The Ronian Issue 64 autumn 2016 by Saint Ronan's School

The Ronian ISSUE 64 - Autumn 2016

Tabitha Tweedie, Remove PG

Inside:

Somewhere only we know • Japanese Nursery • Nativities • Alumni

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

The Headmaster writes...

It’s been a very full and exciting term, with the theme of ‘Curiosity’, a ‘Growth Mindset’ and an increasingly widespread use of mindfulness to help quieten our sometimes over-revved 21st Century brains. On the sports field we had some close games and great victories in touch rugby (U13 National Schools Champions) and swimming. We ran a full Clubs programme and Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in the Prep School are a delightful tapestry of activity. We’ve had some fascinating Friday talks, moving Chapel services and electrifying concerts. We had the keenlycontested House Shout, just won by Pembroke. The Feast provided its normal entertainment and made us proud of the talent and bravado of your children. Somewhere Only We Know went bonkers on YouTube, with over 40,000 viewings. Two splendid traditional Nativities were performed and Mulan has started rehearsing. The ABRSM exams have taken place this term for over 50 children and LAMDA exams for over 20. Trips out have included Battle (950th birthday), Herstmonceux, London to see the Railway Children, The MUN at Benenden, Public Speaking at Eastbourne and the Geography competition at Lancing. My trips out have included Brighton College, King’s, Benenden, Bedales, City of London (Girls) and Tonbridge. We welcomed Tom Lawson, the new HM of

We are most grateful to Kathryn Bender for covering for Teletha this term and to Dr Emy Lucassen for stepping in valiantly for Lucie Scott during her Maternity Leave. We wish Karen West (Health Matron), who is moving back to the NHS front line, every happiness and success. We wish Freya Cramp (ex Benenden) all good things for the rest of her Gap Year and look forward to welcoming Sam Casement (ex King’s) to take her place. Next term will be equally busy, with scholarship exams, the Cranbrook test, the Brodie and the opening of Boggis, Bunce and Bean by the Fantastic Mr Fox. The new Library, which is due to be opened in April by Clare Balding, is beginning to metamorphose and the wall between Henry’s and Monsieur’s has been taken down.

Eastbourne, to lunch and Dominic Oliver, HM of Lancing, to be a new Governor. He will stand alongside educationalist Nick

Emma and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy

Phillis from King’s and Simon Bennie, O.R, the senior

New Year.

housemaster at Benenden. The Friends of Saint Ronan’s (FOR) have been hugely busy this term and we enjoyed a spectacular Bonfire Night and a successful Christmas Fair.

In this issue...

Friday ices

House Shout

Maidstone Museum

Mindfullness

This term in Selden

New school calendar

Michaelmas Concert

Pre-Prep Science Day

A busy term in the Chapel

Topping the charts for Eliana

MUNsters strike again!

Class 3 visit Biddenden vineyard

Boarders revel in the spotlight

Visiting speakers this term

The Nursery turned Japanese!

Upper visit Herstmonceux

The Carol Service

Bogis, Bunce and Bean

Skills Workshop

Nativities, The Feast and X-Factor

Thank you for Harvest Produce

Staff roundup and farewell to Karen

Friends, Fun and Fireworks

Forest School

Alumni matters

14-15

Prizes

Sport

18-20

Coming up... Next Term Term begins

5th Jan

FOR meeting

10th Jan

Rabbits assembly

20th Jan

LAMDA presentation

3rd Feb

Hedgehogs assembly

3rd Feb

Half term begins

10th Feb

Half term ends

20th Feb

FOR meeting

21st Feb

Music Department Open Week

27th Feb

The Brodie Shield ‘Mulan’ Informal concert Children in Need bake sale

ABRSM exams

4th Mar 15th & 16th Mar 17th Mar 20th to 22nd Mar

Term ends

24th Mar

Ski trip departs

25th Mar

See the new Blue Book for a full programme.

Pembroke victorious in House Shout

Mind full or mindfull?

The annual House Shout took folk songs as its theme this

We lead busy lives and during the course of that busy-ness it’s

year, as well as including the usual hymns and representative

possible to forget about ourselves and, at times, why we are

solo musicians. Selden produced a very exciting arrangement

being busy. This is an increasing problem for young people,

of “Joshua fit de Battle of Jericho” that included shouts,

who have never known that time before constant

canons, dramatic pauses and much gusto, whilst Tongswood’s

connectedness.

gentle two-part arrangement of “Scarborough Fair” focused on lyricism and atmosphere. Bicton’s hymn was accompanied by its own House orchestra, and Pembroke produced a very polished rendition of “Down by the Riverside” with doo-bedooing boys and slick choreography. Excellent solos were played, or sung, by James L, Olive C, Catherine R and Louisa H. Mr Jonathan Soman of Sutton Valence School had the difficult task of picking a winner, and his perceptive and constructive adjudication led to Pembroke taking the silver salver this year.

