohort of A Level Classical Civilisation students also achieved outstanding results this year with all four candidates gaining an A or an A*.

The Classics continues to have a relevance and a fascination for our students and we are thrilled with the growing interest and participation in our subjects. Floreant linguae antiquae!

Mrs S Dickinson Head of Classics

It was a privilege to sing in St Giles’. Before the trip I was nervous but the teachers comforted me and I’m now confident about staying away from home. I would highly recommend this trip. Oliver Year 6

Hymers English and Psychology A Level students took part in a joint trip to London in November visiting a variety of subject-related sites in a busy, activity packed two-day trip.

English students, from both A Level

English and Psychology London trip

courses, took part in a guided walk of Dickens’ London, a theatre workshop and tour of Shakespeare’s Globe, enjoyed a production of Henry V at the Sam Wannamaker Theatre and visited the British Museum and Tate Modern for creative inspiration. The psychologists meanwhile

did an atmospheric night Jack the Ripper walking tour, sat in on a major criminal trail at the Old Bailey, took part in a mock trail in the Royal Courts of Justice and explored Sigmund Freud’s home and history in Hampstead. Taking time out to grab some food at Hard Rock Cafe, Pizza Hut in Leicester

Square and squeeze in a game of bowling, there was just enough time left to visit the Christmas lights on Regent Street and do some window shopping before catching up on sleep on the train on the way back to Hull.

Mr S Clare Head of Psychology

Senior School Speech Day stars! Gardening Club flourishes at Hymers

Autumn term saw our new Gardening Club get underway in the Senior School.

Our green-fingered pupils have been busy replanting the large pots at the main school doors. We are also very grateful for the

At the start of the autumn term we welcomed a number of our former Year 13 pupils back to Hymers for our Senior School speech day.

The event is traditionally held in Hull City Hall but Covid restrictions meant this year, while the event was able to happen, it was held it in our own Main Hall at Hymers.

Our thanks to our Heads of School, Diya, Gaurav and Alexandra for their speeches, and of course, the Headmaster Mr Stanley and Mr Redman (Chair of Governors).

We were also graced by some outstanding musical interludes from Jerome, Isobel, Rachel, Chris, Kira, Matthew and William and our own Mr Bartlett.

Congratulations to all of those who won awards - they were very well deserved following an incredibly difficult year.

donation from an Old Hymerian of a greenhouse to the Gardening Club, now situated by The Lodge at the main school gates. The Club have been busy potting and seeding ready for a bumper crop of tomatoes! We are looking forward to the produce.

Celebrating ‘Odd Socks Day’

Odd Socks Day marks the start of national Anti-Bullying Week.

Our Junior School pupils left their school grey and white socks at home, instead having on some of the best and brightest socks

on display - complete with some muddy knees! Throughout the week our pupils were focusing on this year’s theme ‘One Kind Word’ celebrating what makes each of our pupils unique and spreading kindness between everyone.

Twickenham Festival Rugby

On Saturday 27 November, 44 of our U9, U10 and U11 boys had a fantastic opportunity to play at the home of England Rugby, Twickenham Stadium.

The boys played in a minifestival on the hallowed turf before watching what was supposed to be the Barbarians vs Samoa fixture. Unfortunately, a last minute Covid case resulted in the cancellation of the Barbarians game, but the Barbarians Women vs Springbok

Women’s game was brought forward in its place so we were treated to a spectacle of fast flowing rugby with plenty of tries. In total, around 160 members of the Hymers community were able to attend this trip and experience playing or watching a family member play in an 80,000 seat capacity stadium and have created

some memories that will last a lifetime. A huge thank you to all who supported the event and the staff who joined me on the trip for getting themselves out of bed at silly-o’clock in the morning. And, of course, a well done to all the boys who represented the school so well.

Mr Hodsdon Junior School Teacher

Hugo and George sign football contracts

Many congratulations to Hugo and George, both Year 8, on signing for Lincoln City and Scunthorpe United respectively.

Hugo started his football career playing for North Ferriby when he was six years old and plays for Hymers and represents the Hull Schools team at weekends. He has signed for Lincoln’s Under 13s on a two-year contract and will be training three times per week with matches on a Sunday fitting

Hockey news...

Thank you to all of our incredible sporting stars who have represented the school over many years.

Here we see Tash, Lizzy, Lydia and Shreya who this term, after 10 years representing the school in hockey, played their last match as the Hymers XI Hockey team. We hope that they, and all those in their final year at Hymers, carry on playing and enjoying sport long after they have left school.

A student’s view

it in with his commitments to the Hymers football squad.

George has been playing ‘grass roots’ football since he was four years old for his local team, Hessle Sporting Club. He also plays for the Hymers school team and represents his city in the Hull Schools team at the weekends. He had an 8 week trial for Scunthorpe United which has resulted in an offer of a two-year signed contract. George is thrilled with opportunity and can’t wait to be travelling the region playing academy football.

The 2nd team were thrilled to be back onto the hockey pitch for the first time following the Covid Pandemic and our season got off to a great start with our newly formed team, made up of pupils from Year 11, 12 and 13. During the season we had many highlights, including our 6-1 win against Ashville, a 3-2 win against Hill House and the 7-0 win against Scarborough College, where we played some outstanding hockey with great tackles, passes and goals.

Although, we had some more challenging games like our matches against St Peters and Pocklington 2nds, the way we all kept pulling hard together and encouraging each other in every match was impressive, we never gave up and this was great to see and experience. Special mentions go to Evie for winning the players player for her consistently high quality performances and commitment. Most improved player was tied between Kate and Freya, for their amazing development during the season.

We would all like to say a massive thank you to Miss Walker for everything she has done for us. We couldn’t have achieved such a great season without you. It was a great pleasure to be Captain of such a superb team, and one of which, I made such great memories with.

Mimi 13U

Congratulations to Gore for winning the Senior House Hockey Tournament.

A huge well done to all teams involved and thank you to Mr Tapley and Miss Walker for umpiring. It was a fantastic afternoon!

Many congratulations to Lauren, Beatrice, Finn, Charley and Jessica for being selected to play hockey at the U17 Hockey Performance Centre in October 2021.

This is a really impressive achievement and fantastic to see so many students from Hymers reaching the top levels in this sport.

The Year 6 Dance Group gave a superb performance at the Yorkshire Dance Festival. Well done to all the groups that took part.

A huge thank you to dance teacher Mrs Marsden, and to all the parents for their support at the event. Excellent audience participation in the finale!

This year’s Periodic Table of the Elements poster competition has once again proved a success.

Every student in Year 8 designed and produced a poster to illustrate their assigned element. The overall display gives an impressive effect, and the overall standard of poster is high this year, especially the s and f blocks!

The posters were judged for following the rules of the competition, quality and impact. Thank you to the judges: Jess and Rohan, who commented: “There were many fantastic designs and it was nice to see all the hard work that the students put into it.”

Third prize: Eva Maria 8D –potassium

Second prize: Alex 8A – radium

First prize: Isabella 8C – sodium

A new flag for Hull? Harvest Festival

Year 11 student James proudly shows his own design for a Hull-inspired flag inspired by the city’s maritime heritage. His design ideas combine a ship and a fish in an interesting way and also includes links to the crown.

James’ interest in flags started as a young child whilst studying atlases and as a Year 7 student he presented an assembly to school about vexillology - his passion and dedication also includes raising the Hymers flag every day during the term.

James has contacted Hull Council who will be discussing his design in the next Civic meeting so we hope for some interesting news.

Our Harvest Festival in the Junior School once again has been well supported.

Children brought food gifts for Hull Churches Home from Hospital Service, Hull Foodbank, Hull4Heroes. Thank you to all who donated.

Heads of School and Senior Prefects

announced for 2021/22

Senior Prefect Team announced

The following pupils were announced as our Heads of School and Senior Prefects for the academic year 2021/22 by the Headmaster, Mr Stanley: Heads of School:

Gaurav

Diya

Alexandra

Senior Prefects:

Jessica

Helena

Isobel

Chiamaka

Shreya

George

Oscar

Our Heads of School and Senior Prefects play a vital role here at Hymers. They support and guide fellow pupils, help ensure the pupil voice is heard by senior leaders and represent the school at events.

Many congratulations to our new team of Senior Prefects for their appointment to the team - having already contributed so much to school life, I know that they will be outstanding ambassadors for the school. I look forward to working with them over the coming academic year.

Mr Stanley

Teaching staff receive ‘Long

Service’ Awards

Teachers and staff came together in the autumn term, along with Mr Redman our Chair of Governors, to applaud the successful long service of two outstanding teachers at Hymers College.

Teaching in our Junior School, Mrs Walmsley has, this year, celebrated 25 years with the School while Mr Quick in the Senior School has reached 26 years of teaching at Hymers.

Joining us in 1996, Mrs Walmsley arrived as a Junior School teacher with responsibility for Girls’ Games and PE. She has gone on to also work in the Senior School but now

teaches more in the classroom in the Junior School while remaining a PE specialist.  One year earlier in 1995, Mr Quick joined Hymers as Head of Strings in the Music department and is now Head of Intermediate Music.

Both Mr Redman and Headmaster Mr Stanley thanked Mrs Walmsley and Mr Quick for their incredible service to the School and made a presentation.

We look forward to them both continuing to deliver exceptional teaching and support for our pupils for many years to come.

Right:

Chair of Governors, Mr Redman with Mr Quick in the Music department.

Junior Stars in the swimming pool

We had a brilliant start to the autumn term in the pool as the Junior swimming competition produced some excellent results. Out of 48 individual swims there were 43 personal best times so it was a great effort by everyone. Special thanks to Mr Bailey, Mrs Farr and Mr McLoughlin for their help, all the children had lots of fun! Additionally several swimmers achieved a bronze, silver or gold standard time towards the Hymers Junior Swim Stars...

25m Backstroke William and Frank - Gold; Alex - Bronze

25m Breaststroke Chiara - Silver

25m Butterfly Toby - Gold; Imani - Silver; Maxwell - Bronze

25m Freestyle Toby - Gold; Freddie and Amelia - Silver; Molly, Harriet and Logan - Bronze

Inclusive Leadership Conference visit

Hymers Sixth Form students

Anna and Tom recently took their message on tackling harassment, mental health crisis & railway safety right to the very top at the Inclusive Leadership Conference in London.

Taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) here at Hymers last year, Anna and Tom were selected to be part of the NCS Youth Board for our region. Here they meet and talk with others on the board about local issues of concern and antisocial behaviour and harassment at railways became a focus for them.

This in turn led to Anna and Tom meeting representatives of Northern Rail, the Samaritans

and others to discuss issues of trespassing and also issues of mental health crisis at railway stations. Their NCS group worked to rejuvenate local stations and make them more pleasant environments for people – indeed a mural is now in place at Beverley station.

Recognising their work, Anna and Tom were invited to have a presentation stand at the Inclusive Leadership Conference where they spoke with many senior officials in Government about the work they were doing.

A Feel-Good-Book challenge

The Summer Reading Challenge for 2022 theme was ‘Feel-Good-Books’ to make you smile, a celebration of funny books, happiness and laughter.

The competition challenged students to read and review at least five books to be in for a chance to win either a £50 or £25 Waterstones vouchers.

This year’s summer Reading Challenge was awarded to Zyana and Amy, both in Year 8.

Congratulations to everyone who participated.

Aspirin™ synthesis

Each year, our A Level Chemistry students synthesise Aspirin™ in the laboratory as part of their course. They learn the practical skills needed to make, purify and then test the quality of the drug.

Although we buy in the salicylic acid the students use to make Aspirin™, there are plenty of natural sources of salicylic acid in the school grounds. The bark of willow trees is a particularly rich source of salicylic acid - many of Hymers willow trees can be found growing by our lake.

Amazing artists

So many talented artists have amazed us with their work - here is a selection including Year 10 and Year 12 photomontage submissions and a couple of A Level students investigating the themes of surrealism and natural forms. Plus, our Christmas card design winner, Francesca.

Restart-a-Heart programme comes to Hymers

We would like to thank Yorkshire Air Ambulance Service who came into School to deliver their lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to our Year 8 students.

This annual event allows each

student access to their own CPR dummy for practicing on.

They do practical CPR and learn the correct procedures to follow when approaching a casualty that has potentially had a cardiac arrest. They are also made aware of the location of both defibrillators within school.

Careers practice interview evening

Our Careers practice interview evening for 2021 was arranged by our Head of Higher Education and Careers, Mr Meadway.

Thank you to those that helped to make the evening a success, from all staff in particular our IT department to all the volunteer interviewers from a variety of industries; engineering, chemical, computer science,

veterinary medicine, languages, dentistry, architecture, musical theatre, politics, business management, mathematics, physiotherapy and medicine.

All interviews were conducted via Zoom to our volunteers across the country and even one in New York - thanks to Old Hymerian, Henry Morris.

I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to help with the medical interview practice on Thursday. It reminded me what a brilliant institution Hymers is - turning out pupils who are not only intelligent academically but well-rounded people who have interests outside the classroom and can think for themselves. I’m so pleased to have had the opportunity to re-engage with the school.

Jeremy Campbell,

OH

Our Junior School pupils stood outside the school in the autumn sunshine in complete silence at 11am, reflecting on the lives lost in service.

In our Memorial Hall in the Senior School, a Service was held in memory of the fallen which included readings and music from students. Our Heads of School also read the names of former Hymers students and staff who lost their

We will remember them:

11am 11 November

Remembrance Day was marked across both our Junior and Senior Schools.

Charity fundraising success: OPSA donation

Huge congratulations to our Sixth Form student Armaan who has raised over £6,000 for the charity Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal (OPSA).

OPSA fundraise to carry out lifechanging, reconstructive facial surgery for babies and children in Pakistan.

Armaan and the Headmaster

presented a cheque to Mr Nick Hart, the Chairman of OPSA, and Mr Riaz who is one of the Trustees and a member of the medical team. Armaan is very much looking forward to joining a team of volunteers in March who are flying out to Pakistan to work in one of the local hospitals.

Well done Armaan and all our students who do so much to help raise funds for charity.

Hymers Army Cadet Force

We had a good result for the Hymers Army Cadet Force (ACF) in our annual, inter-unit military skills competition in the autumn term.

Named The Jim Wharam Trophy Competition, Hymers competed against 10 other units from West Hull and surrounding villages. They completed ten challenging stands

which included drill, skill at arms, first aid, shelter building, STEM, shooting and navigation.

Despite being two team members down due to illness, our cadets performed exceptionally well taking 3rd place overall and coming away with the shooting trophy for the highest shooting score across the whole competition.

lives in conflicts in the 20th century. Wreaths were placed at the Memorial by representatives from, among others, the Board of Governors, the student body, the Staff, and our Army Cadets.

student’s view

Fencing has a long and successful history at Hymers, producing many successful fencers. However, a combination of leavers and the Covid pandemic has meant that activities did take a bit of a dip.

Fencing has taken on a new lease of life this academic year with an influx of eager new fencers which is very promising to see. It is so good to see that fencing will continue to flourish under Mr Blight and Mr Poplawski.

Over the last year it has been an honour to captain the Hymers fencing team as we represented the school and Yorkshire at various competitions. In January the Yorkshire Épée Championships took place and in the over 14 category I was excited to take the bronze medal. On 6 March the Hymers team took part in the Yorkshire Youth Championships which served as a qualifying competition for the British Youth Championships. It was a fantastic day and Tom, Oliver and myself all qualified to represent Hymers, Tom finished 5th in the under 12 boys foil, Oliver took 3rd in the under 12 boys foil and 1st in the under 12 boys épée, Andrew took 3rd in the under 14 boys foil and I took 3rd in the under 18 girls épée.

opportunity to see friends from all around the country and the venue is one of my favourites because of the amount of space.

