SPR ING 2020
Our partnerships
Partners with Marlborough College
Science Project Partnership Professional orchestra in partnership Serving partners in the local community Partnerships to grow sporting talent
Master’s Welcome
It is a pleasure to introduce our latest edition of Marlborough Together where we shine the spotlight on the wonderful range of partnerships which enable the College both to reach beyond itself and to offer something of value, on occasion life changing, locally and overseas. From our association with Beko PLC and the Young Guru Academy which will link into our exciting new Innovation Centre due to open in December 2020 to our flourishing partnership of two decades with Swindon Academy, from our unique association with the Southbank Sinfonia to our ever-growing links with Reading Hockey and Bath Academy, to our weekly outreach efforts involving local primary schools, from our emergent partnership with Darüşşafaka School in Istanbul to our treasured connection to our global Old Marlburian Club, I hope that you feel that this edition has much of interest to offer.
LOUISE MOELWYN-HUGHES, MASTER
The pupils and staff of the College are socially minded and have a genuine sense of the importance of engaging in a meaningful way with the wider world. I thank the many individuals and organisations whose extraordinary contributions enable us to forge these special relationships and we look forward to fostering many more wonderful partnerships in the future.
Innovation Centre will support our academic partnerships Work is moving ahead on the construction of our new Innovation Centre with the foundations, drainage and services all in place. Our vision is that the new building will not only provide state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities but will become a hub for our current and future collaborations in the spheres of social enterprise, engineering, technology and education. Through our partnership with the Young Guru Academy and with Beko PLC we are already embarking on an exciting and innovative science mentoring programme which will see our pupils using award-winning robotics kits with first St Mary’s and then with many other local primary school pupils. As this expands we envisage our Innovation Centre will
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become a national centre for this unique partnership programme. You can read more about this on page 4. We are also delighted to say that we have full planning permission granted for the dramatic changes to the inside of the Newton building which will unlock new, flexible and creative working spaces as well as provide full step-free access to all classrooms and laboratories for the first time. The reimagining of the inside of the building will allow for different types of spaces, both formal and informal, for collaboration, active learning, presentation and both shared and individual study. It will create a science facility second to none and will support broader and deeper academic partnerships.
ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
EXCHANGES
INNOVATION
MENTORING
UNIVERSITIES
MUSIC PARTNERSHIPS
COACHING
COMMUNITY
PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIP
SHARING FACILITIES
OUTREACH PARTNERSHIPS
CHARITY
CONSERVATION
LOCAL SCHOOLS
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
SPORT PARTNERSHIPS
COMMUNITY COACHING
HOSTING
PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIPS
SHARING FACILITIES
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ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
INNOVATION
MENTORING
EXCHANGES
UNIVERSITIES
Science Project Partnership Just a short walk from Marlborough College, St Mary’s Primary School is a good school with a very diverse intake.
It has a strong philosophy of inclusion and its aim is to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve. St Mary’s is one of our partnership schools, and in recent years we have developed many meaningful links. The school is ideally placed to benefit from collaboration with Marlborough College; 36% of the children come from the most disadvantaged postcodes in the UK and 22% of pupils have special educational needs or a disability. Our work with St Mary’s includes art and music events, science activities, help with governance, specific curriculum help such as Harry Potter and Hobbit challenges, annual astronomy visits to a pop-up planetarium, and a weekly Reading Buddies scheme.
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Recently, we have initiated an innovative science and robotics project with St Mary’s, which is hoped will be one of many such local projects. This pilot is being led by a group of our pupils, assisted by Janneke Blokland and Nic Allott, along with Jenny Swankie, a teacher from St Mary’s. The College pupils involved are interested in STEM topics, but of equal importance is their commitment to inspiring young bright minds in less advantaged circumstances than their own. Each Monday afternoon the College pupils work with fifteen Year 6 primary school children on engineering, physics and science concepts. These afternoons are
a fun, social and interactive experience for all involved, and the ultimate aim is to enable pupils to design their own unique projects to find solutions to daily life problems. The new pilot project has emerged from our partnership with the Young Guru Academy (YGA), a non-governmental non-profit organisation whose goal is to cultivate young leaders with the motivation to create a brighter future through the use of innovative science education tools. Our pupils are working with children from St Mary’s using the YGA’s award winning “Twin Science and Robotics Kits” which enable primary school children to build
complex electronic devices, such as robots and autonomous vehicles, using electronics and coding modules which snap together easily using magnets to form working electronic circuits. The success of these kits in engaging primary school children in science and technology has been recognized at the recent prestigious BETT (British Education Training and Technology) Awards. We are delighted to be able to add this project into our already pioneering approach to outreach activity with St Mary’s School and, in time, to introduce it to our other local primary school partners.
YGA in a long-term partnership which will include this and other technology driven initiatives. This is an exciting opportunity to extend the range and depth of STEM opportunities open to our pupils and to students at other schools in our local community. We have five of the “Twin Science and Robotics Kits” and are seeking funding for five more to enable the project to expand into other local schools. It is hoped that Marlborough College’s Innovation Centre, currently under construction, will become the focus for these science and technologybased outreach activities.
