The Ronian ISSUE 63 - Summer 2016
Inside:
HM Queen’s 90th • Leavers’ Programme • Classics Trip to Naples • OR News
w w w. s a i n t r o n a n s . c o . u k
The Headmaster writes...
It has been a term of service. Years 3-6 raised a staggering £3k for the four charities selected by the Student Council. Mr Bryan ran the London Marathon for Whizz-Kidz, a charity which supports physically disabled children. FOR used their funds to buy three bike sheds for the Mountain Biking Club and books for the new Library. Summer terms are always the busiest and this term has been no exception.
It has been a term of term of laughter. The ducks in the school photograph, the musical frogs in the Lake, the piggy class at
It has been a term of anniversaries, starting with a Street Party
the Heathfield Show, silly songs at the Leavers’ Lunch and just
around the Cedar Tree to celebrate the Queen’s 90th
the funny things that children say!
Birthday. This was followed by a brilliant art exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland and a Junior production of Macbeth, marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. In the first week of July we came together in a Drumhead Service to remember the Battle of the Somme, in which so many fine young men lost their lives, including seven Old Ronians.
It has been a term of farewells. After 11 years, Mr Simon Davies, retiring from the headmastership of Eastbourne College, has also stepped down from the Governing Body. Kathryn Bender, after nine years, steps down as Head of the Nursery & Pre-Prep and Rachel Fagg, after 10 years, steps down from Year 3. All have served the school spectacularly well, and I am delighted that both Kathryn and Rachel will
It has been a term of honest endeavour in the classroom and
continue to be involved with the school, albeit in new part time
achievement in the Exam Hall. All our leavers secured places
roles.
to their chosen senior school, with a total of 23 awards being won and some stellar CE grades. Albert Perry (our longserving signwriter) will be busy again this summer updating the honours board!
It has been a term of looking forward. Building works have started on the new Drama Studio and on three oak-framed woodland classrooms. Once built (by Christmas) we can complete the restoration of the Long Drawing Room and
It has been a term of sporting successes. Despite a wash-out
create (by Easter) a new Library in the Prep School. We will
on Sports Day itself, the weather has been kind to the cricket,
welcome in September new children, new parents and new
rounders, athletics and tennis teams and their very full and
members of staff. Kara Lee joins from Dulwich College Prep
exciting seasons have already been reported online in the
School in London to take over from Rachel Fagg in Year 3 and
weekly Sports Newsletter. Swimming, gymnastics, judo and
James Kanzig joins from Cumnor House to teach PE and
fencing are weather-proof and we had children competing and
Maths.
winning at regional and national levels. It has been a term filled with music, with concerts galore, allround ABRSM success and a stunningly good Founder’s Day performance. It has been a term of discovery. There were 22 trips out, a brilliant Cross-Curricular Week on ‘Inventions’ and some fascinating speakers.
Emma and I wish you a wonderful summer.
In this issue...
Above: the Grand Prix Below: two magnificent bronze hippos, a gift from this year’s Leavers
The Scottish Play
4
Commemorating the Somme
4
Beatrix Potter inspires the Pre-Prep
5
The term in... Pembroke
5
Upper trip to Dinan
6
Introducing Music Tech
6
Leavers’ Programme
7
Paradise Farm
8
Class 3 investigate their locality
8
Sponsored walk
9
Cross Curricular Week
9
Upper, Shell & Class 3 trips
10
Forest School
11
Class 4 visit Hogwarts
11
Classics trip to Naples
12
Founders Day Concert & Sizzling Strings
13
Summer Works
14
The Queen’s birthday celebrations
15
Goodbye and good luck to our leavers
16
Rebuilding the Chapel
17
Old Ronian News
18-19
Summer Term Prizes
20-21
Welcome to new staff
21
Athletics & Sports Day Photos
22
Rounders Report
23
Cricket Report
24
Coming up... Next Term Term begins
8th Sept
FOR meeting
13th Sept
Autumn Fayre
24th Sept
Class 4 Form Tutors meeting
27th Sept
Class 3 Form Tutors meeting
29th Sept
Grandparents’ Tea
19th Oct
Half term begins
21st Oct
Half term ends
7th Nov
Upper trip to Brittany Information Evening
8th Nov
FOR meeting
8th Nov
Bonfire Night
11th Nov
Christmas Market
3rd Dec
N&PP Nativities
8th Dec
The Feast
8th Dec
Term ends & Carol Service
9th Dec
See the new Blue Book for a full programme.
The Scottish Play performed in highland gales Despite the scudding clouds and the wind whipping the trees,
This may have been an abridged Macbeth, but the flavour and
our brave armies met in battle for the performance of Macbeth
words of Shakespeare came across with clarity and pride.
on Founder’s Day. As the rain lashed down, our fierce band of
Well done to everyone involved and we are looking forward to
witches continued, hurling their dark spells at the clouds.
a repeat performance to the whole school in the final week of
Finally we had to admit defeat and retreated to cover, picking
the Summer term.
up the play where we had stopped, after the Musical Concert. As director of this frolicking group of thespians, I was
A very fitting tribute to the great bard himself, during the year we celebrate his birth. Three cheers for Mr Shakespeare!
immensely proud of the way every member of the cast stayed in role and volunteered to step in.
Mrs Gibson Shanahan
Commemorating the Battle of the Somme, 100 years on On the last Monday of term we welcomed serving and exserving military parents to Saint Ronan’s, who joined us, along with Neame Troop from the Royal School of Military Engineers, to help us commemorate the Battle of the Somme. Neame Troop, named after one of its most notable members, Sir Phillip Neame VC, a relation of Jonathan Neame (Old Ronian and Chief Executive of Shepherd Neame Brewery). The children took part in a number of activities pertaining to military life (now and in 1916), watched a presentation on the Somme, putting it into it’s historical context and finally concluded the afternoon with a traditional Drumhead Service. Our thanks go to Captain Iori Price (visiting Chaplain and
who instigated and helped facilitate the event. It was a truly
Chaplain to the RSME) and to Commander Howard Tweedie,
moving, reflective and educational afternoon.