The GB Cup is a championship accommodating a range of ages which took place on 4 June 2022 at The English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. In the women’s Épée group that I competed in, I was the youngest amongst a group of mostly veteran fencers which provided a great deal of experience to be learnt from experts at the sport. It was especially nice to bump into old Hymerian fencer Avni Pande who is currently at Oxford University. I have been fencing since I joined Hymers in 2014 in Year 5, it was something I had been eager to do and have benefitted from the camaraderie of the group. I have made some good friends in both the school group and also more widely throughout the country at the many competitions I have been to. This year has been particularly special for me as I was awarded school colours for fencing. I am extremely proud of this achievement.

This academic year will be my last at Hymers but I will look forward to seeing Hymers fencers and the coaches at competitions in the future. I am intending to continue fencing at university.

For anyone interested in fencing, please come along to see what we do. You might really like it, just as I did. The club meets after school on Fridays in the sports hall. It is open to senior and junior school pupils.

The British Championships took place in May at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield which involved hundreds of young fencers who had all qualified from their respective regional championships. This is a day I always look forward to because it gives me an

I would like to thank both Mr Blight and Mr Poplawski for their ongoing commitment to fencing at Hymers. Both of them travel a reasonable distance to coach and support us all and it is greatly appreciated.

Befreen Year 13

This year has been particularly special for me as I was awarded school colours for fencing. I am extremely proud of this achievement. Befreen

The children in Year 4 put on their Christmas Production to a live audience in the Judi Dench Theatre.

Year 4 Christmas production - The Magical Christmas Jigsaw

The Magical Christmas Jigsaw tells the story of the nativity as the pieces of an old jigsaw, given to them by a strange Toy Seller, is put together by a group of children on

Christmas Eve. There was some great acting as well as some moving solo singing. The Year 4 Choir also performed for the very first time.

A great start from our youngest children in the school.

Mrs T Redhead Head of Junior School Music

For most of the children, this was their first ever concert at Hymers and, despite a few nerves, the children gave some stunning performances.

The evening began with the Junior Orchestra who performed Dance of the Mirlitons and The Blue Danube Waltz followed by the Junior Strings who played

Junior School Christmas Concert

We were delighted to be able to hold our very first live concert for two years in the Main Hall on Tuesday 7 December.

Christmas Concerto Grosso. The Junior Wind Band played Dan the Snowman and Christmas Movie before the Junior Percussion Ensemble brought the house down with their great performances of Ode to Joy and Last Christmas. The Year 5 Choir were next singing the moving Ordinary Miracle and When Children Rule World. Learned in two practices, the Year 6 Choir sang the

Christmas toy appeal success

Our thanks to all our pupils and families who donated and contributed to our Christmas Toy Appeal. Through this appeal we have been able to donate hundreds of toys and gifts to those in the local area in need this Christmas.

We were particularly impressed with

Grace, Jacob and Harry, pictured below, who are Year 8 Form Prefects. They took the initiative to generate enthusiasm within their Form to collect a huge range of toys and food items for our toy appeal and food drive. They showed real leadership and generosity of spirit in leading the collection in their class. Well done.

Christmas carol Torches as well as the exciting Whenever the Wind is High before everyone joined in with We wish You a Merry Christmas

A fantastic evening, which demonstrated some superb musicianship. Thanks go to Ms Pearson, Mr Quick, Mr Hayton, Mrs England, Mr Bartlett and Mrs Redhead.

Christmas food parcels delivered across the local area

It has been a long-standing tradition here at Hymers to deliver food parcels at Christmas time to those in the local area most in need.

Our thanks to everyone who contributed to the collection this

year. Numerous parcels were made up by our Sixth Form volunteers who also helped get them into the van ready for distribution. We know that the parcels bring much delight to the recipients and are well-received.

SENIOR SCHOOL JOLLY JUMPER DAY

SENIOR SCHOOL CHRISTMAS BAND NIGHT

JUNIOR SCHOOL CHRISTMAS

QUIZ: SANTA SLEIGH RACE

Matt and Rosie collected the House Cup trophy during Senior School assembly on behalf of Trinity House

SENIOR SCHOOL HOUSE CUP WINNERS: AUTUMN TERM

Spring Term 2021-2022

Spring Term

Extra excitement was added right at the start of the term with the announcement of the launch of Hymers Hessle Mount. Hessle Mount School had long been our associate school but through an acquisition will be brought fully into the Hymers family and open its doors as Hymers Hessle Mount in September 2022.

Meanwhile, our pupils continued to make the most of all of the opportunities offered to them, perhaps continuing to revel in no longer enduring home-schooling. We are lucky to have such outstanding facilities here at Hymers, and it is wonderful to see our pupils take full advantage of

these. Our new astro-pitch, laid last summer and the courts alongside, have given the sporting life of the school a real boost. They have also brought a number of new visitors to the school who are keen to use the facilities.

We enjoyed plenty of success in many of the major team sports this term - both from the point of view of high levels of participation and from the results against competitor schools.

We have had strong terms in boys’ hockey and in particular girls’ netball. For example, in netball four out of ten sides beat The Grammar School at Leeds and both our 1st and 2nd teams qualified for the final in their respective regional competitions against the best northern schools, with the 1st team beating St Peter’s in the semi-final.

It has also been a pleasure to see the growth of football played as a competitive sport at Hymers with more football fixtures in the Senior School, alongside rugby 7s and hockey.

Our 7s teams had mixed seasons in terms of results, but our U15s won the Plate competition at Pocklington, and the 1st VII did very well to qualify for the second day at Rosslyn Park, defeating strong rugby schools such as RGS Guildford and QEGS Wakefield en route.

For all the sporting success, the co-curricular highlight of the term was undoubtedly the outstanding production of Les Misérables that played to a full house in our theatre night after night. Cast and crew were excellent and put on a show that was described by many as the

finest school production that they had ever seen. It was truly first-rate and I congratulate all of those involved, staff and pupils, in putting on such an incredible show.

Mr Stanley Headmaster

January 2022: Breaking news … Hymers Hessle Mount announcement

For the first time in its 129 year history Hymers will be providing the complete educational experience from PreSchool to Sixth Form.  From September 2022, Hessle Mount School will become Hymers Hessle Mount. Together they will form one School, on two sites with one clear vision.

In January, Hymers College broke the exciting news that from September 2022 Hymers would be offering all-through education from the age of 3 to Year 13 thanks to the acquisition of Hessle Mount School.

Hymers College has had a strong and close relationship with the Cutting family who have run Hessle Mount School for many years. As an associate school, the path from there to Hymers College is welltrodden. The two schools shared

a common ethos and outlook that has been of benefit to many pupils. However, until now, Hessle Mount School has always remained a separate school. Brining Hessle Mount fully into the Hymers family was the logical step and an exciting opportunity.

In September 2022 Hymers Hessle Mount will open its doors to the first pupils and mean that for the first time in its 129 year history, Hymers College will be providing all-through education.

Pre-school to Year 2 will be

provided at Hymers Hessle Mount and at Year 3 children will transfer to the Hymers College campus for the Junior School without need for an entrance assessment.

The Headmaster Mr Stanley commented: “Over the next two terms we will be working with Sarah Cutting as we transition to Hymers Hessle Mount. I wish to thank Sarah and the whole Cutting family for their years of dedication to the school. I am looking forward to bringing Hessle Mount fully into the Hymers family and delivering on the exciting plans we have.”

to Sixth Form.”

“As one School, on two sites, with one vision, we are committed to setting the standard for education in the North of England from Pre-School through

Mr Stanley

Of course, we had not seen the back of Covid and we were subjected to the occasional wave over the spring term. However, on the whole, the term felt like the continuing return of business as usual at Hymers and all the excitement that this brings.

(l-r) Mr Doyle, (Head of HymersJunior School), Mrs Cutting (Principal of Hessle Mount School) and Mr Stanley (Head of Hymers College)

The Main Hall in the Senior School is once again alive with organ music thanks to the incredible donation by an Old Hymerian of a new organ. For four years we had been without an organ in the Main Hall after a malfunction at an end of term service.

The Viscount Envoy 350SV organ was installed over the Christmas holiday.

Generous donations bring more music to Hymers

We are always very proud of the musical qualities of our pupils but thanks to two very generous donations, even more music has been filling Hymers this term.

The new organ has three manuals (keyboards) allowing an even greater breadth of options when it comes to producing different sounds. Unlike the previous organ, this one also has bass speakers housed underneath the stage. The sound really is incredibly impressive at the beginning and end of an assembly. Interestingly, this organ is the same make and model of organ as that currently used in Hull Minster.

It is not just our Main Hall that has been flooded with music, a beautiful new piano is currently installed in the Learning Resource Centre thanks to a generous anonymous donation. This beautiful piano is greatly enjoyed by our pupils at break and lunchtimes. Thank you to both of the donors who made these generous contributions to the school - they have provided a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to both play and enjoy listening to music.

Hymers Junior School release ‘Care Code’ video

The Care Code lies at the heart of everything we do in the Junior School. It is the reason it is such a friendly, supportive and happy learning environment.

We are very proud of our Care Code as it acts as a guide for all in the Hymers community as to how we conduct ourselves and how we interact with one another.

Junior School pupils get their dancing shoes on!

Our fantastic team of parents involved in the Hymers College Association (HCA) threw an amazing disco for our Junior School pupils in Gore.

Many years ago Gore was the old Gymnasium for the school.

Therefore in front of black and white photos of straight-laced gymnasts from decades ago, our modern Hymers pupils danced the night away to DJ music and flashing lights!

Thank you to our HCA for another fantastic event.

The term we released a fantastic video, made by our Junior School pupils and Mr Doyle, to explain what the Care Code means to them. You can find it at: youtube/hymers_college_care_code.

U13 Football

Our football teams have been going from strength-to-strength. The U13 football team are all smiles after winning through to the last 16 of the National Schools’ Cup. A huge congratulations to all the players and Mr Walmsley and Mr Geary.

Hymers Netball: Players of the Tournament

Congratulations to Sophia (U14) and Mary (U16) for being awarded ‘Players of the Tournament’ at the Regional Round of National Schools competition in January, as voted for by players and officials.

After each match the opposition, umpires and tournament referee’s selected their ‘Player Of The Match’. After all games had been played the votes were counted to determine the ‘Player Of The Tournament’ for each respective age group (U14 and U16). There were around 70-80 extremely talented girls in each age group category; Sophia (U14) and Mary (U16) displayed outstanding netball consistently throughout the day and were deserving winners of this accolade.

World No 1!

We are delighted to announce that our Head of School Lexie is officially the World Number 1 U21 Racketlon player. Lexie has represented Hymers at tennis, squash and badminton and has used these foundations to forge a pathway in the sport of Racketlon which includes table tennis.

Junior Sports Award

Well done to all our Spring Term Junior Sports Award winners. It’s been a super term with a successful introduction of boys’ hockey to the programme to

run alongside football. We saw lots of participation and fun. All the boys and girls have continued to be a joy to coach in all their sports.

National Finals qualification

In March the Yorkshire Youth Fencing Championships took place at Parkside School near Bradford. This is the qualifying event for the British Youth Championships which will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

The Hymers fencers competing included – Oliver (3rd) and Tom (5th) in the Under 12 Boys’ Foil, Oliver (1st) in the Under 12 Boys’ Epee, Andrew (3rd) in the Under 14 Boys’ Foil and Befreen (3rd) in the Under 18 Girls’ Epee.

All of our fencers have succeeded in qualifying for the National Finals

representing Yorkshire. In past years Hymers fencers have regularly won both Regional and National fencing championships. We are at the stage of rebuilding fencing at Hymers after the disruptions of the last two years and now we have well over 40 fencers attending our sessions so we will go on to greater success.

Year 12 re-design Hymers!

A group of Year 12 students were tasked with re-designing Hymers.

Old Hymerian Victoria Farrow, an architect, visited the school to set the task of providing new solutions for various aspects for the College.

Tom, Lucie, Ben, Freyja, Scarlett, Alex and Sahej have been working hard since October to research,

Netball Competition

create site plans and a website alongside producing the impressive 3D versions of their ideas.

Consideration had to be taken into account: for example, the main building is Grade II listed, so changes to the external building is restricted. The students have made some stunning designs and interesting changes, including a climbing wall inside the Main Hall!

Mollie skates to the podium

Huge congratulations to Mollie in Year 7 who has skated to success in a competition at Ice Sheffield. She placed second out of 23 girls in her category and achieved a new personal best score, enough for her to more onto the next Level. Mollie was also lucky enough to be coached by PJ Hallam who was the 2019 Men’s British champion alongside other senior skaters who represent Great Britain.

Our U14 and U16 teams played in the Regional Finals for the National Schools Netball Competition.

The competition was held in January.

Hymers success in Chemistry Olympiad

The Royal Society of Chemistry runs an extremely challenging written examination for school students each January as part of its selection process for a team to take part in the International Chemistry Olympiad.

... more Chemistry success!

Top of the Bench!

A team from Hymers won second place in the Hull and East Yorkshire regional heat of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s competition Top of the bench.

Maud and Nandhan (Year 9), Adwaya (Year 10) and Methum (Year 11) undertook two extremely

demanding tasks, which were assessed with typical rigour by judges from the local chemical industry.

Methum captained the team extremely well in this intensely scholarly endeavour.

All the team won Amazon vouchers worth £35, which they fully deserve.

Normally Year 12 students do not enter the competition as the topics covered are almost all more advanced than they have so far studied. However this year an incredibly enthusiastic set of Year 12 pupils also wanted to join in the Olympiad.

Our students did exceptionally well.

Zain (Year 12), Dylan (Year 12) and Joel (Year 12) attained bronze certificates. Diya (Year 13) and Huarui (Year 13) gained silver certificates and Gaurav (Year 13), Matthew (Year 12) and Kushal (Year 12) won gold certificates, equalling a record haul in a single year for Hymers, and bringing our total of golds to 21.

This is appropriate recognition at national level of outstanding students of academic Chemistry. All the pupils produced excellent results and particular praise goes to Matthew. His score put him in the top 100 of the entry of 8700 elite chemists nationally. Well done everyone.

The next generation of coding wizards!

We have a busy and active coding club running every Thursday lunchtime in our Junior School for our Year 6 pupils thanks to Mr Bloomfield.

The Club has been a real hit as pupils learn to use Scratch software (a high-level block-based visual programming language and website) and uncover other coding

secrets! The Club has also been supported by some of our older Year 13 pupils who have been showing our Year 6 pupils how to use Python - the software used in the Senior School.

It is fantastic to see our older pupils supporting younger pupils develop their coding skills. These skills really compliment, and in some cases extend, what the children learn in lessons.

Junior School Art 2021-2022

The curriculum is based on the elements of art and the pupils follow the same element but complete different tasks.

In the Christmas term we study line, pattern, shape, colour and texture.

The Year 4s made Zentangle canaries, Georgia O’ Keeffe

flowers, rockets with shadows and Christmas tree decorations.

The Year 5s investigated Gondstyle patterns from India, studied the painter Wenzel Hablick and made Christmas decorations for the school tree. Year 6 designed their own paisley patterns, made prints using mid-century fabric as

a starting point and painted winter trees. All the year groups finished the term playing the surrealist drawing game ‘Exquisite Corpse’! Moving on to the Spring term, we looked at 3D. Year 4 made a knee bowl, Year 5 created foil sculptures of people in motion and Year 6 made some beautiful sculptures

of their favourite activities. We have made masks and studied perspective and proportion. The jubilee was celebrated with paintings of corgis! The pupils approached their work with enthusiasm and gusto, producing beautiful pieces of art.

