issue fifteen MICHAELMAS TERM 2014
SherborneNews PREFECTS
DRAMA
SPORT
CLIMBING
Comment BY RALPH BARLOW HEADMASTER
There are traits of character, scholarship, service and kindness that Sherborne draws out
www.sherborne.org
As the Michaelmas term started 100 years ago, Britain had already declared war on Germany, and the British Expeditionary Force were on their way to France. More than 220 Old Shirburnians were to die in the conflict that followed and the echoes of their sacrifice will sound anew at our remembrance service in a few weeks’ time. To put that number into context, the entire School roll in 1914 had fewer than 250 boys. This morning I took the Prefects Book, in which all new prefects write their name, from my study up to the top of the Chapel steps. Many of the names in the book were also carved into the memorial stones. In one volume, the first page, from September 1909, shows the six boys who were installed as prefects that year. Forrest (a), O’Dbarey (f), Tuke (c), Sanctuary (a), Peele (b) and Homfray (a). By Christmas 1915, Forrest had been killed in Malta, and Tuke at Ypres. Henry Leigh (a), the last OS on the memorial, died on 11 November 1919, exactly one year after the armistice. By this time around 1,000 OS had survived the war and returned home. Both they and the world they returned to were profoundly changed. How often in a five-year period do we learn so much about humanity and about ourselves? Just four years before signing in that Prefect Book, Forrest and his friends would have been arriving at Sherborne as the new Third Form, as young, eager and sometimes apprehensive as Third Formers are today. Now, as then, it is a window of fleeting time that a boy will be with us, and that short time makes an indelible mark on the person he will become. Now, as then, there are traits of character, scholarship, service and kindness that Sherborne draws out and nurtures from adolescence into adulthood.
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In the Prefect Book, before the war and beyond, up to the present day, the names continue. The continuity and permanence of the School seem in a way to contrast with the transience of its population. What exactly is this essence which continues? Not the buildings themselves, for they do not form the character of a man. Even the longestserving teachers have only been here for a fraction of Sherborne’s history. Just as family traits are passed through generations via DNA, so the character of the School moves from one generation to another, passing down values, the recognition and understanding of those who have gone before us, a love of learning, and the pride and humility of belonging to something greater than ourselves. Much has changed at Sherborne since 1914. The effectiveness of modern teaching, the depth and responsiveness of pastoral care and the extraordinary breadth of the co-curricular programme you will see in this newsletter would all astonish and impress former generations. Boys’ daily lives, their enthusiasms and frustrations are, however, much the same as they have ever been. The History, Literature, current affairs and Science that boys study may have changed a little. The Mathematics remains largely the same, as does much of the yearly routine of Abbey services, Commem, football in the barge yard and liaisons with the Girls’ School. Boys still arrive at what seems an enormous institution at the age of 13 and leave with impatience to explore a wider, larger world at 18. As we strive to better ourselves and improve our School, and in our ambition to be the best that we can be, I hope that we also pass on the threads which connect us to our past and remember those who have gone before us. Vivat Shirburnia!
BY RALPH BARLOW HEADMASTER
Congratulations to the 15 new Prefects who have been appointed this year Charlie Carr-Smith (a), Rob Clark (d), Harry Clough (f), Will Cochrane-Dyet (b), Oshi Corbett (d), Jack Crinks (b), Olly Douglas (d), Jack Hillan (c), Matt Key (m), Rory McMillan (b), Charlie Paines (m), Alex Pertwee (g), Jasper Slawson (e), Charlie Upton (a), Hugh Williams (c).
PRESTIGIOUS ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Congratulations to the new Head of School, Robert Ham (e)
Luke Besse (L6b) has been selected to receive an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, which now identifies him as showing the potential to be a future leader in engineering and technical design.The renowned Arkwright Engineering Scholarship provides students with a £600 financial award to enhance their A level studies and a range of activities to develop their understanding and experience of engineering. The Scholarships are respected by leading universities and companies, and are supported by top engineering employers and organisations such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
BY PETER CHILLINGWORTH HEAD OF DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge Successes Congratulations to Rory McMillan (U6b) who achieved the highest award in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, coming in the top 0.8% of the 6,866 students who entered the competition. Congratulations also go to Koichi Kanaboshi (U6f) who achieved an impressive Gold Award; Sam Choroszewski (U6e) and James Weldon (U6b), who achieved Silver Awards; Hugo Bromell (U6b), Jack Edmondson (U6f), William Glasse (U6a), Guy Harrison (U6m), Henry Newman (U6c), Stephen Reed (U6a), James Roe (U6f), Andrew Sands (U6b), Brett Shirley (U6f), Gregor Tims (U6a) and Max Wood (U6g) who all achieved Bronze Awards.
