The Ronian - Issue 49 - Autumn 2011 by Saint Ronan's School

The Ronian ISSUE 49 - Autumn 2011

Inside:

Paradise Farm • Nativities • Alumni • Boarding • Shepherd Neame Trip • Pianists at Lancing

w w w. s a i n t r o n a n s . c o . u k

The Headmaster writes...

I was cut short by the editor in the summer so this term I have

art, music and academic studies), all passed CE to a variety of

bagged extra column inches with a bumper HM ‘blurb’.

nine different Public Schools and seventeen gained places at Cranbrook.

The summer holidays are the best time for a bit of ‘R&R’. ‘Rest & Recovery’ for the children and staff; ‘Repair &

This Academic Year we are anticipating competing for twenty-

Renewal’ for the buildings and the grounds.

two awards to senior schools across six different disciplines (as above but now with Drama and DT). Joe Joe Blick has

As we all lay relaxing on the sun baked sands of Camber (!), a small army of ‘worker ants’ set about the school painting,

been awarded our first Year 8 Scholarship 2011/12 with a Drama Scholarship to Battle Abbey.

polishing, plumbing, re-tiling, re-flooring, re-wiring and laying flagstones and filling potholes. By the time we all returned in

In addition, Mrs Hill is hopeful that, by the end of 2011, twenty-

September, Tongswood gleamed in its renewed magnificence.

two children in the School will have achieved Grade 5 or

Mr Bennett collected the keys to his sparkling DT Department,

above in Music. This is extraordinary for any Prep School.

Messrs Andrew & Buckles proudly surveyed their new Farm and Mr TV, at last, was reunited with his Study and Remove TF with their classroom. A huge ‘thank you’ to the Grounds, Maintenance and Bursary teams for all their hard work.

On the Sporting front, our teams have worked hard and acquitted themselves admirably, with some notable victories against our competitors. Week by week match reports are posted on the sports’ pages of our Extranet.

Autumn 2011 has been a very good term for Saint Ronan’s. Despite the economic doom and gloom numbers and spirits are at an all-time high. The new children and staff have quickly settled in and all set about their daily routines with energy and excitement.

The School’s ethos is equally clear. Saint Ronan’s has a distinctive character and it is this charm, this magic, that people fall in love with. It is a family school with an informal and happy atmosphere where staff are approachable and mud unremarkable. In a world where children seem to grow up ever

In the Blue Book, and elsewhere, the School clearly states its

faster, Saint Ronan’s provides a happy environment for

aims. The first of which is to provide the children with a good

children to remain just that.

all-round education with suitable range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities. Flicking through the pages that follow will leave little doubt that this is being achieved. The wider curriculum is broad, robust and challenging. It is being taught

Let’s drive forward with our aims, cherish our ethos and enjoy Christmas. Here’s to 2012, Olympics ‘n’ all!

effectively and this is reflected in the children’s achievements. With kind regards, Last summer the thirty four Year 8 leavers amassed a total of seventeen scholarships across four different disciplines (sport,

In this issue...

Christmas with the Aliens You might not expect Aliens at Christmas but they gave the Year 1 and 2 children a novel way to explain the story of

Shakespeare for Schools Festival

Tongswood Shout about their House!

Harriet and Freya in RYA SE Squad

‘Shipwrecked en France’ - a dramatic French scene!

Touchdown in Space Week in the Nursery & Pre-Prep

Remove hopping with excitement at trip to brewery

Could this be a record year for fundraising?

It’s Paradise down at the School Farm

Autumn Term Prize Giving

Going up the Garden Path

Boarders feeling snug!

Saint Ronan’s Got Talent

Writers’ Workshop with Brian Moses

Friends of Saint Ronan’s

The four aliens had landed on earth after a malfunction in

Salvete and Valete

their spaceship. Their initial meeting with the children was

Not a Hum-Drum Demonstration

shocking for both sides but they soon made friends and

New DT Workshop Opens

settled down to watch the school Christmas play.

Pianists spend a day at Lancing College

Tongswood House during WWII

Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers

WB Harris in WWI

‘Bicton Generation’ plan trip to Bicton Park

Jesus' birth.

The aliens and the real life audience were impressed with the acting and singing of all involved, enjoying the humour and catchy tunes. As always the play takes a lot of effort from children and staff alike but this year, especially, everyone had

Sports Reports

14-16

fun with the script and the action.