Mrs H Harrison

I cannot express how fantastic it has been this year to be teaching Art in the Junior School art room with pupils in there with me!

Junior School Art Teacher

The jubilee was celebrated with paintings of corgis!

Hymers Junior School Year 6 Choir were delighted to discover that they had qualified for the Barnardo’s National Choral Competition Finals.

To reach the final, the choir submitted two recordings: ‘Whenever the Wind is High’ and ‘The Lighthouse’ which were judged by Douglas Coombes, MBE. Only 18 junior choirs were selected to go through to the final, due to be held at the Barbican, London, in March, from hundreds of entries. This was a great achievement as

Year 6 Choir National Finalists Appeal for Ukraine

Our thanks to everyone in the Hymers community who contributed provisions for our appeal for Ukraine.

We had a tremendous response from across the school. Our thanks to Mrs Mason who works in the LRC who liaised with the Hull 4 Ukraine depot who in turn delivered urgent packages to the country. We are also very grateful for everyone who baked, and then bought, cake at our bake sale. All the proceeds from the sale were used to purchase additional supplies for the people of Ukraine. As ever, as a school we come together to help those most in need. Thank you.

it is the 10th year a choir from the school had qualified and, having been crowned the winners in 2020, the choir were very keen to retain the title of National Champions. The live event was, unfortunately, cancelled and all the choirs submitted video recordings which were then judged.

All performances were able to be viewed on the Barnardo’s website. On this occasion, we were not placed but were incredibly proud to have reached the final as the standard of all the choirs was exceptionally high.

Music For Youth Festival

On Thursday 17 March, the Year 5 Choir, the Year 6 Choir and the Junior String Group took part in the regional round of the Music For Youth Festival.

Over 100 pupils descended on the Albemarle Music Centre in Hull to perform in front of other ensembles and the two Music Mentors. All three groups performed brilliantly and were highly praised by the Music Mentors. A huge well done to all involved and thank you to Mrs Redhead, Mr Quick and Mr Bartlett.

Junior School House music competition

Friday 8 April saw the very first Junior School House Music Competition.

Featuring 60 instrumental and vocal soloists, the pupils performed to a packed Junior School hall. All entrants represented their House incredibly well and there were some super, entertaining and musical performances.

Director of Music, Mrs Fong was invited as a special guest to

adjudicate and all the performers received really helpful feedback. The competition ended with every child singing as part of their House. Songs included Roar, Don’t Stop Believing, How Far I’ll Go and Hakuna Matata. The overall winners were Holderness.

A huge thank you to Mrs Fong, all Junior staff for teaching their House songs and to Mrs Redhead for organising the event.

Year 5 Production – Shakespeare’s Apprentices

The whole of Year 5 enjoyed taking part in the production of ‘Shakespeare’s Apprentices’ in the theatre in April.

The show was set in Tudor times and was about a group of children from a troupe of travelling players, left unexpectedly to entertain Lord Doyle of Hymers, with the plays of Shakespeare. Based on an idea by Ms Rosser, who directed the show, the performance was enhanced with some great singing of Tudor songs and also instrumentalists which was led by Mrs Redhead.

All entrants represented their House incredibly well ...

All the Year 5 pupils had a role in the play and even Mr Doyle – Head of Junior School – got to be a part of the production as Lord Doyle of Hymers!

March 2022 saw the culmination of months of dedication, from both teachers and students alike, to deliver arguably the most celebrated musical of all time:

Les Misérables

Backstory

Set in early nineteenth century France during the Paris Uprising, Les Misérables tells the story of a peasant - Jean Valjean - and his desire for absolution after being condemned to nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving child. Deciding to break his parole, Valjean seeks refuge at a monastery, where the Bishop makes a great impression on him with his admirable acts of mercy, loyalty and kindness. He decides to start his life anew, free of his embittered past and resentment. Meanwhile, police inspector, Javert, refuses to let Jean Valjean evade justice and pursues him for most of the play. Intertwined in this epic production are themes of love, heroism, tragedy, but most importantly, the sense of unity and fighting for what is right in the face of adversity.

Rehearsals

Over the course of seven months, pupils from all years across the Senior School rehearsed every Friday after school, in addition to some weekend and full school-day rehearsals, to help bring Victor Hugo’s narrative to life. The initial rehearsals were in September and held in the Rutter Room, where students familiarised themselves with the script, with Mrs Cook as Musical Director on the piano, and Miss McLeod, Ms Rosser and Mr Hartley directing and managing. Being one of the few musicals sung all the way through, we were lucky to have such an array of musical and theatrical talent, particularly from the sixth-form students.

London Trip

A couple of months later, rehearsals were moved to the Judi

Les Misérables Production

‘Encore! ... hugely compelling, from the opening number to the dramatic finale… thank you for a wonderful night’s entertainment.’

Dench theatre, where we were able to get a feel for staging. What helped us largely was our trip to London in January, where we had the incredible opportunity of a workshop at Pineapple Studios. Led by Adam Linstead, a member of the West End ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ cast, who was blown away by our performance of ‘At The End Of The Day’, with which he helped us choreograph and refine our vocals. We then saw the production live at the Sondheim Theatre in the evening, after eating at Pizza Express and walking through Chinatown. Seeing professional actors deliver the full performance and watching it from the audience perspective was amazing, and certainly the push we needed to bring our rendition of Les Mis up to a similar level.

Thursday was a leisurely day, spent taking in the sights of Covent Garden, Leicester Square and visiting the Theatre and Performance collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was most insightful.

Before leaving for Hull, we also went to the matinee performance of ‘Frozen’ at the Duke of York Theatre, something some of us were maybe a bit too old for! Nonetheless, the visual effects were stunning. Everyone enjoyed the trip and we came away with a new-found mindset and skills to bring to our own performance.

March 2022

Countless rehearsals later, the time had finally come to bring Victor Hugo’s epic production to life. The two-and-a-half-hour show spanned from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 March and tickets were sold out every single night. We were met with standing ovations, and many parents saying it was the ‘best production they had ever seen’, comparing ours with that of professional theatre companies.

With too many stand-out performances to mention all by name, from the hilarious comic genius of James’ ‘Thernadier’ to Thomas’s powerful ‘Javert’ and Kaie’s ‘Enjolras’, everyone brought

something special. However, the show really couldn’t go on without Charlie as ‘Jean Valjean’. I asked him about his time playing the lead role:

‘Playing Valjean was amazing! As someone who has always looked at Les Misérables as a standout musical, it was a show that I had always wanted to take part in. Playing Valjean gave me an experience that I will never forget, from the first rehearsal all the way through to the last bow. Putting on this show gave me and so many others an opportunity to grow as actors and most importantly, have fun! This was my last show with Hymers and I want to thank everyone who has been involved over the 10 years. Teachers, backstage crew and friends, thank you.’

Though an ambitious production to take on, the friendships, the songs, the buzz of being on stage and the fond memories to take away from it made being part of this fantastic production worthwhile. A huge thank you to the efforts of our tech staff, music and drama teachers for their time and dedication to make Les Misérables possible.

‘Even the darkest night will end And the Sun will rise.’

Francesca Year 10

Mr Stanley, Headmaster.

‘Even the darkest night will end, And the Sun will rise.’

Francesca’s interview with Director, Miss McLeod:

How do you get the best performance from your students?

That’s a difficult question - I’m sure the cast would have a lot to say about that, but I think it is a balance of encouraging and praising mixed with pushing them out of their comfort zone and challenging them. You have to get to know your cast members as the answer to this is individual and personal to each person. Some people need constant support and guidance every step of the way, requiring detailed direction and praise to build their self belief, and others needs stretching and opportunities to broaden their skills.

I think a general answer that applies to everyone is to provide the safest and most welcoming platform that facilitates and invites students to want to improve and to support each other and achieve their personal best.

The narrative of Les Mis is a harrowing one. Given its mature themes and deeply emotional nature, how did the students get into character?

Rehearsing a huge production such as Les Mis takes time; it is a layering process. Nothing happens quickly and the end product may look like actors are immersing themselves into the depths of the French Revolution (or actually the June Rebellion set 45 years later!). However, you have to remember, that by the time the students are all brandishing guns and chucking themselves of the barricade, that it started as kids stood in their uniform after school on a Friday, shouting and miming guns and pretending to have a barricade. We didn’t get the backing tracks which included the sound effects until a few weeks before. They had to be programmed into the desk and so the technical support came in a bit later on. So by the time, the students are able to put on a costume, actually practise climbing the barricade (which arrived only two weeks before curtains up) and timing the gun shots to the effects

provided, they are anything but affected by the story-line. It is like this layering process protects the actor to be honest. It may be an emotional thing for the audience (which is the aim!), but I promise you, most cast members would have had a million and one things going through their minds whilst onstage - mostly to remember to make sure that they fell off the barricade behind the curtain, so that when the curtains shut, they weren’t stuck in front of it playing dead on the floor in the next scene! This happened by the way in the Matinee Dress Rehearsal!

Les Mis is truly an epic production, and arguably the most popular stage musical ever made. With this in mind, was there ever a point you thought you’d been over-ambitious?

No actually. We had planned this for a while and knew we had the cast for it (twice over it turns out!), so casting a fantastic bunch of people was never going to be a problem. Mrs Cook and I had worked together for many years and had fine-tuned a productive way of rehearsing. We knew how to structure rehearsals to make the best use of time and know both our strengths and weaknesses, so we naturally work as one. We had to do a lot of prep-work and dedicate many hours to this, but during rehearsals whilst we had the slots with the cast, it was never anything but fun, exciting and fulfilling. I’ve built up a good relationship with the set hire company too, and so can plan and plot the set and how it will be utilised carefully and confidently much sooner than in previous

years. We taped out the barricade and constantly fed this information to the cast members during the rehearsals - we would often show them photos of the set and they found this really helpful to imagine it and plan better.

In the casting process, what attributes were you looking for in Jean Valjean?

He had to be able to hold a show! I cannot discuss our casting process in detail without mentioning names, so it’s hard, but let’s just say it is like a jigsaw puzzle. Some students are quite fixed into a part from the get go, whereas, a lot hover around, between two or three possibles until the casting is permanently fixed, so a few people were up for the role. It ended up being Charlie for a number of reasons, but mainly, he could sustain the long, disembodied high note in falsetto beautifully. Once he was offered the opportunity, he focused on practising singing ‘a lot’, to develop his strength. He seemed to accept the challenge and understood the importance of leading by example, and I think for everyone who went to see the show, they would agree that he succeeded in doing this.

“Mrs Cook and I had worked together for many years and had finetuned a productive way of rehearsing.”

The cast enjoy a trip to see the West End production of Les Misérables and impress at a workshop at Pineapple Studios

First whole Senior School Assembly since the pandemic started

For the first time in two years - almost to the day - we held a whole Senior School assembly in March, with everyone gathered in the Main Hall.

Thank you to all the pupils who took part and to Dr Main and Mrs Dickinson for their assembly on the Ides of March.

National Citizen Service pupils take their projects to Westminster

Following their incredible success with the National Citizen Service (NCS), our pupils Tom and Tash headed to Westminster this term to meet with MPs to talk about their voluntary work.

Tom and Tash, along with four fellow NCS graduates from other schools, met with MPs to share their experience of volunteering through NCS by supporting Northern Rail’s ‘Unwanted Sexual Behaviours’ programme.

This was an fantastic opportunity for Tom and Tash who represented the school skillfully and with great expertise.

Holderness: Spring Term Senior School House Cup Winner

Congratulations to Holderness House in our Senior School who won the House trophy for Spring Term - collected by Heads of House Marie and Tom.

In the Spring term a termly reward scheme was introduced recognising individual students who earned the most Housepoints for their House. Three students from the top 10 students in each year group for HP, will be randomly chosen to receive a £10 Oneforall voucher.

As well as this in the summer term the students who earned the most HP in each year group will also receive a voucher, these were:

Y7 – Riya (7E)

Brandesburton

Y8 – Annabelle (8D)

Brandesburton

Y9 – Alice (9A)

Gore

Y10 – Abia (10E)

Holderness

Y12 – Charlotte (D)

Holderness

Summer Term 2021-2022

Summer Term

There were some real standout events of the term, including Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, productions in the theatre, Eco-week in the Junior School, CatZero sailing to Norway, sports days in both the Senior and Junior schools and the conclusion of this year’s National Citizen Service programme.

The term was also notable as we received a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) for their regular - but overdue because of Covid - inspection of the school.

A team of inspectors spent a number of days at the school, sitting in on lessons, talking with

staff and pupils and reviewing the school as a whole.

I am delighted to say that we passed this inspection with flying colours! We were rated ‘Excellent’ for both elements of the Educational Quality Inspection - the highest grade possible. The report is full of positive compliments about the school, our pupils and staff. I feel it really captures the essence of Hymers and is testament to the hard work of everyone in the Hymers community.

The term was also marked by a series of outstanding individual successes by our pupils. Of particular note was the performance of one of our A Level students in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge (he placed in the top 0.71% of the entry to this

competition) and that of one of our National Citizen Service groups winning the national Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Award. Both of these achievements are worthy of applause from the school.

Such awards are proof, if it was needed, that the College remains true to the founding principles of John Hymers: to promote academic excellence at the same time as being fully integrated in the community of Hull and the surrounding area.

That integration into the community was further embedded at the end of the term when we completed the acquisition of our associate school, Hessle Mount. The keys were exchanged in July and the summer holiday used for an intense

programme of development at the campus. From September 2022 we look forward to throwing open the doors to Hymers Hessle Mount for the youngest children in the Hymers community.

The conclusion of the summer term rounded off another exciting year at Hymers, full of challenges and opportunities for our pupils, which, as ever, they met with good grace and hard work. That was born out in our GCSE and A Level results in August, where once again our pupils’ results shone. In amongst all the stats and numbers of the day were the personal stories of pupils excelling in the face of difficult circumstances and I am proud of each and every one of them.

Mr Stanley Headmaster

Summer term was marked with a period of incredibly hot and dry weather in Hull. While causing an interesting challenge for our expert grounds team to keep Hymers looking magnificent, the heat did not stop a full and packed programme of activities for our pupils.

On 28 April, the Classics Department led a group of 30 Year 10 students for a two day trip to Hadrian’s Wall.

Only a few hours away, almost on our doorstep, the Wall remains an impressive lasting testament to the centuries of Roman rule in Britain, and one which you can climb, explore and touch within the majestic landscape of Northumbria. Blessed with fine weather, our Year 10 students made the most of the opportunity, spending a few hours at Housesteads Fort exploring the section of the Wall near the famous Sycamore Gap. The structure of the Fort, the barracks, the storerooms and even the toilets are all evident. The small display on site provided an interesting context for the students imagining what life on the Frontier was really like. Our next stop was the Roman Museum which houses a fantastic array of finds and exhibits, from weapons and chariots to beads and brooches. The engaging 3D film allowed a bird’s eye view of the Wall through

Walking in the footsteps of the Romans

the eyes of a legionary soldier. After an overnight stay at the Hostel next to Vindolanda, we embarked on a short walk to, arguably, the most famous site on the Wall. Vindolanda was a fully functioning Roman town, equipped to support not just the military but civilians too. The scale of the site is staggering and the students were perhaps most excited to see that it is still actively being excavated. We were able to talk to archaeologists on site and discover the recreation work being undertaken to preserve the remarkable finds that have been unearthed. The Vindolanda tablets, which are the highlight of the Museum, give a vivid insight into life in Roman Britain – with invitations to birthday parties, requests for warmer socks and details of military supplies showing us that human preoccupations have little changed after nearly 2000 years. It was a fantastic trip and one which will become a regular feature for our Year 10 classicists.