“Ultimately, many College pupils and staff will be involved in this collaboration with the wider community, and Marlborough will become a hub for this unique project. Given that primary schools often lack the resources to teach STEM, this is a remarkable opportunity to inspire a generation of socially literate scientists and engineers.” COLIN SMITH, DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS
Marlborough College is the first school in the UK to work with
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MUSIC PARTNERSHIPS
COACHING
COMMUNITY
PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
SHARING FACILITIES
Professional orchestra in partnership The music department has a number of important partnerships concerned with developing and nurturing young musicians both within and outside the College. Our most pioneering musical partnership, which began in 2008 and was the first of its kind at the time, is with the Southbank Sinfonia, our professional orchestra in partnership. It is a collaboration that has provided an extraordinary experience for many Marlburian musicians. Founded in 2002 by Music Director Simon Over, London’s Southbank Sinfonia (SbS) offers an outstanding opportunity for young recently graduated musicians to bridge that notoriously difficult gap between the end of formal training at Conservatoire and that first rung on the professional ladder. To partner with such a vibrant youthful orchestra full of recently graduated young musicians, who are only a little further down the production line, unquestionably gives a real connection and relevance to our budding musicians. In that respect our partnership remains unique. Now an established annual event the SbS visits the College for a three day residency which includes one-to-one teaching, coaching and rehearsals with SbS members alongside College pupils. There are two performance highlights, the first a special side-by-side gala concert which features Brasser, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra, allowing College pupils to benefit from the expertise and inspiration of SbS members in concert. As part of this programme some leading Marlburians are offered concerto performances which is very much a taster experience for what might lie ahead as a professional musician. The second event is a performance by the Southbank Sinfonia alone as part of the prestigious Marlborough College Concert Series, which is usually the final concert of the season. PHILIP DUKES, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
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“I am tremendously excited to have played the first movement of Mozart’s piano concerto no. 23 with an orchestra composed of instrumentalists from both the Southbank Sinfonia and our own Symphony Orchestra. The direct interaction with professional musicians has been an invaluable educational and inspirational experience.” Timon Staehler (C2 U6)
CHARITY
CONSERVATION
LOCAL SCHOOLS
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Serving partners in the local community The College is proud to be a values led school that is committed to making a difference and passionate about seeing individuals and communities flourish. Success in this area depends on the continuation of our successful outreach partnerships and collaborations with local schools, special schools, conservation groups and charitable organisations. Outreach is an integral part of life at Marlborough and over 200 pupils are involved in a wide range of activities throughout the year. Although Swindon Academy continues to be our main partnership school we have strong links with many local primary schools in which our pupils assist with reading, maths and science projects (see page 4) or with younger children in the homes of local
families. Assistance is also provided at a special school for children with learning difficulties. We also partner with a local riding for the disabled group and visit old peoples’ homes and day care centres. The Charity Think Tank group is responsible for devising school-wide projects such as gathering items for Christmas Hampers for the Marlborough Jubilee Centre which cares for the elderly. We also work with a number of conservation groups, Action for the River Kennet and The Great Bustard Trust. A current outreach project at Preshute Primary school will have lasting impact for the local
OUTREACH PARTNERSHIPS
community. A group of Lower Sixth pupils came up with their own project idea to restore the playground mural which had become weathered and worn by successive winters. The mural, which is a replica of Georges Seurat’s painting ‘Bathers at Asnières’, has been brought back to the art school for restoration and to have new features added to both sides to give greater visual impact. It will be returned to the playground in time for the Summer term. Collaborations such as these with our outreach partners provide valuable opportunities for pupils to volunteer their time and skills to benefit the local community. They develop a sense of responsibility as well as a means to forge relationships outside of the College. Through the experience of enriching the lives of others a sense of social responsibility is fostered which, it is hoped, will last a lifetime.
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SPORT PARTNERSHIPS
COMMUNITY COACHING
HOSTING
PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIPS
SHARING FACILITIES
Partnerships to grow sporting talent Marlborough College has developed a variety of valuable partnerships both on and off campus to promote the benefits of sport.
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Within the local community our coaching expertise is shared through the outreach programme and we offer our facilities to local clubs to increase levels of participation in sport. Performance partnerships enhance sporting excellence providing a stepping stone into higher level sport for our most talented pupils. Marlborough has been fortunate to recruit coaches who have played at the highest level of international sport such as former New Zealand hockey player Mark Ramage, current Scotland hockey player Craig Falconer, former England cricketer Mark Alleyne, former England cricket captain Charlotte Edwards, former England netballer Thea Thompson, and former Australian professional rugby player Terry Gilmour. Through their expertise, the standard of sport at the College is exceptional and with
their links to national teams, the College plays host to many prestigious sporting events most notably; England Hockey Cluster Competitions, England Over-50s cricket and the MCC Hub, Bath Academy Residential Training, Gocrea8 Hockey Camps, Regional Netball Tournaments, County Netball training and County Cricket training which brings even greater sporting talent to the Marlborough area. However, it is not only the College that benefits from the breadth of this coaching expertise. Our sporting outreach programme means that children at local prep and primary schools can learn from
Tessa Murray (BH 1987-89) and Jim Sewell, the volunteers behind the Flight Centre School Triathlon Series which organised last year’s Wiltshire school triathlon, have been honoured with the 2020 Points of Light Award. The award, organised annually by the Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, recognises outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community.