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Beatrix Potter inspires the Pre-Prep
The term in... PEMBROKE
Beatrix Potter took over the Pre-Prep Cross Curricular
In a series of four articles, each house will take turns to
week this term. We were celebrating what would have
showcase what they’ve been up to this term.
been her 150th birthday and learned that Peter Rabbit has been enjoyed by children for 114 years!
For Pembroke the final term of 2016 was an amazing end to the year. We praised our Year 8s as they won scholarships
The school grounds provided plenty of opportunity for
and passed CE. We said goodbye to them in a ceremonial
sketching from nature and some classes also had a go
House Assembly and listened to them speak about their
at watercolour painting. The children learned a lot
experiences at Saint Ronan’s. We will miss them, as we will
about her delightful characters and used some of them
miss Bea, Miles and Tom. We wish them the very best at their
to write their own further adventures. Obviously Peter
new schools.
Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs Tiggywinkle featured heavily in the work of certain classes but everyone enjoyed many of Miss Potter’s tales.
We celebrated an overall win at Sports Day this year. This was a cliff-hanger, owing to the postponement of the original date which had brought thunder and lightning. To increase the excitement, judges Mr Clarke and Mr Vassar-Smith kept the results a secret until Prize Giving on Friday, which increased the anticipation. Pembroke also took the Rounders U13 and U11 League prizes. Aisling had to get up on several occasions to collect cups for her house; a task that will now be carried out by a proud Maddie McDonald.
Miss Potter did appear in some of the classrooms and the children to asked her questions about her life and writing. She told them how she loved animals and that as a child she kept all sorts of wild animals as pets. (Don’t worry though; the children were reminded that
The last day of term brought the Grand Prix. A nail-biting finale, with Tongswood and Pembroke both claiming first prize. As there can only be one winner, Mr Fox dutifully called in the Year 8s in for a re-match. It was a good race but the mighty Tongswood rightly won in the end.
taking animals from the wild is not necessarily a good thing.)
During the year Pembroke has seen a lot of change in the world. We watched the Solar Plane during its flight around the
However when Beatrix came to Chapel on Friday to read us one of
world; Tim Peake landing after six months in space; the EU Referendum; the discovery of a new planet and how a team keeps the International Space Station afloat.
her lovely stories she was hijacked by the
A magnificent term, with many Shows awarded for
Reception Pirates and
determination and hard work.
made to read a pirate
Pembroke wishes you a wonderful summer break.
story instead! TS We think Beatrix Potter would have loved our week and be very happy with the work she inspired.
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Jazz Day In April members of the Jazz and Brass Bands travelled to Eastbourne College for the annual Jazz Day. With musicians from six other schools in attendance, the sound made by the massed bands was very impressive. The day was spent in a mixture of full and sectional rehearsals, together with some exciting outdoor activities, culminating in a concert in which the prep school musicians were joined by players from the College.
Upper trip to Dinan After a long coach drive we finally arrived! We were greeted by Lydie and were shown to our
Musical Breakfasts
rooms. We woke up next day to a lovely breakfast. While group one was busy making bread Group 2 went sailing. We were given life jackets and then headed out to our catamarans. It was quite scary at first but we soon got the hang of it. After lunch the groups swapped activities.
This term saw eight members of the peripatetic staff present
Next day we headed to “La Grimpe D’arbres”. The black activity was the hardest, which only the
Musical Breakfasts to the
bravest went on - I didn’t! In total we climbed for 6 hours! We came home exhausted. On
parents. As ever, a variety of
Wednesday we went to the French market town of Dinan and had to buy a picnic. We each had
approaches were seen, each
6 euros. We bought meats, nibbles, fruits and if you were in a group with me, pizza! We ate our
of which focused on different
picnic and then travelled to St Malo.
aspects of learning and performing. Janice GossTurner’s pupils presented a formal recital of vocal works
The next day we walked across the bay to Mont St Michel. We travelled over sinking sand and our guide showed us how to survive if you got stuck! We went to the very top tower and looked at the historic sites. We then bought souvenirs, ice creams and crêpes. We came home, changed into our costumes and had a wonderful evening. We all had so much fun!
from Grades 1 to 5, all immaculately presented from
Sophie Addis
memory; Felix Buser’s cellists undertook a workshop on ensemble-playing,
Introducing Music Tech
culminating in a performance
Pupils in Remove have been trying out the
of a movement from a
new Cubase software in the music
Telemann concerto for four
department this term. They began by
cellos; whilst Steve
learning the basics of sequencing –
Hollamby’s session focused
recording different instrumental tracks to
on technique and how
create a composition – and will go on to
parents can support the
study editing, mixing and eventually creating
learning of their children. Well
music for film clips. ICT is an important part
to GCSE and beyond, so we are pleased
done to all for a varied,
of senior school music curriculums and is an
to be able to give our pupils a headstart in
entertaining and high-quality
essential skill for those wishing to take music this area.
series of sessions.
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Following a day of professional instruction, eleven intrepid young farmers swept the board in the 'Young Handlers' Class' at a rain-soaked Heathfield Show. All who took part showed great enthusiasm and dedication, and even managed to surpass last year’s results! Huge thanks go to Debbie Dallaway for her professional guidance in this class. We are becoming quite well known within the pig rearing community!