LAMDA hits new heights

Coming up... Spring Events

Jean-Marc Perrett, a LAMDA Term begins

examiner, trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Recent credits include The

Classes 3 & 4 Performance Poetry

20th January

FOR Back to School Party

21st January

Music Department Open Week

Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Rep, schools worldwide and the

5th January

23rd - 27th January

Ski Trip Information Evening

31st January

N&PP Open Morning

1st February

Nursery Parents’ Evening

2nd February

Egyptian Art Exhibition

3rd February

N&PP Book Week / Book Fair

6th February

most famous for Prince

Remove Parents’ Evening

7th February

Jean-Marc is also an actor of

Caspian and the Voyage of

Orchestral Concert

some repute, but probably

the Dawn Treader.

Half term

Universities of Oxford, Bonn, Kansas, Texas State, New York, Washington …

Dramatic Award

10th February 10th - 20th February

Midway Parents’ Evening

23rd February

Prep School Book Fair

24th February

FOR Quiz Night

2nd March

Congratulations to thespian

The Brodie Shield

10th March

Joe-Joe Blick on being

ABRSM Exams

awarded a Drama

Pre-Prep Parents’ Evening

Scholarship by Battle Abbey

‘Aladdin’

School.

Term ends

12th - 13th March 15th March 21st, 22nd March 23rd March

Shakespeare for Schools Festival Kathleen Corr, who oversaw the Cranbrook productions, said: “There were so many wonderful moments on stage, which played to the strengths of your ensemble. I loved the military costumes and this sense of a totalitarian state; it really rang true as a concept for Romeo and Juliet. The focused ensemble rooted us in the world of the play and created some lovely stage pictures. The stylised fight was brilliant, perfectly punctuated by the drum. The narration was confident and beautifully clear from all. I thought that both the Prince and Lord Capulet played their parts with a determination and This term saw our first entry into the annual Shakespeare for

strength that made their status obvious to us as an audience

Schools Festival. The festival, which runs in conjunction with

and the story really clear. Romeo and Juliet were adorable,

the National Youth Theatre, included over 1,000 schools

with a very sweet representation of their love. It was a real joy

performing in more than 600 theatres around the country.

watch.”

A cast of around thirty children put on a specially adapted

Very well done to all the cast and many thanks to Dr

thirty-minute version of Romeo and Juliet, which they

Campbell, the director, and to assisting staff Mrs Morrell, Mrs

performed at the Queen’s Hall Theatre at Cranbrook School.

Gossage, Mr Vassar-Smith and Mr Clarke.

Tongswood Shout about their House!

Harriet and Freya in RYA SE Squad

Much fun was had by all for this term’s House Shout

Midway and Upper girls Freya Black and Harriet Cage have

competition. This year the theme was ‘The Beatles’. The

been selected this year for the Royal Yachting Association

adjudicator, Mrs Alison Wicks, remarked on the beautiful

South East sailing squad. This is an incredible achievement

singing.

for both girls.

The houses were also represented by soloists: Hannah

They both competed in the Optimist Winter Championships in

Pearson, May Swinburne, Maddie Joyce and Jago Trelawny-

Cardiff on the 19th and 20th November, and the top 20 girls

Vernon.

invitational training in Lymington on the 10th and 11th Dec.

The Silver Salver Trophy was awarded to Tongswood. Congratulations to all the children who participated with energy and commitment!

They also have a whole host of South East Squad training dates, so this is a busy time of year for them. Very well done to you both.

‘Shipwrecked en France’ - a dramatic French scene! Once again, two very talented actors entertained us in French with their slapstick jokes and their very bad English accent. The story was about a boy spending his holiday in France by the coast. Taylor ended up with his small boat far away from the Hotel Napoleon where he was staying. On the beach he meets a sweet young girl trying to help him out but he gets himself into lots of muddles. The audience participated very well; a special well done to Harvey Bennett and Sam King for entering the boat race and Maddie Joyce and Antonia Hall getting on their surf boards. I am glad all of our pupils have a far better accent than Taylor! “The French play was very funny and the two actors in the play were very good at acting. It was a nice treat to have. ”. George Jones (Shell) “I thought the French play was really good and funny. I liked

the bit where Harvey and Sam had to deflate the life raft then entered a boat race. Harvey waved at the woman running the race and Taylor was struggling to get back to his hotel”. Rupert Flynn (Shell)

Touch down in Space Week with the Nursery & Pre-Prep

5,4,3,2,1 and the Squirrels had transported the Chapel and its

facts. Each class used Space as the basis for all lessons, with

congregation to the Moon. Parents, staff and children were

Alien maths, stories about space exploration and lots of

entertained by a performance of Simon Bartram’s ‘ Man on the

opportunity to discover and explore.