Mrs S Dickinson Head of Classics

National Citizen Service: Hymers win Gold!

As regional north-east winners, a NCS team from Hymers travelled to Goldsmiths Hall, London for the final of the Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards in London.

They beat eight other regional winners from a total of over 140 schools to claim Gold, presented by the Lord Bridges, and won an amazing £3,000 for the school. The Hymers team of Tom (Year

13), Lexie and Anna (Year 12) gave a presentation of the community projects that the school and NCS were involved with.

They fielded questions from all the judges who were impressed with the range of charitable activities that have been happening at Hymers.

This award is a wonderful testament to the hard work pupils and staff across the school put into our community outreach and charitiable work. Huge congratulations to all involved!

Vindolanda was a fully functioning Roman town, equipped to support not just the military but civilians too.

This year our themed week in the Junior School - when pupils work off-timetable to study a particular theme in depth - took the form of ‘Eco-week’. This was an opportunity to raise awareness about environmental issues around the world and how they can be alleviated through positive action.

Our pupils took part in workshops, including building a plastic bottle boat, upcycling old T-shirts,

Junior School eco-themed week

creating a garden and forming a junk band. The pupils also spent focused time on one of six areas of study: coral reefs, coastlines, rainforests, air, oceans and rubbish. Parents were then invited into the school at the end of the week so see exhibitions of the children’s work.

The idea behind the theme week is to develop pupil-centred learning, their creativity, collaboration and resourcefulness skills.

Past themed-weeks include Brazil (2016), Hull (2017), History (2018), Invention (2019) and Japan (2020).

The idea behind the theme week is to develop pupilcentred learning, their creativity, collaboration and resourcefulness skills.

‘Longest Day’ golf challenge

Year 13 students Jacob, Finlay, William and Harry took part in the Macmillan’s Longest Day Golf Challenge on Tuesday 28 June.

The challenge entailed a marathon of walking and 16 hours of golf in one day. The friends were motivated to take part as they all experienced the impact of cancer on their families and friends. Any support has been greatly appreciated. Well done!

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

Congratulations to our Gold Duke of Edinburgh group who have successfully completed their expedition after four days of walking from Glossop across the Pennines ending up in Edale in the Peak District.

School fundraising success for ‘Charities of the Year’

Every year at Hymers our pupils help select charities that we will fundraise for throughout the school year through events and activities that our pupil body support. This includes activities such as bake sales and nonuniform or jolly jumper days. Our School Charities of the Year for 2021-22 were Abbie’s Fund (which provides memory boxes for the Maternity Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary’s Women and Children’s

Hospital, to give to parents who have lost babies) and Hull Sisters (an organisation providing specialist support, services and safe spaces for black and minority women and children in Hull and the East Riding).

We invited these charities into our Senior School assembly at the end of term and presented them with the proceeds from our fundraising efforts over the year. Thank you to everyone who has contributed towards our fundraising efforts.

Natasha, Will, Oscar and Thomas finished their expedition in great spirits - well done!

Eleven Year 12 students sat the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Cambridge Chemistry Challenge examination.

They answered questions about double bond equivalents, the

Cambridge chemistry challenge success

unusual physical and chemical properties of aluminium chloride, anti-perspirants, and honeystone, which is a rare example of a mineral containing an inorganic cation and an organic anion. Suprithi, Anchitha and Florence obtained Copper Certificates;

We’ve Got Problems Maths challenge

It was wonderful to welcome Year 5 pupils from 16 primary schools from across Hull and the East Riding to Hymers for our ‘We’ve Got Problems’ Maths Challenge event in June.

This event, organised by Dr Bennett and Mr Simpson, was a

fantastic opportunity to encourage more young people to enjoy Maths and, of course, enjoy spending time at Hymers.

Over three days the teams came into school and, joined by some of our own Year 5 pupils, took part in mathematical games and activities. We look forward to even more of these events going forward.

Mr G Prescott Head of Chemistry

A impressive Roentgenium award for Matthew

Matthew was awarded a Roentgenium Certificate (Roentgenium is the fourth element in the group of the Periodic Table which contains Copper, Silver and Gold), placing him in the top 0.71% of the entry to this elite competition, and he has accepted an invitation to a residential camp at the University of Cambridge Chemical Laboratory and St Catharine’s College to recognise his outstanding achievement.

Zain, Mohammed, Dylan and Joel achieved Silver Certificates; Kushal won a Gold Certificate, with a mark putting him in the top bracket of that cohort.

“Kushal has a remarkable intuitive feel and flair for good chemistry and Matthew’s achievement is startling and fabulous, his award is probably the single most distinguished in the history of Chemistry at Hymers.”

Mr G Prescott

CatZero

The voyage to Norway lasted just under three days. We learnt to work as a team, developing many skills such as cooking, navigating, engineering, sailing and much more. We woke at different times, each day to the sound of a foghorn blasting into our ears, which was normally Eddie trying to get us up, and fell asleep to the sounds of the sea crashing into the sides of the yacht. When we got to the CatZero office in Hull Marina we all got our waterproofs and under-layers, to prepare for the cold and wet nights ahead on the water. After we had our kit, we set off to Albert Dock where we were met with the glorious sight of the CatZero yacht. Everything had just got very real, we were really going to sail to Norway with 16 other people we hardly knew in a cramped 72 foot challenger yacht.

were officially told our journey would start that very night so after a lovely bowl of spaghetti, our last proper meal for some of us, we set off to Grimsby Dock. I remember after getting out of the dock and practising our fender skills we all got to wave to our parents, watching them get smaller in the distance, our last time seeing them for 10 days. With an emotional but exciting feeling within us all, we sailed away into the night and some of us had our first go at the helm.

After we arrived we piled all our bags in the cockpit and claimed our bunks for the next 10 days. We had a chaotic but fun time finding our own bags in the mess we had made and sorting out the wet cupboard. After we were settled in our temporary home, we had an official introduction to our crew, including Danny, our skipper, Eddie, our second skipper and our two watch leaders, Steve-O and Debs. After speculating what our plans were going to be all afternoon we

Getting up bright and early the next morning, we left Grimsby to start the main part of our voyage to the North Sea. We set off all together putting the sail up, doing a man-over-board test and seeing our last view of land. After we were officially in the North Sea we started our watch shifts, the watch names being Solis and Lunae. Solis stayed up on deck with Megan, Kiki, Micheal, Atchuthan, Ed and Adam and Steve-O as the watch leader. Lunae went to rest with Mel, Luna, India-Rose, Ben, Reuben and Will and Debs as their watch leader. For most of us this day will always be thought of as ‘Buckets’ day (I’m sure you can imagine what that means!), setting off straight into some awful conditions of about 30 knots. To stay awake whilst the others slept, working with support from one another, we sang and danced to some childhood classics and the best British bangers, we played word games and mind games. This act of togetherness really kept us going. That along with ginger nuts and bananas, our diet for the next few days! As the sun rose in the morning and set at night, the sunrises and sunsets were absolutely beautiful, they covered the whole sky and were an array of the deepest oranges, yellows, purples and blues. One

of India-Rose and Mel’s personal highlights of the trip was on the way to Norway, when suddenly we were surrounded by dolphins dancing around the yacht, leaping gracefully in and out of the water. They glided under the yacht and then jumped out at one side, then swam under the yacht and sprung out at the other, this continued for about 10 minutes as we watched these majestic creatures in awe. The final stretch to Norway was the hardest part of the trip for most of us, with the waves extremely high and repeatedly hitting the sides of the yacht. The night wind had picked up and the yacht was leaning over with the deck and crew being washed by the waves leaving everyone freezing and drenched. However, by the end of our six hour shift we could see land, an amazing feeling which Will described as the highlight of the trip. We all sat up on deck, with everyone to see Norway together for the first time, warming up with soup and taking pictures of breathtaking views was a particularly amazing memory. After an amazing but challenging journey, we docked at the island of Natvigs Minde and roamed around, calling family and taking pictures. We then took our little dingy boat to the main island of Stavanger in groups of four to six and chose to eat some familiar food from McDonald’s. As soon as we stepped foot on Norwegian ground, it was remarkable to think that we had managed to take a yacht to another country. We then walked through the beautiful streets of Norway where we had our McDonald’s. We all at first struggled to get used to being on land, it felt like we were going to fall as we had been on the water for 3 days straight and couldn’t get our ‘land legs’ back. After enjoying looking around we

took the dinghy back to the yacht, to enjoy our first night without having to worry about shifts. We enjoyed this time playing cards and messing around, having fun all together. We then got some sleep so we could enjoy our Norwegian adventures the next day.

As we returned to the streets of Stavanger, we spent a bit of time playing on a mini trampoline and bouncing onto buoys which resulted in people landing head first and getting stuck in between them. After our familiar food the day before this time we chose to have breakfast at a little pastry

shop called ‘Godt Brod’. We all had delicious Danish pastries which were some of the best ever. After that, we were allowed to explore

On 6 July, 12 students and Dr Main set off in the Hymers minibus on an adventure of a lifetime across the savage North Sea to the picturesque country of Norway on the yacht CatZero.

Stavanger

Stavanger

Stavanger, where we visited a gift shop where we got some souvenirs to remember the trip and some gifts for our families. We enjoyed spending time in this gorgeous little city, exploring and getting lost and Ben and Reuben remember this as one of their personal highlights. Especially watching Reuben speed past us all on the bike he had hired. After a well-deserved shower, we headed back to the yacht to set off to our next destination which was the very secluded island, Talgje where we had a mini BBQ. When we first arrived in our little dingy we all set off exploring the island and taking pictures. This place was absolutely amazing as we could experience the true nature of Norway’s beautiful landscape. After a wonderful night all together on this island we took the dingy back to the yacht as we couldn’t moor the yacht too close to the island because of the depth of the water. After that we took to our bunks to get a good night sleep before the adventure of climbing Pulpit Rock the next day.

The next day, we took the yacht to Tau where we drove through the island towards Preikestolen for our hiking adventure up Pulpit Rock. Before going up we visited the visitors centre and got some more souvenirs and some of us got an ice cream to enjoy in the lovely weather. After a two hour tiring hike that never seemed to end we saw a view that was definitely worth the wait. We took lots of pictures of a stunning view and ate lunch at the top. We then set off back down which took about three hours and realised how much our feet were hurting. After an extraordinary time up Pulpit Rock we got the once in a lifetime opportunity to jump off the yacht into the water underneath the rock we had just climbed. The water was absolutely freezing but getting the chance to jump in was an experience we couldn’t say no

to. We got back in the yacht and travelled back down the Fjord in the sun, with the remarkable views passing us on either side of the yacht. Being in charge of the yacht, helming down the Fjord was one of Megan’s personal favourite memories.

was calmer allowing us the chance to work better as a team and learn how to tie different knots. We got to enjoy the sun sets more and had the chance to see all the boats at night all around us. After an easier journey home, we arrived back early in the morning

That night, expecting to go back to the island of Natvigs Minde we were told we were going to be setting back home early to beat the strong winds. After a previous journey involving lots of buckets some of us were a little nervous to be going back on to the North Sea but we all prepared for the journey ahead. The journey back was more enjoyable than the way there as it

at Hull Marina, disappointed for the trip to be almost over but excited to be back home in England. We cleaned, disinfected and organised the yacht and had the chance to get a nice warm shower. In the afternoon, we listened to some lectures including a flare, weather, navigation and flag lecture, we also took part in a safety boat and rope tests to complete our

Competent Crew Qualification. We did the safety boat test by the side of the yacht and some of us did better than others, with people going the wrong way or round in circles. Completing the qualification was fun and I am sure lots of us would love to complete a higher level qualification in the future. To end the day some of us climbed the mast, about 30 metres into the air and then we all sat down to enjoy some pizza, where we played cards and sang our hearts out to lots of songs, including Moana’s ‘Shining’ - the song of the trip - to cheer people up when it was getting difficult. Luna and Kiki remember this as one of the highlights of the trip as they felt we grew as a team and all had fun together one last time even though some of the other boats in the marina may not have agreed. Everyone really enjoyed our first time sailing and the skills we have learnt will stay with us for a long time to come. Although the trip definitely had its challenges we all managed with the help of the rest of our team and these memories are something that not everyone will get the chance to experience. We had the chance to grow as people and make new friends but we also learnt dedication, resilience and friendship. This trip definitely would not have been possible without the hard work of everyone at Catzero, Danny and Eddie, our skippers, as well as Steve-O and Debs, our watch leaders and to Mr Cadle for bringing this trip to the school and organising it every year. We would also like to give a big thanks to Dr Main, Dr Bobby Mainer, for coming with us and being supportive of us all. We couldn’t have done this without any of these people. Thank you.

Megan, Kiki and India-Rose, Year 10

It began with the youngest choir, Year 4, who enthralled everyone with their enthusiasm, particularly in their song Whisper

The Year 5 Choir had a tough act to follow but coped really well with their quite challenging repertoire, including Can You Hear Me?

The Year 6 Choir tried out one of their brand new pieces, Jabberwocky, as well as some songs learnt for their National Competition entry and sang with confidence. It was lovely to hear the groups from the Senior School which hopefully gave the younger children inspiration for the future. Everyone also enjoyed some stunning solo performances from the older students.

The evening ended with all of the choirs singing a lively rendition of The Rhythm of Life. Overall, this was a wonderful concert, set in an amazing venue. A huge well done to all performers and thank you to the Junior staff who helped out on the night.

Mrs T Redhead Head of Junior School Music

Choral celebration concert

the choirs

combined to put on a fantastic concert at a packed out Hull Minster on 19 May.

All

at Hymers

Overall, this was a wonderful concert, set in an amazing venue.

HCA Garden Party

Year 6 Production – Aladdin

All of the children in Year 6 performed the Disney classic in the Judi Dench theatre in June. Performed on two nights, each class got to take on half the show each ensuring everyone got a part. There were four Aladdins, Jasmines and Genies! It was the first time many had performed in front of a live audience and all the cast did brilliantly with this difficult show.

Our HCA did us proud and provided a packed day full of entertainment and fun! The weather stayed dry which was more than could be said for the teachers who volunteered for the Aunt Sally!

In June, the Year 10 geography students set off to Cranedale as part of their GCSE fieldwork studies. The two-day expedition encompassed the coastal and river sections of the course, with much of the work being done independently, under the supervision of teachers and centre staff.

Shortly after offloading our luggage upon arrival and getting wrapped up, we journeyed in separate minibuses towards our first river site, Helwath Beck, forty minutes from the Cranedale centre. Our first task was to assess the site for risksthankfully we were well equipped and the water was merely kneehigh! Before undertaking the fieldwork, we were also asked to consider the differences between the two sections of the river and formulate a response to the enquiry question, regarding the effects of water velocity and subsequent erosion on load size and the river

Geographers head to Cranedale…

profile further downstream, taking into account sediment size, water discharge, velocity, depth and width.