To help the pupils cope with this in the future, and to give them some space to think now, we have instituted ‘Phew, it’s Friday’. Every Friday morning this term the children have spent ten minutes being mindful, with help from the Headspace website. The opportunity to sit and think mindfully, colour quietly or perhaps even read has been a great success and those in the school at that time will have noticed the quietness that descends. This effect carries on into lessons for the rest of the morning. Hopefully it will equip the pupils with useful tools with which to handle the pressures they will face in the future.

Investigating Mummification in Maidstone Year 2 visited Maidstone museum as part of their topic on The Ancient Egyptians. The museum staff conducted a workshop on how they prepared for the afterlife and the children were excited to be able to handle and examine 3000 year old artefacts. They then put theory into practice and mummified oranges; scooping out the insides while preserving the ‘body’, drying it internally using salt and then wrapping it in bandages. It was more difficult than it might sound! After the workshops we explored the Egyptian gallery and looked at papyrus scrolls, statues, shabti or representations of servants for the afterlife, jewellery and even mummified pets. However the highlight was surely the visit to see Ta-Kesh, the

teeth and fingernails. Just before our visit she had been taken

resident mummy. She is approximately 2,650 years old and

away to be scanned so that a facial reconstruction could be

was the daughter of a high priest. They were amazed by how

made. We are all looking forward to finding out what she really

small she is and fascinated by the fact that she still has hair,

looked like!

A calendar with a difference!

The term in... SELDEN In a series of four articles, each house takes turns to showcase what they’ve been up to this term. Selden is a super house to be in (but then we are biased!)! “Because it’s fun!” (Year 5) Our ethos is to be kind to each other, as well as supportive, enthusiastic, loyal, determined, energetic - and we never give up. In our House Assembly we mix up and sit next to someone who is not in our year. The Year 3s are still a bit scared, but they are realising what a caring bunch we are. We have had some great highlights in Selden this term: many of the children have said they enjoyed the House Shout. “I really liked our songs”, “Our songs were different, so it didn’t matter if they were hard”; “Joshua was good fun”. (Years 5,6 and 7). We sang a ‘spiritual’ for our hymn and did some clever and effective rounds with the chorus. We also did ‘Waltzing Matilda’ as our folksong and were surprised to discover that it was more sombre and sad than we’d thought. Romola injected some humour with her angelic sheep over the billabong on our display board. Another highlight has been exploring our talents. We have considered what talents are and how we can attain them and make them grow. We have filled in certificates, which are being displayed on our board. Watch out for the teachers’!

On one of the hottest days of the summer, the whole school took part in a photoshoot for the 2017 calendar. To make it different we split the children and staff into groups, depending on which month their birthday fell. Each ‘month’ had a different

“I really liked filling in my certificate”; “I’m pleased I have achieved making into a talent what I wrote on my certificate”; “I had not thought about my talents before”. (Years 5 and 6)

location and theme. Sarah Clark and Aunty Amanda spent a

This term, we have greatly missed Mrs Tapper. We have been

fun afternoon on Rob Preddy’s ‘Gator’, whizzing from one

lucky, though, to have gained Mrs Bender, who gave us a fun

place to another to set up the camera, take photographs and

and thought-provoking talk on what we can give to people at

hand out ices.

Christmas. We are fortunate to have both Mrs B and Mrs T

We started with October, with ghouls and witches in the Forest

next term.

School. May was Art, Music and Drama in the Maples, ending

Finally, at the time of writing, the outcome of the House Cup is

up with December, which saw Christmas puddings and Father

unknown. However, Selden have led virtually all term, holding

Christmases a plenty under the Cedar Tree.

off stiff competition from Bicton. “The highlight is that we

These are still available from the School Office at a cost of £10. All proceeds go to FOR.

have led all the way” (Year 8). This prowess is down to the great spirit and the super children in this House.

Michaelmas Concert

A tasty Science day

The Flute Choir

The Michaelmas Concert opened with Puccini’s famous

‘Food Glorious Food’ was the theme for the Pre-Prep’s annual

operatic love song “O mio babbino caro” arranged for the

Science Day this term. It’s a day to raise the profile of science

orchestra, who explored thoroughly the expressive potential of

in and out of school involving the Nursery to Year 2

the soaring melodies and dramatic opening. The Intermediate Strings took up the baton with a stirring “Intrada” and some merry nautical frolics from the “Drunken Sailor”; the sound produced by these young players was remarkably strong and confident and bodes well for the future. The Flute Ensemble played a very tricky version of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” with excellent intonation and bravura, before the Senior Strings wowed the audience with an Irish Jig and a quirky work in ragtime style. The final work from the orchestra was a setting of the Advent hymn “Veni, veni Emmanuel”; this was preceded by an exploration of the history and meaning of the work featuring the Chapel Choir. There was a fine solo passage by Felix C on the cello, and some rousing fanfares from the brass towards the end. The fact that over half of this year’s orchestra is drawn from Shell and Midway and is already producing such a good sound is very exciting for the future.

