The ronian issue 66 summer 2017 by Saint Ronan's School

THE RONIAN

Chateau du Warsy Upper visit Picardy in France

Medita ve Circus

ISSUE 66 | SUMMER 2017

Our Mindfulness programme extends to an a ernoon SAINTRONANS |

Hansel & Gretel Beau ful scenes from this summer's junior produc on /SAINTRONANS

The Headmaster

Writes

If you are not already following us on Facebook, please do! Looking at it now reminds me what a busy term it has been. In glorious sunshine, we enjoyed a medita ve circus, had Nursery and Pre-Prep Picnics and a BBQ. Clare Balding opened the Library. We hosted Musical Breakfasts, Parents’ Lunches, a Governors' Open Day, the Summer Sols ce, Founder’s Day, the Neame Troop and the Leavers' Lunch. Our children enjoyed numerous trips out, to the Mary Rose and HMS Victory, Ba le Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle, Warner Brothers Studios, Bude and France, and we even sent a group to Gordonstoun for the Prep Schools Challenge, ﬁnishing runners up from 18 schools. We had a Geography Day and a ‘Forest Experience’ for parents. We entered Maths challenges, had scarecrow and Elmer compe ons, took part in the ‘Herd for the Hospice’ art challenge and even made our own ‘Escape Room’, with M'Julie needing saving from mortal peril.

We had some marvellous drama, with Year 3's 'The Twits', Midway being street performers, dis nc ons and merits galore in LAMDA, Year 8’s 'School of Rock' and a fantas c Flash Mob. And who could forget the incredible junior produc on of 'Hansel and Gretel'? Musically we sent representa ves to Na onal Choirs and the Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra and held Music Open Days and Breakfast, Informal and Formal concerts.

We raised over £4,000 for charity. FOR paid for Doris, our new Grub Box, and have exci ng plans for raising money for Balmoral, the proposed castle. All of our Year 8s passed the Cranbrook test and Common Entrance, amassing 29 awards to senior schools, including 8 Academic awards, 6 Music, 3 Drama, 3 Art, 7 Sport and 2 All Rounder. No wonder we are all exhausted. No wonder we are so proud of all that the children have achieved. Next term we welcome Tom Phillips as Head of History, Emma-Grace Hill to Year 3 while Mrs GJ prepares for maternity leave and Samantha Lloyd to the School Oﬃce. Jeanne Zeitlyn joins as a TA and Tee Aitken moves up to the Prep School. Mrs Sco returns from maternity leave.

We say a warm cheerio to Dr Lucassen and a grateful goodbye to Mr Synge and Mr Woodyer as they start their wellearned re rements. We will also say goodbye, at the end of the year, to Ma hew Bryan, who has been appointed Headmaster of Longacre School, a Prep School in Guildford. I am delighted that he will be succeeded as Deputy Head (Academic) by James Green who, as Assistant Head, has already had a signiﬁcant impact on teaching and learning. I have also appointed Mme Florence Buet to join the French Department in January.

Our children covered the school in spor ng glory in rounders, cricket and athle cs, at both team and individual levels. Our fencers triumphed and our swimmers swam their way to gala success; we won the Ashdown 7s and won at STEM Kent in the Eco Kart racing.

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Contents Sponsored Walk

Public Speaking

Gordonstoun Challenge

O ers & Badgers Assembly

Living Statues

Congratula ons to our Leavers

Paradise Farm

Upper visit Canterbury & Dover

Shell Ships in Portsmouth

Searching for mini-beasts

Founder's Day Concert

Upper trip to France

The First Great Nursery Picnic

Medita ve Circus

Speakers

Focus on Judo

Library is Launched

This term in Bicton

Cross-Curricular Week

Inter-house Maths Challenge

Hansel and Gretel

Summer Term Prizes

14-15

Leavers' Programme

OR News

20-21

Sport

22-24

Library Opening Page 11

Coming Up... Term Begins

7th September

FOR mee ng

12th September

Autumn Fayre

23rd September

The Great Bri sh Ball

14th October

Grandparents' Teas

18th, 19th October

Half Term Begins

20th October

Half Term Ends

6th November

FOR mee ng

7th November

Next Steps evening

7th November

BonďŹ re Night

10th November

Michaelmas Concert

24th November

Christmas Market

2nd December

Term Ends & Carol Service

15th December

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Public Speaking Compe on

he head of English at Benenden, Mr. Andrew Schagen, was this year’s judge of our Public Speaking compeon – and what a diﬃcult task he had.

Sponsored Walk

he children successfully completed this year’s sponsored walk around Bewl. Shell and Midway really earned their sponsorship money, walking the whole 12.5 miles. Classes 3 & 4 were equally determined in their quest to walk over half the route and completed 7 miles of the course.

It was wonderful to be joined by the Year 2s, who took on part of the route for the first me. Walking from a different direc on they successfully crossed paths with the Class 3s at the Visitors Centre and enjoyed lunch, an ice cream and play me together as part of their transi on programme into the Prep School. As always, we couldn’t be prouder of the children’s efforts and look forward to re-

por ng the total money raised for Hospice in the Weald and The James Shone Charity in due course. With no trophies, medals, cer ﬁcates or s ckers on oﬀer to mark their achievements, the focus was very much on the intrinsic sense of achievement the children felt at the end. The children were encouraged to consider what they were giving through the experience, as opposed to receiving from it. The rewards, although not tangible, were plenful: a day walking through our beau ful countryside, the company of their friends, the respect of others, what they learned about themselves when faced with a challenge, and, of course, the feel-good aspect of raising money to help others. Well done, everybody!

Gordonstoun Challenge Five intrepid adventurers (and one bleary-eyed teacher) set off to take part in the Gordonstoun Prep School Challenge. We were blessed to get the best of the Sco sh weather. A soggy start on the first day, just to make us feel at home and then gorgeous sunshine for the weekend. The tasks varied from scaling the climbing wall, comple ng a team obstacle course, outdoor problem-solving, an Art and D.T. project, to men on but a few. Long, fun-filled days were brought to a close with the sound of around forty tents being zipped closed for the night... The Gordonstoun staff and pupils were excellent hosts and helped make this an unforge able experience for all who a ended. We were rewarded with third place out of the eighteen schools!

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In the Junior category (Classes 3 and 4) he heard talks about Sweden (with Oscar Bo le talking some Swedish, which only his brother understood), deadly animals and the Summer Olympics, among others. The prize went to Clemmie Wilmoth for her impassioned talk about pollu on. In the Intermediate category (Shell and Midway) Ma lda Eriksson entertained us with her plethora of excuses for coming late and Amelie Geens with a catalogue of strange laws. The winner, however, was Iris Lord with her evoca ve talk about her puppy, Coco. In the Senior category (Upper) we heard about Melons from Oscar Sullivan and Dubai from Sophie Ford. The prize went to Mia MacLeay for her talk about Anne Frank, a topic close to Mr. Schagen’s heart, not least because his family hails from the Netherlands. All par cipants spoke eloquently, with real zeal, and held the audience spellbound – no easy task. Well done to all!

O ers and Badgers Leavers' Assembly

he O ers and Badgers bid an emo onal farewell to the PrePrep school during their Leavers’ Assembly on the last day of term. They sang beau fully, especially ‘God Bless our Teachers’ and ‘Harry’s Prayer’, and all the parents joined in with ‘One More Step along the World I go’.

The children had created a wonderful play, based on a class text ‘Meerkat Mail’. The play told the story of Badgers and O ers who were too frightened to go to the Prep School and persuaded their teachers to let them stay in the Pre-Prep. However, a er a tour of the Prep School, they greatly regre ed their decision. The children sent postcards to their teachers giving examples of all the fantas c things they would be missing out on and begging them to let them move up. Doris the grub van, boarding, Aun e Amanda, show up lollies and more break mes were all reasons they wanted to move. Happily their teachers relented and they moved on cheerfully, with a resounding ‘Hooray’! Andrea, who recounted stories from each child’s me in the Pre-Prep and Nursery, presented all the children with a mug. Four children were awarded cups. It was a fabulous send oﬀ and we wish this very special year group all the best for Class 3.

