AUTUMN 2019
Innovation
How innovation shapes design education Then and Now ... a school of innovation Barton Farm – sustainability at MCM Are there microplastics in the River Kennet? Launch of a new language
Master’s Welcome In a month when four of our Lower Sixth engineers have been granted the 2019 Airbus Innovation Award in the final of Bath University’s Engineering Education Scheme, it seems highly appropriate that this summer’s edition of Marlborough Together focuses on that most current of themes, ‘Innovation’. While, in Marlborough College, UK, Henry Bagshaw (B1 L6), Charlotte Bamforth (NC L6), Edward Robinson (B1 L6) and Elizabeth Tan (CO L6) won their prestigious Innovation Award by developing a smart bin which uses machine learning and robotics to automatically sort recycling, on the other side of the world, Marlborough College Malaysia pupils have been promoting sustainability by developing an on-site farm where, among other things, crops are harvested and sold. I hope you will enjoy reading about our Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) partnership forged by departing Head of Design Technology, Paul Adams; about how Old Marlburian, Stephen Parry (B2 1959-64), invented a ground-breaking tennis real-time scoring system for the French Open; about the innovative work embarked upon by pupils involved in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Also Old Marlburian, Richard Threlfall’s (TU 1984-89) piece on the future of innovation at the College, and how we are innovating academically through adding Hebrew to the language curriculum. Innovation has been at the core of a Marlborough education for decades and I am delighted to report that the current generation of Marlburians and their teachers are committed to ensuring that that tradition continues far into the future. LOUISE MOELWYN-HUGHES, MASTER
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In the Spotlight How innovation shapes design education at Marlborough
The success of our continuing relationship with Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is due, in no small part, to the shared ideals of creativity, collaboration and ambitious, project-based learning. When Paul Adams (CR 1990-2019) first founded the SCAD intern programme it was based on establishing a link to share best practice in design education. Each intern brought their own technical discipline to share, and encouraged original ideas to take root and be acted upon with confidence by the pupils.
Most importantly, the Innovation Centre represents an elevated platform to reach out and develop new partnerships with like-minded institutions and organisations. It will allow the development of relationships which challenge expectations and encourage conversation between Marlburians and those in industry and academia.
Taking what we have learned from the SCAD initiative, the new Innovation Centre will champion experimentation and thoughtful investigation and embody what a contemporary education should look like. It will not be a space where innovation happens by a few to be observed and aspired to – it
We are establishing an intellectual endeavour to define what ‘innovation’ could mean to a contemporary boarding school so that it improves the quality of everything we offer and best prepares pupils for a wide variety of future tertiary options. At its heart this is about creating
should be a space that all members of the extended Marlborough community can come to and engage with, to be innovative in any context they choose.
something new and original – not knowing exactly what that is (yet!) – but being excited by that. Ultimately, leading by example, we will demonstrate that innovative risk-taking is a skill to be mastered by future generations and this will lead to a Marlburian who embraces innovation as part of their world view and not as a compartmentalised after-thought. Just as our continued relationship with the SCAD intern programme will continue a stream of alternative voices to enrich our community, so too the Innovation Centre will offer the means by which countless generations of Marlburians will come together to consider new areas of enquiry which will prepare them for the innovation needed in their bright futures. DAVID MADDEN (CR 2013- )
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Sustainability at MCM Climate change is very topical, with Extinction Rebellion protestors gluing themselves to trains in London and schoolchildren in various parts of the world striking to raise awareness of it. However, in Marlborough College Malaysia, this has long been part of a much wider agenda, informed by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These are publicly displayed and inform not just the academic curriculum, but the running of the College as an organisation. Our pupils, who come from 45 nations, will become leaders of tomorrow’s society, influencing policies and practices throughout the world.