BY WILLIAM BUCKLEY HEAD OF CHEMSTRY
Student Voice Set up by the boys and working with the Head of Learning Development for the last 18 months, this group has been looking at ways in which learning happens at Sherborne. Its aim is to identify potential avenues for development and to improve learning.
EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES Sherborne School celebrated the European Day of Languages through an enrichment morning for the Third Form. They were taught French, German and Spanish by U6 linguists; had taster sessions in Arabic, Russian, Dutch, Swahili and Portuguese, and took part in a multilingual treasure hunt around the School and town. This was followed by a themed lunch, a travel photography display and
an online quiz to guess which teacher speaks which language. The day serves to make boys reflect on the importance of learning languages and the skills involved to do so.
BY JUDY THURMAN HEAD OF MODERN LANGUAGES
SUPPORTING THE SCHOOL FOR 15 YEARS
SHERBORNE FOUNDATION
The Sherborne Sessions
The group of eight boys presented some of their initial ideas to the teaching staff to give them an understanding of what ‘Student Voice’ is working towards. A number of proposals were put forward, together with their idea to organise a Learning Conference in Sherborne in the near future for local schools, alongside other independent schools; to discuss why we learn and how we learn best. The staff were very impressed with their ideas, presentation skills and professionalism.
all about good writing
Oxbridge Candidate Training Our Oxbridge candidates spent the day at Marlborough College attempting to hone their presentation and interview skills in their chosen subject.
Throughout the Sherborne Sessions, the School’s own biennial literary festival, the Powell Theatre was filled with compelling and inspirational writers from all genres: the poets Christopher Reid and Anthony Wilson; the novelist Evie Wyld; the surgeon and author Gabriel Weston, to name but a few. The auditorium was filled with respectful, and often rapt, students from Sherborne Girls, Leweston and the Gryphon, for four days full of writers and writing.
BY TOM PAYNE ENGLISH
The day consisted of a two-hour skills session in which boys were really put on the spot in front of 30-40 of their peers; a session on the Oxbridge experience including a tutorial; and two half-hour interviews with a recent Oxbridge graduate in their chosen field.
BY TIM DAWSON SCHOLARSHIP
The Imitation Game Following on from the filming which took place in Sherborne last year for The Imitation Game, the boys involved as extras, were invited to a special screening of the film at BAFTA in London ahead of its nationwide release. Morten Tyldum’s film tells the story of Alan Turing (OS), the tortured genius who helped to win the Second World War by cracking the Germans’ unbreakable Enigma code, and who is considered to be the ‘father’ of modern computing. Alan Turing is played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a very sensitive and moving performance. The story opens in 1951 and repeatedly goes back to Turing’s Sherborne schooldays (1926 – 1931). THE IMITATION GAME OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 14TH NOVEMBER, STARRING BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AND KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
PARENT LECTURE PROGRAMME The first in our series of parent lecture programmes began with Jamie Barnard (a, 93), General Counsel, Global Marketing, Media and e-commerce at Unilever. Jamie gave a highly entertaining and thoughtprovoking talk on the digital revolution. He gave practical advice on how to encourage our children to embrace it.
Schedule of Future Lectures (12noon in JCR):
8th November – Pornography and Teenagers – Lisa Handy 31st January – Sexting – Stuart Hann (Police) 21st March – Emotional Coaching – Janet Rose 2nd May – Drugs – Shelley Connelly (Police) To reserve your place at any of these lectures, please email Cathie Graham at cgraham@sherborne.org BY SUE SALMON
ASSISTANT HEAD (PASTORAL)
Elevate Education L6 Study Sensei Seminar
Geography Field trip
BY TOM MASON GEOGRAPHY The Fifth Form Geographers embarked on another year of controlled assessment with a visit to Highcliffe and Milford on Sea. The boys were blessed with fantastic September sunshine, allowing them to measure beach profiles, study cliff erosion and look at the effect of the winter storms.
Elevate Education is just one of the outside partnerships with which we have been working to help improve the Boys’ study techniques. At the seminar they learnt simple techniques to get ahead of the game with their studies, such as the use of exam specification, note-taking techniques, colour coding and trigger words. We were all surprised by the content and simplicity of the message, which was delivered brilliantly. The feedback from every one of the boys was extremely positive, with two boys summing it up: ‘This course made me realise the mistakes I was making in my study techniques’; ‘The course was fun, inspiring and gave useful tips which I hadn’t realised.’