Living

Statues

ever shy of taking the opportunity to perform, Midway delighted the Prep School during break with their 'Living Statues'. Inspired by street performers seen in Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and the Embankment, Midway have been trying out various mime, movement and tableaux techniques in their weekly drama classes this term, culmina ng in these performances in front of an audience. What a treat - some teachers commented that they had never seen Midway being so quiet!

Congratulations to all our leavers!

he ﬁnal scholarship tally is a remarkable 29 awards: 9 Academic, 7 Music, 3 Drama, 3 Art, 7 Sport and an All Rounder Award. As ever, all of Year 8 sat Common Entrance and some stellar grades were achieved, with some very pleasing personal performances. There are six children who achieved eight or more A*s (80%+) in CE. We were thrilled to learn that Raphie Reeves produced the highest Maths mark in the King’s academic scholarship exam and Ben Bonner-Davies the top RE and Chemistry marks in Common Entrance papers. Both Ben B-D and Ella Balfour secured nine top ﬁve posions between them, which is par cularly impressive when taking into account the compe ve King’s cohort. Maddie McDonald was

awarded the Benenden Common Entrance Prize for La n. This 100% CE success is matched, of course, by 100% pass to Cranbrook 13+. This year’s Senior Schools are as follows: Ba le* Benenden* Benne Memorial Bethany* Claremont Cranbrook* Eastbourne*

Headington, Oxford Hurstpierpoint* Judd King’s, Canterbury* Lancing* Maidstone Grammar Mayﬁeld*

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Sevenoaks* Su on Valence* Tonbridge Truro* * donates award(s) won

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Upper visit Canterbury & Dover

he sheer scale of the Cathedral made me awe-struck. I think I felt the same as pilgrims of the 13th century visi ng this magical place for the ﬁrst me. Did they think it was a piece of Heaven on Earth? A par cularly special place is the Becket memorial, a modern sculpture of a cross with swords hanging from it, placed right above where Archbishop Thomas was killed in 1170. It was interes ng to see all the coats of arms of families who had helped to pay for the cloisters.

Paradise

A er an excellent lunch at St Augus ne’s, thanks to the King’s School, we moved on to Dover Castle. As we arrived, we could feel the Norman vibe – huge stone blocks, grim grey walls and a forbidding set of defences. The cold and rainy day added to the effect. The kitchen was awful by our standards – dark, dirty and awkward. We could imagine the smoke from the open fires and all the noise. We could see how the drawbridges worked in the gatehouses and in the Forebuilding. At least the king had good accommoda on! Jacob Whiteley, Ber e Brushfield, Amy Miller, Georgie Wood, Max McConachie and Grace Bartleet

Hawkhurst Flix n' Pics

ollowing a day of professional instruc on, seven intrepid young farmers swept the board in the 'Young Handlers' Class' at the Heathﬁeld Show over half term, with Phoebe Connell winning 'Best Young Handler', and all the children involved showing fantas c pig 'steering' skills! A er our successful trip to Heathﬁeld, we embarked on our next adventure at the much larger 'South of England Show'. We were encouraged and made extremely welcome in this major country show but it was more compe ve and we didn’t win any classes, though special men on must go to Ted Hazebroek, who came second in the 'Junior Handlers' class, and Harry Andrew who received a 'Highly Commended'. We intend to return next year. Very many thanks, as ever, to Debbie Dallaway for her professional guidance and unwavering enthusiasm.

s part of Hawkhurst’s annual ‘Flix ‘n Pix’ Fes val, children from Saint Ronan’s were invited to enter the photographic compe on, alongside eight other schools in the area.

The compe on is always s ﬀ and Millie Davidson-Houston did brilliantly, being awarded best in school with her photograph of a woodland bluebell scene (above), and second place over all; while Hannah Codd, Kiana Turton and Maisie Kirby all received 'Highly Commended'. Well done to all the children who took part.

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Shell Ships in Portsmouth As part of Shell’s topic, ‘Ships’, we visited the Portsmouth naval dockyard. This is a wonderful place and well worth a visit. We were able to see the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, raised in 1982 a er 437 years at the bo om of the Solent, and the H.M.S. Victory, veteran of Nelson’s victory at the Ba le of Trafalgar in 1805. In addi on, we par cipated in a workshop to do with the diets of sailors in Tudor mes. It was a surprise to find out how much meat the sailors consumed – far more than would be considered healthy nowadays. However, they certainly weren’t ge ng their ‘5-a-day’ and would have suffered from all sorts of yucky problems! The weather was mercifully warm and dry, allowing us to spend some me above decks on the Victory. It was interes ng to see the difference between the accommoda ons for the officers and seamen; we decided that the ship would have been quite a busy – and rather pungent – place once at sea. The Mary Rose exhibi on was an extraordinary glimpse into the past, with stunning levels of detail visible on these centuries-old finds. The butcher’s block was a firm favourite among the boys. Unfortunately, we did not have me for anything else – the H.M.S. Warrior and H.M.S. M.33 will just have to wait for another visit. Something for the summer holidays?

Searching for mini-beasts in

Great Dixter

n perhaps the ho est day of the year so far, and with mini-beasts in mind, the Owls and Squirrels explored the glorious grounds of Great Dixter. The children loved the sweep nets in the long grass and were amazed at all the li le bugs lurking there. The nets went into the pond with great enthusiasm and the boys and girls found that it was teaming with various mini-monsters, including an enor-

mous dragonfly larva. One of the highlights was the habitat hunt in the garden. Armed with a bee guide, the children hunted for all the different species of bee - and there were hundreds - happily buzzing around amongst the many blooms. The grand finale were pancakes cooked on the open fire, and although they may not have looked like food, they were gobbled up with great relish!

Founder's Day Concert

he Prep School concert opened by ﬂinging the audience to the far reaches of the solar system, with a performance of ‘Jupiter’ from Holst’s ‘Planets Suite’ by the Orchestra: the changes of tempo, me signature and mood were expertly handled by the players, especially the percussion sec on, who played with great verve and accuracy. Two contras ng dances tested the ensemble’s ability to respond to the varied demands of diﬀerent periods and styles: the minuet and trio from Mozart’s 39th symphony was played with suitable elegance and Viennese suavity, whilst the rumbusous ‘English Country Dance’ inspired a superbly full sound from all sec ons.

impressed with its pizzazz. The Chamber Choir sang two very different numbers: a folksong compila on with stylish flute obbligato, and a very punchy rendi on of Rachel Pla en’s ‘Fight Song’, with well-co-ordinated choreography. The final item was a rendi on of Harry’s Prayer, sung by the whole school and accompanied by the Orchestra: with words by WB Harris and music by our very own Mr Hill, it was a rousing and moving finale to a very fine morning of music.

The Jazz Band cheered up a rather grey morning by ‘Pain ng the Clouds with Sunshine’, and the Flute Ensemble reminded us that ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’ in a performance that

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Upper trip to Chateau de Warsy

ur French trip to the new loca on of Chateau de Warsy in Picardy was a huge success.

The main highlights of our trip were: travelling on a deluxe double-decker coach, with a fabulous view from the top; the adventurous ac vi es on oﬀer, such as shoo ng, paddle-boarding, ra -building, crate-stacking, canoeing, mountain-biking, kayaking, as well as the treetop ‘Go-Ape’ and the evening entertainments. The cultural highlights to remember were: our visit to a tradi onal bakery, the French market of Montdidier, as well as ‘Les Gro es de Naours’, which is an underground village with high-ceilinged chapels, chimneys, many rooms and even a trap for invaders. Finally, we visited a nearby World War I cemetery. Staﬀ found Upper to be enthusias c, open-minded and very well-mannered - but what else would one expect from those living in an 18th Century French château?