The Year 3s joined us for the visiting scientist’s workshop on observing biscuits. Yes – biscuits, and once you’ve studied a biscuit the only thing to do is eat it - all in the name of science. Then our very own scientists took over, demonstrating and involving the children in various activities. Almost every outside space was utilized for the exploding cola bottle fountain. Back in the classrooms, Mrs Gossage, Mr Andrew and Mr Vassar-Smith (along with their trusty Prep school classes) carried out numerous food-related scientific demonstrations. Eggs were squeezed into very small bottles, candles were extinguished with homemade carbon dioxide, secret messages were sent using lemon juice, cornflour paste was poured and poked and the mixing of foodstuffs and chemicals produced a variety of changing colours, wonderful separations and even edible delights.

A busy term in the Chapel Another busy Chapel season saw the introduction of a new

four for five weeks! The children also had the chance to take

Beginning of Term Service, which formally brings together the

some of the donations to the residents of local day care

very best traditions of this time of term. We had our Dedication

centres and chat to them.

Service led by Father Iori, which saw the Chapel being celebrated for another year. Father Iori bought his incense for the occasion, which the children enjoyed.

Armistice was beautiful this year, marked by both the Pre-Prep (at the Tongswood Stone) and the Prep School (in the Chapel and Memorial Garden). The Brass Band played sensitively

The Harvest Festival was well-supported this term, with the

and movingly and the Chapel was uplifted by the new Altar

whole of the Chapel Corridor bedecked with generous parcels

Front, beautifully restored by Mrs Silverlock. It must have been

brought in by the children. These were distributed locally,

the first time since WW1 that this had been done.

including a donation to a local foodbank, which fed a family of

Topping the charts for Eliana A huge thank you to all of you who supported us with Eliana’s

released and it was only a matter of days before it reached the

video.

No 1 spot in the Children’s iTunes charts. It was promoted by Keane on their Facebook account and we had tweets from the

As you know by now, Alicia requested help to raise money for her little sister, Eliana, who was born with Spastic Displegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects control of the lower limbs and causes visual impairment. We decided to raise some of the funds needed for Eliana to have an operation in the USA via our Sponsored Walk. With the support of Mr Force, Keane, Pretzel Films, Felt Music and various wonderful parents, we were able to go the next

likes of Millie’s Cookies, Tom Daley, Holly Willoughby, Philip Scofield and many, many more. Four children were asked to sing on BBC Radio Kent, along with Mr Andrew who gave an interview (luckily he was not asked to sing). The YouTube hits now stand at over 40,000 and little Eliana has had her operation. A marvellous example of the whole community pulling together!

step and produce a Music Video. Congo was taken up for several weeks with practising the song and we eventually got

‘Somewhere Only We Know’, covered by Saint Ronan’s

all the singing and filming done by half term. The song was

School, is available on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

MUNsters strike again! Olive Clarke, Raphie Reeves and John-Paul Shaw. Trinidad and Tobago were represented by: Ben Flynn, Billy Powell, Teyen Tapper and James Woodhouse. Topics ranged from the migration crisis over Zika and discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community to the militarisation of space. All held very polished position speeches and engaged in the debates well. Olive, Raphie, James and Teyen made excellent points of information in their respective committees, Billy and Ben lobbied hard for their positions, JP suggested and defended an amendment and Finley had the Like in previous years, eight intrepid Ronians donned

final word of the day, making the last point of information in the

diplomatic attire, oiled their tongues and went to Benenden to

general assembly, questioning another delegate’s

participate in the 9th Model United Nations Conference. We

understanding of the UN. Despite our best efforts, we only

had been practising MUN procedure in debating, so the format

won two accolades this time: Finley and Teyen as the two

was not alien, though the standard of debates there came as a

delegates most likely to end up in prison!

surprise to some. Representing The Gambia we had: Finley Balcombe-Hellier,

The day was huge fun and we look forward to going again next year.

Class Three inspect the vines at Biddenden On Tuesday 12th October we went to Biddenden Vineyards and I very much enjoyed our trip. Firstly we had a look around the fields with our guide Malcolm, who worked there. Next he told us about the vineyard’s biggest pests – the rabbits! They chew all of the bark off the vines. They put plastic cases around the vines in order to protect them. There were two types of grape. A white grape which they make into wine with the stem attached and red grapes. These grapes are different from the grapes you have at home, these ones are bitter and require the sun to make them sweet. After we had looked around the vineyard it was time to see how the wine was made. There was a big canister and after you put the grapes inside, the canister would fill with air and press the grapes. Then we tried some apple juices. My favourite was the Red Love! Tom Robins, 3 EGJ

Boarders revel in the Spotlight

Visiting Speakers this term This term we had three Friday evening lectures. The first was by Alex Hibbert, polar explorer. Alex described one of his trips that was struck by disaster early on. Despite this, he and his fellow travellers managed to rescue the situation and turn