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We believe that there is no greater contribution to the future well-being of global society and its ecology than education, which is why their involvement with Barton Farm, our own College farm, begins here from the age of three. Pupils have been involved at every stage of the farm’s development. The Sixth Form created the basic design and are currently involved with a number of discrete projects which include the design of a composter, building low-level potting tables for use by our youngest nursery children and the sale of harvested produce to parents. All children have the opportunity to contribute to growing and maintaining fruit and vegetables and our boarders take turns to feed and care for our stock of chickens – a tranquil experience at the start and end of each day. Academically, Barton Farm is a stunning resource, complete with an outdoor classroom for learning throughout the whole College; from pre-prep pupils studying insects, to their older peers who may be engaged in Biology, Chemistry, Geography or Business Studies.
sweet potato, candle bush, pigeon pea, Sarawak eggplant, tapioca, chillies, cucumber, okra, string beans, pandan and much more, changing in season. As crops are harvested, the Sixth Form hold sales of produce for parents, the proceeds from which are reinvested in the development of Barton Farm. It has been important to incorporate animals gradually, taking time to introduce our pupils to the responsibilities of caring for them. Currently we have a flock of freerange chickens, cared for by our senior boarders, and we are hopeful that some new chicks will join them soon. Plans for expansion include the introduction of a small herd of indigenous goats, rabbits, stocking our lake with fish and possibly some larger animals over time. At Marlborough, nothing is impossible.
Barton Farm offers academic enrichment, but also a deeply satisfying practical experience of where food comes from and the effort that is required to grow it. Most importantly, it provides our pupils with a profound and lasting sense of the importance of caring for and improving the environment that sustains us all. ALAN STEVENS, MASTER MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MALAYSIA
Our partnership with the not-for-profit organisation, FOLO (Feed Our Loved Ones) has been invaluable for guidance and sourcing a wide variety of plants. Parents have also generously donated plants and pineapple tops. Our completely organic farm currently includes mulberries, bamboo, sugar-cane, pineapples, bananas, aubergines,
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A school of innovation Then... Stephen Parry (B2 1959-64) became interested in electronics at Marlborough when Physics master Stuart Hockey (CR 1957-82) brought in 100 transistors and said, “What can we make with these?” To Stephen that challenge was a pivotal experience and he ended up making a calculator-type device that could add and multiply two binary numbers together. Inspired by this electronics encounter, Stephen went on to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge with a final year of Computer Science, the only such course available in the UK in 1966. After which he realised he wanted to use computing and consulting skills in his professional life – “it enabled me to use what I had learned at school to communicate complex technological solutions clearly to business leaders.” Later, whilst consulting at the Paris office of Booz Allen (now Strategy&) in 1981 he was asked to design, build and install a scoring system for the 1982 French Tennis Open using microcomputers. Wimbledon observed the success of the system and commissioned their scoring system from Stephen in 1984. Still in use today, it is now the worldwide standard for tennis. Adaptations have been made for golf, cricket, snooker, table tennis and squash. Currently, Stephen operates under the FlightScope banner. Stephen’s US patent for ball-tracking has also received certification by the International Tennis Federation. S T E PH E N PA R R Y ( B2 1959 - 6 4)
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Stephen’s advice for anyone starting out in their career is:
“Be the best. Think global, know your competitors, and certainly, know how to use a team and its resources.”
L to R: Charlotte Bamforth (NC L6), Elizabeth Tan (CO L6), Edward Robinson (B1 L6) and Henry Bagshaw (B1 L6)
Now... Four Lower Sixth engineers won the 2019 Airbus Innovation Award which is part of Bath University’s Engineering Education Scheme (ESS), a well-recognised programme, which partners pupils with engineers to solve real world problems.