Class Three investigate their locality On Tuesday 28th June, Class Three went on a school trip to Hawkhurst. First we raced to the minibus and got in, then drove to Budgens. After that we stumbled out of the minibus and stood by the wall. We started to walk to The Moor. We had a land use map and we had to label it with things like ‘R’ which stood for Residential and ‘C’ which stood for Commercial. Then we ran to the playground and played for about twenty minutes. After that we walked to St Laurence’s Church where we did a
Then we went up lots more stairs. There were seventy two
quiz inside. The quiz questions were things like: ‘When was
altogether. We climbed to the top of the church, it was very
the church bombed?’ (August 1944)
scary. When we were on the roof we learnt about lightning
Next we slowly and carefully climbed up the dusty stairs and went to the bell-ringing room. There were eight bells. We
conductors and we could see people in their gardens and 3EGJ in the churchyard.
found out that the pub was called The Eight Bells because of
After that we went back downstairs to have the final quiz
the church bells. When there were six bells, it was called The
outside and then we went back to school on the minibus.
Six Bells. Alex Peck and Beatrice Billett 3RF
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Sponsored Walk around Bewl Water Mud, mud, glorious mud! Saint Ronan’s has always been a
their minds. It ‘s not often that we push ourselves beyond our
place where ‘mud is unremarkable’ and when it came to this
comfort zones and the children should be really proud of
year’s Sponsored Walk around Bewl, there was plenty of it!
themselves. We look forward to counting the sponsorship
The children did a brilliant and determined job of completing
money to see how much was raised. The money will be
their challenges (Yrs3/4 – 7 miles; Yrs 5/6 - 12.5 miles), with
divided between four charities: Whizz-Kidz, the Royal British
the four charities they’d chosen to support firmly at the front of
Legion, the Royal Marsden Hospital and Just4Children.
How inventive! Cross-Curricular Week 2016 The penultimate week of term was the setting for crosscurricular week for Years three to six. Our theme this year was ‘Inventions’. There were lessons on Morse Code, the AngloSaxon alphabet (the ‘futhorc’), the use of semaphore flags, as well as the invention of the telephone. The older children learnt about the importance of bridges and viaducts in the Roman Empire and worked in teams for a bridge-building project. They also participated in an engineering challenge to transport a Kinder Egg from one location to another using a variety of materials. We had a fascinating lecture from an Olympic athlete. In addition, we welcomed the splendidly-attired ‘Mr Phoebus’ who, along with his colleagues, introduced us to the innovations in cycling during Victorian times. The children – and teachers – enjoyed trying to ride the various Penny Farthings that were available. Later in the week, all the children learnt about the importance of cooking in the evolution of our species. In groups they then ‘invented’ a new take on the classic British trifle. The Great Space has never seen the like of it! There were lots of smiles to go with the learning … which sums up the week nicely!
9
Upper visit Canterbury and Dover
Shell visit a farm with a difference
As we entered the cathedral everything seemed to calm down
Shell arrived, after one or two peregrinations, at the solar farm
– no more traffic, no noise. You get that odd feeling you have
near Ashford initially developed by Haymaker energy.
no worries and someone has lifted a burden off your back. High up, bright stained glass windows tell Bible stories. Down in the crypt, the whole mood changed; all of a sudden it was dark and you felt sad, almost depressed. We walked along the
Covering around 5 acres, with nearly 27,000 panels, the plant can produce around 6.8 megawatts of power but can not be seen from any road (which led to the peregrinations!!).
pilgrims’ stone tunnel to the Becket memorial where two
The tour first looked at the panels themselves and the farmer,
swords cast shadows, representing the knights who killed him.
Mr. Howard, pointed out that this was the only 'crop' on the
When we reached Dover Castle, we walked over the high
farm which was going to make money this year.
drawbridge and into the massive keep of Henry II. The
We then moved on to look at the infrastructure that connects
basement has the kitchens. Spiral stairs lead to the very
the farm to the grid. With the sun out, the inverts were making
colourful Great Hall on the first floor. Thirty people could sit for
quite a noise, which one of the staff remarked would be a pain
a meal and there was the Lord’s sleeping chamber. On the
in the middle of the night. One of the pupils gently pointed out
next floor is the King’s quarters, with a Hall, Chamber and a
that, at night, the sun might not cause such a problem!
scriptorium where monks could write the king’s orders. At the top of the castle we could see the massive view from the battlements. What a great viewpoint for a defensive castle! Emily Cooper, Giles Penny, Amelie Bottle and Martha Lewis
Class Three take a trip to the West End One Wednesday morning we all got on the coach to go the
and the stage lights went on. Children were popping up all
theatre in London. We all chatted about how excited we were.
over the place on the stage saying how amazing their parents
On the way we watched Nanny McPhee on the mini TV’s! We
thought they were. There was a mean and horrible Miss
stopped at Blackheath for lunch and we had sandwiches,
Trunchbull, lazers that were really loud and bright and some of
crisps and fruit. Then we set off again and went past some
us got a little nervous! Matilda was very clever and Miss
amazing landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye. When
Honey was very nice. A favourite part was when Miss
we got there we had to walk the last bit to get to the theatre on
Trunchbull threw Amanda Thripp around and around until she
time. When we got in we all went to the toilet and then we sat
hit the ceiling! The play was brilliant. On the way back we
in our seats. The scenery was amazing and there were letters
were all tired but very happy.
all over the stage that spelt Matilda. Suddenly the curtain went up and we felt sick with excitement, then the lights went out
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Ruby M, Suriya R, Edward M, Honor L and Alfie G, 3EGJ
Forest School When asked about the benefits of Forest School I reply that
and dancing girls. Lesley-Anne had taught the Badgers to
it’s about taking what you’ve learned inside the classroom and
‘improvise’ when playing the xylophones in the Founder’s Day
making good use of it outside. I’d been invited by the Year 2
concert. The children transferred this knowledge to playing
children to spend the afternoon in Tongswood, as it was our
logs of different sizes and the sound was more beautiful than
last Forest School session. Whilst the Otters and I went on a
you can imagine. At that moment I knew that persuading Mr
walk collecting pieces for my ‘memory stick’, the Badgers were
TV about my good idea of letting the children get muddy, light
pulling logs of different sizes to the fire circle. We returned
fires, use tools and spend curriculum time ‘learning in the
from our walk and I was honoured to be crowned ‘Queen of
woods’ was the best decision I ever made for the children.
the Forest’ with a crown made of sticky weed. We celebrated
Floreat Saint Ronan’s!
with a beaker of elderflower champagne and then the entertainment began, provided by the ‘Wood Worms’ band
Kathryn Bender
Class Four visit Hogwarts On Tuesday 3rd May the whole of Class 4 went to Harry
Following our lunch we went to the shop. I bought a book
Potter World. The journey lasted so long. It took two hours!
called ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. So far I think it is really good and interesting. I’ve only got up to chapter two
When we got there we got off the coach for our snack (a Kit
but I love the book.