Moon’ together with songs and poems. As is the tradition in Nursery and Pre-Prep, the week ended The following day our very own Saint Ronan’s scientists

with everyone dressing up as astronauts or creatures from

demonstrated water propelled rockets, exploding gas filled

outer space. Finally the children invented a sentence to

balloons and air powered rockets. The children then set off to

remind us all of the order of the planets in the solar system -

the pond to dip for waterborne aliens. The solar system was

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,

explained by visiting group ‘Kid’s in Space’ as an astronaut

Neptune. It goes like this: My Very Excited Mum Juggles

landed on each planet and gave the children lots of amazing

Sandwiches Until Night!

Background artwork by Jago TV

Remove hopping with excitement at trip to brewery As soon as we stepped out of the minibuses the stench hit us. We all clenched our noses and asked the same question, what is that smell? As we walked through the town the smells changed and we noticed various different buildings belonging to the brewery. And we discovered this is the smell of beer! When we entered the bar at the start of the tour we were greeted by Mr Neame the owner of the brewery and Mr Bunting, the father of Archie and Harry Bunting (both Ronians). Mr Neame (an old Ronian) gave us a brief history of the brewery and told us how his great grandfather started to build the brewery into what it

for centuries. The brewery is the oldest in the UK.

is now. We ended the tour back in the bar with some coke and crisps. We walked through the factory, learning about the processes of beer-making, and even got to try some ingredients! (Sadly

Shortly after we were taken upstairs to have a talk on the business side of the brewery and the effects of alcohol.

not the finished product!) We discovered the history of the brewery and how the processes of beer making have gone on

Michael Cotter, Remove GV.

Could this be a record breaking year for charitable fundraising? This term has all been about raising money, made possible by the generosity of the children, parents and staff at Saint Ronan’s! Fundraising kicked off at the very start of term with the sponsored walk by Classes 3 and 4, which raised a magnificent £1267. This was shortly followed by the Autumn Fayre; blessed, yet again, with a glorious warm morning, and we raised another £1377. The monies raised from both events were split between Shelter Box, a charity we have supported before, and Macmillan Cancer Support, who were chosen by the Student Council this term. We also raised £280 from ‘Jeans for Genes Day’, a charity that helps children with genetic disorders; and ran a wonderful cake stall for ‘Children

The Autumn Fayre raised £1377.

in Need’ which raised an impressive £786. Thanks must go to all the parents for the cake donations and to pupils and staff for running the stalls. With two terms remaining we are only £1000 short of the £4700 we raised in 2010/11, so thank you.

a lovely letter thanking Saint Ronan’s for all their support and visits over the last four years. Looking ahead to the future, we will donate some of the Harvest produce to the Alms House in

Bowles Lodge and Hartley care homes both appreciated the

the village. However if any parent has a connection with a

donation of produce that children and parents provided for the

care home that they would like us to support, please let Mr

Harvest Festival. Pupils from 3AH personally delivered the

Andrew know.

food, taking up 2 minibuses! This gave them a lovely opportunity to see where the produce was going, and what benefit it would have. Unfortunately, as you may have seen in the press, Bowles Lodge has now closed down. We received

We still look forward to our weekly visits from Sandhurst Primary School, expanding our programme to include Cross Country, whilst Art continues to thrive.