Pupils are encouraged to show enterprise, creativity and innovation whilst gaining extensive experience of problem-solving, team working and project management. Nothing is timetabled, so the teams have to fit approximately 100 hours of project work into their already busy lives. It is all part of the challenge. Elizabeth Tan explains how the Marlborough team developed a smart bin that automatically sorts recyling. “At the beginning we had little idea how to start a project like this. Personally, I have no experience of design technology or computer programming so other team members with those skills took on the tasks of coding and physical manufacture of parts whilst I focused on the design of the bin with another pupil. Building the prototype really made us think ‘out of the box’ – initially we had no clue how we might make a computer decipher which object was plastic or metal just from an image. After a month of thought and experimenting, we came up with a plan to connect the code to an existing image database with images and objects already categorised. Being part of the ESS project has inspired me to learn how to work as a team to solve problems and meet deadlines. It really is a fantastic time to be a budding engineer at the College.” Next year’s group will have a permanent engineering and innovation lab in Leaf Block as a base from which to develop their projects, with a 3D printer and desktop CNC machine enabling the rapid prototyping of ideas. E L I Z A B E T H TA N (C O L 6 )
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Are there microplastics in the River Kennet? With a free choice of both topic and outcome format (Dissertation, Investigation, Performance or Artefact), the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) encourages pupils to both stretch themselves and manage the kind of lengthy self-motivated study they will meet as undergraduates and in the workplace. Equivalent to half an A level in UCAS points, and highly regarded by Universities, 52 pupils completed the qualification this academic year.
The film postal wrapper used for this edition of Malborough Together is 100% compostable, the address sheet and copy of Marlborough Together are also fully recyclable.
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As an aspiring Marine Biologist, picking an EPQ project could not have been easier. Like many, I am very concerned by human impact on the natural environment, particularly the extent of aquatic pollution. After researching the way plastics degrade and affect wildlife, I thought an EPQ investigation ‘Are there microplastics in the River Kennet?’ would not only develop my practical skills but also allow for exploration into the extent of environmental degradation in our local river. After collecting and analysing samplings over a number of weeks, I discovered that there are indeed microplastics in the sediment of the River Kennet. With the area examined being a few miles from the source and not near a major urban area, the presence of the microplastics was worrying but not extreme. As microplastics now span the world’s waterways, even being found deep in Artic sea ice, it was also not surprising. Aside from what I investigated, the personal gain of undertaking an EPQ project has been immeasurable. From innovative thinking, improving my data collecting skills, managing my time and using technology, my skill set has expanded immensely. Most significantly, I learnt the value of asking experts for help. I was lucky enough to receive a loan of an infra-red spectrometer from Bristol University, to be guided through the project by Chemistry lab technician Mrs Wright and to have a professional consult on my samples from PerkinElmer, without which, the outcome of project would not have been the same. I learned the value of harnessing expertise and saw how it can change the direction of a project immensely. Undertaking an EPQ has enabled me to explore a subject I love, the environment, and satisfy my curiosity about the human impact on the flora and fauna in the local area. I learnt a great deal about myself and gained invaluable transferable skills that will help with my A level Chemistry and Biology practical work and Geography fieldwork in the Upper Sixth. ELL A H A LL (MM L6)
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Fostering innovation and preparing our pupils for tomorrow Encouragement from the Chairman, Lord Malloch-Brown to go “forth and multi-task”, and the Master placing Engineering firmly on the academic agenda, has led to the College’s latest, most significant and ambitious project in recent history – the Innovation Centre.
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Innovation struggles in isolation but thrives in stimulating environments of shared experience and effective communication, where individuals feel welcome, relaxed and confident to express views and experiment with ideas. A place where innovation is fostered should be technically relevant to prepare pupils for university and beyond. It should nurture creative investigation to facilitate learning, and encourage the practical application of scientific and technical theory to deepen understanding and inspire a world of possibilities. For example, an understanding of magnetic flux density might well be enhanced if studied in connection with a quest to improve lap times round the sports track on an electric scooter!
never been more relevant. Collaboration between the disciplines of Science, Engineering, Design Technology, Art, Computer Science, Business Studies, Languages and the Arts will be at the heart of the Innovation Centre. It will be a place where multi-tasking starts and inspiration is all around – for example, using the flat roof of Newton’s Science Block to evaluate various designs of solar panels; or developing autonomous mini robotic vehicles to potter around the College campus, accumulating data from across the College and into the local community to develop machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence models; or even building a fleet of electric tuk-tuks for College maintenance activities that are powered from sustainable sources. Developing such ideas effectively would require an ethos of collaboration to be at the heart of innovation at Marlborough.