We then split into groups to measure the above, with each of us taking turns in utilising the apparatus, including a current metre for velocity. Once we had pencilled in our results, we headed towards our second site, Broxa. Further downstream, the meander site was evidently different, its substantial width and rush of water contrasting the tranquillity of Helwath Beck. Here, we carried out the same method and discovered that the lower part of the river had a large cross-section and a greater velocity and discharge, due to lateral erosion. After taking numerous samples, both systematic and random, we drew field sketches of the meander. Following our insightful day, we reflected on our findings in the

classrooms at the centre for an hour in the evening by formulating a fieldwork report. In our groups, we discussed the methodology, justifying why we chose the techniques we did and how they were linked to the enquiry question, analysed our data to identify any clear trends or anomalies and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of our data collection.

The day concluded with some downtime at the centre and a quick game of tennis by some of the students.

Day two entailed observing the fastest-eroding coastline in Europe, the Holderness coast, calling at Skipsea, Hornsea and Mappleton. At Skipsea, we photographed the cliffs and evaluated coastal defence strategies, the value of the town and what it must be like living there, with many residents unwilling to move away, despite the everpresent dangers of erosion.

… whilst Junior Singers head for Llangollen International Eisteddfod

The Year 6 Choir travelled to Wales to take part in the Llangollen International Eisteddfod on 7 July.

After having a fun time bowling the day before, the choir took to the stage with confidence in their biggest ever performance. They sang the difficult three part song Migaloo with feeling followed by a lively rendition of Jabberwocky

After the performance, Mrs Redhead was interviewed for TV whilst the choir sang World in Union. Although not placed on this occasion, the choir had a wonderful experience and it was a fitting end to their time in the Junior School Choir.

In Mappleton, we compared beach profiles and the size of Mappleton’s beach, linking it to processes such as longshore drift.

When in Hornsea, our final stop before home, we walked along the promenade, observing the coastal defence systems in place, notably groynes, gabions and the sea wall. We also examined the positioning of buildings and drainage systems in relation to the sea to prevent flooding.

The latter of the trip was less dataheavy and more observational, as to help us understand the places referred to in our examinations. Our visit to Cranedale was highly educational, enabling us to carry out fieldwork first hand, allowing students to grasp the concepts gone through in class out in the field, and putting us in good stead for our exams next year.

Francesca Year 10

A hard and challenging match took place between our Year 13 netballers and a team of coaching staff for the final netball match of their school life.

v Leavers netball Yorkshire’s best

Staff

The atmosphere was fantastic and the sports hall was packed with supporters who saw a friendly, competitive match with the teachers taking a narrow win.

Congratulations to Ashwin (Year 7) on winning the best All-rounder for U11’s at the Yorkshire cricket board awards ceremony at Headingley and Katie (Year 9) on her selection to the Yorkshire Cricket Club’s U13 performance team.

Brownlee Triathlon

Hymers once again hosted the Brownlee Foundation Junior Triathlon in May.

The course looked incredible - it snaked from our pool, to a bike circuit and then a run track.

The event is for Key Stage 2 pupils who were required to swim 50m in the pool, cycle 800m on the grass and run 300m before receiving a goody bag at the finish line to recognise their achievements. Well done to all children who took part!

Our U12 boys also performed well and won the HMC Sixes U12 final.

Hymers beat St Peters in a thrilling match to take the shield. Well done to Charles, Ashwin, Henry, Tyler, Olly, Albert and Sam!

British Youth Fencing Championships England IS Development Squad for Hugo

Over the May Bank Holiday weekend the British Youth Fencing Championships took place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

This is a major National Championships held over three days and involving hundreds of young fencers who have all qualified to take part through Regional events.

Oliver, Andrew, Tom and Befreen performed extremely well and enjoyed their experience.

Following his selection for the Yorkshire and North East Independent schools team after his fantastic attitude and performances for our Hymers College football team, Hugo played in a three day tournament at Shrewsbury School, captaining one of the games.

The Festival was also treated as a trial for the England Independent Schools U14 squad and Hugo has been successful in being chosen for the England IS Development Squad!

Students from Year 7 to Year 10 and Year 12 took part in the Enrichment Week; an opportunity to experience a range of activities, trips and adventures that sit, for the most part, outside of the school curriculum, but that support their personal or academic development just as much as being in timetabled lessons.

Enrichment Week 2022

Year 7 students enjoyed a trip to Warwick Castle and followed up their visit with the building of trebuchets in the Design Technology department.

They also completed a First Aid Training course, including administering bandages, assisting people who are choking and learning the techniques of CPR.

Year 8 students visited Bempton, enriching their study of ecosystems and marine biology. They also made miniature wind turbines and competed in teams to find a blade design that generated the greatest amount of electricity. They finished their week with an internallyproduced Duke of Edinburgh Taster Day.

Year 9 students took part in the annual Creativity Challenge and a Stomp Competition – a dance and percussion performance showcasing their choreography and dance skills!

Year 10 students overcame the disappointment of a trip to Spain that fell through at the last moment due to national issues relating to flights to enjoy a hastily-arranged trip to the beach (Bridlington

being the next best substitute for Barcelona!), First Aid Training and a collection of teamwork tasks. In keeping with the school’s founding mission and its ethos, all students in Years 7 to 10 and 12 also took part in a collection of Community Days

This year, local projects benefitting from students’ enthusiasm and generosity of time included the PATT (Plant a Tree Today) Foundation, Emmaus, Thoresby School mural painting, Driffield station gardening, Hull Vineyard Church, Dove House Charity Shops’ distribution centre and the Hull for Heroes allotment.

Well done to all the students for throwing themselves into the activities with such gusto!

Mr R Wright Deputy Head

Enrichment Week; sport, trips, training and community work!

Senior School Sports Day

Following its successful introduction in the previous academic year, the Senior School Sports Day again took place at the end of the summer term. Whereas competition in its inaugural year had been between Form Groups within academic years, the reintroduction of the House system to the Senior School provided a vertical format to the competition this time around.

The added layer of competition added to atmosphere on the day: the Heads of Houses decorated gazebos in their respective colours that provided bases for students of different age groups to come together and foster team spirit.

Coloured face paint, accessories to customise the PE kit and a live ‘It’s a Knockout’ style scoreboard all added to the spirit of the day – a celebration of participation and enjoyment in sport with a competitive thread running through it.

Students took part in a rotation of summer sports (cricket, tennis, rounders and softball), invasion games (netball, football and dodgeball) and, of course, the traditional track events in athletics.

The tug-of-war competitions were again highlights of the day, with as many students from each House as possible helping out somewhere along the rope! As part of the rotation, students also took part in some ‘try it’ activities, featuring a mobile climbing wall, giant inflatable obstacle course, outdoor laser quest, archery and many others.

The Senior School Sports Day has quickly established itself as a day that promotes the best of Hymers: students and staff coming together as a community. Many thanks to all the students and staff involved in making it possible: the Heads of Houses, Miss Walker (House

Coordinator) and the very many staff who organised the individual sports’ competitions and acted as umpires and referees.

And, finally, congratulations to the winners of the Summer 2022 Senior School Sports Day…Trinity! Mr R Wright Deputy Head

Junior School Sports Day

The sun was shining bright on a wonderful afternoon of sport for the Junior School Sports Day in June.

Many school records tumbled, a well-fought tug-of-war and the first ever teacher’s sack race which proved controversial!

The Year 4 and Year 5 Choirs travelled to Cleethorpes to take part in their first competition. The Year 4 Choir won the Sam Chapman Shield for Junior Choirs and the Year 5 Choir won the Robert Frayne Challenge Shield for Junior Choir Hymn Singing. Congratulations to all.

Junior School music success

Junior School summer concert

The Junior School Concert, featuring the Orchestra, String Group, Percussion Ensemble and all three Choirs, took place in the Main Hall in July.

It was wonderful to hear some magnificent performances! The orchestra began with Handel’s Water Music, James Bond theme and You’ll Never Walk Alone followed by the Junior Strings who played Hard as Rock

The Wind Band gave lively renditions of Frothy Coffee and Come Summer before the Percussion Ensemble brought the house down with The Birdie Song

All three choirs then performed; the Year 4’s repertoire included Amani Utupe and a song written by Mrs Redhead, Lord of All Creation. The Year 5 Choir enjoyed singing Give Us Hope amongst other songs before the Year 6 Choir finished with Migaloo and Jabberwocky

It was a hugely enjoyable programme performed by some very talented children.

Senior School production

When I was asked to share my memory of performing as Sybil Burlington, I was delighted because that play was the highlight of my drama journey at Hymers. Everybody says it was ‘such an amazing play’ ‘best thing ever’ and I truly mean it, I would give an arm and a leg to perform in ‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ one more time. I grew so much confidence through this play, perhaps it was the character I was playing: the snobby, stuck up Sybil Burlington or, maybe it was the amazing people I would work with in the cast that were filled with enthusiasm and motivation. When the stress levels were high we kept each other going and all the long, extra hours were completely worth it. The play turned out an to be incredible success and ended on a high.

My favourite part of this play was being one of the main characters with Sybil Burlington energy oozing out of me on every line and I thoroughly enjoyed purposefully singing terribly and making the rest of the cast giggle. Miss Rosser and her quick thinking saved us from forgetting our lines; she became the school nurse and every time you forgot your lines you said ‘nurse’. A brilliant plan. I can’t encourage everyone enough at Hymers to join drama, or even participate in a play; I made many friends through drama and my confidence soared through the roof. Also, the fact that I could become someone else for two hours, someone I loved to act.

Another plus to ‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ was wearing costumes you never believed you would wear; I was pleasantly surprised to wear a knee long green blouse with a tie around my waist. The atmosphere was made even better playing in the Main Hall. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and to be in a team with my friends to be part of every high and low and perform a thrilling play. Words can’t describe the happiness I feel when performing. When I joined Hymers, I had never done drama,or even stood on a stage. It was a huge and unexpected privilege to be picked for this play. Of course a play doesn’t consist of just actor, we have many people to thank, including our strong director Luna keeping everyone on a high, and Miss Rosser for believing in us when we couldn’t believe in ourselves. In drama you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Thank you for such a fantastic opportunity and giving me my favourite and long lasting memory of Year 8.

Annabell, Year 8

I would give an arm and a leg to perform in ‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ one more time.

‘Daisy Pulls It Off’

Year 7

We started the year by creating some fantastic moving figure sculptures! The students learned to draw the human form in proportion before moving on to capturing dynamic poses. We then translated our understanding of movement and proportion into 3D sculptures.

Year 7 followed up their sculptures with some wonderful self portrait printmaking. Well done!

Year 8

Year 8 made a super start to the year by designing their own superheros! We chose their powers,

Senior School Art 2021-2022

designed their costumes and then used digital special effects to make them zoom through the air, glow and shoot lasers from their eyes! We fine-tuned our perspective skills by designing comic-book backgrounds and combined them digitally with our characters.

Year 9

Year 9 investigated African masks past and present, creating some outstanding research pages before developing their own ideas. The students modelled their creations on their own heads before adding all kinds of imaginative details

like horns, spikes and exciting expressions. We decorated them with African-inspired patterns and carefully applied acrylic gradients. We continued the year by exploring the nature-inspired architecture of Gaudi, before creating our own observational drawings of natural forms, monoprinting them and combining them to form imaginative architectural designs.

Year 10

Year 10 began the year by creating stunning urban landscapes inspired by Van Gogh, Carel Weight and Edward Hopper. They produced

their own urban photography and tackled a wide range of media, including getting to grips with acrylic paint. The students then embarked upon their chosen coursework foci with customary gusto!

Year 12

Year 12 responded to the distorted photography of Bill Brandt with some superb monochrome images exploring viewpoint and tonal contrast. The ensuing drawing was outstanding. We then embarked upon coursework projects on a range of topics.

Flying Colours for Hymers: Independent Schools Inspectorate 2022

What the report said...

Pupils feel well looked after, reflecting the quality of provision and the pastoral care they routinely receive.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in May/June 2022, Hymers College has been awarded the highest possible rating in a glowing report from the inspection team.

In a report woven together with a multitude of outstandingly positive compliments about the school, its pupils and staff, Hymers achieved the top grade of ‘Excellent’ for both elements of the Educational Quality Inspection. The report found that:

The quality of the pupils’ academic and other achievements is excellent.

+ Pupils display excellent levels of achievement across a wide range of disciplines.

+ Pupils display excellent attitudes towards their learning.

+ Pupils of all ages have excellent knowledge, skills and understanding, effectively applying these across all subjects.

+ Pupils demonstrate excellent communication skills as confident orators and in their writing.

+ Pupils demonstrate highly developed study skills which they successfully use to challenge and extend their learning.

It also found that:

The quality of the pupils’ personal development is excellent.

+ Pupils display excellent levels of self-confidence. They are resilient and take responsibility

for their own development in preparation for the next steps in their lives.

+ Pupils demonstrate a strong moral awareness and exhibit high standards of behaviour.

+ Pupils of all ages are responsible individuals who make strong contributions to their school and the wider community.

+ Pupils are highly respectful towards each other and appreciate each other’s differences as well as everyone’s common humanity.

“I am delighted the school has received such an outstanding report from the inspection team. I feel this report successfully captures the essence of Hymers, bearing testament to the exceptional character of the school and the talents and attitudes of pupils and staff alike.

“I wish to congratulate and thank all members of the Hymers community on this superb inspection report. I consider myself extremely privileged to be associated with such an outstanding school.”

Mr Stanley Headmaster

You can read the full report on our website.

Pupils of all ages and abilities demonstrate attitudes towards their learning.

Pupils develop excellent learning habits through well-planned, challenging lessons and teachers who inspire them.

Pupils demonstrate an extremely high level of achievement in their academic studies and through their co-curricular commitments.

Pupils are proud of their work, taking pleasure in applying their skills to extend their learning.

Pupils are willing to take intellectual risks, using mistakes as learning opportunities and developing a mature approach to their learning.

Pupils work independently and collaboratively with a keen sense of purpose and enjoyment in their learning.

Younger pupils thrive in a community where all pupils are encouraged to take part regardless of ability.

Pupils in both Junior and Senior Schools achieve at high levels through participation in the school’s co-curricular programme.

...pupils of all ages make rapid progress across the full range of subjects in the curriculum.

Within their community, pupils of all ages develop strong leadership skills and learn how to participate effectively in the organisation and development of the school.

– Independent Schools Inspectorate 2022

Heads of House: Insight

I’ve been at Hymers all the way from Year 4 through to Year 13 and have enjoyed many things about the school, especially the sporting side of Hymers. I have represented the school in multiple sports like Rugby, Cricket and more. Through this I have gained many great friendships and have had lots of memorable moments from different trips and fixtures. I think the reintroduction of the House system has been a great addition to the Senior school. It has allowed a deeper sense of community throughout the school with members of all age groups supporting and encouraging

each other. I have also enjoyed taking part in the Inter-House competitions; friendly competition between Houses has allowed lots of people to get active in sports they wouldn’t ordinarily play and help kids of different ages socialise.

Matthew Trinity HoH

During my seven years at Hymers, I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in lots of activities at school including music, sport and drama. Being able to take part in the new Heads of House system has been a great opportunity to meet the younger years and encourage my competitive nature.

One of my favourite Inter-House competitions was the Sixth Form netball tournament where we all dressed up in our house colours and everyone gave it their all. It was also nice to support and encourage the other competitions, like debating tournament, that I wouldn’t usually get involved in. I think the House system has motivated everyone in lessons to earn House Points and Matt and I were very proud when Trinity won the house trophy in the first term.

Rosie Trinity HoH

I joined Hymers in Year 10, so the introduction of the House System has allowed me

to engage and see parts of the school in greater depth. I have particularly enjoyed working with the younger years and seeing their enthusiasm for all parts of school life and the house system: from volunteering for swimming teams to taking part in quizzes with their peers.