Kat). Then we went inside to get our tickets (a long queue). After that we went in and watched a terrifying film. Lettice was
A few minutes later we all got back on the bus. This time I sat
clinging onto my shoulder. A short while later we went through
next to Lottie. We finally got back to school where all our
to the dormitory and the station, Dumbledore’s office and the
parents were waiting. After all that I went home.
Potion Room. Then we all went on the train. Not long after that we went to have lunch in the outside café. It was delicious!
Florence Stephenson
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Classics trip erupts in Naples When the news finally came that the Classics trip 2016 was going ahead everyone rushed to get a place. Then a long wait until, on the 31st of March, excited students assembled at Saint Ronan’s for what was to be an epic journey. After an excited and rather restless night we were woken up at around 2am, bundled on a coach and whisked off to Gatwick. By the time our flight left we were ready for whatever Naples had in store. Upon arrival the first thing that hit us was the heat and even though it was boiling for us, the Italians were wrapped up in jumpers and coats. We travelled out of Naples, admiring our first views of Mount Vesuvius and the bay, to our hotel in Sorrento. On our first day we were woken and given a traditional Italian breakfast. We started off our trip with a guided tour of Mount Vesuvius, learning a lot about its history and taking some great photos. Next stop was Pompeii, the most well-known place buried by Vesuvius. It was extraordinary to see houses and plaster casts of people buried under ash in the eruption of 79AD. We had supper and collapsed into bed, exhausted by the day’s excitement. On our second day in the sun we visited Herculaneum, the smaller but just as impressive town covered by the eruption, and the Naples Museum where many wonderful mosaics, frescos and statues are displayed. Our third day in paradise was, for most, their favourite as we visited beautiful Capri, an island in the middle of the bay. We had an amazing boat tour around the island and then lunch at a great restaurant. One couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing day. Our last day was spent at the very smelly Solfatara volcano and then at the Pozzuoli arena, where we saw beautiful carvings. Finally it was time to leave sunny Naples and return to drizzly Kent. What a trip! Orlando Copplestone
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Founder’s Day Concert The Founder’s Day Concert featured four works from the
As a contrast, Ruairi Pringle and Orlando Copplestone
Orchestra, beginning with a Sarabande and March by Handel
presented two very highly polished chamber arrangements of
that provided ample opportunity to demonstrate carefully-
the Beatles’ classic “Yesterday” and “Somewhere Over the
judged melodic phrasing and contrasts of orchestral colour. An
Rainbow” that moved several members of the audience to
arrangement of a Renaissance “Sword Dance” provided the
tears.
percussion section with the opportunity to work through a veritable batterie of instruments, before everyonew let their hair down in “Jazzy Little Brown Jug” with some sassy swung rhythms and funky finger clicking.
The finale was provided by the Chamber Choir, together with a quintet of trumpets and piano duet, with the stirring “O Aula Nobilis” by William Mathias. As an encore, the choir ripped off their jackets and treated us to a choreographed rendition of
The Jazz Band got the audience’s feet tapping with their
Pharrel Williams’ hit “Happy”. The audience, confirming that
performance of “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?”, and there
they too knew what happiness meant, clapped along in fine
were some confident improvised solos in the “Five Note Fizz”.
style.
Strings Sizzle in the Great Space The annual Sizzling Strings concert set the Great Space alight on Friday with some red-hot performances from four of our ensembles. The Junior Strings with Ingrid Sellschop got us off to a superb start by evoking the spirit of a traditional Scottish knees-up with their lively rendition of “Mairie’s Wedding”; the Intermediate Strings, directed by Jane Dawson, then treated us to a movement from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, together with a piece written by our very own composer-in-residence Glynis Dickinson: entitled “This is Why”, it demonstrated the rationale behind all the scale practice that string teachers are so keen on. Ed Bingham and his magnificent guitar ensemble presented two highly-polished performances, both with songbird Louisa H on vocals: Guns N’Roses’ “Sweet Child
very effective version of “Hallelujah”. The grand finale,
O’Mine” was followed by Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” with the
featuring all the ensembles, raised the temperature from
Senior Strings providing a lively backing. Ruari P treated us to
sizzling to positively smoking with a stunning arrangement of
a beautiful version of “The Londonderry Air” on the cello
the Klezmer classic “Kolomeike”, written specially for us by
before the Senior Strings took to the stage with “Fiesta” and a
Sophie Williamson.
13
While you were away... Summer works programme
Clockwise from top left: groundworks for new woodland classrooms; ducting for fibre optics; coverting Bumblebee to a drama studio; repairing & rehanging the painted ceiling.
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Celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday This year, the first day of term coincided with Her Majesty the Queen’s ninetieth birthday. The Pre-Prep and Nursery held a garden party in Hyde Park complete with paper crowns, Union flags and music from the brass band.Needless to say, the children were very excited by the occasion! Later in the day the Prep School gathered around the Cedar Tree for a street party of their own. Tables had been resplendently decorated with tablecloths, flags and Union Jack paper plates and the children enjoyed a tea of sandwiches and cakes before ‘The Queen’ made an appearance on one of the main building’s balconies. There was a cacophony of excitement as the children worked out that it was in fact Sophie Addis, dressed in a superb outfit and with a convincing face mask, doing a wonderful job of standing in for Her Majesty! Everyone stood to sing the National Anthem, accompanied once again by the Brass Band. As the parents arrived for pick-up, they were serverd a glass of prosecco and raised a toast to Elizabeth II.