It’s Paradise down on the School Farm One of our budding farmers, Kitty Jordan in Midway, tells us how she’s been getting on working on the new school farm. Working on Paradise Farm is so much fun! My favourite thing is Thursday when we really get stuck in to clean the chickens out and that kind of stuff, then, if we have time, play with the piglets or clean out the shed. When we clean out the chickens’ coops, one person goes inside to shovel out all the muck and all the rest go outside, manned with shovels and rakes, and everybody screams when the

pig husbandry course Kitty, Lydia and others went on a

cockerel comes near. He’s not that bad, he is just very noisy, and when he’s in the mood he likes to chase people. I’ve been chased once and it was quite scary. You just need to show him who’s boss. We feed our chickens two scoops of layers’ pellets and corn and a few handfuls of oyster shells. As you might have noticed, we have four large black pigs and four grey and pink piglets (we used to have nine but we sold five.) My favourite out of those pigs is Barbara. She is the smallest and is bonkers. She lives in the pen

Children & staff watch as the first sows arrive

with Gunther, our boar. Gunther’s had a lot of names, he’s gone from Gunther to Gunter to Grunter but soon we all agreed that Gunther was best. He’s very greedy and likes to push Barbara out of the way to get the best pile of food. We feed our pigs dry oaty stuff which we mix with water. It normally goes all over the sink, but farming isn’t a tidy job. The boar and Barbara and the piglets have two scoops and the two girls have four scoops. Our sows, Blackberry and Truffles, live in the pen just behind the others. Truffles is pregnant and we should have some more piglets by the end of the winter holidays. Blackberry has just had piglets so she’s very hungry.

Checking on the chickens

Come and see our farm!!!

Our free-range eggs are now available for purchase in the School Office. £1.50 for 6. (Subject to availability!)

Autumn Term Prize Giving Senior Prefects

Sports Prizes

Head Prefect

L. Russell

Fencing Prize

H. O’Reilly

Second Prefect

A. Hall / J. Trelawny-Vernon

Judo Prize

W. Wyatt

House Captains

House and Form Prizes

Bicton

E. Ulmann

Senior Form

Midway SC

Pembroke

A. Kent

Junior Form

3 RB

Selden

M. Cotter

House Cup

Selden

Tongswood

F. Allinson Bicton Prize

E. Alexander

School Colours

Pembroke Prize

J. Trelawny-Vernon

W. Chatterton, M. Cotter, H. Eva, H. Pearson, W. Simpson,

Selden Prize

B. Bonner-Davies

S. Statman, J. Trelawny-Vernon, E. Ulmann

Tongswood Prize

J. Platt-Higgins

Prizes

Remove GV

E. Ulmann

Christmas Decorations

Upper DB

Remove TF

D. Atherton

Saint Ronan’s Got Talent

J. Dealtry

Remove KK

D. Duncombe

Drama Cup

E. Walker

Upper DB

J. Hamilton

Music - Name that tune

M. Shaw

Upper BC

A. Butler-Gallie

Harris Cup

S. Statman

Midway SAS

M. King

Midway SC

J. Cubitt

Midway IP

T. Hastilow

Shell VC

G. Jones

Shell RH

Z. Thompson

4 RVS

J. Rose

4 LL

D. Gorman, E. Hastilow

3 RB

M. McDonald

3 AH

T. Tweedie

3 RT

C. Redmayne

Football Prizes Weston Cup for best 1st XI

Jago T-V

Fielding Cup for most improved S. Statman Farrow Cup for best Colt

A. Butler-Gallie

1925 Cup for most improved

F. Carver

Special award

B. Hall

House Leagues

Tongswood

Half Colours

S. Statman, F. Allinson, R. Withey-Stevens, H. Dakin, W. Kember, A. Butler-Gallie, G. Campbell-Wilson, W. Honychurch, W. Wyatt

Full Colours

M. Cotter, D. Atherton W. Chatterton, W. Simpson

Best U13 player

A. Butler-Gallie

Most improved U13 player

M. Joyce

Best U11 player

C. Chatterton / L. Martin

Most improved U11 player

L. Stephenson

House Leagues

Selden

Half Colours

E. Freeman, M. Reeves, E. Simpson, T. Wyatt J. Platt-Higgins, E. Dawlings C. Chatterton, L. Martin,

Well done to James Lee (3 RT) who, together with dog Gilby, has secured his place at the 2012 Canix European Championships!

Girls’ Hockey Prizes

Full Colours

Canix Champ?

Midway Successes Congratulations to Max Taylor, Ben Colley and Isabella McKenzie-Sanchez who did well enough in the Kent Test to be considered for Grammar School. They won’t know which schools until the 1st March but all performed very strongly - Max and Ben got 420 and 416 out of 420 respectively. Issy was not far below this.

F. Black

Kate Woodford was delighted to be awarded a Sports

E. Ulmann, M. Joyce, A. Hall

Scholarship to Sutton Valence.