Alex Hibbert

the trip into a worthwhile journey. As Alex pointed out, there is no career path for explorers - if you have a passion, you can you can often find a way to pursue it. The Pyemont brothers This term the wonderful weather has meant that the children

then came before half term. This engaging double act took on

have been able to play outside for most of the term.

the Queen’s year, taking us through the many and varied

Once it got too dark for football or Bumblebee, the children enjoyed playing German Spot Light; trying to make it onto the terrace to ring the bell before being caught in the spotlight by Mr Fox, Mr Bright or Bertie.

tasks of the Monarch in yearly order. Exhausting just to listen to, let alone perform! On the last Friday of term, we were visited by the Alzheimer’s Society. This was essentially a training session in how to help people living with dementia and our visitors were very impressed by the pledges the pupils

The staff felt they were the winners of this particular game!!

came up with during the course of the talk.

The Nursery turned Japanese! This term we embraced the topic of ‘Homes Around the World’, first learning about our own homes and then about those in Africa. We then got into our imaginary aeroplane and flew to Japan, our next destination. We had just taken off our shoes and settled comfortably onto our tatami mats when Cross-Curricular week arrived: a week learning about food. We learned that a Japanese Tea Ceremony is really special in Japan and we tried to create our own. We tidied the classrooms, swept them and repaired the paper screens in the Japanese home corner. We washed our hands and sat on the floor. We wiped the cups before handing them to our friends. We made green tea and handed out sweets, remembering our manners and bowing to show respect to our friends. Making sushi was fun; we made sticky rice and rolled it with

chopsticks!

tuna, cucumber and carrot. The lovely thing was that we got to eat it straight away afterwards - with chopsticks, naturally.

We finished off the week with oodles of noodles, dressed in

You wouldn’t believe how amazing the Nursery are at using

our chef outfits. Lots of fun and lots of healthy food.

Science at Herstmonceux

The Carol Service

The Chapel Choir The Carol Service opened in the traditional way with the Chapel Choir processing in by candlelight to the ancient Latin hymn “Veni, veni Emanuel”. Their solo carol was Benjamin On a chilly but bright October morning, Upper set out to

Britten’s beguiling “Corpus Christi Carol”, which brought a

Herstmonceux observatory and science park.

moment of reflection and stillness to the service. The

The park features a large number of hands-on science experiments which the children enjoyed trying out. They each had to choose four experiments to write up, diagram and explain.

Chamber Choir sang “The Angel Choir and the Trumpeter” to the accompaniment of Mr Hollamby and the members of Jubilate Brass, and the Years 3 and 4 choirs sang a beautiful work entitled “Alleluia”. Ben B-D presented Britten’s touching song “The Birds” as a solo, before the combined choirs, brass

Observatory staff treated us to a tour of two of the telescopes,

and organ joined forces for Rutter’s stirring “Rejoice and be

once among the most advanced in the world.

Merry”. As the congregation left the church, Sophie F and Lily

The day finished with a bridge building team activity.

S, recently elected to the Kent Association of Change Ringers, joined the Benenden Church team to ring us into the holiday.

Bogis, Bunce and Bean near completion

Years 7 & 8 Skills Workshop Two weeks before the school exams, Upper and Remove had a revision skills workshop with Elevate Education. For one and a quarter hours, the pupils were taken through some January will see the formal introduction of three new members

different revision techniques. This included trigger words,

of the Saint Ronan’s family: Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

effective note-taking and mind maps (the right way).

Based on the designs of the Eco exhibition space at Hever

There is follow up information on Elevate’s own website if the

Castle, Boggis (4RT), Bunce (4DG) and Bean (4EM) are

cold winter holidays need a bit of filling! The feedback from

almost completed. The cladding has been painted a wonderful

the pupils was uniformly positive and everyone would

dark blue and the air conditioning and loos are in place.

recommend the course to next year’s cohort.

Interactive whiteboards have arrived, carpets have been laid and the smell of fresh paint is in the icy air. The final landscaping continues apace and our wooden walkway is being finished. In honour of the elevated walkway, the whole area is being known as Monkey Town. There will be a formal crossing from Monkey Town to the Pre-Prep. The tradition of naming the classrooms has been going on for 133 years, from gun emplacements in the Thames in WWII

In lessons afterwards, a great many of the children were

(the Ally Pally, The Crows Nest) to names that came up from

putting the techniques shown to them into use straight away.

Bicton after the War (The Great Space) to names that transferred from Worthing (10 Downing Street, the Bear

These techniques are, of course, best when worked on and

Garden and the Zoo). We have Tongswood names, such as

developed into a personal system but hopefully seeds will

the Still Room (where the jams were kept), to names that

have been planted.

depict various themes - Piccadilly Circus (the busy IT office), Bletchley Park and Colossus. We even name our loos: we have the Room of Easement and just recently, Zulu!

The course instructor was a very animated and engaging presence who, in the words of one of the children, “was great because his exams hadn’t been, like, ages ago” (sic). The young can be so cruel!