I particularly enjoyed the Debating competitions as people in Brandesburton volunteered to debate for the first time, and won! This demonstrated the purpose of the House system to me, for people to get involved, have fun, and even win! Charlie and I have been so pleased to see the enthusiasm our House members volunteered and participated with and wish to thank them for all their efforts!

Grace Brandesburton HoH

Certificate in Financial Studies

Every year the Sixth Form have the opportunity to take an additional qualification which focuses on budgets and managing money, the different ways to save and borrow and how the financial system operates for us.

In the main, they work independently on the topics and take exams during the year to gain a Level 3 qualification which carries UCAS points to the equivalence of an AS Level.

Once again this year’s Year 12 continued the tradition of achieving a 100% pass rate with the vast majority of the grades at the top level. We also found that some of the students from last year were able to use the qualification to establish a place at university.

Not only do the students have to take more responsibility for their own learning on this course but that they learn invaluable features of Personal Finance which will take them through their future lives and careers.

Here are two testimonies from Finn and Laura who took the course this year…

The personal finance course has taught me a variety of like skills about how to manage my finances. The two units have shown me how to look after my finances in the long term and in the short term; the units showed me different methods of saving, such as the different types of ISAs, borrowing and also who I can contact if I was to get into financial difficulty. If I had not done this course, I most likely will not have known any of this. It has certainly taught me skills that I will most definitely need throughout my life and probably will not have known as many of these options

with finance had I not studied this qualification.

The course also gives extra UCAS points, which is a benefit when applying to university. I have also realised, when studying economics, that they link in well together, especially when looking at money and interest rates. Not only has the personal finance course helped me with life skills I may not have realised had I not done it, it has also helped and linked in well with my studies within school as well.

Laura

After hearing “when will we ever use this in life” been thrown around many times around school, the Personal Finance course gives

Sixth Form students the opportunity to increase their level of understanding of the fundamentals of budgeting, saving, debt, and investing setting a good foundation of money management for use at university and when they have left school.

I also found that some of the topics covered in the Personal Finance course gave me a head start in some of my subject areas. As the PF course overlapped certain content in both my A Level Business Studies and Economics, this helped me have a broader area of subject knowledge helping me prepare for both my A Levels and Personal Finance exams.

Finn

With nearly half of all pupils achieving eight or more grade 7s or better, some subjects in particular have enjoyed remarkable success. Across all three sciences the average grade was 7.1 and nearly a third of the results were grade 9. In English Language the average grade was 7.5, while in R.E., it was 8.0. Impressively, in Latin two thirds of students achieved a grade 9 and the average grade was 8.3.

GCSE Results 2022

There were lots of smiles as Hymers students once again celebrated receiving top GCSE results. The average grade awarded across all subjects and all pupils was a grade 7 (equivalent to an A under the old system) and the most commonly awarded grade was a grade 9, the highest grade achievable.

Headmaster Justin Stanley commented:

“I am so proud of all our students. After a challenging few years through the pandemic, our Year 11 students have shown true resilience and been rewarded by an excellent set of examination results.

“Of course, there are some clear standout results, perhaps most notably that the highest awarded grade 9 is the most commonly awarded grade. However we also see some inspiring personal stories from pupils who, over their GCSE studies, showed incredible progress and today received grades far beyond what they first hoped to achieve.

“In addition to their accomplishments in the classroom, many of these young people have contributed with commitment and expertise in the wider life of the school, excelling in sport, music, drama, thereby bringing joy to the school community and enriching their own lives. I am so impressed with each and every student and the progress they have made throughout their time at Hymers.”

Anxious faces arriving to collect results quickly changed to beaming smiles from both students and their parents and guardians as envelopes were opened and results revealed. Hymers students achieved a 100% A Level pass rate and, as well as some impressive results in core subjects like Maths, English and Science, in other subjects extraordinary results were achieved. 96% of Economics students achieved A*-B grades, all Classics grades were either A*or A, and over 80% of Computer Science candidates achieved A* or A grades. With these results many Hymers students are heading off to top universities to study a range of subjects from Economics to Medicine and Languages to Architecture. Many are also pursuing different and exciting opportunities beyond the traditional university route including apprenticeships and careers in the performing arts.

A Level Results 2022

Once again Hymers students have posted a remarkable set of A Level results. 89% of all grades achieved by the Class of 2022 were A*-C. This is an outstanding achievement for a year group so impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and a set of results significantly better than those achieved pre-pandemic.

Headmaster Justin Stanley commented:

“I am so proud of our Year 13 students for achieving these superb grades. This year group in particular have felt the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic with their GCSEs falling in the summer of 2020.

“It should of course be remembered that these results are not the sum total of a student’s contribution to school life, but rather a snapshot of their academic studies here. Beyond the classroom, our Year 13 cohort have achieved so much: from sporting triumph to magnificent theatre productions, NCS success to musical harmony. I am so proud of them all. Once a Hymerian, always a Hymerian. I look forward to hearing about everything they go on to achieve.”

Staff Leavers

Richard Summers

Richard has been part of the Hymers community for 33 years. He joined the Biology department in September 1989 after a spell at Droitwich School. He was employed as a biology teacher and has taught thousands of students over his time, including a number of people who now work in the school. For a number of years Richard has been tasked with teaching much of the practical assessment work in Year 13, this is a great responsibility and he ensures that our students leave Hymers ready to take on the challenge of working independently in the labs at university.

Richard’s biological niche is ecology and he has been a stalwart of the field trip – over his 33 years he has clocked up too many to count, we estimate over 100 visits to the Cranedale Centre and another 100 to Filey Brigg, he will certainly have noticed the changes in the East Coast landscape. Over the years he has also supported many school excursions outside of the biology department, including trips to Iceland, America and France. Richard was not satisfied with just teaching biology and threw himself in to so many different activities. He was an excellent Head of Year in the early 2000’s and also led the PSHE department. Richard enjoys studying and over the years has become qualified to perform a number of learning support tests with the students, he was responsible for the learning support department in the school until very

Paul Meadway

Mr Paul Meadway joined the chemistry department at Hymers 30 years ago from Wolfreton school. In addition to being an outstanding chemistry teacher, Mr Meadway has made a huge contribution to the co-curricular life of the school, in particular on the sports pitches. He has a great love of rugby and cricket and he

Marion Riley

Mrs Marion Riley first started work at Hymers as a singing teacher in 1996. In her 26 years at Hymers she has been an inspiration to generations of pupils, laying the foundations for many of them to go on to pursue professional careers in the performing arts. But beyond that, she has been the catalyst for even more of her protégées to

recently and continued to carry out the testing until his retirement. More recently he has gained a theology degree and became licensed in the Church of England, and I know he will be able to spend more time with the church community when he retires. We have been grateful for his spiritual guidance during recent years.

A huge part of Richard’s time at Hymers, and perhaps his legacy, will be the Army Cadet Force. As a young officer in the Territorial Army he started the Army Cadet Force in 1991 – this academic year was the detachment’s 30th anniversary. He has had a number of leadership roles within the ACF – Staff Officer, Company Commander and Adjutant to name a few and during many of these postings he continued to run Hymers as a Detachment Commander. He also spent nearly a decade selecting ACF officers at Westbury and then supporting their development as Second Lieutenants through courses at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Around 15% of Hymers Cadets have gone on to have successful careers in the forces, with many going through RMA Sandhurst themselves. Students at Hymers gain much from belonging to the ACF, including confidence, resilience, self-awareness and determination, as well as having the opportunity to teach younger students. It has been one of the great opportunities at Hymers and it is testament to Richard. It is fitting that his eldest daughter, Alex has taken over responsibility for the

detachment keeping the Summers name involved.

Richard also introduced Archery to the school in the mid 2000s. He set up an archery club that ran on a Friday after school and impressed the students with his ability to shoot the longbow the length of the junior school field. In more recent years he also used this skill to teach the Year 7 students when they completed follow up work after their visit to Warwick Castle.

He has been a very busy man, as well as everything I have already mentioned he has also worked with St John Ambulance and set up the Duke of Edinburgh programme at Hymers, from just a few students, and developed it into the hugely successful activity it is today, with a number of students going on to receive their Gold award.

Richard has been a truly committed Hymers teacher, and a support to staff as well as students, he was Chairman of the Senior Common Room and a regular at the Friday morning breakfast club. To replace him we will need, a biology teacher, a learning support tester, a Duke of Edinburgh leader, an Army Cadet force Captain, an archer, a first aid teacher and a Head of PSHE. I would like to thank him for all that he has contributed and for the many lives he has enriched. We hope you have a wonderful retirement. You will be leaving a Richard-shaped hole and you will be missed.

Helen Jackson

has led and accompanied ski trips and sports tours. In recent years Mr Meadway has done a brilliant job in lifting and sustaining the quality of the Careers and Higher Education provision at Hymers. He has ensured that careers advice has become embedded across the curriculum and, having worked in a number of schools, I can vouch

for the fact that the level of support that Hymers Sixth Formers receive as they apply to university is second-to-none. It really is down to Mr Meadway that the Hymers Careers and Higher Education is the holder of a nationally recognised Gold award.

Justin Stanley

continue singing simply for the love of it. Mrs Riley has been a singing teacher of the highest standard and her influence has enriched the lives of all her students. We are all indebted to Mrs Riley for the wonderful music that she has helped to create.

Justin Stanley

Ian Mellor

We have been very fortunate that three years ago we managed to persuade Mr Ian Mellor to come out of retirement to work in our Geography Department. As pupils who have been lucky enough to have been taught by him know, Mr Mellor is an experienced GCSE

Tom Geary

Mr Tom Geary who joined us in 2018 will be well known to many of you, both through his outstanding work on the school’s National Citizens Service and through his support of the school’s sport, most particularly the football and cricket. As those of you who have contact with Mr Geary will know,

Fraser Hartley

Mr Fraser Hartley joined us two years ago as a Graduate Sports Assistant and quickly made a positive impression with his wholehearted and enthusiastic contribution to school life. In lockdown he established himself as Hymers’ very own Joe Wicks with his high-energy, high-impact workouts. He seemed to spend

Staff Joiners

We welcome the following staff members during the academic year 2021-2022…

and A Level teacher who brings his considerable insight in examining to bear on his classroom practice. He had intended to be at Hymers for only one year, and so for us to have managed to keep him for three years, has been of great benefit to us. He has always

been willing to help out when we’ve needed assistance and he has been a good colleague and source of wisdom both within the Geography Department and across the staff. We wish Mr Mellor well in his second retirement.

Justin Stanley

he’s a thoroughly nice man, with nothing being too much trouble for him. For some pupils he has been an invaluable source of pastoral support within the school. The national award that our NCS team won in London is a fitting note on which Mr Geary will leave us.

However, he is going to leave a number of holes at school that will not be easy to fill. Of course we wish him well in his new job as he relocates to Sheffield to live with his partner.

Justin Stanley

about three months doing nothing but leading online PE sessions for pupils across the school. But Mr Hartley, like many Hymers staff, is no one-trick pony and, in fact, over time more pupils and staff in the school have become aware that he has a drama degree. Furthermore all those of you who had the pleasure to see last summer’s

Greek plays will know what a skilled director he is. This year he has completed a PGCE – a teacher training degree – and, given his talents, it was no surprise that he landed the first job he applied for teaching drama in a school down in London. I know he has a bright future ahead of him.

Justin Stanley

Chris Bloomfield Junior School Teacher

Rob Newton Junior School Teacher

Lauren Annis Teacher of PE and Games

Ashleigh Cleet Teacher of Design & Technology

Lizzie Picton Welfare Nurse

Louise Auty EAL Tutor

Nicola Hogg Teacher of Business Studies & Economics

Molly Sullivan Teacher of History

Stephen Baxter Junior School Teaching Assistant

Elspeth McCobb Head of Admissions & Marketing

James Taylor Teacher of Mathematics

Overview of Houses in Senior School

Brandesburton:

John Hymers was the founder of Hymers College as he left a sum of £50,000 in 1887 to create a school ‘for the training of intelligence in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and varied population’ of Hull. John Hymers became Reverend of Brandesburton rectory in 1852 as the House represents not only his career but his values of charity and selflessness which were fundamental to the foundation and prosperity of the school.

Heads of House:

Charlie

Studies: History, Politics and Economics

1st Team Rugby captain Cricket

8A Form Prefect Mentor

Grace

Studies: History, English Lit and Maths

LAWSOC founder Mentor

8A Form Prefect

Trinity:

Religion was a big part of life when the school was built in the late 1800s. The large majority of the students and faculty were Christian, because of this, the school thought it was important to recognise this in a more official way. The church in Hull was previously called the Holy Trinity church, therefore the house name of Trinity was obvious due to its religious connotations and connections with the city. Despite the school now being more multicultural with students of many different faiths, the House of Trinity has remained due to the history of the school.

Heads of House:

Matthew Studies: Further maths, Physics, Economics

1st Team Rugby Cricket

8C Form Prefect Mentor

Rosie Studies: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry

9A form prefect, buddy & mentor

Grade 8 Flute

In orchestra and wind band Netball and Hockey teams

Brandesburton House Trinity House

Holderness:

Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. The city of Kingston upon Hull lies in the south-west corner of Holderness and Brandesburton to the North.

Heads of House:

Thomas Studies: Further Maths, Maths, Physics and Biology

Performs in the school shows including Inspector Javert in Les Misérables

7B Form Prefect

Member of windband

Marie Studies: Spanish, German, English

Language & Literature

8C Form Prefect, Buddy & Mentor

One of the founders of The Language & Culture Club Hockey team

Gore:

Hymers College opened in 1893 as a school for boys on the site of the old Botanic Gardens of Hull. The first Headmaster, Mr Charles Gore, was admitted to the Headmasters’ Conference (HMC), which represents the leading independent schools in the country, and all succeeding Headmasters have been members.

Heads of House:

Tom Studies: Politics, Psychology and Economics

2nd Team Rugby

Cricket

8B Form Prefect Mentor

Holderness House

Phoebe Studies: Drama, English lit & lang and Religious Studies

Performs in the school shows including Eponine in Les Misérables

7D Form Prefect

Buddy and Mentor

House Cup is awarded termly until the Summer where it is for the whole year.

We have relished the opportunity to welcome new faces to the school, and new members to the Hymers College Association.

The Hymers Annual Garden Party held in the Summer was one of our most successful to date. With the help of staff, volunteers, and our lovely pupils, the HCA raised a fantastic amount of money that will help fund lots of great ‘extras’

The Hymers College Association (HCA)

that would typically fall out-width of a school budget. The HCA this year, through events such as the Garden Party, Michaelmas Fair, Second-hand Uniform Sales, and our late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, have meant that we were able to fund the following:

• Choral Risers

• Lunch Club Equipment

• Junior School Library Books

• Pantomime Ice-creams

Laura Starkey, our HCA Secretary, stepped down from her role at the beginning of 2022 after many years of fantastic help and support.

We hope you will join us in sending Laura our very best wishes and thanking her for all her time, hard work and dedication to the role. This brings us to Laura’s successor, Mrs Louise Linter. We would like to welcome Louise formally and wish her well in her new post.

As many are aware, the HCA are a charming group of parents and teachers who organise a variety of fun, social events throughout the school year. Our wonderful

committee and team of volunteers are instrumental in helping raise funds so that we can continue our contributions, enriching our pupils’ school experience. If you would like to join our committee or volunteer your time at one of our forthcoming events, we would love to hear from you. You can reach the HCA at hca@hymers.org

All that’s left to say is best wishes to all as we look forward to another exciting school year ahead.