Going up the garden path

If you visit the Nursery garden today you will see a space full

teachers tried to do a job by themselves, they soon found an

of plants, colour and exciting pathways that were not there a

extra pair of hands or two helping out. They have assisted

year ago. The children spend a great amount of their time in

with planting new plants and shrubs, painting fencing,

their garden; most afternoons are spent completely outside,

witnessing a new pirate ship being built, shifting soil with their

whatever the weather. It is an extension of the Nursery

wheelbarrows and laying down weed membrane and slate

building, and an outside classroom. The Nursery teachers are

gravel to make a new pathway, complete with shade-loving

always looking for ways to make it more exciting and inviting.

plants.

Because it is the children’s garden, the children were involved

One of the children said, “I like moving the mud in the wheel

in every change. They love to join in and, even when the

barrow and making big jumps on the stepping stones!”

SAINT RONAN’S GOT

T LENT The Saint Ronan’s Got Talent

Boarders feeling snug!

competition ran during boarding time; a number of groups, solo acts and

This term boarding has been dominated by reality TV shows! First, “Changing Rooms” appeared and they

performers put themselves forward.

transformed Julie’s sitting room into the boarder’s snug room (thanks for the name, Bruno!). After the children

Six wonderful acts made it

have been run ragged in the Sports Hall they now go

through to the final, all of

upstairs for their snack, where they are able to watch TV

whom performed to the

and relax.

school after the Feast.

The boarding team and all the children would also like to

Well done to Jake Dealtry

say a big thank you to Julius Carter for all his help this

who was voted the winner!

term. He has been wonderful company and we look forward to seeing him back after a short break next term.

Jakes’s prize is a session in a recording studio.

Writers’ Workshop with Brian Moses

Friends of Saint Ronan’s

Some member of Midway went to a poetry writing workshop with poet Brian Moses at Marlborough House School. Ben Colley and Max Taylor tell us about their day: Firstly, we did an exercise where we were asked, if we were stranded on a desert island, what would we bring? We had to choose a book and an object and a person so… Max took a survival guide, a boat (to escape with) and his Dad, because he was in the army and would know what to do! Ben took an edible plant guide, a tent and Bear Grylls

This term FOR have helped to kit out the DT Department, paid

(because he can escape from most places).

for the construction of the new Farm, bought curtains for the Library, saxophones for Music, donated two outdoor table

Then we teamed up with a

tennis tables and purchased additional fencing equipment.

child from another school. Mr Moses told us to insult each

They have funded all of this through straight donations and

other, but, we had to make

raising money by way of the Friday ‘Restaurant evenings’ held

rhyming couplets, that

in the Library, the sale of doughnuts, toffee apples and mulled

began… “you make me feel

wine on Bonfire Night, the Christmas Fayre and the sale of

like…” So…

second hand uniform donated to The Old Curiosity Shop.

Rory (from M.H.S.) “ You

We are enormously grateful to all those who have given

Brian Moses make me feel like a pirate’s smelly sock!”

things and donated their time to help raise 'fun and funds' in

Max “ You make me feel like I’ve been hit by a giant rock!”

this way. If anyone would like to get involved then please do pop along to the meetings next term. The dates are all in the

Then we were asked to compliment each other using the

Blue Book and there is no scary committee structure!

same technique, which was much harder. After this we had to think of some places (like a hill, or an

Salvete and Valete

ocean) and some abstract nouns (like anger) and put one of each category together, to make a poem. The Town of Silence (by Max Taylor, Midway) In the dead centre of town, Everything is silent, The thin alleyways looking down, seem almost violent.

Julie Jenkins

Clare O’Connell

Whoever goes too close

We offer a warm welcome to

Nursery ever since. She is off

Is silent…

Clare O’Connell who joined

to work with even younger

the School Office team just

children than those in the

after half term. Clare joins us

Nursery! We wish her all the

from Plane & Simple - Karen

best.

The wind blows down the hills, in the dead centre of town

After that we had to write a poem about our favourite place or thing on earth. Ben wrote about the Maldives and Max wrote about a roller coaster. We performed our poems to

and Amanda aren’t amused!

Marlborough Houses Year Six and Brian Moses performed a poem called the Snake Hotel. Thanks to Mr Moses for the session, M.H.S for having us and Mrs Gibson for taking us.