BY VICTORIA CLAYTON HOUSEMASTER ABBEYLANDS HEAD OF LEARNING DEVELOPMENT
INTER-HOUSE LITERARY QUIZ FINAL An exciting close fought contest, in which Abbeylands won, with Harper House coming a close second.
CCF Field Trip This term, the Royal Navy section went dinghy sailing and power boating off the coast of Poole, working towards their qualifications. The Royal Marines and Army went to Salisbury Plain, with many of the Fourth Form having their first exposure to rations and living under a poncho in woods. The Sixth Form cadets
Every boy took a turn on the dreaded Land Rover pull. They returned tired and even more grateful for the warmth of their boarding house, but also reflecting on their achievements.
taught the boys patrolling skills. This helped them tackle the night exercise, in which boys had to meet double agents, avoid detection and capture valuable intelligence. The next day boys moved around a series of stands where they tested their skills in camouflage, concealment and problem solving.
BY ROB LE POIDEVIN CONTINGENT COMMANDER CCF
BY STEVE PETERS CCF RM DETACHMENT
The Royal Marines
Travel Photograph Competition Winner Finnbar Blakey (5a)
Pringle Trophy Competition This was attended by nine of our best and brightest senior Royal Marine Cadets. Led by Cadet RSM Ruari Ross (U6b), the team braved the changeable South Devon weather for two days and completed 12 military skills challenges, culminating in an extremely gruelling 2.5 mile endurance race that included the infamous ‘sheep dip’ water obstacle, something that Regular Royal Marines do only after eight months of training. The team put in a fantastic performance, completing all challenges with enthusiasm and determination. Special mention must go to Noah Chillingworth (L6m) and Angus Huntington (L6e) for their selfless efforts in ‘manhandling’ the rest of the team through
the ‘sheep dip’ while standing waist deep in freezing cold and dirty water. Well done to all boys involved.
Mountain Climbing Challenge
To see all of the other results and inspiring entries, go to the ‘Event Gallery’ section on the website http://www.sherborne.org/news-calendar/ event-galleries
A small group of climbers took to the intimidating granite face of the Dewerstone. Known locally as the Devil’s Rock, the vertical towers rise to almost 200 feet. The rock is hard, with crystal covered cracks and runnels that accommodate the hands and feet. The pinnacle of the day was climbing the route known as ‘Central Groove’, which is graded to be ‘Hard Severe’ in difficulty. This would be a dream tick in any aspiring climber’s logbook.
BY JAMES KIMBER HEAD OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION
The Green House Play
Trip to the Indian Himalayas A group of Fifth and Lower Sixth Form boys embarked on a thirty-day expedition to the Indian Himalayas this summer. Their intention was to climb Stok Kangri, a massive 6,150m high mountain in Northern India. Prior to the climb the boys spent a week renovating a local government school in the remote village of Phey. The time they spent here also helped them to acclimatise to the much higher altitude. The climb up Stok Kangri was a massive effort with only
half the air pressure to fill our lungs, our legs really hurt even after just a few small steps. With good preparation, excellent team work and perseverance, the whole team made it to the top. We had excellent views of the surrounding mountains, and could see other famous ranges, including a glimpse of K2.
BY JAMES KIMBER HEAD OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION
WITHIN ONLY FOUR WEEKS OF THE START OF TERM, THE GREEN HOUSE ACTORS HAD MANAGED TO PUT TOGETHER THREE HILARIOUS, RIVETING AND ‘TONGUE IN CHEEK’ PLAYS.
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The first was about a detective investigating a murder, set in a 1930s upper-class household; the second, contrasting play, was set around the table of an honest Yorkshire mining family; and the third was a traditional opera about a Countess having an affair. The plays were extremely well received by the packed audience in the Powell Theatre. For more information on the plays and to see a gallery of photos, please go to the latest news section of the school website:
www.sherborne.org/newscalendar/latest-news BY CHARLES HOWARD (L6c) PHOTOS BY ALEXANDER DAVIDSON (5f)
Stop Press Fred Downham (4a) achieves 2nd place in the Bath Actor of the Year Award.
Drama A Collection of three Short Plays for Coarse Actors
Harper House Play Two Lower Sixth boys, Jacob Lane (L6d) and Finlay Thomson (L6d) took on the challenge of producing the Harper House Play. ‘Immaculate’ is a tale about the Second Coming of Jesus, yet it is rather less conventional than a typical nativity play. With the help of Sherborne Girls the cast captivated the audience and skilfully achieved a masterpiece of comic timing.