The Little Robins and Hosanna Rock Laughter, singing, dancing and shepherds – what more could we ask for from a Nativity? The children were absolute stars and performed beautifully. The little robins had us in stitches, the camels walked like ‘Egyptians’ in a rather hilarious way and one of the shepherds wanted an ‘inner glow’ and tried to pop a tea light in his mouth! Overall a glorious show. The Year 1 and 2 performance of Hosanna Rock was slick and Mary, Joseph and the rest of the cast spoke and acted brilliantly. Well done everyone.

Let them entertain us! The Feast and the X-Factor Congratulations to Billy Powell who has been crowned X-Factor winner 2016. Billy performed ‘Let me Entertain You’ by Robbie Williams, with a guest appearance on guitar from gappy Bertie. A big thank you to all the children who took part. There were 33 acts at the start and they all displayed a huge amount of talent when auditioning to make it through The Great Space ready for the Feast and the X-Factor

to the final. It was great fun watching them sing and

Every year, for as long as we can remember, Saint Ronan’s Prep School children have enjoyed the Feast. The Feast is all about the children and that special relationship they have with the staff. The Great Space is laid up for a formal dinner, with long white tables and crisp table cloths. The staff wear black tie. The children then take part in a huge Christmas Dinner, and the highlight of which is the secret ceremony of the Saint Ronan’s Punch (the liquid variety), the

dance and we only wish that we had time to let them all perform at the Feast. Remember that there is always next time!

Toast and the bow. Only current Ronians and ORs will understand this.

A heartfelt thank you for Harvest produce A huge thank you for your Harvest produce. This year donations were up around 50% on previous years and it was great to see the food going to really worthwhile causes. Pupils from Class 3 delivered to Hawkhurst Care Homes and Community Groups, and further afield to food banks in Paddock wood (The Community Store House) and Tunbridge Wells (Nourish Community Food Bank). We received the lovely letter of thanks (right) from the Akeomi group. During the last week of term, Class 3 returned to the local Community Groups to carol-sing and continue their conversations on what it was like to live in Hawkhurst in the past and during the War. This year the Autumn Fayre broke the £2000 mark, raising funds and having fun and on another beautiful day. Children in Need raised £922, through cake sales and entertaining headbands, and the Poppy Appeal raised £325. Added to the money raised for Eliana, our fundraising this year has got off to a great start.

A quick staff round up and farewell to Karen This term in the Prep School we welcomed three new teaching

Office. Next term we also welcome new gap student, Sam

staff: Kara Lee (Year 3), Joanna Miller (Maths) and James

Casement, from King’s, and OR Tabitha Underhill, who will be

Kanzig (PE and Maths). Bertie Pedrick

helping out with Girls’ Games.

(King’s) and Freya Cramp (Benenden) also joined us as Gap Students; Freya for just the Autumn term. In the PrePrep, Andrea Bright assumed responsibilities as Head.

Alec Synge retires at the end of the current academic year after a formidable 45 years teaching, including two headships. Tom Phillips, currently Head of History and

In January we will welcome Angela

Politics at Worth, will transfer to us in

Bouchard to the Prep School as our

September to run the History

new Matron and Carmel Meade will

Department. He will also join the

replace her in the Pre-Prep. To

Academic Management Team as an

complete the re-shuffle, Paula

Assistant Deputy Head.

Robinson, who knows us well, will take Carmel’s place. Dr Emy Lucassen, known to many of you, will take over teaching from Lucie Scott whilst she is on maternity leave for the Spring and the Summer terms. Charlotte Sinclair will be joining in January to start organising our new Library and to lend a hand in the School

We are so sad to say goodbye to Karen West at the end of this term. Karen has been our marvellous Health Matron and we will miss her. She is returning to the ‘coal face’ of the NHS and resuming nursing duties. We wish her all the best.

Friends, Fun and Fireworks This has been another productive term for the wonderful

Fireworks this year were utterly magnificent and thanks to

FOR (Friends of Saint Ronan’s) team.

the kitchen for their delicious food , especially the chilli. Yum.

The Bike Sheds, which were part-funded by FOR, are in place and look magnificent. They are a great improvement

The Christmas Fayre was great success this year and was

on bikes by the old dog kennels outside the Lighthouse,

blessed by winter sunshine. Thank you again to FOR for

where they got battered and muddy. FOR have paid for a

manning the Coffee Shop and the Tombola, both of which

trumpet, generously supported the new Library project

were particularly busy.

and are now busy fundraising funds for more versatile staging in the Great Space.

The date has been set for the next Ball. Pop it in your diaries: 14th October 2017.