Julie Jenkins will be joining It is with sadness that we say

as the a new TA in the

a fond farewell to Gilly

Nursery. Julie is a mum with

Wheatley. Gilly joined us

good experience of the Early

seven years ago and has

Years. She joins us from

been a stalwart of the

Benenden Pre-School.

Not a Hum-Drum Demonstation

New DT Workshop Opens

Adam Tanner gave a wonderful demonstration of the skills

The Farm was not the only exciting new development that the

involved in playing the Drumkit. His pupils performed ably and

children came back to in September. The new Design and

our eyes and ears were opened to a whole new experience.

Technology workshop was also up and running and lessons

Adam was able to produce a wide range of timbres on some

began in earnest under the watchful eye of Mr Bennett.

kitchenware and demonstrated the versatility of his shoe, using it as a full set of drums too!

During the course of the term new items of equipment arrived including a band saw, specialised benching and a clever dust

Adam has taught at Saint Ronan’s for many years and it was

extraction system.

lovely to hear his talent as a drummer, teacher and entertainer.

We look forward to seeing more of the children’s creations!

Pianists spend a day at Lancing College

In November for the first time we were able to send a group to

After lunch (taken in the hall which, one of the children

Lancing College to take part in their annual Piano Day. The

suggested, “looks like Hogwarts”) there was a quick tour of the

children were split up and grouped with pupils from other

college’s farm, with an introduction to their chickens, goats,

schools to participate in four workshops.

sheep, pigs and lamas. Given the establishment of Saint

The first tackled some very challenging improvisation in a

Ronan’s own farm, this proved particularly interesting.

Latin-American style. The second dealt with developing styles

The afternoon finished with a concert. Although it was not

in music, which reinforced our music-history lessons and

possible for every child to perform (it would have taken too

supported the children’s preparations for advanced aural tests.

long) more than half of our children were asked to play and did

Another looked at performance practice and how the children

so with style. The children’s playing throughout the day paid

can enhance their concert-playing. The final session gave the

tribute to the huge progress being made in our piano

children the opportunity to accompany a Lancing musician –

department and we hope this will be the first of many new

no easy task.

opportunities for our pianists.

Tongswood House during WW II When war broke out in 1939, Tongswood House was occupied

Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers

by 59 year old widow Helen Gunther, with her two married sons Jimmy and Billy and their wives. Some time after 1940 the house was requisitioned for use by the Army, and Mrs Gunther moved to Little Tongs. At least four regiments were stationed at Tongswood House during different periods.

Above are the officers of the 5th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, who were occupied the house from January to June ‘44 and were on the second wave of D-Day.

Hugh Garforth-Bles, OR 1959-64, writes: In May 2011, nearly half a century after leaving Saint Ronan’s for Rugby School, I was installed as the 50th Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers. The photograph shows me with my Wardens, wearing Livery gowns and “publicising our craft” with foam armchairs. I am The next photograph shows the Warrant officers and Sergents’

also wearing the Master’s Badge and Chain. We are about to

mess of the same battalion.

take part in the 684th Lord Mayor’s Show. In 1993 I became a Liveryman of the Furniture Makers, one of 108 Livery companies in London, of which the oldest, the Weavers, started around 1250.

The Brodie Shield The Brodie Shield will be held this year on Saturday, March 10th. As ever, Old Ronians of all generations are welcome to attend. The Prep School event begins at 10:30am.

Finally, the Battalion HQ staff. At other times the house was occupied by The Royal Engineers (1941), the 7th Survey Regiment of the Royal st

Artillery (1942), and was HQ of the 1 Canadian Corps (1943).

Please do let the school office know (alumni@saintronans.co.uk) if you would like to attend.

WB Harris in World War I W B (Dick) Harris, the School’s third Headmaster (1926-57), joined up for war service at the same time as his friend J F Roxburgh, and they both went into the Royal Engineers Signals Corps. He and Roxburgh were fellow Lancing Housemasters and were particularly close. Roxburgh went on to found Stowe in 1923 and become one of the great

Colonel G.S. Hutchison

headmasters of the twentieth century, ranked alongside Sewell of Radley and Arnold of Rugby. Dick didn’t go to France until 22 June 1918. If at that point, as seems probable, he joined the Signals Company of the 33rd Division of the British Expeditionary Force he would have been out of the front line until September, when the Division joined the final advance across northern France. In October he was involved in the advance from Malincourt J.F. Roxburgh

(south east of Cambrai) to the River Sells culminating in the liberation of the town of Englefontaine. Dick kept a copy of the signal sent to the 33rd Machine Division conveying the gratitude of the mayor of the town, Genneral Pinney and the GOC of the British Vth Corps. Dick ended the war near Berlaimont on the Sambre, where in the first days of November he took part in a famous battle for the crossing of the river Sambre with the 33rd Machine Gun Corps under Lt Col G S Hutchison, DSO MC.