15
Good luck to our leavers at your senior schools! O.W. Bartleet
Sutton Valence
T.R. Henderson Hills
Collège Jeanne d’Arc
I.M. Black
Mayfield*
M.L. Hopper
Battle Abbey*
I. Bolton Ferrett
Cranbrook*
J.H. Jordan
Cranbrook
E.F. Brady
Cranbrook*
D. Loxton Barnard
Sutton Valence*
J.M. Braxton
Benenden
R.H. Macdonald
Uppingham
A.H. Butt
King’s, Canterbury
E.T. Marsh
Highworth Grammar
A.E. Clapp
Benenden
T.J. Marsh
Sutton Valence
A.R. Clarke
Bethany
B.B. Martin
Uplands
M.G. Clarke
Benenden*
J.A. Mason
Cranbrook
O.G. Copplestone
King’s, Canterbury*
D.J. McCollum
Cranbrook
A.J. Cotter
Bede’s*
F.J. McConachie
Eton College*
J.A. Crawley
King’s, Canterbury*
A.W. Moore
Cranbrook
J.D. Crombie
Sutton Valence*
C.A.E. Neill
Tonbridge Girls’ Grammar
C.H. Cubitt
Cranbrook*
F.J.A. Neill
Bennett Memorial
F.G. Cutler
Cranbrook
M.T. Peacock
Judd
J.P. Dale
Sutton Valence*
A.O. Plugge
Sutton Valence
O.F.M. de Winton
Cranbrook
R.G. Pringle
Harrow*
F.G. Dear
Cranbrook
O. Skeet
Battle Abbey*
L.S. Doane
Cranbrook*
C.H. Stewart
Cranbrook
A.G. Durtnell
Sedbergh
G.M. Tyrie
Cranbrook
R.R. Faulkner
Mayfield
H.E. Van Buer
Lancing College
J.D. Funnell
Claremont
E.A. Watson
Cranbrook
C.L. Godden
Cranbrook
S.I. Wood
Mayfield
D.J. Gorman
Cranbrook
W.T.C. Woodhouse
King’s, Canterbury
B.G. Hall
Lancing College*
O.D. Hancock
King’s, Canterbuy
E.W.H. Hastilow
King’s Canterbury
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* denotes Scholarship won
Rebuilding the Chapel: celebrating sixty years at Tongswood
The Chapel is described in Richard Dumbreck’s brief history of the school written, for the centenary in 1983, as ‘the most important thing that ever happened at Saint Ronan’s’. Whilst many things could nearly rival that statement today, the little Chapel remains the unchanging centre of the school and a fundamental part of the school’s history. This year the Chapel celebrates its 60th anniversary on the Tongswood site. The original Chapel was constructed in 1904 in West Worthing under the first headmaster, the Reverend Philip Crick. When the school evacuated to Bicton in 1940 the Chapel was boarded and locked up. The school finally moved to Tongswood in January 1946 and services were held in the Great Space and then an army hut. The little Chapel from Worthing was sorely missed and WBH was determined to bring it to Hawkhurst. In 1956, after some preliminary skirmishes with the local planning authorities, who had never received such an application before, the school received permission for the brick-by-brick transference of the Chapel from West Worthing to Hawkhurst. The plans were drawn up by Humphrey Whinney and the work carried out by Davis of Hawkhurst. The foundation stone was laid by WB Harris in 1956, as pictured, and great was the rejoicing in 1957 when the Chapel was finally rebuilt and reopened its doors for worship.
the Worthing original, and contains many more decorations than it did in its time at Worthing thanks to the generous donations and gifts bestowed on the Chapel since it took up permanent residence here at Tongswood. It is a much-loved building and perhaps the closest connection to the school’s
The Chapel now at Tongswood is a little wider and longer than
early years in Worthing.
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OR N E W S
Lizzie TV with Sir Matthew Pinsent 2012 Fred Allinson rowed for King’s in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley. He went on to win gold in the coxless J18 pairs at the National Championships in July. Robbie Boswall rowed his second Henley, this time captaining the Winchester VIII.
Burrough boys at Saint Ronan’s in the 80s (twin Toby and younger brother Magnus, also known as Ma, Mi and Min). He qualified as a doctor in London and later emigrated to West and now South Australia. When he last visited the school he saw his name up as Captain of Football in 1983.
Nick Curtis and Harry Dakin have both been appointed Head of their Houses at King’s, Canterbury (Galpins and School House respectively).
Rupert Newcomb runs the Jackson-Stops and Staff Cranbrook branch and really enjoys meeting parents who sent (or send) their children to Saint Ronan’s and discussing how much it has changed since he left in 1984. He works closely with Katie Wyatt in sponsoring the Saint Ronan’s Christmas Market every year.