The First Ever Great Nursery Picnic

hank you to all those who came along to the ﬁrst ever ‘Great Big Nursery Picnic’. It was so lovely to walk with the children down to the Salt Mines to ﬁnd the parents wai ng for us there.

The three-legged race, along with the bean bag and tunnel races, got us all into the team spirit and was really funny to watch (a bit of chea ng might have been going on)! Nevertheless, much fun was had before we se led down to a proper scrump ous picnic tea, with lashings of lemonade served out of Doris. It was lovely to watch the grown-ups on their blankets having me to chat whilst li le ones ran around, or played hoopla or ski les or scrambled through the tunnel. The enormous ‘Wish Tree’ was strewn with small

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Speakers

Meditative O

n the Friday a er Common Entrance exams, and before the school exams, the 'Phew It’s Friday' mindfulness program put on its biggest event so far. Travelling round the estate in year groups, the pupils sampled the relaxing arts of yoga, tai chi, qi gong and zumba; did a very clever mandala art exercise and gained an insight into Buddhist medita ve arts with the Head of RE.

The pupils threw themselves in with enthusiasm and tried the ac vi es with gusto. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a higher male enrolment for the zumba club next term! In fact, some of the children were so relaxed that they fell asleep in the ﬁnal session.

This term we have had two speakers during our Friday gatherings. The first was Caspar Craven, who spoke on the theme of making a team. As someone who finds it a struggle to get his 2 year old and baby up to the Li le Bull in Brenchley for an apple juice and a coffee, I was rather overawed that Caspar had set off on a round the world trip with his family, including a 2 year old! The insight into planning and working with each other showed just how important our characteris c of the term (‘awareness’) can be in a successful and ambi ous enterprise. A couple of weeks later, Christopher Gabbitas came to talk on the music industry. This made us aware of how music can change our mood but also gave inspiraon to the many who might like to work in the industry, without perhaps being the lead performer. We are very thankful to both speakers for two excellent talks. RVS

Pirate A ack The Rabbits and Hedgehogs a acked Bewl Water! Not everything was to everyone’s taste but hopefully all the pupils found something that might create a haven of calm in their lives if they need it.

T’was a ﬁne sunny day when it occurred. Around noon, as the sun shone bright, the ship sailed silently from the shore, but the silence didn’t last for long, soon there was a great ROARRRRRRRRR! And the Pirates began to dance to The Pirates of the Caribbean music ﬁlling the air. As they zig zagged across the water (each pirate had a go at steering!) they got nearer and nearer to the swee e treasure…

people’s wishes: Seb Lloyd-Jones wished for an adventure; Joshua wished for trees in the forest; Lyra wished for a sunny summer and Elodie wished for a real antelope! And Jack wished for a happy day like this every day.

Oooooooooooo arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! They all cried as they docked safely in me for a pirate picnic, treasure hunt and play. “What a great day” they all said as they sang (and snoozed) all the way home.

Tradi onal rhymes and games gave the picnic a musical ending, along with the pink and white balloons ﬂoa ng back up to school and home. We are now looking forward to next Summer and to our second Great Big Nursery Picnic.

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Focus on... Judo In the second of a series of ar cles looking at our diverse Clubs programme, we focus on Judo.

udo is a fantas c form of physical exercise, combining a great cardiovascular workout and physical strength with a high level of technical skill and speed. It is a combat sport and has the benefits of improving stamina, general health and overall fitness, physical strength, flexibility and general co-ordina on. Judo at Saint Ronan’s runs on a Wednesday a ernoon for Years 1 and 2 (3:30pm – 4pm); Classes 3 & 4 (4pm – 5pm) and Shell and above on a Thursday lunch me. The children are graded (assessed) once or twice a year and there is the opportunity to compete in local and Na onal Prep school compe ons. This academic year Saint Ronan’s medalled in the following compe ons: All Girls Na onal Prep School Championships Charlo e Parker - Silver Bea Wya - Bronze U12 Na onal Prep School Championships Humphrey Braxton - Silver Arthur Braxton - Bronze U10 Na onal Prep School Championships Max Meredith - Bronze Judo is available from Years 1 to 8. The Prep School club costs £9.80 per session. The Pre-Prep A er School Club sessions cost £13.30.

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News In Brief... Chapel Choir CD At the start of term, the Chapel Choir recorded a selec on of music sung during this year’s services. Among the pieces included were perennial favourites such as the se ng of the Lord’s Prayer we use at evensong, Ru er’s ‘Gaelic Blessing’ and of course ‘Harry’s Prayer’. Other works included Faure’s beau ful ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Poor Wayfaring Stranger’, featuring Rosie Honychurch as soloist. The choir learned much about the diﬀerences in performing for a recording rather than a live occasion, and the need for everyone, literally, to be reading from exactly the same hymn sheet! A few copies are le if you would like one – contact the Music Department oﬃce for details.

Benenden Primary Once again this term we welcomed children from Benenden Primary School to come and experience our Forest School, and to carry out some inves ga ve pond dipping! The children had a fantas c me. We con nue to enjoy strong links with Benenden Primary and look forward to welcoming the children back next term.

The Library

is launched

eing a Bibliophile, and being asked to help with the opening of a new school Library, is a project that doesn’t turn up very o en. Having such a beau fuly restored room to do it in makes it even more special. Clare Baldwin delighted the school in February with an inspiring talk about her career and her journey to becoming a wellknown sports presenter - no mean feat. Her new books have been a great success in the Library since the launch. But the jewel in the crown (for me) is to pop down during Li le Break and hear the happy cha er of librarians and borrowers browsing the shelves or sharing ideas about books. Finding a child snuggled up in the book bay, surrounded by cushions and deep in a book, and seeing faces you would never expect to see enjoying a quiet

twenty minutes, just reading. Rebecca Redmayne deserves a special men on as she has been a brilliant Head Librarian this year and we will miss her. Listening to the enthusiasm of the Librarians as they do all the jobs they enjoy (which involve s ckers) and leaving the hard slog of pu ng the books back on the shelves to Charlie. Charlie is a wonderful Librarian, crea ng imagina ve and interes ng new ways to direct the children in their reading choices, and badgering the people at Junior Librarian - she probably knows more about their cataloguing system than they do! Books are the key to learning and we now have a very special room, ﬁlled with sunshine and a high quality stock of books, to inspire our children to engage in a life-long habit that will see them through any clouds that appear on the horizon. FANTASTIC! PG

This term in... Bicton

adies and gentlemen, I am very proud to be the writer of ‘This Term in Bicton’. May I say that Bicton is a wonderful House and I was thrilled when I was ﬁrst put into Bicton and so happy to be made Head of House.

Well done to everyone who competed on Sports Day, where many medals were won and everybody cheered each other on. Bicton came a very respectable 2nd overall. Our U11 Rounders team came ﬁrst in the Inter-House compe on this term – well done, girls!

Firstly, we did very well in the Poetry Compe on, when some people get a set poem and some get to choose - and whoever reads best wins. This year I myself took part in it with two friends of mine. Emily Macdonald very bravely did a solo performance of ‘Invictus’ and this year our House won the compe on. I would like to say a special thanks to my fellow Bictonians who took part.

Every other Tuesday the children in Bicton go down to Bean for our House Assembly. Mrs Morrell (our Housemistress) has given great presenta ons this term, including ‘awareness’, as well as ‘crazes’ (like ﬁdget spinners and loom bands), ‘learning techniques’ for our exams and ‘reﬂec ons’ on the term. Finally, there is the House Cup, which I am proud to say has been won by Bicton twelve mes.

Our brave fencers (Emma B, Ben F, Ber e L, Billy P, James W) did two solid hours of fencing to raise money for a Senegalese charity that uses fencing to socialize street youths and young oﬀenders.