W.B. Harris

‘Bicton Generation’ planning a visit to Bicton Park Following the success of last Summer’s Bicton book launch

dormitories will follow. St Mary’s, the Church in which they

party at the Tower of London, the Bicton generation of Old

worshipped in the grounds and where many were Confirmed,

Ronians are organising a weekend, from May 11th to the 13th,

will be especially reopened for a Sunday morning Service. We

at Bicton in the beautiful mansion and estate where St

hope that local villagers of their generation will attend.

Ronan’s saw out the war years from 1940 to 1945. Specially invited guests such as the Headmaster and Mrs A group of Alumni of that generation and their wives have

Trelawny-Vernon, Lord and Lady Clinton and the College

already booked a nearby hotel in the village of Otterton. They

Principal and his wife will be invited to join them for drinks and

will enjoy exploring the house and gardens which gave them

lunch. This will be held in fine reception rooms which were

so much pleasure, despite the privations of wartime rationing,

totally sealed up for the duration of the war and were never

bombing raids and difficult travelling conditions.

seen by any of the boys at the time.

The Devon Agricultural College (which now occupies the

An invitation will have already reached all those for whom we

estate) are arranging a warm welcome with a lunch which will

have addresses but if you are a “Bicton Boy” and have not

be supplied from the estate farms and orchards. Exploration of

received one, please contact Gospatric Home on 01494 488

the fine gardens and grounds, the classrooms and the

268 or gos@lilyfarm.co.uk.

Sport Saint Ronan’s Sporting Stories Cricket

Saint Ronan’s to host first Fencing Competition

Will Simpson has been selected for the Eastern Eagles, the Sussex district cricket team. This involves net sessions each week followed by matches’ next summer and possible selection for the Sussex county team. Will Simpson

Archie Butler-Gallie has just

attended a trial for the Kent U11 cricket team. We look forward to hearing if he has gained selection in the New Year.

In February Saint Ronan’s will be holding their first interschools Fencing competition. Five schools have been invited to join us for the day which will focus on some skills training and then a tournament.

Cross Country Over 500 young athletes from 40 different schools

Fingers crossed we may be joined by an Olympian fencer (past or present)!

converged on Knole Park for the annual U13 Junior Knole Run. The courses were challenging, comprising hills,

Hannah Eva

Saint Ronan's at National Schools Equestrian Championships

boggy ground and scrub; the

Saint Ronan’s qualified for the National Schools Equestrian

girls running 2.7km (approx

Championships.

1.75 miles) and the boys, 3.3km (2 miles).

The team of Thomasina Wyatt, Bindi Vereker, Emily Freeman and Oscar Miles set off at half term to Addington Manor

With over 240 athletes jostling for a good position, the girls’

Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire for the weekend. Saint

start was scrambled but the Saint Ronan’s ladies kept their

Ronan’s were to be competing in a show jumping class

heads (and their footing), and ran with grit and determination.

against 20 of the best schools in the country.

Hannah Eva again showed her potential, running a strong race and finishing a highly competitive 17th. Thoma Wyatt demonstrated real resilience, crossing the line in 57th. The boys’ field was even larger, numbering over 270, but the Saint

The weekend started well with some fast clear rounds from the team in the warm-up Scurry Class (against the clock) and Bindi was placed 8th. It was a welcome confidence boost for the team Championship Class the following morning.

Ronan’s team grouped themselves well, all reaching the finish line just in the top half.

In the Championship Class there are four in a team, and the best three scores count. The team were very focused and

In the Rawlinson Run held at DCPS, Kaspar Bootle (Yr2) came 2nd, Jemima Hancock (Yr2) came 2nd, Lily Stewart (Yr2) 7th and Maddie McDonald (Yr3) came 7th. At the Thomas Trophy held at Sevenoaks Prep, Archie Butler-Gallie came 8th. At the Dobson Trophy, James Crawley came 7th and Hannah Eva came 3rd.

rode brilliantly: with two clear rounds from Bindi and Emily and a super fast round from Oscar, they did really well but sadly were just out of the placings. In the afternoon Bindi was delighted to be placed 8th in an individual Championship Class.