2009 Lizzie TV was selected to row in the senior women's squad at Edinburgh and has represented the University at BUCS, France; the Scottish trials; the Women's Head of the River race; Henley Regatta and was part of the second VIII who won the Scottish boat race in Glasgow and ended up on the front page of BBC news! Next year she is going on a year abroad to Seattle at the University of Washington, arguably one of the finest rowing unis in the USA! She came back to Saint Ronan’s at the end of term to help with the Leavers’ Programme. The photo above shows her with Olympian rower Sir Matthew Pinsent. 1984 Tim Burrough is a Senior Consultant and Director in the Emergency Department of a busy hospital in Adelaide, Australia. He is also the proud father of Miles (12) and Lydia (9). He was one of three
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1981 Andrew Smith lives in Sydney in Australia but was ‘home’ recently and had a tour of the School with the Headmaster. His children, who are at school in Sydney, couldn’t believe the contrast between a city school with no grass and the grounds at Saint Ronan’s! Andrew was impressed that the welcoming
family atmosphere still exists, even though the school is so much bigger. Revisiting Saint Ronan’s was the highlight of his trip to England and brought back so many childhood memories. 1974 Frank Gardner recently completed an arduous two week filming trip through the jungles and swamps of Papua New Guinea – in a wheelchair – to be aired on BBC2 in the Autumn. Peter Dunham lives in Los Angeles. He has an interior design practice, a textile collection and a shop, Hollywood at Home, selling home furnishings and textiles. He would love to meet up with any other ORs if/when they are in LA. 1966 Rupert Kindersley lives in Toronto with his wife Sarah and spends a lot of time in the spring, summer and autumn at the family islands in Georgian Bay (which is about 2/3 of the size of Wales, part of Lake Huron and contains 35,000 islands).
Photo by Frank Gardner in
Rupert Kindersley with
Papua New Guinea
daughter, Rebecca
Their daughter Rebecca is married to Lauri Larjo and the picture shows Rupert walking her down the aisle at her wedding just outside Helsinki. His son Fred is an artist and does wonderful watercolours. Sarah is a licensed esthetician and Rupert himself is a director of a Telecom company using breakthrough technology to deliver fibre-quality rural broadband. They have two beautiful Australian Shepherds, Cookie & Teddy. 1965 Richard Slocock attended a ceremony at Twickenham with his wife Sally and two daughters on 29th April. This was for the unveiling of the new memorial gates to commemorate the rugby internationals (27) who were killed in the first war. His grandfather LAN Slocock won 8 caps in 1907-8 and was captain of the ’08 match against Scotland. The family are thrilled he is to be remembered in this way – Richard’s father was only two when LAN was killed at the battle of the Somme. Probably more as a result of his grandfather’s prowess than his own, Richard was due to play in the 1sts XV in his 3rd year at SRS (1963) but thinks they were ‘snowed off’ for the entire term. LAN was only 29…..a terribly sad story, like countless others. As you can imagine, Sir Rich was most interested to hear about LAN (Lancelot Andrew Noel – he was known as Noel). Richard remembers the kindness of Sir Rich and Lady Vas.
RICHARD WALLACE PORTAL
Richard Wallace Portal attended Saint Ronan’s School as a boarder from age 8 in 1930 and later went to Bryanston 1963 Eric Morrow was recently in London on business for his hotel in Jamaica, the Jamaica Inn. He decided to bring his daughter to see his old school but sadly it was a Bank Holiday and there was no one here. However he enjoyed his brief trip down memory lane and thought that the grounds looked beautiful. 1958 Stephen Beharrell joined Elborne Mitchell LLP as Senior Counsel. Herry Lawford’s letter above was written when John Windle was his 2nd Head of Dorm. The animosity between them has long gone and they have seen each other recently. Herry remembers that letters home were written every week without fail in the Great Space, after lunch on Sundays. His letter is so replete with punctuation, spelling and grammar mistakes that he says it’s a tribute to the masters (particularly Jevvy and ‘Monsieur’ Crofton) that he managed to get to Winchester five years later. Herry is now retired from the City and recently opened his garden to the public for the National Gardens Scheme. John Windle has happy memories of Saint Ronan’s - the education was excellent and he still retains some Latin, French and German thanks to his teachers, Messrs. Jevons and Lawson. He remembers Rounders with Harry showing him how to catch a very high lob, Julie Vassar-Smith teaching him how to trap a football and Lady Dawn
instilling his lifelong love of reading by reading to the boys at night. Sir Richard spurred him on to try every sport known to man. John is an antiquarian bookseller living in San Fransisco and is one of the world’s experts on William Blake. He fears he was a beast to Herry Lawford but Herry has long since forgiven him! He sends his best to his friends from those days and to all at Saint Ronan’s today.
School in Dorset, leaving there to serve in the Royal Navy in the last year of World War II. After serving in Trieste and becoming fluent in Italian, he took up his scholarship at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. Despite initially reading Modern Languages, he graduated with a degree in Law. He then worked in a London law firm, only to realise, after socialising with medical friends, that life would be much more interesting in a different vocation. However as he had no science background, he diligently
1950 Sir Richard Gaskell’s son Simon wrote to say that his father had passed away in July 2015. 1946 Henry Stapleton, formerly Dean of Carlisle, has written a short introduction to the Chapel which will be available online in the Autumn. In particular he shares his research into the stained glass windows. 1941 Peter Dickinson sadly passed away just before Christmas. He was an award-winning author and his novel ‘Hindsight’ was inspired by his evacuation to Devon whilst a pupil at Saint Ronan’s.
completed the necessary courses and achieved his first MB, finally graduating from Middlesex in 1956. He completed his MD in 1965 and took up a consultancy in Hull, as one of only two newly-appointed cardiologists in the region. He was instrumental in transforming cardiac care in Hull. He embraced new investigative techniques, starting with left and right heart catheterization and progressing to coronary angiography and later coronary intervention, whilst introducing echocardiography. He and his colleague set up a Cardiac Monitoring Unit at Kingston General Hospital and then subsequently at Hull Royal Infirmary, the forerunner of the modern coronary care unit. He published around 40 articles and was President of the Hull Medical Society in 1977. He retired in 1990, allowing him to spend more time in his beloved garden, walk with
Please send us your news and updates! Contact the School Secretary, Clare O’Connell, on alumni@saintronans.co.uk
his beloved dogs and sail with his wife, also beloved! He leaves his wife, Pamela; children Robert, Janet and James; and grandchildren Rebecca, Daniel, Madeleine, Jacob and Leonie.