our coaches through rugby, hockey, netball, cricket and multi-sport taster days, as well as a 5-week programme of hockey training for primary schools. This is facilitated by the dual use of our facilities by the school and the local community. Our performance partnerships within the greater South-West region include Reading Hockey, Bath Rugby, Team Bath Netball, Bath Athletics, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Cricket and AMG Lacrosse. Through these partnerships our most promising pupils are given the opportunity to excel by playing and training at the next level.
As a result of Marlborough’s link to Bath Athletics, Charlotte Longden (NC L6) whilst training as a sprinter was scouted by GB Bobsleigh, which led to her competing in the 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games. Marlborough’s partnerships in sport provide a unique opportunity to grow sporting talent within the College and within our community, to increase overall participation in sport by working together with local groups and, on an individual level, for our elite sportsmen and women to have the chance to excel. REBE HORTON, DIRECTOR OF SPORT
In a personal letter to Jim and Tessa, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how your unique initiative has inspired over 9,000 young people to raise millions of pounds, through sport, for their peers around the world.” The College will be hosting the triathlon for children aged between 7-13 for the fifth year in a row on Sunday 20th September 2020. Last year over 1000 children took part at the College event raising £100,000 for Restless Development, a youth-led development agency in Africa and Asia, and other charities. “We are well on our way to making this one of the biggest sporting fundraisers for children in the UK, thanks in no small part to the generous hospitality of our host schools, such as Marlborough.” JIM SE W E L L , FOU NDER OF T H E F L IGHT CE NT R E S C H O O L S T R I AT H L O N
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ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
EXCHANGES INNOVATION
MENTORING
UNIVERSITIES
International partnership with Darüşşafaka School This year will see the start of a multifaceted educational partnership between the College and Darüşşafaka School in Istanbul.
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Forging global partnerships is an important part of Marlborough College’s strategy and our commitment to cultivating young people with a genuine appreciation of others with different backgrounds and experiences to their own. This originates from our founding principles which recognise the value that talented pupils from diverse backgrounds can bring to this community. Like Marlborough College, Darüşşafaka School has
its roots in philanthropy. It was founded in 1863 to provide an education for orphaned children who have academic potential, with the belief in the power of education to change lives. Darüşşafaka School also offers coeducational, fullboarding for 11-18 year olds which makes the partnership a perfect fit. The link between the two schools began when OM Robin Swann (B3 1962-66) and former Development Director Jon Copp (MC 1981-2019) had the idea to sponsor a place at Marlborough College School of English and Culture (MCSEC) for a Turkish girl. Seventeen year old Hatice Hezenci was chosen because she fitted the criteria of living in a poor village in central Turkey, had lost her father, but most importantly was open to, and would make the most of, new ideas and opportunities. The placement was a two-way success. Hatice embraced the experience, learned new skills and significantly improved her English. Her presence on the course was also of immense benefit to the wider School of English and Culture student group, providing insight into her very different background.
As a result five new scholarships are being offered to Turkish pupils from Darüşşafaka School by MCSEC this year. Hatice is now studying for a degree in Diet and Nutrition at Ankara University.
Through the success of the MCSEC initiative Robin and Jon recognised how valuable a collaboration with Darüşşafaka School could be for pupils at the College and how much potential there was for the two schools to work together. Plans for teacher and pupil exchanges and cultural visits are underway and an online peer-topeer mentoring project using Skype has started this term. Ten pupils from Shell and Remove will be paired with Turkish pupils with shared interests and given topics to discuss and research together. With an opportunity to meet planned for this summer, it is hoped that these relationships will span their school careers and beyond and will become the start of a lasting and meaningful link between the two schools and their pupils.
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Forthcoming Events 2020 The Marlburian Club is carefully monitoring the unfolding situation of COVID-19 and is following government guidelines. Please check our website for further information about the events advertised below. www.marlburianclub.org/events
Saturday 4th April South West France Lunch Le Castéra, France
Tuesday 28th April St Paul’s Evensong and Reception St Paul’s Cathedral, London and St Martin’s-within-Ludgate
Saturday 16th May John Dancy Memorial Chapel, Marlborough College
Tuesday 19th May Summer Drinks Party Royal Overseas League Club, London
Saturday 6th June Class of 1995 – 25 Year Reunion Marlborough College
Sunday 12th July BBQ on a beach Cornwall TBC
Remember to send your news to: marlburianclub@marlboroughcollege.org
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