Zoe Overment Chair

This year the HCA found ourselves able to reflect on a wonderful calendar of events that were able to go ahead, much to our delight. So, it seems, dare we say it, that it’s business as usual with hopes that the ‘pandemic’ years are now behind us.

“I wish to express my thanks to the countless hours of time our HCA volunteer to support the school. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”

Mr Stanley

Members of the HCA at Hymers College Garden Party

Message from Development Manager and OH President...

Many of you will know Jen and Vikki, we are a close-knit team, all of whom find our work incredibly rewarding. Our alumni network is at the very heart of what we do; getting to know each other better, sharing stories and memories, as well as sensing the warmth you feel towards Hymers.

Our ambition is to speak to many more of you and hope that you will re-engage with us and your former peers. You will notice an upgrade in our website over the last 12 months with many of our archives now categorised digitally, new country clubs for alumni living overseas and mentoring support for all of our OH community. We hope that there is something for everyone! This year we have also introduced some very popular new events namely The Presidents Cup, City Drinks in London and at the time of going to print we have been to Newcastle and have plans to visit our alumni in Leeds, Manchester and Cambridge in 2023.

From John Hymers founding to the present day, the School has championed social mobility for the bright children in Hull and East Riding regardless of their families’ ability to pay through the bursary programme. Founded with one Legacy in 1893, Hymers has been providing an outstanding education for nearly 130 years. Our history is built on benevolence, we are

proud of our humble beginnings. Our own history is also clearly influenced by national history. Under the Direct Grant Scheme (1944-1979) a significant percentage of Hymers students paid no fees at all. When this was replaced by The Government’s Assisted Places Scheme (1979-1997) - one third of students received funding. Following the withdrawal of state funding, in 1997, the demographics changed. The School made the decision to continue to support our bursary students. Since then, our support for bursaries has been supported by income from school fees, local trusts and foundations and a number of generous Old Hymerians and parents.

Hymers has put social mobility on the map and thanks to our supporters continues to build a culture of diversity and inclusion as we prepare our students for life beyond school. Thank you to those of you who are supporting us with our Bursary Fund we have been able to make a transformational impact to young people’s lives with our fundraising so far but we want to change so many more. We do not want to turn away talented young children who we know would thrive on a Hymers education as so many of our fantastic alumni community also did.

As well as fundraising for the Bursary Fund, the Development Team are responsible for a full alumni events calendar, mentoring,

careers support and more. Your support with our current students is extremely valuable to us; be it a careers talk, work experience for a student or support with our Sixth Form Societies, each and every one of you is a huge help to us. We are extremely grateful for all of the time you give us many years after you left.

As OH President too, I feel honoured to chat to so many of our alumni community each week and learn about your time after Hymers. I have attended Golf Days, Rugby Matches, Hockey festivals, Lunches, Dinners and drinks and what an absolute honour to be part of that. One of the highlights has to be hearing from Old Hymerian Richard Barton, OH 1936-42, he left school for the summer holidays in 1939, he did not expect that day to be his last day of lessons in the buildings that are Hymers College. He never returned to study in those buildings due to the outbreak of World War II, which saw the students of Hymers College evacuated on 30 August 1939 to Pocklington. Richard has made a recording for our archives which you can hear on our website. If you are interested in finding out more about our work and how you can support the school please contact myself or the team on 01482 347492. Emily

Pennack

Whilst in post as Old Hymerian Vice President I joined the Development Office in September 2020 as the School’s first Development Manager. Since then The Development Office has grown to a team of three.

Get in Touch …

Development

Emily Pennack pictured with Tashinga Bepete OH 2008-2018

November 2021 saw a new event for the OH events calendar namely The Presidents Cup. Pocklington and Hymers 1st team date was in the school calendar and this seems an ideal opportunity to get our alumni with a love of rugby back to the school. We enjoyed lunch in the old gymnasium before heading off to watch our teams and hear many memories of “when we played Pock”. We hosted over 30 guests from age 18- 80 with a couple of former captains and will host again in November 2023 as a bi-annual event at the school as we host alternatively with Pocklington. The matches will also include Hockey fixtures too. At the time of going to print Hymers has retained the cup for two years!

Our annual Remembrance Service was Zoomed into classrooms for another year. However, we enjoyed hosting many former military alumni for lunch in the Gore. Old Hymerians joined us to reflect on the lives lost in conflict, particularly of those who were part of the school community. During the service, the names were read out of the 208 Old Hymerians who have lost their lives fighting for this country.

Our OH Southern Dinner was attended by 80 guests from across the country and we heard from our new incoming OH Southern President, Bansari Patel after Martyn Green handed over the reins after 23 years. Thank you, Martyn, we have been so lucky to have you.

Welcome to Bansari Patel who has taken over the role of Southern President. Thank you Bansari. Thanks also to Guest Speaker, OH, Damian Johnson, BBC Broadcaster who entertained our guests after dinner with his football stories and much more!

The annual Hull Dinner date was moved to September after many years of waiting for us all to be able to meet up again. A September balmy evening added to the atmosphere with drinks on the West Drive before we sat down for dinner. Thank you to our guest speaker, OH, Professor Amitava Banerjee and OH, Rob Vickerman,

A busy year for Old Hymerians…

BBC Broadcaster for hosting the evening and keeping our alumni so entertained and engaged. We heard from Mr Stanley who was quizzed on his knowledge of the Hull language since arriving from Hereford. You did well, Sir! 180 guests attended and the evening was a huge success with September now a new date for the event.

We continue to hold the bi-monthly lunches at the school. We have seen many new faces join us over time and the regulars always keep us entertained with their stories across the decades. Everyone is welcome and most alumni come alone and pick up where they left off on arrival. Please do join us, we have lunch, drinks, coffee lots of chat and current teachers and students join us to share how Hymers is shaping today. It is always an enjoyable occasion.

March 2022 saw the inaugural ‘Drinks in the City’ with over 80 alumni joining us for drinks at The Sterling at The Gherkin. Again we hosted OHs aged 19-85; we know that this is a date to keep in the events calendar. Thank you to those that joined us and we look forward to seeing more of you all next year.

The role of the Old Hymerian network is to build a supportive life-long community for alumni. It exists to inspire and support the students as well as being a wonderful social and professional network for all its members.

Familiar faces put up a strong defence as Old Hymerians Golf Day celebrates its centenary...

Hull Golf Club welcomed 31 Old Hymerians on 6 July 2022 for the annual summer fixture when five trophies were up for grabs. This year marked 100 years since the inception of the event when the Chambers Cup was the only silverware on offer.

On a gusty evening on the immaculate Kirk Ella layout, the flags were tricky and the greens were running fast and true – no wonder that no-one played under par!

There was a touch of déjà vu from the 2021 event, as three of the five trophies were successfully defended and were presented after Hull Golf Club’s legendary fish and chips by OH President Emily Pennack.

OH Events

George Clark retained the Scratch Trophy with an impressive gross 73, holding off the fast finishing David Page who carded a 76 and dad Jonathan who returned a 77. There was consolation for Jonathan however, as he defended the Chambers Cup (Div One) with 36 points and Joel Chapman went ‘back-to-back’ in the Bastow Trophy (under 30s) with 35.

Division Two honours for the Palmer Trophy went to the evergreen Allan Craig with 36 points and Andrew Dibnah took the Veterans Cup, beating last year’s winner Julian Wild by two. Other runners-up prizes went to Maddie Clark, Lewis Parkinson and Adam Franks.

Organiser Jonathan Clark was delighted with the turnout. Great to see the ‘regulars’, but it was encouraging to see lots of new faces. Special mention to Stephanie Wright and Russell Young who flew in from Queensland and Western Australia respectively for the event (sort of).

Keep spreading the word and we will aim for 50 participants next year.

Ganton Golf Day

Honours were shared at Ganton in a thrilling 2-2 draw. It was decided to share the trophy in honour of our long-standing friendly rivalry and friendship with our neighbours. Looking forward to challenging for the cup next year.

Careers Support

We are extremely lucky to be able to draw on the expertise of our alumni. Over 120 Old Hymerians have helped us this year by speaking to a Sixth Form Society... Engineering, Law, Medicine, Biology or by supporting us at our Sixth Form Lecture slots, writing to a Junior School student with our OH pen pal letters, delivering an assembly, and attending our Careers evenings with your business. Thank you so much to each of you for all of the time you have given. Your support is invaluable and always appreciated.

Left: Pictured left to right: Jonathan Clark, Joel Chapman, OH President Emily Pennack, George Clark, Andrew Dibnah and Allan Craig Below: OH President’s Cup v Pocklington

Top & below: Ganton Golf Day

Fondly Remembered

Noah Gamero

OH 2016-2022

Outside of school Noah also enjoyed performing with NAPA performing arts academy.

Noah had an eclectic taste in music, was passionate about all things Japanese and was, by all accounts, developing his skills to become a first-rate chef.

As a school we are much the poorer for Noah’s loss but we shall all be enriched by our memories of him and the many ways in which he touched our lives.

Noah joined Year 4 Hymers Junior School in 2016 from Hessle Mount School. Noah was very involved in school life and latterly was a member of the School Council and the Equality Society. He had an obvious talent and love of the theatre and performance.

Over his years at Hymers Noah had taken part in many school productions. We had all recently enjoyed his performance in the exceptional school production of Les Misérables earlier in March.

Our thoughts and prayers remain always with Noah’s family.

Mr Stanley Headmaster

It was with the greatest sadness that the Hymers community learnt of the loss of Noah Gamero (9A) in March 2022 at the age of 13. Noah was an intelligent, kind and considerate pupil. He was warm-hearted and fun-loving, with a strong social conscience.

Michael Lynch

OH Staff 1987-2004 died 9 June 2022

Peter R Hart

OH 1946-1954 died 19 December 2021

Michael Lynch taught at Hymers College Junior School and was well respected by all of his colleagues. He passed away peacefully at home after a long fight with cancer, aged 73 years.

He was the beloved husband of Nina, dearly loved Dad of Simon, Andrew and Emma, and a beloved Grandad. He was one of six children and will be missed by his surviving brothers, Richard and Peter.

A colleague from the Junior School, Andy Taylor paid tribute:

“I taught with Mike for many years at Hymers and will remember him as a hugely funny, articulate and intelligent man - a teacher of the old school type! This is very sad news - love to Nina, Simon, Andrew and Emma.”

Former Head of the Junior School, Paul Bryan also remembered him:

“Mike was a friend first at St Mary’s College in Twickenham in the early 1970s. Our paths crossed again in 1995 when I started as Head of the Junior School and Mike was Head of History and Geography there, as well as Form Teacher of Year 6. Mike was a wonderful teacher. He went about his work with a quiet, humorous authority, displaying all the qualities one would expect from a first rate schoolmaster.

He started the Junior School French trips, which then became the Second World War Battlefield tours for Year 5. He was always the narrator in the Year 6 plays, providing the basis for all of Year 6 to take part in the productions. As a friend and colleague, he could not be bettered. Hosts of Hymerians will remember him announcing that “Mr Lunch says it’s Lynch time.” My friend of many years has gone and Hymers has lost another one of its own. A fine schoolmaster.”

Although Peter fondly remembered his time at Hymers College, it was not until later in his life he had time to become a member of the Old Hymerians, but then managed to revisit the school and thoroughly enjoyed a number of Old Hymerians dinners.

He always admitted to everyone that he did not shine at anything in particular during the first five years at Hymers College, and his school reports emphasised he was ‘average’ but he really enjoyed his education, had an amazing memory, and particularly enjoyed

his time in the Sixth Form. His particular talent was as an artist which was nurtured in the Sixth Form. He enjoyed drawing buildings and has left albums of beautiful sketches which he could finish very quickly with pencil and pad simply by leaning on a lamp post.

It was not surprising that he found Hymers high standards difficult as he started primary school at the beginning of the war at Willerby Carr Lane, and then went to seven different primary schools until he started at Hymers in 1945.  His father was a Squadron Leader in the RAF with Coastal Command. The family left Hull at the beginning of the war and rented homes wherever his father was stationed.

Peter attended schools from Willerby Carr Lane, Hull; Ilkley Ben Rydding; Hartburn Primary School near Stockton on Tees; Wick Primary School, North Scotland; East Newport Primary School, North Fife; Hornsea Primary School; Cleethorpes St Peter’s Primary School, North Lincs, before finishing the last few months back at Willerby Carr Lane for his 11+ exam.

On leaving school he went to Hull University, studying Geography and English, and trained as a teacher. He first taught at Hessle High School, but the salary was not great so to supplement this he started to teach in the evenings and then became a full-time Tutor Organiser at Everthorpe Borstal, from there he moved to Hull Prison and then to Suffolk (near Lowestoft) as Tutor Organiser at Blundeston Prison. Big decision time, whether to leave education and move into the prison service as a Prison Governor? He decided to stay in education and was appointed to the Education Department at Leeds City Council, working in Further Education Colleges which eventually became part of the University. He went on to become the Development Officer for the school building, transforming Victorian schools for Boys and Girls into Mixed and involved in building new Schools and Colleges. He had various promotions, until early retirement completing his time in the Civic Hall as Assistant Director of Administration.

Peter’s work then was in York, where he spent his time with the Local Government Ombudsman covering Liverpool and Newcastle etc, followed by two other employment appointments in York. Then back to Leeds, he returned to lecturing in Colleges and Schools and finally employed part-time as a Clerk to a number of local government Parish Councils. He retired aged 80. He had a wide interest in everything and over the years has been WM and Treasurer in his Masonic Lodge, the Leeds Luncheon Club. He liked committees but particularly enjoyed having a leading role: Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Leeds, moving on to be District Treasurer, and then for one year District Governor of Rotary International.

His final responsibility was as Warden of Leeds Minster, work that was very important to him. This was where his funeral was held in January 2022. The church was full of his family and many friends. The hundreds of tributes were to an amazing, kind, unusual, and talented man. He has left his wife Ann, (who he used to meet from Hull High School for Girls when he was still at Hymers) three adult children, and nine talented grandchildren. Thank you Hymers College.

Mrs Ann Hart MBE

Roger Lonsdale

OH 1945-1952 died 28 February 2022

The death has occurred in Oxford on 28 February 2022 of Professor Roger Lonsdale, one of the most distinguished Old Hymerians.  In the words of the website of the Oxford University English Faculty (2 March 2022) he was ‘one of the greatest scholars in the history of the Oxford English Faculty’.

Roger Harrison Lonsdale was born on 6 August 1934 and came from Hornsea. He entered Hymers College in September 1945 in Form LIIIa, and left in July 1952.  At Hymers he had an exemplary career, becoming a full prefect (1951-52), having been Editor of The Hymerian (1950-2), Secretary of both the Music and Debating Societies, Under Officer of the Combined Cadet Force, Head of Brandesburton House, awarded the Woodhouse Essay Prize in 1951 and played in the First XI. He left in July 1952.

After National Service (1952-54) as an RAF Navigator, he entered Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1954 and gained First Class Honours in English Language and Literature in 1957.  He embarked on an Oxford Doctorate (awarded 1962) and apart from two years at Yale (1958-60) his career was at Oxford: Andrew Bradley Junior Research Fellow at Balliol (1960-63); Tutorial Fellow (1963-2000) of Balliol;  Vice-Master of Balliol (1978-80); and Emeritus Fellow (2000). In the University, promotions followed in parallel; a Readership in English Literature (1990) with promotion to a full Professorship in 1992.