BY ROBERT CLARK (U6d) PHOTOS BY TOM ACKERMAN-FERREIRA (4d) ALEXANDER DAVIDSON (5f) For more information on the play and to see a gallery of photos, please go to the latest news section of the school website: www.sherborne.org/news-calendar/latest-news
Drama Trip to see The White Devil at the RSC in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Professional Theatre Company runs a Brecht workshop for our drama students
Sport
round up
BY DAVID GUY DIRECTOR OF SPORT
THE MICHAELMAS TERM HAS STARTED WELL FOR THE SPORTSMEN AT SHERBORNE. ON THE GOLF COURSE, IN THE POOL, ON THE SQUASH AND TENNIS COURTS AND EVEN ON OPEN WATER, NUMEROUS BOYS HAVE EXCELLED IN FIXTURES AS WELL AS IN REGIONAL AND NATIONAL COMPETITIONS. As half term approaches, several rugby sides remain undefeated, and the 1st XV were delighted to retain the James Harding Memorial Cup with a win against Blundell’s, while also triumphing in the inaugural Centenary Cup game v Radley. The Senior side are also going strong in the Nat West Cup, and several boys have been successful in their recent trials for Dorset & Wilts and Bath Academy. Our policy of ‘choice’ in sport remains important; it was great to see our Golfers beating Canford 3-0 and progressing through to the semi-finals of the HMC Schools SW regional competition; in Squash our boys have recorded recent victories against Bryanston and Taunton; in Water Polo the House tournaments are reaching a peak and we are delighted with the team’s recent win against Marlborough. Individual success has also come in Sailing, with Ben Childerley (4f) being selected for the National RYA Laser 4.7 UK Squad and in Tennis Henry Field (L6c) won the Somerset U16 Tennis Championships. Planning ahead it is pleasing to see several of our talented hockey players representing Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club on Saturdays, improving their game awareness in men’s league fixtures in readiness for the main school season.
LOOKING FORWARD... • • • • • • • • • • • •
6 November 19:30 – The Unplugged (Tindall Recital Hall) 8 November 12:00 – Parent Lecture – Pornography and Teenagers (JCR) 13 November – Chamber Choir sings Evensong in Bath Abbey 14 November 19:30 – Joint Schools’ Orchestral and Choral Concert (BSR) 15 November 19:30 – RocSoc LIVE! 20 November 19:30 – The Wu Quartet (Tindall Recital Series). Tickets £10pp. E: tickets@sherborne.org T: 01935 812249 30 November 11:00 - Wind Band in National Concert Band Federation Festival, Southampton 30 November 20:15 – Advent Carol Service (Abbey) 5 December – ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Charity Dinner, cooked by the boys. Tickets £25pp. To reserve a table email Wendy Brock wbrock@sherborne.org 5 December 19:30 – Joint Schools’ Play 7 December 17:30 – Carol Service for Guys Marsh (Chapel) 13 December 14:30 – Carol Service (Abbey)
TERM DATES: Return to School: 21:30, Sunday 2 November Exeat: 15:00, Friday 21 November - 21:30, Sunday 23 November Term Ends: 16:00, Saturday 13 December
SHERBORNE SCHOOL ABBEY ROAD SHERBORNE DORSET DT9 3AP T: 01935 812249 E: enquiries@sherborne.org www.sherborne.org Photographs: Tom Ackerman-Ferreira (4d), Alexander Davidson (5f), Alex Dunham, Sophie Harris, James Henderson, James Kimber, Rob Le Poidevin, Louise Litchfield, Steve Peters and others. Registered Charity No. 1081228
BY JAMES HENDERSON DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Music
round up Prep Schools’ Piano Day
Swing Band in Barbados As has become something of a tradition at Sherborne, the twentytwo boys of the Swing Band were performing in the Caribbean during July. During a two-week-long tour of Barbados, the band performed in the Frank Collymore Hall, on the beach at the Almond Beach Resort, the Hilton Hotel, the Beach Club and the Colony Club, the Turtle Beach, the Lime Grove, and other venues in support of local reggae bands. Having established something of a reputation for musical excellence and exciting programming during the 2012 tour of Barbados, the Swing Band enjoyed very large audiences and were pleased to sell all of the CDs produced in recent years. In addition to the concerts, the band also made two new recordings – ‘Live at the Collymore Hall’ and ‘Me and My Shadow’ – which
will be available within a few months. Recording on the island in a studio in which the air-conditioning had broken is something the band will probably never forget. The extraordinary heat of that six-hour recording session was more than compensated by the many hours of relaxation and beach cricket in the excellent Turtle Beach resort.
