6 minute read
Master’s Review
So much has happened at and to Marlborough in the last few years. Covid had an unimagined if not unimaginable impact upon our lives. Whether through suffering or upheaval, powerlessness or disconnection, each one of us was sorely tested.
Idon’t often find myself lost for words, but I do find it difficult to articulate just how proud I am of every pupil and of every member of staff, receiving and delivering an education and supporting each other endlessly. It is also difficult to articulate just how grateful I am to each member of our community for their loyalty, their patience and their understanding as we worked so hard to somehow deliver the undeliverable of a full boarding education and experience through the medium of a screen. The resilience, the agility and the indefatigable allegiance of our community to this special place was inspiring. I would imagine that there is not one of us who returned to site, once restrictions began to lift, who didn’t feel an acute sense of relief and good fortune that our community had remained strong and together throughout this most challenging period. And our Marlburians flew when they arrived back on site, fully engaging in College life once again, and quickly consigning restriction to a thing of the past. My huge thanks to our brilliant former Second Master, Bill Nicholas (CR 1998-2022), for his leadership in managing the complexity of Covid logistics throughout and I wish him, Sheryl and their children, Georgie and Jonty, every happiness as their family moves on to Shawnigan Lake School in British Columbia. There have been countless outstanding pupil achievements during the course of the 2021/22 academic year. In every area our pupils have excelled, delighted, entertained and progressed. Every single Marlburian is bright and each one of them relishes a challenge. In 2021, 57% of our (I)GCSE results were graded 8 or 9, the equivalent of an A*. Five pupils achieved 9s in every subject and 40 pupils achieved 8s and 9s in every subject. Sophie Herrmann (DA U6) and Allegra Hannan (NC U6) achieved an extraordinary 12 grade 9s. At A level, our results were record breaking: three quarters of our results were A or A*. On the musical front, we saw a return to full live musical concerts with an audience, after a fractured and frustrating 18-month absence. A special thank you to the choir, particularly for their outstanding contributions to the Advent and Christmas Carol services, to confirmation and a world premiere of Paul Mealor’s In This Place, commissioned by the College and performed by our Chapel Choir, the Choral Society and Orchestra alongside their weekly support of Chapel services. Individual successes have included five Advanced Diplomas, nine Grade 8 Distinctions, Choral Scholarship Awards for Edward Beswick (C1 2017-22) to New College, Oxford, and Isabella Morley (DA 2017-22) to Christchurch Cathedral, British Columbia; and awards of places at London Conservatoires for Emily Ambrose (MO 2017-22) and Henry Dukes (BH 2017-22) at the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music, respectively. From orchestral to band concerts, lunchtime recitals to the Remembrance Day service, Battle of the Bands to the Scholars’ Concert in London, there is so much to be grateful to our musicians, pupils and staff for. And so too do all of our sportswomen and men deserve our thanks and congratulations. The 2021/22 academic year was phenomenal for Marlborough sport, and it is incredibly exciting to see so many pupils
and OMs performing at such a high level. The statistics make for fascinating reading, but there is no doubt that the Netball 1st VII impressed with an 85.7% win rate and the boys’ Cricket 1st XI had a great streak with only five losses in the season. The boys’ Football XI were crowned County Champions and won two further league competitions, and we were proud to support Sophia Mordaunt (MM Hu) in winning The Beryl Danby, the top U16 Girls National Rackets Singles cup. Our fencing club must also be recognised for their first unbeaten season in decades. There are a huge number of pupils who are on pathway sport and representing academies in their chosen fields and the following have all represented at national level: Oscar Flight (C1 Re) is the English U14 Super G Champion, was runner-up in the British U14 Ski Championships and was selected for the GB Ski Team; Sophie Herrmann (DA U6) won a gold medal for the Junior GB Ladies Skeet at the ISSF Junior World Cup (the British team has never won gold in this competition before); Star Horlock (DA U6) plays in U18 England Hockey; Theo Janelid (TU L6) has been selected to shoot in the U17 UK Cadet Rifle Team; Lottie Jordan (DA Hu) will represent Northern Ireland in the Junior Commonwealth Fencing Team; Byron Lloyd Gilmour (SU 2020-22) is part of the U18 England Rugby Academy; Kitty Marvin (NC U6) plays U18 England Lacrosse. Just about every Marlburian, but for injury, has represented either the College or their House in sport this year, proving that sport is a natural and entirely embedded aspect of a Marlborough education. In Drama, the 2021/22 academic year marked the return of live performance to Marlborough’s stages, with a dynamic and moving production of DNA from the Remove and Hundred in the Bradleian, whilst the school play, The Importance of Being Earnest, played to packed houses in the Ellis Theatre. A sparkling and highly inventive production of Skellig from the Shell landed in the Ellis in the Summer Term along with a host of new writing developed by pupils that has pushed the Bradleian Theatre to its limits. These experimental projects have ranged from a theatrical investigation into the life of Ötzi, the frozen man, to a highly physical performance questioning the dangers of augmented reality. Our actors and support team have devoted countless hours of rehearsal, production and performance, whether under the spotlights on stage or doing the vital work behind the scenes, and, of course, I thank all of the staff who dedicate themselves to all that happens in this showcase department. A record number of pupils have won places to study Art, Photography or Film at top art colleges and universities in the UK and the US. We have been treated to multiple exhibitions in the Mount House Gallery, and the Super Moon Exhibition at the Lodge. The scholars’ portfolio in celebration of the Mound and the Rare Books at Marlborough: An A to Z are works of extraordinary scholarship. Every one of our pupils has been involved in meaningful co-curricular activity, whether in music, sport, drama, art, in HATA or in the CCF, in Devizes to Westminster or in Duke of Edinburgh, in outreach with primary schools, in helping to restore the White Horse, in Prefectship, or in House leadership and so much more. I thank our wonderful Senior Prefects, Atticus Adams (LI 2017-22), Issie Raper (IH 2017-22), Zara Blakey (MO 2017-22) and Victor Simpson (C2 2017-22) for their leadership of the pupil body, all pupils and their families, staff and our OMs for all that they contribute to make this school the exceptional, leading light that we know it is.
Louise Moelwyn-Hughes (Master 2018-)