I am very proud to be in Bicton. We are a hardworking and loyal house and it is a pleasure to be part of it. I am very sure you will agree. Billy Powell

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Cross-Curricular week

ross-curricular week is a wonderful opportunity to pack in as many ‘Wow!’ moments as possible. Our theme this year was ‘Explorers’. In their year groups, the children par cipated in a huge range of ac vi es. We all got the chance to visit a mobile planetarium. We learnt about our solar system, space explora on and even managed to ride a rollercoaster (even if it was a simulated one)! Year 2 joined in as well and enjoyed a presenta on about the oceans.

Classes 3 and 4 made and fired rockets and then went on to find out about the discovery of the Americas, making good use of a visi ng drama st. Shell and Midway were treated to workshops with a Polar explorer. Their favourite ac vity was making blubber gloves and plunging their hands into ice-cold water to see how insula on helps to keep animals warm. Every year group got a chance to use the grounds too. As well as water explora on sessions, there was orienteering and problem-solving. Year 6 developed their new-found skills during a prac cal route-finding exercise at Ashdown Forest. The children had to work together to lead the teachers back to the rendezvous point – perhaps the prospect of ice-cream helped us to arrive in record me! As if all this wasn’t enough, our very own Masterchef graduate, Mrs Thompson, led Class 3 to Midway through the prepara on of four separate dishes (linked to learning about food coming from America). Huge fun had by all – a great end to a terrific week!

Inter-house Maths Challenge

athema cs is all around us and it can be very simple if you think about it. The children took to the grounds to to take part in a prac cal, mathema cal, challenge.

Classes 3 and 4 were entertained with some brilliant team work which involved trying to calculate sums by using their bodies and various items they found on the ﬂoor. ‘Blobs’, ‘Neddles’, ‘Funky Chickens’ and ‘Squiggles’ were what the children decided to use as units of measure! The cricket pitch was 10 blobs, pole to pole was 12 Neddles, the circumference of the small pond was nine Squiggles and the body length of everyone in their house was a variety of Funky Chickens. Why not! Shell, Midway and Upper were entertained with a treasure hunt. In their houses they had to navigate their way around the school grounds using a map and by answering a variety of ques ons, from word problems to using water from the lake to calculate the capacity of containers. The children had a fantas c hour of working in teams, collabora ng on ideas and showing responsibility, awareness and empathy towards everyone in their group. The house results were as follows: 1st Pembroke, 2nd Bicton, 3rd Tongswood, 4th Selden.

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A Picture-Perfect Day for

Hansel & Gretel

ith such an inspiring se ng, it didn’t take long to develop our promenade performance of Hansel and Gretel. Gathering the drama team (Mrs G, Mrs T, Mrs L and M’Julie) we discussed how to tell the story and came up with a clever scheme: to make creatures from the woodland narrators of this dark, Grimm, fairy tale. Thanks to Julie for all her me and care in organising the costumes in record me, and, of course, to our enthusias c cast, who managed to learn their lines and pull it all together with a very short rehearsal run. As with all such site-speciﬁc events, the weather plays a major role too – who can forget the thunder claps and the heavens opening during Macbeth last year? But dawn rose to a sea-blue sky, and a perfect day in which the only concern was dehydra on! The problem is, of course, what to do next? Now feast your eyes on some of the wonderful shots that were taken and remember that a sugar-coated house may hold more than you bargained for!

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Summer Term Prizes Senior Prefects Head Prefect Second Prefects

J. Hancock K. Bo le

Heads of Houses Bicton Pembroke Selden Tongswood

L. Stewart M. McConachie A. MacLeod M. MacLeay

School Appointments Captain of Rugby Captain of Football Captain of Netball Captain of Hockey Captain of Fencing Captain of Cross Country Senior Chapel Chorister Leader of the Orchestra Technical Prefect Senior Librarian

W. Gaﬀney K. Bo le G. Bartleet C. Milborne O. Mitchell L. Stewart S. Ford E. Tapper B. Brushﬁeld P. Connell

Headmaster’s Special Prizes H. Macrae, A. Bryan, J. Van den Berghe Most Shows Remove Upper Midway Shell Class 4 Class 3 Exams Best average Most improved Subject A ainment Prizes Art Classics DT English French Geography History Maths Music RE

M. Kirby L. Franklin R. Redmayne, W. Cur n C. Codd A. Burrows, M. Davidson-Houston E. Baxter R. Marshall, J. Tyler, E. Shimmin, G. Coulson C. Kirby, J. Parsley, E. de Reynal de Saint Michel C. Wilmoth, E. Shimmin, M. Kirby C. Ellison, M. McDonald R. Bright, M. Hsuan, F. Connell R. Marshall, R. Balcombe, G. Parsley R. Marshall, F. Gau er, T. Tweedie L. Harrison, H. Ru er, L. Hudson E. Taggart, R. Redmayne, B. Blick E. Taggart, A. Braxton, R. Reeves M. Davidson-Houston, A. Geens, B. Bonner-Davis A. Peck, W. Harrison, M. Kirby

Subject Contribu on Prizes Art Classics DT English French Geography History ICT Maths Music RE

L. Harrison, E. Beart, T. Tweedie H. Legg, T. Robertson R. Morris, M. Routledge, E. Balfour H. Codd, A. Braxton, M. Lewis H. Lindsay, C. Streeten, E. Balfour K. Furnival, E. Sanderson, J. Lee B. Billet, D. Cooper, F. Balcomb-Hellier W. Wood, R. S ckney, F. Lewis R. Atkinson, S. Clarke, M. McDonald P. Horan, J. Fulller, L. Hudson A. Burrows, G. Andrew, C. Nieto-Parr

School Prizes Sight Reading Singing Prizes Most improved instrumentalist Strings Prize Brass Prize Guitar Prize Wind (most improved) Wind (most promising) Intermediate Drama

E. Tapper L. Linday, C. Redmayne A. Taggart, G. Anthony F. Connell A. Codd G. Codd R. S ckney P. Connell D. McEvoy Gould

Sport Prizes For tude & Persevereance Overall Contribu on For tude & Perseverance Overall Contribu on

T. Tapper, E. Hues F. Kirkland T. Tweedie M. McDonald

Cricket Prizes 1st XI Player of the Season 2nd XI Player of the Season U13 Most Improved Fielding Cup Ba ng Cup U11 Player of the Season U11 Most Improved

F. Kirkland M. McConcachie A. MacLeod A. Ru er H. Taggart T. Hall T. Hills

Rounders Prizes U13 Player of the Season U13 Most Improved U11 Player of the Season U11 Most Improved Best ba ers by team

THE RONIAN | SUMMER 2017 | WWW.SAINTRONANS.CO.UK

M. McDonald C. Redmayne R. Balcombe E. Hues O. Clarke, S. Addis, A. Wood, N. Zitzelsberger, R. Balcombe, H. Wyllie, B. Wya , T. Dean, L. Harrison, S. Ramyead, H. Legg, H. Gee

Su on Valence Maths Comp Best ﬁelders by team

L. Hudson, M. Sanderson, G. Bartleet, C. Clapp / M. Macleay, P. Barker, N. Atkinson, F. Gu eridge, R. Macleay, R. Bright / E. Hues, D. Green, C. Shimmin, A. Mitchell

Athle cs Prizes Athle cs Cup

L. Wooﬀ

Extras Prizes Farm Prize Mountain Biking - Best Mountain Biking - Improved Skiing Prize Fencing Sword

T. Hazebroek T. Whiteley E. Hillman M. Laughland J.P. Shaw

Leavers Prizes Outstanding Head Prefect Library Prize All Rounder Good Egg Prize Ethos of the School Can Do Cup Giving Cup Einstein Cup

R. Honychurch R. Redmayne C. Redmayne A. Bo le L. Simpson J. Groom M. Lewis W. Powell, E. Hills

House and Form Prizes Senior Form Junior Form House Cup Bicton Prize Pembroke Prize Selden Prize Tongswood Prize

Upper BC 3 EGJ Selden E. MacDonald M. McConachie C. Streeten M. MacLeay

Form Tutors’ Prizes Remove DB Remove KK Remove PG Upper BC Upper EG Upper JG Midway IP Midway LL Midway SC Shell LS Shell RG Shell RVS 4 DG 4 EM 4 RT 3 EGJ 3 KL 3 TT

T. Berrill G. Kent M. Yates H. Buck J. Woodhouse H. Taggart P. Connell K. Hunter D. Thompson A. Hay A. Williams C. Robertson M. Davidson-Houston L. Harrison A. Gunning A. Copolo M. Meredith L. Routledge

ack in May, I went with Caitlin Milborne, Luka Franklin, Alex Codd, Isaac Baker, Jacob Whiteley, Felix Dear and Harry Taggart from Upper and Raph Reeves, Teyen Tapper, Grace Bartleet and Emily Cooper from Remove, to Su on Valence School for a Maths compe on. We sat at tables in teams of four with lots of other schools. Firstly, we were given an envelope with a Maths problem inside to work out as quickly and accurately as possible. Then our chosen runner ran to the judge who checked if it was right, and if so, gave us points and then the next ques on. We had to complete as many Maths problems as possible in thirty minutes.