The Grandparents’ Tea was a resounding success and Parents’ Breakfasts went well too. FOR did a great job at Bonfire night. They worked their magic with mulled wine and the, now statutory, Krispy Kreme stand. The children

As ever, please do come along to the meetings and do get involved! We need more people. All meetings are in the Blue Book. Next stop is Burn’s NIght!

sported glowing bracelets, courtesy of FOR. The

Foraging in the Forest

Welcome to Mr Oliver As many of you know, the links between Saint Ronan’s and Lancing College go back many years. WB Harris (HM 1926-57) left his job as Housemaster of Lancing’s Gibbs’ House to take up the position of Headmaster here, as a special tribute to his dying brother (Stanley Harris, HM 1909-26). Of course, Lancing was very close to the original home of Saint Ronan’s in Worthing. Over the intervening years the relationship has dwindled somewhat, but

What a beautiful term this has been in the Forest School. The

we are delighted that the links between the two schools have

trees have provided a rainbow of colours as Autumn crept in

got much stronger recently, with several Saint Ronan’s

after some late summer sun and we made good use of the

children having moved on to Lancing.

harvests on offer around us. We made paints and potions from safe berries and other foraged products; we created

Reflecting the historic links and our growing relationship, we

natural works of art; learned about hedgehogs and hibernation

were particularly delighted that Lancing’s Headmaster Dominic

and have adorned the forest with beautiful decorations in

Oliver has agreed to become a Governor here. He succeeds

readiness for Christmas.

Simon Davies, the former Headmaster of Eastbourne, who served for many years on the Board and whose contribution

The children never cease to amaze us with their creativity,

was huge. Mr Oliver is a great addition to the team. He brings

imagination and their desire to explore and discover. Merry

with him a weight of relevant experience in both Prep and

Christmas!

Public Schools.

A Very Special Birthday Party We were recently delighted to host a 90th birthday party for a very special Old Ronian, Peter Gardiner-Hill. A great deal has happened since he left Dick Harris at the school in Worthing in 1939! From Saint Ronan’s he went to Eton, was commissioned in the Scots Guards at the end of the 1939 - 45 war and served in the British Army of the Rhine and the Guards Training Battalion. On demobilisation he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, where he scraped a Law degree, played first class cricket for the University and captained the University Golf Club and Blues Team. Peter’s business career started with strategic marketing jobs with Courtaulds and E.M.I., followed by running a small industrial marketing consultancy which became the British arm of a major German strategic consultancy. Aged 55, he cofounded GHN, an executive coaching and career consultancy business, which led the development of the coaching and mentoring profession in the 1980s and ‘90s. Peter married Sue in 1955, has 2 daughters , 2 sons, 9 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild and has lived at Rye for the past 25 years. He played society golf and club cricket from the 1970s onwards and helped to run the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society, the Rye Golf Club and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, all of which he captained. It was a great honour that he chose Saint Ronan’s as the setting for such a special party.

Late breaking...

No sooner had the term finished and the maintenance team were hard at work on the new Library!

Menu graphic designed by Peter’s granddaughter, Cressida

Sir Alexander Harris and his sister, the ‘Great Miss Harris’ We know much about Stanley and Dick Harris, the two brothers who transformed a small Prep School in Worthing into the well-known and flourishing Prep school that Saint Ronan’s became. But a deeper examination of family history reveals how much they owed their father, Sir Alexander, for making it possible in the first place. He achieved much in his life, not least taking a First in Classics from Christ’s College, Cambridge; becoming the Governor of Newfoundland from 1917-1922 and being appointed Governor-General of Australia. He was honoured by no less than three monarchs – the CMG by Queen Victoria, the CB by Edward V11 and the MVO, CVC and KCMG by George V. But despite his stellar career, he was not wealthy and had to borrow the money to pay for SSH and WBH to go up to Cambridge. When, at 28 years old, Stanley was offered the chance to buy Saint Ronan’s, he couldn’t raise the money himself and his father stepped in and pledged everything he had to secure the loan. Sir Alexander continued to be supportive of the school and gave the Tongswood site his seal of approval in 1945. Sir Alexander’s younger sister Beatrice’s life also makes interesting reading and shows that the talent for running a successful school ran in the family. She had a good education but didn’t go to University - yet at the tender age of 34 she was appointed Head of Berkhamstead School

for Girls. Here she turned the school around, trebled the numbers and built new buildings; and was loved for her intelligence, exceptional teaching skills and for instilling a spirit of feminine advance and independence. Foremost amongst her pupils, and a lifelong friend, was Clementine Churchill, who kept in touch over the years and came back to visit on several occasions. Like Stanley and Dick, Beatrice benefitted from the support, encouragement and the legal and financial advice of Sir Alexander, to whom much is clearly owed.

Reverend Ian Graham-Orlebar We were saddened to hear of the death in July of OR Reverend Ian Graham-Orlebar at the age of 89. Having attended Saint Ronan’s in Worthing, followed by Winchester and New College, Oxford, he was a parish priest first in Hemel Hempstead and then in rural Bedfordshire from 1962 to 1992. He was an eccentric and much-loved pillar of the community who visited his parishioners on horseback and kept an open house and an award-winning garden. We last heard from him when he kindly sent us a compilation of poems, ‘Poems to Ponder’, compiled during his lifetime.