National honours followed in tandem with those at Oxford: a

William Alfred Burkinshaw

OH 1944-1949 died 14 February 2022

Bill started at Hymers when he was eleven years old. When he left school he started work for British Gas at the Bankside works in Hull, in the laboratory.

When the country converted to natural gas he transferred to the gas terminal at Easington, were he worked until he retired, becoming the terminal manager.

Bill never married. He was keen on sports and played cricket for the gas board, then rugby union

for Withernsea, and then was very keen on golf. In his younger days he enjoyed walking. He also enjoyed playing cards at the local bridge club.

Ron Burkinshaw

British Academy Readership 198284; Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (1990) and a Fellow of the British Academy (1991).

The bedrock of these honours and the legacy of his life is a sequence of, principally, editions (magisterial, and profound in scholarship and insight) of 18th century authors: the Longman’s Annotated English Poets edition of Gray, Collins and Goldsmith (1969); the New Oxford Book of 18th century verse (1984); an Anthology of 18th Century Women Poets (1989); and finally a magnificent edition of Johnson’s Lives of the Poets (2006), which won several awards. Preceding all these was a Life of the musicologist Charles Burney (1965), an intimate of many of the great literary figures of the 18th century.

He married first in 1964 Anne Mary Menzies, by whom he had one son and one daughter, and secondly in 1999 to Nicoletta Momigliano.

Such is the collegiate structure of Oxford that I only really encountered him at Faculty meetings, or when we examined together in the Final Honour School. There he would contribute to discussion with authority and courtesy, qualities not always found together in the Oxford English Faculty. I found he was an effective man to have on one’s side.

No one exemplified better - and in abundance the Hymers College motto - ‘High Merit, High Reward’!

Edward Wilson, OH 1949-1959

The ‘In Memoriam’ for Roger Lonsdale was written by Lorna Clark, for Burney Letter, the newsletter of the Burney Society, dedicated to the study of Frances Burney, her life and works (and those of her family), which they have kindly shared with us. A memoir of the life of Roger Lonsdale is also available on the British Academy website: www. thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publishing/memoirs/20/ roger-lonsdale-1934-2022/

Ian Hanby

OH 1949-1958 died 27 December 2020

Unreliable memories of the escapades of two Old Hymerians!

In 1949, two young men started in Form 1 of the Hymers Junior School under tutelage of Miss Allen. The headmaster at that time was Mr. W.V. Cavill. MC with a reputation for sternness and good order – he came from the old school traditions forged by his service and the aftermath of The Great War! We had his morning inspection lined up along the wall of the quadrangle to check for clean polished shoes, socks uniform and hats of the right type and worn correctly! Quite an ordeal for eight-year-olds but we survived, and both enjoyed our time at Hymers.

I was one of the boys and the other was Ian Hanby - we went through school together until the Sixth Form when Ian went to Nottingham University to read Physics and I, after a period with Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, went on to Cambridge - our paths diverged but interestingly Ian returned to Hull to study Aeronautical Engineering and also worked at Brough in his vacations! After graduating Ian moved to Bristol working with BAC on missiles followed by a career change to work in mining with British Coal and living just outside Newark.

Only in later years did we rekindle our contact but sadly this proved all too short as Ian passed away in December 2020. This epistle is the result of a conversation with Christine, Ian’s widow and a promise I made to write a little about our less academic activities in those 10 years we were together at the school. We were both inclined towards science and so inevitably our careers followed that direction but in later life, Ian also became a talented organ player inspired I have no doubt by the musical and classical inputs from school.

I have scoured all my old editions of The Hymerian for helpful comments but clearly we avoided the scrutiny of the eagle-eyed editors and our prowess on the sports field was less than scintillating it would appear!

In 1951, Ian is noted in Remove A “as our best linguist” but had to be warned about spending too much time in the Pleasure Gardens (the school’s endeavours for the 1951 Exhibition). My memory is now so hazy I cannot even recollect what was done to mark this event but clearly it had some impact on my fellow pupils. In 1952, it is noted that Hanby’s toys steadily multiply and his French linguistic skills merit further comment.

Once we entered the Senior School we clearly fade off the editorial scene until we both join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) passing Pt.1 Certificate A and in our pursuit of science we both become part of the Signals Platoon where our passing of various examinations and attaining some ability in signalling became noted over the next three years and achieving promotion as we progressed.

My most memorable recollections of our time at school are linked to both our CCF activities and the enthusiasm of young scientists in pushing back the boundaries of our knowledge and abilities. It is just as well as our parents were fairly unaware of our activities as you will read.

In 1956, our CCF camp was at Castle Martin in Pembrokeshire and stands out in memory for a number of reasons – voracious horseflies eager to sample the blood of these Northern invaders, the apocryphal funeral pyre on the last morning in camp of all the straw fillings from the palliasses we had slept on to for the days before and supervised by Capt. Mo Mitchell and the departure of our Regular Liaison Officer, Lt. Hartley to take part in the ill-fated Suez adventure!

As signallers we even persuaded the local vicar to allow us to climb the church tower to practice our Semaphore flag skills from the top. The real highlight was that Castle Martin ranges were used for tank gunnery practice and had numerous derelict tank hulls as targets scattered over the ground.  Needless to say these were a magnet for young aspiring engineers and we found with the use of a few spanners many items of booty could be recovered from these hulks and surprise, surprise found their way back to Hull. The most interesting items were the fire extinguishing cylinders for the tank engine bays which we found were still full of pressurised CO2 gas –using a nail and a large hammer to puncture the seal we found these could be sent rocketing horizontally around the garden of Ian’s house demonstrating the fundamentals of rocket propulsion but sadly with the inevitable destruction of much of Ian’s father’s lovely back garden as the motion, albeit rapid, was very random -  it was fortunate that we had a fairly limited number of these heavy cylinders to experiment with.

We moved on from these shortlived antics to develop with our rudimentary chemistry knowledge an unholy interest in pyrotechnics – remember this was a time when anyone could visit any chemist and garden supply centres and buy copious quantities of interesting

chemicals - carbon black, sulphur, and other chemicals which I will not detail here for my own safety! Suffice to say we perfected electrical ignition techniques making and launching rockets but far more satisfyingly, making many large craters in the back garden to complement the earlier damage wreaked by the cylinders. We even simulated depth charges in the drain running behind the Victoria Avenue houses as the containers for our chemicals became more robust – I recollect that a tubular steel chair was somehow sacrificed in this pursuit of science. Sadly, no edible fish resulted from these adventures which we tried, having heard about the use of grenades of the SOE training schools in Scotland – we were always safety conscious (at least for ourselves!) but in today’s H&S world we would have been in dangerous territory I fear.

However, we survived with all our limbs intact and moved on to greater challenges and the last one before we both went to University was our unshakeable belief that we could create a miniature version of the Pulse Jet engine used in the V1 Flying bomb or Doodlebug. We had seen designs in model engineering magazines and with some basic knowledge and some acquired Titanium tube tried to build one in Ian’s bedroom fuelled by petrol! The design of the petal valves defeated us sadly but if we had been successful in getting it to run I think with my later wisdom it likely that 126 Victoria Avenue would have been reduced to a smoking ruin so perhaps it was a blessed failure for all!

These are some of the fond memories of an ill-spent friendship with Ian – we both went onto University and Ian became an expert in atmospheric management of mines and airborne dust monitoring equipment involved in safety issues of working conditions whereas I specialised in electron microscopy - possibly without the academic environment we enjoyed in our formative years at Hymers our careers could have been very different – who knows?

Ian is survived by his wife, Christine and three sons Richard, Andrew and Julian - his life and lifelong passion for organ and choral music especially that written by J.S. Bach were celebrated in his funeral service in Elston Church in January 2021.

Richard S Paden, OH 1949-1959

Ian circa 1953

Kiran Kamath

OH 1989-1999 died 17 December 2021

It is with much sadness that we announce the passing of Kiran Kamath, aged 40.

Kiran loved and thoroughly enjoyed his schooling at Hymers for the duration of 10 years. He was a gifted student and consistently had good results in exams and excellent reports from his teachers on parents’ evenings. He kept in touch with some of his classmates throughout his short life. Kiran excelled in his university education too and qualified as an Actuary.  At the time of his death, he worked as a Chief Risk Officer at Aviva.

Leo, Kiran’s son, was born in April 2017 and was doted upon and greatly loved by him. Leo, Kishore (Kiran’s younger brother and an OH), and myself are extremely saddened by his early demise.  He will forever be in our thoughts. Sunithi Kamath

, Mother

Norman Ransom

OH 1935-1940 and OH Staff 1953-83 died 2 October 2021

Norman was a student at the school in 1935 and returned as a Master in 1953. He became Junior School Headmaster in 1974 and retired in 1984. He was the beloved husband of the late Mollie, dear father of Julie, and grandfather of Charlotte.

During his time at Hymers he was part of the cohort that were evacuated to Pocklington. In 1942, aged 18, he was drafted into the RAF. Subsequently, he received emergency teacher training and after teaching in state schools was

David George Atkinson

OH 1945-1955 died 17 December 2020

David’s widow, Gill, recently wrote to us regarding the sad passing of her husband, who attended Hymers, alongside his younger brother Richard.

David often talked of his time at Hymers with great fondness and always looked forward to the Old Hymerian’s Dinner in December to meet and talk with old colleagues. After Hymers, David went to Hull University to study law and graduated in 1959. Whilst there, he joined the Hull University Air Squadron and was commissioned as a pilot of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in April 1959 for two years.

In January 1960, David proudly received his Private Pilot’s ‘Licence of Flying Machines’.

David went on to attend Law School in Guildford, Surrey and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1962.  In that year, he joined Gosschalk, Austin & Wheldon, Solicitors, Hull and worked virtually every day in the Family Courts all over Yorkshire. He became a partner in 1965 and retired in 1999.

David and Gill married in 1967 and had three children James, Jane and Nicolas.  They retired to Cumbria in 1999, where David happily grew show standard dahlias and vegetables. He enjoyed cooking and walking in the beautiful countryside with a succession of much loved Labradors.

The two words that appeared most in the lovely letters that Gill received are ‘True Gentleman’.

Gill Atkinson

Bryan Kenneth Addison, OH 1944-1951, died 11 May 2017, aged 83

Ronald Edward Barker, OH 1947-1953, died 6 May 2018, aged 81

Ian Campbell, OH 1937-1945, died 12 January 2019, aged 90

Dennis Carrick, OH 1939-1946, died 21 October 2019, aged 89

Ian Richard Chapman, OH 1962-1969, died 7 August 2021, aged 70

William Dale Dodshon, OH 1940-1946, died 15 January 2021, aged 93

Colin MacDonald, OH 1943-1949, died 7 May 2022, aged 89

Colin Morris, OH 1938-1945, died 18 September 2021, aged 93

successful when he applied to the newly-opened Hymers Junior School in 1950-51 becoming Head in 1974.

His funeral was filled with former students and staff with lots of happy stories about Norman’s life and the time that he gave to Hymers and its students. Some words below from his former students :

“I had a lot of respect for him. I still remember his speech of inspiration as my year moved up to senior school.”

“Firm, but fair and a wicked sense of humour.”

“Mr Ransom took no nonsense and

commanded great respect. Will remember him fondly.”

John Rawstorn, OH 1937-1944, died 6 May 2019, aged 91

John Roger Shepherdson, OH 1945-1953, died 3 January 2022, aged 84

Geoffrey Stokell, OH 1938-1948, died 14 October 2021, aged 91

John Stones, OH 1949-1956, died February 2022, aged 83

Peter Tanton, OH 1942-1948, died 25 April 2020, aged 89 years

Brian Crookes Uffindell, OH 1940-1947, died 15 February 2021, aged 91

Tony (Henry Anthony) Vice, OH 1940-1948, died January 2022, aged 91

John Douglas Woodhouse, OH 1955-1957, died October 2021, aged 75

Please find below more Old Hymerians who have sadly passed. They may have passed prior to September 2021 but we have only recently been made aware of their sad departure. Therefore, they have not appeared in a previous edition of the Hymerian

Support the John Hymers Bursary Fund

In 2021 the School had to turn away 25 academically talented children. These children excelled in the entrance assessment, however, their parents were unable to afford the school fees and due to limited bursary funding we were unable to offer them a Bursary place. The opportunity to attend Hymers would have been a life-changing experience.

121

483 25 Alumni Alumni

volunteered their time to speak to our students at the school

In 2021 we had to say ‘NO’ to 25 academically talented children to a place at Hymers.

attended an Old Hymerian event

10 8

regular donors

2 NEW New Legators Additional Bursary

#changinglives

Scan this QR code or use the Direct Debit form to donate (available from the Development Office)

places offered in 2021 as a result of increased donations to the JH Bursary Fund

in 2021

It is a pleasure, in later life, to be able to contribute to this fund in order to achieve the school’s ambition of supporting ever greater numbers of deserving children who would benefit from a bursary place as I did

OH 1960s

Snippets from the Archives…

We receive many items of interest from Old Hymerians and former staff in the Development Office and thoroughly enjoy the memories and history that you share with us. Many of these items can now be found on our Digital Archive page on the Old Hymerian website

www.oldhymerians.com

Thank you to those of you that have shared your photos in recent months. We are in the process of building a small museum area at the school and we will be delighted to share more with you about the opening and the contents soon. All donations of photos will be greatfully received.

Keepsakes from former teacher, Mr Sutton

Alex Sutton’s wife, Barbara, recently shared some of Mr Sutton’s keepsakes. He had kept every leaver’s card from his classes over the years, amongst a handful of other treasures below.

Reconnect?

Is there anyone you know that would like to reconnect with the school since leaving? Did you know you can search on the Old Hymerian website for former classmates?

The Hymers Garden Party has been a longstanding event at the school and a key item on the school events calendar. All of our alumni community are most welcome to join us on a (usually) sunny Saturday afternoon (24 June 2023) and see Hymers in its current day and enjoy a tour of the school

Have you kept your school calendar or exercise books?

Were you a student that has every school pocket calendar from your time here or did you lose it within the first week as many Old Hymerians tell us they did?

Who remembers the School Song?

It has been a pleasure to hear some of our gentlemen singing the song with great joy at recent lunches whilst Lester Bartlett, Music teacher accompanies on the piano.

Legacy Your is their Future

All places at the School were free until the late nineteenth century, and in the twentieth century, successive governments helped to preserve access with the Direct Grant Scheme and the Assisted Places Scheme. Since 1997 we have been entirely dependent upon our own resources. We aim to increase our funds in order to provide more bursary places for deserving pupils.

Please contact … Emily Pennack

After your friends and family have been taken care of, a legacy is an opportunity to give your support to the causes you care about.

Development

Manager for all fundraising enquiries...

epennack@hymers.org

01482 347492

Supporting Hymers with a gift in your will is a highly personal way of giving that has a lasting impact on future generations. Your donation will change young people’s

lives and could mean a lifechanging bursary place for a Hymers student. Last year we were extremely grateful for the legacies we received which have enabled us to further enhance the student experience at Hymers. The school recognises that your bequest intentions are a personal matter, however, the Development Team

are happy to help with the details you require and share a Codicil form to add to your current will intentions. Social mobility remains one of the greatest challenges of our nation. Thanks to people like you, we are continuing to make life-changing impact to the children in Hull, the East Riding and North Lincolnshire.

Hull Annual Dinner

Saturday

9 September 2023

Main Hall & Gardens, Hymers College

London Annual Dinner

Friday

1 December 2023

The Royal Air Force Club, Piccadilly

For information on all future events and to book tickets to reserve your place, please visit oldhymerians. com/events

Guest speakers to be announced

Guest speakers to be announced