There were all sorts of ques ons, some much harder than others. One of the quesons was ‘what is the sum of all the prime numbers up to 50?’. Luckily, my team got that one right! When we saw the answers a erwards it was interes ng to see the solu ons of the tricky ones and how to work them out. Overall, it was a fun and challenging compe on. Even though Saint Ronan’s didn’t win, I think we did well! Grace Coulson

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Leavers Programme 2017 As is tradi onal for the year 8 leavers, they embarked on a wide and varied range of ac vi es once their exams were all complete. Over the course of three weeks, the leavers: A ended a Mindfulness Circus Played Cricket & Rounders against their parents Completed Level 1 in Windsurﬁng or Sailing Completed a day of Bushcra Helped in N&PP

Summer Solstice

Completed Levels 1 and 2 in Cycling Proﬁciency Completed a course in Emergency First Aid

he sun shone brightly for the first FOR Summer Sols ce celebra on. With a dis nct fes val vibe, the evening kicked off with music from some of the children and the staff band, with Max McConachie on the drums. Also appearing was 'Pedrick', a harmonious duo comprised of our gap student, Ber e, and his twin brother, Theo.

Completed and Performed a version of ‘School of Rock’ in 9 hours Designed a product and tried to extract money from the Dragons in the Den Completed a Treasure Hunt in the Grounds Learned a dance in 3 hours Cooked a Bolognaise Sauce and Rocky Road Rescued M’Julie from the Escape Room Completed an Orienteering Course Helped to complete an amazing horse for Hospice in the Weald Spent 5 days in Bude Rambled to Rye! Took part in 'It’s a Knockout' Spent a couple of hours team building with the Royal Engineers Painted a cup or mug or plate at 'Slap ‘n Dash' Helped N&PP with their Mini-Olympics Took part in the Grand Prix

Forest School

ature has certainly been busy this term in and around the Forest School.

The muted pre-Easter colours became kaleidoscopic as Summer took a proper hold. The children made the most of nature's bounty and feasted on wild garlic pesto washed down with delicious and refreshing elderﬂower cordial, all harvested and made by themselves.

Some of the Year 2 children spent their last Pre-Prep Forest School session crea ng beau ful designs on fabric, using a selec on of leaves and ﬂowers which they hammered to extract the natural pigment, while others made natural works of art. We love the Forest!

THE RONIAN | SUMMER 2017 7 | WWW.SAINTRONANS.CO.UK

'Blue Egg Catering' supplied the hog roast and 'Doris' was stocked with ice cold refreshments. The children were given fes val wristbands, which gave them an 'access all areas' pass to the inﬂatables and the 'Disco Dome'. A great evening was had by all.

An Old Ronian Revisits We were delighted to welcome Pete Colley, OR 1981 to 1984, for a visit to the school. It was his first me back since leaving over thirty years ago. James Green was an excellent host and I would like to extend my thanks to him and the other members of staff and pupils who afforded me such a warm welcome. The place has changed somewhat since I was last there but, as that was nearly 33 years ago, it’s not too much of a surprise. The Pre-Prep, DT, Music and Sports Hall (among several others) are all new addi ons; the Farm and Forest School are extremely impressive. There was some clear con nuity, though: the school's family ethos; the focus on all-round ability, the extensive grounds that seemed to go on forever. I have to admit that Richard Vassar-Smith's (involuntary) impersona on of his father on the terrace threw me somewhat. My visit rekindled old memories predominantly happy ones, you'll be pleased to hear. And my ego enjoyed seeing my name on a couple of boards.

Sizzling Strings

he annual concert featuring the school’s Sizzling String ensembles pushed the musical mercury to new heights. The Junior Strings opened the show with a Renaissance dance executed with style and panache, whilst the Intermediate Strings played a menacing march depic ng soldier ants and a rip-roaring ‘Fiddle Faddle Hoedown’. The Senior Strings presented an immaculate performance of a descrip ve work, telling the story of the Mary Rose warship: the children handled the many changes of mood and tempo with conﬁdence and the sinking of the ship was an exci ng aural moment to remember. The guitar ensemble performed songs by Tracy Chapman and A-Punk, both executed with a well-controlled sound and clear vocals from singers Louisa and Molly.

A quartet of Remove players tackled the intricacies of the famous Pachelbel Canon with great stylis c sensi vity and accuracy – an achievement all the more creditable as this was not an arrangement for young players but the original music as Pachelbel wrote it. All the groups combined in a moving rendi on of the folksong, ‘The Leaving of Liverpool’ before the concert concluded, with the Seniors, Guitars and guest ar sts in the form of the Chamber Choir raising the roof with Green Day’s ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. Huge thanks must go to the strings teachers for their hard work in preparing the children for such a superb performance: as one visi ng Senior School Director of Music commented a erwards, it was the best Prep School concert he had ever seen!

Our New Sports Portal

he Autumn term will see the introduc on of our new Sports Portal website, sport.saintronans.co.uk.

This will be the place to go to ﬁnd details of ﬁxtures, team sheets, results of matches

and even the ability to check out the opposi on team's results! More details will follow next term but keep your eye on the website and add the above address to your bookmarks!

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A boy at Saint Ronan's in the 1950s A recollec on by Richard Turner, OR. The day began at 7.30am followed by breakfast at 8am in the Dining Room. Cereal and bread & bu er. A erwards, before Chapel, we had to line up in a passage that led to a row of lavatories – to keep us regular! Anyone with a problem was given a dose of malt by Sister, who managed the sick wing. The morning was taken up with lessons un l 12.10pm, followed by play outside. Lunch was at 1pm and a Master would sit at each table to keep order. A er lunch we sat in the Great Space, quietly reading, in order to let our food digest (‘rest’). Some mes a master would play classical music - just me for both sides of an LP before we changed for games. Tuesdays were different – that was ‘U lity’. We changed into dungarees and were put to work collec ng logs from the grounds. A er games we washed our feet and knees in ‘foot tosh’ - an enormous concrete L-shaped bath with a few inches of cold water. Then there was more play, followed by lessons and supper. Wednesdays and Saturdays were half holidays. Juniors went to bed at 6.20pm (lights out at 7pm) but older boys had prep and bed at 8pm. Before lights out, Lady Vas used to read to the two junior dormitories, Kennel and Merry Go Round. Sir Richard o en read to the senior dorms, mostly ‘improving’ books such as Kipling, Buchan and Sapper. Baths were on a rota, twice a week, and the water was only changed a er every second boy! Clothes were changed once a week and hair washed once a fortnight. On Sundays we got up an hour later. In the morning we wrote our le ers home. A er lunch the rest of the day was spent in play, generally in the school grounds: a sandy area called ‘The Drones’ where we could dig holes, tunnels and runways for our toys; or there was an allotment in ‘The Garden’ where we could grow vegetables. Not everyone was allowed in the Rockery, but I forget the rule about that. On Sundays, prefects only were allowed in the rowing boat and of course on the island, whilst everyone could go into Tongswood. It was a wonderful, carefree existence, with incredible freedom, and I suppose the school knew we would all reappear a er a few hours when we got hungry. There around 80 – 90 boys, no girls, and we were taught by masters. There was a curious custom that, on encountering the Headmaster, you would slap him on the shoulder (‘Harry’ when I came, followed by Sir Richard (‘Srich’). Both of them and Lady Vas (or Lady Dawn) ensured that a family atmosphere made the school a home from home. Sir Richard taught Divinity and Greek mythology. Mr Jevons (‘Jevvy’) arrived in 1912 and taught La n. Fred Poole (‘Pooley’) taught maths from 1922 and had ill-fi ng false teeth. Richard Cro on, ‘(‘Cro y’ or ‘Monsieur’) taught French and was a deligh ul man. Mark Portal, (‘Bumper’) taught me for a short me and stayed un l 1990; he was strict! Other masters included David Du son (‘Du y’), who I am s ll in touch with and has told me that I am his oldest pupil! I was also taught by Johnny Vas and ‘Eggy’ Gilbert (ini als EGG). I don’t think any master was qualified as a teacher, but it was very rare for a boy to fail Common Entrance and many Scholarships were awarded.