Autumn Term Prizes Senior Prefects

Football Prizes

Head Prefect

R. Reeves

U13 Player of the Season

F. Kirkland

Second Prefects

F. Balcomb-Hellier, T. Robertson

U13 Most Improved

R. Reeves

U11 Player of the Season

H. Collins, T. Hall

U11 Most Improved

C. Ellison

Heads of Houses Bicton

L. Hudson

Pembroke

T. Tapper

Girls’ Hockey Prizes

Selden

E. Cooper

U13 Player of the Season

E. Cooper

Tongswood

C. Redmayne

U13 Most Improved

S. Addis

U11 Player of the Season

J. Spence

U11 Most Improved

E. Sanderson

School Appointments Captain of Boys’ Hockey

W. Wyatt

Captain of Cross Country

E. Wooff

House and Form Prizes

Captain of Fencing

J.P. Shaw

Senior Form

Upper EG

Captain of Lacrosse

E. Cooper

Junior Form

3 TT

House Cup

Selden

Bicton Prize

F. Connell

Pembroke Prize

G. Parsley

Selden Prize

A. Macleod

Tongswood Prize

A. Braxton

Headmaster’s Special Prizes G. Macrae, I. Allgrove, F. Gutteridge, D. Thompson, G. Wood, M. Lewis Most Shows Remove

L. Hudson

Upper

C. Milborne, E. Tapper

Midway

R. Redmayne

Form Tutors’ Prizes

Shell

B. Wyatt

Remove DB

T. Tapper

Class 4

A. Burrows

Remove KK

J. Lee

Class 3

C. Beart

Remove PG

E. Balfour

Upper BC

B. Flynn

Upper EG

O. Parker

Upper JG

O. Mitchell

Midway SC

A. Stimpson

Midway LL

J. Spence

Midway IP

C. Ellison

Shell RVS

F. Shimmin

Shell LS

M. Featherstone

Shell RG

I. Lord

4 DG

B. Billet

Best Exam Average

Term’s Effort

Remove

T. Tweedie

E. Cooper

Upper

H. Taggart

E. Tapper

Midway

E. Shimmin

A. Geens, E. Shimmin

Shell

C. Lee

M. Featherstone, R. Macleay

Class 4

R. Bright

Class 3

C. Beart

School Prizes Sight Reading

F. Shimmin

4 RT

R. Morris

Debating

J. Woodhouse

4 EM

R. Marshall

Harris Cup

S. Addis

3 KL

M. Gunning

Blue & Silver Chough Ties

T. Tweedie

3 EGJ

O. Dean

3 TT

P. Hazebroek

Handwriting Remove

G. Parsley

Upper

L. Thomas

Midway

N. Atkinson

Shell

M. Brady

Class 4

W. Allthorp

Class 3

J. van den Berghe

Lest we forget

Rebecca Redmayne reports on her visit to the Battlefields

was with the King’s Own Light Infantry. During his time at Saint Ronan's he was a very keen sportsman and Head

We planned our trip to find the Old Ronians lost in World War I

Prefect. He was 29 when he was killed.

by looking at the Commonwealth War Graves site and then checking out their location on our big map of France.

We visited a village called Bray, looking for Edward Bostock. There are three cemeteries - French, German and civilian.

On Tuesday, 30th August, we left Rouen and headed up to Picardie and the Somme, where most of the cemeteries are

Despite our best efforts, we were unable to find Edward and felt very emotional leaving without finding him.

situated. Finally we set off to locate Second Lieutenant John "Johnnie" Our first stop was to give thanks to Lieutenant William Nelson (1895-1916), known as "Nellie" when he was at Saint Ronan's, at Heilly Station Cemetery. He was fighting with the Sherwood Foresters when he was killed, aged just 20. It was quite a small cemetery, surrounded by farmland and close to Heilly Railway Station. It was a very peaceful place and we felt quite glad that he was somewhere so calm. Next we drove to find the Dartmoor Cemetery, where First Lieutenant and Adjutant George Coldham (1896-1916) was buried. It took us a while to find his grave but eventually Catherine had found him as she had recognised the symbol for the Machine Gun Corps that was hidden behind a rose. He was only 19 when he died. When he was at Saint Ronan's he led a debate on whether they should keep or abolish the Grub Shop! We continued our journey and headed down a dirt track between dusty ploughed fields to find the Gordon Dump Cemetery, where Captain Claud Heygate (1886-1916) is buried. Here we could really smell the beautiful roses. He

Delap (1897-1916). We found the AIF Burial Ground in the village of Flers. There were lots of swifts zipping around us whilst we looked for him. Johnnie was an officer with the Alexandra, Princess of Wales' Own Regiment when he died of his wounds, aged 19. The last time he had visited Saint Ronan's was in 1915 to play in the Old Boys' Cricket Match, where he was described as ‘brilliant’. On our drive we passed many other cemeteries and memorials to regiments from all over the World - Canada, South Africa and New Zealand amongst them. Whilst I knew that many people were killed during the battles, it is incredibly thought-provoking to go past so many monuments to soldiers who lost their lives. It was nice to see that the people who died trying to save France were being remembered and respected by the French people. At each grave we visited, we laid poppies and a small paper slip that said we had been there to give thanks and remember those that had died. Although it was an emotional trip, it felt good to be able to pay my respects.