The global environmental crisis is demanding innovation in every aspect of the way we live. An interdisciplinary approach has
Vehicle autonomy is a major topic in innovation. Although pretty straightforward in itself, the challenge is in creating safe interaction with the real world and error-prone unpredictable humans. Function and form both have to be right to communicate an object’s purpose within its environment. The development of inexpensive
solid-state batteries as a much longer-lasting and more sustainable alternative to traditional batteries is another key area in environmental innovation. However, taking a selection of different battery cell chemistries ‘off the shelf’ and using them to power a Scalextric track to assess relative performance, with 3D-printed track made of biodegradable material is inexpensive, achievable and appeals to most. The Innovation Centre will allow pupils to start exploring the challenges they’ll face in achieving compromise in delivering projects. The Innovation Centre is in itself a great innovation for the College. Throughout my career in Engineering, communication of ideas has always been the biggest challenge. Providing an environment that promotes the exchange of ideas – and shows consideration for the ideas of others – will instil an essential attribute in pupils as they face their future. An ability to multi-task and collaborate will break down the legacy of silo-professions, and in doing so create an understanding in pupils that adaptability is expected, and that persistence and patience are part of achieving innovation. Marlborough’s Innovation Centre in its beautiful natural setting adjacent to the lakes, in the shadow of the downs and in view of the Mound, will provide essential inspiration and focus for the challenges of the next generation. RICHARD THRELFALL (TU 1984-89)
Launch of a new language The Marlborough Modern Languages Department is one of the largest in the country, offering eight languages, taught by a team of 30 beaks and native speaker language assistants. From the earliest years of the College, starting with French and German, we have added over the years Spanish and Russian (in the 1930s), then Mandarin Chinese in the 1980s, before the most recent main language, Italian, was introduced some 15 years ago. Adding a wonderful sense of “Eastern promise”, for the past 30 years we have also enjoyed the fruits of the hard work of two pioneering language beaks in the 1980s, Gerald Groffman (CR 1973-96) in the Schools Arabic Project, and Hugh de Saram (CR 1979-2005) in the Schools Japanese Project. It is on the foundations laid by them that we are now poised to launch a new language, Hebrew. This exciting initiative will turn a fresh spotlight on to the languages and cultures of the Middle East. From September 2019, pupils opting to study Hebrew will have the opportunity to learn a language now spoken by some nine million people in Israel and worldwide, whose origins go back some 3,000 years. Based on the Arabic model, pupils will study for the Marlborough Certificate in Hebrew (roughly the equivalent of GCSE level), which takes two years after which they may go on to read Arabic or Arabic Studies at university. The teaching lays emphasis on speaking and writing, as well as comprehension of spoken and written Arabic. Our Certificate is widely recognised by universities as an excellent foundation in the language. This initiative is possible through the generosity of Mr Eugene Shvidler, for whose sponsorship of the Marlborough Hebrew programme we are most grateful. We are delighted that Marlburians will now have an opportunity unique among leading British schools to gain close knowledge of the major cultures of the Middle East, through language and cultural study that will provide a first-hand understanding and appreciation of their immense contribution to human civilisation. ANDREW BROWN (CR 1981- ) HEAD OF MODERN LANGUAGES
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Forthcoming Events 2019 www.marlburianclub.org/events
October South-West Drinks Bristol OM Women’s Network Event London
Tuesday 17th September Class of 2014 5-year Reunion The Antelope, Belgravia
1993 Hockey and Rugby Australasia Reunion London Digital Enterprise London November Business, Banking and Finance Drinks London December HM Forces Drinks London
Friday 20th September Malones v Old Bryanstonians Rosslyn Park, kick-off 7.30pm
Saturday 28th September Club Day and Festival of Sport Marlborough College
Please note the above events may be subject to change. Please check www.marlburianclub.org/events for details.
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Tuesday 10th December OM Carol Service Chelsea Old Church, London
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