Punishments were few and far between. I never once heard of the cane being used. Order was usually maintained simply by a master’s presence. For minor infrac ons a ‘dot’ was given. For a more serious misdemeanour, a ‘black mark’ was given and the offender had to stay indoors and work on a Sunday a ernoon. If one’s schoolwork was bad, one was put on a report card for a week. At the end of each lesson the master would write, ‘Sa s’, ‘Vix Sa s’ or ‘Non Sa s’. Some random rules. Any sweets brought into school had to be handed over and went into individual boxes with our names on, kept in a locked room. Twice a week we would queue up and the prefects would give out our ra ons up to a certain number of units, I think six. E.g. individual sweets were one, a packet of refreshers three etc. Books had to be approved, as did comics (‘The Eagle’ was our favourite.) Treats. In the summer term an ice cream van came once a week and we were each allowed to choose one ice cream or lolly. At the end of the Autumn term there was The Feast (everyone banged their knives and forks on the wooden dining tables when the turkey entered ceremoniously) followed by wild and loud games in the Great Space at which the masters also took part. On Guy Fawkes’ night, families were allowed to a end and it was celebrated with a fireworks display let off by Sir Richard, then a bonfire was lit, followed by a general free-for-all in the grounds, as everyone was allowed to set off their own fireworks at will. The Choir treat usually involved a picnic on the beach at Has ngs. Par es of boys were o en taken to London to see a rugby match or test match. Dinner for the term’s leavers was held at a hotel, complete with party hats and whistles. Some mes we watched films on a Saturday evening in the Great Space. There were two ‘Going Out Weekends’ a term. We were collected by our families at 12.10pm on Saturday, then had to be back to sleep at school; then we were allowed out again on Sunday morning, but had to be back for Chapel in the evening, which parents etc. were allowed to a end. O en the hymn was ‘The Day Thou Gavest Lord has Ended’, which provoked tears in some of the younger boys and their mothers who would not see each other again for several weeks. In an age when schools could be cruel and spartan, Saint Ronan’s was an enlightened place. Bullying was not tolerated; boys of all ages mixed; every new boy was given a nickname and a boy of eight, away from home for three months, could hardly have ended up at a be er or a happier place. The complete version of this ar cle is available on our website.

THE RONIAN | SUMMER 2017 | WWW.SAINTRONANS.CO.UK

Valete Chris Woodyer

hris has finally decided to call it a day a er 11 years at Saint Ronan’s, ini ally working in the Maintenance Department and then, more recently, as DT technician. Chris is a very modest individual and totally fails to grasp why people see what he can do as something out of the ordinary, when it really is quite extraordinary! In DT he has helped innumerable pupils make pens, fashion chairs or French polish backgammon boards. In addi on to this, he has guided children working on the Fokker monoplane to ensure that they drill holes, file spars or form brackets to the required accuracy to have their work on the build. He will be sorely missed, not only by the DT Department but by anyone who has a dog and by everyone who has required something to be made or fixed properly. He will now be able to take life a li le easier and have the me to enjoy cooking with Mandy and taking motorcycle tours of Europe and the UK, possibly when it is not raining.

Alec Synge

Ber e Pedrick & Freddie Ka s

er a teaching career spanning over 46 years, Alec Synge has decided to bow out of the classroom. He is a remarkable person, a truly inspiring teacher and has apparently found the elixir of eternal youth! There’s not much in educa on that he has not achieved (including two headships and Chairmanship of the SATIPS) and he has been a fine role model for many people over the years. Alec first joined in January 2013, when Goulwenn Vincendeau (RE) was taken ill, and was recalled quickly a erwards to help in History when Mrs TV was off school. On each occasion, Alec dropped everything to come to our aid and this is typical of his selfless generosity. Since September 2014 he has taught, with stunning success, senior History and leaves big shoes to fill. Alec is a rare individual and we owe him a huge debt of gra tude.

Salvete

Samantha Lloyd will be joining Amanda and the team in the School Oﬃce. Sam’s role will be as School Recep onist and also an extra pair of hands in the Oﬃce, which tends to be incredibly busy. Sam is known to many of you as a local running and triathlon coach; she has a background in secretarial work and, being the mother of four children, is used to being very busy.

er e and Freddie have both been wonderful ‘gappies’. Ber e Pederick joined us from King’s and has worked relessly throughout the year, especially in boarding and, of course, music. As so many saw at the Summer Sols ce, he is a remarkable musician and very much one to watch in the future. Ber e goes up to Exeter in October to read History. Freddie Ka s (Cranbrook) was with us for just the Summer term. It has been tremendous to have this par cular Old Ronian back amongst us and he has helped out all over the school. Freddie will be going up to Newcastle in the Autumn to read Economics & Business Studies. We wish both of them every success and happiness.

We are delighted that Tom Phillips will be joining us in September as Head of History. He is currently Head of History and Poli cs at Worth. Tom is in his 30s and has a B.A. (Hons.) in Contemporary History and Poli cs, as well as an M.A. in Intelligence and Interna onal Security (always handy in Prep Schools!) from London University. He gained his PGCE (in History) from the University of Sussex.

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Old Ronian News Lord Remnant (Jimmy) (OR 1939-1943) I was at Saint Ronan’s from 1939 to 1943, mainly at Bicton. A er Eton I was commissioned for my Na onal Service into the Coldstream Guards and served in Tripoli. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and was a partner in the firm which founded Deloi e. Then 8 partners and 150 staff in England, these numbers are now 750 and 14,000. My business career covered investment management, banking, oil and insurance. In the charitable world I worked for Prince Charles in the Royal Jubilee and Prince’s Trusts and was appointed CVO. I was a Great Officer of the Order of St John and President of YMCA England. My greatest triumph has been at the age of 86 to have been married to Serena for 64 years - but we started early.

Gospatrick Home (OR 1941-1946) Gospatric Home and Charles Wade got together for a 75th Anniversary lunch in London on September 23rd to celebrate the day they ﬁrst met in 1941 on the Saint Ronan's school train, aﬀec onately known as the Scrum Train. Gos boarded at Woking and the only spare seat was next to Charles. By the me they arrived at Bicton they were good friends.