Sport Saint Ronan’s A short but sweet hockey season The girls started the year by taking to the hockey pitch for the first half of the term. Once again there have been some terrific team performances and also individuals who have excelled. Still an up and coming sport for the Saint Ronan’s girls, with our new U13 and U11 teams in place, they have really flourished competing with a renewed sense of confidence against tough opposition. The U13 teams enjoyed wins against Claremont, Rose Hill and Uplands. Although we lost to MHS and DCPS, the girls have really upped their game, considerably narrowing the goal margin on previous years, this time only losing by one or two

The 1st VII Team

goals and making victory much less of a certainty for the opposition. Key performances in attack came from Maddie Joyce, Hannah Eva (13 1st VII), Millie Butler-Gallie, Emily Freeman and Thoma Wyatt (2nd VII), and Leonie Russell (3rd VII). In midfield the players to watch were Emily Ullman (1st VII) and Eugenie Dawlings (2nd VII). Our defenders continue to be dependable, calm under pressure and make the path towards goal a tricky one for opposing attackers. Great performances include Cecelia Wallace (1st VII), and Storm Pleavin (3rd VII). A mention also to the goal keepers, Emma Simpson (1st and 2nd VII) and May Swinburne (3rd and 4th VII) who as the last line of defence made some superb saves

The Under 11 A Squad

for their teams.

Under 12 Eastbourne Hockey Day

Our U11 girls are still a force to be reckoned with. As they

On the 10th of October, the Upper girls took part in an U12

mature with age, so too does their game, understanding, and

hockey coaching day at Eastbourne College.

application of advancing skills and tactics. They enjoyed a string of victories against Claremont, Rose Hill, Vinehall, Sacred Heart, and a series of draws against MHS. Their team spirit is second to none and their assertive, goal hungry appetite on the pitch is instrumental to their success. Key figures behind the ball were Kate Woodford (U11A attack), Emmy Shaw, Sonali Balch (U11B attack/midfield), Charlie Chatterton and Freya Black (U11A midfield). There were also outstanding performances in defence from Savannah Knatchnull and Lucy Martin who single-handedly transformed the U11A defence into a formidable prospect for opponents.

The day started with a coaching session led by South African International Chris Hibbert. In the matches the girls started off brilliantly beating Claremont 2-1 and then drawing 2-2 with St Andrews. After lunch we played Skippers Hill drawing 0-0, then St Andrews 2nd team winning 3-2. Unbeaten, with two wins and two draws, we had two games left to play against DCPS and Windlesham. Both teams were also unbeaten, so we knew they would be tough opposition. Our girls were not out-played, but just couldn’t get the ball past their keepers. The girls deserve to be really proud of their performance. Hannah Eva, Tia Curtis and Millie Butler-Gallie worked tirelessly in attack, Maddie Reeves was utterly dependable in

Don’t Forget... Weekly match reports for the teams are posted on the Extranet.

mid-field, Eugenie Dawlings and Harriet Cage held the fort in defence, and a special mention to Storm Pleavin who played GK for the first time. Hannah Eva was also picked by Chris Hibbert as the most improved player of the day.

Sport Saint Ronan’s

The First XI

Dragons slay the opposition The football season has once again produced some very exciting matches throughout all the age groups. The First XI, under the guidance of Kevin Ford, developed into a well-organised team that looked to get the ball down and utilise the pace out wide. Michael Cotter and Digby Atherton dominated the midfield, winning possession and knocking the ball out to Edward Walker on the left whose inviting crosses led to numerous goals. The impressive Will Chatterton at centre back and Jago T-V in goal proved just as effective

Colts A Team

when the team were asked to defend. The 2nd XI gained the biggest winning margin with Nick Curtis, scoring three in an 11-2 victory, and it was the Colts D that produced the best record throughout the season. They lost their first game by one goal and them managed to win five and draw one, scoring twenty goals and only conceding three. The Colts A played in the annual cup competition at DCPS and after qualifying for the final they just lost 1-0 to end up with a runners up medal. Well played to all the boys. Colts Dragons