Sport Saint Ronan’s Strong start to the season as girls surge to the fore! The Cross Country squad has made a strong start to the season, opening with third overall in the Brenchley Relays, where the girls’ A team of Bea Wyatt, Hope Rutter, Lily Stewart and Lizzie Wooff took the bronze medal. The girls’ teams also performed well in the Thomas Trophy at Sevenoaks Prep where they were placed third, ‘top ten’ finishers at the meet including Lizzie (8th) and, in the U9 boys’ race, Bertie Ashdown (6th). The Somerhill Regional Meeting is always competitive, some fields numbering over one hundred runners. Although we were not placed in either the U13 or the U11 competitions, the senior girls showed promise with Lily (6th) and Lizzie (8th) running strongly. Carlos Nieto-Parr made a return to form in the Dobson Trophy where he took the first medal of the season, coming 2nd in the U13 boys’ race. With Wilf Wyatt in 6th and George Kidd in 9th, the boys’ team placed second in the competition and, with strong performances from the U11 and U9 teams, Billy Bolton Ferrett coming 7th in the latter, the boys were third overall. The girls again showed strength in depth to place second, both the U13 and the U11 teams finishing third. Noticeable performances came from Lizzie (5th), Lily (8th), Bea (6th) and Hope (7th), with Lottie Harrison 5th in the U9 competition. The Junior Knole Run, hosted by Sevenoaks School, is one of the most prestigious events in the cross country calendar, attracting schools from across the south of England. The race produced some excellent performances from the senior teams: Lizzie, Lily, Carlos, George and Wilf all finishing in the top 50, with special mention to Charlie Ellison from Y6, who helped the boys’ A team to a very commendable tenth of the seventy scoring teams. With the supporters in fine voice and a good programme of training planned for the Spring term, we look forward to more competitive running from the Saint Ronan’s athletes in the second half of the season!

Sports Newsletter Don’t forget our weekly Sport Saint Ronan’s Newsletter. Check the Extranet for back issues.

Sport Saint Ronan’s

Rio Gold Medallist Alex Danson helps girls bag 93 goals The girls have worked their way through sixty fixtures this

U9 and U8 Netball

season, winning or drawing 60% and scoring 93 goals in total! All the teams trained and played well but particular congratulations should go to the U12B and U10B teams, who only lost one match, and to the U12Cs, who went unbeaten.

The girls had a really good season and much fun was had competing against other schools and ranking the match teas! The teams played 33 matches and won or drew 23, scoring 48 goals. All the girls trained and competed well.

Highlights of the season include the U12 coaching day at Eastbourne College; the U11/10 Masterclass at King’s; the U10 Rose Hill Hockey Tournament, in which we finished in silver medal position and of course the visit by Alex Danson, who returned to provide masterclasses to the girls. Congratulations go to Maddie McDonald, Rosie Honychurch and Caitlin Milborne, who were all selected for the Kent JDC

The U8A and B teams only lost 1 match and the U9Bs finished their season unbeaten. Any defeats were tantalisingly close and the girls played with great focus and determination. The Inter-House Netball Tournament was won by Tongswood.

Kent County Netball

(Junior Development Centre). More recently, Caitlin has been successful in progressing one stage further to tier one of the JAC (Junior Academy Centre), where she will do trials for Kent County Hockey. The season finished with the hugely enjoyable Inter-House tournaments.

Congratulations to Grace Easton, who has been selected for the U12 Kent County Netball squad. Grace already plays cricket for Kent

Bicton emerged as winners of the Senior competition and

and it’s an enormous

Selden deservedly won the Intermediates.

achievement to represent the County in two sports.

Sport Saint Ronan’s

Goals Galore!

The First XI

The football matches this season have once again provided plenty of entertainment. All the teams have been encouraged to pass the ball, allowing them to score some great goals, but the flip side is that on occasions we get caught in possession and then we concede a few goals as well! Finn Kirkland provided the scoring chances for the 1st XI, which Harry Morrell was more than pleased to accept. He was wellsupported by Sam Holden-Craufurd, who started off as a forward and ended up as the goal keeper when Max Laughland was unavailable to play! Edward Hues, Carlos Nieto-Parr and Captain Archie Rutter provided the defensive

Colts A

muscle; Max Yates and Raphie Reeves battled in midfield and Wilf Wyatt and Teyen Tapper provided the ammunition from out wide. The Colts A had a very successful season and it was fitting that three of their players, Henry Collins, Archie Wilson and Tom Hall (squad), have been selected for the U11 IAPS South East Football side. There have been some very good performances, from the U8 team to the 1st XI, and it has been nice to see the girls enjoying an opportunity to play during the Extras programme on a Thursday afternoon. Well done.

Under 9A