David Du son (Du y) OR May 1945 (2 days a er VE Day) to April 1950; Master and Teacher 1957 to 1961 My wife and I live in West Devon, twenty-three miles from the sea. Our four children and three grandchildren live far - the Lake District and London - and near - locally. Last year I celebrated my 80th birthday; I re red from teaching almost twenty years ago. I s ll have my 1960/61 mark book: if you have mislaid your fortnightly order details, drop in for a look on your next West Country holiday. d.du son@b nternet. com

John Windle (OR 1953-1957)

Richard Turner (OR 1955-1960)

I suspect that Herry Lawford (OR same dates) and I are ge ng to be amongst the older ORs, and two of the very few le who are s ll in touch with each other. Harry was the headmaster when I arrived in 1953 and then Sir Richard and Lady Dawn took over. I recall to this day si ng around on the floor by a fire while Lady Dawn read the 39 Steps to a group of enthralled boys. Their daughter Julie was a terrific football player, be er than most of the boys, and she taught me what li le I learnt about the game. Her brother Johnny was a gi ed calligrapher and he showed me how to properly use an Osmiroid, with brown ink no less! To this day I enjoy handwri ng in italic with a slanted nib pen, though I have moved up to a Parker 51! A er I le , I went to Wellington College, which was in the last throes of the 'old school' approach to boys' educa on, and was u erly miserable. I le early to go to university in France, coming back to go to Sussex University, which was perfect for me as I was a full-blown existen alist Gaulloise-smoking bohemian trying really hard to look cool... all that really came out of all that was that my love affair with books blossomed and a er Sussex I moved to London with a friend and we shared a flat in Islington. I got a job in the rare book shop Bernard Quaritch Ltd. and have worked as a rare book dealer my en re life. A er 4 years in swinging London I moved to San Francisco to enjoy the tail-end of the Summer of Love (oh, and work for a rare book shop there). In 1974 I opened my own business and here I am, 43 years, later s ll doing it. I have a rare book shop, a library devoted to William Blake and his circle, and a gallery showing the art of William Blake and his circle. Being curious and unafraid of change, I did take most of the 1980s off to study Tibetan Buddhism, write some books, walk across America on foot with a group of Peaceniks protes ng against the spread of nuclear weapons, and go to Florida to try to shut down the Trident missile and submarine tests. I'm married and our son and his wife are having their first baby this summer, so I should be a grandpa before too long. I revisit England every year and usually engineer a mee ng with Herry in London or at his home. My best to all Ronians past and present.

A er a ending Liverpool College, I joined the Midland Bank (now HSBC) and spent my career working in the Wirral, Chester and Liverpool area. I specialised in branch banking and ended up running two branches. Took early re rement in 1997 and spent a number of years restoring my 600 year old home. I have at various mes been a trustee of the local C. of E. Primary school for 35 years; treasurer of the local P.C.C. for 9 years and Chairman of the Governors of a local prep school for 9 years. I have been a bell ringer at the local Church for 53 years and was the leader of the group for 45 of those years. Married, two children and one granddaughter. I met up last year with Roger Baden-Powell and am in touch with Clive Digby Jones and Peter and Andrew Knight. Would be delighted to hear from any contemporary at r.g.turner@talk21.com See Richard's ar cle on page 18.

THE RONIAN | SUMMER 2017 | WWW.SAINTRONANS.CO.UK

Roger Baden-Powell (OR 1956-1961) For the past 15 years I have been running Corporate Finance Training courses for bankers, lawyers and accountants at locaons in and around Europe. In the next few weeks, I will be ﬁlming ﬁve of my sixteen courses for viewing on-line. If anybody is interested is seeing these, the details are on my website at www.bpal-global.com.

Robin Clu erbuck (OR 1959-1965) I started my career in teaching by doing a couple of ‘gap’ terms at St. Ronan’s in 1971. A er university I taught for eight years in a comprehensive school before moving into ‘heritage educa on’ and s ll work as a consultant in this ﬁeld, advising museums and historic sites on making themselves more ‘visitor friendly’. Currently I am leading a project called 'Away from the Western Front' in which a partnership of museums across the U.K. is developing arts ac vi es based on research into the many First World War campaigns which took place outside Western Europe, in places like Pales ne, Syria, Iraq, Macedonia and Tanzania. See h ps://awayfromthewesternfront.org/. If any Old Ronians are interested in contribu ng stories to this project, do get in touch with me via the website.

Dominic Langdon-Down (OR 1963 -1968) A er Saint Ronan’s I went to Radley College, worked in France and Australia on farms for a couple of years and then went to The RAC, Cirencester, for 2 years from 74-76. During that me I set up my own company, Basse s Farm Contracts (1975), as an agricultural contractor. The business grew and we were involved in the construc on of a number of golf courses in the 80's and then went into groundworks and constructed just short of 1000 mobile phone aerial sites all over the southern half of the UK. 9 years ago I downsized the business from 7 to just myself and now work from Bull Farm at Cranbrook, mainly doing equestrian works, building maneges, stable yards etc. and doing landscaping projects; as well as looking a er the 50 acres here and my wife's 11 units on a local industrial estate. I have 3 children: Poppy 29, Rory 27 and Sean 18 (he was at Saint Ronan’s and is now ﬁnishing at Ba le Abbey, before going to Plymouth university in September). I also have a step daughter, Vicki and my wife, Juliet. My hobbies are fast cars and motorbikes (not enough me for them, though!) and I play the drums in a rock band. I also enjoy suppor ng Juliet and her horses in even ng. I s ll keep in touch with Jono Drew, who was at Saint Ronan’s with me and is godfather to Sean.

Charles Crookenden (OR 1965-1970) 25 years in US, married to an American and three kids - Patrick (16), Oliver(16) and Grace (12). Live in New Canaan, CT. Sold my prior company, Microscope.com, last year and as of last week, closed on an investment and run a USDA cer fied organic essen al oil (EO) business. We manage private label EOs for major brands and have our own brand of USDA Cer fied Organic insect repellents (no DEET!) and the first ever organic All Purpose Cleaner. Our goal is to offer mums a safer, be er alterna ve to harsh chemicals. Vivat St Ronans!

Frank Gardner (OR 1969-1974) Frank Gardner is the BBC Security Correspondent and has recently branched into wri ng ﬁc on. Following his Sunday Times bestselling debut novel, 'Crisis', about Colombian narco-terrorism, his second spy thriller 'Ul matum' will be out in November. Frank has recently been ﬁlming 'Birds

of Paradise' in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.

in Putney. Currently employed by Girl Eﬀect - an NGO that works to empower girls in the developing world.

Oliver Saxby (OR 197701981) I was at a Benenden Parents’ Ball recently. I bid for some wine. There was a big screen at the front of the hall where new bids ﬂashed up. My name came up. I then saw I’d been gazumped by Henry Spence. Same years at Saint Ronan’s. Good mate there he and I played lots of sport together, went to each other’s homes etc. Hadn’t seen him since we le . We then embarked on a game of very public bidding ‘tennis'. In the end I bailed out. Later, he came to ﬁnd me and we had a great chat.

Simon Bray (OR 1981-1986) I le in ’86 and then enjoyed ﬁve fantas c years at Uppingham School followed by a BA Hons in Economics at University in Bristol. I then spend eight years working in the marke ng industry in various diﬀerent roles, ranging from sports sponsorship, digital, adver sing, marke ng strategy and agency management. In 2004 I joined Santander where I have worked as Head of Change Management in Finance, Managing Director of the Santander Universi es Division and for the last two years as Managing Director, London & East Retail. I married Emily in 2001 and we have 2 children, Hugo (14) and Flora (9). Hugo is currently at Uppingham School and Flora is at St Faiths School in Cambridge.

Philip Bingham (OR 1981-1987) The last me I was men oned in the magazine was whilst my (then) girlfriend Liz and I were busy cycling through the Americas in 2010. We completed our ride safely, got engaged just before returning home, married 11 weeks later, and now have two li le girls, Zoe (5) and Emma (2). We have since moved to Oxford and set up VeloVixen - a website devoted to women’s cycling. We call ourselves ‘The Home of Women’s Cycling Kit', and recently won the award for Best Online Store in the cycling sector at the 2017 BikeBiz Awards.