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Summer Term Prizes Senior Prefects
Attainment
Junior
Intermediate
Senior
Head Prefect
S. Addis
Art
A. Williams
A. Codd
F. Cutler
Second Prefects
T. Tweedie, W. Wyatt
Classics
n/a
J. Woodhouse
W. Woodhouse
DT
C. Parker
M. Peacock
C. Godden
English
I. Lord
G. Coulson
F. McConachie
French
R. Woodhouse L. Stewart
C. Stewart
Geography
G. Tweedie
M. Peacock
R. Macdonald
History
C. Lee
E. Moore
A. Moore
Maths
A. Hay
C. Milborne
F. Cutler
Music
J. Tyler
M. Peacock
R. Pringle
Heads of Houses Bicton
F. Connell
Pembroke
M. Spence
Selden
J.P. Shaw
Tongswood
A. Bottle
School Appointments Captain of Rugby
F. Balcomb-Hellier
RE
A. Van den Berghe H. Taggart
O. Skeet
Vice-Captain of Rugby
S. Holden-Craufurd
Science
O. Edwards
J. Whiteley
M. Clarke
Captain of Football
A. Rutter
Captain of Netball
M. McDonald
Contribution
Junior
Intermediate
Senior
Captain of Girls’ Hockey
R. Honychurch
Art
C. Parker
J. Woodhouse
O. de Winton
Leader of the Orchestra
E. Cooper
Classics
n/a
F. Neill
H. van Buer
Senior Librarian
R. Redmayne, E. Shimmin
DT
D. McEvoy-Gould B. Brushfield
D. McCollum
Senior Chapel Chorister
F. Connell
English
A. Matthews
L. Stewart
A. Clapp
Technical Prefect
F. Lewis
French
S. Williams
A. Ramyead
B. Hall
Geography
J. Simpson
H. Gutteridge
L. Doane
Headmaster’s Special Prizes
History
A. Bryan
C. Milborne
L. Doane
A. Butt, J. Groom, B. Martin, A. Macdonald, T. Dean, T. Triggs
ICT
T. Parsley
O. Parker
R. Macdonald
Maths
M. Featherstone H. Morrell
I. Bolton-Ferrett
Music
M. Eriksson
A. Davis
O. Copplestone
RE
J. Moss
E. Marsh
D. Gorman
Science
C. Robertson
I. Baker
I. Black
Most Shows Remove
E. Hastilow
Upper
E. Wooff
Midway
O. Parker
Shell
D. Cooper
Music & Perfoming Arts Prizes
Class 4
R. Woodhouse
Sight Reading
R. Woodhouse
Class 3
K. Furnival
Ross Cup for Performing Arts
A. Cotter
Drama Cup
J. Tyler
Most Improved Junior Instrumentalist
B. Peacock, S. Peacock
Most Improved Senior Instrumentalist
A. Cotter
Most Improved Wind Player
O. de Winton
Singing
L. Doane
Jonathan Rutland Cup
J. Dale
Arran’s Cup
A. Moore
Chapel Reading Prize
M. Hopper
Exams
Best Average
Most Improved
Remove
F. McConachie
E. Hastilow
Upper
T. Tweedie
T. Henderson Hills
Midway
G. Coulson
G. Bartleet
Shell
A. Geens
M. Hsuan
Class 4
J. Tyler
A. Williams
School Prizes Taggart Cup
R. Macdonald
Langer Cup
J. Funnell
Scales Cup
E. Watson
Shaw Cup
R. Faulkner
Graham Langridge Prize
O. de Winton
Hastilow Cup
A. Clapp
Challenge Cup
A. Moore
Harris Cup
B. Hall
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Cricket Prizes Bowling Prize
C. Stewart
Fielding Prize
F. Kirkland
Batting Prize
J. Crombie
U13 Player of the Season 1st XI
A. Moore
U13 Player of the Season 2nd XI
J. Crawley
U13 Most Improved
G. Penny
U11 Player of the Season
H. Taggart
U11 Most Improved
L. Franklin
Summer Term Prizes
Welcome to new staff
Rounders Prizes Batting Prize
M. Clarke
Fielding Prize
O. Hancock
U13 Player of the Season
M. Clarke
U13 Most Improved
I. Black
U11 Player of the Season
G. Easton
U11 Most Improved
S. Ford
Sports & Extras Prizes Rachel Bennett Athletics Cup
J. Crawley
Overall Contribution - boys
E. Hastilow
Fortitude & Perserverance - boys
A. Plugge
Kara Lee will succeed Rachel Fagg in Year 3 in September.
Overall Contribution - girls
A. Durtnell
Rachel steps down after ten remarkable years’ service but will
Mountain Biking - best / improved
E. Hastilow
continue to coach the Cross-Country and Athletics teams.
Hutton Sword for Fencing
L. Doane, B. Lambert
Kara is an experienced teacher and joins us from Dulwich
Jordan Chicken for the Farm
G. Andrew
Prep in London. She was a pupil at King’s, Canterbury and
Potu Cup for Judo
A. Braxton
graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama before qualifying as a teacher. Like Rachel, she is a very keen
House and Form Prizes
long-distance runner.
Senior Form
Upper BC
Junior Form
3 TT
James Kanzig is an accomplished all-round sportsman who
House Cup
Pembroke
will be joining the PE Department in September. James grew
Bicton Prize
O. de Winton
up in Kenya, studied at the University of Auckland, qualified to
Pembroke Prize
J. Fuller
teach in the UK and is currently at Cumnor House (London),
Selden Prize
S. Ford
where he teaches both Maths and PE.