Five pianos in two rooms – the Tindall Recital Hall and the Patrick Shelley Studio – became the focal point of a Prep Schools’ Piano Day led by international concert pianist Philip Fowke, with Benjamin Davey (Assistant Director of Music and Head of Keyboard Studies). Twenty young pianists drawn from Thomas’s Clapham, The Dragon, Oxford, Port Regis, Sunninghill, Sherborne Prep, St Peter’s Lympstone, and Perrott Hill, enjoyed a day during which they explored repertoire for all standards, and which included improvisation for ten hands and a short recital by Philip Fowke.
Tindall Recitals – the celebrity recital series The first of the new season’s Tindall Recital Series got off to a flying start with Katherine Bryan (flute) and Jennie-Helen Moston (piano). An unusual programme consisted in the main of repertoire originally written for other instruments: Frank’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Drdla’s Serenade and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen being three such works for violin, yet effective and challenging when performed on the flute. A recital for two pianos by ‘Piano 4 Hands’ (Joseph Tong and Waka Hasegawa) made use of the Tindall Recital Hall’s magnificent two grand pianos: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Poulenc’s Sonata for two pianos being particularly thrilling.
Lyon House Concert
Lunchtime recitals in Cheap Street Church Lunchtime recitals, which take place every Friday at 1.30pm during term time, started with the annual opportunity to hear the staff play their specialist instruments in ‘Meet the Music Staff’. Two chamber music recitals followed, featuring the first pupil performances of the new academic year: Music Scholars Peter Folkes (4a) (saxophone), Matthew Cann (5e) (violin) and Freddie Knott (5m) (‘cello) performed of a wide range of major repertoire made all the more impressive by the fact that it was so close to the start of the new academic year.
The turn of brass players was heralded with an exciting opening number played by the French Horn Ensemble – ‘Jagerchor’ from Der Freischutz by Weber – in an unusual arrangement for four horns and tuba, with Theo Beeny (L6c), Benjamin MacLean (4b), Joss Nelson (4e), Adam Montgomery (L6d) and Robert Ham (U6e). Pianists gave a recital on 3rd October with highlights from Douglas Mak (piano) playing some virtuosic Liszt, and Jacob Hughes-Hallett (L6a) with Debussy’s Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum. It was then the turn of the woodwind department in an impressive display of Sherborne’s musical talent including, among many others, outstanding performances from
Charlie Smith (4g) (flute) with the first movement of Burton’s Sonatina, William Glasse (U6a) (bassoon), with a beautiful rendition of Marcello’s Sonata in E minor, Arthur Drake (L6b) (clarinet) with Brahms Sonata in E flat, and Henry Delamain (L6c) (flute) with the daunting Syrinx by Debussy. Most recently the strings recital featured Music Scholar James Richards (U6a) – the only musician at Sherborne currently to have three Grade 8 Distinctions under his belt already – on the ‘cello with Bocherini’s Concerto, Edward Pyman (L6e) (violin) with Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Joss Nelson (4e) (violin) with Foulis’ Allegro moderato.
LYON HOUSE PUT ON THEIR BIENNIAL HOUSE CONCERT THIS TERM, WITH A PROGRAMME OF EXTREMELY TALENTED PERFORMERS. PARENTS, TUTORS, TEACHERS AND THE HEADMASTER WITNESSED THIS ‘SPECTACULAR EVENT’, AS DESCRIBED BY HEAD OF HOUSE ALEX PERTWEE (U6G)
sang and his clever chord progressions captivated everyone. The Third Form put on a delightful performance of ‘Let’s Face The Music and Dance’ by Berlin, as part of their musical initiation process, which included not only choristers but also less experienced singers.
To start the concert, Mr Davey had conjured up a small orchestra, which played a medley from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. This was followed by a series of solo performances given by Lyon House instrumentalists, the highlights of these included Colin Ip’s (U6g) riveting performance of a Beethoven piano sonata, Charlie Smith’s (4g) virtuosic performance of Burton’s flute sonatina and Henry Jones (4g) playing on both the piano and the trumpet (but not at the same time!). The audience was mesmerised by Charlie Smith with his staggering performance of ‘Let Her Go’ by Passenger. The lyrics he
The penultimate act was the Lyon House Band, which consisted of Max Wood (U6g), Freddie Stisted (U6g), James Toomey (5g) and Charlie Smith. They performed a rendition of ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk. With its simple and catchy tune, they were able to improvise a rocky and reggae beat, which appeared to work as all of the audience was clapping and cheering to the engaging performance. Finally the whole House performed an audacious rendition of Eric Idle’s ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’. This reflected the House spirit very well, as they sang perfectly together and it certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves.
BY FREDERICK STISTED (U6g)