Ed Elworthy (OR 1982-1987) Married to Sylvia and living with our two children (Soﬁa, 4 and Sebas an, 2 months)

Nick Deyong (OR 1982-1987) I le Saint Ronan’s in 1987 and subsequently, school altogether, at 16. I wanted to start my own business and at the me, my love of planes led me to a empt to start my own airline. A er receiving na onal press coverage as the ‘world’s youngest airline boss’, I quickly learned that to start an airline required two essen al ingredients. Money and licences, neither of which I had! I learned a lot of lessons at the me, started to take a more sensible approach to business, and started a travel agency. This business later morphed into a travel promo ons business and in 1997 I founded The NDL Group, which this year celebrates its twen eth anniversary. Our business employs a team of forty-ﬁve and provides marke ng support services to brands, media companies and agencies, helping them connect with their customers through engaging rewards and incen ve programmes. We also operate a unique technology pla orm which powers promo onal campaigns for leading global brands. Last year, I graduated from the Owner/President Management programme at Harvard Business School. I live in Her ordshire and am married to Leanne, a highly talented ar st and curator (of course I’m biased!) and we have two wonderful children, Amber (12) and Jacob (10). A few years ago I obtained my private pilot’s licence, enabling me to pursue ﬂying as a weekend hobby, which I thoroughly enjoy with Jacob. Tt acts as a wonderful alterna ve to star ng my own airline!

Jus na Balch (OR 1998-2006) I am currently studying Exercise Science at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and am a netball coach for Ivanhoe Grammar School. My biggest news is that I have an internship with Carlton Football Club, which is an Australian Rules Football Team (AFL) which is one of the biggest sports played in Australia (the equivalent to football in England in regards to the scale of promo on)! My internship is with Performance Analysis and Sports so I analyse the players’ individual performances in the games and track their GPS trackers and heart rate.

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S P O R T

S A I N T

R O N A N ' S Making a mark

his term we have had more fencing events than ever, culmina ng in our two-hour long fence-athon in Britain’s ho est weather to support disadvantaged children in Senegal and the friendly fixture against Gad’s Hill, which saw the Founder’s Hall filled with 32 enthusias c children fencing with courtesy and zeal. First of all we had our tradi onal fencing fixture against Marlborough House. Our A team, with fencing stars and stalwarts Ber e Lambert and JP Shaw, had li le trouble with MHS’s side, and with the help of Emma Beart and Oliver Mitchell we won 45-33. Our B team (Isaac Baker, Amelie Geens, Oliver Parker and James Woodhouse) had more of a challenge, but fought valiantly to then lose by the narrowest of margins: 44-45.

Short but sweet track & ﬁeld season

gold medal for Georgie Andrew in the Shot Pu at the NPS T&F Championships in Birmingham was the highlight of this term’s athle cs. Georgie recorded a huge ‘pu ’ of 8.58m at the Games, having already set a new Championship best of 7.58m at the IAPS Kent Championships a fortnight before. Joining her at the Alexander Stadium were Caitlin Milborne, who followed up last year’s success with a silver medal in the Javelin and a PB of 34.25m; Jemima Spence and Joseph Fuller, represen ng Kent and Saint Ronan’s in the 100m (14.65) and 200m (29.67). At the Kent IAPS, three other athletes also achieved qualiﬁca on mes: Carlos

Nieto-Parr (1500m: 4:59.21), Will Harrison (200m 30.80) and Lizzie Wooff (800m: 2:38.86; 300m: 49.97), with George Kidd taking Bronze in the 1500m (5:28.88), making this our most successful season in recent years. The Skippers Hill Pentathlon was sadly a vic m of the weather, but the athle cs squad was also in ac on at DCPS and Tonbridge School, where it was great to see the children run, jump and throw with increasing confidence and competence. The acquisi on of a high jump bed (thank you, FOR) has added to the wide range of track and field events that the children can now experience. We look forward to the discovery of further hidden talent!

In the Elite Sabre Championships, a series of compe ons among the prep schools of the South East, our A team (Emma Beart, Ber e Lambert, Billy Powell and JP Shaw), ably captained by JP, qualified for the finals and, in what must be Billy’s and JP’s finest hour fencing for Saint Ronan’s, clearly beat Solefield’s A team in a thrilling match to become the 2017 champions. The Sponsored Fence saw our pupils fence non-stop for two hours for charity, sustained by ice creams and ice cubes. The spirit was truly amazing as we went into the Final Countdown of the last minute. Everyone fenced despite the heat and exhaus on. Special men on must be made of Oliver Parker, who paused only for 20 minutes in the whole 2 hours. We raised a staggering £1300, showing that fencing can change lives. We will be sending fencing kit to Senegal in the near future to help street children and incarcerated youths be resocialized through fencing. Finally, we had 16 Ronian fencers face 4 teams from Gad’s Hill. Special men on must be made here of Ber e Lambert, who, reliable as ever, led the A team, Emma Beart and Oliver Mitchell, who soldiered on heroically, and Angus Hay, who scored countless hits and did not let ankle or shoulder deter him. It was a joy to see the Founder’s Hall so full of enthusias c fencers.

THEE RONIAN | S UM U MER 20 2017 | WWW.SAINTRONANS.CO.UK

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A Totally Smashing Rounders Season!

here have been plenty of highlights and champagne moments on the rounders pitches this year. The girls demonstrated some fantas c fielding and ba ng skills in a sport which is o en underes mated, as well as the tac cal knowledge and understanding required to play the game at its best. Amazing catches and pin-point accuracy, when throwing the ball into the posts from the deep, allowed us to dismiss many a hopeful ba er. We also hit well, scoring 659.5 rounders collec vely and were victorious in forty of the sixty-five fixtures played, drawing a further 3 matches. The girls put a lot into their training sessions and reaped the resul ng rewards. As always, success comes about as a result of a team effort. The U13 and U12B teams were almost unbeaten. The U11 and U10 sides also only lost a couple of games a-piece. Likewise the junior U9/8 teams recorded a flurry of exci ng wins. The girls also tried their hand at some pairs cricket. This was great fun and something we hope to build into our games curriculum alongside rounders next year. The season concluded in fi ng style at the IAPS Rounders tournament. Both the U13A and U11A teams were there to represent Saint Ronan’s and both came home with medals; the U13s won their group and progressed to the finals. Emo ons overflowed as we finished 3rd overall, out of 15 schools, and it was a wonderful way for the girls to wrap up their spor ng endeavours for the school. The U11 team were equal 1st in their group but went through to the plate play-offs based on rounders scored. They did extremely well, on the ho est day of the year, to finish 6th overall out of 20 schools. The Inter-House leagues finally drew things to an end. Pembroke took gold in the U13 league, Bicton were victorious in the U11 league and Selden took 1st place in the U9 league. Huge congratula ons to all the girls for their effort and contribu on this year. Well done.

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High-scoring batsmen lead the charge

he First team have enjoyed a very successful season, winning all but two of their matches. The team were well led by Finn Kirkland, who excelled behind the stumps. Scoring runs this year was not a problem, with Finn, Wilf Wya and Sam Holden-Crauford leading the way as they ba ed with pa ence and composure to set the team up to score impressive totals. This enabled bowlers like Harry Taggart, Archie Ru er and Teyen Tapper to a ack opposing batsmen and, with sharp ﬁelding suppor ng them, they were o en able to quickly get through the top order to set up a winning posi on. In the Ashdown 6-a-side Compe on, the boys quickly adapted to the rules and tac cs of this exci ng game and progressed through to the ﬁnals, where they faced Ashdown House. They set them a target of 46 to win, but some really ght bowling restricted them to just 35, leaving the Saint Ronan’s boys to bring the trophy back to Hawkhurst. It was pleasing to note that many of the other teams represen ng the school played in a similar manner. With lots of boys contributing, there were some good individual scores and exci ng bowling performances. It is also gra fying to see many of the pupils playing cricket outside school for local clubs, districts and the County. We wish Harry Taggart (Sussex), Finn Kirkland (Sussex), Jack Kirkland (Sussex), and Jemima Spence (Kent) all the best in their representave matches this summer.

TH H E RONIAN N | SUMMER 2017 | WWW.SAINTRO RONA NANS NS.C C O.UK U