Tongswood Prize
I. Bolton-Ferrett
Form Tutors’ Prizes
Friday Gatherings
Remove EG
O. Bartleet
Remove KK
O. Copplestone
Remove PG
D. McCollum
This term we had three Friday night speakers. The first was
Upper DB
E. Hills
Christopher Battiscombe (OR) who gave us a fascinating
Upper BC
G. Penny
insight into life as an Ambassador in the Arab world. What with
Upper JG
F. Kirkland
meeting Prime Ministers, attending State funerals and being
Midway SC
G. Easton
protected by the SAS, he had clearly had a colourful and
Midway LL
L. Stewart
impressive career. Several children asked afterwards, ‘How do
Midway IP
K. Lazirides
you get to be an Ambassador?’ He was followed by Tim Fagg,
Shell RVS
E. Beart
a former Saint Ronan’s teacher and now a Family Court
Shell LS
T. Hills
Judge, who came to talk about the Law. He ran a simulated
Shell NH
A. McPhee
trial of Mr Fox for the crime of supporting Brighton and Hove
4 RT
J. Lewis
Albion. And just a couple of weeks before the Referendum,
4 EM
A. Powell
Mrs Spence gave an excellent and very balanced talk on the
4 DG
H. Andrew
pros and cons of EU membership, which again stimulated
3 RF
E. Clarke
interested debate. If you or anyone you know would like to
3 EGJ
R. Bright
talk to the Prep School about a particular interest, particularly
3 TT
M. Martin
if it has a moral, spiritual, social or cultural theme, please get in touch with me at Richardvs@saintronans.co.uk. RVS
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Sport Saint Ronan’s Golden girl Caitlin spearheads athletics success The highlight of this season’s athletics was the qualification of three athletes for the IAPS National Championships in Birmingham, where Caitlin Milborne secured gold in the javelin with a whopping 26.94m throw. Joining her at the Alexander stadium were James Crawley (75m Hurdles; 800m) and Lizzie Wooff ( 800m). James knocked a massive 4 seconds off his PB to take on and win the first of the two finals, coming fifth overall because of a very speedy second race. Lizzie came sixth in the U13 girls’ event; a super run at the end of a long day. The athletics squad competed in two events at Dulwich this term. There were victories in the 800m, the 100m, the 200m and the 4 x 100m relay in the senior event in May. A few weeks later it was the turn of the juniors, where the Saint Ronan’s athletes raced to victory in the 80m, the 100m and the Y3 relays. The annual Skippers Hill pentathlon took place on a characteristically sweltering day, the athletes tested in throwing, running, jumping and shot put. They all did exceptionally well, with Bea Wyatt and Jack Kirkland winning the U10 event; Lily Stewart coming first in the U12 category, with Caitlin Milborne and Archie MacLeod securing second; and Wilf Wyatt finishing third in the U14 competition. On an appallingly wet day, better suited to cross country than athletics, 32 children travelled to Ashford to compete in the IAPS Kent Championships. In addition to the three qualifiers mentioned above, there was some superb running, jumping and throwing. Saint Ronan’s was well represented across Track and Field. Finally James Crawley, James Crombie and Charlie Godden were selected for the KSAA Championships where they competed in the hurdles, 1500m, 800m and long jump. All three boys worked hard, Crawley making the hurdles final and both Crombie and Godden running pbs in the 1500m. An athletic term!
Sports Newsletter Don’t forget our weekly Sport Saint Ronan’s Newsletter. Check the Extranet for back issues.
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Sport Saint Ronan’s
Another smashing Rounders season! The Intermediate and Senior girls enjoyed a successful
The Under 8 and Under 9 Junior teams are flourishing. The
season, demonstrating great skill and tactical play. Collectively
batting, throwing and catching of the hard ball doesn’t always
they amassed a total of 841 rounders! A definite measure of
come easy to little hands, but the girls’ determination and
the improvement in our batting. The highest-scoring team was
perseverance is never in question. Freya G, Florence S,
the Under 11Bs, who contributed 100 to the total. Not only did
Matilda F, Ruby C and Lottie H stood out with the bat, whilst
many individuals shine with the bat (in particular Matilda C,
on the field, Bea W, Charlotte Parker, Rachel B, Anna B and
Maddie M, Grace E, Alex C, Gaby P and Jemima S) but great
Madeleine M all made their mark. There are many more
team work and cooperation was shown generally, which is
demonstrating great potential, which bodes well for the future.
where the Saint Ronan’s spirit shines the brightest. The Under 10A and Under 11A teams were both exceptional in this respect, working as a slick and well-oiled machine, with
Kent County Cricket
great sportsmanship and modesty. The Under 10As went almost unbeaten, winning 6 of their 7 matches, and the Under
Jemima Spence and Grace
13 and Under 12 teams lost only two games each. We have
Easton, having been capped
seen a huge improvement in all the teams, with each
by Charlotte Edwards,
individual working hard to improve all the aspects of their own
England and Kent Captain,
game in order to make a meaningful contribution to the whole.
before their Kent v Middlesex
47 matches were won and 9 drawn, of 83 games played. Well
game.
done.
Well done!
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Sport Saint Ronan’s
The First XI
It’s raining Sixes! A super season with the bat England’s impressive performances in the recent T20 World Cup obviously inspired our young cricketers, especially when it came to batting - we had nine boys managing to reach 50+ runs, from the 1st XI down to the U10s. When you are able to post a good total it makes bowling and fielding easier and, as a result, we managed to record quite few wins throughout the summer. The 1st XI, led by Anik Moore, won six out of eight matches, with a number of them going down to the final over. The team showed enormous character and composure, with Cameron Stewart unflappable, and always being asked to bowl at the death. The Colts A were equally impressive, winning seven out of eight matches. Harry Taggart not only opened the bowling, along with Felix Dear, but contributed well with the bat, along with Will Gaffney and Gus Chatterton, who both scored a fifty at some point during the season. Good luck to Jemima Spence (Kent), Grace Easton (Kent), Finn Kirkland (Sussex) and Harry Taggart (Sussex), all playing representative cricket through the summer.
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© Saint Ronan’s School 2016. Some images © Sarah Clark Photography. Editor: Ben Clarke.